The chicken truck

  I was behind the chicken truck the other day on the freeway.  It's a pretty pathetic sight--a tractor-trailer stacked with wire cages, chickens huddled in each one, on the way to the processing plant.  I always feel badly for the chickens... it reminds me of Charge of the Light Brigade.  "Theirs is not to reason why, theirs is but to do and die, into the valley of death rode the 600."  Perhaps I think too much about the chicken truck.

  But I can't help but wonder if I'd be a vegetarian if I had to kill my own chicken to make dinner.  It'd be hard for me to look a chicken in the eye and kill it.  I'm the guy who feels terrible when he runs over a squirrel on the road.  I hit a bird the other day and spent ten minutes convincing myself it was the bird's fault for flying in front of my car.  I have a hard time believing that I could kill a cow just because I was hungry.  I think I'd end up eating rice and beans instead.

  I don't think there's anything wrong with eating meat, or with hunting or killing animals for food, but I wonder how many more of us would be vegetarians if we had to kill our meat personally.  I don't have a problem picking up a packet of chicken breasts at the grocery store, but I'm not just wired to kill and eat.

  The distance from our food source makes it easy to forget that the chicken breast was once a living, breathing chicken.

  In the same way, our distance, emotional and physical, from our brothers and sisters in the world makes it easier to forget about their needs, about their situations.

  As a society, we're very separated from each other, now more than ever.  Technology can bring us together, but it can also keep us apart as we seek an individualized experience.  Football stadiums are now trying to enhance the 'in-stadium' experience because it's often more comfortable to stay home and watch the game on television than to spend three hours with unpredictable strangers.  We are becoming increasingly isolated from our neighbors and co-workers.  The 24 hours news network now brings us constant stories of struggle and strife from around the world, and we become immune to it over time.  Each day seems to bring some new explosion from Afghanistan or Iraq or somewhere else in the world, and it's easy to forget that those are individual lives being torn apart.

  In a world where our interactions can be tightly controlled over Facebook, where we can manage our personal interactions to our own level of comfort, it's easy to forget the humanity of one another.  But we're called to remember that each and every person on this planet is made in the image of God, and that each and every one is precious to him and, because they're precious to him, they should be precious to us.  We each have a life and a story, loves and joys, and they matter.  May we struggle against a world that depersonalizes, that distances us from one another, and may we be willing to enter into the messy-ness of humanity and proclaim a God who took on human flesh so that we might be saved!

Godly Strength --- Biblical Lives: Daniel (Sermon for June 16, 2013)

Daniel 1 (CEV) 

  1 In the third year that Jehoiakim was king of Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia attacked Jerusalem. 2 The Lord let Nebuchadnezzar capture Jehoiakim and take away some of the things used in God’s temple. And when the king returned to Babylonia, he put these things in the temple of his own god. 3 One day the king ordered Ashpenaz, his highest palace official, to choose some young men from the royal family of Judah and from other leading Jewish families.
  4 The king said, “They must be healthy, handsome, smart, wise, educated, and fit to serve in the royal palace. Teach them how to speak and write our language 5 and give them the same food and wine that I am served. Train them for three years, and then they can become court officials.” 6 Four of the young Jews chosen were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, all from the tribe of Judah. 7 But the king’s chief official gave them Babylonian names: Daniel became Belteshazzar, Hananiah became Shadrach, Mishael became Meshach, and Azariah became Abednego.
  8 Daniel made up his mind to eat and drink only what God had approved for his people to eat. And he asked the king’s chief official for permission not to eat the food and wine served in the royal palace. 9 God had made the official friendly and kind to Daniel. 10 But the man still told him, “The king has decided what you must eat and drink. And I am afraid he will kill me, if you eat something else and end up looking worse than the other young men.” 11 The king’s official had put a guard in charge of Daniel and his three friends. So Daniel said to the guard, 12 “For the next ten days, let us have only vegetables and water at mealtime.
  13 When the ten days are up, compare how we look with the other young men, and decide what to do with us.” 14 The guard agreed to do what Daniel had asked. 15 Ten days later, Daniel and his friends looked healthier and better than the young men who had been served food from the royal palace. 16 After this, the guard let them eat vegetables instead of the rich food and wine. 17 God made the four young men smart and wise. They read a lot of books and became well educated. Daniel could also tell the meaning of dreams and visions.
  18 At the end of the three-year period set by King Nebuchadnezzar, his chief palace official brought all the young men to him. 19 The king interviewed them and discovered that none of the others were as outstanding as Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So they were given positions in the royal court. 20 From then on, whenever the king asked for advice, he found their wisdom was ten times better than that of any of his other advisors and magicians. 21 Daniel served there until the first year of King Cyrus.

