Borrowed Light

Learning to Read the Unseen Headline

October 13, 2016Mike Leake 2 Comments

Media bias is a terrible thing. It is pretty obvious which candidate Fox News is pulling for. Likewise, everyone knows that CNN and the other mainstream media sources are phrasing things in such a way to ensure a win for Hilary Clinton. No matter what you are told we really don’t have many options for a “fair and balanced” news source. They are always going to be skewed by our perception.

But this is the reality of living in the fallen world. In fact, even if we had the best journalist in the world they likely do not have the eyes to see what is really going on. What the headline reads on earth is likely quite different than what the headline would read in heaven.

Consider the apostle Paul in his letter to the Philippians. Paul was quite likely the greatest evangelist in the early church. His mission travels and church planting efforts spread the gospel all around the known world. As we read in Acts this started stirring up trouble for some local communities. Like in Ephesus when the gospel takes such a root that they had a bonfire of all their magic books. The local idol makers started losing money. And so they worked to shut down the apostle.

Paul was hated by the Jews and he the more he was known the more unpopular he became throughout the Roman Empire. He was a troublemaker. After that Ephesus riot the great evangelist was finally arrested.

What do you think would have appeared on the Jewish news site that morning?

TROUBLEMAKING CULT FOLLOWER FINALLY SLOWED BY AUTHORITIES

What about the Roman news sites?

JEWISH RABBLE ROUSER NOW CHANGED TO ROMAN GUARD

And from our perspective each of those leads would have seemed accurate. This is why the Philippians have written this letter to Paul. They wonder how Paul is doing and we get the hint they are curious about what this will mean for the advance of the gospel. Will this slow things down? Will this hinder kingdom growth? To which Paul responds:

I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. (Philippians 1:12-14 ESV)

So the news headlines had the whole thing backwards. The heavenly press would have read something like that:

INFINITELY WISE GOD CHAINS ROME TO GREAT EVANGELIST

Paul was chained to a Roman guard. Rome was now chained to the apostle Paul. From the outside it looked like evil and darkness was winning, but in reality God was doing what he always does—advance His kingdom and promote His glory.

This is great news for us. God is on a mission and it will not be thwarted. Regardless of what the news headlines read, know that there is always another story taking place. It is a story which overrides all other stories, even though it is quite often the one playing in the background.

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I preached a similar point from Revelation 5 last Sunday. I’d be honored if you gave it a listen: The Mission of God

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Today in Blogworld 10.13.16

October 13, 2016Mike Leake

4 Cultural Trends Leading to the Decline of Religious Liberty

I agree with Trevin, here.

Satan’s Ten Strategies Against You

Good to know the enemies plan.

Seven Dying Practices in Church Communications

I’d love to try to resurrect the papyrus font…but I’m just not cool enough.

Why I Love Being a Pastor

So refreshing to see articles like this one…and from a man who has been pastoring so faithfully and for so long.

This is likely far more entertaining than the actual debates:

A Rebuke to My Praying Before Meals

October 12, 2016Mike Leake 2 Comments

I’m hungry. My wife and kids are hungry. Supper was a bit later than expected and everybody wants to dig into these tacos. But there is one thing our family has to do before we eat though. We have to pray.

And if I’m being honest my prayer is seldom very heartfelt. Most of the time it is just doing my duty before digging into the tacos. I’m not thinking too much about the Lord. I’m not actually praising Him and thanking Him for provision. And it’s not just me. There have been times when I’ve been struck with the Lord’s greatness and wanted to spend more time pre-tacos thanking Him. But I’m usually interrupted by a chorus of grumbling tummies and a few “come on, dad, my tacos are getting cold!”

I read this from John Bunyan and it convicted me deeply. Prayer, according to Bunyan, “is not, as many take it to be, a few babbling, prating, complimentary expressions, but a sensible feeling of the heart.” (Bunyan, 14). He goes on to say that when we are actually praying we have thoughts of mercy received, mercy to be received, or even our desperate need for mercy.

My prayer before eating is more like the babbling and complimentary expressions than the desperate heart cry. And as I read through Bunyan’s prayer I couldn’t help but think that my practice might invoke something similar to Paul’s admonition to the Corinthian church, “when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse”. Am I doing more harm to their view of prayer by just hurriedly going through some obligatory words? Would it be better for us to just stop praying before meals altogether?

I don’t believe we should stop thanking God before eating. But I do think that daddy needs to repent. It can still be brief , but I want to prepare my heart and model for my children that prayer is heartfelt, authentic, and with a healthy dose of desperate praise. It is as, Bunyan would later say, “an unbosoming of a man’s self, an opening of the heart to God, an affectionate pouring out of the soul in requests, sights, and groans” (17).

Am I alone in my struggle here? Do you have any tips for making sure that when you pray—especially public praying (like before meals) that you aren’t simply offering up babbling and complimentary expressions?

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