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Posts tagged with: 9/11

Sheep, Sheep Dogs, Shepherds, and Wolves…What the Church can learn from 9/11

This writing is a modification of segments of Dave Grossman’s book titled, “On Killing.”

I hope my bringing attention to his book, helps him sell a few more.  If you’d like to buy his book, “On Killing” just click this link, or click the picture to the right.  Anything in “italicized quotes” below will be direct quotes from the book.

If you’d prefer to simply watch me preach this exact post…just click on this link. Advance the video to the 7 minute mark to get right to this material.

This post is meant for the Church, aka… followers of Jesus. Its a direct look at the roles that are played under the umbrella of christendom.

Its important to start by saying…Holiness never grows old. Holiness makes the heart, soul, mind, and strength of a human…Whole.  There is nothing quite like the created, living as the Creator intended.  To be a follower of Jesus sometimes means social disapproval, public scorn, hardship, persecution, or, in many parts of the world, the ultimate sacrifice of a martyrs death.

With a quarter century of Church leadership in my rearview mirror…I have learned to identify 4 types of people in and outside of the church body.

Most of the people in christendom are sheep. They are kind, gentle, productive people who mostly only hurt one another by accident.  What this means is that the vast majority of Church-goers are not inclined to hurt one another.  I suppose, if you’ve listened to enough stories, one might think that Churches are full of hypocrites, hucksters, and hurtful people.  Its simply not true.  Those stories are just more fun to tell, because our human-ness, oddly, is magnetically attentive to the gore stories.

The stories of christian hypocrisy would have us believe that we may well be in the most dysfunctional times of Church history, but the facts are… Church harm is still remarkably rare. This is because most christians are kind, decent people who are not capable of hurting each other, except by accident or under extreme provocation. The title is fitting…sheep. I mean nothing negative by calling them sheep. The Bible calls them sheep, too. Sheep, after all, are wonderful creatures.

The other spectrum beholds the wolves.  Wolves feed on the sheep mercilessly. There are evil people in the Church, and in the world, and they are capable of evil deeds. Lucifer is undoubtably the leader of wolves.  The moment you forget there are wolves or pretend they don’t affect you, you become a sheep.

 

In the middle of this riddle, there is also the shepherd.

Jesus, while on earth as a man, was the Great Shepherd.  There are some in the Church that are shepherds as well.  These shepherds are wonderful people.  The shepherd is a protector-gatherer.  The shepherd uses voice to protect and gather, shepherds are willing to lay down their life for the sheep.  The shepherd is absolutely a wonderful person.

Then there are sheepdogs.  The sheepdog lives to protect the flock of sheep from harm of any kind…especially from the wolf.

If you have no capacity for violence and are a healthy contributing Church goer, then you are remarkably a sheep or a shepherd.

If you have a capacity for violence and no empathy for people, then you are an aggressive or even a passive aggressive sociopath, a wolf.

But what if you have a capacity for violence, and a deep love for those inside and outside the body of Christ? What are you then? You are a sheepdog.  Someone who can walk into the heart of darkness, into the universal realm of human dread, stare the wolf in the eyes and not look away, and end up walking out with scars of glory as evidence of being a sheepdog…you probably even walk with a limp, and some sheep, confuse it to be a strut. It is no strut…it is a limp. The greatest sheepdogs walk with a limp.

The sheep, shepherd, and the wolves are always alert as to the sheepdog’s location. The shepherd needs the sheepdog and the sheepdog needs the Great Shepherd.

We know that the sheep live in an innocent form of denial, that is what makes them sheep. They do not want to face, or for some sheep, acknowledge, that there is real evil in the world. They can accept the fact that sin causes problems, which is why they want recovery groups for those people, youth Groups to save their kids, and secure Church buildings to gather as the flock, so they can be fed by a good shepherd.

The sheep generally do not like the sheepdog. A sheepdog looks kinda like a wolf. The sheepdog has fangs and the capacity for violence. The difference, though, is that the sheepdog must not, can not, and will not ever harm the sheep. Any sheepdog who intentionally harms the lowliest little lamb will be punished and removed. The Church cannot work any other way and it is clear in 1 Corinthians 5.  It can be very easy for a sheepdog to turn into a wolf.  This is why the sheepdog needs The Great Shepherd in close proximity as all times.

Still, the sheepdog disturbs the sheep and makes the shepherd nervous. The sheepdog is a constant reminder that there are wolves nearby. The sheep would prefer that the sheepdog didn’t tell them where to go, or warn them of impending dangers, here, or in eternity. The sheep would prefer the sheepdog didn’t direct them towards obedience to the commands of The Great Shepherd.  The sheep would much rather have the sheepdog grind down his fangs, purchase a sheep costume at the local Goodwill, zip himself up in it, and make sounds of, “Baa,” and fit into the flock a little more submissively.

