Sherry and I celebrated our 43rd anniversary in very subdued way. We’d planned a trip to Bend to hang out for a time for just us, but that all fell through. Sherry was just in her second day home from the hospital following her second knee replacement. We thought we’d have at least six weeks notice, but there was a cancellation so we took it. That meant a quick change of schedule and arranging for the surgery. We wondered if their surgical gowns would be green since it was St. Patrick’s Day. But all was ordinary. Surgery went well and the pain management was excellent so Sherry came home in good spirits, though the expectation of many weeks of painful recovery is never a good prospect. She has her first physical therapy appointment today and we are looking forward to getting her bruising assessed. There’s a lot more this time and it concerns us.

I had cataract surgery a couple of weeks before Sherry’s surgery. They poked a hole in my cornea, blasted the old cloudy lens with ultrasound, sucked it out, put in a new carefully built plastic lens, smoothed everything out and were done in 8 minutes. Amazing. Now I see very clearly, so much so that I can see the ‘”brown tone” in my other eye which also has a cataract, the doctor says.

Only a few years ago neither of these could have happened and in much of the world they still can’t happen. I just don’t know what to make of that. The advances in health care are astounding but very expensive so it goes with riches. the problems with justice plague my mind, but I have no idea what do about it.

The Japanese earthquake and tsunami also hit close to home. My friend Shigeru and Atsuko Suzuki live there as does the family of one of Donn and Susan’s foreign exchange students. I’ve read John Piper saying the decisive cause is the hand of God (article here) and incline to David Bentley Hart saying this is the work of the enemy whom Jesus came to destroy (article here). In his book, Suffering and the Sovereignty of God, Piper says “the ultimate reason that suffering exists in the universe is so that Christ might display the greatness of the glory of the grace of God by suffering in himself to overcome our suffering. The suffering of the utterly innocent and infinitely holy Son of God in the place of utterly undeserving sinners to bring us to everlasting joy is the great display of the glory of God’s grace that ever was, or ever could be.” I fully agree that the eternal Son of God entered into our suffering, taking its worst to display the glory of His grace and bring us His joy. But I can’t see in Bible that being the reason for suffering. The statement in Bible is that He came to condemn the prince of this world (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11), to destroy the last enemy, death (1 Cor. 15:26; 54-56). I’m more with Hart, believing “For while Christ takes the suffering of his creatures up into his own, it is not because he or they had need of suffering, but because he would not abandon his creatures to the grave. And while we know that the victory over evil and death has been won, we know also that it is a victory yet to come, and that creation therefore, as Paul says, groans in expectation of the glory that will one day be revealed. Until then, the world remains a place of struggle between light and darkness, truth and falsehood, life and death; and, in such a world, our portion is charity.” On that point we all agree: Evil is evil and the Christian response is to help. 

A new report just came out from the Centers for Disease Control (Report here) and once again confirms the biblical view of sexuality. Russ Douthat has a summary in his NY Times op ed here. Most important is that people who follow a biblical view of sexuality are the most happy folk. Douthat says that another study confirms this:

. . . two sociologists, Mark Regnerus and Jeremy Uecker, in their recent book, “Premarital Sex in America.” Their research, which looks at sexual behavior among contemporary young adults, finds a significant correlation between sexual restraint and emotional well-being, between monogamy and happiness — and between promiscuity and depression.

This correlation is much stronger for women than for men. Female emotional well-being seems to be tightly bound to sexual stability — which may help explain why overall female happiness has actually drifted downward since the sexual revolution.

Among the young people Regnerus and Uecker studied, the happiest women were those with a current sexual partner and only one or two partners in their lifetime. Virgins were almost as happy, though not quite, and then a young woman’s likelihood of depression rose steadily as her number of partners climbed and the present stability of her sex life diminished.

The point isn’t that we should aspire to some Arcadia of perfect chastity. Rather, it’s that a high sexual ideal can shape how quickly and casually people pair off, even when they aren’t living up to its exacting demands. The ultimate goal is a sexual culture that makes it easier for young people to achieve romantic happiness — by encouraging them to wait a little longer, choose more carefully and judge their sex lives against a strong moral standard.

The other thing from the study is that American sexual behavior is actually improving: In 2002 22 percent of Americans ages 15-24 were virgin. But in 2008 that number rose to 28%. That’s still a depressingly small number, but it is an encouraging direction.

