As we continue a series of blogs motivated in part by the violent demonstrations at the U.S. Capitol last Wednesday, it’s useful to think about crowds. Jesus had a large following of people from all over:

This resulted in massive crowds of people following him, including people from Galilee, Jerusalem, the land of Judah, the region of the Ten Cities known as the Decapolis, and beyond the Jordan River. (Matthew 4.25, TPT)

It was a large crowd at the Triumphal Entry, but many in that crowd were no doubt in the crowd clamoring for his crucifixion.

But in Acts 2 and 3, we’re reading about large crowds coming to faith:

Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. (Acts 2.41, NIV)

But many who heard the message believed; so the number of men who believed grew to about five thousand. (Acts 4.4, NIV)

But crowds are made up of individuals. As I think about it, it’s reasonable that some of the first converts to what became Christianity…

• Were baptized by John the Baptist
• Followed Jesus’ ministry or at least were there for some of the big events of his ministry: Sermon on the Mount, feeding of the 5,000, etc.
• Cheered his entry into Jerusalem
• Demanded his crucifixion
• Believed at Pentecost or at the healing of the lame man

No one event defines any of us, for good or for ill. My friend Fisher DeBerry, former Head Coach of the Air Force Academy football team had a sign in his office:

You’re only as good as your last play.

So there is redemption available for anyone participating in riots, whether it was last week or last summer. Tomorrow I’ll share a new (to me) story of redemption, plus a couple of familiar ones. In the meantime, here’s Peter’s word, and some who heard this message believed. The last sentence seems especially appropriate…

[Peter said, ] The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead… Now, fellow Israelites, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders. (Acts 3.13 – 17, NIV)

We must continue our thoughts on how we should be conducting ourselves in the political arena and anywhere for that matter. I have written before about outrage, included one blog commenter who observes that “Recreational outrage is America’s most popular indoor sport.”

Now, we’re beyond outrage. As of Wednesday, we have rioting by Trump supporters to go along with the summer’s riots against racial injustice. Breakpoint’s John Stonestreet nailed it:

But, and this is the much more important point that many miss, character is destiny for a people as well as for a person. Yesterday, when President-elect Biden said that the actions of the mob did not reflect America, I wish he were correct. But he wasn’t. We are not a moral nation. We are lawless. We are not a nation that cultivates the kinds of families able to produce good citizens. Our institutions cannot be trusted to tell us the truth or advance the good. Our leaders think and live as if wrong means are justified by preferred ends. Our churches tickle ears and indulge narcissism. Our schools build frameworks of thinking that are not only wrong but foster confusion and division. 

Yesterday’s riot was not the first in our nation’s recent history, nor will it be the last. There are certainly immediate causes for what we witnessed, including the words of a President who appeared to care more about the attention the riots gave him than the rule of law that they violated. Still, there are ultimate causes, ones that predate his administration and that have created what is clearly a spark-ready environment.

Yesterday’s events cannot be understood, much less addressed outside this larger context. And the moment we excuse ourselves from being part of the problem, we have lost our saltiness. John Stonestreet, Breakpoint, January 7.

I’m reminded of the hockey player I mentioned in October 2019 who, after assaulting another player on the ice, said, “I don’t play the game that way. And I’m not a mean-spirited person.” Actually, you do play the game that way – we have you on videotape.

Wednesday’s actions do reflect America. Millions saw the assault on the capitol live as they did the riots last summer. Our outrage and our words (“they’re just words”(?)) have escalated. A well-known political figure said a few years ago, “You cannot be civil with a political party that wants to destroy what you stand for…” World Magazine reported President Trump’s actions on Wednesday:

In December, Trump called for his supporters to rally in Washington the day that Congress certified the Electoral College count. He spoke to participants outside the White House on Wednesday, saying, “We will never give up, we will never concede. … Our country has had enough. We will not take it anymore.” He said it was up to him and his supporters “to confront this egregious assault on our democracy.” He encouraged them to march to the Capitol without specifically telling them to break inside. –World Magazine, January 7, 2021.

May believers of all political persuasions (or none!) lead the way in peace and civility.

Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. (Colossians 4.5, 6, ESV)

¹²  Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days,
¹³  keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies.
¹⁴  Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.
¹⁵  The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their cry;
¹⁶  but the face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to blot out their name from the earth. (Psalm 34.12 – 16, NIV)

NOTE: I composed this blog BEFORE the events of January 6, and it’s even more appropriate today.

