Light-work

Overcomers and Drop-Outs

Yesterday, we made two observations. (1) The term, "overcomer," that is used in the book of Revelation is simply another title for a "true Christian." (2) The overcomer is willing to die for his faith. He loves the Lord more than life itself and overcomes by thwarting others' attempts to compromise that love. This seems clear enough. But we have to ask, "Is someone who fails to 'overcome' because he denies the Lord not a 'true Christian?'" Our notion of what constitutes a "normal believer" doesn't seem to include this courage that thunders, "Die before deny!" Isn't the whole martyr gig for the Stephen's of the world, and surely not the stuff of ordinary Joes for Jesus?

It is common in today's church to encourage people to pray a "sinner's prayer." It's a good idea! But the simplicity of this moment has potential to reinforce a really bad idea, "Insurance Policy Salvation." When a man says, "Yea, I prayed 'the prayer' a long time ago so I'm good with the man upstairs," it is appropriate to ask if that prayer was about getting fire insurance or the day a fire for God got started! A man can receive salvation in such a moment of prayer, but if he truly has been saved, we ought to be able to see some changes. James would say that faith without works is dead. Faith without change is lifeless faith. Living faith changes a man.

The true state of a man's faith is not always obvious. True, the Lord knows those who are His. But, we can be fooled. Even an apostle like John admits to being taken in, for a time, by some pretenders: They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us (1 John 2:19). There were some in the congregation who gave the appearance of being the real thing. But only when they bailed from the fellowship to pursue an agenda of opposing Christ were their true colors revealed. Perhaps these pretenders "prayed the prayer," but they demonstrated the falseness of that prayer by their actions.

The overcomer is the real deal. Striking evidence is provided by his willingness to be steadfast when following Christ is accomplished by carrying a cross. True believers are willing to die for Jesus. I don't hear this principle talked about much in our pulpits. Not a good sign! It ought to be preached - because it conveys something profoundly encouraging. A marketing slogan queries, "Is it in you?" For the true believer, the answer is a resounding "yes," and we're not talking about sugar water. When someone genuinely surrenders to Christ, he receives the capacity to stand for Christ despite the cost. If you know Jesus, then the capacity to "overcome" is in you. You can do this!

What Overcomers Overcome

Each of the seven churches addressed in Revelation chapters 2-3 receives an "overcomer promise." Here's one: “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God” (Rev 2:7).

The other six promises have a similar three part format. (1) They are each preceded by a call for careful consideration, "He who has an ear, let him hear...." (2) The condition is identified by the phrase "To him who overcomes." (3) The result for those who successfully overcome is a profound benefit, although it is variously described as "eat of the tree of life," "not be hurt by the second death," receive "hidden manna, ...a white stone, and a new name," receive "authority over the nations," be made a "pillar in the temple of My God...," and granted to "sit down with Me on my throne." All of these promises are associated with the "finish line" that is described in the last two chapters of the book, chapters 21-22.

A road-map shows what to expect and how to prepare for the journey. Revelation is just such a road-map. The drama that plays out in Revelation 4-20 describes events "before the finish." It identifies the obstacles that will cause some to fail. It points out critical route markers that will indicate when the goal is near. It provides exactly the information an aspiring overcomer could use to great advantage in his journey to the finish line.

So who is an overcomer? View one: This term is synonymous with a "true Christian?" Or, view two, this is a description of a super saint who rises above the norm? View one is preferable. The benefits offered the "overcomer" are no different from what is promised to the true follower of Jesus. If the benefit, "eat of the tree of life," for example, is only available to super saints, where does that leave the less than super saints? Not in a very good place! Conclusion: The fact that the successful overcomer is promised benefits which are extended to all genuine disciples of Jesus tells me that "overcomer" is simply another term for a "true Christian."

Holding this position does raise a sobering question. Some of the characteristics of an overcomer seem to surpass what we would consider "normal" Christianity. For example, the overcomer is one who "keeps my deeds until the end" Rev. 2:26). The overcomer is compared to Jesus who "overcame" by completing His earthly mission (Rev. 3:21), a mission that culminated in His death. In Rev 12:11, overcomers are described as those who "did not love their life even when faced with death." Overcomers don't seem to overcome death, indeed, their victory is somehow secured in death. So what, exactly, does the overcomer overcome? Rev. 15:2 answers that the overcomers' victory is "over the beast, and his image, and the number of his name." The overcomer might not beat death (although he will beat the "second death!"), but he beats the beast at his game of compelling allegiance to himself.

It is not possible to appreciate these verses without concluding that the overcomer represents the true Christian, but his true Christianity includes a surpassing devotion to the Lord. The overcomer shows us that a true believer is willing to die for his faith. His is a simple and uncompromised devotion: He loves the Lord more than life itself. He would rather die than deny his Savior.

This is SO Encouraging!

The Federal Reserve (sometimes called "the Fed") is the central banking system of the United States created in 1913. Despite its title, the Federal Reserve is not very federal. Twelve privately owned regional banks are the heart of this system. A link between these banks and the government is provided by a "Board of Governors." The seven members of this committee are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate for staggered terms of fourteen years. Ben Bernanke is the most well-known member of the committee and is currently completing a four year term as its chairman.

The Board of Governors operates under the watchful eyes of its Inspector General. According to its website, "the Office of Inspector General (OIG) is also responsible for preventing and detecting waste, fraud, and abuse at the Board, among other duties. The OIG achieves its legislative mandate through audits, evaluations, investigations, legislative reviews, and by keeping the Chairman of the Board and Congress fully informed."