So the church has a lot of work to do.

We had a great time at the Live Nativity at Living Hope Church in Vancouver. You can get a introduction in this YouTube video: They did 13 services, packing the building each time. Attendance totaled 14,000 .  Close to 1800 made decisions for Jesus, John Bishop, the pastor and my friend, reported. It highlighted Curley the Camel, (pictures here), Danny the donkey, three selfish goats, sheep, a cow, Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus (yes, live), shepherds, wise men and all the rest.

When I hear of this level of response to accept Jesus, I’m a bit suspicious. I do hail from Missouri, after all. We were there Thursday night, the night before Christmas Eve. The place was packed before the 7 pm start time. The show was amazing even if Danny the Donkey kept kicking the floor, much to John’s frustration (turned out he just wanted some attention). The close came to think of the nails that would pierce the baby’s hands and John gave the invitation to pray with him. I wondered what would happen. I was astounded to hear many voices around me praying the prayer aloud along with John.  I looked and there was quite a variety of people, young and old, traditional and hip. They were encouraged to stop by the welcome table and pick up a special Bible with a “what’s next” packet. There were people all over who were ready to talk with those who prayed.

Sherry and Cyndee needed to stop by the restroom, so I was standing beside the wall of the food court (Living Hope met in Vancouver Mall, by the way). As I was watching people, I noticed a twenty something woman nearby. When I looked back a bit later, I noticed that she was pulling something out of her bag. It was one of the Living Hope Bibles. So I went over to her and asked if she’d been at the service. The smile erupted, “O, wasn’t it wonderful!” I asked about the Bible and if she’d come in contact with Jesus. Her smile grew bigger. “No, I did that last year,” she laughed. “I got the Bible for my Dad. He’s the most stubborn man in the world and he’s there right now trying to figure out if he can receive Jesus!” As we talked her boyfriend came out. He came from a strong Christian home but her home had no religion of any kind. We talked of her conversion in the 2009 Nativity service and her deep desire that her Dad would come in. I asked if we could pray and they were delighted. So I prayed for the stubborn Dad as I expressed my joy for the change in her life. I didn’t pray for my skepticism, but probably I should have.

The folks at Crossway asked me to do a guest blog on how we prepare for Christmas. That got me to remembering Christmas past of course. Our second was in Baguio Philippines with a 8 month old. I thought riding my motor cycle into the mountains would be an adventure. It was exhausting! I simply refused to talk to the policeman who stopped me on the main street of Baguio, pointing him the van where Sherry was riding with David and Patty Jo Yount. Turned out it was illegal for motorcyles to be on the street, but I was in no shape to talk coherently to him or anyone else. After we returned to the states, we most often went to Albuquerque to spend time with family. Then there were the overseas Christmas times with our time in Taiwan a great highlight. Our home has often been a center, but no so much now. We usually travel to be with our children.

Here’s the blog post:

Sherry and I are empty nesters and happy grandparents, so we no longer do the big family meal at our house. Our daughter, Cyndee, will come from one side of Oregon and we’ll travel to the other side to David and Samantha’s home to hang with Nicole (10) and Joy (8), two of our grandgirls. We’ll Skype Donn, Susan and Elizabeth (3) and share our distributed Christmas. I’m glad Jesus is Lord of the universe, but I sure wish our family were all living within a couple of blocks of our house.

A highpoint of preparation is when we take Nicole (10) and Joy (8) shopping. They direct us to their favorite stores and we prowl the aisles looking for the most delightful gifts possible (There is a budget . . . but it’s grandfatherly!). The joyful thing is that the presents aren’t for Nicole and Joy, but for two girls from poverty stricken homes who will come to the big neighborhood Christmas party at our church. They donate some of their favorite gently used clothes and write notes of care to go with them. Hearing their giggles as they imagine the impact of their love given to complete strangers makes me laugh out loud. How like the LORD who comes to us in Advent.

The youngest reader always reads the Christmas story from Luke 2 before anyone opens presents. It’s important to be prepared so the wiggles of anticipation don’t turn into frustrations! Since Joy reads super well, the struggle to recognize words has become theological discussion of the meaning of the beloved text.

The pictures are from Christmas 1972 (I think): Donn with Grandpa Veazey, David and his wonderful digger (arms are from Grandma Veazey), and then playing with Sherry (who is having more fun?) Sherry with something – too bad a wrong speed setting for the flash meant the bottom of the picture was cut off.

