Now is the time to panic, but don’t forget the popcorn.

I generally do not listen to the radio.  In fact, I find most radio stations a bore and drudgery.  I most prefer to listen to books while driving.  The miles on the road, rather than wasted, are set to good use by listening to books.  However, I had an occasion in which I listened to the radio.   The message from every corner seemed to have one underlying theme: Now is the time to panic.  It did not matter if the beginning perspective was Christian or secular, conservative or liberal the message at all points was everyone who agrees with this should panic and do so now.  Panic, at times, on the verge of hysteria.

One voice said that if the battle they were engaged in was lost the whole state would be lost.  This state serves as the bastion of right, justice and the true American way and when it is lost the whole nation would be lost into something of a dystopian future.  This panic has bled over into the Christian community.  On a different channel I heard that if a certain bill passed it would destroy all Christian schools, churches and colleges in America, the result of which would be the end of the Christian faith as we know it. 

I am not opposed, as some will certainly say, to Christians getting involved in the process of governance.  As Christians we need to be involved, indeed, we ought to lead the way.  What I am passionately opposed to is our being manipulated by and submitting to the voices of doom that tell us that only by doing what they say can we avoid doom.  Personally, I don’t think these panic mongers have that great a knowledge of the future.  They do have a profound knowledge of how to use fear for their own ends.  No doubt some are sincere and genuinely believe their prophecies of doom.  Others are motivated by the potential for income.  In either case, their prophecies of doom are self-serving. 

Fear makes us very exploitable.  This is not lost on religious-political-media leaders.  The message that is broadcast to us is, “Everything is worse than we thought or you can imagine.  We must act now!  If we don’t all is lost.”  What typically follows is a plan of action (sign a petition, send in the response card, call a number, etc.) and ultimately an appeal for money.  I know of one elderly lady who is supporting about 20 organizations that every month have a crisis to be averted.  Against my advice she continues to send her money; it makes her feel better.  It gives her a sort of hope for a better future.  Not unlike playing the lottery.  But let us have no doubt, fear mongering or giving into fear- it is contrary to what we have and believe. 

If we look at Psalm 46 we have a favorite verse we take out of context and a great lesson about fear in the political realm.  “Waters” were a symbol of people groups or nations.  In this Psalm we see political, national, or even international chaos.  But in this God’s people are secure.  In verse four, we see a river that is apparently symbolic.  Mountain top Jerusalem has no river.  This river may represent the foreign policy, army, or extension of a nation that was being used by God for the benefit of God’s people.  We need not forget that entire nations were raised up by God to accomplish His purposes.  As disciples there is nothing wrong with our being engaged in the political process, but that is never our hope.  When things go sideways we ought not panic.  Verse 10, which is often quoted for our comfort, is generally taken out of context.   The nine preceding verses are about God’s sovereign authority over the political process in the world.  The following verse is about God’s providential and specific protection for His people.  It is unlikely that this verse jumps over to talk about having a daily quiet time.  This verse is primarily about God’s people relaxing or chilling out when political chaos and its associated panic are present in every moment. 

The next time someone tells you that if you don’t act, give, or in other ways conform to their agenda then all is lost say to them, “Do I have time to get some popcorn to eat while I watch the end of the world?”

Your Attitude Stinks and other reasons God says NO to our Prayers part 2

Last week we looked at some of the reasons that God says no to our prayers.  I am sure that this list in not comprehensive but it is a start and gives us something to think about.  So here are another 6 reasons that God might just say NO!

The no of a fallen world

“Why” is one of the most common of prayers.  It is often associated with terrible illness and tragedy.  We pray for the restoration of health and there is no answer except the terminal “no”. If the world were not such a terrible place we may not want Heaven ever or at all. By allowing the pain of this fallen world God reminds us we were made for something else and better. Extreme example: “God, why did you let this storm do so much harm.  Can’t you protect us?”  There is the answer from God, “Yes, I can and I will when you are here with Me where all residue of the fall is finally and forever removed and I wipe that tear from your eye.”

The apparent no of demonic interference

I don’t believe that every bad thing that happens is the result of demonic activity.  Your flat tire maybe the result of having driven 40,000 miles longer than it was supposed to have been driven.  But I also believe that there is a host (large but undetermined number) of malevolent, spiritual beings at work in our world. They hate all of humanity because we are made in the image of God.  I believe that these beings are at work to ruin and hurt us as a way of hurting our Father.  When they have our cooperation by our sin we can expect a “no” answer.  Extreme example: A person might pray, “God, set me free from the tormentors and the misery of these hurtful emotions.”  To which God says, “You agree with the spirit of darkness in your hate and unforgiveness; I will leave you there to learn a lesson of repentance and forgiveness.”

