I’m on hiatus this week and I am enjoying it. There is something to be said for taking a few vacation days away from work during this time of the year, despite the cold weather that makes it impossible to accomplish anything even remotely productive. I’ve enjoyed waking up each morning and drinking coffee with my wife; just being mindful of the little things in life and I’ve been reminded yet again of their importance. I also know it will end all too soon and I will find myself back to the grind of my job in no time, so I am savoring each moment as I write in my blog this morning.
Tim Tebow is playing in the Sugar Bowl this week. His Florida Gators did not meet their own lofty expectations of a national championship contest, but it is still a prestigious bowl game that will garner national attention. I am by no means a Gator fan; when I watch one of their games I can be counted on to root for the other team regardless of who they happen to be playing. But I have become a fan of Tim Tebow and not just because of his physical prowess as a quarterback, although he is a great one. I’m more inclined to be his fan due to the way he lives his life and how he stands up for his faith despite the media spotlight that has been focused upon him.
I read an article in an on-line newspaper this morning that reported his habit of writing Scripture-references on the face-black painted below his eyes before every game. He uses a new scripture for each competition and he says that it originates from whatever he is feeling in his heart on game day. Of course, I was already aware of this as it was explained during a game I was watching a few months ago, and the announcers, to give them credit, treated it as a wholesome thing for him to do. I printed the article for my daughter as she is possibly his number one fan, but I did not print the complete article for her. The commentary was good and painted Tim in a very favorable light, but the reader comments at the bottom of the article were appalling.
I’ll explain myself by saying that most of the comments had nothing to do with his success or failure on the gridiron. A large percentage were apparently left on the page in a blatant attempt to discredit his faith and his lifestyle, and some of them were even well written and bordered on the profound. I became sickened after the first page and stopped reading when one reader suggested that Tim needed to ‘loosen up’ and become more a member of the ‘real world’. But what really broke my heart was the comment that came from someone who appeared to be a Christian, quoting a verse in Matthew 6 that he used to make a point that Tim was losing his reward in Heaven for publicly displaying his faith here on earth.
What?
I wanted to post my own comment and almost did, pronouncing my opinion that if Tim were a Muslim and had used quotations from the Koran, none of this would be an issue. He would be celebrated as ‘modern’ and one who has been ‘enlightened’, etc. But that argument is tired in my mind. It no longer matters in the proverbial grand scheme of things. I also thought about commenting back to the ‘Christian’ and asking him would he feel better if Tim chose to hide his light under a bushel. A voice in my head told me to step away from the keyboard, and I was reminded of the casting of pearls before swine that Jesus mentioned and the consequences thereof. In time I will feel better and this will once again be a great day. A Christian today needs patience in these sorts of matters.
My take on Mr. Tebow’s public display of Scripture, as well as his lifestyle, is this: “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:1-2
I think Tim gets it. That’s what I see reading between the lines of the media reports and the news articles that I’ve read about him. Besides, he used these verses himself during the Florida State game.
Rightly Divided
Youth Sunday School Lesson - 12/20/09
Our lesson guide this week states that there is a right way and a wrong way to do things. I know this to be true from my own experience. A few years back as a young (and foolish) engineer, I found myself working on an electrical panel. The panel was powered with 480 volts of electricity and controlled motors in a factory. 480 volts is a lot of juice; your typical wall outlet has only 120 volts, as a reference. So anyway, I thought I had found the problem and turned the power off to fix it, then powered it back on again to check out my repair work. My repair was not correct and I blew a small fuse in the panel, so I was back to square one.
It was getting close to break time, and my partner informed me he was ready to go. I told him to wait just a second as I wanted to change the fuse and try something else. Thinking about a good cup of coffee, what I was going to do later, or maybe world peace, I reached in and grabbed the fuse. The problem was obvious: I had neglected to turn off the electricity to the cabinet. For a moment I thought my partner was joking around with me and had grabbed me from behind and started shaking me, but I could not figure out why he would do such a thing. Because of not following the proper procedures, I was being electrocuted! God intervened and the breaker tripped, thus saving my life. Other than a burn on my hand and my hair becoming a little more afro-like than normal, I was not harmed.
There are proper procedures to follow in almost everything you do in life. You must be trained to perform certain jobs and a failure to be taught the right way to do things could result in a catastrophe. Once you have been trained, it is up to you to follow the rules and guidelines when you do a job or meet certain circumstances in your life.
Paul writes to Timothy: “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” In our spiritual lives as Christians, we should never believe that salvation is as far as we need to go with our faith, yet sometimes we treat it in that manner. A Christian should always strive to grow and reach maturity in his or her faith. How can we do this? By studying God’s Word diligently and under the direction of the Holy Spirit. This should be a no-brainer to all of us by now, but there is more to the verse than simply studying to be approved – did you catch it?
