Category: Brother Al (Page 1 of 62)

Arron Renn  on his blog site, featured an article entitled “Christian Buddhism” by Dr. John Seel.   The opening sentence got my attention.  “A number of home grown features of today’s American evangelicalism echo Buddhist themes.”  We live in a mix and match world, where religious seekers are described as “Remixed.”  In Seel’s view there are Buddhist-like tendencies in conservative orthodox evangelical Christian circles due to a “low grade of biblical literacy” that leads “to an impotent faith that has little relevance in the real world of day-to-day existence.”  

There is a wide acceptance of a truncated gospel, that views the gospel as narrowly judicial and gnostic.  Forensic justification as a divine verdict of acquittal pronounced on the believing sinner, can make the cross the telos of Jesus’ redemptive purpose.  This view has been called the “two-chapter gospel” (fall + redemption) or the “gospel of sin management.”  But Dallas Willard and N. T Wright favor a kingdom-oriented gospel or a “four-chapter gospel” (creation +fall +redemption + restoration).  

The telos of the gospel is not merely dealing with the forensic guilt of sin but inaugurating a new kind of resurrection life within the believer.  The failure to appreciate a holistic understanding of the gospel is a “foundation flaw” of Christians today. Willard notes,  “The final hope of Christian is not simply ‘going to heaven,’ but resurrection into God’s new creation, the ‘new heaven and new earth.'” In other words, the gospel is not about getting you into heaven, but to get heaven into you via the indwelling presence of Christ through his Holy Spirit. 

An alternative spiritual story differs in three ways.  First, the story begins here, right now.  Willard maintains, “The gospel is the good news of the presence and availability of life in the kingdom, now and forever, through the reliance on Jesus the Anointed. ” Secondly, eternal life is an intimate interactive relationship with Jesus in daily life.  Thirdly, “the gospel is about making this invisible spiritual connection visible in our bodies and transformative in our world now.” Wright summarizes  this view by saying, “the work of salvation, in its full sense, is 1) about whole human beings, not merely souls, 2)about the present, not simply the future; and 3) about what God does through us, not merely what God does in and for us.”    

Seel sees the influence of Eastern religious perspective in three ways.  First, the aim is to connect with the divine spark within which is intrinsic to your being.  This brings about a sacralized autonomy or a spiritualized self-centeredness.  Secondly, this connection is invisible, immaterial, and impersonal. Rather than connecting to a person, we are connecting to a cosmic energy.  Thirdly, these connections do nothing to challenge  the autonomy of self.  These connections are all Gnostic in spirit.  

“But on closer examination, the promise of the gospel requires repenting of your self-centered life orientation, placing yourself before a personal and moral Creator, acknowledging your sin, and then through accepting the grace of the cross connecting to an indwelling incarnate presence of God within that becomes the presence, purpose and power of your life.”  The great tradition of  Christianity tells a much different and better story.  

My testimony – I daily cry out for discernment to have a clear understanding of my walk with Jesus.  I am not a Christian Buddhist.  Why!! 1) I confess I am a beloved sinner,  loved by God is my stink.  He saved me.  2) God lives within me.  I have joined the dance of the Trinity.  4)  I now live in the presence of the kingdom,  and 5) It is God who works in and through me, not myself.  All honor and glory go to Him.

In the book of Malachi, God, warns of religious worship actually being contemptuous of God, by offering defiled sacrifices in worship.   God accuses his people of despising him with their “shoddy, sloppy, defiling worship” (Mal 1:7 -Message).  “The altar of God is not important anymore; worship of God is no longer a priority ……And when you offer worthless animals for sacrifices in worship, animals that you’re trying to get rid of – the blind and sick and crippled animals – isn’t that defiling” (Mal. 1:8 – Message).  

God  exhorts them, “Get on your knees and pray that I will be gracious to you.  Your priests have gotten everyone in trouble.  With this kind of conduct, do you think I’ll pay attention to you” ( Mal 1:9).  God reminds them that all over the world He is honored and worshipped.  He, however, tells them, “All except you.  Instead of honoring me, you profane me.  You profane me when you say, ‘Worship is not important, and what we bring to worship is of no account,’ and when you say, ‘I’m bored – this doesn’t do anything for me.’….And when you do offer something to me, it’s a hand-me-down, or broken, or useless.  Do you think I’m going to accept it?” (Mal 1:12-13 – Message).