Until the wolf shows up.

Then the entire mob of sheep tries desperately to hide behind one lonely sheepdog.

The local shepherds, typically are impactful at feeding the sheep.  The sheep under ordinary circumstances stay in the middle of the pasture and do their job as sheep. They are good sheep that feed the hungry, cloth the naked, love the orphan and widow, pay what is necessary to do more of such.  In their sheep-ness, they don’t have the time of day for the sheepdog.  Until the wolf pack comes within sight. The sheepdog nearly gets dog piled by the sheep as they seek to be safe.  This is how the sheep and the shepherd act towards the sheepdog when the wolf is at the door.

Please understand…there is nothing superior about the sheepdog; it is just what someone chooses to be. Also understand that a sheepdog is a carefully distant creature.  The sheepdog is always looking at the edge of the woods, the horizon, just over the hill, out on the perimeter, checking the breeze, looking into the dark, staying on the edges, and always prepared for a righteous battle.

Here is how the sheep and the sheepdog think differently. The sheep pretend the wolf will never come, they don’t plan for it, talk about it, or even like to think about it.  The sheepdog knows the wolf is close and has been prepared for an attack every since the day it decided to become a sheepdog. For a different perspective… “After the attacks on September 11, 2001, most of the sheep and shepherds, that is, most citizens in America said, “Thank God I wasn’t on one of those planes.” The sheepdogs, said, “Dear God, I wish I could have been on one of those planes. Maybe I could have made a difference.”

Once you choose to become a sheepdog, you make a decision to truly invest yourself in all that a sheepdog is about.  You want to be there when the wolf shows up. You want to be able to make a difference.  After all, eternity is at stake, and heaven and hell are in the balance.

I repeat…there is nothing morally superior about the sheepdog, but it does have one real advantage. Only one. The sheepdog is never attacked by the wolf.  Wolves target victims by their body language. slumped walk, passive nature, lack of awareness to surroundings…Sheep.  Sheepdogs stand tall, head up, shoulders back, aware, keen, sharp, armored up like Ephesians 6:10-18 demands!  Truly living under the shield of “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

On a side note…some might think they remember seeing a sheepdog getting attacked by a wolf.  Nope! If you think this, you just didn’t notice the wolf was actually just a sheep in wolf’s clothing. Oh yes, you heard that right.   Wolves don’t attack the sheepdog.  Only sheep who pretending to be a wolf are dumb enough to attack a sheepdog. However… There’s really no such thing as a sheep in wolf’s clothing…there’s only wolves.

Some people may be naturally lured to be sheep and others might be environmentally conditioned to be wolves or sheepdogs. But I believe that most people can choose which one they want to be, and I’m encouraged to say that more and more followers of Jesus are choosing to become sheepdogs like the forefathers of the faith…the ones referenced in the Hall of Faith found in Hebrews chapter 11 of the Holy Bible.

“Seven months after the attack on September 11, 2001, Todd Beamer was honored in his hometown of Cranbury, New Jersey. Todd, as you recall, was the man on Flight 93 over Pennsylvania who called on his cell phone to alert an operator from United Airlines about the hijacking. When he learned of the other three passenger planes that had been used as weapons, Todd dropped his phone and uttered the words, “Let’s roll,” which authorities believe was a signal to the other passengers to confront the terrorist hijackers. In one hour, a transformation occurred among the passengers – athletes, business people and parents. — from sheep to sheepdogs and together they fought the wolves, ultimately saving an unknown number of lives on the ground.”

A critical point to make is this… “In nature the sheep, real sheep, are born as sheep. Sheepdogs are born that way, and so are wolves. They didn’t have a choice. But you are not a critter. As a human being, you choose to be a sheep, shepherd, sheepdog, or a wolf. It is a conscious, moral decision.” 

“If you want to be a sheep, then you can be a sheep and that is okay, but you must understand the price you pay. When the wolf comes, you and your loved ones are going to die if there is not a sheepdog there to protect you. If you want to be a wolf, you can be one, but the sheepdogs are going to resist you and make you continually flee with your tail tucked between your legs, you will have no safety, no trust and you will eternally hunger for love. But if you want to be a sheepdog and walk the warrior’s path, then you must make a conscious and moral decision every day to dedicate, equip, and prepare yourself to thrive in that toxic, corrosive moment when the wolf comes knocking at the door…you are always preparing for that moment! 