Paul teaches Timothy that we should also ‘rightly divide’ the Word of Truth. The Bible is not a hard book to understand, despite what some people may tell you. If you enter into a time of serious study with prayer and a willingness to allow the Spirit to guide you as a Christian, the things God would have you know and understand will come to you clearly. One of the things to remember is that we should not read the Bible with a microscope – zeroing in on only one or two passages. The Bible is the sum of its parts, and when you compare scriptures across the whole Bible you will be able to gain a complete understanding of what God has done for us, will do for us, and what He has planned for us. The Bible does not contradict itself – it confirms itself over and over again!
This week, we are going to talk in class about what the Bible will teach us when we ‘rightly divide’ the words we read under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We will look at how an overall knowledge of the Bible is important, and will keep us from being led astray by someone who takes a verse from here or there in an effort to make a point that may or may not be scripturally sound.
One guideline we should follow is that the Bible will never cause conflict among true Christians when they enter into a sincere time of study with a heart set on learning from God’s Word. If we meet for class and I teach something that angers you, or you ask something that angers me, we need to re-examine what we are studying. More often than not, in those situations we are not rightly dividing the Word of God, and at the very least we are not following the direction of the Holy Spirit. God’s Word should uplift us and not divide us when we use it correctly.
Finally, it is important to not only know God’s Word, but to also hide it in our heart by memory. There will not always be enough time to run home and look up a scripture that someone else quotes to us, and if we have it memorized in our hearts we will be less likely to be led astray by a wolf in sheep’s clothing. They’re out there, you know?
Our lesson guide this week states that there is a right way and a wrong way to do things. I know this to be true from my own experience. A few years back as a young (and foolish) engineer, I found myself working on an electrical panel. The panel was powered with 480 volts of electricity and controlled motors in a factory. 480 volts is a lot of juice; your typical wall outlet has only 120 volts, as a reference. So anyway, I thought I had found the problem and turned the power off to fix it, then powered it back on again to check out my repair work. My repair was not correct and I blew a small fuse in the panel, so I was back to square one.
It was getting close to break time, and my partner informed me he was ready to go. I told him to wait just a second as I wanted to change the fuse and try something else. Thinking about a good cup of coffee, what I was going to do later, or maybe world peace, I reached in and grabbed the fuse. The problem was obvious: I had neglected to turn off the electricity to the cabinet. For a moment I thought my partner was joking around with me and had grabbed me from behind and started shaking me, but I could not figure out why he would do such a thing. Because of not following the proper procedures, I was being electrocuted! God intervened and the breaker tripped, thus saving my life. Other than a burn on my hand and my hair becoming a little more afro-like than normal, I was not harmed.
There are proper procedures to follow in almost everything you do in life. You must be trained to perform certain jobs and a failure to be taught the right way to do things could result in a catastrophe. Once you have been trained, it is up to you to follow the rules and guidelines when you do a job or meet certain circumstances in your life.
Paul writes to Timothy: “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” In our spiritual lives as Christians, we should never believe that salvation is as far as we need to go with our faith, yet sometimes we treat it in that manner. A Christian should always strive to grow and reach maturity in his or her faith. How can we do this? By studying God’s Word diligently and under the direction of the Holy Spirit. This should be a no-brainer to all of us by now, but there is more to the verse than simply studying to be approved – did you catch it?
Paul teaches Timothy that we should also ‘rightly divide’ the Word of Truth. The Bible is not a hard book to understand, despite what some people may tell you. If you enter into a time of serious study with prayer and a willingness to allow the Spirit to guide you as a Christian, the things God would have you know and understand will come to you clearly. One of the things to remember is that we should not read the Bible with a microscope – zeroing in on only one or two passages. The Bible is the sum of its parts, and when you compare scriptures across the whole Bible you will be able to gain a complete understanding of what God has done for us, will do for us, and what He has planned for us. The Bible does not contradict itself – it confirms itself over and over again!
This week, we are going to talk in class about what the Bible will teach us when we ‘rightly divide’ the words we read under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We will look at how an overall knowledge of the Bible is important, and will keep us from being led astray by someone who takes a verse from here or there in an effort to make a point that may or may not be scripturally sound.
One guideline we should follow is that the Bible will never cause conflict among true Christians when they enter into a sincere time of study with a heart set on learning from God’s Word. If we meet for class and I teach something that angers you, or you ask something that angers me, we need to re-examine what we are studying. More often than not, in those situations we are not rightly dividing the Word of God, and at the very least we are not following the direction of the Holy Spirit. God’s Word should uplift us and not divide us when we use it correctly.
