In Memoriam

by Joshua Bland

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of visiting the World War II memorial in Washington DC. While there were other things going on during my time in the capital, this was the one stop to which I was most looking forward. Because of delays, it was removed from the itinerary of the group with which I was travelling; thankfully, on the last day I had some time on my own to make the trip to honor all of the soldiers of this era in general and one in particular.

My Papa fought in the Pacific campaign. He returned home to the States and worked hard to make a life for his family. He lived on the same street his entire life; and for the majority of my life, I lived right across the road from him. I can not begin to estimate how many times my sister and I would visit him after school or have lunch with him on weekends, holidays, and during summer break. While I am unable to count the number of times we talked as he sat in his recliner and smoked his pipe, I can remember the conversations and the impact he made on my life.

Several months ago, we laid my Papa to rest just a few miles from home. He received full military honors. It was an incredible honor to serve as one of his pallbearers and to participate in the ceremony. At the time, I already had my DC excursion on the calendar; that very day, the summer trip took on a whole new meaning for me.

Going to the World War II memorial became a personal mission to pay further respect to my grandfather and the men and women who served alongside him. The desire to honor our predecessors and heroes is natural to us. It is ingrained in us by American culture, although this is not strictly an American idea. Instead, it takes varying forms throughout every culture in the world.

In the Bible, building memorials had a twofold purpose: (1) to remember men, women, and events, and (2) to acknowledge the work of God in history. Building memorials is especially prevalent in the Old Testament, though we do see references to this cultural tradition in the New Testament. Let's look briefly at one biblical memorial described in Joshua 4:1-7:

"Now it came about when all the nation had finished crossing the Jordan, that the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying 'Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from each tribe, and command them, saying, 'Take up for yourselves twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, from the place where the priests' feet are standing firm, and carry them over with you, and lay them down in the lodging place where you will lodge tonight.'' So Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the sons of Israel, one man from each tribe; and Joshua said to them, 'Cross again to the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan, and each of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel. Let this be a sign among you, so that when your children ask later, saying, 'What do these stones mean to you?' then you shall say to them, 'Because the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off.'' So these stones shall become a memorial to the sons of Israel forever."

The construction of a single memorial is here described; yet, look at all of the things it stands for: the twelve tribes of Israel, the waters of the Jordan being cut off, the Israelites' passage through the Jordan, and the camp site where the Israelites stayed after crossing. If we look back into the previous chapter, we find that there is even more symbolism: "And Joshua said, 'By this you shall know that the living God is among you, and that He will assuredly dispossess from before you the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Hivite, the Perizzite, the Girgashite, the Amorite, and the Jebusite" (Joshua 3:10). This event signifies a promise of the inheritance of the promised land by God's chosen people.

We could look at many more examples. In many cases and across many cultures, memorials are physical, constructed by man for a specific purpose. Memorials may also be ritual. A biblical example of a ritual memorial is that of the Passover, which is described in Exodus 12; this ritual is redefined under the New Covenant, and the apostle Paul gives a discussion over it in 1 Corinthians 11:23-34.

Whether edifice or ritual, building and keeping memorials is vital to our existence. It is a part of our personal, as well as social and cultural, heritage.

Our challenge today is to take time and remember. I know you're busy; I am too. However, there have been many people and events which have remarkably shaped each one of our lives. Perhaps this means taking a few minutes to look at some pictures you haven't seen in a while, or making a phone call, or paying a visit to a place that was dear to you. Perhaps, instead, it is as simple as being still and reflecting. Today, let's remember, and let's thank God for the men and women that He has put in our lives to shape us. Let's honor God for His work in and around us.

Bibliography

New American Standard Bible. La Habra, CA: Lockman Foundation, 1977. Kindle.

Church Member?

by Thomy Green

Somewhere along the way the definition of church member changed to look more like country club member.  Shame on us.  For many American Christians the most important question they ask regarding church is, “What’s in it for me?”  This runs contrary to the real question, “What can I put into it?”

The church is about service, just not you being served.  Rather it’s about you serving.  Everyday we should look for opportunities to serve those around us.  Those people include other church members and non-church members alike.  We must remember that it is not about us.  We are all a part of something much bigger.

Together we make up the body of Christ.  Are you a hand, foot, arm, or some other part?  As we continue to grow in number it will become increasingly difficult to fight the urge to not be a come and be served church.  We MUST also be a come and serve kind of church.  Why?  Christ taught us how to serve.  Let us follow Jesus’ example and make a difference in the lives of those around us.  Search for ways to be a game changer in the life of someone God will put in your life. 

