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Chapter-a-Day

Two Points from the Prophetic

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Exile Required (CaD Mi 5) – Wayfarer

“But now many nations are gathered against you. They say, “Let her be defiled, let our eyes gloat over Zion!” But they do not know the thoughts of the Lord; they do not understand his plan, that he has gathered them like sheaves to the threshing floor.”
Micah 4:11-12 (NIV)

One of the positive spiritual by-products of this chapter-a-day journey for me is humility. This is especially true when it comes to the words of the ancient prophets which are often layered with meaning.

In today’s chapter, Micah’s words address what was in his day (vss 9-13), but this is also eerily layered in describing what is happening today (vss 11-12, see above), and then he provides a vision of yet what will be (vss. 1-8).

I sat in the quiet this morning and meditated on these 13 verses in relation to all that I’ve studied, listened to, read, and learned with regard to prophecy and eschatology (a.k.a. the study of the “end times”) for over 40 years. Without getting far deeper into the weeds than is my intention with these chapter-a-day posts/podcasts, let me just say that Micah’s message offers some challenging prophetic puzzles in light of the different major schools of thought.

Knowing, however, that I don’t really want to wade into the deep weeds, I was left mulling over another relevant question: What is a modern, everyday person supposed to get out of a passage like this, if all I want to do is find a thought for my day that I can hold onto and that will help me to live today in a way that God desires?

And this brings me back to two simple thoughts.

First, how fascinating that ancient Micah quite aptly describes what happened on October 7.

“But now many nations are gathered against you. They say, “Let her be defiled, let our eyes gloat over Zion!”

I find his next line even more apt in consideration of the sum of Micah’s prophetic puzzles.

“But they do not know the thoughts of the Lord; they do not understand his plan.”

And, this brings me back to humility. I have, on multiple occasions, had the experience of teaching about prophecy and the “end times.” In fact, even in the past few months, I’ve had a chance to wade back in and teach on pieces of it as part of a larger team. When teaching about this genre, I typically encourage people to be wary of those who proudly proclaim they can tell you with certainty and precise detail exactly what will happen in the future based on prophetic writing like Revelation. I am constantly reminded that in Jesus’ day, there were entire schools of scholarly and well-educated thought proudly proclaiming with certainty and precise detail what the Messiah would be and do.

They were all wrong.

I try, therefore, to humbly avoid repeating that error of human hubris.

But while I don’t know with certainty and precise detail there are some big-picture things that, by faith, I do know. In John’s Revelation, Jesus tells him,“I am the Alpha and the Omega, who is, and who was, and who is to come.” As I find amidst Micah’s prophetic puzzles an accurate assessment of what was, and what is, and a vision of what is to come, I am led to not worry so much about the “what” and “when” but the “Who.”

And this brings me to my second simple nugget for my day. In our bizarro times of head-scratching and uncertainty, I take spiritual solace in all of the ways that the prophetic has been accurate about things that were and are. It leads me to trust that those things that Great Story says about what will be, are equally true and can be trusted even if I don’t know or understand the precise details about how it will all play out.


If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

Journalistic Prophets

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Journalistic Prophets (CaD Mi 3) – Wayfarer

This is what the Lord says: “As for the prophets who lead my people astray, they proclaim ‘peace’ if they have something to eat, but prepare to wage war against anyone who refuses to feed them.”
Micah 3:5 (NIV)

Over the past few years, I have personally migrated to reading more and more independent journalists who write on sites like Substack, along with subscribing to non-traditional news outlets that ascribe to the journalistic principles of integrity and objectivity that I was taught in journalism classes in school. I find it refreshing to read the work of those who are presenting facts and drawing conclusions based on those facts, even if it makes me uncomfortable.

We recently crossed the 100-day mark from the events of October 7 and the consequential dominoes that have fallen in its wake. Wendy and I have participated in lively conversations with individuals on both sides of the conflict in Gaza. Passions run high on both sides, and I have observed those on both sides of the conflict who are quick to ignore, obfuscate, and reject facts and inconvenient truths.

Yesterday, I read a piece in one of the independent journalistic outlets I previously mentioned. It was a hard read because it challenged some of my own thoughts and feelings with cold, hard facts and objective clarity that I couldn’t ignore. It also affirmed with equally cold, hard facts some of the truths that others I’ve spoken with outright refuse to accept as anything but lies.

