Save Christian Pastor Nadarkhani from an Iranian Death Sentence

Here is an update on Pastor Nadarkhani Yousef from the ACLJ: Save Christian Pastor Nadarkhani from an Iranian Death Sentence. The ACLJ is calling for signers of a petition to the US Congress to support the Congressional Resolution introduced by Rep. Joe Pitts demanding the immediate release of Pastor Youcef.

I do not know how effective such a resolution will be, especially concerning the USA’s hypocrisy in such matters and in it’s dealings with Iran, but at least it is a way for me to make at least some statement to the Iranian government on behalf of Nadarkhani and all who suffer similar injustice. What other contact can I have? At least this is something.

Frankly, if Nadarkhani is a true believer in Christ, then going to be with the Lord will be a blessing. Yet life in this world is God’s gift, too. Moreover, remaining in this world and giving witness to God’s grace in Christ is a precious privilege. Furthermore, this injustice should be prevented. It is nothing less than murder if he is executed. Why should his family be robbed of his life with them? Why should such hatred be promoted and perpetrated?

Such is not uncommon in this world. Sadly, inexcusably, such has often been done by those pretending to be of Christ, too. How can it be that even today many so-called Christians are calling for such wickedness to be done upon the people of Iran?

Where will it end? It will end with the Lord’s return in glory. Until then, the true children of peace will endure such abuses, looking beyond this vale of sorrow and trouble to the everlasting abode that the Lord has prepared for them. Until then we continue to cry out, not with hateful anger, but with righteous anger that has peace and love as its motive. Yes, righteous anger is proper as it moves one to cry out against evil, not with murderous hatred, but with a desire for loving confrontation that leads to forgiveness and reconciliation both regarding fellow men and God.

+ + +

Feed Me! Feed ME!

Here are some photos of some baby grackles that were in a nest in a tree that I pruned and cleaned earlier this year.

These little baby birds stand as an example of all of creation since the fall of man into sin. Since Adam chose to invent the notion of free will, which is nothing more than rebellion against God’s declared will, this is the way of the world. Me! ME! ME!!

These little baby birdies exemplify the selfishness that rules over us and over all of creation since that day that Adam decided that he could rise up for himself rather than trusting the goodness of the Lord.

They care not for their siblings. “Feed me!” “Feed ME!” “Feed ME!!” They each care only for self, jumping at the slightest vibration, striving to rise up above one another to be the one to receive the food that the parents carry to the nest.

Until the Holy Spirit intervenes, coming to us in our baptism to regenerate us from above, we are just like these little birdies. “Me. Me! ME!!”

Entirely contrary to what so-called naturalists and environmentalists and scientists try to convince us, this way is not at all natural. This is not the way that the Lord ordained for His creation. This is what man caused through his imaginary free will. Tempted by the devil to imagine that choosing for himself was better than trusting the good that the Lord had established and declared, Adam brought death and all of the unnatural daily consequences of death to the world. All of creation moans and groans under this burden.

Yet the Lord reacted in a way that is very foreign to our ways. He overturned the destruction that Adam imposed upon us. While the Lord most assuredly is angry over the sin that Adam chose for us, the way of death and destruction that the devil tricked the first two humans to accept and choose for themselves and all future generations, wrath is not the Lord’s primary reaction. His wrath is actually His secondary response.

His first and primary response is to look upon us with love and mercy. His wrath is displayed so that we may be made aware of what our rebellion causes. Much like a loving parent will spank a young child so as to steer their beloved child away from things that are harmful, so God uses His displays of wrath to make us aware that we need to hear Him and be restored by Him to the way of everlasting safety. Love is the true attitude of God toward us, even in His displays of wrath.

At the Last Day, those who have refused to hear and be turned will be sent away from God’s presence. Their belligerent choice to be separated from the Lord will be enacted fully. Since all of God’s loving acts to call them into His repentance were ignored and defied, they shall finally receive the wrath that has been stored up for the devil and all who follow him. They shall be sent off to the place where they will be confined together forever. Then they will bring upon themselves the fullness of what the Lord lovingly and mercifully limited during the present age. All of the evil that they hold in their hearts will become fully manifest and the terror that God has prevented, they will unleash on one another forevermore.

Yet these little birdies also display something of value. While they do display selfishness, nevertheless they also remind us of our absolute dependence upon our heavenly Father for all good things. While we should not be like the birdies in striving to rise up above one another but should trust that the Lord knows our needs and will provide for us fully in the appropriate time, yet we can learn from the birdies that we should indeed look up and cry out to the Lord for our every need. Such trust will never leave us disappointed.

Here is another photo, a photo of a tiny little bunny that scooted in front of me where I park my work truck. (Click photo for larger view.)

This little bunny was almost 4 inches long. It had not yet learned to hop but simply scurried as quickly as its little bitty legs would carry it. This little one also reminds us of our dependence upon the Lord. We are just little babes who need His continual care. He treasures us and wants good things for us. When we look to Him in faith, we see this.

† † †

Why Good Friday?

Why did God send Jesus to suffer and die? Why was this necessary?

It was necessary to save God damned sinners from their everlasting damnation.