Then God expresses how serious he view shoddy, sloppy and defiling worship.  ” A curse on the person who makes a big show of doing something great for me – an expensive sacrifice, say – and then at the last minute brings in something puny and worthless!  I’m a great king, God-of-the Angel-Armies, honored far and wide, and I’ll not put up with it” (Mal. 1:14 – Message). 

I am convicted of how quiet I have been regarding the profane manner God is treated in our culture. As nation we have lost our way.  Our worship of God does not reflect an awe of an holy and almighty God.  Our worship is “shoddy, sloppy and defiling.” By dishonoring God with our indifference,  judgment can already be discerned by the faithful “watchmen” looking into the future.  Malachi’s prophecy is warning us, “Count on it: The day is coming, raging like a forest fire” Mal. 4:1 – Message).  “All the arrogant people who do evil things, will be burned up, like stove wood, burned to a crip, nothing left but scorching earth and ash – a black day” (Mal 4:2-3).  

But for those, whose worship is whole hearted and sincere it will be like a sunrise.  “The sun of righteousness will dawn on those who honor my name, healing radiating from its wings.  You will be bursting with energy, like colts, frisky and frolicking.  And you’ll tromp on the wicked. They’ll be nothing but ashes under your feet on that Day” (Mal. 4:2-3 – Message). 

Writing this blog on Malachi’s prophecy has convicted me.  I want to publicly make a commitment.  First, I will not be silent.  I will quietly, yet confidently warn those in my sphere of influence that God’s judgment is coming on a nation that profanes Him.  Secondly, I will make my warning as simply as this:  Jesus is Lord and King of all history – He has already won the battle – His kingdom is here – We have a choice to make – Make him Lord or suffer the consequences.  

Since I am in the fourth quarter of my life here on earth,  thirdly, I will “not be ashamed of the of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation of everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16).  Only Jesus can save us from ourselves and fourthly, I am willing to count the cost of following Jesus. “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Mark 8:34). 

This is the title of a new book by Noelle Mering.  She wrote a condensed article about the woke movement for Ralph Martin’s monthly newsletter.  She contends there are victims of the movement, who need healing.  There are those who, “have been given some poison of ideology that has harmed and wounded them.” Others have simply been deceived.  Then there are others who are “the source of the poison and need to be stopped.” This all causes confusion.  “Some people need to be befriended and listened to.  Other people need to be woken up.  And the people doing immediate harm need to be stopped.” 

The woke movement started in the Garden, where Adam and Eve were tempted to be as god.  “It is a self-deification movement,” writes Mering, “that corrodes the human person as well as friendships, families, and relationships.”  Following Marx, woke sees “every person either as an oppressor or the oppressed.” Marx believed, “the biggest obstacles to a revolution as faith, family, and the father.”  Why?  “All three give us a particular identity and help us to feel named and known.  They root us and give us purpose.” 

The poison of the movement is “a redefining of what a human is.”  According to Mering, woke has three dogmas.  “The first dogma emphasizes the group and sublimates the person.  It redefines humanity according to society’s hatred and demands uniformity of thought.  Identity is found in fighting oppression.  It creates a society looking for a perpetrator and seeking victimhood.”  Instead of being children of a loving God, “the movement defines us by society’s hatred.” 

The second dogma, “emphasizes will at the expense of reason.  It attempts to re-engineer society by claiming that society and humanity have no fundamental nature….our feelings and desires define us and that we should pursue transgressive identities…..moral law is oppressive and innocence is a form of dominance that must be destroyed.”  We are oppressed by our own internal repression, which is based on a moral law that is really a social construct and not actually real. 

The third dogma, “emphasizes power over authority.  It harms the whole family by targeting and weakening the father.  This harms our understanding of God as well.”  Targeting fathers implodes the human family.  But warms Mering, “the real target is our Lord.” 

But Mering is hopeful.  “Social re-engineers think,” observes Mering, “human nature is putty, but the human person longs for and is made to know, love, and serve God.”  The woke movement understands, “everything is systemically wrong around me.”  As believers we say, “What is wrong with me?  Mea culpa.”  Each of us is self-accused; We don’t accuse others.  “From there,” she declares, “we can bravely call out the lies that are harming people.”  “The thin veneer of ideology will not satisfy the human soul.  We all need to know they are named and known by God.”  