So if you want to know what these private "Federal Reserve Banks" are doing, you would check in with the Board of Governors. And if you want to know if any monkey business is afoot among the Board of Governors, you would get a report from the Inspector General. So when you watch this video clip of recent testimony from the OIG, Ms. Elizabeth Coleman, I'm sure you will join me in breathing a sigh of relief and declaring, "This is SO encouraging!"

By the way, the cool cucumber asking the questions is Alan Grayson (D), representative from Florida's District 8. This testimony was given on May 12, 2009. 

Letter to Marsha

Marsha Blackburn is the House Representative from my district, the seventh in Tennessee. I am grateful for the fact that she has been outspoken about the State of Tennessee's experiment with universal health care, called "Tenn-Care." It nearly bankrupted the state before being attacked by sanity. One key "lesson learned" from the Tenn-Care debacle was that projected costs proved to be only one fourth of actual costs. Not a good sign for Obama-Care!

I sent her a letter today and thought I might invite your comments. Should Ms. Blackburn respond, I'll be sure to let you know. There is MUCH MORE I have to say about this issue, but letters to Congress have to be short and sweet, so here it is:

Dear Congressman Blackburn,

I am grateful for your service as my Representative for the 7th district. Particularly because of your membership on the Energy and Commerce Committee, I thought it prudent to express my thoughts on HR3200. Although we seem to share similar views, I have put a few thoughts in writing to clearly express what I want you, as my Representative, to convey to Congress and Committee.

My first concern has to do with a failure to appreciate the wisdom of Proverbs 18:13: He who gives an answer before he hears, it is folly and shame to him. As it pertains to HR3200, passage of a bill before a proper reading, let alone a thorough examination and thoughtful consideration, is a disgrace! Your insistence on a 72 hour preview, including on-line publication, is an improvement, and one I support. But it falls far short: A meaningful assessment of the provisions, costs, and implications of this massive bill should be provided to every Representative’s district. An adequate period and suitable mechanism for public comment ought to also be provided. Anything less betrays this frantic approval process as an attempt to sell a pig-in-a-poke. Show me the pig!

My second concern has to do with a violation of what I call “the hungry man” principle based on Prov. 16:26: A worker’s appetite works for him, for his hunger urges him on. When a man’s need is met without his associated effort, why should he expend his energies? Does HR3200 satisfy one man’s need at the cost of another’s labors? Then it subsidizes the lethargy of the former while penalizing the industry of the latter. This is a sure path to the ruin of a people, not their improvement.

Both of these are acute concerns, but they pale by comparison to a third. There is no warrant in the Constitution of the United States for the programs HR3200 establishes. In the absence of such a warrant, the Tenth Amendment is clear in denying the federal government the power to impose compulsory participation in government subsidized health care on the people of the  United States. Congress should apply its energies to the responsibilities clearly assigned it by the Constitution. All unassigned responsibilities are not its legitimate domain. HR3200 is the kind of meddling the original framers of the Constitution would have immediately and unanimously condemned. I’m with them!

Thank you for your attentiveness to my concerns.

Sincerely,
D. James Fleming

Holy Hatred!

"Hate Crimes Legislation" attempts to make murder more egregious when it is motivated by hate. You might get the impression that hatred always makes things worse. No so, according to the Bible. In Revelation 2:6, Jesus commends an ancient church by saying, "Yet this you do have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate." Jesus considers it an earmark of a healthy church when they have a holy hatred for the same thing He hates.

If hating what God hates is a good thing, it's worth asking, “Are there other things that God hates?” Twenty are specifically mentioned in the Bible: The Lord hates the sacrifice of children to false gods (Deuteronomy 12:31); sacred pillars (Deuteronomy 16:22); those who do iniquity (Psalm 5:5); the one who loves violence (Psalm 11:5); hypocritical or heartless worship (Isaiah 1:14); robbery in the burnt offering (Isaiah 61:8); idolatry (Jeremiah 44:4); those who do wickedness (Hosea 9:15); impure worship (Amos 5:21); evil schemes against others and perjury (Zechariah 8:17); divorce and wrong-doing (Malachi 2:16). In Proverbs 6:16-19, we have a complete laundry list of the Lord’s “top seven” hatreds.

   

There are six things which the Lord hates,
    Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him:
    Haughty eyes, a lying tongue,
    And hands that shed innocent blood,
    A heart that devises wicked plans,
    Feet that run rapidly to evil,
    A false witness who utters lies,
    And one who spreads strife among brothers.

This list orbits around two poles: False worship and mistreatment of others. The Lord loves it when we love God and love our neighbors. Here’s the hard-edged flip side: He HATES it when we do otherwise. The Lord finds false worship and false dealings with others absolutely distasteful. So when we can’t stand worship that is fake and compromised, when we are disgusted by injustice and mistreatment of others, that’s when Jesus says, “I can’t stand that either – it’s nice to meet a kindred spirit.”

In these oh-so-tolerant times, it is decidedly out of fashion to break from the homogenized spirituality that has become the norm. Oh, we might get our groove on for some praise singing, maybe even give the preacher an "Amen" now and then, but heaven forbid we develop the kind of fierce passion for God that gets worked up over the things He despises. Where are the lovers of God who share His hatred for what is unholy?