When I was in the Air Force during the 70s, I bought a 65 Mustang and drove it from Kansas to my home town of Poplar Bluff, MO. On the way, the starter wouldn't turn after I got gas at a station outside of Springfield. I had to replace take it apart and replace the coil. Before I made it all the way home, my radiator developed a leak. Not being able to afford a new one or fix it, I nursed the car the rest of the way home. While trip was anything but uneventful, it was successful because I made it home.
When I was 8, my family traveled to Europe on the SS Bunker. There were some very rough waves as we made our way across the Atlantic. I spent a good deal of time with my head hanging over the rail recycling my for whatever scavenger fish might have following the ship. It was years before I would even try cottage cheese or shrimp cocktail again. But, despite the listing of the ship and the turning of my stomach, the trip was a success as we made it to Europe.
All journeys, regardless of their genre, are judged, not on their comfort level but on their outcome. You may have a very difficult time in college, but if you receive your degree, it was a success. On the other hand, you may have sailed right through your college years, having a great time and no worries at all, but if you didn't receive your degree, it was a failure. By the way, failure is an event, not an individual. That thought has nothing to do with this post, it was an added bonus, free of charge. You can apply this truth to marriage, parenting, vocation, anything - even life.
There were a series of movies a while back called "Final Destination," which pictured death as that point. If that were true, then all of us would successfully navigate life as "people are destined to die" (Heb 9:27a). However, that is not the final destination for "after that to face the judgment" (9:27b). Heaven and hell, eternal life and eternal death are the destinations. As Jesus said, "Wide is the gate and broad the road that leads to death but small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life" (Matt 7:13-14). Deth is a portal that opens to the judgment, which delivers you to the destination of the path you have been traveling.
The comfort level of the journey does not relate to the destination. In fact, the path to life is more narrow than the path to death. The successful journey of life is dependent on the arrival at the desired destination. Regardless of how difficult life is, if you arrive at heaven's shores, it was successful. If life was a continual walk down Easy Street but brought you to Hell, it was not successful - unless Hell is your preferred destination.
This was Paul's "secret of being content in any and all circumstances" (Phil 4:12). He took solace and gathered strength in the knowledge of what Christ was doing in his life and beyond (cf. Phil 4:13). He could endure all things because his faith in Christ and God's promises carried him through. Knowing that you will arrived at the final destination of heaven can give you strength for the journey as well. You can endure anything that is just another step toward your home on high. Jus' Sayn.
Sunday, November 30, 2014
Friday, November 28, 2014
Keep Watch
I was just reading a brief commentary on Matthew 24 in which the author said, "If there ever was a time when the Christian should be keeping watch for the Lord's return, it is now." He, of course, was reflecting on Jesus statementt about the end coming being like childbirth in verse 8, suggesting that it meant the pains and tribulations of "wars and rumors of wars...earthquakes and famines" (vv. 6-7) would increase in frequency and intensity. Looking around, one has to agree that there has been a market increase of such things.
I have to disagree with his assessment - not the assessment that these things are on the rise nor that Christ might be coming soon. I have to disagree with the notion that we can know that to be so, that what we are seeing is the sign of imminent return. I think he was off base because he focused on whatt Christ did not say about birthpains instead of whatt he did say. The Lord said nothing about the increase of frequency or intensitty, but he did say that "all these things are but the beginnings of birth pains" (v. 8). In other words, like the Braxton-Hicks contractions, which rush pregnant women into the hospital only to be told they have a long way to go, so it is with these signs.
Jesus, in fact said, "You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see tto it that you are not alarmed" (v. 6). Later in this chapter, he said that "two men will be working in a field; one will be taken and the other left" (v. 40). "Therefore keep watch, becuase you do not know on what day your Lord will come" (v. 42). Jesus didn't tell us to watch the stars or wars or weather to know when to start getting ready, he said that we should simply be ready all the time, keeping watch for his return.
If you are ready, it does not matter when Christ will come again. And, if you are not ready, it will not matter either. It is not important when he will return but that he is returning. He may come soon or it may be quite some time. If you did know when he would returrn, whatt makes you think you will be alive to see it? His coming for you might be today or tomorrow. You need to be ready and keep watch daily, and then you will be able to rejoice whether you see Him coming again or you are taken to glory before then. Jus' Sayn.
I have to disagree with his assessment - not the assessment that these things are on the rise nor that Christ might be coming soon. I have to disagree with the notion that we can know that to be so, that what we are seeing is the sign of imminent return. I think he was off base because he focused on whatt Christ did not say about birthpains instead of whatt he did say. The Lord said nothing about the increase of frequency or intensitty, but he did say that "all these things are but the beginnings of birth pains" (v. 8). In other words, like the Braxton-Hicks contractions, which rush pregnant women into the hospital only to be told they have a long way to go, so it is with these signs.
Jesus, in fact said, "You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see tto it that you are not alarmed" (v. 6). Later in this chapter, he said that "two men will be working in a field; one will be taken and the other left" (v. 40). "Therefore keep watch, becuase you do not know on what day your Lord will come" (v. 42). Jesus didn't tell us to watch the stars or wars or weather to know when to start getting ready, he said that we should simply be ready all the time, keeping watch for his return.
If you are ready, it does not matter when Christ will come again. And, if you are not ready, it will not matter either. It is not important when he will return but that he is returning. He may come soon or it may be quite some time. If you did know when he would returrn, whatt makes you think you will be alive to see it? His coming for you might be today or tomorrow. You need to be ready and keep watch daily, and then you will be able to rejoice whether you see Him coming again or you are taken to glory before then. Jus' Sayn.
Looking Out For Number One
Most people seem to subscribe to the notion of looking out for number one. They want to make sure they get their piece of the pie, even if no one else does.. It is their rights, their feelings, their needs that come before everyone one else's. The video tape of Michael Brown, taken just before his encounter with officer Wilson, was of him taking a box of cigars from a convenience store and shoving the shop owner to the side. He wanted some smokes and either didn't have the money or didn't want to spend the money to buy them, so he just took them. His behavior, while making national headlines because his death promotes a narrative of white police abuse on Black America, is not uncommon, it is seen daily throughout America in people of all colors - selfishness.
His death, while tragic and so foolish at the same time, is also not uncommon. Young black men die every day in this country, although not often by the hand of police (less than 1%); most often it is by the hand of other young black men (93%). Interestingly enough, most white men are killed by other white men as well. It would seem the real race war is inside, not between, the races. And the reason is less about prejudice and more about selfishness. People want what they want and are willing to get it or take it regardless of who is hurt in the process.
The trait is common enough and perhaps even normal, but it is not good and should not be acceptable. Self interest is the original sin that caused Satan to be cast out of heaven and man to be cast out of the Garden of Eden. It is exactly opposite of why Christ came to the earth and to the cross. Conversely, he "did not think his equality with God something to be used to his own adantage; rather, he make himself nothing...becoming obedient to death" (Phil 2:6-8).
The follower of Jesus Christ, therefore, will be one who does not "look out for number one," but instead looks out for the other one. As the apostle Paul wrote, "I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you...who will show genuine concern for your welfare. For everyone looks out for their own interests...But you know that Timothy has proved himself" (Phil 2:19-22). Unlike the average man of the world, Timothy, a man of God, cared more about serving others than being self-serving.
Looking out for number is choosing a path other than Jesus took (path of life) and instead choosing the one Satan calls us to (path of death) (Matt 7:13-14). Death is the end result of following that path, not particularly at the hands of a police offier and not necessarily by thugs or punks with guns; it may not come until the Day of Judgment itself, but it will come unless you choose a different path.
Moses put it this way, "I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life life, so that you and your children might live" (Deut 30:19). If you truly want to look out for number one, you should first look out for the other one. Jus' Sayn.
His death, while tragic and so foolish at the same time, is also not uncommon. Young black men die every day in this country, although not often by the hand of police (less than 1%); most often it is by the hand of other young black men (93%). Interestingly enough, most white men are killed by other white men as well. It would seem the real race war is inside, not between, the races. And the reason is less about prejudice and more about selfishness. People want what they want and are willing to get it or take it regardless of who is hurt in the process.
The trait is common enough and perhaps even normal, but it is not good and should not be acceptable. Self interest is the original sin that caused Satan to be cast out of heaven and man to be cast out of the Garden of Eden. It is exactly opposite of why Christ came to the earth and to the cross. Conversely, he "did not think his equality with God something to be used to his own adantage; rather, he make himself nothing...becoming obedient to death" (Phil 2:6-8).
The follower of Jesus Christ, therefore, will be one who does not "look out for number one," but instead looks out for the other one. As the apostle Paul wrote, "I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you...who will show genuine concern for your welfare. For everyone looks out for their own interests...But you know that Timothy has proved himself" (Phil 2:19-22). Unlike the average man of the world, Timothy, a man of God, cared more about serving others than being self-serving.
Looking out for number is choosing a path other than Jesus took (path of life) and instead choosing the one Satan calls us to (path of death) (Matt 7:13-14). Death is the end result of following that path, not particularly at the hands of a police offier and not necessarily by thugs or punks with guns; it may not come until the Day of Judgment itself, but it will come unless you choose a different path.
Moses put it this way, "I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life life, so that you and your children might live" (Deut 30:19). If you truly want to look out for number one, you should first look out for the other one. Jus' Sayn.
Thursday, November 27, 2014
Thanksgiving To God
A while back I was in a rather passionate Internet discussion about the Christian roots of our nation. The antagonist (from my perspective) affirmed that our Founding Fathers were not particularly religious, at best Deists who don't think God is active in the world. Her notion was that all this religious trapping came later on.
A good example of her argument would be the fact that it wasn't until 1941 that congress passed a law establishing Thanksgiving as a holiday, hardly the Founding Fathers. I can't argue the truth in that fact but I can argue that the fact doesn't contain the whole truth. While Thanksgiving became a law in 1941, it was established as a time of national thanksgiving by presidential proclamation during the Civil War by Abraham Lincoln, who wrote, in part, "...set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Fahter who dwelleth in the Heavens."
Of course, Abraham Lincoln was not one of the Founding Fathers, being the 16th president, but George Washington was and he proclaimed on October 3, 1789, that Thursday the 26th of November 1789 a day of "public thanksgiving and prayer" devoted to "the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent Aughor of all the good that was, that is, or that will be."
Thanksgiving in America actually goes back a good deal earlier than our Founding Fathers. In the early autumn of 1621, the 53 surviving Pilgrims celeebrated their successful harvestt who proclaimed, in part, "And although it be not always so plentiful, as it ws at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want, that we often wish you partakers of our plenty." They did not call this harvest a "Thanksgiving" as to them a Day of Thanksgiving was purely religious. The first recorded religious Day of Thanksgiving was hel in 1623 in response to a providential rainfall.
So, are we a Christian nation? I wouldn't say that. Do we have Christian and biblical roots? Yes, without doubt. Thanksgiving to the God of the Bible has been a part of our national landscape from the very beginning. And, I would add, thanksgiving to God ought to be the natural response of every right thinking American for we are truly blessed above all other nations of the world. There is a reason we have an immigration crisis: Everyone wants to come to America where we are viewed to have won the Lotto of Life by simply being born here. They are, of course, wrong. It had nothing to do with luck and everything to do with blessings from God. Let us give thanks. Jus' Sayn.
A good example of her argument would be the fact that it wasn't until 1941 that congress passed a law establishing Thanksgiving as a holiday, hardly the Founding Fathers. I can't argue the truth in that fact but I can argue that the fact doesn't contain the whole truth. While Thanksgiving became a law in 1941, it was established as a time of national thanksgiving by presidential proclamation during the Civil War by Abraham Lincoln, who wrote, in part, "...set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Fahter who dwelleth in the Heavens."
Of course, Abraham Lincoln was not one of the Founding Fathers, being the 16th president, but George Washington was and he proclaimed on October 3, 1789, that Thursday the 26th of November 1789 a day of "public thanksgiving and prayer" devoted to "the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent Aughor of all the good that was, that is, or that will be."
Thanksgiving in America actually goes back a good deal earlier than our Founding Fathers. In the early autumn of 1621, the 53 surviving Pilgrims celeebrated their successful harvestt who proclaimed, in part, "And although it be not always so plentiful, as it ws at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want, that we often wish you partakers of our plenty." They did not call this harvest a "Thanksgiving" as to them a Day of Thanksgiving was purely religious. The first recorded religious Day of Thanksgiving was hel in 1623 in response to a providential rainfall.
So, are we a Christian nation? I wouldn't say that. Do we have Christian and biblical roots? Yes, without doubt. Thanksgiving to the God of the Bible has been a part of our national landscape from the very beginning. And, I would add, thanksgiving to God ought to be the natural response of every right thinking American for we are truly blessed above all other nations of the world. There is a reason we have an immigration crisis: Everyone wants to come to America where we are viewed to have won the Lotto of Life by simply being born here. They are, of course, wrong. It had nothing to do with luck and everything to do with blessings from God. Let us give thanks. Jus' Sayn.
