“Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves.

Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves” (Matthew 10:16).

            It isn’t often that I address controversial subjects in this venue, but on occasion conscience requires it. This is one of those occasions.

            A pastor—and, I assume, a brother in Christ—has proclaimed his intention to burn the Koran on 9/11. A second pastor—this one living in a Muslim country and most certainly a brother in Christ—has requested other believers to petition the first pastor to reconsider. Why? Because this public burning of the Koran will most certainly result in increased suffering for Christians in Muslim countries. That in itself should be enough to convince the first pastor not to go through with his plans. However, if that isn’t enough, what about the fact that it simply isn’t right?

            Some years ago I served on a church staff, and we had weekly meetings to pray together and discuss various ministry issues. One day the senior pastor brought up something that several of us disagreed with (not a moral or biblical issue); one staff member voiced his disagreement aloud. The senior pastor, however, remained unchanged in his opinion. The staff member who had vocally disagreed later told me he had been ready to turn the situation into a heated debate when he sensed God telling him not to do so. The man argued silently with God, declaring that he knew he was right in his opinion. God’s Spirit then asked him a vital question: “Which is more important—to be right or to be righteous?” The staff member held his tongue.

            I’ve thought about that many times, particularly lately when two issues have played predominant roles in the news. Do the supporters of the planned mosque at Ground Zero have a legal “right” to build it? Absolutely. Is it the righteous thing to do? Certainly not. Does that pastor have the legal right to burn Korans? Apparently so. Is it the righteous thing to do? I don’t believe it is.

            Jesus instructed us to “be wise as serpents and harmless as doves” when dealing with a world that is antagonistic to the message of the gospel. It certainly seems that the issue of burning the Koran on 9/11 falls into that category and should be treated as such. I am praying accordingly; I hope you will consider doing the same.

Woe is me if I do not preach the gospel! (1 Corinthians 9:16, NKJV)

            I was reading from one of my favorite publications this morning, The Voice of the Martyrs magazine, and I was struck by the passion of those who preach the gospel in lands of persecution.

            I read of a man who lives in the forest, running for his life from those who would kill him for no other reason than that he is a Christian and tells others of his Savior. Separated from family and friends, his only lifeline is his cell phone, which he uses whenever he has a signal to preach to two different house churches. I then read of people who escaped the terrors of North Korea and now devote their time to launching gospel messages in balloons to fly over their former homeland, in hopes that they will land where those still trapped in darkness will read the Good News and turn to the Light of the world.

            Wow. All I could think of was how much time and energy I spend as a writer trying to “get the word out”—to market my books to potential readers. True, I need to do that if I believe in the message of my books, for what’s the point if I write them and no one reads them? But do I even begin to have the passion for preaching the gospel that these precious men and women in other countries exhibit as they take their life in their hands to reach others?

            May it be so, God, for each of us, regardless of whether we write books, drive a truck, or perform brain surgery! Light the fire in us, Father, until we too proclaim with passion, “Woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!”

Always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason

for the hope that is in you (1 Peter 3:15, NKJV).

            Hopeless. Can there be a more depressing word? When our situation is truly hopeless, why go on living? Hopelessness is the most common reason that suicide is contemplated, attempted, or achieved. What point is there to life if we have no hope?

            I’ve been reading the prophets again lately, as I do so often, and I see two primary themes stretching throughout. First, God’s judgment on unrepentant sin. Though God called out time and again to His people, begging them to repent of their sin and return to Him, they ignored Him and continued on their own way. The results were disastrous. But the second theme is the hope of restoration. Despite the people’s willful and ongoing rejection of God, the faithful Father promised that restoration would follow judgment. Even in the most dire circumstances, there was still hope because God was greater than the circumstances!

            Isn’t that what a world steeped in sin and mired in rejection of God needs to hear? Yes, judgment is coming…but restoration is the final result. And those of us who have already received God’s forgiveness must ALWAYS be ready to explain that fact to anyone who asks. If people living in hopeless situations see hope as the hallmark of our lives, they are going to be drawn to us—and sooner or later, they’re going to ask about the Source of our hope. What a privilege to be able to answer their questions! Will they respond by receiving that forgiveness and hope for themselves? Some will; many won’t. Some will even persecute us for it. But what is that to us? People’s reaction to the reason for our hope does not change the surety of that hope because our hope is not based on the stock market or the headlines or the election results. It is based on the One who cannot lie and whose promises never fail.

            May we walk in such a way that our hope is obvious to all who see us—and may be ALWAYS be ready to offer an explanation (“give a defense”) of that glorious hope that is in us!

…they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth (Hebrews 11:13).

            I just watched the most touching video of a former U.S. President and his wife welcoming home America’s heroes. As these valiant men and women emerged from the jet way to the cheers of their appreciative fellow citizens, their faces registered various degrees of surprise and humility to realize that a former Commander-in-Chief stood among the crowd, waiting to express his gratitude. It’s impossible to view that recorded scene and not be moved to tears.

            And yet…have you considered the scene in heaven when heroes of the faith—not just the blessed martyrs but all of us who consider ourselves strangers and pilgrims here on earth—finally step forth from that “jet way” that transports us from our temporal existence to our eternal one, only to see the Father waiting to greet us? I don’t know about you, but because I know me so well, I don’t feel like much of a hero most of the time. But because my true Hero has already gone before me, paying an unthinkable price so that I might one day make that grand entrance into heaven, I too can anticipate a hero’s welcome when I breathe my last and am set free from the tenuous strings that bind me to earth. Oh, how we will soar when that final string is severed and we are loosed into the eternal joys of being in the Father’s presence! Our greatest joy on earth can’t begin to compare to that eternal burst of gratitude that will carry us into God’s presence.

            The next time you have an opportunity to welcome home some returning heroes, rejoice that you can be a part of it and shout your gratitude from the rooftops—but know that the joy you feel at that moment doesn’t begin to compare to that which will envelop you when you yourself are at last welcomed home as a hero of the faith!

“He has put eternity in their hearts” (Ecclesiastes 3:11).

            This phrase from Ecclesiastes 3:11 has long been one of my favorites. At the risk of pulling it out of context, may I say that it evokes a longing in my own heart, a homesickness of sorts that causes me to yearn for eternity? And isn’t that the purpose of God’s Word—and even of life on earth?

            God has placed a longing for eternity in the hearts of all men everywhere. Regardless of culture or geography or generation, each of us is born with a sense that there is so much more than these few temporal years we spend inhabiting this planet. Throughout the ages humanity has dreamed up all sorts of scenarios for what that eternal state of being might entail and how to assure that we will end up there when we’ve breathed our last as physical beings. But God is too loving and faithful and compassionate to leave us here without instruction on how to achieve that universal goal. He not only gave us written instructions in the Bible, but He also sent the Living Word—His only Son, Jesus Christ—to show us the way.

            And so He did. “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). An exclusive statement if ever there was one! The same God who birthed a longing for eternity in the hearts of all men came to earth and showed us the ONLY way to achieve it. “Unless one is born again,” Jesus explained, “he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). Apart from being born spiritually, which is possible only through receiving Jesus as personal Savior, we cannot even SEE the Kingdom of God, let alone enter into it.

            We can choose to waste our entire earthly life trying to outrun, circumvent, or otherwise deny that exclusive truth spoken by the Son of God, or we can accept and rest in it, knowing we are headed home, moving toward that eternal Kingdom where Christ is the Light and the Father sits on the throne, waiting to welcome us into His arms. I’ve chosen the latter; how about you?