Conversations at the Ranch with Dudley Hall

Since the tragic fall in Eden, humans have been confused about identity. We weren’t made to live independently from God. Feeling alienated from God, our forebears began to incorrectly name things. In the divine design, Adam and Eve were given the ability to name the animals. This meant they had the capacity to see the essential difference in created things and thereby had the ability to manage them. To misname is to mismanage. When they were cut off from God, they lost the insight necessary to properly identify themselves along with other things. And they quickly made such a mess of the created order that by the time of Noah, God concluded the Flood was the best solution.

Revelation 18:4 -- In the final book of the Bible, the Revelation—amidst all the symbols and visions—there is a scene where the world system is described as Babylon. The word of God to his people in that situation is: “Come out of her, my people.” Could that apply to God’s people now?

More than ever in my lifetime, I am hearing people ask each other who they are voting for. I once asked my dad that question, and he reminded me there was a reason for that curtain around the voting booth. It seems people are less sure now about their voting, and some are wishing God would simply give them the right name. Well, he has already voted. This is not simply a cute way of trying to be relevant in an election year. Rather it is essential for us to recognize how God approaches government.

When God’s people live by trusting him, they experience joy in any circumstance that is attractive to those whose taste buds have dulled by all the substitutes for joy. All mankind is hungry and thirsty for the satisfaction found in trust. As the people around us watch us live in love with the unseen but very real Jesus, they too might be open to hear the message we carry. All the while we are walking in the midst of an unjust fire but without the smell of smoke.

There is plenty of angst in the country. The Democrats tried to focus on the positives at their convention, but I don’t think most people are doing that. There seems to be a sense of hopelessness hanging like a heavy cloud over much of the land. Christians are crying out for revival, but not many are defining what that means beyond wanting policies and platforms to align with their own personal agendas.

If we are willing to trade the illusion of taking back our land by political maneuvering for the counterintuitive exercise of preaching the gospel, we can legitimately hope for revival.

Christians often speak of living the “blessed life” in an effort to demonstrate the benefits of following Christ. Books are written; sermons are preached; spiritual guides are offered, all in an effort to help us leverage the benefits of living right. There is some confusion, however, regarding how obedient one must be in order to get the benefits. For instance, does partial obedience gain partial blessings? Does God accept our best efforts even when they are grossly imperfect? Why was it necessary for Jesus to achieve perfect obedience for our salvation?

I am dizzy! Just trying to figure out what has happened and how fast it has occurred is a disorienting experience. Just a few years ago, we were celebrating diversity of opinion. We were boasting that open discussion and debate were privileges in a nation where liberty is prized. Now, there is an atmosphere of shock. There is a host of sincere morality-loving citizens who are in a quandary as to how to respond to the choices we have for president this year—two people who seem to treat truth as a primitive myth. Lies, exaggerations, spin, insinuations, and false accusations are daily fare. Politics seems to have created its own world where moral values have been excluded. Added to that is the insanity of current discussions regarding gender identity and which bathrooms and showers our children must share. The definition of marriage has been co-opted by the federal government, and liberty of conscience seems under mortal threat. A nation that once prized the value of freedom from oppression has itself developed a culture that is oppressive toward all who dare to challenge the gods of secular religion. Christians in particular seem perplexed as to what to do. Will God help us?

I am dizzy! Just trying to figure out what has happened and how fast it has occurred is a disorienting experience. Just a few years ago, we were celebrating diversity of opinion. We were boasting that open discussion and debate were privileges in a nation where liberty is prized. Now, there is an atmosphere of shock. There is a host of sincere morality-loving citizens who are in a quandary as to how to respond to the choices we have for president this year—two people who seem to treat truth as a primitive myth. Lies, exaggerations, spin, insinuations, and false accusations are daily fare. Politics seems to have created its own world where moral values have been excluded. Added to that is the insanity of current discussions regarding gender identity and which bathrooms and showers our children must share. The definition of marriage has been co-opted by the federal government, and liberty of conscience seems under mortal threat. A nation that once prized the value of freedom from oppression has itself developed a culture that is oppressive toward all who dare to challenge the gods of secular religion. Christians in particular seem perplexed as to what to do. Will God help us?

Someone has said that we have not truly believed truth until it affects our muscles. That is another way of affirming that theoretical truth is not transforming. Only when we have so embraced truth that it determines what we think, affects how we feel, and influences how we choose can we be called believers. There are many who know the grand story of the gospel but have never entered the story. It is still external to them. It is another story and maybe even the best story, but it has not been adopted as their own story.

2 Corinthians 5:19-21 - With all the anger being exposed in recent months toward what is happening in the world as well as in our own country, many so-called spokesmen for God are declaring that his anger has been stoked to an all-time high. According to them, God has had just about enough of our shenanigans. God’s wrath is bubbling hot in the cauldron of justice and will soon be poured out in prophesied fashion. There are so many holes in that thinking that we can’t deal with now, but it does bring into question the nature of God’s wrath. Is God angry?

The bigger question is: What is God really like?