Wednesday, November 26, 2014
Not My Fault
When someone fails at a task, a bad choice is made or a crime has been committed, whose fault is it? The most natural answer is "not mine." When we do wrong our defense is most often, "It's no my fault." Our parents didn't show us enough love, our teachers didn't take enough interest in us, our employer isn't sensitive enough, the rules are too restrictive, the police are too reactive, the moon was too full, the planets just weren't lined up properly - whatever, whoever, just not me.
I didn't know better, I couldn't help myself, no one told me, there was not enough warning... People are still suing tobacco companies after decades of warnings from every corner. I smoked, I developed lung cancer but it was not my fault. It was my choice but it was someone else's fault.
This is not a new trend, although I think modern America has taken blaming others to a new level, evidenced by the litigious landscape in which we live, where someone can be sued by anyone for any reason. I'll never forget the California case where a thief broke into a house and exited through the door to the garage. The door he came out of locked behind him and the garage door itself would not open. He was stuck and the family was away for the week. He survived on dog food and warm sodas. When he got out, he sued the family and won becasue their door was not functioning. It was his choice, his crime but not his fault.
The "not my fault" blame game was born before the birth of nationss. It goes back to the very beginnings of mankind. Adam and Eve were given one command, "You must not eat from the tree that is in the middle of the garden..." (Gen 3:3). The serpent said, "no so," the woman "ate and gave some to her husband" and "he ate it" (Gen 3:4-6). When the Lord confronted them about their sin, the man said, "the woman you put here with me - she gave me some fruit" (v. 12) and the woman said, "the serpent deceived me" (v. 13). It was both of their choices but neither of their fault.
God did punish the serpent for his deception, but he also punished Adam and Eve for their choice to do wrong. No matter what the serpentt said, Eve knew what God had said. Regardless of the fact Eve offered it to Adam, God denied it to him. They both were entticed but they both were responsible for their choice, it was their fault, it was their sin.
Regardless of how we were raised or what we have gone through, we always have a choice and a responsibility for our own actions. God may judge someone for enciting another to sin but he does not excuse the one who chooses to sin because another bore some culpibility. It is your life, your choice and your responsibilty. Jus' Sayn.
I didn't know better, I couldn't help myself, no one told me, there was not enough warning... People are still suing tobacco companies after decades of warnings from every corner. I smoked, I developed lung cancer but it was not my fault. It was my choice but it was someone else's fault.
This is not a new trend, although I think modern America has taken blaming others to a new level, evidenced by the litigious landscape in which we live, where someone can be sued by anyone for any reason. I'll never forget the California case where a thief broke into a house and exited through the door to the garage. The door he came out of locked behind him and the garage door itself would not open. He was stuck and the family was away for the week. He survived on dog food and warm sodas. When he got out, he sued the family and won becasue their door was not functioning. It was his choice, his crime but not his fault.
The "not my fault" blame game was born before the birth of nationss. It goes back to the very beginnings of mankind. Adam and Eve were given one command, "You must not eat from the tree that is in the middle of the garden..." (Gen 3:3). The serpent said, "no so," the woman "ate and gave some to her husband" and "he ate it" (Gen 3:4-6). When the Lord confronted them about their sin, the man said, "the woman you put here with me - she gave me some fruit" (v. 12) and the woman said, "the serpent deceived me" (v. 13). It was both of their choices but neither of their fault.
God did punish the serpent for his deception, but he also punished Adam and Eve for their choice to do wrong. No matter what the serpentt said, Eve knew what God had said. Regardless of the fact Eve offered it to Adam, God denied it to him. They both were entticed but they both were responsible for their choice, it was their fault, it was their sin.
Regardless of how we were raised or what we have gone through, we always have a choice and a responsibility for our own actions. God may judge someone for enciting another to sin but he does not excuse the one who chooses to sin because another bore some culpibility. It is your life, your choice and your responsibilty. Jus' Sayn.
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
Staying Positive in a Negative Environment
In 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, the apostle Paul says that we are to "Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all cicumstances..." You may well have read this passage or heard it preached on and agree that it is how a Christian should live. However, it not really how we should live, it is how we ought to live and how we must live in order to fulfill God's will for us.
How do I know that? What makes me so sure that it is more than a "best practices" for the Christian community? Because, verse 18 doesn't end with the word circumstances; it goes on to say, "...for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." You may not have heard that part preached on and you may even have missed it when you read it. Nonetheless, it's there. Don't take my word for it, go back and read the passage for yourself.
OK, having looked a little closer at the passage, what then? How do we go about rejoicing always and giving thanks in all circumstances. Pray always, I get as I can offer thanks or petition for help, but rejoice and give thanks in all circumstances? What about when I'm having a root canal or a job loss or facing cancer treatments? How does one go about rejoicing or being thankful then?
One doesn't do it on his/her own. The praying continually part is extremely important just here. I can't know the outcome of my cancer but I can know that God has my life in his hands. I can trust God to do good even when I cannot see the good up front. I can pray that God will help me tto accept his will for me and embrace whatever comes down the pike. A tragedy can move me closer to God as I lean in to find strength and power to face the worst.
Christian character is more often hammered out on the anvil of adversity than it is fostered in the lap luxury or at the corner of Easy Street and Winsome Lane. Trusting God with your mortality helps you come to grips with the fact that God is faithful and that life is bigger than just the here and now. In Christ, we really do have the victory.
Have you considered that losing a job could be precisely what is necessary for you to move forward in life? Have you thought what that tooth would eventually feel like if you didn't get the root canal? Recently I talked to a man who said he hated being in a wheelchair. I told him I could fix that by dumping him out. He laughed but then he said, "I get it. What if I didn't have this wheelchair." Precisely, the thing he had seen as evil was a blessing.
To embrace God's will in this context is to embrace the teaching of Jesus in Matthew 6:22-23, where he says that "the eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness." If we have a healthy outlook - eyes of faith in God's goodness - we will have a joyous cener. We can thank God for all things, knowing he has good in store. We can rejoice always knowing God is with us. As we continue daily in prayer, we keep close to God in our walk. This is God's desire. Jus' Sayn.
How do I know that? What makes me so sure that it is more than a "best practices" for the Christian community? Because, verse 18 doesn't end with the word circumstances; it goes on to say, "...for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." You may not have heard that part preached on and you may even have missed it when you read it. Nonetheless, it's there. Don't take my word for it, go back and read the passage for yourself.
OK, having looked a little closer at the passage, what then? How do we go about rejoicing always and giving thanks in all circumstances. Pray always, I get as I can offer thanks or petition for help, but rejoice and give thanks in all circumstances? What about when I'm having a root canal or a job loss or facing cancer treatments? How does one go about rejoicing or being thankful then?
One doesn't do it on his/her own. The praying continually part is extremely important just here. I can't know the outcome of my cancer but I can know that God has my life in his hands. I can trust God to do good even when I cannot see the good up front. I can pray that God will help me tto accept his will for me and embrace whatever comes down the pike. A tragedy can move me closer to God as I lean in to find strength and power to face the worst.
Christian character is more often hammered out on the anvil of adversity than it is fostered in the lap luxury or at the corner of Easy Street and Winsome Lane. Trusting God with your mortality helps you come to grips with the fact that God is faithful and that life is bigger than just the here and now. In Christ, we really do have the victory.
Have you considered that losing a job could be precisely what is necessary for you to move forward in life? Have you thought what that tooth would eventually feel like if you didn't get the root canal? Recently I talked to a man who said he hated being in a wheelchair. I told him I could fix that by dumping him out. He laughed but then he said, "I get it. What if I didn't have this wheelchair." Precisely, the thing he had seen as evil was a blessing.
To embrace God's will in this context is to embrace the teaching of Jesus in Matthew 6:22-23, where he says that "the eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness." If we have a healthy outlook - eyes of faith in God's goodness - we will have a joyous cener. We can thank God for all things, knowing he has good in store. We can rejoice always knowing God is with us. As we continue daily in prayer, we keep close to God in our walk. This is God's desire. Jus' Sayn.
Monday, November 24, 2014
Staying The Course
I remember when the pressure was on President Bush to pull out of the mid-east, he kept saying, "We have to sttay the course." His critics didn't want to stay the course because it was difficult and did not have a terminus date. President Obama agreed to the notion of a terminus date and pulled out right on time but now we are back fighting ISIS over the same ground we had previously won because we didn't stay the course.
Couples find that marriage is hard and often in the first couple of years they give up because they don't see an end to the struggle in sight, because it requries so much effort, they didn't just ride off into the sunset to live happily ever after. Divorce seems to be so much more defined with a clear terminus. It appears to be a much easier answer than working out differences and working on problems for an indefinite period. However, nearly 80% of couples who divorced before reaching their 5th year state they wished they had given it more time.
The workforce is another place where people decide so often that it just isn't worth all the grief, that there has to be an easier way, a better boss, a clearer picture of future outcomes. Too often the next job has many of the same problems and the same uncertainties, and whatt appears to be your former boss' evil twin. Staying the course, however, most often finds the individual overcoming the problems and rising in rank, priviledge and pay.
Have you ever noticed that most preachers seemed to be called to a larger church with a better salary rather than to stay and build a church, overcoming its problems and facing setbacks to achieve something better for the Kingdom? Staying he course in church work can be very difficult but the largest churches with the greatest impact tend to be those with the longestt tenured preachers.
I know that staying the course isn't easy and sometimes it is truly not the best choice. But in general, staying the course is the right thing and we have the power to overcome as "God can do more than we can ask or imagine by his power at work within us" (Eph 3:20). And Jesus promises, "I will be with you always (Matt 28:20). God is with us always and provide all the power we need to stay the course if only we will trust in him over ourselves. Jus' Sayn.
Couples find that marriage is hard and often in the first couple of years they give up because they don't see an end to the struggle in sight, because it requries so much effort, they didn't just ride off into the sunset to live happily ever after. Divorce seems to be so much more defined with a clear terminus. It appears to be a much easier answer than working out differences and working on problems for an indefinite period. However, nearly 80% of couples who divorced before reaching their 5th year state they wished they had given it more time.
The workforce is another place where people decide so often that it just isn't worth all the grief, that there has to be an easier way, a better boss, a clearer picture of future outcomes. Too often the next job has many of the same problems and the same uncertainties, and whatt appears to be your former boss' evil twin. Staying the course, however, most often finds the individual overcoming the problems and rising in rank, priviledge and pay.
Have you ever noticed that most preachers seemed to be called to a larger church with a better salary rather than to stay and build a church, overcoming its problems and facing setbacks to achieve something better for the Kingdom? Staying he course in church work can be very difficult but the largest churches with the greatest impact tend to be those with the longestt tenured preachers.
I know that staying the course isn't easy and sometimes it is truly not the best choice. But in general, staying the course is the right thing and we have the power to overcome as "God can do more than we can ask or imagine by his power at work within us" (Eph 3:20). And Jesus promises, "I will be with you always (Matt 28:20). God is with us always and provide all the power we need to stay the course if only we will trust in him over ourselves. Jus' Sayn.
Sunday, November 23, 2014
Crouching At The Door
When a cheating husband or wife is confronted with the affair, they often say, "It just happened." When someone injures another, the excuse their action saying, "I just lost my temper." We act as if we are puppets on a string, responding to a pull here and a tug there without the slightest indication of what is about to happen. Really? We just step into one mess after another with no warning? Not!
The truth of how bad behavior comes about it found in Genesis chapter four where Cain kills able (vv. 1ff). Cain was jealous of Able whose sacrifice was pleasing to the Lord while his offering was not. Jealousy was brewing up inside him. The Lord warned him, "If you do right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it" (v. 7).
Cain didn't just kill Able in a fit of rage. Oh, the fit of rage was present and accounted for, but the ragge came after a season of boiling. The sin of killing his brother had been crouching at his door, ready to strike, Cain let it fester until it controlled him instead of dealing with it bringing it under his control and ruling over it as the Lord instructed.
It is no different for you and I today. Sin doesn't just happen, we don't fall into bad behavior, we take a long path down to a cliff and jump off. Jesus' brother, James put it this way, "When tempted, no one shoud say, 'God is tempting me.' For...each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown gives birth to death" (Js 1:13-15).
The point is that we cannot allow sin the opportunity to rule over us. Instead, we must deal with the temptation before sin erupts, thereby gaining control over it. When temptation is allowed to fester, sin is crouching at the door and you are the prey this lion intends to destroy. Jus' Sayn.
The truth of how bad behavior comes about it found in Genesis chapter four where Cain kills able (vv. 1ff). Cain was jealous of Able whose sacrifice was pleasing to the Lord while his offering was not. Jealousy was brewing up inside him. The Lord warned him, "If you do right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it" (v. 7).
Cain didn't just kill Able in a fit of rage. Oh, the fit of rage was present and accounted for, but the ragge came after a season of boiling. The sin of killing his brother had been crouching at his door, ready to strike, Cain let it fester until it controlled him instead of dealing with it bringing it under his control and ruling over it as the Lord instructed.