The no of mystery

Most people are of average intelligence.  Even the brightest and best of minds, of which I am not one, have a hard time comprehending the deep things of God.  Who would be God’s councilor, to whom would God go for advice?  There are things we do not and cannot comprehend.  Extreme example: We pray like Job, “God, explain yourself on this matter.  I have a right to know.”  To which God might say, “Sorry, that is above your pay grade kid.”

The no of delay

This is a cliché we have often heard: “Sometimes God says, “Yes,” sometimes God says, “No,” and sometimes God says, “Wait”.  Cliché or not it is true, timing is everything and God’s timing is impeccable.  God is never late, but He is rarely early.  Extreme example: We pray, “God, our need is desperate please hurry.”  To which God says, “I think I will wait till you can trust Me.”

The no of “Stop praying and do something”

There is a time for prayer and there is a time for action.  We have at times been praying when we should have been working.  Extreme example: When Moses was at the Red Sea with a hostile army behind him, a confused people around him and a sea in front of him he called out to God.  And how did God respond, “Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the sons of Israel to go forward.”

The no of stupidity

I once saw a sign that read, “Everything happens for a reason, sometimes that reason is stupidity.”  When I got my finger cut off I couldn’t blame God for my excessive and highly refined stupidity.  Sometimes God does rescue us from our own folly, but we are wise not to tempt God on that point.  Extreme example: We might pray, “God, protect me from harm and help me.”  To which the Lord might reply, “Those are My laws you are breaking, if you are going to be stupid you better be tough.”

I hope no one will think I am being disrespectful toward God by this article.  But when we pray if we think it is a cosmic vending machine that gives us what we want, the way we want it, we don’t really understand prayer.  The “No” answers from God- hard as they may be to understand- are wonderful expressions of His love for us and His efforts to draw us home.

Your Attitude Stinks and other reasons God’s answer is NO.

Few question are more difficult for me to wrestle with than the answer “no” to prayers.  When God answers prayers for someone else, especially if it is in a dramatic fashion we can feel a little envy.  This is especially true if the answers we get are not the “yes” we so hoped for when we prayed.  It seems, and maybe it is true, that we get a “no” answer more often than a “yes” answer.  Sometimes what we call a “yes” answer may not be Divine intervention, but rather something we forced or coerced or have worked out.

As I have beat around the question of unanswered prayers I have come up with a list of why we get a “no” answer.  I know that this list is incomplete, may lack theological nuance, and is insufficiently deep, and will, no doubt, cause some readers to doubt my faith. That is okay, I have plenty of doubts all on my own, so a few more will cause me no harm.  Here are my baker’s dozen of why we are getting a “no” answer from God.

God’s determined no

There are some requests that will always receive a ‘no’ answer from God.  Prayers that are offered for selfish and sinful motives will never get a “yes” answer.  Extreme example: God never says yes to the prayer, “God, help me find a person with whom I can have an extramarital affair.”

God’s preferred no

Sometimes there is a “no” because there is something better for us that God wants to give us, but can’t if He were to give us the “yes” to a request.  Extreme example: We may pray, “God, let me serve you in a great church.”  But God says, “No, I prefer you to serve Me in a humble church.”

God’s perspective no

We pray with a very small perspective.  We have only been around for a few years, have seen very little and know only the smallest fraction.  But God is Omni-…  Extreme example: Whereas we might pray, “God, destroy all the Islamic terrorists that are doing such harm.”  God might say, “No, out of that darkness I will raise up a whole generation of witnesses.”

The no of Grace

We pray for relief when that relief might cause us to drift from God rather than draw near to Him.  Extreme example: Someone once prayed that God would remove a certain messenger of Satan, a terrible thorn in his flesh.  But God seemed to think, and what He thinks is always right, “My Grace is what you need not the removal of that thorn.”

The no of “It is none of your business”

I don’t know about everyone else, but I sometimes pray for God to fix people.  This is usually after they have not responded to my lectures the way I think they ought.  Maybe what God is doing in their life is not my concern.  Extreme example:  We pray, “God, he/she is such a mean-spirited person, please bless them with a heart that is nicer to me and everyone else.” But if God spoke He could say, “If you knew their pain you would be as impressed as I am by their progress and how they are turning toward Me, which by the way is none of your business.”

