Let Jesus Deep-Six Your Fear

"There is a lot of fear in the world, we shouldn't make our imagined fears bigger than someone else's real fears."

That's what my son, Pastor Philip Daniels, observed while presenting this video from George Takei over on Facebook.

I couldn't possibly agree with Philip more.

I am especially stunned by the amount of fear that exists in America today. It makes me think of Jesus' words about it being easier for a camel to go through the eye of the needle than it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. That's because most Americans--at least white Americans who make up the lower middle class, like me--are wealthier, safer, and more secure than any other people in the world, more than any other people in the history of the world.

I can only read the fear that pervades America today as an indication of our poor spiritual health, of how far we have wandered away from the God we meet in Jesus Christ. Because we so value the finite things of this world, our culture and our politics are pervaded by shallow hedonism, indifference to others' humanity, and constant fear.

And this fear exists despite how much safer America is than at any time in the past twenty-five years. When money, pleasure, and personal happiness are your gods, fear takes control.

We are so afraid of losing what we have, that we are in danger of losing the life that only the God we know in Jesus Christ can give to us.

Christ calls us to a life of love for God and neighbor, set free from sin, the inborn condition that leads to things like fear, hedonism, authoritarianism, racism, and terror.

I want the boy in this video who longs to become an inventor and a pastor to be able to see his dreams come true. That can only happen when the leaders and the people of the world let go of fear and act with hope and faith.

This doesn't mean that we dismantle our armies or our missile silos; there are still bad people unwilling to live in relationship with God and neighbor, from whom children and all people need to be protected. It is to provide for such protection, security, and the general welfare that God has established governments on the earth.

But, if we will turn to the Lord Jesus Christ, the prince of peace, our lives will be transformed and we can live in the midst of the dangers and difficulties of this life without fear and instead, with hope, with faith, with peace.

I recognize that we live in a pluralistic nation. I don't believe in an established religion for the United States. I believe that Christianity, in fact, thrives in pluralistic societies because when people can freely consider Christianity in comparison with other ways of approaching life, Christianity will win people's hearts and lives.

But, having experienced life with Jesus Christ for forty years now, I can tell you confidently that He imparts the peace of God to those who trust in him (even as I confess to trusting Him imperfectly) and is, as He Himself has said, "the way, and the truth, and the life." Please consider following Jesus and be empowered to deep-six fear!

[Blogger Mark Daniels is pastor of Living Water Lutheran Church in Centerville, Ohio.]

The strange madness, the only way to be human

From our son, Pastor Philip Daniels:

When we are too busy loving our brothers and sisters, it is hard to find time to demonize them or write-off their sins and problems. When you love someone, you want what is best for that person. When you love someone, they will see your vision for them as being modeled on Christ-centered love rather than pharisaical hypocrisy. To love your enemies doesn't mean you allow them to do whatever they want. It means you love them so much that you are willing to enter into the messiness of their lives and be there for the hard cleaning. When we love our enemies, we are being like Christ. When we hate our enemies, we are nothing more than animals fighting for survival. There is a strange madness to the love of Christ, but the only way to live as a human is to be quite mad.

Amen

Phil Expresses His View Without Saying a Word

Apparently, son Philip didn't want to be videographed while eating at Cosi a few days ago.

"This is Christmas?"

That's the title of this interesting post by my son, Phil.

The Perfect Old Testament Book to Read in Advent

My son, Philip, on his blog, is doing a series of devotional comments on the Old Testament book of Isaiah for this Advent season. Here are links to the first three installments:

Reading Isaiah in Advent: An Introduction
Isaiah 1-3
Isaiah 4-6

Listening to...

House of Heroes. Lead singer Tim Skipper is the son of high school friends and was born just two days after our son, Phil, was born. HoH sound great!



The Lyrics:

In the valley of the dying sun
I walk a crooked path alone
I came across the shadow of a man
With an angel's breath

'O boy' he said to me
'I see your future'
'Though you long for peace
The sword is your father

I'm thinking of you
I'm thinking of you when I kill a good man
To keep myself from being killed by him
I'm thinking of you
I'm thinking of you when I hold my girl
And wonder if she'll ever love again
I'm thinking of you
Wash the blood off my hands

Bathed in the powder of a thousand guns
I am the king of sorrows
Watered by the tears of the innocent ones
The river grows
It moves
It swells

'Son' It calls to me
'Your days are numbered
Sow the seeds you will
But I am the reaper'

'I'm thinking of you
I'm thinking of you when you kill a good man
To keep yourself from being killed by him
I'm thinking of you
I'm thinking of you when you hold your girl
And wonder if she'll ever love again
I'm thinking of you
Wash the blood off your hands'

I howled at the moon like a wolf in the night
You want to finish it
We're gonna finish it right

And then I felt it with a chill up my spine
There are no words to use that truly describe
The glory of the angel or the terror in me
Tonight will be my ending or tonight my new beginning

All through the night
I wrestled the angel
To undo the curse
That's burdened me all of my life

And for the first time I could see
That God was not my enemy

"I'm thinking of you"

Like pieces of the sun
Our light burns on and on and on
Like stars in the night sky we shine
I'm living to shine on

"A history of American [economic] growth"

From The Economist. A fun, painless graphic presentation that puts things in perspective. Thanks, Phil.

Also, see here.

Why Lent is Like Spring

"It is a season of painful changes and eternal promises that eventually leads to the long-ago promise of life once again. It is a time when God will make all things new and when we finally realize that winter will not last forever."

The words from one of my favorite bloggers and one of my favorite people, my son Philip. Read the whole thing.