One of the things that modern readers of the Great Story often fail to understand is that in ancient society, “prophets” were an entire workforce in the culture. Every religion (and there were many) had its version of prophets. Every monarch and emperor had an entire staff of prophets to provide “divine” guidance.

In today’s chapter, the ancient prophet Micah contrasts himself with the mainstream prophets who served in the King’s court and the pagan temples. What Micah calls out in his peers is the fact that they are driven by selfish motives. Being a prophet is their job, and they are worried about their paycheck and their social status. These prophets, Micah reports, will say whatever their boss wants to hear if it provides job security.

Micah and those prophets we know from the Great Story, were a different lot. The reason we still read their words thousands of years later is precisely because they were willing to say what no one else was willing to say. They were willing to present cold, hard facts about the events of their day even if it meant they were ostracized, canceled, unemployed, beaten, and (in some cases) killed.

Micah makes the point that the “prophets” of his day would prophesy anything that would keep food on their table. I couldn’t help but think of the prophet of Elijah (1 Kings 17:1-4) who, in contrast, told King Ahab that there would be a severe famine in the land, then went to the wilderness where God provided food for him from scavenging ravens. What a contrast.

In the quiet this morning, I found myself mulling over the fact that journalists today are not unlike the ancient prophets. Our society looks to them to interpret the events of our times and predict what’s going to happen. In an increasingly secular society, I find that some ascribe faith and an almost religious zeal to these modern-day, secular prophets. And, I observe that most mainstream news businesses (they are, after all, first-and-foremost profit-driven businesses) hire an entire staff of journalistic prophets who will say what their faithful consumers want to hear.

Reading the ancient prophets like Micah is a constant reminder to me that hearing and reading only those things that make me comfortable and affirm my worldview is ultimately not a spiritually healthy thing for me. As a disciple of Jesus, I am equally reminded that Jesus Himself was executed by the good religious people of His day for saying things that were true, but threatened the powerful and wealthy elites who wanted to keep the revenue flowing. Jesus also told His disciples to expect the same when we truly follow in His footsteps.

It’s that time of the day when I join Wendy for coffee and we read the latest news. God, give me discernment as I partake in what the modern-day secular prophets have to say this morning.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

Antidotes to Fear

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Antidotes to Fear (CaD Lk 21) – Wayfarer

“But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves.”
Luke 21:9 (NIV)

Every January, as a new year launches, the media is filled with thoughts, predictions, meditations, and prognostications regarding what the new year will bring. I would summarize the thoughts, feelings, and outlook for 2024 that I’ve been reading and hearing to be gloomy at best and at worst, doomsday. We have war in Ukraine, war in Israel, tension in Taiwan, terrorism, political division, protests, rampant crime, struggling economy, immigration crisis, and in America an election year that everyone is dreading.

Along my life journey, I’ve observed that we human beings are emotional creatures. Fear is a useful emotion, for politicians in particular, but also for media and business, especially drug companies. Fear short-circuits reason.

Over the past few years, I’ve tried to counter-balance my fear with both facts and faith.

Factually, we live in the best of times for human existence. The folks over at Gapminder.org have been diligently documenting these facts for years. They continue to shout like a voice in the wilderness, and I find it so fascinating that no one wants to listen. I’ve found their information and resources a welcome and useful antidote to the doom and gloom pedalers everywhere. I encourage you click on the graphic below and take a quick perusal of all the facts they present on the linked page on their site. In fact, I encourage you to go through it and the other resources they provide on their site on a regular basis.

When I absorb the facts and then survey the wholesale fear and anxiety in the world around me, I’m struck by two things. First, I’m struck at humanity’s ability, no matter how good things get, to perpetually muck things up. Second, I’m struck at humans’ almost addictive need for fear. It’s ironic and downright Shakespearean.

The other counter-measure I personally employ against fear is faith. As a disciple of Jesus, this isn’t optional. It’s a direct and repeated command from Jesus. If I really believe what I say I believe, then no matter what happens in the world around me I know that all things are moving toward a conclusion that is already determined by Jesus who ultimately has both me and everything else ultimately in His eternal control.

In today’s chapter, Jesus provides His own prophetic doom and gloom outlook for how things are going to eventually go down. As I’ve repeatedly written in my posts over the years, prophecy is layered with meaning. Some of the events Jesus prophesied in today’s chapter happened just 40 years after His death and resurrection. Others have yet to happen. But three times amidst His prophetic outlook of wars, persecution, upheaval, and cataclysmic events Jesus tells His followers not to be frightened or anxious. I particularly loved the words He used in the verse I quoted at the top of the post: “Make up your mind not to worry beforehand….”