In my opinion, the poison of Woke has already done much harm to families and especially the young. Men, we need to be alert to the intention of this poison in our society.  We are no longer seen as beloved children of God, but victims of society’s hate.  The moral law and reason are  devalued, while personal choice is promoted.  Men need to know Woke has them in their crosshairs, with its emphasis on power over authority.  Mering points out that faith, family and faith are the biggest roadblocks in the movement, since any authority is seen as oppressive.

Men, don’t be deceived by this poison.  Don’t allow those in your family to be wounded.  We must wake up. “Awake, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will give you light” (Eph 5:14).   

I am preparing a meditation on Matthew 12:18-21.  Matthew is quoting a prophecy of Isaiah regarding Jesus.  He records these words just after the political and religious leaders of Jesus’ day wanting to kill him.  Mark’s gospel tells us, “Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.”  The religious and secular leaders, who did not care for each other, were united in their hatred of Jesus.  Imagine – they wanted to kill Jesus.

The influencers in our nation- the ones who shape the dominant narrative, want to get rid of the memory of King Jesus.  They are in the process of removing the memory and relevance of Jesus. But the true narrative sees things differently.  Pilate ask Jesus if he was a king.  Jesus replied, “Yes, it is as you say” (Luke 23:3)  Then Jesus let Pilate know, he is not in charge.  “You would have no power over me at all unless it were given to you from above” (John 19:11). Jesus was secure in his Lordship over all things, knowing, “The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands” (John 3:35).

Matthew 12 has a certain relevance in our day, when King Jesus is getting such bad press.  With all the confusion and uncertainty about who is really in charge of our nation, I gladly submit to King Jesus, He reign in all the earth and His final victory over evil is assured.  He taught us to pray, “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven’ (Matt. 6:10).

By this time in Jesus’ ministry, public opinion had already began to question his credibility.  He had to withdraw from the public, while still healing the sick.  But he warned them, “not to tell who he was” (Matt. 12:16).  Similar to our day, there are mixed opinions regarding Jesus.  

“Look at my servant, whom I have chosen.  He is my beloved, who pleases me” (v. 18).  Matthew challenge us to consider the lordship of Jesus.  Not only is he the beloved of the Father, but also the Father’s  chosen servant, coming into our world on a  rescue mission.  The Father loves him and is pleased in what he is doing.  

Then Isaiah notes, “I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations” (v. 18).  What an encouragement to each of us.  The very Spirit of God is upon Jesus.  Through his sojourn among us, He will straighten out all right and wrong.  He will be the final judge and jury in world affairs.  This is God’s promise to us.

In the meantime, “He will not fight or shout or raise his voice in public” (v. 19)  Wow, what a relief to hear these words.  King Jesus, who is working out justice on the earth will have no need to protest, demonstrate and shout for justice.  He simply will go about getting things in order, in a quiet and decisive manner

He will not use force or coercion to win over brutality and force.  Rather, “He will not crush the weakest reed or put out a flickering candle” (v. 20).  Imagine the hope and comfort in these words for the downtrodden and outcast in world affairs.  Remember his mother’s words, “He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble” (Luke 1:52).

Isaiah closes with these words, “Finally he will cause justice to be victorious.  And his name will be the hope of all the world” (v.  21-22). In Jesus we are truly “on the right side of history.”  Men, I pray today that your hope for a better future is in Jesus.   

I met recently with a male friend, I consider a “soul mate.”  He is someone with whom I can to talk about what is going on in my soul.  I have committed to allow him to know me for who I am – the good, the bad, and the ugly.  I want to be more of an honest man, integrating my head and heart. 

After our meeting together, I felt led to write a blog on my sharing with my friend.  I began by telling him how I had found myself, once again, in the pit.  As he listened to my story, he was helping my climb out, so I could walk in the light.  

Every man has this experience every now and then.  Each has his own unique pit.  The Psalmist knew what the pit was like.  Here are some descriptions of his actual experience. “Do not let the floodwaters engulf me or the depths swallow over me or the pit close its mouth over me” (Ps 69:15). This feels like a man either in the pit or aware that he is sinking.  

In Ps. 143:7 the palmist descriptions himself actually sinking. “Answer me quickly, O Lord; my spirit fails.  Do not hide your face from me or I will be like those who go down to the pit.”  This is definitely a cry for help.

