Not Sorry if It Rained on Your Parade

Like many Minnesotans, I love our summer days, and my shoulders droop when they are interrupted by soaking rains and daytime thunderstorms, with one exception. For several years, I have asked the Lord to open the windows of heaven and pour torrential rain on the Twin Cities the last weekend in June. Across the world and in our Twin Cities, the final Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in June is the close of Pride Month, the celebration of all things LGBTQ.

From the official website: The 51st annual Twin Cities Pride Festival will be held at Loring Park and Parade Park in Minneapolis June 23 – 25, 2023 and will feature local BIPOC and LGBTQ+ vendors, food courts, a beer garden, and music stages.

If you are unaware, BIPOC is an acronym that stands for black, indigenous, and people of color. As an aside, I have no idea what one acronym has to do with the other, but I’ll leave that for another time.

Unless your head has been in the ground, you are fully aware of the push in the public arena for all things LGBTQ. The list of sponsors, corporations that gave big money to make the event happen, is staggering. Target, Delta, US Bank, Mayo Clinic, General Mills, and Xcel Energy top the list that includes 3M, Cub Foods, AARP, UPS, Caribou Coffee, Thrivent Financial, and Medtronic. There are more, but why bore you with the list? I’m not advocating boycotting any of the businesses. I’m informing you of how wide the push extends.

A Gallup poll concluded LGBTQ identification has been increasing over time. Younger generations are far more likely to consider themselves to be something other than heterosexual. The pollsters write, “With younger generations far more likely than older generations to consider themselves LGBT, that growth should continue.” The prophecy has come true. The most recent data reports nearly 40% of 18 to 24-year-olds identify as LGBTQ, with the B as the overwhelming identifier. Did you read that too quickly? The number is 40%!

Does that concern you? I think it should, especially if you have children in any educational institution, elementary school to college, that does not openly embrace a biblical worldview. What is the biblical worldview on gender identity and sexuality? Against the growing consensus in Western Culture, God’s Word upholds the beauty of two sexes, condemns all expressions of sexuality outside of covenanted marriage between one man and one woman, and offers God’s grace to escape God’s coming wrath for those who rebel against God in sexuality and gender.

This is a musing and not a treatise, so here are some thoughts as you consider how you will respond to the growing push to embrace LGBTQ ideology in our schools, at your workplace, in your family, in your church, and in our community.

Know the Scriptures. God’s revelation is the greatest resource we possess to combat any rebellious worldview. In the approaching days, Christians do well to know the content and meaning of Genesis 1-3, Romans 1, 1 Corinthians 6, and Matthew 19, to name a few. The Scriptures will guard your mind against the lies of Satan and will equip you with tools to support those close to you. The Scriptures will inform your conscience when faced with pressures to conform.

Celebrate what God celebrates and condemn what God condemns. God celebrates masculinity, and God celebrates femininity. God celebrates one man and one woman marriage. God celebrates the intimacy and oneness in his design for marriage. Work to make your marriage the beauty that God designed. Protect your marriage from little foxes that would destroy it and give cause for condemnation, “How can you criticize whom I choose to love when your so called ‘God approved’ love is a mess?”

Answer your children’s questions. I was in middle school when I asked him. My dad came home from a long day at work and sat down on the couch, looking for a moment of relaxation. Earlier in the day at my Christian school, I heard a word I didn’t know. Some of the guys were talking about it. I acted like I knew its meaning, but I was clueless. When my dad got home, I assaulted the poor man without any warning, “Dad, what is @L$%*!?” The man nearly died. When he collected himself, he gave me a three-word-answer. By his brevity and tone and his immediate departure to another room in the house, I learned that conversations about sex, my body, and girls were off limits. I never again asked him any question on those subjects. In his defense, he didn’t see the uppercut coming, and I am sure his dad never had a similar conversation with him. God has uniquely positioned you to be the parent of your children. Part of your task is to answer their questions about the world in which we live, both its beauty and its ugliness. You do well to answer them and not send them to Instagram or TikTok for answers.

Love sinners to Jesus. Luke 7:36-39 records a social event where a woman of the city, whose sexual exploits were known to all, interacted with Jesus. A group of Pharisees also attended the dinner. When they saw Jesus and the woman interacting, they said, “This man, if he were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.”

The Pharisee’s response tells us all and has become the M O for many Christians. Over and again, we see Jesus move toward the sexually sinful, like the woman in Luke 7 and like the woman at the well in John 4. It is the response of the Pharisee that says, “Keep your distance.”

