Joshua D. Jones's Blog, page 20

Of Cowards and Christians

“God has not given us a spirit of fear.”–Paul, 2 Timothy

“Don’t be afraid.” -Jesus


These are the confessions of a recovering  coward .When I was an adolescent I liked to challenge teenagers bigger than me to play basketball so I could prove myself. I also gravitated to events during my youth that involved public speaking or performing in front of  large groups. Not long after high-school I left my home in Virginia and moved to another continent with a vision of helping that small, counter-cultural movement known as Christianity grow in the secular, hostile setting which is Western Europe. I also found and took a wife at a young age (21) and have had four kids all the while doing it with the often shaky financial foundations that come with church and missionary work.
I even attempted to eat Marmite on one occasion…I changed a dirty nappy once too…I don’t use a night light anymore… Most of the time.
For all those reasons, I was a little surprised when God started calling me a coward.
I began to hear this “C” word a couple of years ago. I noticed how with friends and different members of my nuclear and extended family I would often “give in” for the sake of peace.  I don’t mean that I had the admirable quality of being gracious and preferring others.  Rather, I realised that I would often let things happen which I disagreed with simply for the sake of peace and harmony. I would let things remain in an unhealthy or second-rate condition because confronting the issue could bring out strong, negative emotion and that made me uncomfortable  (read “afraid”). I would fail to speak the truth in love - because I was afraid.  I could dramatically preach hard truths before an audience of 1,000 but not address family members or close friends in a firm but loving way over sensitive issues.
Then I heard God use the “C” word in my professional life. It started when I had a meeting with two local Christian leaders who wielded a tone that I did not expect - they were rude, bullying and reckless with their words.  During this meeting, I failed to continuously address their errors and speak what I knew was true. Since then, God has shown me how I often let cowardice affect my work relationships.  I often fail to speak the truth in love to those I work closely with when I know it could stir up negative emotion.  Sometimes this is due to fear of confrontation.  Other times, it is self-doubt and I step back from speaking in the moment out of fear that I may be wrong.  That’s fear of failure or fear of looking foolish before others.
Yes, sometimes it is wisdom to keep quiet and consider a matter. But other times our quiet is just cowardice. It takes prayerful self-awareness to know the difference. 
This no small matter. God says in the Book of Revelations that the first group of people to be kept outside of the City of Life is cowards.
“But as for the cowardly…their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulphur, which is the second death.” –Rev 21
Courage is another “C” word and it is what God calls his people to walk in. By God’s grace, I have been making progress, but I still have a way to go. I’m learning that even though I must not be harsh, unkind or arrogant in speaking the truth, I must still speak it.
What about you? Courage is not the lack of fear, but a commitment to doing and saying what is right even when we are afraid. It is continuing to manifest the character of God in the face of intimidation, failure or rejection. We can only do this because Jesus courageously faced into the bloody cross where he willingly took the judgement for all our sins - including cowardice. What is the fear that keeps us from acting and speaking courageously? Let's give that over to God and find our security in him.___________________________________________________

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Friendships: Keep the Hard - Leave the Toxic