The Psalmist in Psalm 103:4 expresses thanks for God’s help in getting out of the pit.  “…..who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion.” 

Reading and meditating on Ps. 40:2, I find real help  when I feel myself in the pit.  “He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.” Down in the pit it is slimy; God places us on solid ground.

In Psalm 30 the Psalmist expresses, “I will exalt you, O Lord, for you lifted me out of the depths.”  (Psalm 30:1). He goes on to testify, “O Lord, you brought me up from the grave; you spared me from going down into the pit” (v. 3).  He questions his experience of being in the pit.  “What gain is there in my destruction, in my going down into the pit?  Will the dust praise you?  Will it proclaim your faithfulness? (v. 9).

Psalm 88 is a very dark Psalm, as it expressed a desperate cry for help.  The Psalmist prays, “For my soul is full of trouble and my life draws near the grave.  I am counted among those who go down to the pit; I am like a man without strength.”

For many years I avoided talking about the times I felt in the pit.  It was not continues, but circumstances would cause me to fall into a pit time and again.  My confession, which is not easy to make, is that I so often felt like a little boy, feeling sorry for myself.  Feeling full of self-pity and self-loathing caused me to be angry with myself for failing to be at the “top of my spiritual game.” 

My testimony is that with my friend Bruce, I could  get beyond my shame, acknowledge freely my self-centeredness, while wanting to be back on the surface out of the “miry clay.”  A true friend will not look down into the pit to either scold  or exhort you to get out.  He might come down into the pit, and encourage you  But most of all he will listen, acknowledge your condition in the pit, and point  you to Jesus, while saying “Al, cry out for mercy and grace.”  God will pull me out.  

This is the title of a blog  by Ronald Rolheiser, a Catholic spiritual writer.  He makes reference to Carmelite nun, Constance Fitzgerald, who uses the word “impasse” in reference to the dark night of the soul.  She visualizes the dark night as a crucible of purifying in which, “the way out is the way through.”   “We are  unable to go back to the way things were, nor able to move forward.  All the former ways we understood. imagined and felt about things, especially in relation to God, faith and prayer, no longer worked for us.  We are unable to  think, imagine or feel our way out.  We are stuck at an impasse – no way back and no way forward.  How do we move beyond the impasse?”

The impasse has shown me my spiritual immaturity, along with the lack of depth in my spiritual formation. I have  been learning to live in the “dark night”  crying out for God to be merciful, as I allow him to transform more of my life into the image of Jesus. It has been a bumpy ride for me, learning slowly to give up control and  the need to understand.   In this journey, God’s Word has been my guide, as I have learned to listen to the deep longing of my soul. My thoughts and feelings have had to be refined through pain and confusion. This is the ultimate liminal space, a crucible in which I  needed to be purified. 

“The way out of a dark night of this kind,” notes Rolheiser, “is through ‘contemplation‘,  staying with the impasse, waiting patiently inside it, and waiting for God to break the impasse by transforming our imagination, intellect, and heart…..this impasse is a challenge for us to become mystics, not that we begin to search for extraordinary religious experience, but that we let our disillusion, broken symbols, and failed meanings become the space wherein God can reset our faith, feelings, imagination and intellect inside a new horizon wherein everything is radically reinterpreted.” 

So what should our response be?  Rolheiser asks, “How do we contemplate?”  “We do it by sitting in the  tension, helpless, patient, open, waiting, and staying there however long it takes for us to receive in the depth of our souls a new way of imagining, thinking, and feeling about God, faith, and prayer – beyond the impasse.”  This impasse notes Rolheiser, “is precisely what assures us that the new vision which is given to us comes from God and is not the product of our imagination or projection or self-interest.”  

Until the early 80’s I had no idea of this rich contemplative stream found within the Catholic tradition.  I have been immersed in this stream ever since, while not leaving my evangelical, biblical roots.  Jesus’ prayer in  John 17:26 has been a guide for me: “I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”   I am invited into the loving relationship with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  This gets to the heart of the contemplative journey with the Lord.

Here are some phrases from the article I identified with: 1) crucible of purifying – often a painful death to my ego,  2) “an impasse”- patiently waiting in the Lord’s presence,  3) contemplation –  receiving from God without my self imposed filters,  4)  Mystic – loving intimate relationship.   