Instead of keeping distance, love sinners toward Jesus. Would you welcome at your table for the purpose of talking to them about Jesus a person who is male but identifies as female? Would you choose to befriend a coworker whose LGBTQ lifestyle makes you uncomfortable for the purpose of talking to them about Jesus?

What might the future bring? I suspect the church will need to be prepared in the coming decades to aid those who received surgical treatments or years of hormonal treatment for the purpose of gender change. Will we help them?

Would you repent of any acceptance of LGBTQ lifestyle because your acceptance does not move sinners toward Jesus? Would you repent of any sinful language you use about LGBTQ people? Would you show sympathy and compassion to someone in our church struggling with same sex attraction, with gender identity, or any other sinfully sexual expression? Will you move toward sinners with the hope of the gospel and the love of Jesus?

Here we are. God created us to live in the days in which we live. None of us fought in World War I. None of us experienced the Black Plague. None of us was exiled to Babylon. We live here and now in this time. Like the faithful brothers and sisters before us, we will rely on God’s Word delivered to us by God’s Spirit to live as faithful followers of God’s Son.

The Lord brought some rain to the region last weekend. I thank him for the rain and for every expression of his grace.

**********

See you in August. Thank you for reading. I'm going to take a few weeks off from writing with the hopes of returning with a fresher mind and better pen.

As always, thanks for reading, and I welcome your feedback and any suggestions you might have for an upcoming Lunchtime Musing.

Yeah, I know I'm Late. Don't Judge Me, Bro.

The following LM first appeared Father's Day 2019

I watched them enter the worship service, mom and dad with kids in tow. Something wasn’t right.

Mom is as perky as they come; she has a perpetual smile. Once dad has his morning cup o’ joe, he’s the best – cheerful, gregarious, light-hearted, a servant, a good dad and husband. When they entered the room for worship, I hardly recognized the persons taking their seats 20 minutes after our worship began - shoulders drooping, kids plodding, and no happy faces. Who are these people?

“Hmm,” I thought, “I wonder what happened this morning.”

I never connected with dad following Sunday’s worship. I did chat with the kids and mom. The youngest of the three hugged my leg as his older siblings told me about their Saturday. Mom filled in the missing details – nothing about the events of the morning and why they were so late.

Worship over, the building locked and all the doors closed, Brenda and I slid into our SUV and headed to meet our kids for Father’s Day lunch. While I missed dad, Brenda found out about the late family’s Sunday morning. It was chaos that involved a running loaner vehicle, needed because of another expensive repair. I mention running vehicle because the only set of keys were locked inside the car as the family stood at its doors ready to get in.

The poor dad. I don’t know what he had in mind for Father’s Day, but I guarantee being locked out of his running loaner vehicle, arriving late for worship at his church, and trying to find a solution for how to get into the vehicle without smashing a window wasn’t in his Father’s Day fantasy.

As I listened to Brenda’s retelling of the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad morning, I was reminded of how judgmental we can be.

Can’t you get here on time?

Nice of you to join us…20 minutes late.

Shameful the lack of respect. Probably stayed up too late and didn’t roll out of bed until the last minute.

Our Lord and his apostles condemn and warn disciples of Jesus about the tendency to make unrighteous judgments, yet we do it all the time. We see a behavior that doesn’t meet a standard, and we assume wrongly the reasons for the failure.

• We would never be so spiritually immature.

• We would never conduct ourselves in that manner.

• We would never allow our children to do that.

• We would never dress that way.

• We would never let our children out of the house in that condition.

• And on and on the examples go.

I am so refreshed by this young father’s commitment to lead his family on the Lord’s Day. He had a ready-made excuse to stay home, but he didn’t. He would be late. Everyone would know it. Somebody may make a snide comment to him or cast a look of disdain, but that would not keep his family from meeting with God together with his church on the Lord’s Day.

I am so encouraged by this young husband’s love for Jesus to love his wife enough to direct her to their Lord on the Lord’s Day. He didn’t let the battle against the flesh defeat him. He would love her by loving her Lord.

We have no idea what’s going on in the lives and homes of the people in our church. No idea at all. We cannot judge what we do not know. We must not assume our conclusions are on target. Instead of judging, let’s come alongside and ask questions.

You look like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders. What’s up?

You’re not usually late like that. Did something happen at home today?

I’m glad to see you and the family this morning. How’s life? You good?

The safest place for Christians should be the gathering of the local church. Here, brothers and sisters-in-Christ should find people different in so many ways from those outside the circle of the church. Here, they should find patient, loving, kind, and empathic sinners saved by grace willing to extend to the failing the grace they’ve received and hope to receive from others. Here, they should find those who give only righteous judgements and those who speak the truth with love-glazed words and eyes.