Building a friendship is difficult for most adults. Married men often have it the hardest. If he attempts to reach out to another man in meaningful friendship, he may be greeted by awkward looks. The other man may think that only women engage in intimate conversation or that affection between men is ‘gay’. Likewise, if he tries to reach out in friendship to a woman he faces questioning looks and people – the potential female friend included – may think his motives are immoral.
In this climate, married men often fall into one of two traps. The first is that they shut down emotionally and try their best to enjoy a lonely life. Most married men do this. But other men become desperate. They refuse to live life with only superficial friendships or no friendships at all. But in their desperation they allow anyone who wants to be their friend. Disaster is usually hiding not far around the corner.
As Christians – whether we are men or women, married or single - we are to love everyone. But we are not to give away the real-estate of our hearts to just anyone. Many of you know what it is like to hand over part of your heart to someone – either in friendship or in romance – only to find out later that the person you entrusted it to has buttery fingers – and therefore drops it frequently. It is saintly to love your reckless neighbours. It is foolish to trust them.
But once you’ve agreed to embark on the journey of friendship, what are you to do when these character faults appear?
We do not leave them. Proverbs says, ‘Do not abandon your friend’. At times, we give our friend space from our company as they work out personal issues. But Jesus never abandoned his friends even though they were overflowing with faults. To have a life long journey of friendship with someone is to be disappointed at times. They will speak harsh words, withhold their love for a season, prefer their advice to yours, neglect you and fail you. We indulge our friend’s failures in word and in deed for the sake of the relationship. If you should choose to admonish them for their fault, do so in a cheerful way so that you don’t cause grief.
Most people in today’s culture are far too quick to abandon a friendship when it gets hard. Like marriage, a lifelong friendship takes perseverance and at times feels like a march through a swamp. But these are necessary if they are to bear long-term fruit.
If we are committed to our friendships, then we must acknowledge there are some rare times when a friendship gets toxic and you need let it go.
When someone constantly uses abusive language to tear you down – without apology or repentance – it may be time to let it go.
When someone reveals your secrets to hurt you – without apology or repentance – it may be time to let it go.
When someone consciously betrays you – knowing that their actions will destroy you – all without apology or repentance – it may be time to let it go.
When someone forgets your birthday …. No… that’s not one of them.
Pride is the common thread. If you cannot express your pain to the other person – if you can never tell them that they’ve hurt you without being met by proud excuses - then it will always be difficult to be reconciled to the person and it will soon become toxic. In a way, it is they that have left the friendship already. You may still love them and pray for them. But you no longer trust them - they are not allowed in your bubble.
Jesus restored Peter to friendship after denying him three times. Judas was damned by his complete betrayal from friendship.
Be careful who you let be your friends. But once they’re your friends, don’t abandon them because you’re tired, hurt or irritated. Forgive their many faults. But if your friendship ever does fall into gross and unrepentant betrayal, it is best to let it go.

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'Friend' : The History of a Word

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When you call someone ‘friend’ in English, what are you actually saying? When the Spanish, French or speakers of other Romance languages call someone ‘amigo’ or ‘amie’, what do they mean? Where do we get these words from?
We go back over 1,000 years to Old-English to find the root of ‘friend’. The word ‘Freon’ meant both ‘to love’ and ‘to set free’. That is why the English words ‘free’ and ‘friend’ are similar. They come from the same idea. To befriend someone was to add to their liberation. Are you that type of friend? Am I? In addition, this root is closely linked with the concept of ‘peace’. Old English and Old Germanic were closely linked and today the German word ‘frieden’ means ‘man of peace’. Am I seeking the peace and well-being of my friends?
The word ‘friend’ (amigo, amie) in the Romance languages is equally revealing. In Latin the word friend (amicus) may come from the Latin word for love (amor). Simple? Yes. But others have suggested a different etymology. Some language experts say that ‘amicus’ comes from the phrase ‘guardian’s of the soul’ (animi custos). And a true friend should be your soul’s guardian. He or she guards your secrets and tells you the truth - in love - when you’re being a moron. I need soul guardians; I need to be one.

We live in an age where the word ‘friend’ has been cheapened. But that does not mean we need to be cheap friends. Proverbs – in the Bible – says ‘A friend loves at all times.’ May it be our prayer to find such friends and to be such friends.
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So, What is Jubilee Anyway?