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Our lives are affected by the culture around us.

Want proof?

I grew up in Cincinnati, cheering on my beloved Cincinnati Reds.  One of the principle qualifications for loving the Reds was hating the Braves, at least as I understood it.  I heartily booed them whenever I had the chance, and I was certain that I would continue despising the Atlanta Braves for my entire life.

Then I moved to Atlanta.

Funny how things change.

I’m not a huge Braves fan, but I enjoy watching the Braves, and I don’t mind rooting for them, as long as they’re not playing the Reds.

The same thing is true of my opinion of the Tennessee Volunteers.  Now, I still find that particular shade of orange a bit garish, but I’ll cheer for UT as long as they’re not playing Kentucky.  On those occasions I still hope the Vols lose by 60, but other than that, I’ll cheer them on.  I wouldn’t even mind going to a game in Neyland Stadium sometime, which I wouldn’t have been able to say ten years ago.

Culture changes us, and our lives usually reflect the lives of those around us.  And I’d say this is good, to a certain extent.  We need to fit in with our neighbors and friends, or else we’ll be social outcasts.  For example, when we read the Bible and it talks about the ideal life in the Garden of Eden, we don’t immediately throw all of our clothes away and start running around stark naked in an attempt to live as Adam and Eve did.  If you do that, people will have problems with that.  I’m one of those people.  If you give up your house and start sleeping in other people’s front yards because you don’t want to reflect the culture around you, you’re going to have some problems.  So it’s important that we fit in with our culture on many fronts.

The problem comes when culture starts overwhelming all of life, trying to muscle out any other source of influence.  Our culture can easily become a false god if we’re not careful.

For instance, when we look at American culture today, we don’t exactly have an image painted of the importance of a modest, humble life that is best lived when serving others.  Humility and servant leadership are not exalted.  I’d say the best word that can describe American culture is ‘more’.  More money.  More house.  More car.  More everything—we are targeted and encouraged to consume more and more, because we deserve it, culture would say.  The lessons of Christ run against this grain, and so culture tries to raise the volume to such an extent that to hear anything else is impossible.  Advertising shouts from billboards and commercials, encouraging you to always seek more. 

We all fall prey to this somewhat.  I was digging around my closet yesterday and started realizing just how many pairs of shoes I have.  I quickly came to my own defense, justifying each pair by stating how badly I needed a brown pair of dress shoes as well as a black pair, and exercise shoes and hiking boots and sandals, etc.  Yet, in my heart I know that I’d have a hard time standing before the Lord of Lords and King of Kings and explaining to him how I can’t imagine the humiliation of being caught with my shoes and pants and belt not matching.  Something rings hollow, there.

So we all fall prey to our culture at times.  We all let culture turn our attention away from the teachings of Christ.  We consume more and more, we buy bigger and better, and culture subtly worms its way into our hearts, elbowing out Christ if we’re not careful.

Today’s lesson from Daniel is an illustration of one culture trying to change the hearts and minds of four men, and how they stayed faithful and true, and how God used their faithfulness to influence the culture around them, rather than letting the culture influence them.

Four men had been taken from their homes.  Scripture tells us they were young men without physical defect, handsome and wise, endowed with knowledge and insight.  For three years, they were to be schooled in the Babylonian culture and then presented before the king.  They were to eat of the King’s rations, which meant that they’d be eating the best food in the kingdom—think along the lines of Ruth’s Chris Steak House, not Krystal.  This food would have been offered to the gods, so eating it would be tantamount to worshipping the Babylonian gods, but it would have been great food.  Their names were changed—in short, they were being assimilated into the Babylonian culture, and we can assume that their own identities would have been lost in the change, including their worship of God.

This was how cultures worked back then.  One empire conquered another, and they assimilated everything into their own way of life.  It’s why Greek writing was prevalent everywhere in the 1^st century.  It’s why English is so common today.  The culture that wins usually ends up being dominant, and other cultures often get lost in the shuffle.

But Daniel and his friends were determined not to lose their identity.  They resolved to remain faithful to the one true God no matter what price they had to pay.  They would cling to their own identities at risk of their own lives.  They refused to eat the food offered to the gods, no matter how good it was, because they didn’t want to give the hint that they would worship any other god. 

And God rewards their faithfulness.

Daniel 1 is a story about 4 young men who are determined to be faithful.  In response, they are blessed beyond imagination by God.  God uses them to influence the entire Babylonian empire, and God is able to do this because of their faithfulness. 

What Daniel proposes is a test.  He trusts God fully—notice he doesn’t develop a plan B.  He proposes that they would eat nothing but vegetables and drink nothing but water for ten days, and if they looked scrawny at the end of those days, they would give up their experiment.  He was willing to risk his own life in order to remain faithful to God. 

