Up Close (Friday Devotional)

 

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

- 2 Corinthians 5:20

A few days ago, Lindsey and I were talking to our son Andrew about prayer. We explained to him, with Matthew 6:5-8 as our guide, that he doesn’t need to learn big, important words to pray. Prayer, we explained, is just talking and listening to God. And we know God wants us to talk to him, Lindsey said, because Jesus tells us God is our daddy in heaven.

Andrew nodded in understanding. “And this,” he said, snuggling up next to me, “is my daddy up close.”

I think that’s a helpful way of describing what Paul is getting at when he describes believers as being “ambassadors for Christ” through whom God makes his “appeal” to the world. While salvation comes from God alone, it is through his children that it is proclaimed to the world. While Jesus is the vine, his disciples are the branches. We are called, in Andrew’s language, to be Jesus “up close” for people.

The Holy Spirit compels and empowers us to do just that, to be Jesus’s hands and feet in this world so that people can experience the love of God in a personal, powerful, and visible way. While people need to hear about the love of the Lord, they also need to see it—and it is the responsibility of believers to give them something to see. So may your life bear witness to the grace of God in Jesus Christ—in you, may people see Jesus up close.

Sin's Stench (Friday Devotional)

 

Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

- 2 Timothy 2:22

Judging only by sight, the skunk is a beautiful animal. Roughly the size of a cat, it’s neither big enough to be intimidating nor so small that you miss its features. Its badger-like face always seems to give it an air of mischief. Its jet-black fur juxtaposes brilliantly against the white stripes which run along its back. And its fluffy tail provides just a hint of vanity to complete the picture.

But of course, when you think about skunks, you don’t think about their looks. That’s because skunks’ most notable feature is not their white stripes or their dark eyes—it’s the noxious spray they release when threatened, an odor so overpowering that it can be smelled more than three miles downwind and can linger for up to three weeks if not dealt with immediately. That spray is so powerful and so memorable that even those who have never experienced it up close know to take it seriously.

So when I spotted a skunk from across the street a few days ago, I didn’t approach it to take a closer look, nor did I try to defend myself from its potential threat by throwing a rock at it. Instead, I did the only sensible thing in that situation: I stayed on the path where I was running and I picked up the pace. I got away as fast as I could.

When the Bible describes temptation, it does so in a way that’s similar to how you might describe a skunk. Sin often appears attractive on the outside; it beckons you over to get a closer look. But when you get too close, it has a way of overpowering you. Sin is far more dangerous than it appears at first glance.

So Scripture calls believers to do exactly what I did the other day when I saw that skunk: stay on the narrow way and run. Instead of changing course in the name of curiosity or conflict, pursue what is good and holy. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus and continue moving toward him, fleeing from the temptations that are trying to draw you away.

This world is full of temptations, and their allure is powerful, but so too is their threat. So guided by the Spirit, may you be wary of sin’s power and directed by the Lord’s.

Fighting Fire with Fire (Friday Devotional)

 

If your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

- Romans 12:20-21

Imagine arriving home to find your house ablaze. Your family and pets are fine, but the fire is raging too fiercely to run inside and grab any valuables. All you can do is call 911 and wait for the fire department to arrive.

Now imagine that they show up, sirens blaring and lights flashing, and set to work. You’re no firefighter, so you can’t be sure, but something seems…off. Instead of working together to pull out a massive hose, they emerge one by one with silver instruments that resemble paintball guns. Instead of these tools being hooked up to a giant water tank, each of them is connected to a backpack containing who-knows-what.

In a matter of seconds, your confusion gives way to horror when the captain gives the order. They’re not holding hoses—they’re holding flamethrowers. Facing a burning house, they’re trying to fight the fire with flames of their own.

As that hypothetical illustrates, fighting fire with fire is absurd. Yet for many—including believers—it is too often the first approach taken when conflict arises. Anger is met with anger, name calling is met with name calling, manipulation is met with manipulation. Hurt by someone, the most instinctual and unimaginative reaction is to hurt them back.