Let’s continue our thinking on how to be more life-giving this year, especially in the area of politics. I wrote several times last year, as early as January 7(!), that we shouldn’t tie our Christianity to our politics in the sense that we know the will of God in how all Christians should vote. After the election, I published this blog containing links to articles or videos by committed Jesus followers with radically different opinions on how to vote.

Earlier this week, Mike Metzger wrote a marvelous blog entitled A Third Way? I recommend you read all of it, but here are some of the main ideas:

…And so I describe my politics as political in the best sense of the word: Seeking to achieve a consensus regarding what makes for a flourishing community through respect, accommodation, compromise, give-and-take; understanding it’s largely unachievable in terms of ever being complete. But it can form what the preamble of US Constitution calls “a more perfect union.”

In other words, better than before but never perfect. I like to think my politics runs along the lines of an ancient tension between things we ought to conserve and things we ought to change. The former is a hallmark of being conservative, the latter of being liberal. I believe Christians ought to hold to both, conservative and liberal, both/and, while recognizing we lean one way or the other.

I lean toward the conservative, as conservatives have a better grasp (or used to anyway) on the macro issues including economics (conservatives also have historically held to the sanctity of unborn life). But I have to come to see how liberals are better at the micro, touching human hearts with moving stories of, say, inner-city families devastated by crime…

He goes on to talk about opening and working in a food pantry for poor Hispanics in the inner-city neighborhood in which he lives. Hispanics adversely affected by COVID and the lockdowns. He continues:

So I describe my politics as conservative/liberal. But I recognize this doesn’t appeal to most Americans, as most are politicized. This includes Christians right and left who see their party as the end-all for making a better world. These believers tend to be deficient in respect, compromise, give-and-take. They’re poor at loving their neighbors.

Our politicized nation means hardly anyone today is conservative or liberal. Politicized conservatives tout conservatism, which advocates “trickle-down” economics (which hardly ever seems to trickle down to Hispanic families). Politicized liberals tout progressivism to help the poor, advocating government redistribution of wages (all while progressive leaders typically enrich themselves off the redistributed revenues that hardly ever reach everyday people.) In terms of political parties, this makes me Unaffiliated... –

He concludes with this provocative allusion to Ecclesiastes:

[A conservative/liberal approach] would correct what the writer of Ecclesiastes warns against: Do not be excessively righteous. Why would you ruin yourself? (Ecclesiastes 7:16) Politicized Americans, including Christians on the right and left, are excessively righteous. They’re ruining our country. A third way, one that’s conservative and liberal, would offer all Americans a way to not be excessively righteous. Mike Metzger, January 4, 2021

Mike’s language is strong, but I believe he is right. I wrote earlier to Beware Jesus and… The entire book of Hebrews was written to counteract that kind of thinking. Eugene Peterson’s introduction to Hebrews in The Message contains this sentence:

In the letter, it is Jesus-and-angels, or Jesus-and-Moses, or Jesus-and-priesthood. In our time it is more likely to be Jesus-and-politics,…

I’m trying to focus on being loving and life-giving rather than being divisive and death-dealing. I hope you’ll join me.

⁹  Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.
¹⁰  Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.
¹¹  Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.
¹²  Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
¹³  Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
¹⁴  Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.
¹⁵  Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.
¹⁶  Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. (Romans 12.9 – 16, NIV)

Here’s a good word to start our year from opening day of our reading program: Psalm 1 and Genesis 2.

His pleasure and passion is remaining true to the Word of “I Am,”
meditating day and night in the true revelation of light.
He will be standing firm like a flourishing tree
planted by God’s design,
deeply rooted by the brooks of bliss,
bearing fruit in every season of his life.
He is never dry, never fainting,
ever blessed, ever prosperous. (Psalm 1.2, 3, TPT)

The Passion Translation (TPT) entitled this psalm The Tree of Life. The person of the word IS the tree of life. The fruit I bear is not for me, it’s for others. One can’t help but compare Psalm 1 to the first mention of the tree of life:

And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground the LORD God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food.The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. (Genesis 2.8, 9, ESV)

The original tree of life was in the midst of the Garden of Eden. Now, God’s “Trees of Life” are scattered among the world. Scattered to give life to those around us. 

May we all be trees of life. Not focusing on politics, for example, but bringing life and peace, not death and division. I’ve included among my Larry Warner challenged prayers, a prayer that Christians humble themselves, pray, seek God’s face, and repent of OUR wicked ways. (2 Chronicles 7.14) Also, that we choose things that are excellent. (Philippians 1.9 – 11).