It is no different for you and I today. Sin doesn't just happen, we don't fall into bad behavior, we take a long path down to a cliff and jump off. Jesus' brother, James put it this way, "When tempted, no one shoud say, 'God is tempting me.' For...each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown gives birth to death" (Js 1:13-15).
The point is that we cannot allow sin the opportunity to rule over us. Instead, we must deal with the temptation before sin erupts, thereby gaining control over it. When temptation is allowed to fester, sin is crouching at the door and you are the prey this lion intends to destroy. Jus' Sayn.
Saturday, November 22, 2014
E Pluribus Unum
I remember my Dad's exact words when the Beatles appeared on the Ed Sullivan show (how old must I be, right?), "Good God, what is that!" To him, the British Invasion was more like an invasion from outer space. I, of course, thought they were cool, neither of us could have imagined the impact they would have on the musical and cultural landscape of America. They were indeed leading an invasion that would forever change the tragectory of our society.
On the whole, I think the change was not particularly for the better, but there were some good trends started such as a more openness to differences, a more global outlook on things. In a sense, we became more embracing of others. However, sadly, that embracing of the diffferences of others morphed into an acceptance that we are different, in different camps - we have become less unified and more individual.
Ironically, some of the great lyrics that came as a result of that invasion were "come together," "one is the loneliest number," "it's a family affair" (creds to The Beatles, Three Dog Night, Sly And The Family Stone - yes Virginia, I really am that old). There was a great calling in song to come together as one and be this great big family. But the end result has been anything but.
The people in power today are the flower children and hippies of the 60s, who have turned over their socail agenda of unity to a kind of socialism that pits one group against another as they each vie for power and influence that promotes their group and ideology.
Amazing how the god of this world (Satan) uses what may seem on the surface to be a good thing like a musical invasion promoting unity and efforts to bring marginalized groups into the mainstream, and turns them into a battle ground seperating Americans like never before. I know that this is the work of Satan because it runs directly counter to God's will as clearly revealed in the Bible.
From the beginning, God said, "It is not good for man to be alone" (Gen 2:18). Solomon was inspired to write, "Two are better than one...If either of them falls down, one can help the other..." (Eccl 4:9-10). In the early church, "all the believers were one in heart and mind...they shared everything they had" (Acts 4:32).
As God declared and Three Dog Night would later croon, "One is the loneliest number." It only becomes good when the many become one together, which is one of two great visions on our money of all things, "In God We Trust" and "E Pluribus Unum (out of the many, one)." Jus' Sayn.
On the whole, I think the change was not particularly for the better, but there were some good trends started such as a more openness to differences, a more global outlook on things. In a sense, we became more embracing of others. However, sadly, that embracing of the diffferences of others morphed into an acceptance that we are different, in different camps - we have become less unified and more individual.
Ironically, some of the great lyrics that came as a result of that invasion were "come together," "one is the loneliest number," "it's a family affair" (creds to The Beatles, Three Dog Night, Sly And The Family Stone - yes Virginia, I really am that old). There was a great calling in song to come together as one and be this great big family. But the end result has been anything but.
The people in power today are the flower children and hippies of the 60s, who have turned over their socail agenda of unity to a kind of socialism that pits one group against another as they each vie for power and influence that promotes their group and ideology.
Amazing how the god of this world (Satan) uses what may seem on the surface to be a good thing like a musical invasion promoting unity and efforts to bring marginalized groups into the mainstream, and turns them into a battle ground seperating Americans like never before. I know that this is the work of Satan because it runs directly counter to God's will as clearly revealed in the Bible.
From the beginning, God said, "It is not good for man to be alone" (Gen 2:18). Solomon was inspired to write, "Two are better than one...If either of them falls down, one can help the other..." (Eccl 4:9-10). In the early church, "all the believers were one in heart and mind...they shared everything they had" (Acts 4:32).
As God declared and Three Dog Night would later croon, "One is the loneliest number." It only becomes good when the many become one together, which is one of two great visions on our money of all things, "In God We Trust" and "E Pluribus Unum (out of the many, one)." Jus' Sayn.
Friday, November 21, 2014
Changeless
Yesterday I sat for nearly an hour listening to a woman in a wheelchair, suffering from terminal bone cancer, tell me about her problems through her tears. When she had finished unpacking her burden, I looked her in the eyes and said, "I know two things about your problems: They don't weigh much and they won't last long - not in comparison to the glory Christ has in store for you." I told her I was sure of that because it was precisely what the apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4:17 when he talkedd about our "light and momentary troubles acheiving us eternal glory."
I also reminded her of all the problems she had faced earlier in life and how quickly they had passed by, that even life itself was moving and changing at breakneck speed. In fact, life is a steady stream of one change after another that comes and goes in very short order. I often tell patients that change is the one thing they can be sure of in this world. No matter what your situation, however good or bad, it isn't going to stay that way - change is coming. So, if things are going good, don't get smug. If things are gong bad, don't get depressed.
You may or may not like the change but that hardly matters, change is coming. It is perhaps the most dependable thing this life has to offer. If you don't think so, just look around. Start by looking in the mirror. I have a hard time with that because there is some crazy gray-haired old coot who keeps standing in front of me when I try to look in the mirror (actually that would be me). You may have noticed a different look coming back at you as well. Look at your kids who may have kids of their own already. Look at your shoes - oh, sorry. I didn't mean to rub in the fact that some haven't seen their feet in a while due to a change just above their belt line. And, of course, many of us can't even see our reflection clearly without our glasses on. Yes, Virginia, times are a changing.
Everything changes except for God "who does not change" (Ps 55:19). Our Lord "is the same yesterday and today and forever" (Heb 13:8). Unlike mankind and the world around us, God "does not change like shifting shadows" (Js 1:17). People are not ultimately dependable, they change their minds, they change their attittudes, they change their address, they change their jobs and changes come upon them they have no control over. Your car won't keep running forever, your roof will eventually leak, your doorbell will stop ringing, your dog will die and your child will go off to college (some say that is when life really begins - after the dog dies and the last child goes off to college). Apart from God everything changes, even you.
But God - God stays the same and therefore can be counted on regardless of the shifting winds or currents of life. No matter who turns away from you, God "will never leave you as orphaned" (Jn 14:18). No matter what in life pulls the rug out from under you, "Nevertheless, God's solid foundation stands firm" (2 Tim 2:19). In a world of constant changes, God is changeless. In Him you can place your trust and take your stand now and forever. Jus' Sayn.
I also reminded her of all the problems she had faced earlier in life and how quickly they had passed by, that even life itself was moving and changing at breakneck speed. In fact, life is a steady stream of one change after another that comes and goes in very short order. I often tell patients that change is the one thing they can be sure of in this world. No matter what your situation, however good or bad, it isn't going to stay that way - change is coming. So, if things are going good, don't get smug. If things are gong bad, don't get depressed.
You may or may not like the change but that hardly matters, change is coming. It is perhaps the most dependable thing this life has to offer. If you don't think so, just look around. Start by looking in the mirror. I have a hard time with that because there is some crazy gray-haired old coot who keeps standing in front of me when I try to look in the mirror (actually that would be me). You may have noticed a different look coming back at you as well. Look at your kids who may have kids of their own already. Look at your shoes - oh, sorry. I didn't mean to rub in the fact that some haven't seen their feet in a while due to a change just above their belt line. And, of course, many of us can't even see our reflection clearly without our glasses on. Yes, Virginia, times are a changing.
Everything changes except for God "who does not change" (Ps 55:19). Our Lord "is the same yesterday and today and forever" (Heb 13:8). Unlike mankind and the world around us, God "does not change like shifting shadows" (Js 1:17). People are not ultimately dependable, they change their minds, they change their attittudes, they change their address, they change their jobs and changes come upon them they have no control over. Your car won't keep running forever, your roof will eventually leak, your doorbell will stop ringing, your dog will die and your child will go off to college (some say that is when life really begins - after the dog dies and the last child goes off to college). Apart from God everything changes, even you.
But God - God stays the same and therefore can be counted on regardless of the shifting winds or currents of life. No matter who turns away from you, God "will never leave you as orphaned" (Jn 14:18). No matter what in life pulls the rug out from under you, "Nevertheless, God's solid foundation stands firm" (2 Tim 2:19). In a world of constant changes, God is changeless. In Him you can place your trust and take your stand now and forever. Jus' Sayn.
Thursday, November 20, 2014
Performance Anxiety
Sitting around the break table, it seems to natural and easy to tell everyone what you would do to move the company forward or tackle a particular obstacle. The words just seem to roll off your tongue while you lay out your plans and share your thoughts. But sitting around the board table with the CEO, VPs and other executives, is another thing. Your stomach churns, your words stick to the roof of your mouth, you hesitate, measuring each syllable. You are as natural as a two-toe sloth playing a 12 string guitar.
Around the break table, you are with friends who aren't judging the merits of your proposal, they're engaging you in friendly banter. They accept you as one of them and aren't all that concerned about the potential outcomes of your ideas, what you say doesn't matter all that much to them, they believe you have good intenttions. But around the board table are individuals who hold your career in their hands, who are very concerned with the outcomes of any ideas that might be implemented. They are not interested in your intentions, they expect to hear a solid construct leading to good outcomes. What you say matters a great deal to them, your intentions not so much.
Performance anxietty comes from having the spotlight put on you as others judge the merits of what you do or say. Talking to friends is easy, speaking in public can be terrifying. Acting like a clown in the classroom comes naturally but performing as a clown on stage is another matter. Working out a problem on your computer at your desk is fairly comfortable but how do you feel when your boss walks in and watches over your shoulder? Yeah, that feeling is performance anxiety, it raises up it's ugly head anytime we believe we are being judged for outcomes of which we are uncertain.
Unfortunately, too many Christians have that feeling when it comes to serving God. They don't think they measure up, they doubt God's acceptance, they are unsure of the outcome of their life and service to the Lord. A preacher is concerned he didn't grow the church enough, a missionary is worried he didn't reach enough citizens, a member doubts he has made a big enough difference - all doubting God's acceptance of the outcomes of their service.
The thing is, however, you and I are not resposible for the outcomes of our service, God is. We are responsible for our obedience to God's will not the enforcementt of it's outcomes. God has not called us as judges or lawyers or policemen, he has called us to be wittnesses. Witnesses give input not determine outcomes. Paul wrote, "You are saved by grace through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God" (Eph 2:8). Faith is our input, salvation is God's outcome.
This input/outcome principle is the reason "nothing in all creation can seperate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus" (Rom 8:39). It is God who calls, justifies and glorifies (Rom 8:3), not us. Jus' Sayn.
Around the break table, you are with friends who aren't judging the merits of your proposal, they're engaging you in friendly banter. They accept you as one of them and aren't all that concerned about the potential outcomes of your ideas, what you say doesn't matter all that much to them, they believe you have good intenttions. But around the board table are individuals who hold your career in their hands, who are very concerned with the outcomes of any ideas that might be implemented. They are not interested in your intentions, they expect to hear a solid construct leading to good outcomes. What you say matters a great deal to them, your intentions not so much.
Performance anxietty comes from having the spotlight put on you as others judge the merits of what you do or say. Talking to friends is easy, speaking in public can be terrifying. Acting like a clown in the classroom comes naturally but performing as a clown on stage is another matter. Working out a problem on your computer at your desk is fairly comfortable but how do you feel when your boss walks in and watches over your shoulder? Yeah, that feeling is performance anxiety, it raises up it's ugly head anytime we believe we are being judged for outcomes of which we are uncertain.
Unfortunately, too many Christians have that feeling when it comes to serving God. They don't think they measure up, they doubt God's acceptance, they are unsure of the outcome of their life and service to the Lord. A preacher is concerned he didn't grow the church enough, a missionary is worried he didn't reach enough citizens, a member doubts he has made a big enough difference - all doubting God's acceptance of the outcomes of their service.
The thing is, however, you and I are not resposible for the outcomes of our service, God is. We are responsible for our obedience to God's will not the enforcementt of it's outcomes. God has not called us as judges or lawyers or policemen, he has called us to be wittnesses. Witnesses give input not determine outcomes. Paul wrote, "You are saved by grace through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God" (Eph 2:8). Faith is our input, salvation is God's outcome.
This input/outcome principle is the reason "nothing in all creation can seperate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus" (Rom 8:39). It is God who calls, justifies and glorifies (Rom 8:3), not us. Jus' Sayn.
Wednesday, November 19, 2014
With What You Have
When Jesus told his disciples that they must forgive a brother or sister over and over again, "even if they sin against you seven times in a day" (Lk 17:4), their response was "Lord, increase our faith" (v. 5). They saw that the life Jesus was asking them to live would not particularly be easy. Imagine what it would takee to forgive someone seven times in a day or time after time. From what do we draw the strength or resolve to accomplish something like that? Our faith, but what kind of faith would it take to live up to such a standard?
