GUILTY HANDS

Guilty hands held soldiers' lances, when they arrested my Jesus.
     My hands.

Guilty hands bound His arms behind His back when they dragged Him away.
     My hands.

Guilty hands swung the scourge that sliced His skin to ribbons.
     My hands.

Guilty hands wrapped sharp thorns around His blameless brow.
     My hands.

Guilty hands dropped splintered cross on His bleeding back.
     My hands.

Guilty hands stripped seamless garment from His holy shoulders.
     My hands.

Guilty hands threw Him, naked, onto rough, wooden planks.
     My hands.

Guilty hands held spikes to His sinless wrists, mallet lifted high.
     My hands.

Guilty hands pounded spikes through His chaste flesh, splashing His innocent blood.
     My hands.

Guilty hands held spike to His sacred feet, mallet lifted high.
     My hands.

Guilty hands slammed the spike through holy feet, into blood-stained wood.
     My hands.

Guilty hands lifted Him high and dropped rugged cross into hole.
     My hands.

Guilty hands pointed blame, laughed derision, mocked God.
     My hands.

Guilty hands wielded sword, plunged into His lifeless side.
     My hands.

Guilty hands pulled Him off the spikes and laid Him in the grave.
     My hands.

Guilty hands pounded breast in conviction for causing His passion.
     My hands.

Guilty hands clasped together, raised high in fervent prayer for His forgiveness.
     My hands.

Innocent hands raised high in praise and adoration for sins forgiven.
     My hands.

Eternal Security

Our Daily Bread, a ministry of Radio Bible Class, published a devotion by Anne Cetas clearly stating the popular, neo-Calvinist teaching that once saved, we cannot loose our salvation.       Of the dedicated saints tirelessly working for God's kingdom, a large proportion claim this teaching as their own, jealously guarding their "assurance of salvation" against all who challenge it. Both schools of thought, of course, claim to be in the majority.       The idea of eternal security has plagued me for years, at times seducing me, at times repulsing me. I would love to believe my salvation is eternally secure, but for the vast implications of such a belief.       Calvinism states that God sovereignty chooses who are His, without regard to personality or performance. And some Bible verses back that up. For a more in-depth coverage of Calvinist proof-verses, click on Safe & Secure--The Permanence Of Salvation.       My problem with this teaching is the "witness of the Spirit" that Calvinists claim gives them assurance of salvation. Romans 8:16 gives little to us but the barest idea: "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God." The passage doesn't tell us what sensation He uses in bearing witness with our spirits, or in what circumstances that will happen. We are left to grasp at warm, soft straws, interpreting any religious thrill as His Spirit bearing witness to us.       I've watched countless brethren backslide after weeks, months or years of bragging about feeling such a "witness."       While emotional testimonies do little to confirm our infilling with God's Spirit, God's word invites us in Galatians 5:22&23 to discern for ourselves the fruit a brother bears: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law."       All the warm, "witness" feelings we might experience cannot contradict the fruit we bear. So regardless how eternally secure we may feel, we must rely on God's clear description of His fruit born through us.

Writing the Perfect Scene--how writers can avoid boring their audience

          Randy Ingermanson wrangles his way into these prestigious posts infrequently, but powerfully, because he has strong things to say about writing fiction. His page on writing the perfect scene is a good example of his systematic approach to that masochistic undertaking.
          While his instructions help structure the story at all levels, something he said blasted light on my most basic writing fault: I can't see the story for the words.
          This month's Advanced Fiction Writing E-zine dissected two movie versions of classic pieces of fiction. Years ago I saw North by North-West with Cary Grant. I recalled several of the scenes based on Randy's description, but his analysis of the story was new to me. While enjoying the action and the special effects, I had missed the Big Picture altogether.
          Well now, that tells me I need to work on story-telling from the macro perspective. Now I realize there is a great difference between word-crafting and story-telling. Great fiction requires both!

Pink ...

          ... isn't a bad color--downright appealing on some. As the title of a book, though, it does anything but appeal to this guy. But Marilyn Griffith's web site beckoned me to sample her literary wares. Chick Lit notwithstanding, Pink drew me into its smooth, hip prose and soft, Afro-speak voice. I like being drawn into literature.
          Though I read only the first chapter that Marilyn thoughtfully posted on her site, I saw plenty of reason to continue immersing myself in young Raya Joseph's tastefully rebellious world. Coming from an old-white-guy, that says quite a lot about Marilyn Griffith's word-crafting ability.

Choose Your Parents

          Popular wisdom says you can't choose your parents. Biblical wisdom says you can.
          Galatians 4:21-31 points out the obligation children have to conform to their parents' birthright. A slave's child is born into bondage. A freeman's child is born into freedom. This is the natural law of inheritance.
          But God gives each person the choice of which spiritual heritage he or she will claim. If we choose to live under the law, we are slaves to the law and to sin. If we choose to live under grace, we are slaves only to God and His covenant of grace.
          Everyone has violated some aspect of the law, and as slaves to the law we must suffer the consequences. But as slaves to God and His grace we are free of the law's bondage and its eternal consequences.
          Praise God that we can choose to be born anew of His Spirit!

Controversy, anyone?