This is the picture of hope for me right now. Our yard was very overgrown, so we had some professional clean up people come by to bring it under control. They did such a great job that they took away five truck loads of vegetation! A lot of plants disappeared in opening up the areas. But soon “stuff” began to poke back up so I went at them with shovel or hoe lest the yard go green in a bad way!

One “offering” came up in front and didn’t look like the normal weeds, so I didn’t chop it out. Soon I was this little stalk coming up and beautiful flowers burst forth. It was proclaiming joy in its new life. Where there was nothing but dirt now there is exuberant beauty.

Hope is one of those topics that has so many different meanings. Back in March my plane was late getting away. As we came into Denver, my seat mate asked, “Do you think you’ll make your flight?” Looking at my watch, I responded, “I hope so.” That meant “It’s not looking good!” In normal American hope refers to something in the future that is unlikely to happen.

In Bible it is a future certainty: Paul prays,“that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints and His incomparably great power for us who believe” (Eph. 1:18-19). Hope is a certainty because it rests on the character of God. It is life giving, life shaping certainty about the future resting in the surety of the One who is faithful.

So how does hope relate to life now, especially in a world where things wear out, where relationships rupture, and sin happens. Sherry and I both had surgeries this last week: mine was a bi-lateral laparoscopic hernia repair. Sherry’s a right knee replacement. My hope is that I’ll not hang out any longer. Sherry’s is that the arthritis generated pain will recede to the point that she can enjoy walking again. Especially for her, there is serious pain to go through in order to achieve the hope. The hope is what sustains her when present pain is far worse than her arthritis pain ever was. You can see pictures here. Her hope in the competency of Dr. Goldsmith and the team at Kaiser gives her the courage to lay on their table. Our experience with Kaiser and our research showed that their procedure most always yielded positive results.

What about other places where experience and research don’t provide confidence? Barak Obama was elected on the premise of hope, but did we really think his election would fix the broken economy? Will the broken relationship with my friend every be restored? In fact in many areas research moves us to despair!

How do we live hopefully and take the brokenness of ourselves and the world into account? Catharine Coon gave me a definition of hope I really like: Hope is the active, confident expectation of good based in the character of God. We are confident that He is at work in this messed up world so we look for that working even when we don’t expect the basic nature of brokenness to change. We don’t expect that disease will be healed or poverty erased or injustice stopped – until Jesus comes. Gary Haugen, head of International Justice Mission reminded us that “Christian hope is both possession and yearning, repose and activity, arrival and being on the way. Since God’s victory is certain, believers can work both patiently and enthusiastically, blending careful planning with urgent obedience, motivated by the patient impatience of the Christian hope.”

I’m preaching on this passage at Grace on August 15 so I’ve been reading and re-reading and studying a lot. I’m realizing that the view of tongues I’ve held for a long time isn’t the most likely one. So with any change like this, I’m running it be lots of people. Reading the Bible in the community of faith is so important. The more diverse the community, the more likely getting past the mistakes of one.

So I start with the purpose of tongues. Acts 2:11 says they were declaring the wonders of God. I’d taken that as evangelistic, but on reflection and comparison with 1 Cor. I’m thinking it is praise. Greg Haslam, Pastor of Westminster Chapel in London and one of the men on the Grand Canyon trip, was the one who raised this possibility in our intense discussions.

1 Cor. 14 adds these points:

Tongues are to God by the Spirit (2, 28) where prophecy is to other people. That direction is so obvious. I don’t know how I missed it up to now.

Tongues are a language with informational content, not ecstatic babbling as with pagans. This is very clear in Acts 2 but also in his reference in verse 10-11. There is much debate about whether it is human languages or if it can include language of angels. That seems an open handed issue right now. 

Tongues edify the speaker (4, 28) where prophecy edify the congregation. I’d always taken that as dismissive of tongues, but I think I was wrong on that. Lots of things build me and it’s good. Col. 2:5, 8 say put off sin and 3:12 says put on fruit of the Spirit. That edifies me so I can be more Christlike and a better member of the community. The error would be self-indulgence, something the Corinthians and not a few Americans are into (!!). Building myself is very good if it helps me be a better Jesus follower.