What is Jubilee? The Queen's 50th reigning anniversary? A Marvel female superhero? A political movement to forgive Greek debt? Yes. But where did the idea come from?
Jubilee was a year-long party you spent a lifetime looking forward to. It occurred only once every fifty years. During Jubilee, all debts were cancelled, all slaves were set free and all property reverted back to its original owners in all the land of Israel. Everything sad came untrue. No hard labour was to be done. People were to eat food from reserves and what grew by itself from the ground.  It was a year of paradise commanded by God that was to be a picture of what life will be like in the age to come.
Sadly, history indicates that the Israelis never kept this observance. Even when they had a high degree of spiritual fitness, they never obeyed this particular command.
‘Why not?! A year-long party should be a command that’s easy to obey!’
We can speculate. They didn’t trust God to take care of them; they didn’t see it as being practical; those who were rich didn’t want to let their slaves and property go. Whatever the reason, God judged them for their refusal to party – along with other sins – and allowed the Babylonians to destroy and pillage their capital in the 5th Century BC.
Later, when Jesus launched his public ministry, he did so by reading from the prophet Isaiah, chapter 61. Written 700 years earlier, it reads,
The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,because the Lord has anointed meto proclaim good news to the poor.He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted,to proclaim freedom for the captivesand release from darkness for the prisoners,to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour
 In short, Jesus said that he was the year of Jubilee. In him, the prophetic observance of Jubilee had its fulfilment. The people hearing him thought he had gone insane. Imagine someone in your neighbourhood claiming to be Christmas. They tried to kill him for blaspheme. After all, only God can say such things about himself. (And on that point, they were right.)
But Jesus lived up to his self-proclamation. He healed the sick, befriended the poor and set people free from the oppression of spiritual and mental bondages. Wherever he went, Jubilee broke out. One day –when Jesus returns to Earth – the whole world will know perfect Jubilee. Until then - when we come to Jesus- his Kingdom breaks through into our lives in bits and pieces. The Holy Spirit turns us from the oppression of sin to the jubilation of forgiveness.
If you don’t know this jubilee, let me point you to Jesus. Without him, we are slaves to our own sin. Don’t think you’re a slave? Ok, try to stop sinning. When you’ve failed for the 10,000th time, you may reconsider.

Give Jesus your sin and life. This life is short and often disappointing. He invites you to his kingdom of eternal jubilation. Call on him in truth – he is faithful. Always.

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How to Find the Right Spouse

“Last night I dreamt that somebody loved me,No hope no harm, just another false alarm.”-The Smiths, Last Night I Dreamt
The idea that there is 'the right one' is more Hollywood than Holy Word. It's also Hollywood to believe you need to be married or romantically involved to be happy. Our master, Jesus was single. His greatest apostle, Paul, was also single and he was thankful for it. As one celibate preacher once told me, 'I'd rather be a bachelor than wish I was.'
But if you are a single Christian who aspires to get married, then you need to be rid of the silly notion that there is one special person who God has designed just for you. The Bible says the opposite. The one requirement for a spouse which Scripture gives is that the person you marry needs to be someone of the opposite gender who is a fellow believer. (1 Corinthians 7.39). Within that framework, you're free to marry whoever.
If you follow Jesus then there are probably many people of you could be happily married to. Fretting about whether a certain Christian is "the right one" is a waste of time. There is no perfect mate and there will always be some degree of incompatibility because we are all broken people. 
I'm not suggesting that you marry the first available person who says they're a Christian. Just because you are 'permitted' to choose from among the many, doesn’t mean that everyone is an equally wise choice. Is the person an idiot? Is he selfish? Is she moody? A lunatic? Getting advice from mature and honest friends about a potential mate is also helpful. This helps you to see the other person's shortcomings that we can be blind to if we've fallen in love - and are therefore partially brain dead.
One final hint: if you do decide that marriage is for you, then look for someone who is considerate of other's needs. It is the most underrated and underlooked for virtue out there when it comes to finding a spouse.

You're welcome. 

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Jesus and the Coming Zombie Apocalypse