Surmizing the caliber and amountt of their personal faith relative tto the calling before them, they had only one thing to say, "increase our faith." In a humbler or perhaps more authentic moment than usual, these disciples sized up their faitth and found it wantting. But Jesus was not in agreementt. Oh, he no doubt agreed that their faith was not yet to point it would grow to as they fulfilled their mission but he did not agree that they needed a faith implant or enlargement in order to carry out the will of God.
Jesus response to his disciples was, 'If you have faith the size of a ustard seed (excepionally tiny seed," you can do this and much, much more (v. 6). He was telling them that they didn't need a different faith or a faith like someone else, they needed to use the faith they had and it would be enough for it was God's power, not their faith, that made all things possible. Notice what Jesus said another time when the apostle questioned their abilit to lie up to a kingdom standard, "With man this is impossible, but with God, all thins are possible" (Mt 9:26).
You may find yourself doubting the size of the quality of your faith to live up to your calling. But notice what the Spirit reveals about what is acceptable to God: "For if the willingness is there, the gift is accepttable acccording to what one has, not according to whatt one does not have" (2 Co 8:12). The point? Don't wait for more faith to act, use the faith you have. Don't wait for a bigger talent to serve, use the gift you have. Don't wait for a larger paycheck to share, share with what you have. God can take mustard seed faith and move mountains, he can take a few loaves and fishes and feed thousands, he can take whatever you have and "do more than you can imagine according to his power at work within you" (Eph 3:20). Jus' Sayn.
Surmizing the caliber and amountt of their personal faith relative tto the calling before them, they had only one thing to say, "increase our faith." In a humbler or perhaps more authentic moment than usual, these disciples sized up their faitth and found it wantting. But Jesus was not in agreementt. Oh, he no doubt agreed that their faith was not yet to point it would grow to as they fulfilled their mission but he did not agree that they needed a faith implant or enlargement in order to carry out the will of God.
Jesus response to his disciples was, 'If you have faith the size of a ustard seed (excepionally tiny seed," you can do this and much, much more (v. 6). He was telling them that they didn't need a different faith or a faith like someone else, they needed to use the faith they had and it would be enough for it was God's power, not their faith, that made all things possible. Notice what Jesus said another time when the apostle questioned their abilit to lie up to a kingdom standard, "With man this is impossible, but with God, all thins are possible" (Mt 9:26).
You may find yourself doubting the size of the quality of your faith to live up to your calling. But notice what the Spirit reveals about what is acceptable to God: "For if the willingness is there, the gift is accepttable acccording to what one has, not according to whatt one does not have" (2 Co 8:12). The point? Don't wait for more faith to act, use the faith you have. Don't wait for a bigger talent to serve, use the gift you have. Don't wait for a larger paycheck to share, share with what you have. God can take mustard seed faith and move mountains, he can take a few loaves and fishes and feed thousands, he can take whatever you have and "do more than you can imagine according to his power at work within you" (Eph 3:20). Jus' Sayn.
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
Too Busy
In Luke 10:38-42, we read of the time when Jesus was invited to the home of a woman named Martha. In those days, preparing something to eat did not mean opening a box or can and tossing something into tthe microwave for a quick meal. Their were no convection ovens or even a gas stove. Everything had to be made from scratch, water had to be drawn from a well and even the oven had to be filled with wood and fire started before you could begin to cook. There were no short cuts or easy fixes.
Martha was busy at it, running back and forth, doing thing and then another, trying desperately to get everything accomplished that needed to be done in order to have a meal on the table in a timely manner. Her sister Mary, however, was sitting as Jesus feet, listening as he spoke, enjoying the company of her Lord and Savior. Martha was heating up faster than her oven as she thought about Mary relaxing with their guest instead of helping her prepare his meal. When she reached her boiling poiint, she did what she probably never thought she would do, she chastized the Lord Jesus Christ.
Martha went into the room where Mary sat on the floor, looked past her and said to Jesus, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her to help me" (v. 40). Did you notice that Martha confronts Jesus for allowing this injustice and then orders him to correct it? Can you imagine? Just how hot was this woman to blow her lid like that?
Jesus doesn't strike her dead or anything. He also doesn't react to her accusation or move at her command. What Jesus does is to redirect. He tells Martha that he knows how busy she has chosen to be, not how busy she had to be, which is what Martha was suggesting. He tells her that she overly concerns herself with many undertaking that, while nice and useful, are not necessary at the moment. On the other hand, her sister, Mary, has chosen to do what is better - to sit as Jesus feet and be in communion with her Lord. He then gets very pointed in saying, "it will not be taken from her." In other words, "No Martha, you are the one failing to make the best use of your time, not Mary. I will not tell her to leave my presence to attend to chores."
Do you find yourself too busy for the Lord? Have you found yourself restlessly chasing after church work so hard that you find no time to rest in your Savior? Does your life spin so fast that you are all wound up and cannot see your way clear to take time to commune with your God? Are you so busy doing good things that you fail to get around to the better things? Are you too busy? Jus' Askn.
Martha was busy at it, running back and forth, doing thing and then another, trying desperately to get everything accomplished that needed to be done in order to have a meal on the table in a timely manner. Her sister Mary, however, was sitting as Jesus feet, listening as he spoke, enjoying the company of her Lord and Savior. Martha was heating up faster than her oven as she thought about Mary relaxing with their guest instead of helping her prepare his meal. When she reached her boiling poiint, she did what she probably never thought she would do, she chastized the Lord Jesus Christ.
Martha went into the room where Mary sat on the floor, looked past her and said to Jesus, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her to help me" (v. 40). Did you notice that Martha confronts Jesus for allowing this injustice and then orders him to correct it? Can you imagine? Just how hot was this woman to blow her lid like that?
Jesus doesn't strike her dead or anything. He also doesn't react to her accusation or move at her command. What Jesus does is to redirect. He tells Martha that he knows how busy she has chosen to be, not how busy she had to be, which is what Martha was suggesting. He tells her that she overly concerns herself with many undertaking that, while nice and useful, are not necessary at the moment. On the other hand, her sister, Mary, has chosen to do what is better - to sit as Jesus feet and be in communion with her Lord. He then gets very pointed in saying, "it will not be taken from her." In other words, "No Martha, you are the one failing to make the best use of your time, not Mary. I will not tell her to leave my presence to attend to chores."
Do you find yourself too busy for the Lord? Have you found yourself restlessly chasing after church work so hard that you find no time to rest in your Savior? Does your life spin so fast that you are all wound up and cannot see your way clear to take time to commune with your God? Are you so busy doing good things that you fail to get around to the better things? Are you too busy? Jus' Askn.
Monday, November 17, 2014
Comforting Fog
As humans, we tend to seek clarity moving forward. We want to know what on the road ahead. We want to know the turns we're going to have to take, any bumps in the road and any detours. We want to be sure of where our next paycheck and next meal is coming from. More than that, we want to be able to look down the road to retirement and beyond and see what lies ahead.
Looking ahead can be both comforting and stressful. We can take comfort in the fact that we have good job, insurance and a retirement account. We can watch our portfolio grow and our assessts accumulate. However, just as easily, we can see how uncertain our job is, how volatile the market is and how quiclty our preparation can be undone. It can be terribly unsettling to come to the realization that all my plans depend on me keeping on track and others keeping their word. The name Enron keeps echoing from the past and recession is a reality we are all too familiar wih. Not to menttion, poor health and world tension.
But not to look forward is to not see. It is to walk blindly. Who would want to walk in fog? Who would not want to walk by sight? I'm glad you asked. The faithful may make all kinds of preparations for the future, but they do not walk by sight, they walk by faith (1 Cor 5:7). Their trust is not in their jobs or retirement or insurance, it is in Jesus Christ.
Do you recall Psalm 23:4? "Even though I walk through the darkest valley (valley of the shadow of death), I will fear no evil for you are with me..." The confidence of the one walking in this valley is not the ability to see, which might even produce fear, but in the presence of the Shepherd. Do you remember walking in the dark as a small child, holding on to your mom or dad's hand? Were you worried about the dark? Were you concerned about seeing your way through? You were not concerned about the dark or the direction or the dangers - you were comforted by your parent's presence.
In truth, the path ahead is a not seeable. We live in a sort of present tense fog that does not allow us to see into the future. This fog can be anxiety producing, if we are depending on ourselves. Howeve, th fog, which keeps us from seeing all that is ahead can prompt us to hold on to and put our trustt in the Lord. In that case, we will be comforted. We don't have to know what our future holds when we know who holds our future. The fog that requires one walk by faith does not produce anxiety in one who walks by faith in Christ instead of by sight on his own. Jus' Sayn.
Looking ahead can be both comforting and stressful. We can take comfort in the fact that we have good job, insurance and a retirement account. We can watch our portfolio grow and our assessts accumulate. However, just as easily, we can see how uncertain our job is, how volatile the market is and how quiclty our preparation can be undone. It can be terribly unsettling to come to the realization that all my plans depend on me keeping on track and others keeping their word. The name Enron keeps echoing from the past and recession is a reality we are all too familiar wih. Not to menttion, poor health and world tension.
But not to look forward is to not see. It is to walk blindly. Who would want to walk in fog? Who would not want to walk by sight? I'm glad you asked. The faithful may make all kinds of preparations for the future, but they do not walk by sight, they walk by faith (1 Cor 5:7). Their trust is not in their jobs or retirement or insurance, it is in Jesus Christ.
Do you recall Psalm 23:4? "Even though I walk through the darkest valley (valley of the shadow of death), I will fear no evil for you are with me..." The confidence of the one walking in this valley is not the ability to see, which might even produce fear, but in the presence of the Shepherd. Do you remember walking in the dark as a small child, holding on to your mom or dad's hand? Were you worried about the dark? Were you concerned about seeing your way through? You were not concerned about the dark or the direction or the dangers - you were comforted by your parent's presence.
In truth, the path ahead is a not seeable. We live in a sort of present tense fog that does not allow us to see into the future. This fog can be anxiety producing, if we are depending on ourselves. Howeve, th fog, which keeps us from seeing all that is ahead can prompt us to hold on to and put our trustt in the Lord. In that case, we will be comforted. We don't have to know what our future holds when we know who holds our future. The fog that requires one walk by faith does not produce anxiety in one who walks by faith in Christ instead of by sight on his own. Jus' Sayn.
Sunday, November 16, 2014
Discernment Not Judgment
It is so common, when one person points out a failure or sin of another, to be rebuffed with a biblical injunction not to judge. Even if, and I thnk especially if, the one being criticized is not a Christian and otherwise pays no attention to. the Bible. Do not judge, is the one bit of Bible everyone seems to have memorized.
However, as is so often true with those that are not given to studying the Bible in order to understand what God would have them do in favor of picking out a bit here and there to support their preconceived notions, they have misinterpreted and misused the passage.
I Luke 6:37, Jesus indeed commands, "Do not judge," but that is only a fraction of what he says in that passage. He follows that command with, "Do not condemn...Forgive...Give...for with the measure you use, it will be measured to you" (vv. 37-38). And then he goes on to say, "Each tree is recognized by its own fruit...A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil...for the mouth speaks what the heart is full of."
The rest of the story is that while we are not to judge in an attempt to condemn as our mission is to reach out to the lost not push them away, we are instructed to discern between good and evil in people by what they do. This is not to judge the moral state of their heart as only God can do that, it is to discern the moral impact of their choices, both to protect ourselves from bad influences and in order to offer a message of grace and redemption.
If we are going to pray for someone, it is important that we know for what to be praying. If their life is marked by violence or lust or pride or fear or whatever, we can be praying for their release from those snares of Satan, offer help in overcoming them and protect ourselves from being overly influenced by them or harmed by them.
Unrighteous judgment is meant to condemn and seperate. Righteous discernment is meant to heal and unite. One is meant to push away, the other to draw near. We are not called as judges of our fellowman but we are called as witnesses of God's redemptive love, which forgives those wrongs and calls each of us to come to Him. Discerning one's distance from God provides the motivation to close that gap by accepting God's offer of grace through Christ. Jus' Sayn.
However, as is so often true with those that are not given to studying the Bible in order to understand what God would have them do in favor of picking out a bit here and there to support their preconceived notions, they have misinterpreted and misused the passage.
I Luke 6:37, Jesus indeed commands, "Do not judge," but that is only a fraction of what he says in that passage. He follows that command with, "Do not condemn...Forgive...Give...for with the measure you use, it will be measured to you" (vv. 37-38). And then he goes on to say, "Each tree is recognized by its own fruit...A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil...for the mouth speaks what the heart is full of."
The rest of the story is that while we are not to judge in an attempt to condemn as our mission is to reach out to the lost not push them away, we are instructed to discern between good and evil in people by what they do. This is not to judge the moral state of their heart as only God can do that, it is to discern the moral impact of their choices, both to protect ourselves from bad influences and in order to offer a message of grace and redemption.