Finally, it is important to not only know God’s Word, but to also hide it in our heart by memory. There will not always be enough time to run home and look up a scripture that someone else quotes to us, and if we have it memorized in our hearts we will be less likely to be led astray by a wolf in sheep’s clothing. They’re out there, you know?
Second-Rate Faith
I have a very short attention span, and it appears to only get worse as I grow older. I need to be mentally stimulated and I go the extra mile each day in an attempt to be so. I read books and browse the Internet. I watch sports on television. I go out of my way to find a challenge at work. When all else fails, you might even catch me working on a crossword puzzle.
Maybe it’s a sign of the times as I know that I am not alone in feeling this way. Since the dawn of the digital age, we have been bombarded daily with things that stimulate our mind. This is a good thing, but I can’t help my belief that it is also the cause of our chronic attention deficit disorders. Yes, I called it that because when you get down to the nuts and bolts of the matter - that's what it is.
The business training industry has undergone several changes and modified their agendas during the last few years and it is obvious that they ‘get it’. Attend any work-related seminar and you’ll be challenged not by mundane lectures, but by dynamic power-point presentations featuring incredible graphics keyed by memorable catch-phrases. They have to be that way in order to survive in the world of business-related seminars. Our schools and universities no longer attempt to teach the old English classics in literature, preferring instead to push post-modern authors and their works. I was shocked when my daughter informed me (with a puzzled look when I asked) Beowulf was not listed on her English Lit syllabus.
It is bad enough that we see this happening in our schools and universities, but I have also noted the symptoms as they invade our churches. Sermons are boring and are quickly becoming passé. The grand old hymns of Fannie J. Crosby and Robert Lowry (among others) are swiftly being replaced with modern praise and worship music. A church is noted for its programs and adaptability to the schedules of its members, and a failure in these areas could spell the end for the church that dares to miss the mark.
Does your young adult Sunday school class have doughnuts and coffee before class? Are there various programs and functions available for the youth? Is your preacher long-winded and uninteresting? Does he use a power-point slide show? Does he use a modern translation of the Bible that is easier to understand? These are the avant-garde questions to use when shopping for a church to attend. I’ve even suggested to my pastor that we open up a concession stand in the back of the church where we can sell nachos and Cokes, et al, during the services - thereby earning money for the building fund as we make things more comfortable for the membership. ‘We’ll pack ‘em in!’ I promised him.
Is this what church is really all about? Is it what we have come to these days?
I like to call it second-rate faith. It is a faith based on emotion and feelings, with no substance and no desire for growth. What can the church do for me and my family with as little or no return on my part as possible? Better said, what can God do for me with as little or no return on my part as possible?
In John 2, Jesus had performed many miracles in Jerusalem and was returning to Galilee following the Passover: “Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did. But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men, And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man.”
Many believed in Him, but Jesus did not believe in them. Think about it. Why would Jesus do this? After all, we are told that they (the many) believed in Him. If you read the verses again and pay close attention, maybe you'll catch it – they believed in Him due to the hoopla surrounding His wonderful miracles. It was the excitement and emotion of the moment that thrilled their hearts and minds, but it didn’t touch their hearts. He knew when He left or no longer provided miracles for them; they would soon get over it all and go about their lives as before. Jesus wants something deeper from us than that. He wants our lives to be changed as well as our hearts.
It is something worth remembering when we attend worship services at our church each Sunday. We should ask ourselves why we are there, and specifically what our motive for being there is. If we are seeking a deeper faith and a closer relationship with Christ, then we are there for the right reasons. But if it is the doughnuts and camaraderie, the rocked-out versions of old hymns, or those delicious nachos from the concession stand – we need to re-examine our belief and commitment to Him, and in so doing earnestly seek His commitment to us.
Maybe it’s a sign of the times as I know that I am not alone in feeling this way. Since the dawn of the digital age, we have been bombarded daily with things that stimulate our mind. This is a good thing, but I can’t help my belief that it is also the cause of our chronic attention deficit disorders. Yes, I called it that because when you get down to the nuts and bolts of the matter - that's what it is.
The business training industry has undergone several changes and modified their agendas during the last few years and it is obvious that they ‘get it’. Attend any work-related seminar and you’ll be challenged not by mundane lectures, but by dynamic power-point presentations featuring incredible graphics keyed by memorable catch-phrases. They have to be that way in order to survive in the world of business-related seminars. Our schools and universities no longer attempt to teach the old English classics in literature, preferring instead to push post-modern authors and their works. I was shocked when my daughter informed me (with a puzzled look when I asked) Beowulf was not listed on her English Lit syllabus.
