SUPERIOR SATISFYING TASTE

December 7, 2016 By revheff in Uncategorized Tags: food, goodness, satsfaction 4 Comments

Experiencing a Taste Better Than 10,000 Kinds of Food

Yesterday in Miami Dr. Marx examined the scan of my jaw now two weeks post Operation Robojaw Two. “Everything looks great,” he pronounced. And then, turning back to look me in the eye, added, “Only one more week to go.”

wires

My heart sank. I had nursed a slim home he might release the Miami Vice Grip inside my mouth a week early. Not a chance. “The bone graft is about the consistency of cardboard,” he explained. “Still needs to harden some.” Doc knows best. I kept my mouth shut. What else could I do anyway?

Honestly, the jaw wired shut thing has proven less problematic than I imagined. I could do without the sharp edges digging into my cheeks, but I quickly discovered orthodontic wax to help on that score.

The biggest deprivation? Food and its taste, of course. I posted about this from the get go. I have another week to drill down deeper on the spiritual satisfaction level through this latest episode of cancer and its dramatic impact in my life.

It’s not that I don’t get to taste anything. The choices on a liquid diet, however, are quite limited. I suspect I won’t make another smoothie for months once I can chew again.

I was reminded recently with Gordon Meier’s help, in his book Taste: My New Life Without Food, how the Bible uses the concept of taste with respect to our spiritual lives. Psalm 34:8 provides a perfect example: Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!

The Hebrew word translated “taste” occurs eleven times in the Old Testament. In all but two instances it refers to literal tasting of food and drink. But two times it carries this figurative sense of experiencing something to discern its pleasantness.

Proverbs 31:18–referring to the virtuous wife–helps get the meaning of the poet in Psalm 34:8. She perceives that her merchandise is profitable. Her lamp does not go out at night (emphasis mine).

The Psalmist invites us–actually commands us–to sample the Lord, like a sommelier sips a fine wine, to discern/perceive His surpassing excellence to our soul’s palate. Those who do, he declares, find great blessing having taken refuge in Him.

So I have another week to go without the heavenly taste of stuffed omelets, fried potatoes, grilled salmon, chocolate chip cookies, just to name a few. How does a certified foodie like me do that? He has to focus daily, by God’s grace, on the superior satisfaction of Jesus and His ultimate goodness.

Have you responded to the invitation to taste and see that the Lord is good? Why not see for yourself? Sample some of His fare from the Bible where the words are counted sweeter than honey to the mouth (Psalm 119:103). The Psalms make a great place to start tasting!

Are you experiencing some deprivation of God’s good gifts leaving you hungry and empty? Choose moving toward Him for your soul’s satisfaction for the taste so superior in every way. You’ll be blessed in the refuge He provides.

Taste and see that God is not only good; He is enough.

THE TRIPLE FENCE

December 1, 2016 By revheff in Spiritual Life Tags: prayer, tongue Leave a comment

An Extraordinary Benefit To Having My Jaw Wired Shut

One week down. Two to go. Robojaw 2 left me Meatless in Miami–a major upside to the whole jaw-wired-shut deal recorded in that post. Today another half-glass-full look at things from Revheff Smoothie Town.

Zipped mouth

It came to me during my morning reading in the Scriptures. Psalm 141:3 stopped me cold:

Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips!

King David prays. His sense of urgency in approaching I AM is palpable in the first two verses. Need drives him. Concern grips him. Several items make up his list of petitions.

Note the starting place. Of all the things I’ve ever prayed for to get help, I don’t think this particular issue ever made priority one: post a sentry over my speech. The Hebrew word for “guard” is closely related to the cognate “eyelid.”

David asks the Lord to keep a close eye on the gate separating his tongue from communication with others. Essentially he asks God to exercise great care over that strategic location.

Puritan Thomas Watson made this observation about how God has provided for this very protection by the wonders of creation:

God has given us two ears, but one tongue, to show that we should be swift to hear, but slow to speak. God has set a double fence before the tongue, the teeth and the lips, to teach us to be wary that we offend not with our tongue.