The gathering of the church isn’t always the safest place, but it should be. The church can be the safest place when each of us recalls the extent of God’s longsuffering towards us.

s always, thanks for reading, and I welcome your feedback and any suggestions you might have for an upcoming Lunchtime Musing.

Summer in the Psalms

It is no secret that I love summer. Hot and humid destroys cold and biting, and it’s not even close. The long summer days in the upper Midwest are made for memories and opportunities. One opportunity is our Bible intake. Let’s spend the summer in the Psalms.

There are 150 psalms in the collection, and they can be consumed in a month in an easy way. For example, today is June 6. Today, we read five psalms beginning with Psalm 6. From there, add thirty and read Psalm 36. Then, add thirty more and read Psalm 66. Complete the days reading by heading to Psalms 96 and 126. On June 7 you begin the reading at Psalm 7 and follow the same course. In July and August when there are 31 days in the month, you will read Psalm 119 (a lengthy and the longest) on that day.

Why Read the Psalms?

• A Simple Way to Take in the Bible – If you are not a regular Bible reader, this is a simple way to become one. Many new Bible readers don’t know where to begin. The Bible is a big book which some might find intimidating. Regular reading in the psalms can develop good Bible reading habits. If you are a regular Bible reader following a specific plan, keep on with your plan. Maybe consider adding summer psalm reading for a little more Scripture saturation.
   

• A Simple Way to Read the Bible Together – If you would like your family to read the Bible and you’re not sure where to begin, summer reading in the psalms is a great way for families to read. Have one reader read a particular psalm, then move on to the next reader and the next psalm. It really isn’t that hard. If you miss a day for whatever reason, you simply pick up with the current day. So, say you’ve missed June 1-5. No problem, simply start with today’s reading, and go from there.
   

• A Great Way to Gain Encyclopedic Knowledge of God and His Works – As a kid, I devoured our family’s World Book Encyclopedias. Encyclopedias were the Internet of the 1970s. From A-Z, a young boy could satisfy his desire for knowledge. The psalms are a massive resource on the Lord and his works, giving the reader a broad knowledge base of who he is, what he has done, what he is doing, and what he purposes to do in the future. Take today’s reading for example.
   

  • In number 6, the psalmist informs and encourages God’s people that their God is close by when he writes, “The LORD will receive my prayer” (9).

  • In number 36, the reader learns of God’s steadfast love for his people when he reads, “How precious is your lovingkindness, O God!” (7).

  • In number 66, we who live in a messed-up world rest when we read, “All the earth shall worship you” (4), and we rest humbly when we read, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the LORD will not hear. But certainly God has heard me” (17-18).

  • In number 96, the psalmist asserts, “He is coming” (13). He has come, and we await his coming again.

  • In number 126, the psalmist describes the return of the faithful from their Babylonian exile, noting “our mouth was filled with laughter” (2). And we dream of days to come when tears will be no more for God’s people as the Lord turns our “weeping” to “rejoicing” (6).

  • A bonus for those still reading – if you like animals, the psalms tell you that God does too, “O Lord, you preserve man and beast” (36:6)

The Summer Challenge

Will you read the psalms together with me and those near you? I hope so. But there’s one more step I want you to take. Will you memorize a psalm with me? Hear me out. 119:11 announces, “Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against you.”

Before I memorized Psalm 23 as a young boy, I memorized Psalm 1. That’s the challenge to each of you, memorize word for word Psalm 1, “Blessed is the man who….” You can do it. You really can. The Lord will aid you if you make the effort. You cannot exaggerate the value of memorization of this psalm to your family, our church, and yourself.

What’s that? You’ve already memorized Psalm 1? Then the challenge to you is to memorize Psalm 2 this summer. That’s what I’m doing, and I’d love to do that with you.

So, let’s make good use of the summer days and spend them in the psalms.

s always, thanks for reading, and I welcome your feedback and any suggestions you might have for an upcoming Lunchtime Musing.

"Mom, I Love Jesus Just Like You"

What is the only topping that belongs on pizza? And why is it sausage?

True Americans never put ketchup on a hot dog.

Coffee served over ice is both weird and defeats the purpose.

None of these statements can be argued by any clear-thinking person. Science hasn’t told me this. I learned this from my ancestors – my parents, grandparents, and uncles.

We cannot determine the heart affections of our children,
but we can strongly influence them.