It is bad enough that we see this happening in our schools and universities, but I have also noted the symptoms as they invade our churches. Sermons are boring and are quickly becoming passé. The grand old hymns of Fannie J. Crosby and Robert Lowry (among others) are swiftly being replaced with modern praise and worship music. A church is noted for its programs and adaptability to the schedules of its members, and a failure in these areas could spell the end for the church that dares to miss the mark.
Does your young adult Sunday school class have doughnuts and coffee before class? Are there various programs and functions available for the youth? Is your preacher long-winded and uninteresting? Does he use a power-point slide show? Does he use a modern translation of the Bible that is easier to understand? These are the avant-garde questions to use when shopping for a church to attend. I’ve even suggested to my pastor that we open up a concession stand in the back of the church where we can sell nachos and Cokes, et al, during the services - thereby earning money for the building fund as we make things more comfortable for the membership. ‘We’ll pack ‘em in!’ I promised him.
Is this what church is really all about? Is it what we have come to these days?
I like to call it second-rate faith. It is a faith based on emotion and feelings, with no substance and no desire for growth. What can the church do for me and my family with as little or no return on my part as possible? Better said, what can God do for me with as little or no return on my part as possible?
In John 2, Jesus had performed many miracles in Jerusalem and was returning to Galilee following the Passover: “Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did. But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men, And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man.”
Many believed in Him, but Jesus did not believe in them. Think about it. Why would Jesus do this? After all, we are told that they (the many) believed in Him. If you read the verses again and pay close attention, maybe you'll catch it – they believed in Him due to the hoopla surrounding His wonderful miracles. It was the excitement and emotion of the moment that thrilled their hearts and minds, but it didn’t touch their hearts. He knew when He left or no longer provided miracles for them; they would soon get over it all and go about their lives as before. Jesus wants something deeper from us than that. He wants our lives to be changed as well as our hearts.
It is something worth remembering when we attend worship services at our church each Sunday. We should ask ourselves why we are there, and specifically what our motive for being there is. If we are seeking a deeper faith and a closer relationship with Christ, then we are there for the right reasons. But if it is the doughnuts and camaraderie, the rocked-out versions of old hymns, or those delicious nachos from the concession stand – we need to re-examine our belief and commitment to Him, and in so doing earnestly seek His commitment to us.
The Power Of The Tongue
One of the hardest things to control in life is not only what you say but how you say it. Once something is said, when it gets out into the open, there is no way to ‘un-say’ it. A person who learns to control their tongue is a person that has truly found maturity and will receive a host of spiritual blessings for doing so.
I was thinking this morning of an argument I had with my oldest sister a long time ago, an argument that escalated to the veritable brink of violence. (We did that all of the time, don’t worry!) This argument may have been the worst we were ever a part of, but it was not the fruit of the argument I was trying to recall, only the cause of it. What did I say to allow it to reach that point? Or was it something she said? We were shucking corn and neither of us was happy to have been assigned the task, and that alone was probably the catalyst for the trouble. It was only a matter of time before a button was pushed - and we were very good at doing so with each other.
The night before, she had a sleep-over with a group of her friends from the church. Young girls staying over at my house with my sister, and a younger brother that was as prone to mischief as myself proved to be the recipe for the hostilities I now recall from the corn incident the following day. It happened like this: we (my brother and I) snuck out of the room we shared and slipped out the front door, stealing around the side of the house in the grim moonlight. I seem to remember that it was in the early hours of the morning, around 1-2 AM or so. The room the girls were sleeping in had its own external door, and we grabbed the door-handle and shook it, banging violently on the door with our fists. Once we heard the screams inside, emanating from girls wary of intruders, we took off running as fast as we could, sneaking back in the front door with stealth that would make a Navy Seal proud, and scrambled secretly back to our room. All the while we were doing our utmost to conceal our laughter.
Due to the fear of the incurred wrath of our parents, we stayed in our room and feigned sleep in the excitement that followed, and boy, there was a lot of it that night. It is a small miracle that the police were not called to our house to investigate a suspected break-in attempt, but it was the 1970’s and 9-1-1 was not a viable phone number back in those days. Somehow we kept our silence the next morning, although we both felt exceedingly smug about it.