Fear is an unconscious emotional reaction. Faith is a conscious Spirit response.

In the quiet this morning, I’m getting ready to sit down with Wendy and read the weekly TGIF column at the Free Press by Nellie Bowles. It’s her witty and sarcastic recap of the news this week which we’ve come to look forward to every Friday morning. We need it because when laughter is combined with faith and facts, it makes a powerful anti-fear cocktail.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

Warning Sirens

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Warning Sirens (CaD Hos 8) – Wayfarer

“Put the trumpet to your lips!
    An eagle is over the house of the Lord…”
Hosea 8:1 (NIV)

Living in the midwest means living with the threat of tornados. As a kid, you quickly learn the drill when the tornado sirens go off. I remember the thrill of getting woken up by mother and told to scurry to the basement. In school, we regularly went through tornado drills and told where to go within the school in the event of a tornado.

One of the things that has changed over my lifetime has been the proliferation and advancement of technology that allows one to accurately track a storm front from a smart phone. It’s not unusual for the tornado sirens in our neighborhood to sound when the storm front is relatively far away. It’s not uncommon for us to step outside when the sirens sound to check out the storm that is miles away on the horizon for sight of the tornado that tripped the alarm.

In today’s chapter, Hosea begins by sounding the Emergency Broadcast System of his day. Residents with flocks would graze them outside the city walls during the day. If watchmen on the walls spotted danger such as an approaching army or a bird of prey looking for for an easy meal, they would sound the trumpet, or a ram’s horn, to warn the shepherds to get their flocks safely back within the city walls.

Hosea’s metaphor at the start of his message was intended to get the attention of his audience. He was sounding the alarm. There was danger on the horizon because of their own actions:

They had rejected what was good.
They had forgotten God and His law.
They had chosen their own kings without God’s consent.
They had made idols for themselves, breaking God’s #1 command.
They had put their faith and trust in Assyria’s protection, not God’s.
They gave God the occasional offering, but didn’t place their faith in Him.

Hosea then proclaims that the Hebrews “will return to Egypt,” and what is fascinating about this is that it’s a metaphorical double-edged sword. Before they had become a nation, the Hebrews were in slavery in Egypt, so Hosea’s reference means they will be returning to the slavery and exile from which God originally delivered them. But there is also a literal meaning, as their King would go to Egypt to try and cut a better deal. This betrayal of their alliance with Assyria would start the chain of political events leading to Assyria’s wrath and Israel’s exile.

In the quiet this morning, I find myself thinking about tornado sirens and the prophetic Revelation of John in which seven trumpets sound warnings of events on the horizon, much in the same vein of Hosea in today’s chapter. I can’t help but think of what Jesus said to the descendants of Hosea’s audience: “When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.”

Just this last week I read a fascinating article about the “Moral Inversion” being observed in our culture. Right is now wrong. Wrong is now right. Men are women because they say they are. Women are told to be as silent and compliant as a handmaid when a biological male with mediocre ability claims to be a woman and decimates them in competition. Little children who can’t get a tattoo without parental approval until they’re an adult now have the cognitive ability to go through drastic, gender-bending medical procedures (with life-long consequences) and the educational system will both assist in serving the child up to the medical community for profit while keeping parents in the dark. Teenaged girls are suddenly embracing an ideology that would make them the chattel of male oppressors. Heinous violence is celebrated. Hatred has become fashionable. Evil is good.

To Jesus’ point, when the tornado siren sounds, I know to check the radar. I can discern when it’s time to head to the basement and when I can step outside to view the storm clouds on the horizon. I pray I have the discernment to interpret the signs of the times, to cling to what is true and good, and to stand against evil, even in the midst of the storm.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

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Was, Is, & Will Be

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Was, Is, & Will Be (CaD Am 9) – Wayfarer

“New wine will drip from the mountains
    and flow from all the hills,
    and I will bring my people Israel back from exile”
Amos 9:13 (NIV)

In John’s Revelation, God is repeatedly referred to the One “who was, and is, and is to come.” The fascinating thing about this phrase being used repeatedly inside a work of apocalyptic literature is that the words of the prophets are layered with meaning, referencing things that were in the past, events that were imminently current, and events that were yet to be in the future. The words of the prophets are not so much “either it means this, or it means that,” but rather “Yes, it means this and it means that.”

