[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”949″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”“A Piece of My Mind”” font_container=”tag:h1|font_size:50px|text_align:center|color:%232633ef” google_fonts=”font_family:Bitter%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal”][vc_custom_heading text=”June 2018 Newsletter” font_container=”tag:h1|font_size:30px|text_align:center|color:%232633ef” google_fonts=”font_family:Bitter%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]
Advancing Christian Faith and Values,
Defending Religious Liberty for All,
Supporting Civility and the Common Good
through Preaching, Teaching, Writing, Activism and Reasoned Conversations
www.donaldshoemakerministries.com[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”687″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]
A Tribute to
Gov. George Deukmejian
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“The Christian shoemaker does his duty not by putting little crosses on the shoes,
but by making good shoes, because God is interested in good craftsmanship.”
– Martin Luther
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A Quiet, Competent, Reasonable Governor-Gentleman
California Governor George Deukmejian died on May 8 at 89. He was governor from 1983-1991, having followed the ultra-unusual Jerry Brown (who is now governor again until 2019). Before his governorship he was a state assemblyman, state senator (representing the district we moved into in 1970) and state attorney general. He practiced law in Long Beach before and after his long political career (1963-1991).
Mr. Deukmejian’s reserved persona would not ignite anything. He ran against LA Mayor Tom Bradley for governor twice, and the two seemed to compete on who would have the sleepier campaign each time. But competence to govern doesn’t require an extrovert.
I chaired a convention on the Queen Mary in 1978 and Senator Deukmejian came to the banquet for a brief address and to lead the Pledge of Allegiance. The Queen Mary was marked by managerial incompetence in those days and there was no American flag at the banquet, as had been ordered. “Deuk” quietly invited all to pledge to the flag in their hearts!
“Deuk” governed with a steady hand, and considering the mess state government finances have been in for most of this century, we could use his quiet competence again. But today’s political climate, influenced by the right or by the all-pervasive left, is not conducive to such leadership.
“Deuk” should also be remembered for his devout Christian faith and his passion for the Armenian community. His parents immigrated to the U.S. to escape the Armenian Genocide.
Postscript: I have jury duty in June at the “Governor George Deukmejian Courthouse” in Long Beach. It was built in 2013 at astronomical cost ($490 million). It’s indeed a tribute to Mr. Deukmejian but seems contrary to his mild leadership and measured spending while in office.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Bible Insight – “Filled with the Holy Spirit” Some things the Bible does NOT say!
“Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.”
– Ephesians 5:18-21 New International Version
What serious-minded Christian doesn’t want a deeper spiritual experience? Or all that God has available to him or her? None I know.
We Western-minded Christians like to reduce things to sequential steps, and our quest to be filled with God’s Holy Spirit is no exception! “First do this…then this…finally this, and voila! The experience is yours.” How many steps depends on the pamphlet you’re reading, but four is quite common. *
John the Baptist was filled with the Spirit before birth (Luke 1:15; 2:39-43). I wonder what steps he followed or what pamphlet he read in the dark!
I want to write a 2-part message on “Filled with the Holy Spirit.” In this first part we’ll consider what we DO NOT FIND in the Bible, not at all. Since my journey through scripture on this subject led to some real surprises (once I endeavored to let the Bible speak louder than my presuppositions), I’ll call my findings “surprises”.
Surprise #1 – Nowhere in the New Testament does anyone SEEK to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
The need for such seeking is widely taught today. And I don’t fault anyone’s quest to “seek the Lord,” though we often need to analyze why and what we’re actually seeking. But that’s a different issue.
But seeking specifically to be “filled with the Spirit”? It just isn’t there.