It is likely that all of us have passions and tastes developed in us by the passions and tastes of those before us, like my affinity for a good thin crust pizza covered with Italian sausage and nothing more. I acquired the taste from eating with my teenage uncles. Of course, not every passion passes to those after us. My parents and grandparents drank hot coffee from sunup to sundown, as black as tar, my mom being the exception. She desired milk and sugar. Hot or cold, it doesn’t matter. Coffee is gross.

Christian parents and grandparents desire that their children want to follow Jesus. At least, I’d like to think they do. I certainly hope they do. As we do most everything else, we have the capacity to impact how our children think about the Lord, the thought behind Deuteronomy 6:6-9.

And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.  You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.  You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.  You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Picking up from where we left off last time, here are suggestions for growing an appetite for the Lord in our children.

Five Suggestions for Growing an Appetite for Our Lord, His Word, and His Church in Our Children and Grandchildren

• Prioritize the Lord’s Day

I know I say it all the time, but there is good reason to emphasize the importance of the Sunday gatherings of the local church. When I was a kid, I recall my pastor telling the church to “be here every time the doors are open.” Truthfully, my family was in attendance Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night, every night of the weeklong meetings, every night of missions conference, and throw in the New Year’s Eve service too. My sister and I are the beneficiaries of my parents’ decision to emphasize the church gathering in our family.

Our church has not heard me use the phrase “every time the doors are open,” but I am concerned about the casualness of some towards the gathering of the church on Sunday. Traveling athletic teams, spending the night at a friend’s, a part-time job, school events late Saturday night, away at the lake for the weekend, and more, keep children away from the gathering of the church far more Sundays than many realize. When events compound, it can be three or four weeks between gatherings. In the spiritual battle for the appetites of our children 10, 15, 20, or more Sundays away from the gathered church cannot be helpful.

• Fill your home with Christian Music

At our worship services, it is easy to tell the families that play Christian music in their homes and cars. They are the ones where the children sing. Christians have their own music, and they sing it when they gather. Their music teaches Bible truth, encourages sad hearts, challenges fearful soldiers, and unites Christians to each other. Homes where Christian music plays creates an appetite for the Lord who is the theme of all our songs.

Streaming services and air pods have made communal listening to music a thing of the past. No one gathers the family around the radio or spins an album on the stereo for all to share. It is not uncommon to see a family in the SUV and each child in his own world listening to his own music. I do not go so far as to say individual listening is wrong. I will say that you can aid in developing an appetite for our Lord by filling your home and car with Christian music that you listen to together.

• Share Answers to Prayer and the Requests You Make

Is God real? The question isn’t new. Pharoah raised the question to Moses, and every generation since the fall has wondered if there is a God. If there is, what is he like and what difference does his existence make to me? These are only a few of the big questions. Maybe you are still asking some of them.

When we pray, we attest to our belief of something beyond ourselves. When we pray directed by the Bible, we identify the recipient of our prayer as the triune God – Father, Son, and Spirit. Our children and grandchildren need to know that we pray to God because we desperately need him, and they do too.

You are wise to teach your children to pray, and you are wise to have your children hear you pray. How often do your children hear you pray? Do they know some of the burdens you bring to the Lord? Do they know they too can bring their burdens to the Lord? Have they heard you confess sin and ask for God’s aid? When they sin, do they know they will find mercy with the Lord? Have your children experienced answered prayer in your family? Have your rejoiced with them at what God did for your family in answer to your prayer and theirs?

God draws us to himself by his grace in answered prayer. We draw near to God by praying.

• Tell Our Stories

People who think the Bible is boring haven’t read the Bible. It is that simple. Look at the book of Joshua – river crossings, city walls crumbling, Joshua comes face to face with a man with a drawn sword, days longer than they should be, hail stones coming down from the sky taking out the enemies – all and more in just a few chapters. Bible stories are given to us for our learning. The hearing of them creates an appetite for more.

Hebrews 11 is a chapter of stories and offers that there are many more stories of God’s actions for his people than appear in the chapter. Place in your older children’s hands the stories of missionaries and the biographies of faithful Christians. There is no shortage of children’s books for grandparents to read to their grandchildren. I am convinced too many of our children have little appetite for God because they know so very little about him. We can remedy that.

• Live Christ in your home

Sadly, most of us know adults who have no appetite for God despite the fact their parents had them in church every time the doors were, and despite the fact the car radio was tuned to the local Christian radio station, and despite the reality that the kids went to Vacation Bible School and the weekly Awana night. Often, reflecting on their childhoods, the adults remember a home where the family in the church pew was very different than the family in the minivan.