If we are going to pray for someone, it is important that we know for what to be praying. If their life is marked by violence or lust or pride or fear or whatever, we can be praying for their release from those snares of Satan, offer help in overcoming them and protect ourselves from being overly influenced by them or harmed by them.
Unrighteous judgment is meant to condemn and seperate. Righteous discernment is meant to heal and unite. One is meant to push away, the other to draw near. We are not called as judges of our fellowman but we are called as witnesses of God's redemptive love, which forgives those wrongs and calls each of us to come to Him. Discerning one's distance from God provides the motivation to close that gap by accepting God's offer of grace through Christ. Jus' Sayn.
Saturday, November 15, 2014
Anger Management
Anger management is not just a movie starring Jack Nicholson or a buzz-word in coporate America or a new psycho/social treatment plan; anger management is a biblical principle that Christians must incorporate into their lives if they are to honor God, bless others and protect themselves.
What I have just said above is, to a degree, self-evident. You are painfully aware of things you have said and done in anger, which you know dishonor God, perhaps even using His name in vain as you lashed out. I can still feel some of the lumps I took when I let my anger get loose as a child with my older brothers. And there was that big kid in the 5th grade I got crossways with - I think he just got tired of pounding on me. Certainly you can remember times when you've said things to others that cut them to the heart. Later you regretted it but the damage was done.
As self-evident as it is, there is more beneath the surface of anger management that you may not be aware is happening - a silent, sinful sedition of the soul. In Ephesians 4:26-27, the apostle Paul warns, "In you anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold." Your anger is not yours alone, it is a matrix in which the devil develops a foothold on your soul.
You've noticed that when you act out in anger, you agologize later saying, "I just lost control." True, but who then was in control? Could it be Satan? (Sorry for the SNL Church Lady reference, I just couldn't help myself - I lost control :-)) That is precisely Paul's warning and the reason to gain control of our anger and extinguish it ASAP or as the text says, "Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry."
Anger in itself is not sin, cultivated anger leads to sin. Even the best among us can have a flash of anger caused by outside forces acting unjustly or harshly. But that doesn't mean they will sin by acting out of their anger. They can keep their anger under control, get past the intial explosion of feelings and react in love instead of bitterness and hate.
Satan wants you to either react poorly in the heat of the moment or stew in your own juices until you explode even more violently later. Or, even better, push the anger down and let it ferment into a cancerous hatred that eats your very soul. The only hope is to turn your anger over to the Lord and let him heal you. Admit your anger, talk about your hurt, seek reconcilation, forgive the other. But do not let time slip away while your anger rots your spirit. Jus' Sayn.
What I have just said above is, to a degree, self-evident. You are painfully aware of things you have said and done in anger, which you know dishonor God, perhaps even using His name in vain as you lashed out. I can still feel some of the lumps I took when I let my anger get loose as a child with my older brothers. And there was that big kid in the 5th grade I got crossways with - I think he just got tired of pounding on me. Certainly you can remember times when you've said things to others that cut them to the heart. Later you regretted it but the damage was done.
As self-evident as it is, there is more beneath the surface of anger management that you may not be aware is happening - a silent, sinful sedition of the soul. In Ephesians 4:26-27, the apostle Paul warns, "In you anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold." Your anger is not yours alone, it is a matrix in which the devil develops a foothold on your soul.
You've noticed that when you act out in anger, you agologize later saying, "I just lost control." True, but who then was in control? Could it be Satan? (Sorry for the SNL Church Lady reference, I just couldn't help myself - I lost control :-)) That is precisely Paul's warning and the reason to gain control of our anger and extinguish it ASAP or as the text says, "Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry."
Anger in itself is not sin, cultivated anger leads to sin. Even the best among us can have a flash of anger caused by outside forces acting unjustly or harshly. But that doesn't mean they will sin by acting out of their anger. They can keep their anger under control, get past the intial explosion of feelings and react in love instead of bitterness and hate.
Satan wants you to either react poorly in the heat of the moment or stew in your own juices until you explode even more violently later. Or, even better, push the anger down and let it ferment into a cancerous hatred that eats your very soul. The only hope is to turn your anger over to the Lord and let him heal you. Admit your anger, talk about your hurt, seek reconcilation, forgive the other. But do not let time slip away while your anger rots your spirit. Jus' Sayn.
Friday, November 14, 2014
Fiduciary Faithfulness
Fiscal responsibility is a number one priority to an organization with integrity. How and where money comes in from and how and where it is used is approached with due diligent and best practices. Current, correct and complete records are kept of all financial activity. Individuals and departments are regularly called to account for their handling of funds.
These are the kinds of companies that you want to deal with and they are the kind that tend to succeed. Fiduciary responsibility is not a side dish to be added to a meal in measured amounts, itt is the main dish around which everything else is served.
This is especially true for churches. Congregations that are serious about the Lord's work are serious about handling His money. They keep accurate records, there is oversight in handling of funds, no one has free reign with monies, money is used for that which it was given. Everything about finances is above board and open to the eyes of the entire church and done for the glory of God.
The apostle Paul wrote, "We want to avoid any criticism of the way we administer this liberal gift. For we are tking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of men" (2 Cor 8:20-21). Even the apostles themselves took great pains to insure funds were handled with fiduciary responsibility.
This kind of openness and accountability with funds is also needed in marriages. One partner may handle the accounting but both must be aware of the income and outgo of their monies. Neither should be holding back or hiding from the other. All spending should be done with joint agreement. All savings should and giving should be done with joint approval. What we are talking about here is integrity in the relationship. Can we really afford to pass on that?
In the end, we are talking about fiduciary faithfulness. In a partnership or fellowship or marriage, keeping faith is paramount. When that faith in each other dies, the relationship is dead. A spouse may still love the other but without faith and trust, there is not enough foundation for a relationship to stand. As the foundation erodes for a lack of faith in the other, the relationship begins to wobble and soon will fall. Money isn't everything or even the most important thing but fiduciary faithfulness, that openness, honesty and repect shown in faithfully use of joint funds ranks very near the top. Jus' Sayn.
These are the kinds of companies that you want to deal with and they are the kind that tend to succeed. Fiduciary responsibility is not a side dish to be added to a meal in measured amounts, itt is the main dish around which everything else is served.
This is especially true for churches. Congregations that are serious about the Lord's work are serious about handling His money. They keep accurate records, there is oversight in handling of funds, no one has free reign with monies, money is used for that which it was given. Everything about finances is above board and open to the eyes of the entire church and done for the glory of God.
The apostle Paul wrote, "We want to avoid any criticism of the way we administer this liberal gift. For we are tking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of men" (2 Cor 8:20-21). Even the apostles themselves took great pains to insure funds were handled with fiduciary responsibility.
This kind of openness and accountability with funds is also needed in marriages. One partner may handle the accounting but both must be aware of the income and outgo of their monies. Neither should be holding back or hiding from the other. All spending should be done with joint agreement. All savings should and giving should be done with joint approval. What we are talking about here is integrity in the relationship. Can we really afford to pass on that?
In the end, we are talking about fiduciary faithfulness. In a partnership or fellowship or marriage, keeping faith is paramount. When that faith in each other dies, the relationship is dead. A spouse may still love the other but without faith and trust, there is not enough foundation for a relationship to stand. As the foundation erodes for a lack of faith in the other, the relationship begins to wobble and soon will fall. Money isn't everything or even the most important thing but fiduciary faithfulness, that openness, honesty and repect shown in faithfully use of joint funds ranks very near the top. Jus' Sayn.
Thursday, November 13, 2014
A Quiet Life Speaks Loudly
When I was young in the faith and even as a young minister, my view of evangelism was going door to door and taking every opportunity to share my faith and belief with others. Whether I knew them or they wanted to know me made little difference, I intended to make them aware of my beliefs.
Certainly, that is one approach to evangelism, an approach some are equipped to take with a certain amount of success - some even very succesful. However, I don't find that most people are very comfortable or very adept at going door to door evangelizing. And, in our culture today, I don't believe that many people are at all open to that intrusion.
On my first mission trip to Honduras, we were given teeshirts that were imprinted with this saying, "Take the Gospel everywhere. When necessary, use words." The focus in Honduras was serving. We served by building houses, giving away shoes, providing a clinic, etc. Because we served without asking for anything, people were drawn to us and wanted to know what prompted us to do what we do. Their desire to know provided us with an opportunity to share the hope of Christ within us. This principle is what Peter was talking about in 1 Pet 3:15, "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have."
In 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12, the apostle Paul said to "Make it your ambition to lead a queit life, o mind your own business and to work with your hands, ust as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders..." Notice that Peter encourages us to wait until asked and Paul says that our daily lives will win the respect of others. This quiet and unintrusive life is sought out by others because of its beauty. It speaks loudly about who we are and what we believe.
Paul's direction to mind our own business suggests that we keep our noses out of other people's business. When we are busy about obeying God and serving others, we have no time for being a busy body, no time or desire to sit in judgment on someoe else's life. As people come to know us, they will respect us and want to know what makes us tick. We will be taking the Gospel every where we go and we will have oppotunity to wxpress our faith in Him. Jus' Sayn.
Certainly, that is one approach to evangelism, an approach some are equipped to take with a certain amount of success - some even very succesful. However, I don't find that most people are very comfortable or very adept at going door to door evangelizing. And, in our culture today, I don't believe that many people are at all open to that intrusion.
On my first mission trip to Honduras, we were given teeshirts that were imprinted with this saying, "Take the Gospel everywhere. When necessary, use words." The focus in Honduras was serving. We served by building houses, giving away shoes, providing a clinic, etc. Because we served without asking for anything, people were drawn to us and wanted to know what prompted us to do what we do. Their desire to know provided us with an opportunity to share the hope of Christ within us. This principle is what Peter was talking about in 1 Pet 3:15, "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have."
In 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12, the apostle Paul said to "Make it your ambition to lead a queit life, o mind your own business and to work with your hands, ust as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders..." Notice that Peter encourages us to wait until asked and Paul says that our daily lives will win the respect of others. This quiet and unintrusive life is sought out by others because of its beauty. It speaks loudly about who we are and what we believe.
Paul's direction to mind our own business suggests that we keep our noses out of other people's business. When we are busy about obeying God and serving others, we have no time for being a busy body, no time or desire to sit in judgment on someoe else's life. As people come to know us, they will respect us and want to know what makes us tick. We will be taking the Gospel every where we go and we will have oppotunity to wxpress our faith in Him. Jus' Sayn.
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Resolution in the Crosshairs
The time for making New Year's Resolutions is fast approaching. And, of course, somewhere between two days and two weeks is the time to give up on those resolutions. Ever wonder why? Why is it that most people fail so miserably so quickly after their resolve to make the change they want to see in the new year?
While not the whole reason, a central factor is that a resolution quickly becomes a focused issue and as such tends to be in the crosshairs. Everything seems to revolve around it and it looms up as larger than life and all of its challenges seem to take on a life of their own. Losing weight requires eating less but the new year brings new stresses that call for more eating. Now that you can't have that cheesecake, it looks better than ever and everyone is suddenly serving cheesecake. People start bringing cheesecake to the office and your mother gave you a cheesecake of the month membership for Christmas. Well, you reason, there's always next year...
The focus and the extra felt pressure, however stress inducing, are not the true reason we give in and give up on our resolutions. The problem that leads to the collapse of a resolution is the lack of resolve. Making a resolution is little more than stating a wish or announcing what you would like to happen. But having resolve is an inward fortitude that is prepared to take on all comers, even the cheesecake of the month membeship.
In 1 Corinthians 2:2, Paul said, "For I am resloved to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified." Despite losing his position on the Council, giving up his practice of law, rejection by his family, imprisonmentt, beatings, and stonings, he never wavered. His resolution became the central focus of his enemies' attacks but there was never a thought of turning back.
In Matthew 16:21, Jesus announces his resolve to go to Jerusalme despite knowing that there he would "suffer and die." Immdiately, people tried to talk him out of it. Even the apostle Peter strongly proclaimed, "Never, Lord,! This shall never happen to you!" (v. 22). But Jesus was resolved and he did go and his did die only to be raised again.
Resolutions may always be in the crosshairs but resolve is not motivated by self-preservation but by accomplishing the mission. Resolve will walk through hell to arrive at its goal of heaven. Resolvve doesn't entertain notions of defeat or negoitiate terms of surrender. When resolve comes from the empowerment of Godd, it continues on the course set before it until it reaches its goal. Jus' Sayn.
While not the whole reason, a central factor is that a resolution quickly becomes a focused issue and as such tends to be in the crosshairs. Everything seems to revolve around it and it looms up as larger than life and all of its challenges seem to take on a life of their own. Losing weight requires eating less but the new year brings new stresses that call for more eating. Now that you can't have that cheesecake, it looks better than ever and everyone is suddenly serving cheesecake. People start bringing cheesecake to the office and your mother gave you a cheesecake of the month membership for Christmas. Well, you reason, there's always next year...