I didn’t plan this quick trek through the ancient prophet Amos because of the current events unfolding in the middle east between Israel and Hamas. That said, I have found it virtually impossible not to read the ancient words of the prophet Amos in context of these current events.

In today’s final chapter, God through Amos boldly predicts that disaster is going to fall on the people of Israel. He says that many will die, but then says, “I will shake the people of Israel among the nations.” The chapter ends with a vision of restoration in which the nation is rebuilt and prosper. So let me unpack my thoughts based on “what was, what is, and what is to come.”

What was…

Exile is a perpetual theme throughout the Great Story. In fact, some scholars say that it is the pre-eminent theme of the entire thing. It’s first revealed in Genesis 3 when Adam and Eve sin and are cast out of the Garden of Eden into a sinful world. The rest of the Story is about humanity finding itself back in the Garden with God in the final chapters of Revelation. God calls Abram away from his home and into exile in a land God would show him. Abram’s grandson and great-grandchildren would find themselves living in exile in Egypt, where they will be enslaved for hundreds of years.

I could go on to discuss the theme of exile in the life of Jesus, the Acts of the Apostles, and the book of Revelation, but for now, let me stick to the fact exile was already an established theme of “what was” in the days our blue-collar prophet Amos was preaching to the people of ancient Israel.

What is…

The world at the time of Amos is primed for an extended period of history in which a succession of human empires will rise to control large portions of the western world. The land of Israel and Judah are nestled in a strategic crossroads between Persia, Europe, Arabia, and Africa. Any empire wanting to expand into those areas must go through the lands of the Hebrew people.

Just as Amos is prophesying exile to the northern kingdom of Israel, his prophetic successors to the south will soon begin to predict the same fate for the Hebrew people in Judah.

And, that’s exactly how it played out. It begins with the Assyrian empire who will conquer Israel (but not Judah) about 30 years after Amos’ proclaimed it. The Assyrian empire gave way to the Babylonian empire who conquered Judah and carried the likes of Daniel, Ezekiel, and Nehemiah into exile in Babylon. The Babylonians were conquered by the Medes and Persians, the Persians by the Greeks, and the Greeks by the Romans.

What is to come…

This is where things get really interesting, because the promises of restoration are layered with meaning that will only be revealed as future events play out.

First, there is a remnant of Hebrews who returns to the land during the Persian empire and rebuild Jerusalem and the temple there. That story is told by Nehemiah and Ezra.

As part of the description of restoration, Amos states that “new wine will drip from the mountains.” For any follower of Jesus, this echoes the very words of Jesus when He said that His teaching was “new wine” that won’t work in “old wineskins.” Jesus predicted a bold new era in which Jerusalem would be destroyed and God’s kingdom would expand to include peoples of every tribe, nation, and language. Jerusalem and the temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D. and over the coming centuries the Hebrew people would be scattered among the nations.

Then, of course, we fast-forward to 1948, when the contemporary state of Israel was established by the British and the United Nations. From around the world, Hebrews returned from twenty centuries of exile to live in the very land where Amos prophesied almost three thousand years before.

And, that’s where I find myself sitting with wonder in the quiet this morning. What does this all mean? I’m not entirely sure. There are a lot of modern day would-be prophets who will confidently sell you their books and tell you exactly how the prophecies in the Great Story will play out. They’re always wrong. Jesus Himself said that He didn’t know the day and the hour of the events “yet to come.” Personally, I embrace that as an indicator I should humbly plead the same ignorance and rest comfortably being in Jesus’ good company.

And yet, the connection of what was, and what is leads me to believe that there is more to all of it than mere historical coincidence. It leads me to believe that everything, somehow, is playing out in relation to that what Jesus and the prophets envisioned as that which is yet to come. There is a Great Story being told. In the grand design that Paul described as “all things working together” I and my story are part of that Story.

How?

Someday I will know. That’s yet to come.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day, Uncategorized

Prudent Silence, Bold Speech

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Prudent Silence, Bold Speech (CaD Am 5) – Wayfarer

Therefore the prudent keep quiet in such times,
    for the times are evil.
Amos 5:13 (NIV)

I remember Garrison Keillor once saying that a small town newspaper isn’t really the news, it’s just the table of contents. The real news, the stuff that’s really going on, never made it into print. Having lived in a few different small towns along my life journey, I feel the truth of Keillor’s statement. Yes, every small town has a City Council, but I’ve observed that there are always unelected individuals in small towns who wield unofficial power.