I remember very little about that day until the corn incident, and it was at some point I recollect ‘fessing up to my sister that it was my younger brother and me that had caused the alarm the night before. I had grown weary of her claims throughout the day that it was one of the boys from church (that she had a crush on) who had snuck over to play a prank on her and her friends. The only way I can describe it at that point is to simply state that ‘her countenance changed dramatically.’ A cute boy from church was one thing, but her own brothers whom she detested as all pre-teen girls do? Her face flashed (not flushed, I saw it!) red and her voice rose in fury in a manner very much like a teakettle, building into a high-pitched shriek. I should have kept my mouth shut from the beginning, or at the very least, ran when I had the chance. Her words came out in machine-gun staccato as she accused me of every wrong in her life that had ever been committed, which was bad enough - but then she said something that struck a chord deep inside of me. She implied that I executed the dirty deed because I liked a girl that was staying over the night before; and furthermore that it was my way of flirting with the girl.
Despite the truth to her words (after all, I did like the girl) there is no way a boy of twelve would ever admit nor would he allow someone to implicate him of ‘liking’ a girl. Any girl. Within moments our words, fueled by the unbridled passion of our tongues, had amplified into several well-aimed corn cobs flying at each other and worse, and it was my dad who was eventually forced to intervene and pull us apart. We were in trouble and it only grew worse from that point on. Mom was called in to arbitrate and in the end we were both found guilty and sentenced accordingly.
I’ve been in other arguments in my life where the failure of my mouth-control resulted in damaging my well-being in more than one area. I could have used other examples in this case. But my point is that sometimes it’s best to just shut up. Proverbs 18:21 tells us, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.”
There is a consequence involved in the things we do in our lives, both good and bad. But there is also a debt that must be paid when we allow our tongue to become unbridled and out of control. We will always end up eating the fruit of it.
I was thinking this morning of an argument I had with my oldest sister a long time ago, an argument that escalated to the veritable brink of violence. (We did that all of the time, don’t worry!) This argument may have been the worst we were ever a part of, but it was not the fruit of the argument I was trying to recall, only the cause of it. What did I say to allow it to reach that point? Or was it something she said? We were shucking corn and neither of us was happy to have been assigned the task, and that alone was probably the catalyst for the trouble. It was only a matter of time before a button was pushed - and we were very good at doing so with each other.
The night before, she had a sleep-over with a group of her friends from the church. Young girls staying over at my house with my sister, and a younger brother that was as prone to mischief as myself proved to be the recipe for the hostilities I now recall from the corn incident the following day. It happened like this: we (my brother and I) snuck out of the room we shared and slipped out the front door, stealing around the side of the house in the grim moonlight. I seem to remember that it was in the early hours of the morning, around 1-2 AM or so. The room the girls were sleeping in had its own external door, and we grabbed the door-handle and shook it, banging violently on the door with our fists. Once we heard the screams inside, emanating from girls wary of intruders, we took off running as fast as we could, sneaking back in the front door with stealth that would make a Navy Seal proud, and scrambled secretly back to our room. All the while we were doing our utmost to conceal our laughter.
Due to the fear of the incurred wrath of our parents, we stayed in our room and feigned sleep in the excitement that followed, and boy, there was a lot of it that night. It is a small miracle that the police were not called to our house to investigate a suspected break-in attempt, but it was the 1970’s and 9-1-1 was not a viable phone number back in those days. Somehow we kept our silence the next morning, although we both felt exceedingly smug about it.
I remember very little about that day until the corn incident, and it was at some point I recollect ‘fessing up to my sister that it was my younger brother and me that had caused the alarm the night before. I had grown weary of her claims throughout the day that it was one of the boys from church (that she had a crush on) who had snuck over to play a prank on her and her friends. The only way I can describe it at that point is to simply state that ‘her countenance changed dramatically.’ A cute boy from church was one thing, but her own brothers whom she detested as all pre-teen girls do? Her face flashed (not flushed, I saw it!) red and her voice rose in fury in a manner very much like a teakettle, building into a high-pitched shriek. I should have kept my mouth shut from the beginning, or at the very least, ran when I had the chance. Her words came out in machine-gun staccato as she accused me of every wrong in her life that had ever been committed, which was bad enough - but then she said something that struck a chord deep inside of me. She implied that I executed the dirty deed because I liked a girl that was staying over the night before; and furthermore that it was my way of flirting with the girl.
Despite the truth to her words (after all, I did like the girl) there is no way a boy of twelve would ever admit nor would he allow someone to implicate him of ‘liking’ a girl. Any girl. Within moments our words, fueled by the unbridled passion of our tongues, had amplified into several well-aimed corn cobs flying at each other and worse, and it was my dad who was eventually forced to intervene and pull us apart. We were in trouble and it only grew worse from that point on. Mom was called in to arbitrate and in the end we were both found guilty and sentenced accordingly.
I’ve been in other arguments in my life where the failure of my mouth-control resulted in damaging my well-being in more than one area. I could have used other examples in this case. But my point is that sometimes it’s best to just shut up. Proverbs 18:21 tells us, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.”
