What Does Freedom Look Like

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You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. Galatians 5:13 NIV

What does freedom look like? How would you define freedom? If I asked a dozen people, most likely I would get a dozen different answers but chances are the word free would be nestled in the answer. The dictionary answer for free is “At liberty; not bound or constrained. Discharged from arrest or detention. Not under obligation or necessity. Governed by consent and possessing civil liberties: a free society.” (American Heritage Dictionary)

Rajaa’s story of freedom was as a refugee fleeing Syria. Her story of freedom would tell how terrorists captured and tortured her husband Fouad for being a Christian. Rajaa’s story would include fleeing her homeland with her baby, her sister Samia, and their parents to a neighboring country. Her story would include being forced into a refugee camp living in a tent, rejected by the community because of their faith, and her father dying of a stroke. Yet in her story you find freedom but only as you hear it through her freedom that she found in faith. “Despite, and partly as a result of, their deep suffering and personal loss, the sisters long to share the hope of Christ with their countrymen who are in desperate need of reconciliation with one another and the God who loves them.”(from a Voice of the Martyrs article)

The free in freedom is seldom free. It takes years to gain freedom from paying off a car, house, or student loan. The free trial subscription to the network service is never free if you forget to cancel during the grace period. The person who is free from prison is only free if he follows the conditions of release. The problem with freedom it takes a lot of work to get and keep. “May we think of freedom, not as the right to do as we please, but as the opportunity to do what is right.” –Peter Marshall

Thursday marks the 248th American Independence Day and will be celebrated with fireworks, parades, speeches, and cookouts. However, if you could go back in time to 1776, you would find freedom was just a dream. It would be years and the cost of lives, finances, and fighting before freedom would be a reality. Then it would be years later before Thomas Jefferson’s words, “All men are created equal” would become a reality for other Americans.

Freedom looks like sacrifice. As you fast forward through 248 years since 1776 you realize the free part of freedom continues to be a costly endeavor. The free part of freedom has been paid for through the thousands and thousands of men and women who have fought on battlefields, the staggering financial resources spent, and the ultimate sacrifice of those killed fighting for freedom. “There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere, and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountaintop of our desires.” –Nelson Mandela

Freedom looks like commitment. It is always easier not to do something but the result of doing nothing leads to hopelessness and disaster. The old exercise proverb, “no pain, no gain” applies equally well in defining how freedom looks. Christians who take responsibility for a nation’s freedom can make a major impact. Dallas Willard wrote, “The world can no longer be left to mere diplomats, politicians, and business leaders. They have done the best they could, no doubt. But this is an age for spiritual heroes—a time for men and women to be heroic in faith and in spiritual character and power.”

Freedom looks like courage. Christopher Goffos writes, “A man can’t exhibit courageousness without performing some action to which courage can be attached.” Freedom is celebrated because of courageous men and women. Independence Day allows us to reflect and celebrate the courageous actions of those men and women who were determined to lead the nation to freedom.  Patriot Nathan Hale, facing imminent death, was able to utter the words, “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.”

The same courage that laid the foundation of freedom that will be celebrated on July 4th has been the benchmark of change that continues to undergird what freedom looks like. In 1960, little 6-year-old Ruby Bridges faced an angry mob to become the first black student at the William Frantz School. She entered school each day escorted by federal marshals for her safety. Child psychologist Robert Cole shared the story of one of the teachers at school. “I was standing in the classroom, looking out the window, and I saw Ruby coming down the street, with the federal marshals on both sides of her. The crowd was there, shouting, as usual. A woman spat at Ruby but missed, Ruby smiled at her. A man shook his fist at her, Ruby smiled at him. Then she walked up the stairs, and she stopped and turned around and smiled one more time! You know what she told one of the marshals? She told him she prays for those people, the ones in that mob, every night before she goes to sleep!” (Michael Wear, The Spirit of Our Politics)

July 4th reminds us that for 248 years nothing important has changed when it comes to defining freedom. It comes only with sacrifice, commitment, and courage. Freedom requires us to be an engaged citizenry, especially people of faith. Focus on the facts, not opinions. Read and listen deeply and widely. Pray intentionally and most importantly, trust God unwaveringly as God is sovereign.

President Ronald Reagan’s words serve as a fitting reminder. “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.”

God is great!