A double fence. What a word picture! For me He has ordained an additional barrier–a wired shut jaw. Amazing the economy of words one settles for when speaking so as to be understood requires so much effort at articulation.

The triple fencing of my tongue has led to three insights as to why we would all do well to take our cue from David and regularly pray the same prayer.

One, no one can tame the tongue in his/her own strength. James 5:8 settles this issue: But no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. Think of your tongue as a venomous viper ready to strike at the slightest provocation. Only one handler can tame it, but we must ask for His help.

Two, prayer on this score can spare us a world of difficulty. Prov. 21:23 advises: Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble. I shudder to think how often ill advised words have gotten me into hot water. I posted about this quite recently here. James gets even more vivid with metaphors on this score in James 3:5-6.

⁵So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! ⁶And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell.

That which has the power of life and death at its command needs all the fencing it can get (Prov. 18:21).

Three, fenced tongues matter greatly to a church’s peace. Among the things God hates we find these in Prov. 6:19: a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers. Few things disrupt unity in God’s church like runaway tongues.

May we follow the example of the One who when reviled opened not His mouth (Isa. 53:7).

That starts by making the tongue a high priority matter in our praying.

MEATLESS IN MIAMI

November 27, 2016 By revheff in Spiritual Life Tags: food, satisfaction 10 Comments

When Life Is More Than Food

I’ve seen this movie before. The sequel, like most, is worse than the original–at least with respect to the diet. Robojaw 2 leaves me not just meatless for three weeks, but “solidless” in every other way too.

food-by-syringe

The next twenty-one days for this titanium man mean ingesting only liquids through a syringe. My kingdom for dinner at Emeril’s.

I get discharged today. Things went very well thanks to abundant prayers and Class A cutters and their staff. I’m grateful–really I am. But why back in prolonged involuntary fasting mode–AGAIN?

They kept me alive back in ’05 for four months on IV TPN 12 hour-per day nutrition. Robojaw 1 left me unable to chew solids for an eternity, but at least I could blend meats and the like with lots of sauce in the Vitamix. But this time around enter a new wrinkle–chains on the jaw.

Chewing is my worst enemy toward jaw-rebuild success. That puppy has to stay immobilized. I don’t mind telling you–it’s a really strange feeling to have your mouth clamped shut. Makes spitting a whole new adventure, I assure you.

The Lord gave me some perspective on the matter this morning. I started reading a book called Taste:My New Life Without Food. A couple in my church gifted it to me just before I left for the latest Miami procedure.

Author Gordon Meier, a pastor like me, hasn’t eaten ANYTHING since 2012–thanks to some rare, bizarre intestinal disease I won’t bother to spell out.

He drew me in immediately with his story. I also appreciated his handling of God’s word.

Commenting on Jesus’ teaching in Matt. 6:25-33 about how life is more than food–and a whole lot of other things–he writes:

And whenever I struggle, wanting to eat something so badly, I am rebuked and reminded that my spiritual roots need to go deeper into him, and I am learning to allow Jesus to be my bread that satisfies. All other food only appeals to my surface appetites. My appetites need to be transferred to and focused on that which will last. . . . Physical food simply doesn’t last. But Jesus lasts. He is the essence of what ultimately satisfies (30).

Oh yeah. That’s why I’m meatless in Miami again.

Let me better feast the feast that ultimately satisfies.

I’ll drink to that.

OPERATION ROBOJAW TWO

November 22, 2016 By revheff in Uncategorized Tags: health, surgery 12 Comments

Ways To Pray for My Latest Jaw Journey

In about an hour from writing this post, I head for Miami. Tomorrow morning the oral surgical team at Jackson South will open me up for measures necessitated from massive radiation treatment for head and neck cancer back in 2005. Nice way to spend a Thanksgiving, eh?

Jaw dental x-ray scan front view

I must keep this brief as time escapes me. In most ways my prayer requests remain much the same as they were for Robojaw One. You can watch that video post here.

However, a few specifics come with this second major step in the four-part journey to return some form of normalcy to my mangled mandible.