There is a consequence involved in the things we do in our lives, both good and bad. But there is also a debt that must be paid when we allow our tongue to become unbridled and out of control. We will always end up eating the fruit of it.
The Beginning Of Wisdom - Centered By Fear
Youth Sunday School Lesson - 12/13/09
A young lady once told me many years ago that I was one of the most ‘centered’ persons she had ever known. And she meant her words as a compliment to me. Although looking back through the stained glass of time I can understand why she would have noted that quality in my lifestyle; I can also see where she was wrong by her assumption. I’m notably high-strung and have always been slanted that way. I worry about things I have no business worrying about, and have a tendency to be outright cynical much too often. When I am honest I will admit I can display a grating personality to others. I overachieve on some days and catch myself underachieving at other times. No, I am not perfect by any measure and if there is an emotional ‘center’ to my personality I have yet to command it.
For the past few years, since the turning of the clock pushed me beyond the age of forty, I have sought to find a physical center to my life. I’ve spent hours in the gym, every day at lunch, (usually!) seeking to control my health and well-being. Let’s face it - I strive to avoid sickness and poor health because I have an abject fear of doctors and hospitals in general. I have not been totally successful with my exercise routine, and I’ve yet to find a center to my life in the area of staying physically fit.
But I don’t sweat it either way. It is very rare to find someone that has found a complete emotional or physical center to their lives. Usually when one reaches a state of being centered in one area they will lose their center in the other. We are humans, frail creatures in a world that is apparently out to get us. Seriously.
Yet there is an area where I can find my center and when I do so, the rewards far outweigh the low-hanging fruit associated with finding an emotional or physical center to my life. I’m speaking of becoming spiritually centered in my heart, which is far more important than in any other area. It is in this area where I feel the most secure, and work hardest at staying that way.
Paul writes: “For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”
According to these verses, there is a vital need in our hearts to become centered spiritually, whether we will admit it to ourselves or not. The lessons God would have us understand are not learned through the things of the physical world. By our own world-centered wisdom, in other words, we cannot learn the lessons of God. The world and its logic only teaches us that the great matters of eternity are foolishness, and it is not by accident when it happens that way. God wants us to believe in Him, and that is His perfect plan for all of us.
If there was a way to gain all of the knowledge of God we'll ever need merely by our own observations, we would no longer need a faith in God. According to many people today, it may seem as though faith is a weakness while knowledge (science) is the stronger option. The opposite is true when you think about it. Paul penned these words two-thousand years ago, and many of the scientific things the men of his time held up to be factual have long since been proven false. What we hold as facts today based on science and technology can and probably will be considered foolishness when our own tomorrow comes around. Meanwhile, the truth we believe by our faith in Jesus Christ will still be the truth throughout eternity. It has not changed since Paul’s time and it never will. Read this paragraph again – it is the gist of what we will be talking about in class!
Emotionally centered in my life? I’m trying. Physically centered? Age is taking care of that one for me. Spiritually centered? That is the one goal I should always strive for. It pays the best dividends.
A young lady once told me many years ago that I was one of the most ‘centered’ persons she had ever known. And she meant her words as a compliment to me. Although looking back through the stained glass of time I can understand why she would have noted that quality in my lifestyle; I can also see where she was wrong by her assumption. I’m notably high-strung and have always been slanted that way. I worry about things I have no business worrying about, and have a tendency to be outright cynical much too often. When I am honest I will admit I can display a grating personality to others. I overachieve on some days and catch myself underachieving at other times. No, I am not perfect by any measure and if there is an emotional ‘center’ to my personality I have yet to command it.
For the past few years, since the turning of the clock pushed me beyond the age of forty, I have sought to find a physical center to my life. I’ve spent hours in the gym, every day at lunch, (usually!) seeking to control my health and well-being. Let’s face it - I strive to avoid sickness and poor health because I have an abject fear of doctors and hospitals in general. I have not been totally successful with my exercise routine, and I’ve yet to find a center to my life in the area of staying physically fit.
But I don’t sweat it either way. It is very rare to find someone that has found a complete emotional or physical center to their lives. Usually when one reaches a state of being centered in one area they will lose their center in the other. We are humans, frail creatures in a world that is apparently out to get us. Seriously.
Yet there is an area where I can find my center and when I do so, the rewards far outweigh the low-hanging fruit associated with finding an emotional or physical center to my life. I’m speaking of becoming spiritually centered in my heart, which is far more important than in any other area. It is in this area where I feel the most secure, and work hardest at staying that way.