And so the sheepdog must strive to confront denial in all aspects of life, and prepare themselves for the day when evil comes. If you are sheepdog who is immersed in the Double Edged Sword called the Holy Bible, and you, for even a short moment, forget, ignore, and reject your weapon, then you become a sheep, pretending that the wolf will not come today. In this spiritual world we live in, there is no down time when it comes to carrying your weapon with you.  Even when you rest, you must rest on, in, and with, the Word of God, within your heart, soul, mind, and strength.  If you disagree with me about this, all I ask of you is tip your head back and say this…

“Baa.”

This business of being a sheep, a shepherd, or a sheepdog is not a yes-no ultimatum. It is not an all-or-nothing, either-or choice.

It is a matter of degrees, a pendulum swinging. On one end is the head-in-the-sand-sheep and on the other end is the ultimate sheepdog. Few people exist completely on one end or the other. Most of us live somewhere in between.  For instance…Since 9-11 almost everyone in America took a step up that continuum, away from denial.

Followers of Jesus have recently taken a step up too.  When the US government became so bold as to redefine what marriage is and redefine what your biological sex is, it woke the Church.  It woke even some sleeping sheepdogs.

These shifts in time caused the sheep to take a few steps toward accepting and appreciating their sheepdog warriors, and the sheepdogs started taking their job more seriously. The direction to which you swing in this pendulum, away from sheephood and denial, is the degree to which you and your loved ones will thrive, spiritually, physically, emotionally, socially, in your marriage, your parenting, and your finances.

What is it for you? It is your choice.

Sheep

Shepherd

Sheepdog

Wolf.

It is a choice with huge ramifications. Choose wisely…I remind us all….our choice on this influences the populations of heaven and hell for eternity.


HYDRATE – Winning from the inside 29 (Matthew 6:19-21) Storage

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”Matthew 6:19-21 (NIV)

I write this blog on September 11, 2012. Eleven years, to the date, of when 19 men flew four massive airplanes into the Twin Towers in lower Manhattan, the Pentagon in D.C and one plane, intended for the White House, that never hit its target because people on the flight dared to stand up against the criminals that hijacked the plane, and thus it crashed in a field before it hit its intended target. 2,977 people were killed that day in this extreme act of cowardice and terror and pursuit of their eternal promises.

Our world calls them suicide bombers. I call them men who are faithful to their extreme belief, in what they believe, the Islam faith teaches them. There is much confusion in how to translate what the Koran teaches, just as there are many confusing things that Christians teach and do based off their understanding of what the Bible teaches. There are extremists in every faith. Christianity has too many stories in its history of men and women taking their Bible passages out of context. The crusades (1096-1155 AD) would be one perfect example of this.

When men and women begin to act out their selfish motives, and justify their actions by using scriptures out of context, people die violently, painfully, nonsensically, and what a tragedy it all is.

I want to compare a couple of teachings. One from the Koran and the other from the Holy Bible. Muhammed says one, Jesus says the other.

I’ll start with the following passage in a Web-based version of Islam’s book, the Koran. “Verily, for the Muttaqun [righteous], there will be a success (paradise); gardens and grapeyards; and young full-breasted maidens of equal age; and a full cup (of wine)” (An-Naba 78:31-34).

After reading that text above, you may wonder if you heard wrong about a promise of 72 virgins in a heaven that Muhammed describes. The mention of 72 virgins is not in the Koran, but is actually in what is called the “Hadith” which is basically a collection of sayings from Muhammed. In the Hadith, Muhammad is recorded as saying… “The least [reward] for the people of Heaven is 80,000 servants and 72 wives, over which stands a dome of pearls, aquamarine and ruby.” — Hadith number 2,562

The other teaching I want to compare with the one from the Koran is the passage this blog is about. Matthew 6:19-21. Matthew records this teaching that Jesus taught. “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Here’s the bottom line. Both teachings promise things in the eternal life. Both recognize that mankind is motivated by ownership and receiving…usually material goods. What’s the difference in these two teachings?

One teacher teaches that faithfulness to his teachings will be rewarded with full breasted women and virgins, wine, and servants, among many other things.

The other Teacher teaches that those who are faithful to His ways will be rewarded with eternity in the presence of the Creator and the Savior and the Holy Spirit.

Both faiths reference rewards of jewels, gold, joy, pleasure, etc, in eternity.
Both faiths reference sacrifice.
Both faiths reference living more for the eternal life than this temporal life.

So are they really different?
Yes…they are very different. Just as a bird compared to a human, in which both have many similarities, they are extremely different.

Only one faith, of these two, references laying down your own life so that others may live. Jesus teaches that there is no greater love than someone who lays down his/her life for others. A Muslim extremist believes that if he/she lays down his/her own life and kills others(especially non-Muslims) will be rewarded with the above referenced items of heaven.