 

 

Life in the Wilderness

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Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. Deuteronomy 8:2 NIV

What do you do when you find yourself in a wilderness? Lesly, Soleiny, Tien, and Cristin literally found themselves in a jungle wilderness. Along with their mother, they had fled warring factions in Colombia’s rural area who were forcibly recruiting children by threatening violence.  The children, ages 13, 9, 5, and 1 survived a five-week ordeal in the Amazon jungle after being the sole survivors of an airplane crash. The plane crashed killed their mother and two other adults and began their journey of survival in the wilderness.

A united search team of Colombian army personnel and volunteers from several indigenous tribes combed the dense jungle in search of the children. “Brig. Gen. Pedro Sanchez, who led Operation Hope, said that in the jungle, trees can grow 100 feet or taller, blocking light and making it hard to see someone just a few meters away.” Lesly and her siblings were found in a small clearing after 40 days, surviving on cassava flour, seeds, and the rainforest’s fruit. They were hungry but alive.  (from an AP news article and Julie Turkewitz and Genevieve Glatsky)

“The desert is not remote in southern tropics,

The desert is not only around the corner,

The desert is squeezed in the tube-train next to you.

The desert is in the heart of your brother.” (T.S. Eliot, Choruses from the Rock)

Life in the wilderness can be a frightening and challenging place. You may find yourself there through an accident, from a poor decision, or no fault of your own. It doesn’t matter how you get to the wilderness, you have to find a way to survive until you can find your way home.

“When in the wilderness you are one blink of an eye from being fully awake.” I have no idea the context in which nature photographer Robbie George said this quote, but I believe there is a spiritual lesson in it. When you find yourself in the wilderness, remember it can be a place of growth, change, and reflection.

Life in the wilderness can be a place of preparation. Moses was a future leader. He had been miraculously rescued as a baby, brought up among the elite of society, provided the best education possible, and yet failed to meet God’s standard. Moses escaped to the wilderness and ended up tending sheep. Life in the wilderness prepared him for God’s assignment. “So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt. “(Ex 3:10) Finally he was ready for leadership.

Life in the wilderness can be a place of testing. I don’t know too many people who enjoy times of testing, yet it is in this season that you can grow stronger. Jesus experienced the wilderness of testing before beginning his ministry. “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted (tested) by the devil.” (Matt 4:1) “The devil tries to seduce him with instant power, authority, and wealth apart from the way of the cross…Jesus’s three temptations represent the three great potential vulnerabilities of those who would truly follow God: the need to be relevant; the need to be significant; the need to be powerful.” (Daniel McGregor) As we know, Jesus passed the wilderness test.

Life in the wilderness can be a holy place. The wilderness strips away all the comfort and ease of life, allowing you to see with clarity and understanding. It was in the wilderness that Abraham “called on the name of the LORD.” (Gen 13:4) It was in the wilderness that Moses was told, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” (Gen 3:5). It was out of the wilderness that John the Baptist appeared, “preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” (Mark 1:4) God’s presence changed the wilderness to holy ground.

Life in the wilderness can be a place of prayer and intimacy. “The silence of tranquility can be found in the sanctuary of the wilderness.” (Robbie George) In the wilderness, Jesus would escape the noise and pressures of ministry to be with God. “Yet He frequently withdrew to the wilderness to pray.” (Luke 5:16) “In those days Jesus went out to the mountain to pray, and He spent the night in prayer to God.” (Luke 6:12)

In the early centuries of church history, groups of men and women left the cities to move into the wilderness, not to escape persecution but to avoid losing a deeper life with Jesus. When Roman Emperor Constantine embraced Christianity, elevating it to a favored status, there was a major shift among Christians. Though it made Christianity acceptable, it also opened the door to nominalism, accommodation, and compromise. It would be in the wilderness that this group of men and women would go to pray, witness, and encourage the church to stay strong for God.

David was a man who spent a lot of time in the wilderness. You find him in the wilderness as a shepherd protecting his flock, running from a king who wanted him dead, and ultimately running from God because of his sinful actions. Yet it was in the wilderness that he found forgiveness, restoration, and renewal. Only someone who has been in the wilderness can write, “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” (Psalm 23:4) Frederick Tiffany writes, “God provides a way through the desert. The chaos of the wilderness poses no real threat; neither does it need to be the occasion of struggle. The Lord is in control, and a people has been formed. With the defeat of chaos comes the creation of a new people.”

