Ouch.

I am really feeling David today from Psalm 55. Ministry is tough!

12 If an enemy were insulting me,
I could endure it;
if a foe were rising against me,
I could hide.

13 But it is you, a man like myself,
my companion, my close friend,

14 with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship
at the house of God,
as we walked about
among the worshipers.

---

16 As for me, I call to God,
and the Lord saves me.

17 Evening, morning and noon
I cry out in distress,
and he hears my voice.

18 He rescues me unharmed
from the battle waged against me,
even though many oppose me.

19 God, who is enthroned from of old,
who does not change—
he will hear them and humble them,
because they have no fear of God.

20 My companion attacks his friends;
he violates his covenant.

21 His talk is smooth as butter,
yet war is in his heart;
his words are more soothing than oil,
yet they are drawn swords.

22 Cast your cares on the Lord
and he will sustain you;
he will never let
the righteous be shaken.

Psalm 55 excerpts from the NIV Bible.

Saluting our fantastic volunteers @ The Ridge!

We showed this video at church this morning but there was a technical problem with the projector and it was so dark you could barely see the picture. So I uploaded it to YouTube so everyone could see it. We love our volunteers! You guys are awesome! Thanks to Matt Walker and my gorgeous wife, Cheryl, for helping me capture this stuff on video!

Tis the Season... to pick my American Idol Finalists! Part 1, The Guys

OK, OK, I know you've all been waiting on the edge of your seat for this so here goes... My annual predictions for this year's American Idol Finalists. Last year I did pretty good (8 out of 12), but this year may be a little tougher. Even though there were some crazy good talented kids on the show, they eliminated most of them before they picked the 24 that America starts voting on next Tuesday. (In my opinion, they should have ditched Jovany and Stephano and let Jaycee and that other mohawk kid through.) However, there are a few that stand out so without further ado....

First, the guys:

1. Casey Abrams - This guy could be the single most talented contestant EVER on American Idol. If he made a CD today of just him singing and playing upright bass, I would buy it. I would buy multiple copies and give it to everyone I loved. He is amazing. Sure, he looks like a band nerd and acts like a middle-school class clown. But he sings and plays multiple instruments like a seasoned pro. I look for this guy to be a strong contender, but not a winner. He will suffer the Daughtry effect and be voted off far too early but will go on to have a career that will eclipse whatever cookie-cutter schmuck actually wins this year. You heard it here first, people.

2. Brett Loewenstern - This fuzzy hand-holding poster child for victims of school bullying has a sweet, cool, understated voice and really good sensibilities. Brett is one of the only surviving unique voices that usually tend to get weeded out in the early stages of the competition. I think I will get tired of his girly-man act before its all over but I look forward to may weeks of his quasi-jazz vocal stylings.

3. Robbie Rosen - Am I the only one who thinks this kid looks just like Aladdin in the Disney animated movie? No kiddin' it's like someone pulled Aladdin right out of the animated world into ours and made him try out for Idol. He and Julie Zorilla should dress like Aladdin and Jasmine and sing "A Whole New World" this year. Maybe they'll do Disney week... Anyways, this kid is not my musical favorite but he has the looks and the likeability to take him much farther than his actual talent deserves. I predict that after several weeks of bland, boring pop he will make it into the Top 5 before being eliminated... finally.

4. Paul McDonald - Someone must have invented a time machine and went back to 1979 and kidnapped Rupert Holmes right out of the studio after he recorded "The Pina Colada Song." Seriously, this guy looks and sounds like a clone of Kenny Loggins circa the late seventies. My family likes his voice but I think he's boring. Who will be right? Maybe if I'm wrong I can borrow his time machine and go back and change this blog.

5. Clint Gum Jamboa - It still chaps my hide that this weasel made it through but they cut my li'l buddy Jaycee! But there is no denying this guy can sing. He is actually one of the better singers in the whole competition. Unlike Jakob Lusk, he has some control and good instincts about jus where to do the runs and power notes, and where to hold off. It's called dynamics, Jakob. Watch and learn.

