In the chaos of the quest for dominance people seem to have forgotten that the majesty of morality cannot ever be achieved by legislation of any kind. If God was going to establish his kingdom on the Sinai Covenant that would be abundantly clear, but the New Testament makes no such appeal. The need for a prophetic voice has been exclusively vetted in the person and work of the Messiah.

If the American Judeo Christian platform is trustworthy then we must admit that there is no progress for the meek of the earth. The thousands of pastors, evangelists, deliverance ministers, and teachers seem to have lost their first love. There is not a single voice or pen that has stepped into the breech to call out the xenophobia and oppression of the poor or the greed and violence of the patriotic class.

It is not possible that the servants of Christ do not recognize the injustice and moral decay that America and most of the modern states have refused to confess. The excellence of Christ that Peter says we were called from darkness to proclaim is hidden under a mountain of legal nonsense. It is not the cross that drives their agenda, but law. They will, as a result, take the side of the beastly and satanic world order – to be seen as law-abiding. They have already shown that they are more interested in the unborn than in the living. It suits their agenda that mass murders are unstoppable because someone is profiting excessively from the sale of weapons.

The one thing that defines Christianity is often discarded once a person is received into fellowship. New believers find themselves looking up at Moses and wondering how could such a thing happen. The culture of works – filthy rag rightrousness – has stilled the prophetic voice of Christ and his apostles. Without a direct line to Messianic sayings and deeds the voice of authority is a mere window-dressing whisper.

We have all been trying to interpret what the various messages mean for us, but it sometimes seem as if the goals are either to apply the idea before its relevance and its unique connection to reality are discovered or to find some metaphorical application of everything we read. The instructions about holiness and removing uncleanness, for example, have no place in an informed environment when the procedure ends in someone being stoned to death. The proclamations about what God is and the actions he engages in are also major turning points. The filters we use for separating the enduring pieces of revelaton from the expected, desired, and probable. We will see that rightly-dividing however will affect a verse, a sentence, a paragraph, and it does take courage to separate faith and life from fear and works.

As judge God will not be found accusing and seeking the condemnation of anyone. Despite the loud claims for capital lunishment as the ultimate verdict againts wrongdoing it has no place in civic – much less Christian – society.

The shepherd and his shepherding

“The Lord is my shepherd” states what is. He does not stop being my shepherd, no matter what the sheep’s condition or situation. The actions the shepherds performs are many, all in recognition of the sheep’s needs.

• (I) lack
• makes me lie down
• leads (me)
• makes my soul return
• (I) walk
• (I) fear
• (he) comforts
• you prepare
• anoint
• pursues (me)
• (I) dwell

The thirsty sheep may not be in the field to eat the grass but Yahweh is still shepherd. The sheep may not see or even recognize the overflowing cup, but Yahweh is still shepherd.

A similar relationship between fact and action, between what is and what happens appears in the Lord’s sayings about the identity iof His disciples. When he says “You are the light of the world” he states what is, not what we can try to become. We are well aware of what light’s functions are. If we do not believe that we are light or salt of living stones we will never consent to the mysteries flowing through us. Lamps do not light themselves, and their light streams as naturally as a fig tree bears figs.

Separating the trust from the fear

The difference between what one does and who one is cannot be corrected by trying to adjust what one is. That requires a creative/redemptive act. When I lack, I know I am his sheep. What God says is, is. Accepting that fact seems to be the hub of fearful and unfruitful lives. We cannot get a glimpse of the actions God initiates on our behalf if we do not fully embrace what he says is the framework – He’s our shepherd. When our life is being drained, when we are in death’s valley, we have our shepherd and he is with us. In this frame, Immanuel comes alive for the believer and there is no condition that separates the beloved from the Lover.

It is my birthday. My dad had 88 of them, and mother had 92. If you imagine that I have a few octagenarian relatives and exceptional caregivers among them, you are right.  The days I spent in their frontline care amount to the full number of their share of their days. As I celebrate this marker I am full of gratitude for them and for all the people who have stood courageously beside me, those who have quietly made sure there was wind under my wings to keep me aloft. 

This birthday is more than happy. The many things I dreamed of as a juvenile and as a young adult that are today’s reality are momentous. To understand my destiny as wrapped up in my village, in the capital city of my native land, and the specific ideals passed on to me, is to understand the popularity of injustice and insensitivity and the youthful courage to resist.

Above all, I have learned that resistance is futile when destiny calls and now the stars are in procession for triumph. I have learned to honour my siblings – love really begins at home – ECL, EVU, and WW.