Your wilderness experience will look totally different from my wilderness. Yet it is in the wilderness that each of us can find God’s grace to keep going, His mercy to endure, and His love that holds us tight.

God is great!

 

A Father’s Day Blessing

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Therefore, come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you. And, I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty. 2 Corinthians 6:17-18 NIV

If you were not one of the popular kids in school, you can probably remember feeling isolated and overlooked. Nothing has changed, there are still thousands of kids who walk into school classrooms feeling just a little discouraged about themselves, and just wanting someone to notice them. That is exactly what a group of Dads did in the Jefferson County Public Schools in Kentucky. The Flash Dads program was launched seven years ago with the simple objective of making every kid feel special. High fives, fist bumps, and words of encouragement are the order of the day for these Flash Dads. Several dozen members go to different elementary schools across the Louisville area. They line up to “greet students, cheering them on and getting the day started on a positive note.”

Roger Collins said The Flash Dads are, “community members showing up for students who sometimes don’t have anybody showing up for them.” James Bogan, another Flash Dad, said they take their duties as role models and mentors to heart. Bogan said the students know “We’re not just there that day. We’re there whenever you need us. It’s not a one-day thing. It’s a lifetime thing.” (Catherine Garcia, “Flash Dads”)

It seems that every day somewhere in the world there is a celebration of something. On June 7, we celebrated National Donut Day, coming up is National Ice Cream Day on July 21 and the all-important International Coffee Day is Oct 1. However, two occasions get special recognition for the foundational role they play in society, Mother’s Day in May and Father’s Day was celebrated yesterday. Antoine Francois Prevost writes, “The heart of a father is the masterpiece of nature.”

Thankfully there is no “one way to do it” model for fatherhood. Some dads are super athletic, others can’t kick a ball. Some dads are fishermen, others know how to order off the Red Lobster menu. Some dads are quiet, others loud. As Max Lucado writes, “My father didn’t do anything unusual. He only did what dads are supposed to do—be there.”

I didn’t grow up with a flashy dad. We lived below the poverty line before there was a poverty line. You didn’t need an intercom system to get your attention since my childhood home was only four rooms. Like most dads, my dad wasn’t perfect, but he was there.

Just being there was enough to share a lifetime of valuable lessons. I learned honesty by watching my Dad buy things with a handshake, without credit checks or lengthy paperwork simply because he had a reputation for honesty. I learned to trust people by watching him write the names of people on his black folding checkbook with the amount they owed him for the work he did for them believing they would pay him. I learned to give my best on any job I did because that was what he did. There was no menial task that didn’t deserve my best.

Scripture records the stories of numerous fathers but I think Luke in chapter 15 captures the most powerful model of fatherhood. The story is better known as The Prodigal Son but maybe it should be re-labeled, The Loving Father. “There was a man who had two sons.” The younger took his inheritance and squandered everything. The older son stayed home but only grudgingly. Sadly, neither son found happiness in their situation.

Yet the story is really about the father whose love for both sons kept him risking everything for them. He never stopped watching for his younger son to come home. He never stopped waiting for the older son to find contentment. In both, he took the initiative to love his sons, risk his reputation, show compassionate concern, and always welcome them home.

If there is a “one way to do it” for fatherhood this story gives us a beautiful model to follow. A father’s love reaches out to a selfish son and a self-absorbed son with faith, hope, and perseverance. “Whoever fears the LORD has a secure fortress, and for their children, it will be a refuge.” Pr 14:26

Fathers know the role is tough, demanding, and occasionally frustrating but in the end, it is worth it all. I leave as a blessing and encouragement British pastor Pete Greig’s prayer for Father’s Day.

“Father God, at a time of so much pain, when so many dads are distant, absent or even abusive, we lean into your ever-present love and healing. You are faithful and kind, especially for those of us orphaned, abandoned and hurt. For, “Even if my father abandons me,” as the Psalmist writes, “the LORD will hold me close.” Ps. 27:10

Father of Mercy, heal our many hurts, and restore the dignity, integrity and centrality of fatherhood in our families, in our communities and in our nations. As the Apostle Paul says, “I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. And I pray that you may know love.”

