Tag: Activists

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Gotta Serve Somebody.

Reading Time: 3 minutes 
“Therefore, Jeremiah, go and warn all Judah and Jerusalem. Say to them, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am planning disaster for you instead of good. So turn from your evil ways, each of you, and do what is right.’” But the people replied, “Don’t waste your breath. We will continue to live as we want to, stubbornly following our own evil desires.” Jeremiah‬ ‭18:11-12‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Whoa, this ain’t no Jeremiah 29:11! You know that verse that is highly quoted and controversial among millennials that are sick of the positive toxicity postured in so many pulpits today. I’ve used it, I’ve quoted it and have given it away to inspire hope.

The context of that verse should ALWAYS be taken into consideration. Judgment had been pronounced and God put Israel in a 70 year timeout! So, from within captivity, within the punishment, yes, there is a promise of hope. However, it has a contingency trigger… “IF,” – IF you look for me! “This is what the Lord says: “You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again. For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. I will be found by you,” says the Lord. “I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and will bring you home again to your own land.” Jeremiah‬ ‭29:10-14‬ ‭NLT‬‬

But here, in the face of arrogance, brash attitudes, God says the complete opposite! You just can’t get any clearer than, “I am planning disaster for you.” Who are these “people” who continue to ruin it for the whole nation? Who are the “but the people replied.” Are they national leaders? Are they spiritual leaders? At one point, later in the text it says, “Then the people said, “Come on, let’s plot a way to stop Jeremiah. We have plenty of priests and wise men and prophets. We don’t need him to teach the word and give us advice and prophecies. Let’s spread rumors about him and ignore what he says.” Is this group of people civic or business leaders?

Whoever they are, they are loud and proud ignoring Jeremiah and the warnings he had given. And, they had a significant influence and sway over the general public. Isn’t that how life really goes? The hard working, simple, average folk just trying to live their lives start listening to the loud, brash activists, who are normally such a small group. Why are we so swayed, so influenced by these “people?”

I can tell you this, if someone doesn’t stand up for themselves, their community and their nation, it’s the bullies and blowhards that will lead us right into trouble. What do these folks care about community, they just selfishly want to tear things down and blame it on everyone else!

Surprisingly, the rest of the “people” just went along with ignoring God and His warnings and off they go into Babylonian captivity. It’s a sad message to digest, “you want to be free from me,” God says, “well, let’s just put you back into captivity to see if you remember how well you do on your own.”

What a paradox of life – being human is all about serving UNDER someone or something! If it’s not God, then it’s a maniacal dictator or a suffocating religion or a destructive ideology. It’s Bob Dylan’s hit song, released on my birthday, August 20, 1979 Gotta Serve Somebody – “But you’re going to have to serve somebody.”

Dylan faked his way into Christianity for a short time, just to win over the Jesus’ movement hot christian music market. His words are true though, “You might be a rock ’n’ roll addict prancing on the stage. You might have drugs at your command, women in a cage. You may be a business man or some high-degree thief. They may call you Doctor or they may call you Chief… but you’re going to have to serve somebody!

After warning and pleading with Israel to stop lusting after wooden poles and racing towards an evil, independent stupidity, God declares, ENOUGH! They had sunk into depravity, and they are seriously messing with God’s plans to redeem the whole world through Israel. Time after time, God let’s us go our own way. Let’s us plummet to the depths of our desires. Waits until we hit the bottom and start looking around for help and someone to rescue us. Then we recognize our failures, confess and repent and make our way back to God’s grace. Then start the cycle all over again. Oh, come quickly Lord Jesus! Not to escape this broken planet, but to end this cycle once and for all.

Prayer

Dad,
Help us, continue to have mercy and grace on us. Even in our sin.

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Mob-brain Mentality

Reading Time: 3 minutes 
“About that time, serious trouble developed in Ephesus concerning the Way. It began with Demetrius, a silversmith who had a large business manufacturing silver shrines of the Greek goddess Artemis. He kept many craftsmen busy.”
‭‭Acts 19:23-24‬ ‭NLT‬‬

​Luke’s writing sounds like it came right out the the Ephesus Times newspaper. It seems that Paul’s preaching about Jesus actually DID effect the idol businesses of that day or it just gave Demetrius the excuse of “handcrafted idols” taking a downturn.

Diana, or the goddess Artemis, mentioned here was THE prominent and well known and loved idol of the city. Right in front of the massive library, they had built a gigantic statue of her standing, overlooking the main road filled with multi-level houses and lined with street vendors selling their goods. Ephesus was a bustling port city until later, the inlet body of water itself dried up and city became an abandoned wasteland. Diana couldn’t and didn’t stop that natural disaster from happening.

Demetrius called all the smaller business owners (idol-makers) together and designed a city-wide protest against Paul. Demetrius played to their livelihood and their religious beliefs, “Of course, I’m not just talking about the loss of public respect for our business. I’m also concerned that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will lose its influence and that Artemis—this magnificent goddess worshiped throughout the province of Asia and all around the world—will be robbed of her great prestige!” Ah, yes, Demetrius was so “concerned” about their great mascot. Ah, maybe he was a true cult believer.

It got the whole city angry and it spilled into a riot, as Demetrius knew it would. After the crowd found and dragged two of Paul’s friends into the amphitheater, listen to what Luke commentates about this riot, “Inside, the people were all shouting, some one thing and some another. Everything was in confusion. In fact, most of them didn’t even know why they were there.” Most of them didn’t even know why they were there! Classic mob-brain mentality. Angry, frustrated and ready to do some serious protest-able damage – yet having no idea what it’s about. This #sohuman!

The crowd yelled, chanted and shouted the fury-filled phrase for hours, “great is Artemis!” Until the mayor of the town (Alexander) could finally calm them down, reason with them and then threaten that the Roman government hated riots because of damage it did to the empire. Rome wanted citizens to feel safe, be at peace and spend money (more money equals more taxes). We are well aware of what protests and public riots do – nothing but bad outcomes. It makes people feel unsafe, aggravated and they spend less money! Plus, the business owners have to pickup the cost of repairs after the looting, fires and destruction. Mobs don’t care about a cause, they only care about destruction and violence. Mobs love riots, protests and marches because they take advantage of the cover it provides to steal, kill and destroy!

Alexander, after a few tense hours, was able to appeal to their good senses, “Since this is an undeniable fact, you should stay calm and not do anything rash. You have brought these men here, but they have stolen nothing from the temple and have not spoken against our goddess.” He told them to settle the matter in the courts where real arguments and facts could be presented, where both sides could present their case. Novel idea right? Riots, mobs and protests don’t want court cases, those are driven mostly by reason. Mobs want emotionally driven outcomes that do not lead to change, they just do damage.

Prayer

Dad,
Wow, weren’t not just selfish and full of sin, we’re some fickle and a fragile non-thinking bunch. When we get worked up about something, it’s hard to see truth, hard to see right and wrong. And, certainly hard to make the necessary changes to create a good outcome for all. We are so influenced by each other’s emotions and behaviors. This is still true today. Isn’t it possible that the opposite is true? Wouldn’t our good behavior, our peaceful emotions be as viral as the bad? Like the mayor in this story, it seems that someone needs to address the situation and speak peace before things go to far.