I am by nature a “fixer”.

Most men are……to one degree or another. Show a man a problem…….and he will respond with a solution……..usually in one or two sentences. For the most part, this works for me. For my wife…….. I’m not so sure.

The problem is that there are things that are broken that I cannot fix. Some times these are things that just cannot be fixed. Some times this is because of my limitations.

The friend with terminal cancer.
The committed secular humanist.
The life long drug abuser.
Global environmental deterioration.
The hatred that permeates our society.
The violence that we consume every night on our TV.
Fake information on the web and on the “news”.

I’m sure we could both add to this list.

One of the rules that I live by is this:

“When dealing with a problem……focus on the part of the problem that you can change (fix).”

But what if you….what if I…….cannot fix this one?

My next rule is this:

“Fix what you can…….pray about what you can’t fix…….don’t worry about the things you cannot change.

The Bible makes many promises. One of these is that God will make things right…….in the end. God will make things right……but on his terms and on his schedule. A great deal of the frustration that we experience arises when God doesn’t fix a problem on our terms and on our schedule. There are many people who have walked away from God because of this. There are many people who would rather trust science than wait on God.

An old fable:

There was a flood and a Christian prayed that God would save him. An army truck drove by announcing an evacuation, he stayed put and prayed…..and the water rose to his porch. A boat came by, he stayed put and prayed…….and the water rose to his roof. A helicopter came by, he stayed put and prayed…….and the water rose…….and he drowned. In paradise, he met Jesus. Jesus said, “Child, your faith during the flood was amazing!”
He said, “I prayed and prayed and you didn’t answer my prayer!”
Jesus said, “What are you talking about…….I sent a truck, a boat and a helicopter.”

God’s terms…….God’s schedule…….not ours.

Pray for the things that you cannot fix.

God will fix them……..but on his terms and on his timetable.

God is in charge……not you……not me.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Paul, NIV

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”.

Jeremiah, NIV

Heaven must receive him until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets.

Luke, NIV

Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!”

John, NIV

The big story this week is the death of justice Ginsberg. You can like her, or disagree with her, but there is no arguing that she was a larger than life supreme court justice. In her opinions and perhaps even more so in her dissents, she has left an indelible mark on our nation and on our society. Her focus on women’s rights has forever changed the position of women in American society……..for the most part for the better.

As a Christian conservative, I disagree with many of her positions, especially on abortion. As a civil society, we need to be able to disagree in a thoughtful respectful way. Her friendship with justice Scalia is something that we could all learn from.

We are headed into what will likely be an ugly election. If the past predicts the future, then we are headed into an even uglier confirmation process. This is the sad reality. This is how our elected leaders behave.

As a Christian, during this period, I will need to work even harder than usual to adhere to my “mission statement”……. Love God and my neighbor.

Please join me in this prayer:

“Lord, please bless and comfort the soul of justice Ginsberg and her family. Please guide our leaders as they choose a replacement for her. Give us a replacement justice who will love you, seek you, and follow you……….not me, not the Republican party, and not the Democratic party………but you.”

Amen

“Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” 

Jesus, NIV

“There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy.”

Jesus, NIV

Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.

Solomon, NIV

Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God;

Paul, NIV

We hear the word integrity a lot. I guess that we would agree that integrity is a good thing.

A life of integrity……a man or woman of integrity…….noble goals. But, just exactly what does integrity mean?

It means that all of the parts of a whole work together.

In people it means that all of the facets of our life operate together under a cohesive plan. In business we would call this plan our “mission statement”. I have heard it said that a really great mission statement is brief and covers everything. I once saw a photo of a car plant. Their mission statement was written in 3 story letters on the side of the building facing the parking lot. Every worker saw it on the way into work.

It said: ” Q 1 “
Short for “Quality is job one.”

This is not a car ad. I cannot tell you if the company has reached that goal. But, it is one of the best business mission statements that I have ever seen.

I believe that, if we are to live lives of integrity, we must have a personal mission statement. In reality people who do this are rare……..but you will know them when you see them.