Before listing those, here is a brief synopsis of the strategy for step two. The procedure should last about six hours. It is scheduled for 8 AM on 11/23. It involves taking bone marrow and stem cells from my hips, mixing that with a protein I can’t pronounce, along with cadaver bone from the hospital reserve (nice huh?).

They mix that into a paste and rebuild what they call the “vestibule.” I asked the doc if he could install a narthex while he was in there, but I don’t know that he got my attempt at church humor.

Now for the fun part. They wire my jaw shut for three weeks. Imagine the irony. A preacher with his jaw wired shut. One of my armor bearing brothers at OGC has taken to calling it, Operation Miami Vice-Grip. Nice.

So, here’s how you can pray and I am SO thankful that you might:

That I adjust quickly to the wiring of the jaw and am able to take in adequate nutrition so my weight does not drop too far.
That I recover sufficiently that while I’m out on this medical leave I might make major headway on writing my book.
That I might be able to return to the pulpit on Jan. 1. I really, really, really want to preach the New Year’s message for my church’s joy and encouragement, if the Lord wills.

Again, thanks a ton. Hope to report on another blog post soon from the other side of Robojaw Two!

POLITICS & CHURCH PEACE

November 10, 2016 By revheff in Peacemaking, Uncategorized Tags: politics, sovereignty 1 Comment

So many things threaten the peace and purity of God’s church. Differing opinions about politics can divide God’s people in challenging ways. I offered the following to my church to help ground us in a kingdom view for guarding our oneness.

I awoke Wednesday morning to learn that Donald Trump tweeted a revised bio on his feed: president elect of the United States.

Illustration of presidential campaign buttons

Honestly, as with the pre-election realities―unlike anything I can recall in my lifetime―I find myself on this side of Election Day scratching my pastoral head as to what to make of our state of the union.

If ever I would categorize something as a Psalm 131:2 “too-high-for-me/above-my-pay-grade” scenario, the political drama unfolding before our eyes in 2016 qualifies as much as any of the other mysterious providences to enter my life this year.

While wrestling frequently over where to cast my vote, I have resisted occupying myself with the outcome in a hand-wringing, anxiety-ridden, prideful occupying of myself with what I can’t control. God has helped me calm my soul with weaned-child perspective born of His persistent work in my sometimes frantic fretting over baffling providences.

No doubt a wide range of emotions exists within our body this week, regardless of individual political preferences. In this article, I want to point us to David’s exhortation in Psalm 131:3 to hope in the Lord from this time forth and forevermore. Consider these truths from God’s word to garrison that hope in your heart.

One, God is sovereign over all things. Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases (Psalm 115:3). Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose’ (Isaiah 46:9-10).

Among all the things that moved and shifted overnight last Tuesday, Jesus didn’t. He remains enthroned in the heavens at the Father’s right hand until He brings all His enemies under His feet (1 Cor. 15:25). He reigns!

Two, God’s sovereignty prevails in specific over rulers, kings, prime ministers and presidents alike. For not from the east or from the west and not from the wilderness comes lifting up, but it is God who executes judgment, putting down one and lifting up another (Psalm 75:6-7).

Regardless for whom you voted—and I hope you did exercise your US citizen stewardship responsibility to do so—God has judged. He put down Secretary Clinton and lifted up Mr. Trump. Is a trumpet blown in a city, and the people are not afraid? Does disaster come to a city, unless the Lord has done it (Amos 3:6)?

Please don’t misread me. I’m not implying I consider the president elect a disaster. Nor do I necessarily regard him a monumental blessing. My political sentiments as a citizen of our country are my personal business.

What I’m simply saying by citing that verse is this: even if Donald Trump proves to be the worst thing to ever happen to our country, the best thing, or likely somewhere in between, God will have done it. Furthermore, I want to caution us to exercise care in the way we judge. J. D. Greear said this very well in his post-election article:

I’d encourage us to be cautious about declaring definitively God’s intentions in this election. I’ve already seen social media filling up with some declaring Trump as “God’s answer to the prayers of his people,” and others declaring him to be the “judgment of God on America.” A better posture is to encourage Trump where he works for justice and pursues righteousness, and speak against him where he promotes injustice. It is almost never wise to appoint yourself God’s spokesman about contemporary events. (That has led to several devastating chapters in history!) Based on what you see in Scripture, stand with righteousness and against injustice wherever you see it (emphasis mine).