The focus and the extra felt pressure, however stress inducing, are not the true reason we give in and give up on our resolutions. The problem that leads to the collapse of a resolution is the lack of resolve. Making a resolution is little more than stating a wish or announcing what you would like to happen. But having resolve is an inward fortitude that is prepared to take on all comers, even the cheesecake of the month membeship.
In 1 Corinthians 2:2, Paul said, "For I am resloved to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified." Despite losing his position on the Council, giving up his practice of law, rejection by his family, imprisonmentt, beatings, and stonings, he never wavered. His resolution became the central focus of his enemies' attacks but there was never a thought of turning back.
In Matthew 16:21, Jesus announces his resolve to go to Jerusalme despite knowing that there he would "suffer and die." Immdiately, people tried to talk him out of it. Even the apostle Peter strongly proclaimed, "Never, Lord,! This shall never happen to you!" (v. 22). But Jesus was resolved and he did go and his did die only to be raised again.
Resolutions may always be in the crosshairs but resolve is not motivated by self-preservation but by accomplishing the mission. Resolve will walk through hell to arrive at its goal of heaven. Resolvve doesn't entertain notions of defeat or negoitiate terms of surrender. When resolve comes from the empowerment of Godd, it continues on the course set before it until it reaches its goal. Jus' Sayn.
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
Monochrome Life
When I first arrived at basic training on May 9, 1974, our drill instructor referred to us as a variety of things, most of which I would not care to share with you even in private. However, there was one monocre I can reveal to you: Rainbows. We were called Rainbows because we were a multi-colored bunch. We came from different backgrounds, wore different clotthes, different hairstyles, different schedules, etc.
Our drill instructor's job was to transform us from a multi-colored Rainbows to a monochrome unit, which looked, thought, spoke, responded, worked, et. al. as one. They shaved our heads and faces, put us into uniforms, sentt us to bed at one time, got us up the same time, fed us togetther, marched us together. They trained us to start, stop, turn, reverse, speed up, slow down and stop all as one unit. On day one we looked like a bunch of monkeys scrambling for the last bananna falling from a tree. By the end of training, we were a well-oiled machine.
In order to get us to that point of unity, our instructor had to get us to give up our individualality. We had to stop thinking of our wants and even our rights, and start thinking of our unit and our mission. We had to die to self in order to live as a fighting force. And our TI (training instructor) seemed willing to kill us literally to bring that transformation about. He pushed us to limits that only could be met as a unit. Those who held on to their notion of rights and pushed back to get their wants met instead of serve for the good of the unit and in preparation for the mission, were sent to a special unit where special pressure and tatics were applied. If they did not make the transformation there, at the end of a year, they were dismissed as other than honorable.
Becoming a soldier of the cross is very similar. As Christians we cannot insist on our rights and our wants but must put unity of the Spirit and completion of the mission as first priority. In order to gain the sacrificial life of a disciple, we must give up the selfish life of a sinner. Jesus tells us very plainly, "For whoever wantt to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his ife for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?" (Matt 16:25-26).
Outside of Christ, we are a rainbow of dissimilar beliefs, desires, ambitions, bents, etc. But in Christ, we must become one in spirit and faith, we must embrace a monochrome life in the sense that we are led by the same Spirit, serve the same Master, seek the same goals and share the same faith. Jesus prayer for all his disciples is "that all of them may be one" (John 17:21).
As a side note, America suffers from a Rainbow Mentality today. We are one nation divided by various cultures, colors and creeds. We purposely segregate into dissimilar groups in places called China Town or Little Italy. We have days marked off to highlight the fact that some are African American while others are Hispanic Americans. We pigeon hole people into voting blocks and try to pander to the seperate values of that group of whites or blacks or whatever we can seperate from the herd to take a different trail.
America used to be called a melting pot but we have worked hard to create a rainbow palate. A Rainbow Coalition can only truly exist when we keep the diferent colors from blending as one. They may work together on some things, but they must never become one for then we become a monochrome entity - a melting pot produces only one color, only one product, only one unified whole. We must be willing to give up our lives in order to live as one. You cannot be a part of a unit and a lone wolf at the same time, you must choose. Jus' Sayn.
Our drill instructor's job was to transform us from a multi-colored Rainbows to a monochrome unit, which looked, thought, spoke, responded, worked, et. al. as one. They shaved our heads and faces, put us into uniforms, sentt us to bed at one time, got us up the same time, fed us togetther, marched us together. They trained us to start, stop, turn, reverse, speed up, slow down and stop all as one unit. On day one we looked like a bunch of monkeys scrambling for the last bananna falling from a tree. By the end of training, we were a well-oiled machine.
In order to get us to that point of unity, our instructor had to get us to give up our individualality. We had to stop thinking of our wants and even our rights, and start thinking of our unit and our mission. We had to die to self in order to live as a fighting force. And our TI (training instructor) seemed willing to kill us literally to bring that transformation about. He pushed us to limits that only could be met as a unit. Those who held on to their notion of rights and pushed back to get their wants met instead of serve for the good of the unit and in preparation for the mission, were sent to a special unit where special pressure and tatics were applied. If they did not make the transformation there, at the end of a year, they were dismissed as other than honorable.
Becoming a soldier of the cross is very similar. As Christians we cannot insist on our rights and our wants but must put unity of the Spirit and completion of the mission as first priority. In order to gain the sacrificial life of a disciple, we must give up the selfish life of a sinner. Jesus tells us very plainly, "For whoever wantt to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his ife for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?" (Matt 16:25-26).
Outside of Christ, we are a rainbow of dissimilar beliefs, desires, ambitions, bents, etc. But in Christ, we must become one in spirit and faith, we must embrace a monochrome life in the sense that we are led by the same Spirit, serve the same Master, seek the same goals and share the same faith. Jesus prayer for all his disciples is "that all of them may be one" (John 17:21).
As a side note, America suffers from a Rainbow Mentality today. We are one nation divided by various cultures, colors and creeds. We purposely segregate into dissimilar groups in places called China Town or Little Italy. We have days marked off to highlight the fact that some are African American while others are Hispanic Americans. We pigeon hole people into voting blocks and try to pander to the seperate values of that group of whites or blacks or whatever we can seperate from the herd to take a different trail.
America used to be called a melting pot but we have worked hard to create a rainbow palate. A Rainbow Coalition can only truly exist when we keep the diferent colors from blending as one. They may work together on some things, but they must never become one for then we become a monochrome entity - a melting pot produces only one color, only one product, only one unified whole. We must be willing to give up our lives in order to live as one. You cannot be a part of a unit and a lone wolf at the same time, you must choose. Jus' Sayn.
Monday, November 10, 2014
Becoming
It is fashionable today to look backwards in order to straighten out our lives. Your parents weren't loving enough, someone abused you along the way, you were traumatized by some event, you didn't have the right opportunities, you lived on the wrong side of the tracks... Whatever it was, it is located somewhere in your past and so you have tto be looking into the past to discover what you have to overcome. Forward motion, in this culture, requires backward focus. Progress then is overcoming, which also looks to the past.
The apostle Paul could not have disagreed more. His notion is "fogetting what is behind me...I press on toward the goal...for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus" (Phil 3:13-14). The strategy the Spirit reveals to us through Paul is to stop looking back, trying to overcome and start looking forward, embracing what God calls us to become. We do not have tto overcome anything because Jesus assures us, "Take heart! I have overcome the world" (Jn 16:33).
We don't have to fix anything, it is forgiven. The wrongs, the sins, the failures, the losses of the past are nailed to the cross and need have no impact on our future. We can live in the now, looking forward to a glorious future, in which we are "becoming like him [Jesus]" (Phil 3:10), as all of us who "were baptized into Christ have clothed ourselves with Christ" (Gal 3:26).
Please don't misunderstand me. I am not saying that we have to deny or dismiss the pastt, I am saying that we don't have to be determined by the past and that overcoming the past is not the key to our future. I am also not saying that we should live in the future or put life on hold, waiting for the future to arrive. I am saying that we can embrace the present, letting the past go and thanfully looked to the future, which Christ has secured for us while we daily are becoming what God called us to be - not by our power but by his "for it is by grace you have been saved through faith - and this is not from youselvve, i i theggiftt of God - not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship...(Eph 2:8-10). Jus' Sayn.
The apostle Paul could not have disagreed more. His notion is "fogetting what is behind me...I press on toward the goal...for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus" (Phil 3:13-14). The strategy the Spirit reveals to us through Paul is to stop looking back, trying to overcome and start looking forward, embracing what God calls us to become. We do not have tto overcome anything because Jesus assures us, "Take heart! I have overcome the world" (Jn 16:33).
We don't have to fix anything, it is forgiven. The wrongs, the sins, the failures, the losses of the past are nailed to the cross and need have no impact on our future. We can live in the now, looking forward to a glorious future, in which we are "becoming like him [Jesus]" (Phil 3:10), as all of us who "were baptized into Christ have clothed ourselves with Christ" (Gal 3:26).
Please don't misunderstand me. I am not saying that we have to deny or dismiss the pastt, I am saying that we don't have to be determined by the past and that overcoming the past is not the key to our future. I am also not saying that we should live in the future or put life on hold, waiting for the future to arrive. I am saying that we can embrace the present, letting the past go and thanfully looked to the future, which Christ has secured for us while we daily are becoming what God called us to be - not by our power but by his "for it is by grace you have been saved through faith - and this is not from youselvve, i i theggiftt of God - not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship...(Eph 2:8-10). Jus' Sayn.
Sunday, November 9, 2014
Waiting on The Lord
Waiting on something is not our longest suit in America. There was a time when we missed the stage, it meant waiting a week or perhaps a month until the next one; missing a ship could mean months before we got another opportunity; not getting through the pass before winter meant parking yourself until the spring thaw. But today, we get irritated if we have to wait five minutes in a fast food drive through, we are impatient with our microwaves; we lean on our horns if the person in front of us waits 2 seconds before moving on a green light. We are not patient.
There are some, like farmers, who understand the need and value of waiting for a crop to grow or a pig to put on weight or for a cow to calve in the spring. There is a time and a season for thing for which they must prepare and wait. But, by and large, we Americans expect things to be done when we ask for them if not before. To say that we are impatient is probably an understatement.
Even as Christians, we tend to be impatient. We want to see results now not in a few years. Preachers are expected to get results out of the gate rather than allowed to lay a foundation over several years upon which to build. While studies show that it takes five years to build solid relationships and another five to begin to have significant growth on that foundation, how many preachers do you even know that have been in one church for ten years? Most are gone in three. And yet, the churches that have grown the most are the ones in which the preacher has been on staff for twenty or more years. But in America, "Ain't nobody got time for that!"
The prophet Isaiah wrote, "Those that wait upon the Lord will rise up on eagles wings, the will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint" (40:31). Wait on the Lord? Us? We don't want to wait on the Lord, we'll just get started on our own and let God catch up when he has time. Really? Not! While we are impatient and we often go ahead not waiting on the Lord, we do not succeed until He choses to bless our efforts. I cannot begin to tell you the number of failed church starts, dejected missionaries, and disastrous outreach efforts caused by impatience.
The thing is that we don't need to bring in things on time, we need to approach things in God's time. We don't need to get started, we need to start listening for God's direction. It truly isn't at all important how soon you begin but rather how long you last, how far you go, how much you accomplish. I have known missionary couples jump into the mission field after a two year course and others that completed four years of training and then five additional years of preparation in things like language, culture, translation of material, laying down foundations of relationship. Which do you think stayed the longest and accomplished the most?
On the other hand, some have begun a ministry without any training because they were listening to God who directed them to go. It isn't the amount of time or training but waiting on the Lord. But it is learning to wait upon the Lord, preparing you heart and mind to serve until He sends. Jus' Sayn.
There are some, like farmers, who understand the need and value of waiting for a crop to grow or a pig to put on weight or for a cow to calve in the spring. There is a time and a season for thing for which they must prepare and wait. But, by and large, we Americans expect things to be done when we ask for them if not before. To say that we are impatient is probably an understatement.
Even as Christians, we tend to be impatient. We want to see results now not in a few years. Preachers are expected to get results out of the gate rather than allowed to lay a foundation over several years upon which to build. While studies show that it takes five years to build solid relationships and another five to begin to have significant growth on that foundation, how many preachers do you even know that have been in one church for ten years? Most are gone in three. And yet, the churches that have grown the most are the ones in which the preacher has been on staff for twenty or more years. But in America, "Ain't nobody got time for that!"
The prophet Isaiah wrote, "Those that wait upon the Lord will rise up on eagles wings, the will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint" (40:31). Wait on the Lord? Us? We don't want to wait on the Lord, we'll just get started on our own and let God catch up when he has time. Really? Not! While we are impatient and we often go ahead not waiting on the Lord, we do not succeed until He choses to bless our efforts. I cannot begin to tell you the number of failed church starts, dejected missionaries, and disastrous outreach efforts caused by impatience.