Don’t let the word “mystic” scare you.  A mystic is simply one, who loves Jesus and wants to be conformed to his image.  “For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God” (Col 3:3)

A new pro-life song by singer Rachel Holt was a surprising success recently on the  country music charts.  According to the song’s sponsor, Patriot Mobile, “The single was released Friday and quickly soared to Top 10 on ITunes Country Charts and reached #5 Sunday Evening.  It reached #1 on PopVortex’s most downloaded music videos and today remains in the top two.”

The song was composed by songwriter Chris Wallen.  He wrote it from the perspective of a baby that never had a chance to be born.  Wallen said, “I just wanted people to hear the voice of the voiceless.”   Wallen had his doubts about any artist having the courage to sing the song.  But a relatively unknown teenage artist, Rachel Holt took  the project on even though she was warned about the attacks she would face.  

The first verse goes like this: “Some don’t believe I’m a livin’ soul / Just a bad mistake that needs to go / If my momma could’ve just seen my face / Then maybe she would’ve had me anyway.”   The chorus is as follows. “And all I wanted was a chance / To learn to love, and laugh, and dance / Oh, but I was gone before I arrived / Sent back to Heaven on a starlight flight / Yeah, I was gonna change the world /  And I was gonna be a girl.”  

I agree with the comments made in the Daily Citizen.  “Every abortion is a great tragedy because every abortion ends the life of a baby……. Reaching more women with the message that their preborn child is just that – a child – is vitally important.  Songs like the one above are just one way to influence the culture and save lives of preborn babies.”

Abortion calls into question the value of each human soul.  I take to heart God’s words to Jeremiah, “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb.  Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my spokesman to the world” (Jer. 1:5).  In a similar manner God spoke to Isaiah about his birth. “Before I was born the Lord called me; from my mother’s womb he has spoken my name.” ( Is. 49:1).  Men, never forget you are not an accident.  God called you into being before you were born.  You are intended to flourish in the sphere of influence God has given you.  

Know that you are not a mistake.  You were planned from all eternity. This will go a long way in motivating you to take a stand for the defenseless unborn.  Learn to celebrate the joy and privilege God has given you to shepherd and nurture your children.  “How happy are those who fear the Lord – all who follow his ways!  You will enjoy the fruit of your labor.  How happy you will be!  How rich your life!” (Ps 128:1-2). 

Learn to see your children as gifts from the Lord.  “Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him.  Children born to a young man are like  sharp arrows in a warrior’s hands.  How happy is the man whose quiver is full of them!  He will not be put to shame when he confronts his accusers at the city gates.” (Ps 127:3-5). 

If God has blessed you with children, see them as God’s gift not as a burden or mistake.  They are like “sharp arrows.”  A  godly man  raising his children does not have to apologize but rather see himself as following God’s call to be fruitful and multiply.  Then you will not subscribe to the words of the song, “Some don’t believe I’m a livin’ soul \ Just a bad mistake that needs to go.”  

Bard  Wilcox’s new book, “Get Married” has caused quite a discussion regarding the state of marriage in American  culture.  Wilcox points out the single best predictor of long-term happiness is marriage.  “Americans,” notes Wilcox, “who are married with children are now leading happier and more prosperous lives, on average, than men and women who are single and childless.”  In fact, there is a, “startling 30-percentage-point happiness divide between married and unmarried Americans.”  

In an interview given to “Public Discourse,” Wilcox listed five forces behind the diminution of marriage in American life.  These factors, “have been championed by the elites who control the commanding heights of our culture, economy and government,” notes Wilcox.  Here are the five dynamics identified by Wilcox.

First – Expressive individualism – living for the desires and ambitions of the self, rather than for family and community.

Second – Secularization – the decline of religious authority and practice, which has diminished the normative power of marriage and the social supports that sustain marriage.

Third –  the rise of a post-industrial economy – making disadvantaged non-college-educated men, less “marriageable.’

Fourth – Statism – “the modern state’s tendency to supplant many of the functions and much of the authority once held by the family.”

Fifth – Electronic opiates – “Big Tech’s products have left too many young women anxious and depressed and too many men bereft of drive and ambition.”

He adds this observation, “Dominant elites have advanced ideas that devalue and demean marriage, cast aside the normative guardrails that forge strong families, passed laws that penalize marriage for the poor and working class, and superintended the rise of a new economy that benefits them but puts marriage and family out of reach for millions of their fellow Americans.”  He worries that we are facing a “closing of the American Heart,” in a nation where a large number of young adults will never marry and-or never have children. 