Yet the gospel—as preached by Jesus, exemplified on the cross, and taught by the apostles—calls believers to respond differently. God calls His children to meet hurt with healing, contempt with kindness, and malice with magnanimity, to love even our enemies and pray even for those who persecute us. His will is not that we fight fire with fire, but that we overcome evil with good.

Make no mistake, doing so is hard work. Being a peacemaker in an age of outrage means pursuing righteousness when every fiber of your being wants to reach for self-righteousness. But if we want to see God’s redemptive power at work in our world, we have to be willing to bear witness to it ourselves. So in a world ablaze with conflicts, may God’s people remember that we are born of water and the Spirit, and may we meet grievances with grace.

Damaging Judgments (Friday Devotional)

 

Why do you pass judgment on your brother or sister? Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. For it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me and every tongue shall give praise to God.” So then, each of us will be accountable to God. Let us therefore no longer pass judgment on one another, but resolve instead never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of another.

- Romans 10:10-13

When the workers from Irving-based JR’s Demolition arrived at the pink Craftsman-style bungalow in Dallas’ Vickery Place neighborhood last January, they found a home in a state of disrepair. No house number was visible on the structure, and debris from a recent storm lined the curb. There were various cosmetic issues—chipped paint, cracked windows, broken gutters—and the house appeared to be abandoned altogether. Indeed, it was in generally the same state as other homes they’d previously demolished in the same neighborhood. So they went to work, quickly reducing the 97-year old house to rubble.

They had the wrong house.

It turns out they were supposed to demolish a home two blocks over. The pink bungalow, while unoccupied, had been inherited by a Los Angeles-based man following the death of the previous owner, a family friend. Renovation plans were in the works. But the demolition company didn’t know any of that—thinking they were targeting the right house, they just swung the wrecking ball.

Scripture warns us that our judgment and condemnation of others can be similarly destructive. A sharp word here or a disparaging remark there can devastate a person. And even when you feel confident someone deserves your denunciation, the fact remains that sometimes you don’t have all the information. God is the only infallible judge.

But in a world where outrage is often a coin of the realm, self-righteousness and condemnation are a chronic temptation. It feels good to place yourself above someone else; it makes you feel taller when you cause someone else to shrink. But the Lord doesn’t call us to bring others down, he calls us to lift them up. Rather than breaking people down, we are commanded to build them up and work to remove stumbling blocks that could cause them to fall. God is the Creator, and he wants his children to follow his lead by making rather than breaking.

Condemnation has the force of a wrecking ball, and when misdirected can be just as destructive. Better then to leave judgment to the judge and focus instead on the constructive mission we’ve been given. For when you’re working with love instead of self-righteousness, you never have to worry about hitting the wrong house.

February Reading Log

    

Short month = short-ish reading log. Take a look!

3 Articles I Like This Month

"'I'm Meant to be Alive': How Drew Robinson Is Learning to Live" by Jeff Passan, ESPN. 47 minutes.

On April 16, 2020, former Texas Ranger and San Francisco Giant Drew Robinson shot himself in the head. Miraculously, he survived his suicide attempt. Now he's making the most of his second chance at life.

"10 to Remember" by Dale Petroskey, The Dallas Morning News. 13 minutes.

Recollections of the 10 National Baseball Hall of Famers who passed away in the last year by the former president of the Hall of Fame.

"A Homeless Man Gave Me an Apple. I Didn't Deserve It." by Leah Waters, The Dallas Morning News. 5 minutes.

The story of a homeless man's act of generosity to a writer, and one of the best writings on grace that you'll read for a while.

Reading Through the Fantastic Four- #1-20, Annual #1

Y'all have probably learned by now that I have a tendency to start huge reading projects, and this month I embarked upon another: reading (for the second time, mind you) every single issue of the Fantastic Four comic published since 1961.

The FF have long been my favorite superhero team, and their title has had some glorious runs over the last 50 years. So, with the help of my numerous collected editions and a CD-ROM containing PDFs of every issue from #1 through #519 (one of the best purchases I've ever made), my plan is to read one issue every day until the job is done. At that rate we're looking at about 2 years of reading, which will have me finishing in time for Marvel Studios to finally deliver their crack at an FF movie.