The thing is that we don't need to bring in things on time, we need to approach things in God's time. We don't need to get started, we need to start listening for God's direction. It truly isn't at all important how soon you begin but rather how long you last, how far you go, how much you accomplish. I have known missionary couples jump into the mission field after a two year course and others that completed four years of training and then five additional years of preparation in things like language, culture, translation of material, laying down foundations of relationship. Which do you think stayed the longest and accomplished the most?
On the other hand, some have begun a ministry without any training because they were listening to God who directed them to go. It isn't the amount of time or training but waiting on the Lord. But it is learning to wait upon the Lord, preparing you heart and mind to serve until He sends. Jus' Sayn.
Saturday, November 8, 2014
Walking in The Spirit
I can't tell you how many times I've heard someone say something like, "When I get my life right, I'll start coming to church." Or "When I get things together, I want to become a Christian." The notion that an individual can make himself acceptable to God before he comes to Christ is just so "not."
What the person intending to fix himself before coming to God reminds me of is someone planning on fixing his broken arm before going to the ER or someone fixing his broken pipes before calling the plumber. Imagine someone saying, "As soon as I get my addiction under control, I'm going to go to a treatment program." Really? Not!
If we could make ourselves acceptable to God before coming to Christ, Jesus wouldn't have had to come and die for us. If we could earn our salvation, we would not need the grace he purchased at Calvary. But the simple truth is that Jesus is "the way, the truth and the life, and no man comes to the Father except through him" (Jn 4:6). We need the grace Jesus extends in order to be accepted into the Father's house.
Not only is it true that we need grace to become a Christian and be accepted by the Father, as Christians we need that same grace to walk in His presence. Too many Christians believe that if they work hard enough, give enough, pray enough, attend church enough, whatever enough, that they are walking in the light - that their good life is what keeps them sanctified. Again, not!
Listen to the words of the apostle Paul, "Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, prvoking one another to envy" (Gal 5:25-26). Notice how it is we live? By the Spirit. Also, did you notice the warning "Let us not become conceited?" It is not by our power or goodness but by the Spirit that we are sanctified.
It is by grace we are saved and it is by grace that we are sanctified daily. As John says, "If we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Christ cleanses (daily) our sins" (1 Jn 1:7). Jus' Sayn.
What the person intending to fix himself before coming to God reminds me of is someone planning on fixing his broken arm before going to the ER or someone fixing his broken pipes before calling the plumber. Imagine someone saying, "As soon as I get my addiction under control, I'm going to go to a treatment program." Really? Not!
If we could make ourselves acceptable to God before coming to Christ, Jesus wouldn't have had to come and die for us. If we could earn our salvation, we would not need the grace he purchased at Calvary. But the simple truth is that Jesus is "the way, the truth and the life, and no man comes to the Father except through him" (Jn 4:6). We need the grace Jesus extends in order to be accepted into the Father's house.
Not only is it true that we need grace to become a Christian and be accepted by the Father, as Christians we need that same grace to walk in His presence. Too many Christians believe that if they work hard enough, give enough, pray enough, attend church enough, whatever enough, that they are walking in the light - that their good life is what keeps them sanctified. Again, not!
Listen to the words of the apostle Paul, "Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, prvoking one another to envy" (Gal 5:25-26). Notice how it is we live? By the Spirit. Also, did you notice the warning "Let us not become conceited?" It is not by our power or goodness but by the Spirit that we are sanctified.
It is by grace we are saved and it is by grace that we are sanctified daily. As John says, "If we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Christ cleanses (daily) our sins" (1 Jn 1:7). Jus' Sayn.
Friday, November 7, 2014
Passing on an Opportunity
It is said that "opportunity only knocks once." The implication is that you have to answer it because you will miss the opportunity if you don't. Of course, like many things that are said, "it ain't necessarily so." That particular moment of opportunity will only knock once but another opportunity momentt may well be aound the corner.
I was afforded an opportunity to come on staff with Arkansas Hospice back in 2006, which I felt I had to turn down. I was given another opportunity to accept a staff position in 2008 but felt I had to say no again. In 2009, another opportunity was presented and I gratefully accepted it. I passed my 5 year mark last month. Moments of opportunity only come once but opportunities can come again and again. You don't necessarily need to jump on one the first moment it is presented.
Secondly and more importantly, just because an opportunty knocks doesn't mean that it is even wise or good to open the door for it. How many times have you jumped on an opportunity only to land in a pile of manure? The prisons are full of individuals who jumped on an opportunity, cemeteries have a fare share as well. I wonder how many ENRON stock holders jumped on an opportunity to invest?
When David, who had been anointed to be king, was being chased by King Saul, he had an opportunity to strike Saul dead. The warrior at his side, Abishai, offered to thrust the spear himself. This was a golden opportunity where Saul was asleep and they had sneaked into the camp unnoticed. David could have dethroned Saul and assumed whatt was ordained to be his. But he refused saying, "The Lord himself will destroy him, or his time will come and he will die, or he will perish in battle. But far be it from me that I should lay a hand on the Lord's anointed" (1 Sam 26:9-10).
David passed on the opportunity of the moment knowing that God would present another one in which he would not have to slay the Lord's anointed. He did not believe it would be the lastt opportunity for Saul to be taken and neither did he think it was an opporttunity he should take advantage of. He would wait on the Lord's timing.
We are so conditioned to jump on opportunities, believeing they will never come again that we often do not wait for God to provide an answer, we move on our urges and our wants instead of answered prayer or study of the Word. We wind up doing what we want but not wanting what we got because we hastily left God out of the equation. Sometimes, we just need to pass on an opportunity for the moment in defference to a later opportunity ordained by God. Jus' Sayn.
I was afforded an opportunity to come on staff with Arkansas Hospice back in 2006, which I felt I had to turn down. I was given another opportunity to accept a staff position in 2008 but felt I had to say no again. In 2009, another opportunity was presented and I gratefully accepted it. I passed my 5 year mark last month. Moments of opportunity only come once but opportunities can come again and again. You don't necessarily need to jump on one the first moment it is presented.
Secondly and more importantly, just because an opportunty knocks doesn't mean that it is even wise or good to open the door for it. How many times have you jumped on an opportunity only to land in a pile of manure? The prisons are full of individuals who jumped on an opportunity, cemeteries have a fare share as well. I wonder how many ENRON stock holders jumped on an opportunity to invest?
When David, who had been anointed to be king, was being chased by King Saul, he had an opportunity to strike Saul dead. The warrior at his side, Abishai, offered to thrust the spear himself. This was a golden opportunity where Saul was asleep and they had sneaked into the camp unnoticed. David could have dethroned Saul and assumed whatt was ordained to be his. But he refused saying, "The Lord himself will destroy him, or his time will come and he will die, or he will perish in battle. But far be it from me that I should lay a hand on the Lord's anointed" (1 Sam 26:9-10).
David passed on the opportunity of the moment knowing that God would present another one in which he would not have to slay the Lord's anointed. He did not believe it would be the lastt opportunity for Saul to be taken and neither did he think it was an opporttunity he should take advantage of. He would wait on the Lord's timing.
We are so conditioned to jump on opportunities, believeing they will never come again that we often do not wait for God to provide an answer, we move on our urges and our wants instead of answered prayer or study of the Word. We wind up doing what we want but not wanting what we got because we hastily left God out of the equation. Sometimes, we just need to pass on an opportunity for the moment in defference to a later opportunity ordained by God. Jus' Sayn.
Thursday, November 6, 2014
Wanting What God Wants
Years ago in California, I was a Weight-Watchers leader (yes, there have been times in my life when I was fit and trim - I still feel pretty fit but the trim part is less obvious to say the leastt) and I would tell my members that they could eat anything they wanted and lose weight as long as they wanted the right things. The trick wasn't controlling what they ate, it was learning to desire what they needed.
The same thing is true in our faith journey. It is not about controlling our bad habits or resisting our carnal urges, it is about learning to desire what is good and right and just. The ancient rabbis would say, "Love and do what you will." When your desire is in the bestt interest of others, you will naturally do go for them and resist doing anything to harm them. That is precisely Paul's point in Rom 13:10, "Love does no harm to its neigbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law."
We don't need commandment to refrain from killing our loved ones, stealing from them, slandering them, etc. When we love someone, we want the best for them. Rather than take from them or harm them, we naturally want to give to them and protectt them. Love, while not replacing the 10 Commandments, fulfills its intent naturally.
Walking in faith becomes a much easier task when we desire to be like Jesus. We no longer look for excuses for failing to do the right thing or rationalizations for choosing the wrong thing. Instead, we will look for ways to please Him and naturally strive to walk in His steps. And, in the process, we will find that God empowers us to follow the desire of our heart if it is in Him: "Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart" (Ps 37:4).
When we train ourselves and let the Holy Spirit condition our inner self to want what God wants, walking "in the light as he is in the light" (1 Jn 1:7) becomes second nature to us and the desires of our hearts, which are the desires of God for us, fill our lives. Jus' Sayn.
The same thing is true in our faith journey. It is not about controlling our bad habits or resisting our carnal urges, it is about learning to desire what is good and right and just. The ancient rabbis would say, "Love and do what you will." When your desire is in the bestt interest of others, you will naturally do go for them and resist doing anything to harm them. That is precisely Paul's point in Rom 13:10, "Love does no harm to its neigbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law."
We don't need commandment to refrain from killing our loved ones, stealing from them, slandering them, etc. When we love someone, we want the best for them. Rather than take from them or harm them, we naturally want to give to them and protectt them. Love, while not replacing the 10 Commandments, fulfills its intent naturally.
Walking in faith becomes a much easier task when we desire to be like Jesus. We no longer look for excuses for failing to do the right thing or rationalizations for choosing the wrong thing. Instead, we will look for ways to please Him and naturally strive to walk in His steps. And, in the process, we will find that God empowers us to follow the desire of our heart if it is in Him: "Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart" (Ps 37:4).
When we train ourselves and let the Holy Spirit condition our inner self to want what God wants, walking "in the light as he is in the light" (1 Jn 1:7) becomes second nature to us and the desires of our hearts, which are the desires of God for us, fill our lives. Jus' Sayn.
Wednesday, November 5, 2014
Wisdom's Child
in Luke 7:33, Jesus said that people accused John the Baptist of having a demon because he "didn't eat bread or drink wine." In verse 34 he said the same people accused him "of being a glutton and a drunk because he did both." The point being that their detractors we're going to speak against them regardless.
When you set out to do anything good or righteous, there is a more than even chance others will try to oppose or discredit you in the same way. The tendency is to defend your decision or action against the detractors. However, as seen above, the detractor is not necessarily against your decision or action in particular, they are against you doing something good or just against you in general. Arguing you case or defending your point to them cannot succeed.
What should you do then? Let's go back to the passage for the answer to that question. Verse 35, "wisdom is proven right by her children." In other words, the results of your efforts will provide an answer to the critics. If you Re following God's direction in your life, the child, or what is given birth by your efforts, will silence your critics.
As Solomon out it, "If a wise man goes to court with a fool, the fool rages and scoffs and there is no peace" (Prov 29:9). The fool will not listen to truth. He is not interested in righteous thinking. You are wasting your time trying to defend your godly thought process or action against one who does not honor God, and " a fool says in his heart, there is no God" (Ps 14:1).
Study, pray, collaborate with trustworthy Christians, and listen for Gid's direction. Once you feel sure you have heard from him, act accordingly. If it should become apparent that you misunderstood what he said, return to pray and study of his word until it becomes clear. Do not listen to your critics. Jus' Sayn.
When you set out to do anything good or righteous, there is a more than even chance others will try to oppose or discredit you in the same way. The tendency is to defend your decision or action against the detractors. However, as seen above, the detractor is not necessarily against your decision or action in particular, they are against you doing something good or just against you in general. Arguing you case or defending your point to them cannot succeed.
What should you do then? Let's go back to the passage for the answer to that question. Verse 35, "wisdom is proven right by her children." In other words, the results of your efforts will provide an answer to the critics. If you Re following God's direction in your life, the child, or what is given birth by your efforts, will silence your critics.
As Solomon out it, "If a wise man goes to court with a fool, the fool rages and scoffs and there is no peace" (Prov 29:9). The fool will not listen to truth. He is not interested in righteous thinking. You are wasting your time trying to defend your godly thought process or action against one who does not honor God, and " a fool says in his heart, there is no God" (Ps 14:1).
Study, pray, collaborate with trustworthy Christians, and listen for Gid's direction. Once you feel sure you have heard from him, act accordingly. If it should become apparent that you misunderstood what he said, return to pray and study of his word until it becomes clear. Do not listen to your critics. Jus' Sayn.
Tuesday, November 4, 2014
The Extra Mile
Sadly, I haven't heard the phrase "Go the extra mile" in some time. I used to hear it when I was young, it used to be the American ethic when it came to service. In America today your more likely to hear "go and sit an extra while." Workers are loathe to come in early, stay late or do anything extra. Many today feel they deserve a paycheck for just showing up. And millions are content to receive a check from the govenment without lifting a finger (I'm not talking about the truly needy but the truly greedy). Worse yet, apparently our government thinks it inhumane or demeaning to require they work. Even in prisons, they can longue around all day.