Our children know us better than nearly everyone else. They see our failures, our sins, and weaknesses. We wish they didn’t. The problem is not that we continue to sin, and our children are aware. The problem is our children see no humility, no confession, and no change toward Christlikeness. What they see is open hypocrisy. On Sunday, they hear a parent say “Amen” only to hear that same parent curse later in the day. On Sunday, they listen along with their parents to the Word of God only to watch their parents disobey the very Word of God they received earlier in the week. It’s very confusing. It’s very unappealing. It has great potential to sour Jesus to our children and grandchildren.

There may be nothing more significant for developing appetite for our Lord, the Bible, and the church than humble Christianity lived out in the home by parents and grandparents.

I am sure you could add to my list. Please do. I’d value your suggestions.

You have heard me say often that there should never be a need for an evangelist to come to the home of any of my children and grandchildren. We have the gospel in our possession, and so do you. God grant us grace that the gospel never depart from our family trees. I’ll pray with you that way. I hope you’ll pray with me.

As always, thanks for reading, and I welcome your feedback and any suggestions you might have for an upcoming Lunchtime Musing.

You Got Your Kid to Like Vegetables - You Win Parent of the Year

Christian parents and grandparents desire that their children want to follow Jesus. At least, I’d like to think they do. I certainly hope they do. As we do most everything else, we have the capacity to impact how our children think about the Lord.

We cannot determine the heart affections of our children,
but we can strongly influence them.

The Netherlands and Chicago Sports

Most are aware of Brenda’s Dutch heritage. She and her sister are first generation Americans. They are Wooden Shoes by birth and by attitude. At Christmas time, Dutch pastries fill our kitchen and wood shoes line the stairs waiting for Sinterklass to fill them with candy, small toys, and coins. With the arrival of grandchildren, we need more stairs for all the shoes. Don’t tell my kids. Let’s keep it between us – Brenda fills the shoes with goodies, not Sinterklass. Shhh!

As a very young boy, my passion was the Chicago Cubs. I could not get enough of Baseball cards, box scores in the newspaper, and afternoon baseball from Wrigley Field. I vividly remember listening to Chicago Blackhawks hockey games coming from my bedside radio on the AM dial. I was a Chicago Bulls fan before Michael Jordan arrived for the 1986 season, and there has never been anyone like Walter Payton, the best running back in the history of the NFL and a Chicago Bear.

My children have never lived for one minute anywhere near the city of Chicago, the place where I was born. Of the four, only Jeffery has visited the Netherlands. So, would you explain to me the enthusiasm for Dutch heritage and would you explain to me the obsession with Chicago sports teams shared by all four of our children? They all love the Bears, Blackhawks, Bulls, and Cubs. During the most recent World Cup soccer tournament, the Dutch and US teams took the pitch against each other in the round of 16. Only one of us cheered for the USA.

My sports passions became our children’s sports passions. Brenda’s love for her Dutch heritage has expanded to our children. When Michael was very young and the Cubs were very bad, he asked his mom, “Mom, why do we have to be Cubs fans?” Brenda told him that he doesn’t have to be a Cubs fan. He can be a fan of any team he wants. He dropped his head and mourned, “I’ve tried, but I can’t. I just can’t.”

I’d guess there are similar stories in your family. Your children like roller coasters because you do. Your children like coffee because you do. Your children like a style of music because you do. Your children like horses or airplanes or running in the sprinkler because you introduced them. Your children like a particular dessert, vegetable, make of automobile, recreational activity, or something else, and their affection for the thing grew out of your affection for the thing.

Your Loves and Your Child’s Loves

We cannot determine the heart affections of our children, but we can strongly influence them. Do you believe that? Do you believe that what you love they are more likely to love? The influence extends to a love for our Lord. If you love our Lord, your children are in a most advantageous position to love him too. If you love his word, your children are in a position to love his word too. If you love his church, your children are well positioned also to love his church. Your influence will play a significant role, not the only role, but a significant one in their affection for our Lord, his word, and his church. The Bible says so.

And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.  You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.  You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.  You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates (Deuteronomy 6:6-9).

Moses instructed the people to make the air of the house the person of the Lord because this is the best way to grow the children’s affections for the Lord. A house that smells of Jesus is a house likely to produce hearts that are faithful to Jesus.

So, what would that look like in your house? Let’s answer that question next week.

As always, thanks for reading, and I welcome your feedback and any suggestions you might have for an upcoming Lunchtime Musing.