Surprise #2 – Nowhere in the New Testament does anyone PRAY to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Now, I often pray for a fresh outpouring of God’s Spirit upon his church today. May God revive us and fill us afresh! But here I’m simply pointing out that the Bible never commands or records that the Spirit’s filling be prayed for. **
Once, when the disciples experienced their first real persecution after Pentecost, they went earnestly before God in prayer and asked that they might “speak your word with great boldness” in the face of these threats. God answered that prayer with a fresh infilling of the Holy Spirit and the disciples indeed did speak the word of God boldly. But (my point is) they didn’t pray for the Spirit’s filling (see Acts 4:23-31).
And they certainly didn’t engage in any prayer techniques (as some teach today) to induce the Spirit to come and fill them, as if the church has the Spirit in a bottle ready to emerge if the right spiritual formula is spoken.
Surprise #3 – Nowhere in the New Testament does anyone FOLLOW STEPS to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
The steps you read in tracts and booklets are just that—steps in tracts and booklets. They are not found in the New Testament.
No steps? I find this not only surprising but also frustrating! You would think that the command of Ephesians 5:18 (“Be filled with the Spirit”) would carry with it instructions on how to obey it, but it doesn’t. What it really does is to speak of the effects, the “evidences” if you please, of being Spirit-filled: singing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs from the heart, giving thanks, submitting to one another (some who claim the loudest to being Spirit-filled don’t seem all that submissive!).
The closest we come to any biblical “steps” is in Acts 2:38, and I’d wager (if I wagered) that you’ve never heard anyone say to follow these steps to receive the Spirit. “Repent and be baptized….in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Surprise #4 – Nowhere in the New Testament does anyone TESTIFY to being filled with the Holy Spirit.
Yet many believers announce in church and elsewhere that they are Spirit-filled. Some may say they’ve been Spirit-filled for five years, ten years, or more. I’ll confess my spiritual gauge has pointed toward empty many times over ten years.
May I suggest that such testimonials easily lead to (or indicate) spiritual pride and spiritual elitism—not marks that the church should want to have.
Truly Spirit-filled people don’t need to announce it, and it would be better for them and the church if they didn’t. Their lives evidence it, as the Apostle Paul taught us, in songs, thanksgiving, and submission.
In a later Newsletter I’ll talk about what the Bible DOES say on this important and always-timely topic.
* Four steps to fullness—some examples:
• Hunger after righteousness; confess known sin; present every area of your life to God; by faith let the Spirit fill and control your life (Campus Crusade)
• Know that the Spirit is a gift; position yourself to receive; bypass your intellect; let the Spirit flow like a river (Oral Roberts, who claimed these points were taught by Peter in his Pentecost sermon, though they didn’t make it into the Book of Acts!)
• Confess known sin; desire and seek the fullness; yield to God, then believe you are filled (Rene Pache)
• First be saved; obey and surrender; ask; believe (Ralph Riggs—Assemblies of God)
• Be sure it is God’s will for you; desire to be filled; obey God; receive the Spirit by faith (A. W. Tozer)
One big problem I have is that some of the steps (conditions) to be empowered by the Spirit can’t be done without the power of the Spirit. And that puts us in a real predicament!
** True, Luke 11:13 does speak of asking for the Holy Spirit (“…how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”). The context (11:1-13) is prayer, and Jesus is assuring his followers that God is interested in answering the appropriate prayers of his children. Of all God’s gifts in answer to prayer, none could be greater than the gift of the Holy Spirit. The key is the timing of this gift. Before his ascension Jesus said (Luke 24:48), “ I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” The prayer request for the Spirit, then, is answered at Pentecost and beyond, and all who repent and are baptized participate in the fulfillment of the prayer (Acts 2:38-39; see “Step #3” above).[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Religious Liberty Vigilance – California’s AB-2943: Could It Hinder Religious Liberty by Restricting Church Teaching on Behavior Modification?
“I consider the government of the United States as interdicted by the Constitution from intermeddling with religious institutions, their doctrines, discipline, or exercises.”
– Thomas Jefferson (1808)
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]California’s Assembly Bill 2943 is now before the state’s Senate. Its title is “AB-2943 Unlawful business practices: sexual orientation change efforts.”