Paul is quite positive about tongues, just not in the public gathering of the church. I’m not sure how I missed his statement that he would like everyone to speak in tongues (14:5). Yes, prophecy is much preferred in the gathering but that does not mean tongues have no place. He is quite clear that he speaks in tongues a lot (14:18), but not on the gathering. That’s the place for prophecy to strengthen, encourage, comfort, edify, instruct (3,4, 26, 31).

Tongues are for prayer (14:14) from the heart. Of course there is also prayer with the mind, i.e., in a known language. Both are good in their proper place, it seems. Some prefer spirit prayer while others prefer mind prayer. Neither is a higher spirituality, it seems. I think Romans 8:26 speaks to this when it says “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” So the graonings there are the Spirit at work helping us when our mind and understanding fail us and we don’t know how to pray. That groaning certainly could come out of my mouth, I think.

Tongues are for praise (14:16) just as they are in Acts 2:11 and 10:46. That isn’t helpful for the congregation unless it is interpreted or explained as Peter did in Acts 2.

In the gathering Paul does not speak in tongues though he does speak a lot, evidently in his private devotions. Where the Corinthians were seeing their public use of tongues as a mark of their high spirituality. Paul shows them that it is a sign, but a sign of God’s judgment on their prideful self-indulgence! Hearing Babylonian in the streets of Jerusalem in 586 BC was a sign that God’s judgment had come to sinful Judah (he quotes Isaiah 28:11 a statement of His judgment in 14:21). Similarly, it is not a blessable thing if unbelievers hear all the confusion of public tongues and walk away thinking the people and their God is crazy.

So I’m thinking tongues is private prayer and praise to God in an unknown language.

That’s what I’m thinking in outline. I’d love to get input!

Floating down the Colorado River at the bottom of the Grand Canyon was so far beyond any possibility that it didn’t even make my bucket list. But it was real, thanks to the Christian Leaders’ Trip sponsored by Answers in Genesis. We started at Lee’s Ferry just below the Glen Canyon Bridge and spent six days on the river and five nights camping in the sand. 186 miles later, we went out to the rim world by helicopter, a trip highlighted by a much anticipated shower (!!). I put quite a few pictures here.  Brian Morley, a professional photographer posing as a Master’s Seminary philosophy prof is putting his pictures here.

Seeing the boats that would take us down the river as we drove down to riverside was almost too much to handle. In God’s grace, I had bars on my cell phone so I tried to share some of it with Sherry before we took off for total isolation. I got a little more excitement than I bargained for. As I started to put the phone away into the plastic bag that also had my wallet there was no baggie. It was gone! Dropped in the bus? Probably, but it had already left. Panic! No wallet meant no ID and no exit from the canyon! As I reported my predicament to the leaders (with no small embarrassment!) another team member walked up with the missing baggie. He had found it, dropped onto the ground. Whew!!

We immediately had our first teaching hike, seeing a petrified log. Andrew Snelling, our geologist, helped us see that the sedimentation that led to fossilization had to be fast or the higher parts of the log would have rotted. Even more convincing is the fact that branches of the tree are in a completely different layer than the trunk. There were many stops along the river and hikes for on site lecture.

It certainly wasn’t all study! The meals were great. Made to order omelets one breakfast and blueberry pancakes another. Dessert one night was strawberry cheesecake and our final supper was bar-b-qued steaks. A highlight for me was the intense conversations about Bible and life as we floated. I got a two day intensive on Spirit renewal from Greg Haslam, pastor of Westminster Chapel in London. Mark, Evan and Seth and I talked about mentoring, creation ethics, and spiritual formation. I talked of Genesis 1 as the story of the LORD, who created sun, moon, stars, plants, animals and everything else, shaping Eden/Israel for a place for Him to live with Adam and Eve, the first humans. Conversations went on into the dark and started again at first light, even before the “Coffee!!” call. That wasn’t too hard to ignore. Cowboy coffee isn’t quite what this Portlander looks forward to in the morning.

One fun part of the trip was hiking up canyons to picturesque water falls. But we didn’t just look and take pictures! God provides showers for tired professor/students! Some of the funnest things were climbing to the top of water falls and jumping into the pools below. But running the rapids of the Little Colorado with nothing but a life jacket wrapped around my hips was incredible – and a bit nerve wracking as I bounced off huge boulders and got sucked under water longer than I was ready for! (Brian has a picture of our human chain here. I was in the 24 member world record chain!).