In the ancient days of the prophet Amos, the seat of justice was always at the local city gate. Small towns handled their own justice right inside the gates of the city. The town’s elders met there regularly to visit, share news, and conduct business. If there was a criminal or legal matter, it was the town elders who heard the case and meted out justice.

There was only one problem with this system, of course. Just like any small town, there were those individuals who wielded unofficial power. The wealthy and prominent puppet-masters pulled the strings of justice as they saw fit. And because the populace feared the threat of what the puppet masters could do in retaliation, they kept their mouths shut and their heads down.

Enter the prophet Amos.

Amos, the blue-collar prophet from Judah, strolls into town with words that bite. He calls the people of Israel to repent from the shady local politics and power games in which the poor and weak suffered at the hands of the rich, local puppet masters.

Today’s chapter was written as lyrics to a funerary lament. It was a way of Amos saying to his audience, “You’re already dead, you just don’t know it yet.” Amos then ends his lament with a proclamation of the “day of the Lord” when God would pronounce judgement on Israel. The justice of God contrasting the injustice of the local puppet-masters.

In the quiet this morning, I was struck by Amos’ description of the silent bystanders who are “prudent” in keeping silent. That is a theme that resonates deeply in the current events of today. Researchers say that the level of anxiety in young people today is off-the-charts, and one of the reasons is the daily fear that saying the wrong thing will get them cancelled and ostracized in the classroom or social media. Just yesterday I listened to an interview with Palestinians inside Gaza explaining that they must prudently keep quiet about what’s really happening inside Gaza or their Hamas puppet masters will torture and kill them and their families. On college campuses, the administrations who have always been quick to speak out about social justice issues suddenly find it prudent to keep silent about terrorists indiscriminately torturing, raping, and murdering innocent people, including children.

One of the things that I love about the prophets is their willingness to say the things that needed to be said. Of course, things did not always end well for them. The power brokers and puppet masters regularly found ways to silence their prophetic critics. Jesus offered His own lament over this reality:

“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.”

Just last week I was reminded of the words of Martin Niemöller, a Lutheran pastor who initially supported Hitler’s rise to power, but then became the leader of clergy who opposed the regime. He wrote:

First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist

Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist

Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist

Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew

Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me

May God grant me the boldness of a prophet to speak and to pen the right words at the right time with a heart that is ever motivated by love.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

“The More Things Change…”

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"The More Things Change…" (CaD Am 1) – Wayfarer

“The Lord roars from Zion
    and thunders from Jerusalem…”
Amos 1:2 (NIV)

It was a time of incredible prosperity and affluence for the kingdoms of Israel and Judah when God called Amos to proclaim his message. Amos was not a noble member of the court like Isaiah. He didn’t hail from blue-blood priestly families like Jeremiah or Ezekiel. Amos was a blue-collared common man. He was a shepherd. He worked with his hands harvesting figs to make ends meet.

What Amos sees around him is that the rich get rich off by oppressing the poor. The powerful use corruption to keep themselves in power. The weak don’t stand a chance. And it’s not just the northern kingdom of Israel or the southern kingdom of Judah. It’s everyone in the region. At the feet of the powerful and wealthy lies hatred, human trafficking, violence, genocide, greed.

So God gives Amos a message. The Lion of Judah is about to roar.

As I read today’s first chapter of the prophet Amos’ message, I couldn’t believe how relevant it felt to today. Just a week and a half ago, the terrorist group, Hamas, brutally attacked Jewish communities just outside of Gaza. Screaming words of hatred, women and children were killed. Babies were cut from their mother’s wombs. Infants were beheaded. Families were kidnapped. A girl was raped next to the body of her dead friends.

Amos’ opening message addresses the kingdoms surrounding Israel and Judah, including Gaza which was Philistine territory in that day. God through Amos, describes their behavior that has stoked His anger. It seemed to me that it came right from this past week’s news:

“…she took captive whole communities.” (vs. 6)
“…she sold whole communities of captives to Edom disregarding a treaty of brotherhood.” (vs. 9)
“..he slaughtered the women of the land.” (vs. 10)
“..his anger raged continually and his fury flamed unchecked.” (vs. 10)
“…he ripped open the pregnant women in order to extend his borders.” (vs. 13)
“I will send fire on the walls of Gaza that will consume her fortresses.” (vs. 7)

Amazing.