I have friends, wonderful Christian people in many ways, but whose Facebook pages, for example, are nothing but conservative political postings. Is this the best way for God’s people to function as trees of life? 

A heard a pastor once contrast living out of the tree of life with living out of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, both in Genesis 2. He said that it’s not the knowledge of right and wrong that’s our salvation. It may be that one political party is good and the other evil, but many people wonder which is which! I’ll have more to say about that tomorrow. But knowledge, the way most of us handle it is not life-giving, it’s death-dealing. As the pastor said, “The people that major on the correctness of all their thinking are right…dead. right.”

The words that I have spoken to you are Spirit and life. (John 6.63, ESV)

Thousands of pro-Trump protesters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, vandalizing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office and both congressional chambers as lawmakers met to review President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the Electoral College.

Lawmakers were escorted to safety as the crowds gained entry to the building by bypassing security barricades and breaking windows. Protesters overturned tables and caused damage in Pelosi’s office, according to multiple reports. One individual was photographed with his feet up on the California Democrat’s desk, while others left a note that read: “We will not back down.” – Fox News, December 6, 2021, 3:08 p.m., EST

I already had scheduled blogs, which turned out to be appropriate to this story, scheduled for today and Friday. I have bumped them to Friday and Saturday. Don’t miss them…they all carry the same message.

When June heard the news of the protests at the capitol, she started playing St Francis of Assisi’s prayer for peace, “Eternal Life,” on the piano. Where is St Francis when you need him? Where are his successors?

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.

O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. – St Francis of Assisi

Here’s a nice choral rendition by the Moody Choir with alumnae.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. (Matthew 5.9, NIV)

Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky. (Philippians 2.14, 15, NIV)

You shall not follow a crowd to do evil. (Exodus 23.2, NKJV)

From time to time I direct our attention to various aspects of social and racial injustice, something I don’t really experience since I’m not a minority. Last week, Rodney Stevens, a black writer and life coach born and raised in South Carolina, now living in Columbia, SC, wrote an essay published in the Wall Street Journal. I thought it was instructive, offering hope and perspective. Here is some of what he wrote:

Many of the authors, commentators and journalists who spend all their energy thinking and talking about race today fail to acknowledge how much has improved with regard to race in this country. There are countless successful black Americans today—doctors and lawyers, entrepreneurs and academics, journalists and artists, compassionate politicians and famous Hollywood actors. Their numbers will keep growing as long as we remember six things:

• First, every life mat­ters. Mine is not one cell more or less valu­able than any­one else’s. That this idea has to be de­bated or de­fended is lu­nacy.

• Sec­ond, racism still ex­ists but it is no longer sys­temic. Those who claim that racism is every­where to­day are delu­sional.

• Third, we tend to think too highly of our in­di­vid­u­al­ity. My color, weight, sex and sex­ual ori­en­ta­tion are four of the least in­ter­est­ing things about me. I am a South­erner and love South­ern food. Now that is in­ter­est­ing.

• Fourth, po­lice­men have to be held ac­count­able for their ac­tions, as is be­ing done more and more.

• Fifth, do what law en­force­ment of­fi­cers ask you to do. Ob­vi­ously that won’t solve every prob­lem be­cause po­lice­men are hu­mans, not an­gels. But that’s part of life. Sim­ply do­ing what the peo­ple in blue ask you to do would dras­ti­cally re­duce need­less con­fronta­tions, in­juries and deaths.

• Sixth, if you must talk about race, be gra­cious and re­spect­ful. Dis­cus­sions about it shouldn’t be an­tag­o­nis­tic—one’s race isn’t a choice, af­ter all—but for some rea­son many pop­u­lar fig­ures in­sist on mak­ing the sub­ject as un­pleas­ant as pos­si­ble. – Rodney Stevens, Wall Street Journal, December 28, 2020

I hope that you will take what you need from Rodney’s perspective, but I hope we will all practice the sixth recommendation.

Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. (Colossians 4.6, NIV)

There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3.28, NIV)

For some reason (maybe it was the Lord’s leading!), I decided on January 6, 2019, to publish a blog every day. Today marks the end of the second year, the 731st consecutive day of blogging. I read two daily blogs: Seth Godin and Heather Holleman. I recommend them both. Seth, who has written more than 7,000 daily blogs, says that the first thousand are the hardest! So I am nearly 3/4 the way to that milestone.