And finally, Lord, for all those poor souls everywhere who forgot that this is Father’s Day, we ask that you would bless them, in your abundant grace and manifold mercy, with the discovery of chocolate and half-decent cards in surprisingly well-stocked convenience stores. Amen

God is great!

What a Banner Can Do

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But for those who fear you, you have raised a banner to be unfurled against the bow. Save us and help us with your right hand, that those you love may be delivered. Psalm 60:4-5 (NIV)

“A thoughtful mind, when it sees a nation’s flag, sees not the flag, but the nation itself.” These words of Henry Ward Beecher describe well the sentiment that led to creating Flag Day in the United States. Creating a national flag was birthed out of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1777. “That the flag of the United States shall be of thirteen stripes of alternate red and white, with a union of thirteen stars of white in a blue field, representing the new constellation.” This would be the flag that was carried onto the battlefields of the Revolutionary War.

Through the decades following, various attempts would be made to set aside a day to honor the flag. Presidents Wilson and Coolidge issued proclamations to observe a National Flag Day on June 14. However, it was not until 1949 that President Harry Truman signed into law recognizing June 14 as a national observance for Flag Day.

Bob Heft’s junior year history project in 1958 was to create a 50-star flag, even though there were only 48 states at the time. Bob had a hunch that Alaska and Hawaii would become states so he created a 50-star flag by cutting up an old 48-star flag. “I’d watch my mom sew, but I had never sewn. And since making the flag of our country, I’ve never sewn again.” However, his history teacher wasn’t overly impressed and gave him a B-. His teacher told him, “If you don’t like the grade, get it accepted in Washington then come back and see me.”

Heft went to work and after two years of perseverance, his efforts paid off when President Dwight Eisenhower invited him to Washington, D.C. for a ceremony adopting his 50-star flag, which is still flown as the National Flag. Heft did go back to his teacher who changed his grade to an A. (Story Corps)

Flags often become a nation’s rallying point, providing a symbol of hope and inspiring people to stay in the battle. The iconic picture of four marines raising the flag at Iwo Jima kept hope alive during World War II. A devasted nation rallied at the sight of the flag being hoisted at Ground Zero on 9/11. Armstrong and Aldrin planting the American flag on the moon in 1969 revived the spirit and dreams of a war-torn nation. “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” Watching the flag-draped coffin of the assassinated President Kennedy being carried into the U.S. Capitol Building called the world into a season of reverence.

Flags signify identity, whether it is of a nation, corporation, social cause, or political perspective. In a few weeks, the Summer Olympics will begin in Paris. The opening ceremony is always a moving experience watching the athletes proudly march into the stadium behind their national banner. “The LORD said to Moses and Aaron: The Israelites are to camp around the tent of meeting some distance from it, each of them under their standard and holding the banners of their family.” (Numbers 2:1-2)

Flags signify celebration. Francis Scott Key looking out his prison window saw the flag being raised over Ft. McHenry to signal American victory. He would pen the poem that would later become the national anthem. David penned Psalm 20 knowing victory came through the LORD. “May we shout for joy over your victory and lift up our banners in the name of our God.” (20:5)

Flags signify survival. “Standing as I do, with my hand upon this staff, and under the folds of the American flag, I ask you to stand by me so long as I stand by it.” These words were spoken by Abraham Lincoln to a nation fighting for survival. David trusted that God would raise the banner as His people were under attack. “But you have raised a banner for those who fear you–rallying point in the fact of attack. Now rescue your beloved people. Answer and save us by your power.” (Psalm 60:4-5 NLT) A banner not made out of material, sewn together by human hands but a God-made banner to give hope to those who trusted in Him.

The greatest banner flown is that of God himself. When facing defeat, Moses with his co-laborers, Aaron and Hur climbed the mountain to intercede for Israel. As the battle raged through the day, Moses lifted his arms over the army and when they grew tired, Aaron and Hur stood at his side to hold them up until victory came at the end of the day. “Moses built an altar there and named it Yahweh-Nissi (which means “the LORD is my banner”). (Exodus 17:15)

Most everyone will have those moments in life when hope seems dim, faith grows weak and the fruit of the Spirit looks like it has been on the shelf for weeks. It becomes a precious time when we can see the banner of God over us giving us strength, life, and a future.

