Poor

There was a period in my youth when we lived in a four room house: living room, kitchen, and two bedrooms.  There was no electricity or indoor plumbing in this little shack, nor was there any insulation.  It was really hot in the summer and really cold in the winter.  There was a wood stove and one could get really warm by getting up close, which lasted until you moved away from the stove.

We grew or raised most of what we ate, which was supplemented by fish from local creeks along with squirrels and rabbits, who were unfortunate enough to find themselves in our crosshairs.  We also received some help from the government in the form of commodities: cheese, peanut butter, powdered milk and powdered eggs.

We were poor, although apparently not as poor as those "children in China who had nothing to eat" my mother reminded us of when ever we might not want to eat everything put before us.  I remember making the mistake of saying, "Why don't we send this to them?"

The funny thing is that I didn't know we were poor.  Even while digging through the county dump for treasures that others had thrown away, wearing my sewed up, patched over hand-me-down clothes, I didn't get it that we were what some called back then, "poor white trash."  Today, we would have been labeled, "the working poor."

I really thought we were dong as well as most folks.  And, considering many of the people who lived around us, we were comparatively doing OK.  If we had owned a TV, I would have known by the commercials advertising all the things we did not have, just how poor we were, but of course I would have had to have had electricity to even plug one if, had we owned one.

The reason I bring this up is not to lament how tough we had it, as I didn't know we had it tough.  I'm sharing it with you to illustrate how one can be really poor and not know it.  I didn't think in terms of getting out of poverty, as I didn't know I was in it.

As sad as being materially poor and not even be aware enough to try try to come out of it, that pales in comparison to those who are spiritually poor but do not have an awareness.  Many live today, blindly going along as if hey are doing just fine or even see themselves as doing quite well - all the time missing out on God's blessing now and disqualified for his riches in glory:

"You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see" (Rev 3:17-18).

There are people all around us who have no idea.  They think they are doing just fine, that they have it all worked out.  The truth is that we don't have the means by ourselves to work it out for we "all sin and fall short of God's glory" (Rom 3:23).  Our only hope is in Jesus for "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).

Unless you have accepted Christ and are saved by his grace, you have nothing of value.  Everything you think you have will be left behind as you leave this world to stand before the Throne of God.  You will have nothing except what you have in Christ.  Jus' Say'n.

Tossing Anxiety

A favorite verse of many is 1 Peter 5:10, which reads, "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you."  The very idea of tossing our anxiety over to God and relaxing in our spirits is very appealing.  But despite our regard for the promise and our desire to be anxiety free, we tend to find ourselves stressed out contrary to our "Too blessed to be stressed" bumper stickers.

Why is that?  Why do so many Christians who want to be free and embrace 1 Peter 5:10 don't toss their anxieties into the waiting arms of God?  What prevents us?  Perhaps it is that we don't understand the process of casting our cares on God.  Process?  Yep.  Let's take a look:

"Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings" (vv. 6-9).

Did you notice that along with the casting, there was humble, be alert and resist.  The first step in casting our care on God is to humbly accept the fact that we are broken and unable to fix ourselves, needing God's help.

Second, we are to stay alert or keep watch for the devil's attempts to blindside us with the temptation to ignore God's promise and focus on the problems of life.  He seeks to prevent us from focusing on the fact that God is faithful and he has always seen us through, always provided a season on refreshing.

Finally, we are to take a firm stand against the devil, refusing to accept his lies and his accusations.  Choosing to trust in God's power and goodness instead.  Refusing to listen to the devil's lies, leaning in to hear God's promise of victory.

Anxiety has to do with outcomes.  Since our outcome is assured to be victorious, why would we be stressed?  We wouldn't be.  Don't let the devil steal your blessing.  Come humbly before God, watch carefully in prayer and then take a firm stand against the devil's trap.  Then, having tossed you anxiety, live free before God, laying down a heavy heart.  Jus' Say'n.

Doing Faith

Historically, one of the big dividing lines in the church has been whether we are saved by works or by faith.  And the answer is "Wrong!"  Wait, what?  "Wrong?"  Right!  We are wrong to think that we are saved by either faith or works for the Bible clearly says, "For you are saved by GRACE through faith, not by works..." (Eph 2:8-9).

At the same time, it is wrong to think that faith and works are not integral to salvation or that they are unrelated in God's salvific theme for "It is impossible to please God without faith as the one who comes to God must BELIEVE that he exists and is a rewarder of those who earnestly SEEK after hi" (Heb 11:6).