There are many lessons and thoughts that come after an experience like this. Some profound ones like “wearing shorts means your legs get scratched up.” Isolation is unusual for  me. This is the
first time in all my travels that I’ve not communicated with Sherry on a daily basis. There was profound worship that comes in the context of such a marvelously beautiful piece of the earth. Reading Psalm 104 took on a whole different flavor in the bottom of the Canyon. But one thing that hit us all is the reality of God’s judgment on sin. Thousands of feet of sediments laid down in God’s work to rid the earth of wickedness, layers filled with fossil remains of living beings, a huge graveyard. I work to overcome sin with the grace of the LORD who came to die for sin. I am always humbled by His grace in doing that. But this reminded me of the future of those who will not respond to His grace, refusing to receive His life. “Who is sufficient for these things?” (2 Cor. 2:16 ESV)

The study sessions are most excellent, especially since I am learning in areas I know virtually nothing. So I get to indulge my curiosity bump fully in areas like limited government, economics and Catholic Social Thought. You can see more about Acton and hear recording of some of the lectures here.

In a sin marred world, things always go bad. So who limits the badness? God ultimately, but within the limits He sets, is it government regulation or free market forces? The State is to punish wrong doers (Rom. 13:4) but who limits the evil state? Acton and I believe that the better force is people as a whole (market) than government officials. For example, should government or the market set prices? I remember 1979 when the government tried to set gasoline prices. It was a disaster. But I also remember the situation a couple of years ago when gas went to $4.00 per gallon and people were calling for government intervention. It didn’t happen and the prices in Portland are around $2.70 per gallon now. 

Limited government means the state should not do everything, should not be the agency responsible for social services. Other agencies, church, family, business have areas they do better than the state. When people get to places of power, they tend to lose contact with the ordinary people, lose the common good as a top value, and serve people of power and influence. BTW, Michael Miller defined common good as “the sum total of social conditions which allow people, either as groups or individuals, to reach fulfillment more fully and more easily.” Of course that begs the question of what fulfillment really means, but the direction is right on. Examples of things the government is not the best agency is feeding the people or converting the people to Jesus. 

One question that made me think: should all immoral things be illegal? Should all things that are morally wrong also be against the law of the state? What of adultery? It is surely immoral, but should it be illegal? I absolutely want it limited. Do I want the state watching and punishing that behavior? If so the state has to watch lots of behavior to see if it’s adultery. I find myself thinking I’d rather not have the state doing that. Ditto with lies. Some lies are illegal: contract fraud for example. But what if a father lies to his children about his porn addiction?

In the area of economics, should we develop our thinking from the concept of scarcity (distribution of limited goods) or the basis of maximizing exchange of goods, many of which are not scarce. Information and grace are examples of non-scarce goods. The goal is win win where both parties are better off after the trade than before. So the limits are that there can’t be fraud, exploitation and private property which is to say, I must have ownership of the thing I trade.

Does justice mean equal distribution of goods (think Robin Hood and take for the rich to give to the poor) or does it mean all people work under the same law? I’m inclined to the latter. It frustrates me that government employees have PERS and we have Social Security and our 401K programs.

Are economics explained by seeing people maximizing their material well being? In part, but certainly not exclusively. Think of all the gifts that are given and non-material oriented activities like parenting, church, and such.

There’s lots more and I still have two days to go!

My friend Rob Schwarzwalder is Senior Vice President at Family Life Council. He notified us that the Gay Lesbian Activists Alliance just updated their 2010 agenda. So rather than debating whether there is a "homosexual agenda" or not, it is better to read it for yourself. It is here.   Among its many policy proposals (some of which already are in place) are:

** Legalization of prostitution
** Permitting "adult" entertainment (e.g., strip clubs and pornography centers)
** Requiring libraries to carry "gay friendly" books
** Elimination of educational vouchers (which enable many minority families to send their children to decent schools)
** An official police policy toward "transgendered" individuals
** Ending the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington’s historic adoption and foster care relationship with D.C., since the Archdiocese would not place children in same-sex "families."

From many years of working in the offices of senators and representatives, he knows the agenda for homosexualization of mainstream culture and socio-political life is purposeful and aggressive.  I like his conclusion: "Let’s always pray for those committed to a same-sex lifestyle, that the Lord would deliver them even as He has delivered those of us who know the Savior.  But let’s also never compromise our dedication to standing for the protection of our children, the sanctity of marriage, and the dignity of human sexuality as ordained by our Creator.”