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.

 

Christmas Musing #32 A Small Package

¹⁵ When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” ¹⁶ And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.  Luke 2:15-16 English Standard Version

               When I was growing up, my best friend and I enjoyed an odd Christmas tradition. His family lived right behind us across the alley. Our families were close; close enough for us to enter through each other’s back door unannounced. After the “official” Christmas festivities had ended, late in the afternoon, we would trek back and forth between our houses examining the Christmas loot. Our parents employed similar presenting practices. We both would get a couple of fun gifts and a few practical gifts. It was always exciting to check out each other’s stuff. I remember one year he got extra large Army men. Most Army men are an inch or so in height, these were several inches tall. We played with those for years. In some ways, those visitations were the high point of the day. We shuttled back and forth between our houses with haste and glee, rejoicing at the cool things we got. Like the shepherds we wanted to see.

               Some of you have joined me on this month-long trek to see the babe in the manger. We received the news that our savior had been born and were given signs to look for. So off we went, hoping to see something wonderful at the end of our journey. And then we find our Lord and Savior in the most humble of circumstances, wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a feeding trough. As in the first century, most of us miss him. As John would put it in his gospel,

“⁹ The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. ¹⁰ He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. ¹¹ He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. John 1:9-11

               We do not know or receive Him because we expect something different, something more grand or impressive somehow. The creator, king of the universe, and savior of mankind doesn’t show up as a feeble, toothless baby. He especially doesn’t show up in the care of a young peasant girl and blue-collar-carpenter. But we find Immanuel, lying in a feeding-trough because there was no room for Him in a better place! We just find that hard to accept. But there He is, unexpectedly plain and insignificant. Will we respond like the shepherds and Maji or will we miss Him like Herod and the rest of the power-brokers in Palestine? So at the end of a long journey from heaven to earth, from God Almighty to an infant child, we behold Him, and worship the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace.

Christmas Musing #31 Breathless Anticipation

 ¹² And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger. Luke 2:12 English Standard Version

               As I remember it, neither my brother nor I particularly succumbed to the temptation to open Christmas gifts early or expended much energy snooping about, hoping to find hidden Christmas gifts. We seemed content to wait for the corporate opening. I do remember occasionally asking to open one on Christmas Eve; but, my father always met that request with a solemn, “No, on Christmas Day only.” Of course, we responded by waking up as early as possible on Christmas morning…until we were teenagers that is. I still find that part of the joy of Christmas comes wrapped up in breathless anticipation.

               Waiting to find out what lies beneath the pretty paper and ribbon brings great joy. When we were younger, my parents normally gave us one significant toy and then a few more prosaic, useful gifts. We always enjoyed opening that special gift. My parents seemed to know exactly what would please us. Our practice of carefully marking the J.C. Penny’s and Sears Catalogues probably helped; however, they rarely got us something we’d identified. Normally it was something unusual and especially fitting to our personalities and proclivities. One year I did not get the “cool” gift. I was disappointed. My mother asked me if I liked the game. I asked what game. It turned out that in the crush of getting things done before Christmas, she’d neglected to wrap it. I ran to the indicated closet and was overjoyed by a really cool board game, which I played for years, this being long before the advent of video games. We enjoy gifts and all the possibilities they represent.

               All of creation held its collective breath in anticipation of the Advent of Immanuel. The Jews ached for the promised Messiah and the new era. The marginalized and downtrodden longed for relief and comfort. The shepherds hurried to see this savior, wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. The Maji trekked hundreds of miles to see the new king. All them arrived in Bethlehem breathless with anticipation. They wanted to see this great new wonder heralded by stars and angels. And we too arrive in Bethlehem aquiver with expectation of something new, something wonderful.

               We exist in a dark and broken world. Glance through any newspaper and you will see headlines replete with disaster and disappointment. Our culture creaks along barely able to function. Disorder and chaos seem ready to pounce at any moment. The weak, marginalized, and insignificant labor against tremendous odds, often unable to rise above their circumstances. The wealthy and powerful still crush the poor and helpless in their insatiable thirst for influence and domination. We need something better.

               So on Christmas Eve, we all shuffle to Bethlehem, breathless with hope and desire for something, anything better. We’ve been told that our security and salvation lies in a manger, wrapped up and waiting. We hope that the messenger was not wrong, or we were deluded or mistaken. We need help from those foes outside and sadly, from our own malignant urgings and weaknesses. So, on Christmas Eve we peer into the manger ready to unwrap the great gift.

Christmas Musing #30 Pondering the Wonderful

 ⁵¹ And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart. Luke 2:51 English Standard Version

               “Mr. Robinson, do you know what I liked the most about your class,” a former student recently asked me?