God does all the saving, not us and not the church.  But those who are being saved are believing in God's will and power to save, and are being "transformed" (Rom 12:2).  To the point: When we believe in God, we accept his grace and begin to live as servants in his kingdom.  We are changed by what we believe and that change is evident in what we do.  If there is no doing, there is no beliveing and if there is no believeing, grace does not abound.

Consider the words of James: "What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead" (2:14-17).

Biblical, life-changing faith, changes one's life and is demonstrated in what one does.  While you are not saved by works, you nonetheless "… work out your salvation...for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose" (Phil 2:12-13).

Specifically, the grace that we accept by faith works itself out in our lives as we go about living.  It changes us and we reflect that change in what we say and do, and how we treat others.  If there is no change in our doing, there is no change in our believing and therefore no grace in our living and no change in our being - we are just being ourselves and that is just not enough.

We must "be transformed into His image" (2 Cor 3:18).  And, that tranformation will be seen in us by a "doing faith," which shares the grace of God in the way we deal with the world around us.  Jus' Say'n.

Guilt-Free

The writer of the Book of Hebrews speaks of the New Covenant God has made with mankind, a covenant written not on stone like the 10 Commandments, but one written upon the hearts and minds of God's people.

This covenant, not written on stone, but on the heart was not just new in content, it was a complete game changer.  Unlike the first covenant that had no power to take away the guilt of one's sin, only rolling them forward, "But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins" (Heb 10:3), the covenant wiped the slate clean: "Then he adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more" (vs. 17).

By the blood of Christ on the Cross, through the power of the Holy Spirit, the Father completely removes sins so as to leave nothing to be remembered against us - ever.  So how come we keep bringing them to mind, how come we won't forget them?  Why is it that we live with regret, allowing the guilt of sins forgotten by God to weigh our spirits down?  Why do we keep remembering what God keeps forgetting?

Simple answer: We are listening to the wrong voice.  Instead of listening to the voice of God, who tells us to forget about those sins of the past, laying our guilt down with the memory, we listen to Satan, the Accuser, who keeps reminding us of our sins and insisting that we still bear the guilt of failures and mistakes God's Books no longer record.

Simple cure: Stop fixating on the blunders of the past that Satan keeps digging up and start focusing on the blessings of the future that God has uncovered: "Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory" (Col 3:2-4).  No guilt, just glory.  Jus' Say'n.

In His Steps

I don't remember any of the specifics of the conversation other than it was on some kind of media and an individual claiming to be a Christian was defending his giving in to temptation instead of taking the higher road like Jesus would have by saying, "Well, he is the Son of God and I'm not."

His defense failed in two critical points: 1) Actually, despite his protest and our propensity to give in to sin, Christians are God's sons and daughters: "See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!" (1 Jn 3:1).

And, 2) Despite the fact that Jesus is the "One and only from the Father" (Jn 1:14), he faced life with the same human condition as ourselves: "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are---yet he did not sin" (Heb 4:15).

Jesus did not come into the world to show us how to live if only we had the divine ability to do so like himself.  "Rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death---even death on a cross" (Phil 2:7-8).

He became like us in the flesh, calling us to become like him in the Spirit, allowing God to "...to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us" (Eph 3:20) - even resist temptation.

Mark Twain once quipped, "I can resist anything except temptation."  And we often side with him saying, "I just couldn't help myself" or "I just couldn't resist."  The truth is, despite the challenge and the fact that we will give in at times ("for all have sinned and fall short of God's glory" Rom 3:23), we really can resist, taking the higher road following in the path of Jesus.

No, it won't be easy and yes we will fail at times but our calling as disciples (followers) of Jesus is precisely that, to follow in his steps: "To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps" (1 Pet 2:21). Jus' Say'n

Write or Wrong

Perhaps you've heard of the recent trend in schools to forego teaching children to write in cursive.  Conventional wisdom suggests that cursive is going the way of the buggy whip, simply not something people of the Digital Age have a need for anymore.

In today's world, who writes a note when texting is so much easier and more convenient?  With smart phone in hand, why ever put a hand to paper at all?  Do we really need to write on a piece of paper, stuff it in an envelope, put a stamp on it and wait for days for a communication process that could be accomplished in seconds with the mobile computer in your hand?

Do we really need to be able to write in cursive or are we wrong to let is slip away?  That question is similar to asking whether we need to be able to read a chronograph watch in a digital age or be able to figure math in your head when your phone in your hand has a calculator.  Are these simple relics of a by-gone age or is there some value in maintaining them?