As I think about preaching 1 Peter this Sunday and the plight of the persecuted church, I find myself grateful that the beast Nero doesn’t rule over us. We could be worse off—far worse. As Scripture urges honoring even tyrants like Rome’s emperor (1 Pet. 2:17) and prayer for all in authority over us (1 Tim. 2:1-2), let us make that our default response to our country’s recent turn of events.

Mr. Trump’s heart, as with President Obama and every other White House occupant, is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will (Prov. 21:1). The Lord’s eyes keep watch on the nations (Psalm 66:7). The USA is no exception. God’s got this deal!

Three, our citizenship in heaven (Phil. 3:20) supersedes all allegiances on earth, including our beloved country. I’m grateful to possess a US passport; I’m infinitely more excited that my name is written in the book of life (Luke 10:20). Every US citizen who follows Jesus is longing for a better country, a heavenly one―or should be (Heb. 11:16).

Are you crushed by Tuesday’s outcome? Are you unsure what to think? Has it left you with a sense of angst to some degree? Let the longings stirred up as a result set your mind and heart toward your heavenly kingdom. Redouble your energies for being on mission for Jesus—knowing Him to make Him known.

Jesus never said, “I will build the USA and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.” He never said that about Israel as well, nor any other geopolitical entity. No, He raised that banner over His church and her alone (Matt. 16:18). The church of Jesus Christ alone ultimately triumphs through election cycles, centuries, and millennia.

Good news, church. We win! He is coming again with myriads of angels to make all things right (1 Thess. 4:16). He will judge the living and the dead (2 Tim. 4:1). The New Heavens and New Earth remain our treasured inheritance kept for us by God’s power (1 Pet. 1:5). So hope in the Lord, church of the redeemed, from this time forth and forever.

After a friend of mine shared his sentiments about the outcome of this election, he proceeded to say this to me: before the day is out I plan to read through the book of Daniel in one sitting. Not a bad place to ground oneself in these too great and marvelous times in which we live.

GRIEVING SIN

November 7, 2016 By revheff in Peacemaking Tags: confession, repentance 6 Comments

Mending Fences When You Break Peace with Others

Recently I found myself back in the house of mourning. Gratefully it had nothing to do with death of a loved one. But the intensity of grief I felt seemed eerily reminiscent of the past three years.

Farmer binding the wire in pasture

What happened? I wounded a friend. A joke I played backfired–miserably. I sensed it minutes after I did it. I tried to reverse course. Too late. Damage already done. The brother I harmed, a committed peacemaker, spoke plainly in truth and love just how deep the hurt went.

I hate my sin–especially when it affects others. The Lord immediately impressed upon me the weight of my guilt.

Any follower of Jesus, eager to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Eph. 4:3) with others, identifies with the sense of loss which accompanies breaking fellowship this way. What to do?

Three steps at least are warranted.

One, repent quickly.

The apostle Paul commended one church this way: For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment (2 Cor. 7:11).

Repentance involves a changing of one’s mind which turns away from wrong in favor of aligning with God’s will on a matter. It is always better to do that sooner rather than later to avoid hardness of heart.

Two, confess robustly.

Beware the temptation to apologize inadequately just to get out of the doghouse with someone as quickly as possible. Use Peacemaker Ministries 7 A’s of Confession as a helpful template for full-orbed confession. These will keep you from birthing what a friend of mine calls an “abortive confession.”

Address everyone involved (All those whom you affected)
Avoid if, but, and maybe (Do not try to excuse your wrongs)
Admit specifically (Both attitudes and actions)
Acknowledge the hurt (Express sorrow for hurting someone)
Accept the consequences (Such as making restitution)
Alter your behavior (Change your attitudes and actions)
Ask for forgiveness

Each of these matters in robust confession but numbers three and four make a world of difference in communicating godly grief over sin which breaks relationships. With my friend I said something like this: I violated the law of love in 1 Cor. 13:4-7. I was unkind and I was rude.