The extremists in both faiths seem to understand Heaven as a place of self-reward.

True Christianity, as Jesus taught it, is less about material goods and physical pleasures and more about being allowed in the presence of Almighty God. I like to think of Heaven more as a person that a place. Albeit, it is still a place. But I believe that Jesus taught us to be focused more on the Father of Heaven than on the frills of Heaven.

This Matthew passage is the one time Jesus actually says to store up for yourself. My selfish nature, that tugs at my heart and mind daily, gets excited and manipulates me to start thinking that Heaven is all about me. However, my Spiritual nature kicks in and reminds me that everything is about God the Father and Jesus Christ, His sacrificial Son. In this battle between my selfish nature and my spiritual nature, on a good day, selfishness is forced to tap out.

When Jesus says to store up for myself, and then He gives me a description of what I should be putting into storage for future use, He clearly designates material things as trash, rust, and moth food. What does that leave us to store up for ourselves in Heaven, and how do I actually store them?

I believe that God does the “storing” by recording.

God’s Holy Scriptures give us a few hints about the Lamb’s book of life and also mentions that everything on earth is being recorded from Heaven, and even references that we will have to give an account of even, every idle word we have spoken.

Is it possible that every time we bring a little bit of Heaven onto earth, that act puts a deposit of some kind into storage in Heaven for later use?

Give a cup of cold water to the thirsty and your storage unit gets a contribution. Giving food to the homeless and your storage unit is opened again and something is stored away for future use. Clothing to the naked. Visit the prisoner. Care for the orphan and the widow and anyone who is sick. Giving a bicycle to a less fortunate kid at Christmas. Buying a pair of Toms shoes and giving a pair to a kid without shoes. Writing that check for 1 million dollars and giving it to your local church. Holding the door open for the elderly couple walking in behind you. Praying with someone who is in despair. Giving advice to someone needing a little direction. Listening to someone pour out their story of tragedy and not judging them for it. Teaching that Sunday School class. Committing an hour a week in the nursery of your church. Being a youth volunteer. The list of things you and I can do, in the name of Jesus, that brings a touch of Heaven onto this crazy earth goes on for eternity.

I’m not sure what gets stored away in the heavenly storage unit I’m imagining.

My guess is that it has very little to do with material goods. According to the Bible, the asphalt of Heaven is Gold. I don’t know of anyone storing up asphalt today on earth, but we sure do store up gold. That gold will be beautiful asphalt in eternity. I think our life here on earth confirms that our storage units in Heaven are not full of material goods. We acknowledge here on earth that material goods are simply temporal. Ask an elderly family member, laying on their hospice bed, what treasure is. I have spoken with many people while they are dying on their hospice bed. Never have I heard one say they wished they would have gotten the Sunday NFL ticket on their Dish Network, or had a bigger diamond on their wedding ring, or put more hours in at the office, or furnished their house with nicer things. No. They wish they would have watched more of their family members playing football, cashed in their diamond to feed starving children, spent more hours in the homes of their grandchildren, furnished their house with neighbors, family and friends and demonstrated to just one more about the love of Jesus Christ.

I have met too many who have too many regrets in their life. They regret to acknowledge that Jesus was right in His statement about people’s hearts being connected to people’s treasures.

What is your heart focused on?
Its easy to answer off the top of your head.

The tough thing to do today is really prove where your heart is by verifying what you consider treasure.

The best way to determine where your heart is, is to take a look at your expenditures of time and money. Where do you spend a majority of your time and money?

Now don’t get me wrong. Working to provide for your family is Holy and right.
Spending a large part of your income on a mortgage is Holy and good. Spending time on vacation with your family is pure. Taking time for yourself to recreate and play is healthy and biblical.

My question is…are you storing up anything in Heaven?
Do you give to the Lord’s work 10% or more of the income God has blessed you with? Do you use your God given influence and talent where you live, work, play, and pray to sacrifice for Jesus Christ?

The morning of September 11, twelve years ago today, 2,977 people woke up and went about their day’s plan. They had no idea their lives would be snuffed out that day. We mourn losing them, especially when it was caused by selfish pursuit of eternal rewards the faith extremists are promised in the teachings of Muhammed.

May today and everyday be a time to question our motives, pursue truth, and understand, that above all else, true love and eternity are built around laying down our own selfish desires so that others may live. When we do this, in the name of Jesus Christ, the reward will be eternity in the presence of the ones who created the sun, moon and the stars.

So, go ahead, begin storing up for yourselves….treasures…in Heaven.

This kind of living is the good life now that leads to the Great Life forever.