Author: Wes White

Posted on

A Pastor Perspective on the Ukraine Crisis

I was on a call with someone not from our church, and the wife of this man was in the car. She said, “What’s your Pastor’s perspective on what’s going on in Ukraine?”

I replied jokingly, “You don’t want my geo-political analysis or thoughts on the military tactics of the respective armies?”

She insisted that she wanted to hear my “Pastor” thoughts, so here’s the substance of what I came up with.

First, there are people who are hurting. A lot of innocent people are getting killed, injured, and displaced because of this war. Our church decided to take up an offering for our denomination’s efforts to help these people. If you want to do so, you can go here.

Second, it is legitimate to fight in defense of one’s homeland. Christian thought through the ages has tried to work out a “just war theory” in light of Scripture and reason. This is clearly one of those instances.

Our own leaders need great wisdom on how to help these efforts without escalating things unnecessarily. The Bible recommends that we raise “petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—for kings and all those in authority . . .” We need to pray for the leaders of all the countries involved that they will have wisdom and act justly.

Third, as Reinhold Niebuhr put it, we should be “in the battle and above it.” We have to fight battles in this world and so have to be “in the battle.” However, we also sometimes need to be “above the battle.” This means, we recognize our common need for grace and forgiveness on all sides, the imperfection of even the most just causes, and the sense of tragedy that we are taken up in these sorts of things at all. Such crises require a humble boldness.

Fourth, we recognize that God is in control. Nations have fought and battled before, but God will always have the last word. God says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” As a result, we can declare with confidence, “The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress” (Psalm 46:10–11). We need to process our anxiety over these events before the Lord so that we may find the peace He has for us even in the most difficult situations.

Fifth, we look forward to the day when wars will cease and all these things will come to an end. I am preaching this week on Jesus’ arrest. When Jesus was arrested, the disciples asked, “Shall we strike with our swords?” Then, one of them cut the high priest’s servant’s ear. Jesus told them to stop, and he touched the servant’s ear and healed it. This reminded me that though people strike with swords and cause real damage, Jesus will come with His touch to heal. This is a promise for this world and the world to come.

_________

Photo by Gleb Albovsky on Unsplash

Posted on

Emotions, Spirituality, and the Gospel

Emotions drive our lives. They can drive us forward to accomplish great things, or they can drive us into a ditch. But they are the drivers. So, as we seek to live a life that connects to God and serve Him, we cannot neglect this important aspect of our lives.

Rafael Pardo’s book Emociones, Espiritualidad, y Evangelio helps us integrate our emotional life into our spiritual life. Pardo’s first goal is to help Christians embrace emotions as a positive force in the Christian spiritual life. He contends that they have often been neglected or downplayed. A simple example of this is the book of Job in the common Christian consciousness. Job’s famous statement is often remembered: “The Lord gives. The Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” Viewed in abstraction, this phrase might seem to downplay the emotions associated with loss. However, the rest of the book of Job is all about his emotional struggles processing his great loss! The former is remembered. The latter is forgotten. Pardo wants to remind us of all the emotional struggles in the Bible, including those of Job and Jesus!

Emotions, according to Pardo, help us adapt to our environment. They begin with a cognitive evaluation of something as pleasurable or unpleasurable and move us toward the former and away from the latter.

The problem with emotions is that our cognitive evaluations are often wrong or irrational. Examples of irrational beliefs are “I cannot live without you,” “I should never make a mistake,” “no one should ever criticize me,” “everyone should like me,” etc. These irrational beliefs give us emotions that move us away from things that we should embrace or accept and toward things that we should move away from. Continue reading “Emotions, Spirituality, and the Gospel”

Posted on

Traveling to Egypt in the Time of Coronavirus

I read it again and again. To enter Egypt, “you’ll need a Covid test that is stamped and signed on original paper, not a copy. This test must be taken within 96 hours of the departure of your last flight to Egypt.” That was the clear directive from the Egyptian government.

The Plan(s)
Fall 2020 brought a new school year but a strange one. Kids could go to school and wear masks, or they could do the “online option.” They could sit in front of a computer for 8 hours and watch school. My oldest daughter, an extremely outgoing and social senior, opted for the online option. She hated it. So, she decided she wanted to do “homeschool” instead. This would also allow her to work first shift once she had turned 18, relatively early in the school year.

One thing that was disappointing about her not going to school was that she would not have any senior trips. So, I said to her one day, “Why don’t we do a senior trip and go somewhere in the world. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you like to go?”

She replied, “Scotland.”

I said, “Let’s do it.”

Now, I had not travelled outside the country in 25 years, other than Canada, which, with all due respect to my Canadian friends, was not that different than driving somewhere within the United States. So, I had a lot to learn.