6. Jakob Lusk - I don't see what everyone sees in this guy but I fear America will vote him through. In his heart of hearts, Jakob wants to be Mahalia Jackson. But Randy Jackson and all the other contestants have so filled this guy's ego with "How Great Thou Art, Jakob" that there will be no stopping his annoying over-the-top gospel stylings. I predict he will stay way too long and become very, very tiresome in a very short time.

"But, Jerry," you say, "what about cowboy Scotty McCreery, dark horse Tim Halperin, and that rocker guy with Turrets?" Please keep in mind that this is what I think will happen, not what I necessarily want to happen. But I think while Scotty the Kid is definitely great at what he does, what he does will not be enough to make it to the Final 12. Tim is great and I hope he does make it, but I am seriously doubting it. Too forgettable. And James Durbin has a great backstory but be honest, aren't you already sick of his high-pitched caterwauling every single stinkin' song?! I know I am.

OK that's all I have time for right now. Later, the Top 12 girls. Stay tuned...

Confessions of a Former Scoff-aholic

I fight authority, Authority always wins
Well, I fight authority, Authority always wins
Well, I've been doing it since I was a young kid
I come out grinnin'
Well, I fight authority, Authority always wins
-- John Mellencamp, The Authority Song

There's just something in us that likes to buck authority, isn't there? Maybe it's the American way. We are a country born out of rebellion to authority. Don't believe it? Ask the British. Maybe it's our fallen human nature. King David wrote that he was "was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me." (Psalm 51:5) One pastor I heard said that whenever we are called to submit to authority, we all have a little attorney inside us named Adam who rises up and says, "I object!" Little Adam, attorney-at-law, always has a legal loophole why the rules don't apply to us.

Whatever it is, we don't like to be told what to do. We don't want to be held accountable to anyone. We don't like to be corrected when we're wrong. We want to go our own way, do our own thing, because we know better than anyone else. It's pride, is what it is. Nothing more.

Proverbs has a lot to say about pride, none of it good:

Pride leads to disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. (Prov. 11:2)
The LORD destroys the house of the proud, but he protects the property of widows. (Prov. 15:25)
The LORD despises pride; be assured that the proud will be punished. (Prov. 16:5

Of all the fools in Proverbs there is one that is singled out as the bucker of authority, the prideful know-it-all who cannot be taught or corrected because he is the center of the known universe and there is no room in it for dissenting opinions:

“Scoffer” is the name of the arrogant, haughty man who acts with arrogant pride. (Prov. 21:24)

What is a "scoffer" exactly (your translation may say "scorner" or "mocker")? To scoff at or scorn something is to hold something in disdain or contempt. It's a sarcastic arrogance that looks down it's nose in superiority. It's an attitude of open disrespect and derision. The Hebrew word from the original manuscript literally means "to make mouths at," from the effort to pronounce a foreign language. (Strong's Hebrew Dictionary, H3887) It's like wisdom is a foreign language to the scoffer, and he can't handle it so he makes fun of it and looks down on it.

Probably the best way to get a picture of The Scoffer is to look at what the scriptures say about him:


He is unteachable. You can't tell him anything. He won't listen. There is always some reason it doesn't apply to him. He neatly sidesteps all attempts at wise counsel with a smug look and a snide remark.

• "A wise son accepts his father’s discipline, but a scoffer does not listen to rebuke." (Prov. 13:1)
• "A scoffer seeks Wisdom in vain [for his very attitude blinds and deafens him to it], but knowledge is easy to him who [being teachable] understands." (Prov. 14:6, Amplified Bible)
• "Strike a scoffer and the naive may become shrewd, but reprove one who has understanding and he will gain knowledge." (Prov. 19:25, see also 21:11)
  

Notice that if you discipline the Scoffer, he doesn't learn from it himself but only those who observe it. The wise man himself learns from his discipline.