Paul writes: “For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”
According to these verses, there is a vital need in our hearts to become centered spiritually, whether we will admit it to ourselves or not. The lessons God would have us understand are not learned through the things of the physical world. By our own world-centered wisdom, in other words, we cannot learn the lessons of God. The world and its logic only teaches us that the great matters of eternity are foolishness, and it is not by accident when it happens that way. God wants us to believe in Him, and that is His perfect plan for all of us.
If there was a way to gain all of the knowledge of God we'll ever need merely by our own observations, we would no longer need a faith in God. According to many people today, it may seem as though faith is a weakness while knowledge (science) is the stronger option. The opposite is true when you think about it. Paul penned these words two-thousand years ago, and many of the scientific things the men of his time held up to be factual have long since been proven false. What we hold as facts today based on science and technology can and probably will be considered foolishness when our own tomorrow comes around. Meanwhile, the truth we believe by our faith in Jesus Christ will still be the truth throughout eternity. It has not changed since Paul’s time and it never will. Read this paragraph again – it is the gist of what we will be talking about in class!
Emotionally centered in my life? I’m trying. Physically centered? Age is taking care of that one for me. Spiritually centered? That is the one goal I should always strive for. It pays the best dividends.
Here There Be Tygers
Following the outbreak of the Civil War, a soldier of fortune by the name of Roberdeau Wheat formed a volunteer company of infantry in New Orleans, Louisiana to fight for the Confederacy. It was a company comprised of men recruited from the city docks and wharfs that ran alongside the Mississippi River. Most of the men were of Irish descent and had less than stellar records with the local law enforcement agencies of the time. They were a rough bunch of fellows, as apt to take on each other in camp as they were to fight against an enemy in battle. Because Roberdeau could not get the rank he desired from the State of Louisiana, he ended up taking his troops to Virginia and they arrived in that State just in time to take part in the first major battle of the war.
By the end of the Battle of Bull Run, they had acquired the nickname of ‘The Fighting Tigers of Louisiana’ due to their performance in one of the hottest areas of the conflict. Wheat, newly appointed to the rank of Major, was wounded in the battle and had to be carried from the field. Once the battle was over and victory had been achieved, they were sent to the Shenandoah Valley to fight in Stonewall Jackson’s army. During Jackson’s impressive valley campaign the following spring they again distinguished themselves and this more than made up for the troubles they had caused in camp during the quiet winter months beforehand. As Wheat appeared to be the only officer that could control them, in his absence they displayed a penchant for fighting amongst themselves and the other units in the army. On more than one occasion they were accused of stealing from their comrades in other units. One Confederate soldier from Virginia went on record stating that the mere sight of them (except in battle) caused both he and his fellow soldiers ‘the utmost fear’.
Later that summer, Wheat was killed in the battle of Gaines Mill. Due to their loss of numbers during the campaigns they had been a part of, the unit was disbanded and the soldiers were separated and placed into other Louisiana regiments. The ‘Fighting Tigers’ moniker, however, stuck with them and eventually all of the Louisiana troops in Virginia shared the nickname. The name lives on today in the sports programs of Louisiana State University – their teams are known today as the “Fighting Tigers of LSU”.
I know this might be a stretch for some, but I see an analogy between those miscreants from the docks and wharves of long ago and the small Christian church I find myself a part of today. We have a tendency to fight and argue with each other. We have a penchant for saying and doing the wrong things on many occasions. But we are a tight-knit group of individuals with a common purpose and goal – fighting the devil and the forces of evil that are arrayed against us on a daily basis. I’ll admit that in this battle, sometimes we are less than tigers and more often like sheep. But through faith and our trust in what God has planned for us, the battle will be won in the end.
Jesus told Peter, “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Sometimes the future looks bad for our church, as with any Christian church. We encounter enemies from without and within. But we have a promise in these verses from Jesus Himself that the very gates of hell will not prevail against the church He has built. We’re also reminded that when we are at our weakest, that is when He is strongest in our lives.
Knowing this as truth, it should be easier for us as Christians to remain firm in our churches and most importantly, in our faith. We would do very well to remember that we should be more like tigers in what appears today to be the closing stages of the conflict.
By the end of the Battle of Bull Run, they had acquired the nickname of ‘The Fighting Tigers of Louisiana’ due to their performance in one of the hottest areas of the conflict. Wheat, newly appointed to the rank of Major, was wounded in the battle and had to be carried from the field. Once the battle was over and victory had been achieved, they were sent to the Shenandoah Valley to fight in Stonewall Jackson’s army. During Jackson’s impressive valley campaign the following spring they again distinguished themselves and this more than made up for the troubles they had caused in camp during the quiet winter months beforehand. As Wheat appeared to be the only officer that could control them, in his absence they displayed a penchant for fighting amongst themselves and the other units in the army. On more than one occasion they were accused of stealing from their comrades in other units. One Confederate soldier from Virginia went on record stating that the mere sight of them (except in battle) caused both he and his fellow soldiers ‘the utmost fear’.