          Robin Parrish, in his INFUSE Newsletter, said, "Some tv shows, movies, books, and other mediums build compelling stories out of blurring the line between dark and light, reveling in the world of gray." And that is true. Such blurring creates conflict, which is the stuff fiction--and history--is made of. Has there ever been a fictional story that didn't create conflict by the characters blurring that line? The difference in fiction between the temporal and the eternal worldviews is what message is left with the reader when such conflict is resolved.
          Robin also said, "My own novel asks how long one can be good who has been destined to be bad." I don't know if he was referring to Calvinist-style predestined, but that's the only context in which I can imagine one having been destined to be bad, and ones' goodness or badness isn't even part of that package.
          Whenever I hear teachers proclaiming five-point Calvinist, my mind starts doing weird things. They say I have nothing to do with my election for eternal life. My question is, how can I know that I am one of the elect?
          They say that by obeying the gospel I will receive the witness of the Spirit. My question is, after I obey the gospel, how can I know that the hope I feel is indeed of the Holy Spirit? The problem is, if I have never felt such witness, how can I know if a feeling is authentic?
          They say I will also know by the fruit I bear. My question is, since fruit can be counterfeited, how can I know if even that is authentic? Since God is faithful, wouldn't a Christian bear true Holy Spirit-fruit consistently? What I call the "fruit" of my life certainly isn't consistent, and most people with whom I've spoken claim a similar lack of consistency. Isn't it possible, then, that any or all of us are self-deluded, false believers?
          They say God's grace, through Jesus' blood, covers our human imperfections. That sounds like an excuse anyone, elect of God or not, could make.
          The whole TULIP thing assumes any human goodness is relative, and has no bearing on ones' election. But I'm not going to resolve that centuries-old controversy in this blog. If I come up with any answers to the above questions I'll blogg'em.

Noble Hypocrisy

          Oswald Chambers did it again. In today's devotion entitled Look Again and Consecrate, he highlighted our apparent need to complicate the simple life Jesus has given us for His glory. When we add "But ..." to our response to Him, we step out of His simple way, causing unintended complications to spoil the fundamental peace, joy and love that is our re-birthright.
          My history with Target is a perfect example of what happens when I insert "but" into my response. Rather than accepting my employment as a simple commission to join the team, my response was, "But consumer credit is out of control, and I don't want to be part of the problem by selling Target credit."
          Now I stand, shoulders bowed, under indictment for maintaining a rebellious attitude even while pretending to be Holy Joe. Noble hypocrisy is hypocrisy none the less.

NINE LIVES

          Steven Spielberg is contracting to produce a mini-series on the Sci-Fi Channel about grieving people who discover they can contact their recently departed loved ones through a near death experience. Spielberg, being the gifted, cinematic illusionist he is, will no doubt present a superficially credible scenario that many gullible viewers will believe is the truth. How many of them will resolve to try glimpsing the afterlife for themselves? How many will discover to their eternal dismay that what seems possible on film is in fact quiet impossible?

Discouragement

          It happens to most of us. We're bopping along, living the life, and something interrupts our stride. Stopped, we can't resist looking back to measure our progress--Mistake #1.
          Suddenly it appears that instead of running life's race, we've been running in place; others, later starters, have past us and are closer to the prize. So instead of starting the race anew we stand there kicking stones and watching others race past while we're going, "AW, SHUCKS ... 'TAINT WORTH IT!"--Mistake #2
          The great difference between us and those still running is simply that we've stopped to feel sorry for ourselves. Sure, some can run faster, and some have more stamina, but we're not loosing the race because they're better; we're loosing because we've stopped running.
          Not everyone can run fast. Not everyone can summon gobs of stamina. Those are physical limitations. But everyone can, if they won't quit, finish the race.
          Confession time: I'm naturally a quitter. I don't compete because I've never won. But despite what I feel, the truth is I've never won because I don't compete. My " 'TAINT WORTH IT!" statement goes something like this: "Oh, poor me. Everybody's better at (writing, praying, memorizing the Bible, resisting temptation ... fill in your own "poor me" copout), so why should I bother?"
          The answer is simple: I didn't chose this race; God did! And He didn't put me at the starting line only to stop along the way and kick stones. He didn't even put me in the race only to win; there's just one first-place, and He's already finished and collected His reward. God put me in this race to finish the best way I can, and by doing so, I win!
          I'm engaging in this peptalk for one reason: I've stopped writing, and I'm discouraged. Yet, I now realize God put me at the starting line with a gift for using words and a passion to communicate. If I run a distance but stop to kick stones I'm throwing His gift and His commission back in His face ... I'm kicking the stones directly at Him. If I stop before the Finish Line I'm staring Him in the eye and saying, "You're wrong, God! I can't do it."
          Is quitting the best I have in me? Is disobedience the legacy I want to leave? Since God put me in this race, I know the answer to those questions is a resounding, "NO!"

BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN

          While pop culture embraces sexual liberty as innocent fun, such promiscuity leads normally sensitive people into conflict and heartbreak. That's why God prohibits fornication; straight or gay, it's sin.
          Fictional literature requires conflict--sexual or otherwise--and sin produces conflict. Since God requires His people to set their minds on things above, does that prohibit our consumption of literature? No more than it prohibits our consumption of Bible stories that deal with sin.
          Of course BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN can't be compared with the Bible, but to the extent that they are honest storytelling the same principle applies to both. Does this mean I wink at depictions of homosexuality in the entertainment media? Not at all. Sitcoms portray gays as cute, funny, or artsy--anything but the flawed human beings they are. If Hollywood presented a balanced picture of homosexuals and their lifestyle I might spend some time watching it.
          Moral reprobation--gay or straight--is not funny, but that's not to say tasteful humor will never be involved in its portrayal.