As I read today’s chapter in the quiet this morning, I couldn’t help but think of the prophet Amos as an Oliver Anthony of his day belting out his own version of Rich Men North of Richmond. Amos sees the same things in his day that Oliver Anthony sings about from his perspective today. There are double standards. The rich get richer by oppressing the poor. Corruption flourishes and the powerful get away with their crimes. As Bob Dylan sang, “You know the Golden Rule? The one who’s got the gold rules.”

The more things change, the more they stay the same. History changes. Technology changes. Knowledge increases. Yet, the human condition remains the same. We need justice today as much as humanity has ever needed it. So, I’m anxious to hear the cries of the blue-collared working man’s prophet, Amos in the days ahead. If the human condition and the circumstances haven’t changed all that much since his day, and it appears that they haven’t, then I think he just might have something relevant for me, my life, and my times.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

Habakkuk’s Cry

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Habakkuk's Cry (CaD Hab 1) – Wayfarer

Why do you make me look at injustice?
    Why do you tolerate wrongdoing?
Destruction and violence are before me;
    there is strife, and conflict abounds.
Therefore the law is paralyzed,
    and justice never prevails.
The wicked hem in the righteous,
    so that justice is perverted.
Habakkuk 1:3-4 (NIV)

I have known many fellow followers of Jesus over the years who would confess to never willingly cracking open the Old Testament unless under the social pressure of being asked to do so during a Sunday worship service. Even if they said they “occasionally” read from the Old Testament on their own, I’m sure that reading would be confined to the books of Psalms and Proverbs. Okay, maybe a few chapters of Genesis or one of the short stories like Ruth or Esther. If I were to ask them, “When was the last time you read the prophet Habakkuk?” they would probably just laugh at me. I’d wager that hearing a pastor say, “Let’s all open to the book of Habakkuk!” is maybe a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence.

We live in a world in which things “trend” on social media for minutes before being buried by another “trend.” Current events likewise dominate media and social media for a day or two tops before media and social media is on to the next hot topic in search of clicks and likes.

So what could an ancient Hebrew prophet have to say in 600 B.C. that is in any way relevant to my world today?

Let me walk through the verses I pasted at the top of this post:

“Why [God] do you make me look at injustice?
    Why [God] do you tolerate wrongdoing?“

Like mules leaving almost 50 dead immigrants rotting in the back of a tractor trailer?

Like drug cartels flooding the streets with opioids killing people in record numbers and never being held accountable?

“Destruction and violence are before me;“

Like mass shooters opening fire in schools, churches, and malls?

Like demonstrations that torch entire neighborhoods of minority-owned businesses and end with dead bodies lying in the street?

“there is strife, and conflict abounds“

Like individuals breaking off relationships with friends and family because they disagree on issues?

Like name calling, insults, and threats calling for death, murder, and assassination on social media?

Like political division between factions who refuse to compromise?

“Therefore the law is paralyzed,“

Like 400 law enforcement personnel who stood outside a classroom as children were being shot?

Like the headline I just read in this morning’s Wall Street Journal: “Who Would Want to Be a Police Officer in Seattle?”

“and justice never prevails“

Like the fact that not one of Jeffery Epstein’s high-profile customers has been named or indicted for raping underage girls?

Like political corruption that gets ignored and swept under the rug for the “greater good” of keeping a political party of choice in power?

The prophet Habakkuk lived in a period of political corruption, crime, violence, war, and social upheaval under a corrupt king and a nefarious ruling class. He pens his poetic dialogue with the Almighty and opens with a line that aptly described the questions of my own soul as I daily read the headlines:

How long, Lord, must I call for help,
    but you do not listen?
Or cry out to you, “Violence!”
    but you do not save?

It felt pretty relevant to me in the quiet as I read the chapter this morning. Habakkuk is giving voice to questions and sentiments that are echoed throughout history and will always resonate in a fallen world that is the domain of the “Prince of this World,” in which evil is present, and worldly kingdoms and institutions hold sway.

It is easy to feel as if God is both silent and absent.

Habakkuk’s short, poetic dialogue with God has a simple outline:

Question one: Why are you silent and will not act against injustice?

God’s answer: Just wait. I’m going to raise up the Babylonians to bring about the justice that I’ve been announcing through you and other prophets like your peer Jeremiah for some time now. I’ve been patiently listening for people to listen and repent. That’s not happening, so get ready.

Question two: Serious?!? Why would you use the evil Babylonians?!?

Tomorrow’s chapter is God’s answer to this second question.

