more fire

Myanmar, formerly called Burma, is harshly persecuting adherents of organized religion, free speech and democracy. Nine people have been killed since yesterday for protesting the brutal dictatorship. Its political structure is a military junta. Christians have had their citizenship revoked and entire communities have been attacked. Over 3,000 Christian villages have been destroyed in the past 10 years.

Pray that God breaks the hard hearts of Myanmar’s dictators. Pray that God puts a hedge of protection around His people and that believers are given a testimony of His faithfulness during this time of trial and tribulation. Pray that God’s sovereignty is revealed to those who don’t know Him. Pray for the salvation of the unsaved. And pray that the glory of God be manifest in this situation.

Check out this video from Sinead O’Connor’s new album entitled “Theology.” The song is called “Something Beautiful.” The zeal and compassion that exudes from the songs on her new album is a striking contrast to her 1992 appearance on SNL when she ripped up the Pope’s picture. Hope you enjoy something beautiful today.

There’s a great interview with Rob Bell at The Wittenburg Door. Check out the quotes below to wet your spiritual palate.

“Preaching is one of the original art forms, kind of the original guerrilla theatre. A sermon was an electric event; Martin Luther King Jr. changed the whole shape of American culture with a sermon. John Wesley out in a field in England, the Hebrew Prophets, (and) great movements like women’s rights were often birthed through preaching.”

“First, the scripture always bends towards the oppressed and the marginalized. Beginning in the Torah—take care of the widow, the orphan, the stranger among you. The story is written by oppressed minorities. And it continues, no room in the inn, they follow Jesus because they are hungry. The story always goes towards the underside of the Empire. I think it is sometimes hard for the American church to understand the Bible because we are the Empire. We are the ones in power, the ones with wealth. I think in some settings that’s why the Bible has such little power—because it’s an oppressive narrative.”

“Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered,” 1 Peter 3:7.

Some would argue that the reference to woman as the “weaker vessel” in 1 Peter is out of touch with our modern worldview. Today, women chair corporations, run governments and are more educated than at any other time in history. I know firsthand that there are many women who are mighty vessels of perseverance. I was only one-year-old when I saw my eighteen-year-old mother walk down the aisle in her high school auditorium to recieve her diploma and when I was nine-years-old I saw her graduate college. I can also look at my wife, who has overcome certain obstacles in her life to become a successful businesswoman, to see a beautiful vessel of faith and encouragement. If anything, these women are not weak.

To answer the question in the title of this post (Is woman the weaker vessel?), I must first confess that I am firmly convicted in the authority of scripture, yet would warn that many believers and non-believers alike have attempted to hijack scripture to advance their own agendas. It wasn’t long ago that some pastors preached racism from the pulpit and corrupted certain verses in an effort to convince their flock of their prejudice. Atheistic feminists and misogynistic pastors have also attempted to advance their agendas by emphasizing certain verses while ignoring the context in which those verses are placed. Thus, we must pray and seek and read the Word, instead of relying on our own selfish ambitions, if we are to truly be taught by the Holy Spirit how to abide more fully in the will of God.

As a follower of Christ, compelled by the authority of scripture, I cannot refute the truth in this verse. This verse is nothing less than an admonishment to the husband to treat his wife with honor and understanding. To answer, yes, woman is the weaker vessel, is not to say that the wife has less value than her husband for it reads that they are “heirs together of the grace of life.” The husband and wife are joined together as one flesh and, as followers of Christ, they are equally yoked, which means they are of equal worth in the eyes of God. Yet, a woman is a weaker vessel in that she is like a porcelain vase, which is of great value yet must be handled gently and with honor. As it is written in this verse, a husband must be understanding and give honor to his wife so that his “prayers may not be hindered.” The husband is to be the solid foundation on which she rests. As Paul wrote in his letter to the Ephesians, the husband is to love his wife “just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy.”

Ideally, the godly husband is the head of the Christian household, yet most inhabitants on this planet do not live in an ideal world. If we were to allow the Spirit of God to open the eyes of our heart we would see that we live in a broken world flooded with broken homes and broken families where widows, victims of spousal abuse and single mothers on welfare are not afforded the luxury of being “weaker vessels.” It is in these circumstances especially that the follower of Christ, regardless of gender, is called to be an active agent of social change for those marginalized by our society. As James wrote, we, as followers of Christ, are to be doers of the Word and not simply hearers.

When a person sees a vase broken to pieces on the pavement they undoubtedly walk passed it considering it trash. When a person sees exploited immigrants, abused women and the homeless so too do they often consider it hopeless and avert their eyes. But it is the living God who says, “I will not despise a broken and contrite heart.” It is the living God who sees brokeness as an opportunity to reveal himself and manifest his glory. It is the living God who reconciles, restores and redeems that which was formerly lost. And it is through his people that he manifests himself. Jeremiah wrote: “This is what the LORD says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of his oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the alien, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place.”