I quickly gathered how much hurt I had caused by joking around. I had to own insensitivity that touched a terribly important aspect of his personal peace.

Third, believe boldly.

Believe what? The gospel of grace and its promise of forgiveness through the finished work of Jesus on the cross. Don’t do what I tend to do–wallow in a form of grief which amounts to self-imposed shame. In other words avoid the temptation to beat yourself up.

Cling tightly to the words of Heb. 4:16. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

And get back to loving your friend the way you used to and even better.

GOD OF THE NEW THING

October 23, 2016 By revheff in Personal Reflection Tags: relationships, update 14 Comments

The Best News I’ve Had in a Long Time

A dear friend recently encouraged me with these words from the sacred text:

Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert (Isa. 43:19).

The purpose of this post is to report a new thing, a good thing, I perceive the Lord doing in my life.

Development business concept

Recently I’ve begun to get to know personally a godly woman in my church.

Jan Spence has been a covenant member at Orlando Grace for a couple of years now. I approached her a month ago with the notion of entertaining something more than a shepherd/sheep relationship between us. Would she even consider praying about it?, I asked–half expecting to get shot down in a ball of flames.

Though my initiative shocked her somewhat, she chose not to run for her life. She prayed. Then she hit me with some forthright, understandably necessary questions. I answered each honestly before the Lord. And then she said, “Yes, I’m willing.”

Well, what in the world to do now? Needless to say, I’ve not swum in these for waters for decades. And Jan has been quite content in her singleness for the last twelve years. We decided to talk on the phone initially keeping things between the two of us.

The more questions we asked of each other and responses we shared, the more our mutual attraction began growing. We quickly discerned the wisdom of confiding in the elders of our church for their protection and counsel. Much guidance has come through them. We welcome their ongoing accountability.

Our biggest puzzle has been how to go public with the news. Both of us want to love our church and friends well. My role as a pastor requires extra care here in guarding the welfare of my church to the degree that I can. Jan wants that very much as well. We have no peace about people learning this piecemeal through here-and-there conversations.

So, the more we prayed and counseled, the more we settled on my doing what I always do. Blog. I’ve sought to cultivate my author’s voice through this medium for years now. It has served me well both in keeping folks up to speed with my health issues and my family losses.

We simply cannot think of a better way to inform as many folks at the same time as possible. Furthermore this creates a written account of things so that those who hear secondhand have a resource to access for the firsthand version.

Jan wisely asked me about my grief process in mourning Nancy. I don’t know that the sense of loss attached to losing someone so special in your life ever completely ends. Honestly, I have wondered myself at times about the place of contentment I found on the other side of my bereavement leave.

I attribute that to God’s grace, enormous support, confidence of Nan’s eternal destiny, focusing on the great marriage we had—almost 42 years I never deserved—and, finally, the anticipatory grief I experienced for fifteen months, which I spoke about in my last post.

But there comes a time for moving on when spiritual, emotional, and mental health permit. Those who know me best validate that God has done a work in helping me in this regard.

The affirmation Jan and I have received from our spiritual leadership, closest confidants, and our extended families has given us great encouragement to continue down the road of exploring what God has for us.

With all the heartache and suffering of late, I welcome this providence as God’s gift and could not be happier for it. Perhaps Psalm 30:11-12 best summarizes my sentiments:

¹¹You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;
you have loosed my sackcloth
and clothed me with gladness,
¹²that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!

In case anyone at OGC is wondering . . . I have asked Jan if she will sit with me on Sundays at church. Though the challenge of assuming a seat once occupied by Nancy is not lost on her, she has agreed to that as well.

Please pray for us to abide in the will of God at every turn as we wait on Him and continue to get to know one another. Thank you.

ON GRIEVING

October 17, 2016 By revheff in Uncategorized Tags: grief, loss 9 Comments

Personal Reflections About the Journey Through Loss

Though off topic in terms of my usual subject matter, this day demands it. The wife of my youth, Nancy, would have turned 67 today had the Lord granted her length of days.