So then why does God damn sinners?

He damns them so that they may be saved. Apart from God’s damnation, sinners would ignore their state of condemnation. Apart from God’s damnation, all of His children would be lost forever. God manifests His wrath in order that sinners may be shaken from their complacency with their sin, which cuts them off from God, apart from the life that is of God alone.

Why is God so angry about sin? Sin tears His children away from Him. Sin breaks the holy communion that God established between Himself and His children. Sin creates a barrier between sinners and God. Satan, filled with hatred for God, introduced sin to mankind, thereby destroying God’s holy communion with Man. Sin prevents God’s good, gracious, and loving will from being enacted in Man.

Sin cannot be tolerated. It cannot exist in the presence of holiness. It corrupts and destroys all that is good. It must be punished and driven out. But God’s love moved Him to take this upon Himself, taking into Himself our flesh and our nature so that He could suffer the consequences of sin for us. Thus Jesus suffered and died in our place. He took our sin. He is the forgiveness of sin.

† † †

My Thoughts

As I struggled with the post below, I was reminded of this text from the Holy Scriptures:

Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the Lord, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon. "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways," says the Lord. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:7-9)

Who is the wicked man? I am.

I am the one who was tempted throughout my writing and contemplations, tempted to lash out in anger and to attack those who attacked my fellow citizen. I was tempted to do as they did. My thoughts kept being influenced by unrighteous anger. Righteous anger is motivated by love. It is ruled by love. Thus righteous anger does not go beyond expressing the wrong that has been done. It does not seek vengeance but leaves such to God. Righteous anger never seeks harm but only good, even of the one who has done wrong.

Surely the Lord’s thoughts are beyond mine, beyond ours. His thoughts are truly not what any of us will choose according to our own inclinations. Surely His ways are higher. Yet when His Spirit rules the heart, He makes His thoughts to be our thoughts and His ways to be our ways so that His love and righteousness prevail.

† † †

Angry People

This evening I was in a store where the business was momentarily slow so that the check out girls were a bit chatty. (I call them girls, not disrespectfully but because to me nearly everyone seems like a young kid anymore. I received my second invitation to become a member AARP this week.)

The one young lady made a comment that seemed to be out of nowhere, seeming to have nothing to do with anything. She did not know what it meant either. Then the two young ladies explained that their thinking was a bit jumbled from having been yelled at by the last two customers in a row.

One was angry because he did not know that the store charged late fees. Previously the store did not charge late fees and made a big deal about this. When they changed the rules, no big deal was made and this customer did not notice.

The other customer was angry because his rental involved the process of placing a temporary charge on his credit card and then immediately crediting the amount back to the card, as a security measure to be sure that the account was valid. Apparently this also is a new policy change that was not announced.

The Rules are NOT supposed to change.

This is what people expect, ordinarily. What is required of people is supposed to remain constant.

This is the mindset that we all have. This is especially true when consequences accompany the rules. This is even more powerfully expected when we suffer those consequences unexpectedly.

But then, we never like the consequences and we often become angry when facing consequences to breaking the rules. The only time that we want the rules to change, is when we face consequences and would like to be excused and would like to have those consequences remitted.

Nevertheless, people expect the rules to remain constant. This is the nature of rules. This is essential for good order in society. This is necessary for people to know how they are to function in society.

In our day and in our society the rules have become unstable. This is especially true regarding banking and financing. The banks and financiers and governments keep changing the rules, and not in the people’s favor.

People are becoming more and more angry as they experience the unfairness of those who are manipulating the rules. People are feeling more and more helpless and defenseless. People are justified in their anger.

Sadly, those who instigate this anger are not the ones to whom the anger is expressed. The poor cashier or bank teller or stock clerk or waitress or receptionist or other service person, the one who has no say over how the rules apply, such a person is usually the one who bears the heat of the anger. Sometimes it is the person at the intersection or turning lane. Other times it is a spouse or son or daughter or other family member.

So what is the answer?

In this post I only intend to give answer to what each of us needs so as to be kept safe from our anger turning to sin. This, by the way, is an enormous undertaking.

So what is our protection from having our anger turn to sin? God’s peace that flows from knowing His forgiveness is our protection. When we become angry, God has provided His peace to rule our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. As we remember the enormity of our own sinfulness and our own debt to God, we also remember the vastness of His love and forgiveness. As we remember His love and forgiveness to us personally, the wrongdoing that we endure from others is shown to be infinitesimal by contrast. When we remember God’s mercy to us personally, we remember that those with whom we are angry are just like us, sinners in need of God’s forgiveness. This then snuffs out the fire that burns within us, for how can we be angry over someone who is just like us and acts just like us? How can we remain angry with someone when we remember how desperately that we need for God not to let His anger loose upon us?

It simply is not possible to remain angry when we honestly evaluate our need for God’s forgiveness personally, and recall His promise to us in our Baptism and in His gracious call to the Supper of forgiveness. When this is what we have foremost in our thoughts, our anger is left behind as we come running to our gracious God and Savior who stands ready to lift our sin from us and give us His peace once again.

Yes, I can tell you from personal experience, much personal experience, God’s peace truly does have this much power.