That fall, it was my great pleasure to research the ins and outs of travel to Scotland. I planned the trip day by day and even made cancelable reservations for hotels. We were going to spend two weeks in Scotland and explore it from one end to the other.

There was only one really big problem. Covid. Now, I am not saying that Covid itself was the problem, even though I do think it is a problem. The problem was the reaction of the Scottish government to Covid. Scotland’s reaction to Covid made the strictest state in the U.S. look virtually unconcerned about Covid. So, that was the problem. Continue reading “Traveling to Egypt in the Time of Coronavirus”

Posted on

Psalm 112 – How the Godly Man Can Live Open-Hearted

[Listen to an audio version here]

When I was in Egypt, I saw over and over again a spirit of generosity that really surprised me. Everywhere I went I had experiences like the ones I had in a restaurant one night. A guy had on a Star Wars shirt, and I really liked it. I told him so. Without any hesitation, he replied, you can have it, if it fits you. This was the sort of response I got everywhere.

Here’s another example. After going to two restaurants, I told our tour manager, this is just too much food. We cannot eat all of this. We can’t even come close! Here’s what he suggested. After you eat, he said, ask for a box. Then, ask them to give it to someone who needs this food or have your tour guide help you give it to someone in need. That way, you will bless someone who needs it, and it will help you build a relationship with the people who see you give.

Everywhere I went, I found this same sort of attitude. It was not just giving to the poor. It was welcoming people with gladness. It was truly valuing people. I came up with a name for this type of living. I call it open-hearted living.

It’s not easy to live open-hearted. We get wrapped up in our own activities. We have anxiety over our own things. We get preoccupied with our own problems. So, here is the question I kept asking myself, how do we find the resources that will enable us to live in an open-hearted way toward others? How can we keep giving, when others don’t give to us? How can we remain gracious when times are tough? What resources do we have to enable us to show kindness when others are unkind? That’s the question that I think this Psalm answers for us. Let’s consider this answer in four steps. First, let’s consider the reaction that we should have to those around us. Second, let’s look at the resources we have to react that way. Third, we’ll look at how we should respond to the resources available to us. Finally, we will look at the amazing results that come from using this resource.

Our Reaction to Those Around Us
How does the blessed man live in relationship to those around him? He is a giver. “They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor” (Psalm 112:9). The word used here for “freely scattered” indicates a wide variety and large quantity of gifts. It involves money and material resources but also encouragement, friendship, and emotional support as well.

Let me note on the side here that the person who is truly open-hearted is not only a good giver. He is a good receiver. You build community not only by giving to others, but you also build community by allowing others to do you good. In other words, you build community not only by loving but also by letting others show love to you. Continue reading “Psalm 112 – How the Godly Man Can Live Open-Hearted”

Posted on

The Unity of the Evangelical Protestant Church on the Doctrine of Justification by Faith Alone

There’s no question that the variety of churches can be a bit dizzying. How did we get so many denominations? It’s a long story!

What’s easy to miss is the amazing unity that exists on the most important doctrines of the faith. There is a surprising amount of unity on what the Bible teaches about who God is, who man is, what his problem is, and how he comes to eternal salvation.

One of the key points of agreement is in the doctrine of justification by faith alone. What this means is that whatever we have done or however much we have failed, God forgives us and accepts us a free gift received by faith alone without any of our obedience, merits, or works. We also teach that good works are the fruit of this justification, but we always emphasize that our free acceptance is the root and the good works are fruit of that acceptance.

Here are a few examples from some of the historic documents of evangelical churches for your edification:

Wesleyan: We believe that justification is the judicial act of God whereby a person is accounted righteous, granted full pardon of all sin, delivered from guilt, completely released from the penalty of sins committed, by the merit of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, by faith alone, not on the basis of works.

Augsburg (Lutheran): Also they teach that men cannot be justified before God by their own strength, merits, or works, but are freely justified for Christ’s sake, through faith, when they believe that they are received into favor, and that their sins are forgiven for Christ’s sake, who, by His death, has made satisfaction for our sins. This faith God imputes for righteousness in His sight. Rom. 3 and 4. . . . Furthermore, it is taught on our part that it is necessary to do good works, not that we should trust to merit grace by them, but because it is the will of God. It is only by faith that forgiveness of sins is apprehended, and that, for nothing. And because through faith the Holy Ghost is received, hearts are renewed and endowed with new affections, so as to be able to bring forth good works (Art. 20). Continue reading “The Unity of the Evangelical Protestant Church on the Doctrine of Justification by Faith Alone”

Proudly powered by WordPress