This month I read through the first 20 issues of the title, as well as the double-sized first annual. There are some growing pains in the early issues, but for the most part this a treasure trove of great villains (Sub-Mariner, Puppet Master, the Mad Thinker, the Skrulls, and, of course, Doctor Doom), outsized personalities, and campy fun. The FF is largely responsible for what became Marvel's trademark: heroes with personal problems and obvious flaws, as opposed to the more idealized heroes DC was offering at the time. The Thing is sullen and grouchy, Mr. Fantastic is egotistical and awkward, the Human Torch is immature, and the Invisible Girl is a stereotypical damsel in distress (something it would take decades for writers to finally remedy). Yet despite these flaws, the characters remain a lovable family, adventurers you root for even as they quarrel amongst themselves.

If I were to pick a favorite story from this bunch, it would probably be Doctor Doom's first appearance, in which he sends the FF back in time to retrieve the pirate Blackbeard's treasure, a chest full of mystical jewels. On their voyage, the Thing disguises himself as a pirate captain and it is revealed that he in fact is the famous Blackbeard (time travel hijinks!) Returning home, the team manages to trick Doom by returning a chest full of worthless chains. It's a lot of story for 20 pages, and a lot of fun.

Check back next month, by which time I'll have read everything from the wedding of Reed and Sue Richards, to the introduction of the Inhumans, to the famous Galactus trilogy. Excelsior!

WHO MOVED MY PULPIT?: LEADING CHANGE IN THE CHURCH by Thom Rainer

Written for church leaders, Thom Rainer's Who Moved My Pulpit is a primer on leading churches to make needed changes. Like most of Rainer's books, it is breezy, practical, and simple, the kind of book that could easily have been a pamphlet but for the anecdotes and explanations.

If you're familiar with Rainer's work, you won't find much new in here. Leaders wanting to move their church toward change need to bathe the process in prayer. They need to cast a coherent vision. They need to build a coalition of eager members. They need to communicate, communicate, and overcommunicate. They need to find easy victories, low hanging fruit to keep people engaged and encouraged during the process. And they need to stick to the vision.

None of it's new, but it's helpful to be reminded of, and to read the stories of churches that have followed these steps and succeeded (and the stories of churches that have neglected these steps only to fail.) For pastors and lay leaders, this book will take you less than 2 hours to read, and would be time well spent.

THE COMING OF CONAN THE CIMMERIAN by Robert E. Howard

“Hither came Conan, the Cimmerian, black-haired, sullen-eyed, sword in hand, a thief, a reaver, a slayer, with gigantic melancholies and gigantic mirth, to tread the jeweled thrones of the Earth under his sandaled feet.”

Thus Robert E. Howard introduced the world to the adventurer who would for decades star in his short stories and novellas, only to be eventually adapted after Howard's death into comics, novels by other writers, and movies starring first Arnold Schwarzenegger and later Jason Momoa. This book, the first of three collecting all of Howard's original Conan stories as well as assorted Conan miscellania (unfinished drafts, maps, etc.) offers the earliest glimpses of the sword-and-sorcery character.

It doesn't take long for Howard to start finding a formula in these stories. First, Conan encounters trouble (often in the form of a damsel in distress). Unafraid, Conan leaps into the fray hoping to win the girl and/or capture the treasure. Upon doing so, he learns that something supernatural is afoot, whether a Lovecraftian monster or an ancient god. Armed with little more than his courage and brawn, Conan either slays or flees his foe in the nick of time.

What you won't find in the stories is much in the way of character development. The stories have little to no connection with one another, and in every story Conan remains the same stoic barbarian, slow to speak and quick to draw his sword. You root for Conan less because you are given a reason to than because he's the protagonist (and, inevitably, the most competent warrior in the story.)

If you like the sword-and-sorcery genre that caught fire in the 1970s in genre literature (mostly thanks to Dungeons and Dragons), these pulp fiction stories are foundational. And for the most part, they're fun enough, if wordy and dated (the depiction of women in the stories is beyond problematic.) With two more volumes of Conan stories to go (I found all three at a Half Price Books a couple of years ago), I can't say I'm champing at the bit to read 600 more pages of these tales, but that has more to do with my tastes than the quality of the work. If you're a fantasy buff, these are must-reads. If you merely dabble, I'd keep these stories closer to the bottom of your to-read pile than the top.

