Mountain Musings: Blazing the Trail

 ¹ Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1-2 Revised Standard Version

               We live on a dirt road in a home surrounded by forest. While I’m not sure exactly where it begins, our home is quite close to the Lincoln National Forest. A short hike down an abandoned forest road brings you into the national forest. While we are not “off the grid,” I enjoy living surrounded by nature. This morning I watched a small herd of elk meander across our yard, foraging in the snow, as they went. Elk are impressive large creatures. While I cannot be sure, they seemed to look through the window at me sipping my coffee. On my hikes I see all manner of tracks in the snow. I cherish the quiet and stillness of the forest blanketed in snow and often hike in the mountains around our home. I particularly enjoy pausing in a clearing and waiting in silence as my pulse and breathing return to normal. Hiking in snow requires great exertion; especially if you’re the first to break a trail.

               Hiking in freshly fallen snow is hard work. When the snow is deep, breaking the trail raises my heart rate quickly. The snow drags at my feet, forcing me to high step. Even then I must push through the heaps of fluffy white. It looks so soft and gentle; however, all that frozen water weighs a lot and does not give way easily. In the thin air, above eight-thousand feet, I find myself panting very quickly. Additionally, the places I hike go up and down repeatedly and my thighs soon ache with the build up of metabolites produced by the heavy exertion. If possible, I like to hike behind someone who blazed the trail before me. While still difficult, following in their steps is much easier than creating the path. It is the same in our spiritual life.

               Any honest person will tell you about the spiritual challenges of the Christian walk…hike. Many things beset us. Temptations and challenges come our way. Problems, sent by satan, pop up frequently. Peter speaks of satan as being like a devouring lion, looking for someone unawares to waylay, I Peter 5:8. Then there is the simple existential challenge of human existence. We live in a broken and fallen world which does not operate as designed. Often, we must trudge through deep snowdrifts of trouble and turmoil, hearts pounding and lungs heaving; but, we do not have to break the trail.

               Jesus broke the trail before us. The writer of Hebrews describes Jesus as the “pioneer and perfector.” He plowed through the deep drifts of temptation and persecution before us. We can walk in His steps. Following someone through the deep snows of life makes things much easier. This is why we need to know and understand how Jesus dealt with the challenges of this existence. Stepping where He stepped, walking as He walked makes the journey much simpler. He battled satan, armed with the same tools available to us. We need not blaze a new path. We should learn, know, and understand how He lived His life and pattern ours similarly. That way we can traverse the turmoil more successfully. Of course, there will be times when our lungs still heave and our pulse still races; but, we will find the trek much more manageable, following the trail He blazed.

              

Christmas Musings #34 The Epilogue

 

¹ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God. ³ All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. ⁴ In him was life, and the life was the light of men. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:1-5

               The tide of Christmas ebbs slowly around our house. Our tree stays long, and Christmas music lingers. I find it hard to let go of the season. Fortunately, Christy does not hurry Christmas out the door; but, eventually we defrock the tree, putting away the ornaments carefully packing the old and cherished ones. The lights come down. I return to my regular music of jazz mixed with some older rock. Our lives return to a more normal routine. Each season, I pause and ruminate over the figure of the infant Jesus in our nativity set.

               Once the gifts are opened, the holiday feasts consumed, and traditional movies watched, what do we do with Jesus? Do we pack Him away until the next Christmas season? Do we wrap Him up in tissue-paper and stuff Him inside a box with the wise men, Mary, Joseph, shepherds, sheep and angels? Do we find His light a little too stringent for daily consumption? Do we want to keep Him contained, easy to deal with, a small ceramic infant lying on a resin bed of hay? Or perhaps we can choose another course.

               Like the Maji and shepherds from so long ago, we might come to rejoice and worship. We might allow the light of the world to shine into our lives. Of course, letting Immanuel in to shine His light around entails risk. His light illuminates those seedy dark areas of our lives needing attention, and that’s the problem. We cherish the infant Immanuel. After all, what’s threatening about a baby? A baby cannot hurt anyone, and they need us for everything, food, warmth, and shelter. But, babies grow up.