Dried rose on old vintage wood plates

Anniversaries present their own peculiar challenges to the grief process. Her birthday marks the second of these for me. My birthday last month was the first. The next? What would have been our 42nd wedding anniversary this December 21. One at a time.

The content for this post actually crystallized for me on a prayer walk beside Lake Michigan during my bereavement leave. While I don’t consider myself an expert on this subject by any means, losing a son and a bride within the span of three years time tutors one in a way like little else can do.

Perhaps this post may help others navigating what C. S. Lewis likened to the amputation of a limb. I would prefer “limbs.”

My penchant for acrostics carried the day for these five reflections. What can I say? I love this format for remembering content.

G—guard your heart from resentment. Prov. 4:23 warns, “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.” That’s hard enough to do on the mountain top let alone walking through the valley of the shadow. “The heart knows its own bitterness” (Prov. 14:10).

Few things poison one’s inner being worse than resentment lodged in the heart. I’ve prayed often on the battleground of suffering, “Lord, please protect me from resentment’s assault.”

R—relish the memories of the past. This has helped guard my heart. I’ve determined to focus on the gift of nearly 42 years with a rock-star woman rather than what years we won’t ever enjoy together. I didn’t deserve one day of those we shared anyway.

Normally Nan and I would have spent her birthday on the deck of our Idaho home overlooking the Clearwater Valley. Few things gave me more pleasure than hearing her voice, talking together, wiling away the chill of the night with the fire pit aflame before us.

Psalm 77:11 has sweetly charted my way through these five months–“I will remember the deeds of the Lord . . . your wonders of old.”

I—invite your friends into the process. This has been huge! How grateful I am for brothers and sisters who have wept with me in my weeping (Prov. 12:15).

Withdrawal from others in lament has its place. I’ve needed alone time to process. But isolation presents a slippery slope potentially robbing one of wisely chosen community with those skilled in drawing out the heart (Prov. 20:5).

E—engage your emotions in the present. What a roller coaster! Though honestly grief proved more challenging with Josh’s lost than with Nan’s. Our son passed with no warning; Nancy traveled the valley for months and it happened right before my very eyes. Hospice calls it anticipatory grief.

Still, one never knows when sadness will hijack the feelings. I took a personal day today just so I would have some latitude for dealing with this prospect without the demands of my everyday ministry responsibilities. And how grateful I am for the elders at OGC and her people for granting me twelve weeks bereavement leave for doing the same last summer.

F–faith your way into the future. By God’s grace, I’ve never dropped my shield of faith in my fight with this formidable foe, grief (Eph. 6:16). Perhaps no promise ever means more for leaving the past behind and pressing on into what God has for me in the days ahead than Rom. 8:32. “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?”

God has already done the harder thing. Jesus died for me making me His own. How can I conceivably entertain the prospect that He won’t graciously give me absolutely everything I need for the future, even though in His wise and always good providence it no longer includes the once delight of my eyes?

“SULLY” SENSATIONAL

October 5, 2016 By revheff in Leadership Tags: example, peacemaking 2 Comments

Four Things Peacemaking Leaders Do Well To Imitate from Captain Sullenberger

Rarely do I want to see motion pictures in a theater these days. The dearth of redemptive films released lately disappoints a guy like me who relishes quality cinema.

alg-plane-jpg

No problem on that score with “Sully”–director Clint Eastwood’s riveting telling of the drama surrounding the US Air pilot who successfully landed Flight 1549 in the Hudson River on January 15, 2009 after a crippling bird strike shortly upon takeoff.

This film moved me to tears at points. As I left the theater I asked the Lord why that was so. His answer seemed so clear to me. The main character, played masterfully by Tom Hanks, represents so much of the kind of man I desire to be as a peacemaking pastor.

These four virtues stood out along the 96 minute run time, which frankly felt more like half as many minutes to me.

One, humility. Though highly regarded by an admiring populace throughout NYC, Sully eschews the role of hero. “Just doing my job.” Effective peacemaking leadership which eagerly preserves the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace starts with this all-important virtue (Eph. 4:1-3).

