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Of Thanksgiving and uniformitarianism

"First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, "Where is this 'coming' he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation" (2 Peter 3:3-4 NIV).

Do you remember when you were young and you thought that "everything goes on" as it always has?

When I was young I remember Thanksgiving Day was always at my grandmother's house in the country. I loved being there with all the cousins playing in the barn and in the creek waiting for Granny to call us to dinner. Every year was the same... until it wasn't. One year, Granny didn't feel like cooking for everyone anymore. So, Thanksgiving was at my house that year. No cousins. No barn or creek. Just our family in our suburban home with a turkey breast instead of a whole bird. It was good. But it wasn't the same.

After Robin and I were married, we started going to her parent's home in the country for Thanksgiving. In a way it felt like a return to my youth. Driving out into the hills, around the curvy rural roads, even the trip to their house was familiar. Our three children grew up with this tradition. For most of our 31 years of marriage, every Thanksgiving Day was marked by a trip to the hills of Virginia to eat turkey, go hiking, shoot guns, and be with family.

Then, suddenly it was over. Without warning, Robin's father died of a heart attack in the Fall of 2008 and then her mother passed in January of this year. The funerals have taken place. The house in the hills is sold. The estate is settled. Thanksgiving will have to find a new home.

That brings me to a thought about uniformitarianism. Many scientists believe that the state and rate of processes at work in the universe today are unchanged from those in the past. Their view has led to an explanation for the origin of the world based on gradual change over billions of years. The theory of evolution is dependent on this view.

I haven't lived for billions of years, but in my 52, I've seen a lot of change. When change comes, it comes suddenly, not gradually. And it comes without warning.

The apostle Peter said that in the "last days scoffers" would come, scoffing about Christ's coming again. He said that they would reason that things are "as they have always been." He said they would argue against changes they had never seen.

But the Bible says that the history of the world is marked by sudden Divine interruptions. God suddenly created the cosmos in a matter of six days. After centuries went by, God swiftly judged the earth with a worldwide deluge, destroying all that breath and rescuing Noah and his family. A few more millennia passed and God abruptly sent Jesus into the world to become flesh and offer Himself as a sacrifice for our sins.

The Bible says that this same Jesus will come again. Suddenly, without warning, like a "thief in the night," Christ will return. History is not circular as the Eastern religions suppose. Nor is it uniform as some scientists reason. It is linear and moves as the Author of Creation moves it, from beginning to end.

Peter warns us that the sameness of the day to day can lead to a kind of ennui and sleepy living. He warns us to wake up, because something is going to happen that changes everything.

Thanksgiving Day is at our house this year. Robin and I are the new grandparents and we're having the whole family over for turkey with all the fixins. Our grandkids will begin to think that this is how it has always been. But we're older and wiser now. We know better.

We are fully awake and watching for the sudden changes that God brings into human history, especially the promised appearance of His Son, Jesus Christ.

Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

Pseudo Christianity

"There will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them-- bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute" (2 Peter 2:1-2 NIV).

The Greek word for false teacher found in 2 Peter 2:1 is pseudodidaskalos. The prefix pseudo means false, fradulent, misleading, or pretending to be something you're not. A pseudo is a counterfeit of that which is authentic.

Speaking of counterfeits, one of the two $20 bills pictured here is real and the other is a counterfeit. Can you tell which?

I used to work in retail and we trained our cashiers to watch out for counterfeit money, especially $20 bills (the most often counterfeited bill). How did we train them? We had them examine a real $20 bill closely, to become familiar with its look and feel. The best way to identify a counterfeit is to be intimately acquainted with the real thing.

In Peter's second letter he warns us to wake up to the pseudo Christian teachers that infiltrate the church. At first glance they look like the real thing, but upon closer examination, they turn out to be counterfeits. Peter says that these pseudo Christians "bring the way of truth into disrepute." In other words, pseudo Christianity causes the gospel to lose attraction in the culture.

I see a lot of pseudo Christianity in our country, especially in the so-called "Bible-belt." But what we need is a people who will live out the real thing. We need authentic Christians. How? By getting to know the true Word of God and living according to the power of the living Word, Jesus.

And then, we'll know the difference between that which is pseudo and that which is real (By the way, the top $20 is real).

Taking it to the streets

"Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame" (Luke 14:21 NIV).

We took our church to the streets again this past weekend at Wilson's Whirligig Festival. This was our third year setting up a booth at the festival. Last year, over 20,000 attended the weekend event. The sudden cold snap probably reduced the crowds a little this year, but our booth stayed busy anyway. In fact, we surpassed last year's fund raiser for Hope Station (a local food pantry and homeless shelter) by raising $1,358.00!

Sonny Allen, our WCC Director of Contribution and his great team, led this churchwide effort for us. They had our WCCers selling cotton candy and raffle tickets for a donated laptop and rocking chair. We offered a special section for kids too, with free hair-painting and a craft table where they could build their own whirligig!

It was fun taking our church to the streets while raising money to help Hope Station. We made a lot of friends, we supported our city, and I think we obeyed Christ's parable in Luke 14 to "go out" and take our church to the streets.

Making friends at our future home

"I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings" (Luke 16:9 NIV).

We had our first event at our future home this past Sunday night! We hung signs, lit up our new parking lot, cooked "Hallo-weenies," put on costumes and filled our trunks with candy to give the kids in our community a safe place to celebrate Halloween.

I know that many Christians are concerned about celebrating "worldly" holidays. We understand that concern. But rather than condemn, we decided to offer a fun, free, and safe alternative. We gave away hundreds of dollars of candy, sodas, and nearly 500 hotdogs. We made hundreds of friends and had an awesome time doing it. We like to use worldly wealth (or worldly holidays) to gain friends.

I've noticed that when you take the time to make friends, people are more open to hear what you have to say. So, at WCC we are working to ...

Build a bridge of trust, that will bear the weight of truth.

In the meantime, we're having fun using the culture to reach out to people. I'm thankful for a church family (and my crazy family) that understands this.

I'm praying for more "crazy" friends that will follow Christ's teaching to "use worldly wealth" for reaching our world for Him.