Your mission statement should guide you through your life. It should shape every act……every decision that you make. The quality of your life, then, will be dictated by the quality of your personal mission statement. This is a big deal. It requires serious deliberation.

Bad mission statement……..bad life.
Good mission statement…….good life.

People of integrity have a good mission statement………and they follow it. I do not claim to have done this, but it is a goal.

What are some examples of mission statements?

Feed my appetites…….the most common
Be happy
Get rich
Get stuff
Take care of my family
Save the planet
Pursue truth
Do good

And my favorite

Love God and my fellow man

This was, in fact, the mission statement of Jesus.

Hard to beat.

My vision of paradise is a place where that is THE mission statement for everybody.

So, give it some thought…….a lot of thought.

See if you can find a mission statement that will govern your life. Then follow that mission statement to a life of integrity.

I promise you……… if you choose well, this will drastically simplify your life. This will lead you to the elusive goal that we all seek…….happiness.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Paul, NIV

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus.

John, NIV

I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things I have given willingly and with honest intent.

Ezra?, NIV

Absolutes are always dangerous.

This one is true…… or very close to true.

Every American really likes at least a part of Christianity.

Everybody likes having the day off on Sunday. It may be the only one of the ten commandments that we will never consider abolishing. Everybody likes Christmas……at least the party and the gifts. Can you imagine a politician trying to abolish weekends and Christmas in the name of “separation of church and state”? It would make reforming social security look like child’s play.

On the other hand, there is a lot of the Bible that a lot of people don’t like. In our abortion clinics, Americans ignore “do not kill” about 3000 times a day. I can’t pick up my phone without seeing a friend share a Facebook post that is untrue……”do not lie”. We have a very real problem with “love your neighbor”…………especially if he or she doesn’t vote like we do.

Just about every one of us, even atheists, pick through the Bible and pull out ideas that we like. The rest we discard. How else can you explain pro-abortion Christians? We tend to accept the parts of the Bible that agree with what we want. In a way we create our own custom religion and use bits and pieces of the Bible to endorse the things that we already believe……things that we would have believed even if there were no Bible.

There is a James Taylor lyric:

“we got holy scriptures here that prove us to be right
In believing out loud what we wish to be true”

I’m not sure of where he stands with God……but I think he hit the nail on the head.

It’s easy to pat ourselves on the back for promoting the parts of the Bible that tell us that God supports us when we do what we were going to do anyway. Today, I’d like to roll back the rock and take a peek at the parts of the Bible that are often rejected.

Today I’d like to challenge you……..to have an honest look at the parts of the Bible that you might reject:

Recreational sex…….. The Bible clearly says that sex is to be confined to a husband and wife.

Homosexuality…….the Bible does not say that a man cannot love another man……..but it unmistakably prohibits same sex intercourse.

Abortion……..there is no question that abortion kills a child……the Bible prohibits taking an innocent life.

Charity………we are told that it is our responsibility to care for widows and the downtrodden, the guy on the corner with the little cardboard sign……….to visit those in jail.

Love……..love your fellow man………possibly the hardest command of them all. I’m not talking about loving your child or grandchild, who adores you. I’m talking about loving the unlovable. I’m talking about a Democrat loving Trump……a Republican loving Pelosi. How about loving a member of antifa? How about loving a Portland style anarchist?

Trust me……..if God can love these people, so can you.

So, my challenge for you is this. Study the Bible. When you find something that you don’t like……..and you will, don’t try to twist the Bible around until it supports what you already believe. Don’t try to make the Bible conform to your appetites. Instead, see if you can adjust your beliefs, your appetites, to bring them into alignment with the “owners manual”. This will not be easy.

When I hit an impasse, I go back to rule #1…… Love God……..and rule #2……… Love your neighbor. This always seems to clarify things for me.

“Take all that you can of this book upon reason, and the balance on faith, and you will live and die a happier man.”

Abraham Lincoln, commenting on the Bible

“Everything that I command you, you shall be careful to do. You shall not add to it or take from it.

Moses, NIV

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”

Jesus, NIV