Two, patience. Much of the film’s tension in storytelling surrounds the aftermath of the crash as the NTSB investigates the details of the event. The search for error on both pilots’ part resulting in the water landing rather than returning to La Guardia airport leads to insinuation of fault at best and outright accusation of blame at worst.

Not once does Sully lose his cool. He even intercepts the rising irritation on his co-pilot’s part before emotions can escalate unhelpfully during their public hearing. Peacemaking pastors must model a patiently-enduring-evil-self-control or risk losing the reconciliation effort due to their own sinfulness (2 Tim. 2:24).

Three, love. One of my favorite moments in the film comes near the end. A reporter asks how Sully did the feat never done before. He immediately responded, “I didn’t. We did it, all of us.” Then he proceeded to rattle off the litany of names of the crew, the first responders on the scene, citizens of the New York City, etc., praising the efforts of others in partnership that remarkable day. Peacemaking leaders affirm others and deflect attention from themselves for the greater good (Phil. 2:3-4).

Four, perseverance. The man never caved under pressure. He pursued the truth in love at every turn. Perhaps the most compelling scene for this pastor came on the downed plane apparently empty of all 155 souls on board. The intensity with which the captain searched the fast-flooding plane to make as certain as possible all were accounted for before he abandoned the aircraft inspired me. I immediately thought of Heb. 13:17. Peacemaking pastors who will give account to God for the souls on board their churches must exercise a similar resolve to do all they can for their welfare.

Check out the trailer below for a sneak peek.

I intend to see it again with my co-pilot, Pastor Mike, to compare notes about how we can become become better peacemaking leaders from this powerful example.

CHURCH PEACE: A WARFARE MATTER (2)

September 29, 2016 By revheff in Spiritual Life Tags: armor of God 2 Comments

Four Spiritual Warfare Strategies for Preserving Peace in the Church

In my first post on this important aspect of preserving unity in the church, I argued for the need to fight for peace in the invisible realm.

Roman Soldier Armor

Paul lands his letter to the Ephesians on the strategic topic of spiritual warfare. He presents four battle tactics for successfully defeating the enemy of our souls in every kind of conflict.

Trust your God.
Know your enemy.
Wear your armor.
Say your prayers.

I can’t say everything I would like to about these tactics. I have to save something for the men’s retreat I get to lead this weekend. But here’s what I can offer on the third strategy.

Three, wear your armor for its protection. The Lord equips us with six crucial pieces of battle weaponry for both offensive and defensive purposes in dealing with the enemy.

The belt of truth. The belt held everything else together for the Roman soldier. Since Satan’s principle scheme to defeat us involves deception, it is absolutely imperative that we arm ourselves with the truth of God’s word to counterattack.
The breastplate of righteousness. This piece covered a soldier front and back. It protected all his major organs. The more we live out Christ’s righteousness gifted to us by faith, the less ground we give Satan to trip us up. For example, if we harbor resentment toward someone rather than forgive, that presence of unrighteousness in our lives opens the door for enemy infiltration (2 Cor. 2:10-11).
The gospel footwear. As shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. Shoes for the soldier meant two things: mobility and stability. Believers are to be ever on the move for the gospel in brokering peace between a rebel race and a holy God. And they must stand firm in that gospel of forgiveness when the accuser comes to indict for various offenses (Rev. 12:10).
The shield of faith. This we cannot do without. The Roman warrior used a huge, fireproof shield behind which he could position his entire body. We must do everything we can to sustain our faith or Satan’s flaming darts will surely get through to do their damage.
The helmet of salvation. This piece protects the mind. It orients our thinking toward all three phases of Christ’s saving work: past, present, and future. Given the similar usage of the word “helmet” in 1 Thess. 5:8, it seems Paul wants us thinking extra hard about the future and what God has in store for us in the New Heavens and New Earth.
The sword of the Spirit. This, Paul explains, is the word of God. This is a mighty weapon! It serves both offensive and defensive purposes. Offensively we wield it in evangelism. Defensively we make use of it in, among other things, fighting temptation, just as our Lord did (Matt. 4:1-11).