Has a reputation for being an insufferable know-it-all.

• "The proud and haughty man--Scoffer is his name--deals and acts with overbearing pride." (Prov. 21:24, Amplified Bible)

This is a shame because a bad reputation is as hard to get rid of as a good one is to earn. Prov. 22:1 says, "A good name is to be more desired than great wealth." "Scoffer" is not a good name!


He cannot stand to be corrected.

• "Mockers hate to be corrected, so they stay away from the wise." (Prov. 15:12, NLT)
  

Notice how he will eventually withdraw and isolate himself from anyone who might speak some wisdom into his life. This is a major red flag that a Scoffer is on the rise.


He is rude and abusive to those in authority.

• "He who corrects a scoffer gets dishonor for himself, and he who reproves a wicked man gets insults for himself. Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you..." (Prov. 9:7-8a)
  

The scary thing about this verse is that it implies that since the Scoffer has placed himself out of reach of discipline from a wiser person, God Himself will handle his correction. That is a frightening thought!


He loves to stir up trouble. We all know this guy. He's the one who gets on Facebook and says something outrageously offensive and then wants to argue with everyone about it. This is the blogger so in love with his own opinion he cannot see the harmful effects of spewing his cynical, critical bile all over the internet.

• "People who make fun of wisdom cause trouble in a city, but wise people calm anger down." (Prov. 29:8)
  
• "Drive out the scoffer, and contention will go out, even strife and dishonor will cease." (Prov. 22:10)

Nobody likes him or wants to be around him.

• "... the scoffer is an abomination to men." (Prov. 24:9)

Sounds harsh, I know, but scripture don't lie. The word "abomination" in the original text means "detestable, an object of loathing." This verse is saying that an arrogant cynic who thinks he knows everything doesn't get invited to many parties. But he gets talked about at all of them.


So there it is straight from the pages of scripture. The portrait of The Scoffer. Do you know one? Did somebody's name just leap to your mind as you read this and you immediately thought, "Oh yeah, I know that guy! That's ________!" (You fill in the blank with whoever)

But here is the million dollar question that I believe God would have us ask: Did anyone think of you when they read this description? Was it your name and your face that popped into their minds? Gulp. Yeah, hard to swallow. I know, because I am a recovering scoffer myself.

I plowed my way through most of mu college and young adult years as a raging scoffer. So full of myself. So in love with my own opinion on everything from music to movies to religion to politics. I was God's gift to everyone around me. A legend in my own mind. If I could time travel I would go back in time and slap myself silly. But as we read in Proverbs, smiting a scoffer won't work. We're unteachable. God has to smack us down. And smack me down He has. Time and again. What happened?

Well for one thing, marriage. God brought an amazing, beautiful, intelligent and endlessly patient woman into my life who has loved me in spite of my scoffish ways for nearly 24 years now. She has opened my eyes to how smug and prideful and arrogant I was and has drawn me deeper into a humble, loving relationship.

Kids were another thing that reformed me. Nothing like being responsible for the life of other human beings to pull your head out of your fanny and snap you into mature adulthood. Through raising three awesome and brilliant kids, God has purged much of the scoffer from me and replaced it with a kinder, gentler, imminently more teachable soul.

But lastly it has been the relentless love of Jesus that has transformed me. He simply will not leave me alone. And I love Him for that! It really is true that "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, Knowledge of the Holy One is understanding."(Prov. 9:10) Not fear as in terror or dread, but as in awe and respect for who He is and what He has done for me. And what He continues to do in me with every passing day.

There is such a thing as a healthy fear, a good fear. I am not afraid of electricity but I have a healthy respect for what it could do if I approach it too carelessly or regard it too lightly. In a similar way, I think we have lost a fear of God that is healthy and good. We approach Him lightly and glibly, altogether too familiar in the worst way. Yes, He is our Friend, and Savior, and He loves us tenderly and desires intimacy with us. But He is also holy. And awesome. And He is the Lord of Hosts, the God of Angel Armies that would make Chuck Norris pee his pants.