In the quiet this morning, I found myself identifying with Habakkuk’s questions. In the middle of writing this post, I went downstairs to have breakfast with Wendy and we perused the headlines. Habakkuk’s lines kept resonating in my head and heart as I read.

God’s response also echoed. Within the Great Story, faith is defined as “the assurance of what we hope for, the evidence of that which we can’t see.” That includes the reality that God appears to be silent, and it seems like God is not doing anything, but I have limited, finite human senses and knowledge. So, my heart cries out like Habakkuk.

Having just finished the book of Revelations, I know that God has promised to bring divine justice to the earth one day and deal with evil and the fruits of evil once-and-for-all. Until then, my prayerful cries of “How long, oh Lord?” rise as incense in heaven’s Throne Room along with your cries, and everyone else’s cries.

When will God make good on His promised judgment?

I don’t know.

I have faith that He will.

Until then, I’ll keep crying out along with brother Habakkuk.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

Prophetic Pondering

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Prophetic Pondering (CaD Rev 11) – Wayfarer

The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over [the two dead prophets] and will celebrate by sending each other gifts, because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth.
Revelation 11:10 (NIV)

I have been a follower of Jesus for just over 40 years, a period of time which is used in the Great Story as the number of years in a generation. So, I have spent time over the past couple of years pondering the changes I’ve observed in our society and our culture in one generation. In some ways, the changes seem startling to me.

A generation ago, I watched as Christian fundamentalists with groups like the Moral Majority and the Christian Coalition sought to force their religious doctrines on society through political power. What I observed in those days was that a judeo-christian world view was foundational in society around me. Virtually ever kid I knew grew up going to church of some kind. It was just what you did.

A generation later, I find it ironic to observe what I would consider woke fundamentalists who are seeking to force their doctrinal world-view on society through political power. Major institutions of media, business, and academia are offering full support. Meanwhile, my own local gathering of Jesus’ disciples has grown in the last couple of decades, not because new followers are joining the ranks but because so many other churches are dying and closing their doors. Churches are being burned and attacked, social media posts call for violence against Christians.

These are things that I would have never have believed would happen in one generation, just 40 years ago.

In today’s chapter, the interlude between the sixth and seventh “trumpet judgments” continues. Two prophets, or “witnesses” are raised up. They echo the ancient prophet Elijah whose prayers shut-off the rains and brought fire down from the heavens.

It’s important to remember that the picture John’s visions create is an Earth in which there are a mere 144,000 followers of God who are sealed and protected through this time of tribulation. Where are all the followers of Jesus? John’s Revelation does not seem to address this, though the letters of the apostles speak of a “rapture” of God’s people in which they are suddenly and unexpectedly snatched up to heaven in the twinkling of an eye. This leaves the rest of the Earth’s inhabitants who are described as unrepentantly anti-God. Therefore, when the two prophets are killed, the world celebrates their deaths and gloats over their bodies. People throw parties to feast the end of God’s messengers.

In the quiet this morning, I once again find myself pondering the changes I’ve observed in one generation. I could not fathom the anger, hatred, and calls for violence that I witness on both ends of the socio-political spectrum. Though, given the gross failings of institutional churches that I touched on in yesterday’s post, I can certainly empathize with those who were victimized and are crying out in anger.

There are mornings on this chapter-a-day journey when I feel as if I am left with more questions than answers; Mornings when I am more perplexed than inspired. I’ve come to believe that this is not a bad thing. The Twelve who followed Jesus in the flesh for three years were still confused and scratching their heads the night before He was crucified and the day He rose from the dead. Why should I be any different? Along my journey I’ve found that it is often the long stretches of pondering good questions that ultimately lead to new depths of spiritual understanding.

So, two thoughts I continue to ponder as I enter my day today:

First, it would be easy for me to over-dramatize the changes I’ve witnessed in a generation and conclude that the end-times are near. I don’t know that. The pendulum of socio-political thought swings back and forth sending individuals on either side of the spectrum into doomsday thoughts and predictions. What I have observed in the last forty years helps me to appreciate how the events and anti-God attitudes in John’s vision could, indeed, be possible, but that doesn’t equate to thinking they are probable in the near turn.