Demographer Lyman Stone projects that as many as one in three young adults will never marry and as many as one in four will never have kids.  Wilcox declares, “That’s a lot of kinless Americans.”  So where does this leave us as men who want to make a difference, as followers of Jesus?  Here are some suggestions.

1) God’s view of reality.  I strongly exhort men to view  marriage and family as the foundation of our society.  Don’t listen to the voice of the crowd, “the empty-headed, mindless crowd” (Eph. 4:17 MSG).  Paul says, “They’ve refused for so long to deal with God that they’ve lost touch not only with God, but with reality itself.  They can’t think straight anymore.  Feeling no pain, they let themselves go in sexual obsession, addicted to every sort of perversion” (Eph. 4:18-19 MSG).  

2) Commit yourself to be an exemplar in your marriage.  Pope John Paul IV considered marriage to be prophetic in its expression of the body and sex, proclaiming  “a profound mystery” of Christ and the church (Eph. 5:32).  Visualize your marriage as a prophetic expression of God’s love expressed in Christ.  Your marriage can stand as a light in a very dark world.

3)  Know that you are in a fight with the enemy of our souls.  The Pope noted, the union of the sexes, “is placed at the center of the great struggle between good and evil, between life and death, between love and all that is opposed to love.”  As we commit to our marriages, we will be fighting a significant battle against the enemy

4) Be joined to and committed to a group of believers who will encourage, support and interceded for your marriage.  

5) Commit to be available to younger men, who so desperately need exemplars in their lives.   

I was meditating on Ps. 11 recently.  Verse 3 visualize my experience as I watch nightly news.  “The foundations of law and order have collapsed.  What can the righteous do?”   In this Psalm, David  affirms his faith in a righteous, unchanging God.  “Even though the world appears hopelessly chaotic, both the godly and the wicked can count on God’s justice.  The godly can depend on him as a refuge and shelter” (NLT Study Bible). 

I  want to encourage younger men, committed to follow Jesus, in their concern for their families in the midst of our chaotic, changing world.  Make the commitment expressed by David, “I trust in the Lord for protection” (v. 1).  We can be assured of our trust in an unchanging God, who laid the very foundations of the world.  “In ages past you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands” (Ps. 102:25).  The creative order will change, but not our unchanging God. “Even they will perish, but you remain forever; they will wear out like old clothing.  You will change them like a garment and they will fade away” (Ps 102:26). 

God remains the same.  He never changes.  This should give us absolute confidence in the future of our children and grandchildren.  I personally take great comfort in these verses. “But you are always the same; your years never end.  The children of your people will live in security.  Their children’s children will thrive in your presence” (Ps 102:27-28).

You could be asking, as you listen to the dominant narrative of our day, why should I put my trust in the Lord.  “So why do you say to me, ‘Fly to the mountains for safety!'”  (Ps 11:1). It sounds like the phrase, “Head for the hills!”  Many men  are tempted to abandon responsibility for being protector and exemplar of their families and heading for the hills. It sure can be tempting, when those who are opposed to the sovereignty of God continue to shoot their arrows at us, often from the shadows. “The wicked are stringing their bows and setting their arrows in the bowstrings.  They shoot from the shadows at those who do right” (Ps 11:2)  

Habakkuk lamented the loss of law and order, “Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails.  The wicked hem in the righteous, so the justice is perverted” (Hab 1:4).  But the Psalmist assures us, “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you” (Ps 89:14).  But David acknowledges, “The Lord is in his holy temple, the Lord still rules from heaven. He watches everything closely, examining everyone on earth” (Ps 11:4). 

After Job’s long lament before God in which he did not get any satisfactory answers from his three friends, God finally replied to Job from the whirlwind. “Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorant words?  Brace yourself, because I have some questions for you and you must answer them.  ‘Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?  Tell me, if you know so much.  Do you know how its dimensions were determined and who laid its cornerstone as the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy? (Job 38:1-7).  Job replied, “I was talking about things I did not understand, things for too wonderful for me …. I take back everything I said, and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance” (Job 42:3 & 6).

Men, don’t let “the talking heads” cause you to wonder if God is still on his throne.  Remember, “For the Lord is righteous and he loves justice.  Those who do what is right will see his face” (Ps 11:7)