The idea that Jesus Christ is coming back to Earth in real space and time is – for many – a cockamamie idea to be shelved alongside rumours of Bigfoot and UFO sightings. Many Christians avoid talking about it lest they be associated - in the minds of other mortals - with those angry fanatics on the streets who wave signs about fire and boils which are about to descend on the populace because God loves them.
Apocalypse means ‘the unveiling’. The idea being that life - as we experience it - is a small room walled by a thin sheet. One day that sheet will be lifted up. Like a man whose eyes are open for the first time, we will be aware of a greater aspect of reality which has always been around us. It is there even now - we just don’t have the sense to perceive. But that will not always be so.
If we are to be faithful to Jesus' own words, we must include the message of his apocalypse and the Day of Judgement in our sharing of the Good News. To fail in this regard would make us unfaithful twats.
In Mark 13, Jesus begins answering questions about the temple but then starts referencing his apocalypse. He peers down the corridor of human history and relates to his disciples what he sees. Before his apocalypse, there will be deception (v5), wars (v7), and natural disasters (v8). He refers to these things as ‘birth-pains’ (v8). The analogy is clear: before the joy of the baby (his Kingdom) there will be agony. But once the time for delivery has come, then we will awaken to a new world that we cannot now imagine – not any more than a baby in the womb can imagine life out here.
Jesus’ followers are not to be exempt from uncomfortable conditions. He warns them, ‘You will be handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues’ (v9). He lets them know that even natural families will not be a refuge should a person become part of his family - ‘Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child… Everyone will hate you because of me’ (v12). This happens now - particularly in Islamic countries.
Everything will be shaken - human history will get bloodier before the unveiling occurs. But this should not cause us to go panic: stock up on bottled water, build a bomb shatter or acquire weapons with which to fight the zombies. What – according to Jesus - should we do? 
Expect hard times. While everyone else is hyperventilating, stand firm (v13). Know that God is overseeing all of human history. Read your Bible. Jesus talks repeatedly of false teachers and their sugary words. Satan’s method of drawing people away from Christ is deception (v5). Expect him to come suddenly. This life is just a dressing room for eternity. We do not know when the curtain of history will fall, only that we must act our part well. At the end, the Author will perfectly critique each one of us actors – and that is what matters most. ‘If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to everyone: “Watch!”’(v36)  

We can all be ready for that Day. In the next chapter of Mark, Jesus heads for the cross. He goes willingly to die for you and me. He paid for sin and then God raised him from the dead. Perhaps you have lived foolishly with your heart entangled with the concerns of this short life. There is mercy for you. Give him your sin and he will give you forgiveness. If you are reading this then your scenes have not yet all run out. The time between now and the beyond closes up fast - you can still get ready to meet the Author.
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Why I Didn't Support Legal Gay 'Marriage' - Without Reference to God

I have a friend who is both gay and atheist. 

Yes - we have a lot to talk about.

He challenged me to give a reason - without invoking God - why I wouldn't support legal, gay marriage. I thought I'd give it a try. 
Homo-sex is not new. It's been practiced for millennia. But referring to same-sex couples as  legally 'married' is new. Why?
I suppose we should first ask ourselves a question. Why does the State grant legal benefits and recognition to any romantic or sexual relationship in the first place? Why have a legal category called 'marriage'? What business is it of the State to legislate what I do in my bedroom? Why not treat marriage like a social trend like line-dancing, yoga or veganism and just let the citizens get on with it?
Historically the State has promoted man-woman marriage as an institution for these reasons:One Man-One Woman marriage civilises men. At some point in human history, the State realised that married men don’t run around in gangs. When they have a wife and baby to care for, they stop being thugs and go out to work (benefiting society) so they can feed their family. Being married reduces the chances of a man ending up in prison. When a man has a woman depending on him to protect and provide for, there is a general tendency for him to be a more productive citizen of the State. Man-Woman marriage has historically reduced crime.One Man – One Woman marriage has historically afforded woman greater protection. If I’m the State and I see a trend in which individual men are pledging their whole lives to care for a woman and her children, then I (as the State) don’t need to worry about protecting that woman and baby. Her husband does that. A woman – during pregnancy and he nursing years – has historically been very vulnerable. A man who has made a public vow to stay by her side during hard times to provide and protect is what a woman - during that period - has historically needed most.Man-Woman Marriage makes more citizens. We may remove Father God from the equation, but it’s not so easy to do the same to Mother Nature. It is biology - not bigotry – that insists it takes a man and woman to make a baby. The State knows this. The State took biology in high-school. It knows what a penis and vagina can do in tandem. (Yes, a baby can be born to a single woman - but it is not ideal and the State usually needs to pay for it when that happens) Not only is Man-Woman relationship biologically necessary to produce a new citizen, but having both a father and mother is ideal for any young citizen to grow. I do not doubt that if two homosexual men adopt a baby girl that they can potentially love and provide for her. They cannot, however, be a mother to her. They cannot mentor her into womanhood: give tips on dealing with menstruation, makeup tips, how to handle yourself around boys, etc. Likewise, a son who grows up without a male father present is seven times more likely to end up in prison. The State has long since known that there are some things fathers tend to give a child and other things a mother tends to give a child.   The only reason the State would ever and should ever create a legal category for a social phenomenon is if it is of benefit to itself. The Greeks and Romans widely practiced homosexuality, but they only ever made Man-Woman committed sexual relationships a legal category because the State benefited from them. Polyamory and same-sex couples do not do the above four things as well or at all.
The State doesn’t care who you’re in love with. The State doesn’t care who you have sex with or habitat with. Friends can make social vows to each other (see here for more). But the State only got involved and made laws promoting Man-Woman marriage because it saves the State a helluva lot of work and money. 
Sure, the State doesn’t need to prohibit same-sex couples. But what interest does it have in promoting them? There is no compelling reason the States should create a legal category for a sexual relationship between two (or more) people of the same gender. There never has been.
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The Cross and the Rainbow