The no of, “You have a terrible attitude”

I have had a teenager make a request of me that I have rejected simply because of the way the request was made.  Is it possible that we come to God in our prayers like a sulking teen? Extreme example: We come to God and pray, “Lord, I have worked so hard and served so long and yet I am still stuck here.  When are you going to help me out of the mess?”  To which there could be a Divine, “I’ll help you when your attitude doesn’t stink to high heaven!”

The no of freewill

Speaking of teens and other bothersome people we sometimes ask God to set them on the right path.  Even when our hearts and motives are right there is the very real possibility that the person doesn’t want the right path.  Extreme example: We in a most holy prayer say, “Lord, bring my friend to faith and repentance.”  To which God might say, “Keep praying but for the moment they don’t want to believe and repent and I love them too much to make them.”

To be Continued next week and will include the "No" of stupidity.  

The Salesman Who Saved Western Civilization

Did you know that a salesman saved Western Civilization?  I know you may doubt that, but one persuasive salesman saved the West and has profoundly shaped your life and, I might add, made it better.  Lest you doubt, please allow me to explain.  During the golden age of aviation there was dramatic improvement in aircraft technology.  Every aspect of manned flight was growing exponentially.  Planes were getting bigger and heavier, they were flying faster and further and there seemed no challenge that was too tough to overcome.  But as engines became more powerful there began to develop a plateau of what could be done.  It seemed that the upper limits of aviation was about to be reached.   Larger and newer high compression engines developed knocks under strain and could experience catastrophic breakdowns.  It had to do with the octane of the fuel.  Most aircraft fuel at the time was 87-octane.  Shell Oil developed a solution.  They developed 100-octane aviation fuel.  It was more expensive and in lower compression engines was not needed.  What they needed was a salesman who could not only explain the advantages of high-octane fuel, but also the value of the higher performance engines that needed it. 

Enter the story James.  James was an aviation enthusiast and pilot who had been an army aviator, aircraft salesman, aircraft racer, and test/stunt pilot among other things.  During the years between the two World Wars, James worked for Shell explaining that not only would 100-octane fuel increase the power in any gasoline engine, but also engines designed for this higher grade of fuel would be dramatically better under all conditions than the engines designed for 87-octane.  It was a harder sell than you might expect.  At the time there was an approach called “One Fuel”.  This approach held that if a nation only needed and used one fuel it would simplify refining, distribution and transportation, and would be more efficient.  The gains made in efficiency would more than offset the disadvantage of lower power.  The National Socialists in Germany used this standardized approach.  One of the audiences that did listen to and took James’ advice was the Royal Air Force.  The engines designed to fit on the British bombers and fighters were high compression engines that required this 100-octane fuel. 

Not everyone believed James, but the day would come when all had to admit he was right.  After the Nazi’s had swept all resistance from the European mainland all that remained was the invasion of Great Britain.  Operation Sea Lion would carry the German army across the English Channel and would destroy the British Empire on their home ground.  There was little doubt that if the German Army reached shore they would eventually win.  Dunkirk was a victory of sorts, but the British Army was no match for Germany.  The British Navy could not stop the invasion.  German U-Boats at the two ends of the channel would sink any ship that tried to hinder the invasion.  All that stood in the way was the RAF; any invasion force would be destroyed from the air if Germany did not have absolute air superiority. Thus began the Battle of Britain.  The German ME 109 fighter was every bit as agile as the British Spitfire and their pilots were more experienced and better trained.  But the Spitfire had one advantage; the higher compression engine running on high-octane fuel was faster.  The Spitfire pilot could pull away from and out-climb the ME 109.  If the dogfight was going badly a British pilot could get out and come back in a more advantageous position.  The German pilot could not get away from his attacker as easily. After the battle was over one RAF general said the difference in the Battle of Britain was 13 points of octane.

Few people realize that a salesman named James saved Western Civilization.  You may not have known he was a salesman at all.  Most people know him better as Gen. Jimmy Doolittle who led the first air raid on Tokyo.  But his greatest contribution to the war may have been to sell the RAF on the idea of high compression engines and 100-octane fuel.

Many times it is not the things we think of as important that have the greatest impact.   Our greatest contribution may be some little event or word that no one notices, but can change history or even eternity.