I personally like the fact that I know numbers.  I can figure out what to tip a waitress before someone can pull their phone out of their pocket.  If the battery runs out, I can still compute using my brain within.  I wear a chronograph watch because looking at one shows me the time instead of telling me the time.  I can see what time it is, what time it was and what time it will be as I look at the position of the hands on the dial.  A digital watch can only tell you what time it is.

Cursive writing does something that keyboarding cannot do as well - it connects you to a piece of paper that allows for a flow from your brain to the paper's surface.  In counseling, journaling has long been a very useful tool as it allows for the outward flow of an inward trouble.  The movement of the hand across a pad with pen in hand has a therapeutic effect.

Cursive writing has a personal touch that simply cannot be replicated by a digital imprint, it is an extension of yourself that is uniquely you.  When a loved one leaves a hand-written note, you can tell even without a signature because it is uniquely their hand-writing.  Things written centuries ago can be identified as to source by the cursive marks on a page.

Speaking of identifying, how does one identify a signature if no one knows how to write or read in cursive?  Are we to, in effect, leave a digital X?  Would printing your name actually replace signing your name?  If one cannot read cursive, how does one acknowledge a signature?  Do we really lose nothing by resigning cursive writing to a place in history?

Today, I don't have to memorize Scripture, I can just look it up on the Bible app in my iPhone.  But if I relied solely on that, I would to have Scripture ingrained in my head.  Scripture lives in my brain because it is committed to memory.  It is there in that instant when I am faced with temptation or trying to make an important decision.  The Scritture written in my mind and impressed in my heart is always with me.  Digital recall will often be out of reach in the instant needed.

Yesterday evening, I was in an elders' meeting.  I had my iPhone at hand but I also had a small note pad and a pen.  I jotted things down in cursive that were said, which I wanted to reflect on later.  When I decide to read those notes, I may well put them in digital form to store and/or share.  Those notes are uniquely mine and I will recognize them and even remember the setting in which they were written.  Cursive has a power and a presence that digital lacks.

Do we need to write cursive?  Are we wrong to digitize our writing completely?  I am not certain that we need it, but I am convinced that we will be missing something important and that we will be lesser as a society without it.

For me, it was a write (pun intended "rite") of passage when I went from printing to cursive.  It was an important part of my journey to adulthood: "When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me" (1 Cor 13:11).  Jus' Say'n.

Prosperity Gospel

You are, no doubt, somewhat familiar with the prosperity gospel that is expounded on by tele-vangelists.  They offer a discipleship that is marked by health and wealth as God intends for us to be happy and whole.  And, of course, if you send in a little "seed money" in faith, to their ministry, the gospel train of blessings will soon be on its way to a stop near you.

They support their teaching with passages that assure us prosperity in Christ such as "my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name" (Jn 16:23) and "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full" (Jn 10:10).  You see, God wants us to have an abundant life, a life marked by health and wealth, which he will give us if only we ask.  Right?  Wrong!

The wrong isn't the abundant part, it is the interpretation of abundant where many go south.  To think that God's desire for his faithful is that they have all the physical and material things they want flies in the face of how he treated his most faithful.

Tell me which apostle gained wealth and had a life of more ease by following Christ?  How were the faithful prophets treated?  Consider what Jesus said to one who wanted to follow him, "Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head" (Mt 8:20).  And listen to the words of the apostle, "Follow my example as I follow the example of Christ" (1 Cor 11:1).

The error the prosperity gospel crowd makes is assuming that their idea of abundant life is the same as God's.  But the Lord is clear in saying, "my thoughts are not your thoughts" (Isa 55:8), that his thoughts are higher above ours "than the heavens are above the earth" (v. 9).  He rebuffs our idea of riches, saying "I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich" (Rev 3:18).

Do you remember the materially wealthy individual came to Jesus asking what he needed to do?  Listen to what Jesus told him: “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me" (Mt 19:21).   He went on to warn, "Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God" (v. 24).

They key to understanding the "ask and receive" promise is to as for anything "in my name."  When we ask according to his will, his hope, his design for us; he will give us whatever we ask.  As parents, we want to give our children whatever they ask for but will quickly say no to unhealthy requests.

 God doesn't particularly want us to be terribly invested in this world but rather in the next.  It is our giving, not getting that increases our heavenly treasure.  It is sacrifice, not ease and comfort that produces Christian character.  Heavenly treasure and spiritual wealth is what God wants to pour out on us, not useless material and physical possessions that will simply fade away.  Jus' Say'n.