It's that fear, that perspective of who God really is that gives me the right perspective on who I really am in light of Him. And that just blows the Scoffer in me away like so much dust. I pray that God continues to transform me from a Scoffer to a humble, wise husband, father, and pastor. But in order for that to happen, I have to submit to His authority. And that includes the wise and mature spiritual leaders he has placed in my life.

Are you a Scoffer? Let me encourage you to do this: Ask those who know you best. And listen, really listen, to what they have to say. Then ask God to take away the prideful heart and replace it with a heart that is open and teachable. Humble yourself, the scriptures say. Because if you refuse, then God will do it for you. And that is nothing to ... well... scoff at.

Sanctity of Marriage: Why aren't we picketing divorce lawyers, too?

“I hate divorce,” says the God of Israel. God-of-the-Angel-Armies says, “I hate the violent dismembering of the ‘one flesh’ of marriage.” (Malachi 2:16, The Message)

Why don't Christians picket divorce lawyers the way we picket abortion doctors? Why aren't we outraged over the "violent dismembering of the one flesh"? Is it because we don't see marriage the way God sees it?
From God's perspective, divorce is to the sanctity of holy matrimony as abortion is to the sanctity of life. It's the horrific, violent destruction of something holy and full of divine purpose. It is the murder of something intended to bear the image of God and is therefore sacred.

Of course, I am speaking of those who would divorce their spouse because they "fell out of love," or "married the wrong person." I want to make the careful distinction between those who are victims of divorce -- who have had it thrust upon them by their spouse unwanted, unwarranted, and unwillingly -- as opposed to those who seek an escape because they are too lazy or selfish to work at their marriage, to push through the tough times and honor their vows of "for better or for worse, richer or poorer, sickness and health." Just as the overwhelming majority of abortions are performed for shallow, self-serving reasons that completely ignore the sanctity and sacredness of the life that is being destroyed, so the overwhelming majority of divorces are for the sake of selfishness and convenience.

The sad truth of the scripture is that every time it teaches about divorce it is addressing those who supposedly know God and have a relationship with Him. The Church is just as guilty as the rest of the fallen, unregenerate world when it comes to taking marriage lightly. Consider Jesus' words to the Pharisees in Matthew 18:

One day the Pharisees were badgering him: “Is it legal for a man to divorce his wife for any reason?”
He answered, “Haven’t you read in your Bible that the Creator originally made man and woman for each other, male and female? And because of this, a man leaves father and mother and is firmly bonded to his wife, becoming one flesh—no longer two bodies but one. Because God created this organic union of the two sexes, no one should desecrate his art by cutting them apart.”
They shot back in rebuttal, “If that’s so, why did Moses give instructions for divorce papers and divorce procedures?”
Jesus said, “Moses provided for divorce as a concession to your hardheartedness, but it is not part of God’s original plan. I’m holding you to the original plan, and holding you liable for adultery if you divorce your faithful wife and then marry someone else. I make an exception in cases where the spouse has committed adultery.”
Jesus’ disciples objected, “If those are the terms of marriage, we’re stuck. Why get married?”
But Jesus said, “Not everyone is mature enough to live a married life. It requires a certain aptitude and grace. Marriage isn’t for everyone. Some, from birth seemingly, never give marriage a thought. Others never get asked—or accepted. And some decide not to get married for kingdom reasons. But if you’re capable of growing into the largeness of marriage, do it.”(The Message)

God hates divorce, not those those who are victims of divorce, precisely because He loves marriage so much. When will we learn to see marriage the way He sees it, and regard it as sacred and worth protecting. When will we become as outraged over attacks on marriage as we are over the destruction of the unborn? Am I overstating my case, or have we undervalued the divine design for one flesh?