Reign in Me

by Joshua Bland

"I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me, and heard my cry. He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay; and He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm. And He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; many will see and fear, and will trust in the Lord. How blessed is the man who has made the Lord his trust, and has not turned to the proud, nor to those who lapse in falsehood." (Psalm 40:1-4)

The Psalms offer us a glance into many facets of Hebrew life in antiquity. We are able to see glimpses of events in the lives of individuals and the community through their eyes; beyond that, we can begin to see how they viewed those events in light of God's work in the world. We also get glimpses into their theology.

This particular Psalm has always been one of my personal favorites. "He brought me up out of the pit of destruction... and He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; many will see and fear, and will trust in the Lord." When God works in our lives, He does so for a reason. Despite what my selfish nature would like to think, that reason is not just for me alone. God's works in our lives are not to be hoarded as something we can possess for ourselves, but instead are meant to be proclaimed and shared. The difference He makes in us should lead us to make a difference in the lives of others.

Reign in Me

Mighty Father, reign in me

You who gave the breath of life

From the first You brought to be

a creation free of strife

When we turned and ran away

You pursued us for Your own

Longing just to bring us home

Mighty Father, reign in me

Dearest Jesus, reign in me

Take me back to Calvary

Where You died and set us free

Gave us fresh new life in Thee

As we all in sin were bound

and could not escape its chains

In Thy love, redemption's found

Dearest Jesus, reign in me

Holy Spirit, reign in me

for the glory of Your name

Take my life and let it be

one that ever brings You praise

Though I fail these countless times

Your great love remains the same

Guiding Light, my Hope always,

Holy Spirit, reign in me

Bibliography

New American Standard Bible. La Habra, CA: Lockman Foundation, 1977. Kindle.

Reign in Me by Joshua Bland is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Running and Crawling

by Joshua Bland

From time to time, I feel inspired to write poetry. It is an exercise which challenges the linguist, the disciple, the teacher, the artist, and the human in me. I find that it helps me to reflect on what God is doing in the world, as well as on how I see Him working in my heart and mind.

Poetry has a beauty to it. However, this beauty does not always mean happiness; it often takes a much more realistic view on the struggles and consequences of humanity.

Peccatum curro ad Rapuit meam vim Me ferus haurisit Cultero pungente Dentibus seratis Sed in mea desperatione Dominus servat me Vitam meam mutat Animadvertite: Peccato curro ab Repo ad Te

I run toward sin It seized my soul The savage devoured me by the piercing knife by sharp teeth But in my desperation the Lord saves me He changes my life Observe: I run from sin I crawl to You

Here's the honest truth: I, like everyone else, struggle with temptation and sin; this is a fact which we recognize to varying degrees. For the disciple of Jesus Christ, this becomes a more accentuated part of life. Listen to how the apostle Paul describes it in Romans 7:14-25:

"For we know that the Law is spiritual; but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. For that which I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. But if I do the very thing I do not wish to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that it is good. So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which indwells me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the wishing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I wish, I do not do; but I practice the very evil that I do not wish. But if I am doing the very thing I do not wish, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wishes to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind, and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin."

Jesus Christ died as the atonement for our sins. In other words, He paid our debt: yours and mine. For the disciple of Christ, there is redemption. He did not, however, remove us entirely from sin. Notice Paul's final words in the preceding section: he strove to serve the law of God with his mind, but his flesh was constantly wrestling with the law of sin. This is true for us all. We still find ourselves running to sin.

How then do we wrestle this natural inclination within us? How do we find victory over the sin which ensnares us? John Owen, reflecting on the biblical ideas of the law of God, writes the following: 

"Afterward God renews this law, and writes it in tables of stone [the Ten Commandments, representative of the Old Covenant]. But what is the efficacy of this law? Will it now, as it is external and proposed unto men, enable them to perform the things that it exacts and requires? Not at all. God knew it would not, unless it were turned to an internal law again; that is, until, of a moral outward rule, it be turned into an inward real principle."

In other words, we can not seek simply to follow rules. We, especially as Americans, are socially conditioned to be independent. We will follow rules when we must, but there is a tendency in us to want to cross that line, pushing the limits placed upon us. If we use Scripture or personal philosophy to try and establish boundaries for our actions, counting on these boundaries to keep us from sin, we will fail.

Instead, we need to be changed inwardly. External motivators, while effective for a time, will not have the lasting impact of internal convictions. Thus we hear another challenge from the apostle Paul: "I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect" (Romans 12:1-2, emphasis mine).

What we need, my friends, is not a new set of rules, but a complete change of heart.

Bibliography

New American Standard Bible. La Habra, CA: Lockman Foundation, 1977. Kindle.

Owen, John. Indwelling Sin in Believers. Louisville, KY: GLH, n.d. Vintage Puritan Ser. Kindle.

Peccatum curro ad by Joshua Bland is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.