And God comes through in abundance.  God blesses these four men with health that is clearly evident to all.  God gives them wisdom and knowledge to such an extent that they are consulted on every possible matter.  God showers them with gifts, using their faithfulness to influence others.  God works through them when they turn to him and him alone.

Friends, I think we have a similar choice as these men.  We can choose to let culture completely change us if we want.  We can listen to how culture tells us to live, how culture tells us to shop and treat one another.  We can choose to tack Christianity on as a nice asset, a fallback plan.  Plenty of people subscribe to cultural Christianity, nodding assent but not really pledging their lives to Christ.  They refuse to let Christ truly change them.

Or, we can remain faithful in the midst of a culture that tells us that more is better.  We can choose to love God above all.  We can choose to serve others as Christ served.  We can choose to give rather than accumulate.  We can persevere. 

When we opt for this path, I believe that God will use us in powerful ways.  Perhaps we won’t have the wisdom of these four men, but our lives will look different.  Notice that Daniel isn’t overtly preachy.  He doesn’t sit around and tell everyone about why he chooses what he does.  He simply does, and the difference in his life is apparent.  The same can be true of us—if we opt for faithful living, it will be apparent to others, and I think they’ll come to us with questions, with problems, with struggles.  When the world has big questions, notice how often they turn to the church, expecting us to have wisdom for the moment.  When we live faithfully, it is apparent, and God uses that to influence the world.  We have an influence on culture when we live faithfully.  When we choose to serve others rather than ourselves, we influence others.  When we choose not to accumulate but rather to distribute, we influence others.  We set an example.  God works through us.  When we’re opting for a smaller house rather than a larger one, when we choose not to purchase more and instead give away, when we make ethical business decisions that may cost us a deal but be the right thing—in all these ways, our faithfulness is apparent to others, and God works through that.

God can use us in the midst of our sin, but God can do truly amazing things when we turn to him.  We can get blessings that cannot be bought by all the world’s gold, and we can change the world in ways that were never available to us otherwise.

So may we, like Daniel, like these other 3, remain faithful, and may we influence culture through our faith rather than letting culture chip away at our faith and lead us away from God.

Let us pray

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June 13 New Hope E-News

Announcements

Wednesday Fun—The next two Wednesdays are a chance for your kids to come and play on our playground! They'll be supervised by several church members from 12-2. If you have questions, please speak with Lynne Brock.

Community Kitchen Spot

There are a lot of hungry and homeless children of God and the community needs some help feeding them. If you would like to help out, please bring the following items to church this Sunday & put them in the grocery cart.

8 oz. Styrofoam bowls

Dry Milk

Styrofoam Plates

Plastic Forks/Spoons

Pasta

New Hope News

Sunday School—This Sunday, the adult class will study 2 Peter.

$.02/meal—Next collection will be July 21. Be sure to save your pennies!

VBS—Will be the week of July 15-18. Make your plans accordingly!

Pray For:

Lynn Meyer & Christine Dyer

Russell Mabry

John L. Wright—he's still in the hospital recovering. He's not feeling up to visitors, but appreciates your prayers.

Links

The 50 worst charities in America

Want to travel to Cuba with the Outreach Foundation?

Walking the wire

A lonely quiet in Newtown

6 words that might change your family

How your device is controlling you

Amusing Ourselves to Death (A great, great read if you haven't read it yet)

Keith's Random Thoughts

They're resurfacing Shallowford Road this week. If you live in Chattanooga, you know how much of a mess that can create. If you don't live here, imagine that they've placed a 3 foot wide gate in the middle of the Rose Parade that everyone (and every float) has to pass through, and that's about the size of the mess.

But there was no good way and no good time to do it. However it was done, it was going to be a mess, and whenever it was done, it was going to create a traffic jam. Perhaps they could have done a few minor things differently, like divert traffic or encourage drivers to use alternate routes, but it would still be a mess. They're doing a pretty good job, all things considered, of working quickly. There was never going to be a week when the traffic just disappeared.

When I think about habits in my life that need to be broken, or routines that need to be changed, it's the same way. There's a never a good time to change, and it's always going to be difficult. I get bogged down into routines or habits, and it's tantamount to pulling off a band-aid; it's going to hurt, so just get it done and get back to work.

I've been trying to change my morning routine to make it more fruitful, to start my day well. It's hard for me—I've been doing the same thing for years. (Well, it changed a bit when Caleb came along. Just like everything else in my life!) There is a lot that resists change, and there's not going to be a week when the stars align and everything changes on its own. I just have to grit my teeth and do it, hoping that when I'm finished things will go more smoothly.