The phrase comes from Jesus' Sermon on The Mount. In Matthew 5:41 we read, "If someone compells you to walk with them a mile, go with them two." He was referring to the perrogative of a Roman soldier to compel a Jewish citizen to carry his pack for a mile, even if the citizen was heading in the other direction. Jesus taught that, instead of resisting or begrudgingly carrying the load the mile, take it an extra mile as an offering of kingdom service.
What Jesus was teaching was to take the battle for humanity to a higher level. Instead of getting back at someone or getting even, give them extra. The principle behind this act is found in Ephesians 6:7, "Serve wholeheartedly as if you were serving the Lord, not man." This higher plane response honors God and allows his Spirit to shine through you, making an impact far more important than saving face or standing you ground.
Using this principle today, imagine your grumpy old boss asks you come in early to help get a special project out. Instead of complaining or refusing, come in cheerfully and offer to stay a little late or come in early again tomorrow. Imagine the impact on him. Chances are, that attitude, in time, will result in a promotion, but even if it does not, God is honored and your light is shining.
Your wife leaves a dirty dish on the counter. Instead of pointing it out, how about washing it and putting it away without saying a word. Or, your husband leaves some hairs in the sink while shaving you wash them down quietly instead of loudly letting him know about his crime. What if we treated each other like that regularly?
What if we made it a practice to serve God by doing more, resisting less, cheerfully going the extra mile. What would our jobs look like, what would our marriagess look like, what would our world look like? Jus' Askn.
The phrase comes from Jesus' Sermon on The Mount. In Matthew 5:41 we read, "If someone compells you to walk with them a mile, go with them two." He was referring to the perrogative of a Roman soldier to compel a Jewish citizen to carry his pack for a mile, even if the citizen was heading in the other direction. Jesus taught that, instead of resisting or begrudgingly carrying the load the mile, take it an extra mile as an offering of kingdom service.
What Jesus was teaching was to take the battle for humanity to a higher level. Instead of getting back at someone or getting even, give them extra. The principle behind this act is found in Ephesians 6:7, "Serve wholeheartedly as if you were serving the Lord, not man." This higher plane response honors God and allows his Spirit to shine through you, making an impact far more important than saving face or standing you ground.
Using this principle today, imagine your grumpy old boss asks you come in early to help get a special project out. Instead of complaining or refusing, come in cheerfully and offer to stay a little late or come in early again tomorrow. Imagine the impact on him. Chances are, that attitude, in time, will result in a promotion, but even if it does not, God is honored and your light is shining.
Your wife leaves a dirty dish on the counter. Instead of pointing it out, how about washing it and putting it away without saying a word. Or, your husband leaves some hairs in the sink while shaving you wash them down quietly instead of loudly letting him know about his crime. What if we treated each other like that regularly?
What if we made it a practice to serve God by doing more, resisting less, cheerfully going the extra mile. What would our jobs look like, what would our marriagess look like, what would our world look like? Jus' Askn.
Monday, November 3, 2014
Profit and Loss
I've got a 401k that I've had for a number of years now. I get quarterly reports that let me know how things are going. It's pretty straight forward, either the market has done well and my profits are up or it hasn't and my profits are down. Fortunately, I'm in pretty good mutual fund and I haven't experienced what some other have - a really poor reading, where a loss is recorded.
Although, I have to say that has not always been the case. Back in the early 80s, I put what little money I had and added monthly to the Minisers' Investment Corporation. It was showing greart growth (25%) until it hit a bit of a dowaward trend as the CEO headed south with all the funds. He was caught and some of the money reclaimed but after the lawyers got their share and the creditors got their allotment, there was nothing left for me.
Except there was some profit in what appeared to be a total loss. I gained a great appreciation for the addage, "If itt seems to good to be true, it probably its." That lesson early on has kept me from making that mistake later in life (like now) when it would have been much more hurtful. I also learned that adding a Christian name to a business does not mean the owners are truly Christian or that Christian owners are truly businessmen. Both of those truths have served me well over the years.
Something else I've learned in life is that when a child of God suffers loss but remains faithful, God can bring gain from it, that "God will work out for the good all things for those who love him" (Rom 8:28). Often times, it is the loss itself that sets the gain in motion. When I was asked to resign years ago, it set into motion the gears that would bring me to full-time employment with Arkansas Hospice, which provided the medical insurance my wife needed and has provided me a ministry outlet and job I love. My loss turned out to be my profit. And, I believe it has worked for the good of a lot of hospice patients down the years.
There is an even greater truth found in the profit and loss for a child of God: Loss in God's service is always profit and is the source of true riches. "But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jsus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ.." (Phil 3:7-9).
The profit we make in this life is not ours to keep. We can take none of it with us when we die. On the other hand, What we gain in Christ's service is eternal, we do not leave it behind. Therefore, as someone once said, "No man is a fool who risks what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." In Christ it is all profit and no loss. Jus' Sayn.
Although, I have to say that has not always been the case. Back in the early 80s, I put what little money I had and added monthly to the Minisers' Investment Corporation. It was showing greart growth (25%) until it hit a bit of a dowaward trend as the CEO headed south with all the funds. He was caught and some of the money reclaimed but after the lawyers got their share and the creditors got their allotment, there was nothing left for me.
Except there was some profit in what appeared to be a total loss. I gained a great appreciation for the addage, "If itt seems to good to be true, it probably its." That lesson early on has kept me from making that mistake later in life (like now) when it would have been much more hurtful. I also learned that adding a Christian name to a business does not mean the owners are truly Christian or that Christian owners are truly businessmen. Both of those truths have served me well over the years.
Something else I've learned in life is that when a child of God suffers loss but remains faithful, God can bring gain from it, that "God will work out for the good all things for those who love him" (Rom 8:28). Often times, it is the loss itself that sets the gain in motion. When I was asked to resign years ago, it set into motion the gears that would bring me to full-time employment with Arkansas Hospice, which provided the medical insurance my wife needed and has provided me a ministry outlet and job I love. My loss turned out to be my profit. And, I believe it has worked for the good of a lot of hospice patients down the years.
There is an even greater truth found in the profit and loss for a child of God: Loss in God's service is always profit and is the source of true riches. "But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jsus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ.." (Phil 3:7-9).
The profit we make in this life is not ours to keep. We can take none of it with us when we die. On the other hand, What we gain in Christ's service is eternal, we do not leave it behind. Therefore, as someone once said, "No man is a fool who risks what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." In Christ it is all profit and no loss. Jus' Sayn.
Sunday, November 2, 2014
Confident But Wrong
Having been bombarded by an endless parade of politicians on every media outlet imaginable, I am awestruck by the number of individuals I hear that are never in doubt but seldom right. Politicians and goverment officials in general seem to using a compass lacking any attraction to the pole. Or they simply keep moving in whatever direction they are going without taking time tto look at their compass. Either way, they seem to be woefully lost but merrily moving along.
For instance, I hear them say how much more tax money we need to throw at our schools in order for them to be their best. At the same time, according to CBS (not FOX), we spend more per student than any of the other 50 industrialized countries in the world but rank 17th.
I hear how we need to spend more money on the poor in this country and yet, since the War on Povety was launched by LBJ in 1964, the aount we spend has increaed 16 fold, upwards of some 22 trillions dollars with hardly any change on the poverty dial. Adjusting for inflation, more money has been spent in this war than on all military wars since and including our Revolution.
I have heard from politicians how we were causing global cooling, then global warming and now global climate change. And yet, if what was taught me in school was correct, the planet has gone through many global shifts of temperature (some called ice ages - sound familiar?) before man even arrived on the planet. And, I have noticed that in the last decade and a half, the temperture has not changed. None of what Al Gore prophecied in the 90s has come true in spite of the fact that CO2 emmisionns have continued to rise. Even the ozone (remember that spot) has apparently been closing up. Go figure!
Our politicians remind me of some religious leaders in the apostle Paul's day (and some today) who "do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm" (1 Tim 1:7). It amazes me that they believe by taxing a "carbon footprint" (one of the largest, by the way, is Al Gore's) that mankind can predict and change the course of world weather and climate for the next 100 years or more but at the same time can't get next week weather right half the time. Let alone change it.
The all wise politicians confidently affirm we can choose our global climate but don''t believe an individual can choose their sexual preference. They equate sexual preference with race. And yet, the Bible is clear that it is sin to "practice homosexuality (not have homosexual tendencies or urges)" (1 Tim 1:10). On the other hand, one do not pratice race, you simply are. And, why no one has ever pulled off choosing another race, many have chosen to leave a homosexual lifestyle or heterosexual one for that matter.
With all these confused but confident leaders feeding us a line of ignorance, may I suggest that we actually "study to show ourselves approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed but rightly handles the word of truth" (2 Tim 2:15). Read the Bible for yourself, study history for yourself, think through scientific claims, be in charge of your own beliefs. Be people not sheeples when it come to human proclamations. Jus' Sayn.
For instance, I hear them say how much more tax money we need to throw at our schools in order for them to be their best. At the same time, according to CBS (not FOX), we spend more per student than any of the other 50 industrialized countries in the world but rank 17th.
I hear how we need to spend more money on the poor in this country and yet, since the War on Povety was launched by LBJ in 1964, the aount we spend has increaed 16 fold, upwards of some 22 trillions dollars with hardly any change on the poverty dial. Adjusting for inflation, more money has been spent in this war than on all military wars since and including our Revolution.
I have heard from politicians how we were causing global cooling, then global warming and now global climate change. And yet, if what was taught me in school was correct, the planet has gone through many global shifts of temperature (some called ice ages - sound familiar?) before man even arrived on the planet. And, I have noticed that in the last decade and a half, the temperture has not changed. None of what Al Gore prophecied in the 90s has come true in spite of the fact that CO2 emmisionns have continued to rise. Even the ozone (remember that spot) has apparently been closing up. Go figure!
Our politicians remind me of some religious leaders in the apostle Paul's day (and some today) who "do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm" (1 Tim 1:7). It amazes me that they believe by taxing a "carbon footprint" (one of the largest, by the way, is Al Gore's) that mankind can predict and change the course of world weather and climate for the next 100 years or more but at the same time can't get next week weather right half the time. Let alone change it.
The all wise politicians confidently affirm we can choose our global climate but don''t believe an individual can choose their sexual preference. They equate sexual preference with race. And yet, the Bible is clear that it is sin to "practice homosexuality (not have homosexual tendencies or urges)" (1 Tim 1:10). On the other hand, one do not pratice race, you simply are. And, why no one has ever pulled off choosing another race, many have chosen to leave a homosexual lifestyle or heterosexual one for that matter.
With all these confused but confident leaders feeding us a line of ignorance, may I suggest that we actually "study to show ourselves approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed but rightly handles the word of truth" (2 Tim 2:15). Read the Bible for yourself, study history for yourself, think through scientific claims, be in charge of your own beliefs. Be people not sheeples when it come to human proclamations. Jus' Sayn.
Saturday, November 1, 2014
A God-Made Man
I grew up believing in the notion of being a self-made man. My hero was John Wayne, the strong, I don't need anyone to get by cowboy, soldier and all around tough guy with a keen sense of right and wrong. The John Wayne characters, for the most part, were men of integrity, men who cared deeply but never let their emotios show or burden others with their problems. They took care of business, rising to the occasion all on their own.
The self-made man was an ideal, an ideal that is not very ideal today. The reason being is that most self-made men today make their mouths too big and their backs too small. They talk a big talk but their backs can't carry the weight of their promises. Being self-made in a culture that is all about "me," from top to bottom leaves us with a man made for self, and that is not at all ideal.
The ideal man was and is Jesus Christ. And, self-made does not describe him at all. Quite the contrary, Jesus said that he "can do nothing on his own for he only does what he sees the Father doing" (John 5:19). In other words, Jesus is a God-made man. God-made men "do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit" (Phil 2:3).
Being all about self is to live and operate in the smallest space possible and therefore make the smallest contribution possible to the world. Being all about God's will is to live and act in the largest space possible and make the greatest contribution possible to the world: The love of God. Jus' Sayn.
The self-made man was an ideal, an ideal that is not very ideal today. The reason being is that most self-made men today make their mouths too big and their backs too small. They talk a big talk but their backs can't carry the weight of their promises. Being self-made in a culture that is all about "me," from top to bottom leaves us with a man made for self, and that is not at all ideal.
The ideal man was and is Jesus Christ. And, self-made does not describe him at all. Quite the contrary, Jesus said that he "can do nothing on his own for he only does what he sees the Father doing" (John 5:19). In other words, Jesus is a God-made man. God-made men "do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit" (Phil 2:3).
Being all about self is to live and operate in the smallest space possible and therefore make the smallest contribution possible to the world. Being all about God's will is to live and act in the largest space possible and make the greatest contribution possible to the world: The love of God. Jus' Sayn.
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