               Immanuel doesn’t stay in the manger. He grows. He learns. He comes into His own. His light shines into our darkness and our darkness cannot overcome it. That’s the challenge of Christmas. The wise-men came, bowed, worshiped, and gave gifts. Herod reacted in alarm and loathing, destroying all the young male children under three in the process. I fear that most of the time we simply pack Jesus away, not wanting to deal with the impact of Imanuel, God with us. Outside of the box, free to roam about and influence our lives, Jesus is too dangerous, His light to intense. A babe inside a box is much easier to contain or ignore. A God standing next to me, rubbing shoulders with me in my messy humanity presents too much of a challenge. The meek and mild infant did not stay that way.

               He grew into a man who challenged all our preconceived ideas of what right looks like. He refused to conform to what we thought our religion ought to look like. In fact, like Herod and the other beautiful people of the first century, we often do not recognize Him. We want to wrap Him in tissue paper and keep Him in a box until next year. We may not understand or even recognize Him, but He remains. His light shines into the darkness. The darkness cannot quench or understand Him. The only question is, will we let Him out of Christmas into the rest of our year. Will we let Him have His way with us?

Some Thoughts Concerning Pornography

                I grew up in the age of paper porn. We either had an uncle or older brother with a questionable subscription, or we had to summon the courage to go into a convenience store to purchase one, hoping that the clerk did not care about the laws regarding age…or that they were not a woman. That alone kept most of us from imbibing in large amounts of porn. Then came the internet and things changed. Suddenly porn became something accessed from the privacy of your own dark bedroom. Many of us, self-included, fell into a deep dark depraved pornnado. We whiled away hours degrading ourselves and our ability to engage in Godly sex, and all in relative anonymity with no monetary cost. Sadly, the cost comes in marital relationships bereft of one of God’s greatest gifts, true intimacy. Here are some thoughts regarding the effects of pornography and how to fight the temptation:

1.      I share these as struggler who’s currently enjoying victory over porn. Please remember that this victory comes from the Lord and not my own strength, which is manifestly unequal to the task. Unfortunately, in the past these periods of victory have been all too fleeting, vaporous, and ephemeral. So, I write as a fellow struggler, and this current season of victory is from the Lord not my own abilities. Romans 6:4

2.      Porn takes an event God designed to express intimacy and union on the deepest level and turns it into a solitary act of self-gratification. The longer we stay ensnared in the grips of porn, the harder it is to enjoy healthy sexual relations with our spouses. Instead of giving ourselves, in love, to our partner, we ingrain the thought-pattern of sex as a self-gratifying “taking” act into our psyche. The longer we engage in porn, the deeper we drive the habit of “taking sex” into our behaviors. This self-centered focus makes meaningful sex nearly impossible since we approach the sex act as simple self-gratification instead of the giving unifying act God intended. Ephesians 5:29-33

3.      We mistakenly own the thoughts and impulses that lead to pornography. Not every thought that crosses our minds comes from us. I believe that many of the thoughts that lead to pornography are planted by satan. We assume they come from our hearts and minds and fail to engage in the spiritual warfare needed to combat them. Our inaction cedes the spiritual landscape of our minds to the enemy. We need to fight back, employing the powerful name of Jesus to help us in those dark hours of desperate need. II Corinthians 10:3-5

4.      We often miss the subtle attacks delivered through our casual consumption of modern media. Advertisers and merchants have long known that “sex sells,” and exploit this fact. We need to exercise discernment concerning what we consume. Movies that feature risqué scenes titillate and those thoughts and images often linger and later lead us into darker moments. In effect, these images pave the way for darker impulses later. We need to carefully select those images and stories that we let into our minds and not underestimate the effects of what we consume. Job 31:1

5.      All our lives, all our marriages have seasons. When we face trouble or turmoil in our lives we often turn to the trap of self-gratification through pornography. When those rough patches come our way, engage them in prayer and consultation with friends who are fellow believers. We should not attempt to struggle through them alone! We were not meant to battle in solitude. Seeking the Lord’s help in prayer and the support of brothers in Christ helps to fortify us against the attacks from the evil one. Godly marriage counseling may be in order. Ecclesiastes 4:12

The true battlefield for our souls is in the heart and mind of men. In our current age, satan has exploited the easy anonymous nature of the internet to attack us at our weakest. But we need not succumb to his attacks. God has provided us the weapons of spiritual warfare. Ephesians 6:10-18, and we need not battle alone. I suppose that as long as we draw breath as men, satan will seek to attack in this area, and while I currently enjoy a period of victory in this, I also know that satan will not give up. I also know that God is greater and has designed and destined me for something better than what the world accepts. I hope these words help you in some small way.