In our spiritual lives, we often have to do the same thing. God's presence is always around you. His love surrounds you constantly. But we often have to slow ourselves down and pick up practices that help us notice. These are often referred to as spiritual disciplines, but we often see them as one more thing, one more time-consuming activity that competes with everything else. We fail to realize the supreme importance of intentionally carving out time and practices to make ourselves aware of God's presence around us. We fail to see how this will transform the way we live all of life.

It's easy to wait for our lives to organize themselves to a point where we'll magically have time to offer God. The reality: we just have to bear down and make ourselves change. We have to find time within our busy lives. We have to force ourselves into practices that may not seem rewarding at first, trusting that the routine will bear fruit down the road.

Change is rarely easy. But it's worth the effort.

Text for this Sunday

Daniel 1

In the third year of the reign of King Jehoiakim of Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. The Lord let King Jehoiakim of Judah fall into his power, as well as some of the vessels of the house of God. These he brought to the land of Shinar, and placed the vessels in the treasury of his gods.

Then the king commanded his palace master Ashpenaz to bring some of the Israelites of the royal family and of the nobility, young men without physical defect and handsome, versed in every branch of wisdom, endowed with knowledge and insight, and competent to serve in the king’s palace; they were to be taught the literature and language of the Chaldeans. The king assigned them a daily portion of the royal rations of food and wine. They were to be educated for three years, so that at the end of that time they could be stationed in the king’s court. Among them were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, from the tribe of Judah. The palace master gave them other names: Daniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego.

But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the royal rations of food and wine; so he asked the palace master to allow him not to defile himself. Now God allowed Daniel to receive favour and compassion from the palace master. The palace master said to Daniel, ‘I am afraid of my lord the king; he has appointed your food and your drink. If he should see you in poorer condition than the other young men of your own age, you would endanger my head with the king.’ Then Daniel asked the guard whom the palace master had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: ‘Please test your servants for ten days. Let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. You can then compare our appearance with the appearance of the young men who eat the royal rations, and deal with your servants according to what you observe.’ So he agreed to this proposal and tested them for ten days. At the end of ten days it was observed that they appeared better and fatter than all the young men who had been eating the royal rations. So the guard continued to withdraw their royal rations and the wine they were to drink, and gave them vegetables. To these four young men God gave knowledge and skill in every aspect of literature and wisdom; Daniel also had insight into all visions and dreams.

At the end of the time that the king had set for them to be brought in, the palace master brought them into the presence of Nebuchadnezzar, and the king spoke with them. And among them all, no one was found to compare with Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; therefore they were stationed in the king’s court. In every matter of wisdom and understanding concerning which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom. And Daniel continued there until the first year of King Cyrus.

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An omer of manna

"Take a jar, and put an omer of manna in it, and place it before the Lord, to be kept throughout your generations."  (Exodus 16:33)

  When the Israelites grumbled about starving to death in the wilderness, God didn't respond like most fallible humans would.  God didn't look upon the Israelites with scorn in his heart, like a child who had just watched a bully knock an ice cream cone to the ground.  God didn't cry out across the heavens in wonder at their ingratitude, like a parent whose child just asked for more.  When the people that God has rescued from slavery cried out in longing for the comforts of slavery, God demonstrated his boundless mercy and poured down manna from heaven.  Bread from God was at the door to their tents.

  In addition to feeding the people, God gave Moses a commandment.  He was to save some of the manna and put it in a jar for the purpose of reminding the people of what God did for them.  Throughout the generations, people would look upon the jar and remember God's gracious provision for them.  When they were tempted to wonder what God had done for them lately, the jar would remind them that God provides.

  I think we probably could use some jars of our own in this crazy world today.  How many times have you been tempted to ask, God, where have you been lately?  In a world of instant gratification, when things don't live up to our expectations, we need an explanation.  When chaos descends upon us, be it of natural origin or out of sinful hearts, we wonder if God has forgotten about us.

  I don't think there's anything wrong with lifting up our laments to God.  The Psalms give us a rich tradition of people struggling with how to understand suffering while holding on to God's goodness.  Many of the prophets lamented the day of their birth, and yet they continued to live faithfully.  We can still cry out to God.

  When we do so, however, it's vital that we remember how faithful God has been.  It's important to remember that God's grace has watched over us these many years, and that it will not fail us.  Life may not turn out like we want, and we may find ourselves disappointed or despairing, but if we take some time to remember God's faithfulness, we will discover that God's goodness is still at work.

  So count your blessings.  Remember what God has done, for the act of recalling God's previous blessings will sustain us through many dark nights of the soul.