Has your Facebook feed looked like a Lucky Charms cereal box lately? Here’s why…
The rainbow is a global symbol for LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer) movements. Your Facebook feed has seen many people rainbow-ise their profile pics to celebrate the USA’s 5-4 Supreme Court decision granting couples of the same gender legal status as a married pair.
The rainbow flag - representing the LGBT movement - originated in San Francisco in 1978 and was designed by artist Gilbert Baker. There are two suggested reasons for the choice of the rainbow as a symbol. The first is Dorothy. Remember the Wizard of Oz? Remember Dorothy singing ‘Somewhere over the Rainbow’? Dorothy was played by actress Judy Garland who grew up to be a gay icon. It is thought, by some, that the symbol was a shout-out to her.
The other suggested reason is that the colours reflect the diversity of the LGBTQ movement. Personally, I’ve never thought that reason made much sense (see this post) but it is a reason many LGBTQ people profess. Today the rainbow is globally recognised as a symbol of gay expression. It the chief symbol of a pagan sexuality for an age that is regressing back to its old Western roots of pagan spirituality.
Few people will use those exact words. But the rainbow is - in short - a symbol of Queer Love.
But that is not the only meaning this symbol possesses. Long before the parade in San Francisco, the rainbow was understood to be a unique symbol for how God relates to humanity.
Thanks to Russell Crow, most people have a vague idea of who Noah was - even if they’ve only come across the rather confused Hollywood version of it. Noah was the guy who saved himself and a few others by fearing God’s judgement enough to build an arc (a giant boat that doesn’t actually ‘go’ anywhere - it just floats). He built the arc to escape a global natural disaster in the form of a flood that was God’s punishment on a grossly wicked humanity.
The rainbow first appears after the flood. Genesis chapter nine records God speaking to Noah:When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.
The bow is the symbol of God’s promise to never again bring down his judgment on all humanity as he did with the big deluge. It’s as if God - after going to battle against all the evil in the world – returns as a victorious warrior and hangs his war-bow up for a rest. The flood did its work - for a time. But evil will come back and good will once again – of moral necessity - have to stand in judgment over it.
But rainbows do not point down at the earth, do they? They point up. They point into the very heart of heaven. And the next time the full judgement of God is fired, that is where it lands: on the Heart of Heaven himself.
And that symbol that target is the cross.
The cross is where God takes his bow out of the clouds, pulls it back to full strength and rains down the arrows of justice on himself. Justice has been served.  But the judge extends love and by punishing himself - not the guilty perpetrators. At the cross, justice and mercy kiss. The rainbow – like the cross – is a symbol for human forgiveness for those who would embrace the new dawn of redeemed spirituality.
Few people will use those exact words. But the rainbow is - in short - a symbol of Christ’s Love.
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