THE RED PONY by John Steinbeck

Hot take: John Steinbeck is a really good writer. I know, I know, where do I find the courage to make such bold statements?

The Red Pony is an episodic novella that leans into a favorite Steinbeck theme: the loss of innocence. It tells the story of Jody, a California farm boy who is given the titular red pony only to see it get sick and die a painful death. Next Jody and his parents are visited by Gitano, an old Mexican man who says he once lived on the land where their farm now rests and has come to stay on the farm until he dies. Instead, after a conversation with Jody about the mountains beyond the farm, he steals an old horse and vanishes into the night, presumably into those mountains. The third chapter is another horse story, this time about the pregnancy and traumatic birth of a colt, a birth which results in a new foal but also the death of its mother. The final chapter sees Jody's grandfather come to visit, ready to tell familiar tales of the Old West, only to be reduced to melancholy by a cruel word from Jody's father.

As you can perhaps tell, there is little to no plot connections between these four stories. What binds the stories (which were initially published in a variety of magazines in 1933, 1936, and 1937) is the way Jody sees adults, once thought to be infallible, fail to live up to their promises. The Red Pony is a series of disappointments for a boy who is becoming a man, a building realization that the world is neither as simple nor as wonderful as he believed in boyhood. With maturation comes the nuanced and sad understanding that adults, like children, are merely trying their best.

Is it an upbeat novella? Well, no, clearly it's not. But thanks to Steinbeck's prose, it's a thoughtful series of tales that resonates with you long after you finish it. Beautifully written, The Red Pony makes you think and feel, which is what the best stories ought to do. It'll only take a couple hours to read this one, I certainly recommend it.

ESSENTIAL DEFENDERS VOL. 5 by J.M. DeMatteis, Don Perlin, Jerry Bingham, et al.

Months ago I made my way through the first four Essential volumes dedicated to Marvel's favorite non-team, a loose assortment of B and C-level characters usually led by Doctor Strange. At its best, these were kooky Bronze Age stories that didn't take themselves seriously, at worst the book was an aimless Avengers-lite. Volume 5 sees the book enter the 1980s and its final iteration under writer J.M. DeMatteis, an era in which the lineup most stabilizes around the same cast (Doctor Strange, Nighthawk, Valkyrie, Hellcat, Son of Satan, and Gargoyle) and the villains often have a supernatural bent.

The good news is the book is more focused with DeMatteis at the helm. The Defenders, clearly not a top priority at Marvel, had often seemed to be a book with little reason for existing, a tertiary title that was either handed off to a lesser-known writer or was hurriedly thrown together by one of the big guns at the last minute. With DeMatteis, a respected Marvel writer, committed to the book (in fact, he would stick with it until its eventually cancellation 50+ issues after starting in this volume), the book's disjointedness gives way to a sense of continuity and flow.

The bad news is that DeMatteis decided to take the team seriously, trading weirdness for conventionality and humor for melodrama. Perhaps because he wanted the book to be taken seriously at Marvel, he tried to replicate the formula that worked for The Avengers or DC's Justice League of America. The difference, of course, is that The Defenders doesn't have a Captain America or Superman to give the team and the book the necessary glamor.

So the result is a series of well-told but immediately disposable superhero stories, the kind of comics you enjoy while reading but know you will never return to again. The art matches this tone, with artists like Bronze Age stalwart Don Perlin providing serviceable, house-style art that rarely makes mistakes or big impressions. The stories in this volume are perfectly inoffensive, a fun way to spend 20 minutes over coffee every morning, but even seemingly important developments (the introduction of Gargoyle, Daimon Hellstrom's decision to claim his heritage as the Son of Satan, Nighthawk's "death") never quite resonate.

With DeMatteis in it for the long haul and the team's roster remaining the same for the book's final 50 issues, it looks like I know what to expect for Essential Defenders Vol. 6-7—and unfortunately, it looks like I've already read the best The Defenders had to offer. Not every comic can be a classic, and these aren't, but they're fun. Sometimes that's enough.