Flag Day is not a national holiday but a national observance. Therefore, it is just another day, stores will be open, mail delivered and banks will transact business. We may not do anything special on Flag Day, but we could make it a history-changing day. As we go about our day with every sighting of an American flag, use it as an occasion to intercede for the nation. Can you imagine the impact of millions of breath prayers going up, LORD, have mercy on us? Maybe literally changing the course of a nation!

“In that day the heir to David’s throne will be a banner of salvation to all the world. The nations will rally to him and the land where he lives will be a glorious place.” (Isaiah 11:10 NLT)

God is great!

The Gift of Summer

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Better one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind. Ecc 4:6

“Spring being a tough act to follow, God created June.” (AI Bernstein)

Spring was anything but relaxing if you lived in the path of a busy tornado season or had kids in school. Memorial Day unofficially marked the beginning of summer when theoretically the pace of life slows down as kids are out of school, church activities get reduced and the days are longer. Theoretically was the word I used, reality tells a different story.  The days of yesterday, when you lazily stretched out on the grass to watch white, fluffy clouds move overhead seem to be a fairy tale or at best, the figment of someone’s imagination.

For those who live in the North American region, June famously welcomes the return of those mystical little creatures called Hummingbirds. These unique little birds return after a restful vacation in South America after a long winter. Flying thousands of miles, they return to the same geographical area each year, and being gifted with amazing memories, they remember every flower and feeder they’ve visited. They are true lovers of sugar as they go straight for the glucose. These little birds eat more than twice their body weight daily, so, they are not good role models if you want to lose weight.

Hummingbirds’ survival depends upon their staying in a nearly constant state of motion. These little “charmers,” (that is what a group of Hummingbirds is called), hover over their food with wings fluttering at 50 times per second and heartbeats racing at 1,260 times per minute. There is just something relaxing about watching hummingbirds dart in and out at their feeder.

God made the hummingbirds to be in a constant state of motion but he didn’t make you or me that way. God’s final stroke to his creative masterpiece called creation was simply “rest”. The other acts of creation have the description “And God saw that it was good” but on His final act of creation He didn’t call it good, He called it “holy.”

What a difference this one day of rest should make in our rhythm of life.  “By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so, on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.” (Gen 2:2-3) John Lubbock writes, “Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.”

You can name a lot of reasons but somehow we tend to live with a hummingbird mentality, always in constant motion. Instead, God offered a model or better yet, a God-given gift of rest. Somehow, we have been convinced that to survive we have to be in a constant state of motion. The Psalmist reminds us in Psalm 74, “But God is my King from long ago; he brings salvation on the earth…The day is yours, and yours also the night; you established the sun and moon. It was you who set all the boundaries of the earth; you made both summer and winter.”

Living at full speed can be physically draining, emotionally taxing, and spiritually deadening. Slowing down opens our soul more fully to God’s presence. David understood how the soul needed rest and God’s desire to give his children. “He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul.” (Psalm 23:2-3a)

“The reason speed does violence against our souls is because our souls were meant to be tended to. There’s a preciousness, a tenderness to our souls that requires a slow observation. And so, when we’re living at this chaotic pace, we don’t give our souls the opportunity to rest, to breathe, to receive the nutrients from God that we desperately need.” (Rich Villodas)

Summer months can be a reflective time to focus on God’s gift of rest. “So, they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place.”—Mark 6:32. Summer months can bring something magical if we simply slow life’s pace down to spend a little time reflecting, pondering, or meditating. “It was June, and the world smelled of roses. The sunshine was like powdered gold over the grassy hillside.” (Maud Hart Lovelace)

The summer evening harmony of crickets, cicadas, and laughing children relaxes the soul and welcomes a place where you can “Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him” Psalm 37:7a

The warm balmy summer evenings give you a place to release your problems and anxiety as you are reminded, “The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land.” (Song of Songs 2:11-12)

The same summer months that bring the hummingbirds also bring the weeds in the garden and seemingly never-ending mowing. What you do with it becomes the question. Margaret Guenther reminds us, “Our waiting on God, then, requires ongoing attentiveness if it is to be more than an empty exercise in passivity. When we pay attention, our awareness is sharpened.”

Summer! What a great time to spread your blanket on top of the freshly mowed grass and spend a little time just pondering this beautiful creation of God. “A heart at peace gives life to the body,” (Pr 14:30a)

God is great!