Before you consider another person to be a “weaker vessel” you must first examine your intentions and consider in what way you need to be broken so that God might manifest his glory in your life and use you to advance his Kingdom.

The following is a verse from the Philokalia, a collection of writings compiled by St. Nikodimos of the Holy Mountain and St. Makarios of Corinth. It is an ancient text in the Orthodox tradition.  How few believers today are genuinely “proficient in spiritual warfare.”

“By means of fasting, vigils, prayer, sleeping on the ground, bodily labours and the amputation of our desires through humility of soul, we inactivate the spirit of self-indulgence. We overcome it through tears of repentance and, shackling it with self-control, render it immobile and ineffective; for we are now among those proficient in spiritual warfare.”

The Philokalia is a collection of writings by monks for monks, so some of the stuff in it deals more explicitly with the austere life. It is a very interesting read from a time (4th to 15th centuries) and place (the East) in Christendom that is often overlooked by mainstream evangelicals in America. 

Related posts:

• Heresy
• Priesthood of all believers
• O ye saints

Irie Jamboree was a fertile ground for planting gospel seeds. There were over 20,000 people there to enjoy the reggae festival and we shared the Word almost exclusively among the Rastafarian community. We arrived early with a bag of tracts and a willingness to be used by God to advance his kingdom. The cover of the tract provocatively asked, “What did Haile Selassie say about Jesus Christ?” The tracts allowed us an opportunity to engage people in spiritual discourse. Vonetta engaged women and I engaged the men.

Vonetta attempted to hand her first tract to a dreadlocked Rastawoman wearing a red, gold and green dress that hung to her ankles. The Rastawoman defiantly asked, “What is your objective?” Vonetta, still extending the tract to her, answered, “To show that Selassie worshipped Jesus Christ and to share the truth of the gospel.” The Rastawoman, with a hint of a smile, then took the tract and a seed was planted.

Sharing the gospel with a Bobo Ashanti Rasta at Irie Jamboree

I saw a tall, broadshouldered man with long dreads wrapped under a turban wearing a shirt that read, “The Truth About Christ.” I approached him and asked him to share with me the truth, as he understood it, about Christ. He said that Selassie, Moses and Jesus are all incarnations of God. He elaborated on his beliefs and informed me that he is in the Bobo Ashanti branch of Rastafari. There are three main branches of Rastafari: Nyabinghi, Bobo Shanti and Twelve Tribes of Israel. I confided that Haile Selassie was a great king who fought for truth and justice, that he was an emancipator of the oppressed and a prayerful man who sought God’s will for his life and his people. I then shared with the Rasta that Selassie worshipped Jesus Christ and encouraged others to put their faith exclusively in Christ. He took the tract and we parted.

Often, when parting, a Rasta will extend his fist to hit your fist and then hit his chest over his heart as a sign of respect. This is usually followed by the statement, “Jah bless.” Many Rastamen intimitated this rite to me during the festival. My wife and I were warmly received by almost every one we came in contact with. I believe it was Christ’s genuine love working through us, and nothing of our own other than our availing ourselves to the Lord, that encouraged others to respond so warmly.

Backstage with Morgan Heritage

Vonetta was thirsty for an icee so she stood in line while I continued to share the gospel. I saw a group of Rastas of Indian descent and talked with them for quite a while. I told them that I was sharing the truth about Haile Selassie and that he was a man of great faith. I explained that many have perverted the personality of Selassie and have elevated him to the status of a god, yet he was a man committed exclusively to the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. They responded well and asked where they can get more info. I pointed them to the More Fire! Web address on the back of the tract.

There is a large population of people from India who settled in the Caribbean over the last couple of centuries. In fact, the Rastafarian culture has been deeply impacted by Hinduism. About a century ago, a group of Indian indentured servants escaped their servitude and moved into the interior of Jamaica. It was there that they reverted to the ancient lifestyle of the Indian saddhu. They grew their hair into dreadlocks and started growing and smoking marijuana, which they called ganja (a name derived from the Ganges River in India). They shared these customs with escaped slaves with whom they formed maroon communities. Today, dreadlocks and ganja are two of the most distinctive features of Rasta culture.

Damian Marley, son of reggae legend Bob Marley

Vonetta finished her icee and now wanted some jerk chicken. As she ordered the food I struck up a conversation with an older, gray haired Rasta named Zebulon, who happened to own the jerk chicken stand. He was more than happy to receive the tract because he is a member of a branch of the Rastafarians callled Twelve Tribes of Israel, which are the most orthodox Christian of all the Rastafarian branches. They do not worship Selassie and they confess Christ as their Lord. The group was founded by a man named Vernon Carrington who emphasized reading the Bible everyday. It is from those Bible studies that they arrived at the truth of the gospel. Zebulon gave me his phone number and the address to his church and asked me to schedule a time to give a talk to his congregation.

After handing out all the tracts we enjoyed the show. Because we had press passes we were allowed backstage to mingle with the artists. It was a blessed day of roots music, good food and evangelism. Please pray that the seeds we planted will take root.