Much of the wording in this bill reflects secular understandings of sexual orientation and secular therapies regarding the same. In the words of the Legislative Analyst: “This bill would include, as an unlawful practice prohibited under the Consumer Legal Remedies Act, advertising, offering to engage in, or engaging in sexual orientation change efforts with an individual.”
Delving into the above debate is not within my expertise, my interest, or my efforts. As my friends with whom I have had discussions and disagreements know, I am interested in religious liberty and in the right of Christian and other religious communities to teach, practice, and perpetuate their own doctrines and moral teachings free of meddlesomeness from the state.
Thus, my concern over AB-2943 is its breadth, whether intentional or not.
The bill would amend California’s Civil Code to read: “’Sexual orientation change efforts’ means any practices that seek to change an individual’s sexual orientation. This includes efforts to change behaviors or gender expressions, or to eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attractions or feelings toward individuals of the same sex.” [emphasis mine]
Read that again! “…efforts to change behaviors…” Behavioral issues are religious issues. Secular too, perhaps, but religious foremost.
So a likely widespread scenario could be this: a church teaches that sexual relations are to be expressed in the bond of marriage between a man and a woman and behavior should be ordered accordingly and modified as needed to fit this conviction. A minister or church counselor is approached by a sincere, devout Christian who wants to change his or her “behavior, gender expression or romantic attraction, or feelings toward individuals of the same sex” in accord with the church’s teaching.
Under AB-2943, would the church be breaking the law by teaching or counseling this person according to its convictions? As I read the law, the answer seems to be “Perhaps” if not “Yes.”
Some have claimed that sale of the Bible will be banned under this law. That seems extreme and unlikely. But what about a book written on this topic? What about a church advertisement for a sermon or a seminar on this topic? Questions about all these possibilities should be addressed before this bill becomes law.
Respected religious rights attorney Brad Dacus of the Pacific Justice Institute gives this caution: “The anti-counseling Bill’s broad language reaches far beyond the offices of therapists and into the church, affecting a ministry’s ability to sell books or provide conferences that encourage sexual orientation change efforts [SOCE].” Remember, SOCE includes efforts to change “behavior.”
The best that could happen, if this bill is to become law, would be for the California Senate to add a clear religious exemption to the bill.
If AB-2943 is as benign as advocates say it is, it’s time to make that clear. Religious liberty is too precious a freedom to be left to chance, or its defense left to legislators, judges, attorneys, litigants and bureaucrats who show little regard for it.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Another Voice…
“A Call for More Civility”
A Commentary by Michael Josephson
When George Washington was 16, he discovered a booklet of 110 maxims describing how a well-mannered person should behave. He was so convinced that these maxims would help him become a better person that he set out to incorporate them into his daily living. Among Washington’s many virtues, his commitment to civility marked him as a gentleman and helped him become a universally respected and enormously effective leader.
By today’s standards, Washington’s notions of civility seem quaint and old-fashioned, but the purpose of manners and etiquette is to soften relationships with respect and to treat others graciously.
Instead of updating our concept of manners to accord with modern lifestyles, we seem tobe abandoning the notion of civility entirely. We’re exposed to heavy doses of tactless, nasty, and cruel remarks on daytime talk shows, dating games, and courtroom and reality programs.
As a result, we’ve produced a generation that’s comfortable being brutish and malicious and a society that’s increasingly coarse and unpleasant.
In a tense world full of conflicts, frustrations, and competition, civility is an important social lubricant that helps us live together constructively. If we care about the world we’re making for our children, we need to be less tolerant of mean-spirited, discourteous, and impolite remarks and do a better job of teaching and modeling civility.
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
© 2018 Josephson Institute. Reprinted from “What Will Matter Newsletter” – Vol. 68; April 30-May 6, 2018 with permission. www.charactercounts.org
My Website: www.donaldshoemakerministries.com
Contact me at: donaldshoemakerministries@verizon.net[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]