               I wasn’t sure how to respond. Was it the reading material I assigned? Was it the fact that I let them drink coffee or hot chocolate in my class, an oddity in High School? Perhaps, it was the fun assignments? After all, I did try and dream up interesting things for students to do. Maybe it was the art or group projects? Those always seemed to get a warm response. Maybe, just maybe, it was the fun lectures? I did know that some students enjoyed the classroom discussions spawned by the lectures.

               “I’m not sure,” I replied, “What was it?

               “Christmas time,” they said, “I always knew that once you started playing Christmas music on the first of November, we’d get a day to decorate the classroom and then when we came back from Christmas break, we’d get a day to take down all the decorations.”

               Though it wasn’t quite what I expected, it could have been worse. I enjoy Christmas, all of it. But I love the deep spiritual meditation of the season. Sometimes the crush of events and the bedlam of racing from place to place distracts me, and I forget to pause and consider the import of Advent. I am possessed of a disposition that often worries about minutia. I want things to be “just so.” Fortunately, when the darkness falls and the quiet descends, Bethlehem beckons. In my mind I go to the stable, take my place, and stand my watch with the assembled. I consider the astounding miracle of God becoming flesh. The how eludes me. How can the being who created this earth and all that is in it compress themselves into a small infant child. Even more slippery and incomprehensible is the why.

               Why would the Lord care so much? Like Mary, I’ve stored all these things up in my mind. Through scripture, I travel all the way back to the garden and hear the crunch that echoes down through time. More importantly, I hear the promise of a coming salvation and its echo. God whispers to many different people in different ways, “I’m coming, and I will set things right.” The Maji turn and bid me join them in their long journey to worship and honor the new-born king. The shepherds, sitting on the hill, amazed at the rent sky and heavenly hosts spilling out with God’s glory, call to me to join them in seeking the Christ-Child.

               We all come to the manger in the stable. Yes, I know the Maji probably came later; however, in my mind we all arrive at the manger together. All of creation holds its breath in wonder at this mighty miracle, wrapped in infant flesh swathed in strips of cloth, lying on a bed of straw. Sitting alone in the soft glow of our Christmas lights, I turn these things over in my mind and wonder. Why would He care so much? Luke got it right, all of these things are treasure, coins to spend on those days when my heart grows sick of sin and the darkness of the world. They are coin to spend on the rejuvenation of my heart. So each Christmas, I ponder on this wonderful thing that God has done that makes all the difference for me…and this sin-sick world.

Christmas Musing #29 Things Hidden

 ²⁵ At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; ²⁶ yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. Matthew 11:25-26 English Standard Version

               Birth is a time of peril, and more importantly of great joy. Recently a good friend of mine anxiously sweated out the birth of his first grandchild. For medical reasons, they induced labor. I thought that meant a quick delivery…not always the case. For a couple of days, we got regular updates and eventually the longed-for text, “I can hear the cry of my grandson.” We all rejoiced and sent congratulatory texts. It was a moment of great celebration. I remember a few years ago when the world waited with great anxiousness the birth of a new member of the British Royal Family. Once things were complete, the Royal Family heralded the birth of a new king with great fanfare and proclamations around the globe. The royal line secured; all their realm breathed a great sigh of relief. A son had been born and the throne would pass on to a new generation without break or chaos. I remember sitting on the floor of our quarters in Germany, calling my parents after the birth of my son, a moment of relief and great rejoicing. We love sharing the great news of a new generation, a torch passed, a family expanded.

               God is not any different. When Jesus was born, God wanted to share the good news. His son, the messiah, Immanuel, was safely delivered. We like to share good news with important people, people who will rejoice with us. In the Army we carry on a tradition of the Cup-n-Flower-Fund. Part of what we do is rejoice with one another, giving new members of the military family a small remembrance of a new birth. So, when Jesus made His entry into our reality, God looked around for someone to share the good news with. Here is where it gets interesting.

               Think of all the major personalities of the first century, Caesar, Herod, and the leaders of the Jews, Pharisees, Sadducees, and Herodians. These are the beautiful people of the age. You would think that God would send them an invitation to see His newborn son. No, they did not get one because they did not get it. God sends an invite to the shepherds. “⁸ And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹ And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. Luke 2:8-9 God picked the lowest members of the community to send a special invite. Of course, they were quite frightened, but what an honor, to be on God’s shortlist for an invite to see His newborn son. In His interaction with the shepherds, God shows us something important; God seeks those with humble hearts to share the good news with. The proud and high up do not rate the special call. There is something about the lowly, meek, and downtrodden that draws God’s heart.

               Advent ought to focus us on the marginalized of our society, after all God reached out to them first. Cast your mind back to that dark night in the Judean hill country. All is quiet and peaceful. Perhaps you gaze up into the stars in wonder. Perhaps you simply stand watch over the sheep trying to keep from dozing off, when suddenly the dark night is rent and the glory of the Lord shines all around and you find yourself face to face with the Herald Angel. Life will not be the same. As always, Advent changes things.