I wrote on January 31, 2020, that the ideas come day to day. I don’t have a grand plan nor a file of 50 or 100 completed blogs to draw on. The miracle occurs as I just put one foot in front of the other. On January 5, 2020, and again on January 15, 2020, I wrote on the benefit of streaks. The commitment has been good for me: the daily challenge keeps me more alert for ideas from wherever they may come. For example, tomorrow, I’ll share something on race issues from the Wall Street Journal.

I really have no idea what the readership is. Some of you I know; some I don’t. Whoever and wherever you are, thanks for coming along.

And don’t let me have all the fun! Maybe some of you should write a blog or take up some other daily or weekly practice. And it’s no problem that you didn’t decide before January 1! Remember, I started on January 6, 2019.

Tell Archippus: “See to it that you complete the ministry you have received in the Lord.” (Colossians 4.17, NIV)

And give us our needed bread for the coming day. (Luke 11.3, TPT)

I read this dialog between Jesus and the disciples a little differently this year:

Every time they were gathered together, they asked Jesus, “Lord, is it the time now for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?” He answered, “The Father is the one who sets the fixed dates and the times of their fulfillment. You are not permitted to know the timing of all that he has prepared by his own authority. But I promise you this—the Holy Spirit will come upon you and you will be filled with power. And you will be my messengers to Jerusalem, throughout Judea, the distant provinces —even to the remotest places on earth!” (Acts 1.6 – 8, TPT)

We enter the new year, having gone through the celebration of the birth of Jesus, who came and established the beachhead for the advance of the Kingdom. We had compared Israel waiting for the Messiah to our waiting for COVID-19 deliverance and racial and social justice. Like the disciples wanting to know if Jesus is going to overthrow Rome and bring Israel back to its formal glory, we’re asking, “Is 2021 going to be better? Is life in the U.S. going back to the way it was?” Jesus’ answer to the disciples is clear and it applies to us as well:

I don’t know…but I know this: you’ll receive the Spirit’s power to be my messengers…everywhere! – Jesus, Acts 1.7, 8

COVID or not, we have a job to do. Best we figure out how to do it.

He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. (Luke 24.46, 47, NIV)

Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life. (Philippians 2.14 – 16, NIV)

Yesterday I introduced “Preparing for 2021” by Larry Warner, in which he challenged us to formulate specific prayers for the World, the Country, the world-wide Church, our community, our local church, our family, and our life.

Then he asks:

• What themes do you see emerging in these prayers?
• How do these prayers/themes align with the greater themes of God’s Kingdom coming, God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven?
• What alignment is there with your prayers/themes with God’s heart for justice and concern for the poor, prisoners, the blind, the oppressed, widows and orphans?
• What is one area of injustice that you sense God inviting you to focus your attention on in 2021? 

 Finally, he calls us to action:

• In what ways will you seek to partner with God in answering these prayers?
• What might that look like in terms of the use of your time, your material resources, your level of influence, your social media presence?
• Who is already involved in some of those issues/themes that emerged in your prayers that you can support, learn from, partner with? 

I love his closing sentence – one that encourages us to pursue God first, and from that relationship will come the power for carrying out these prayers and actions: 

May your knowledge of God’s love for you and presence with you/within you continue to deepen and expand in 2021 and be the fuel that powers your life—your love for God and others. – Larry Warner

It reminds me of Paul’s word to the Thessalonians:

So we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of his call. May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do. (2 Thessalonians 1.11, NLT)

One of June’s favorite authors, Larry Warner, has written something he calls “Preparing for 2021.” In it, he recommends thinking about how we can partner with God in prayer and action for the coming year. Here’s some of what he wrote:  

Here is an aid for your personal preparation for 2021. It is not about losing weight or exercising more but seeking to name and embrace God invitations so you can more fully partner with God and live Jesus in the new year.  

Then he asks the following. (My initial response scriptures are in parentheses. Yours could, of course, be very different.) 

What are your prayers for the World? (1 Timothy 2.1, 2)
What are your prayers for the Country? (2 Chronicles 7.14)
What are your prayers for the worldwide church? (Ephesians 3.14 – 21, Philippians 1.9 – 11)
What are your prayers for your community? (Deuteronomy 15.11)
What are your prayers for your local church? (Ephesians 4.11 – 15)
What are your prayers for your family? (Genesis 18.19, Psalm 112.1, 2)
What are your prayers for your life? (2 Timothy 1.7) 

Tomorrow I’ll continue with Larry’s challenge – how do we assess our prayer intentions?

But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. (Luke 5.16, NIV)