Second, the pendulum of social, cultural, political and religious thought does often swing back and forth. Some would argue that it is currently doing so. The social and political upheaval of the 60s ushered in a period of rebellion, violence, sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll. The 70s then experienced a “Jesus People” movement when many people found themselves aimless and empty, searching for spiritual answers. I consider it possible that a generation of young children who are being asked to question fundamental biological truths about themselves (when they don’t even have the vocabulary or cognitive ability to process it) may very well find themselves confused about their identity and longing for a strong spiritual foothold to help them make sense out of life. This might even lead to a spiritual revival.

I’m posting this much later than norma this morning because I’ve been pondering how best to conclude. I’m still not sure, so I’m just going to leave it here, continuing to ponder.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

Ignorant, Mindful, and Ready

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Ignorant, Mindful, and Ready (CaD Rev 8) – Wayfarer

The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God’s people, went up before God from the angel’s hand.
Revelation 8:4 (NIV)

As a student of history and as a mindful observer of life, I have noted that followers of Jesus in every generation seem to be convinced that we are in the end times. This is not the first time I’ve mentioned it on this chapter-a-day journey. It seems to me that as human beings age and we feel our own sense of dread with the inevitable approach of “the end” of our own earthly journey, it is easy to project this sense of “the end” on the world around us.

As a young man, I read books that predicted the world wouldn’t last beyond my high school years. Since I graduated high school in 1984, many would-be prophets mingled Orwell and Revelation in predicting doomsday. I seem to remember televangelists predicting the date of the rapture and the beginning of the end on more than one occasion. Then came the doomsday scenarios of the end of the 20th century that mingled the apocalypse with the Y2K global computer meltdown (history shows that apocalyptic predictions spring up at the end of centuries like flowers in spring). More recently, we had the end of the Mayan calendar that people associated with the end of all things.

With this in mind, I want to be careful with my thoughts on today’s chapter. I don’t want you to read what I’m not writing.

In today’s chapter, John’s vision from God’s throne room in heaven continues. When the seventh seal on the scroll is broken there is a dramatic pause, thirty minutes of silence before the next round of judgments on the earth begin. The prayers of God’s people rise as incense before God’s throne. Recall the cries of those who’d been martyred in chapter six: “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?”

I always have to remember as I read the Great Story that God layers life with certain themes. Just a few weeks ago in a Message among my local gathering of Jesus followers, I gave the example of how the diagram of an atom looks like a little solar system. The moon revolving around the earth, the planets revolving around the sun, and our solar system in the galaxy continue to expand this layered motif outward into the expanding universe. God is an artist, and he layers themes and motifs in both creation and in the Great Story.

The prayers and cries of the martyrs (those believers through history who were tortured and killed because of their faith) echo God hearing the prayers of God’s people enslaved in Egypt (Ex 3:7). The judgments and plagues in today’s chapter and subsequent chapters echo the plagues on Egypt. God’s deliverance of humanity from the shackles of a fallen world ruled by evil as we read it in the book of Revelation is a macrocosm of the story of God delivering His people from Egypt.

As the angels blow their trumpets of judgment in today’s chapter, plagues fall on the earth. The hail mixed with blood echoes the ninth plague on Egypt. The sea turned to blood echoes the first Egyptian plague. The waters turning bitter in the third trumpet are the reverse of God turning the bitter waters sweet at Marah for the Hebrews. The fourth trumpet echoes the ninth plague on Egypt.

I couldn’t help but notice that the consequences of the trumpet plagues are largely disruptions of nature which will disrupt commerce which in turn will wreak havoc on the global supply chain, which will only fuel economic and international strife, which will only fuel the works of the four riders of the apocalypse that have already been loosed: conquest, war, violence, famine, and death.

Disruption of supply chains, disruptions caused by war, supply shortages, famine, inflation, economic disruption, anger, violence: sound familiar? Yes, I can’t help but see the current events around me and think to myself how quickly things can spiral and descend in an out-of-control chain of events around the globe.

And this is where I don’t want you to read what I’m not writing. I’m not saying we are in the end times. I continue to maintain, as Jesus taught, that no one knows the day and the hour. I’m determined to cling to this ignorance. I can, however, read today’s chapter, look at current events, and appreciate how cataclysmic events like a global pandemic, natural disasters, wars, and famines can quickly destabilize the entire world as is described in the “Trumpet Judgments” in today’s chapter. And while Jesus said that I don’t know the hour and the day, He told multiple parables in which He encouraged His followers to be alert and to always be ready for the end to arrive.

And so, I enter today mindful and endeavoring to be ready, come what may in my own lifetime.

Note: Four recent messages were added to the Messages page today, an archive of YouTube and MP3 fiiles of messages.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.