Later that summer, Wheat was killed in the battle of Gaines Mill. Due to their loss of numbers during the campaigns they had been a part of, the unit was disbanded and the soldiers were separated and placed into other Louisiana regiments. The ‘Fighting Tigers’ moniker, however, stuck with them and eventually all of the Louisiana troops in Virginia shared the nickname. The name lives on today in the sports programs of Louisiana State University – their teams are known today as the “Fighting Tigers of LSU”.
I know this might be a stretch for some, but I see an analogy between those miscreants from the docks and wharves of long ago and the small Christian church I find myself a part of today. We have a tendency to fight and argue with each other. We have a penchant for saying and doing the wrong things on many occasions. But we are a tight-knit group of individuals with a common purpose and goal – fighting the devil and the forces of evil that are arrayed against us on a daily basis. I’ll admit that in this battle, sometimes we are less than tigers and more often like sheep. But through faith and our trust in what God has planned for us, the battle will be won in the end.
Jesus told Peter, “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Sometimes the future looks bad for our church, as with any Christian church. We encounter enemies from without and within. But we have a promise in these verses from Jesus Himself that the very gates of hell will not prevail against the church He has built. We’re also reminded that when we are at our weakest, that is when He is strongest in our lives.
Knowing this as truth, it should be easier for us as Christians to remain firm in our churches and most importantly, in our faith. We would do very well to remember that we should be more like tigers in what appears today to be the closing stages of the conflict.
Routine Housekeeping
Just some housekeeping chores today…
I hope you read the last four posts and contemplated on them – they may be the most important posts I'll ever blog. You see, without salvation through Jesus Christ, the rest of life makes no sense at all. The rest of the words you read here will be empty and pointless. Trust me on this.
Hunter-Bear turned fourteen years old. And my grand-daughter, Parker, had her first birthday over the weekend. “Time counts, and keeps counting.”
Did you see the Saints game yesterday? Wow. Beyond description - that one was.
We started a new quarter in Sunday School and our literature/books were late so I had to ‘wing it’ yesterday morning in class. The Holy Spirit had my back and even I learned a thing or two during the lesson. It’s funny how it always seems to work out that way. After church, the class met and discussed with the rest of the youth in the church our plans on caroling and giving out fruit baskets to the elderly. If you are out there reading and a member of the class, we need you to help in any way possible. Blessings are obtainable for those who do!
I think it's pretty neat that my current computer password works out in such a manner that the letter/symbol/number combination I type is in the shape of a cross - and I didn't intend or plan it to be that way. How cool is that?
Christmas parade in Picayune tonight. My truck is located specifically where my wife wanted it parked, although not exactly. But it is within a quarter of a mile of her instructed location. If it rains and the parade is cancelled I will have a long walk from work to retrieve the vehicle, anyway.
I signed two copies of Fast Asleep last night for a lady who purchased them for her sons as Christmas presents. I appreciated the purchase and always feel humbled when I sign one of my books for someone else. I appreciate even more the emails I receive from readers telling me how they liked or disliked the novel, and most of all when they ask questions about the characters in the story. It makes me feel like they ended up caring for each fictional person in the book as much as I did when I penned it.
I hope to be back to my regular posts in the morning, but today I have so many things going on that this is the best I can do at the moment. Let me leave you with this:
“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28
That’s good stuff!
I hope you read the last four posts and contemplated on them – they may be the most important posts I'll ever blog. You see, without salvation through Jesus Christ, the rest of life makes no sense at all. The rest of the words you read here will be empty and pointless. Trust me on this.
Hunter-Bear turned fourteen years old. And my grand-daughter, Parker, had her first birthday over the weekend. “Time counts, and keeps counting.”
Did you see the Saints game yesterday? Wow. Beyond description - that one was.
We started a new quarter in Sunday School and our literature/books were late so I had to ‘wing it’ yesterday morning in class. The Holy Spirit had my back and even I learned a thing or two during the lesson. It’s funny how it always seems to work out that way. After church, the class met and discussed with the rest of the youth in the church our plans on caroling and giving out fruit baskets to the elderly. If you are out there reading and a member of the class, we need you to help in any way possible. Blessings are obtainable for those who do!
I think it's pretty neat that my current computer password works out in such a manner that the letter/symbol/number combination I type is in the shape of a cross - and I didn't intend or plan it to be that way. How cool is that?
Christmas parade in Picayune tonight. My truck is located specifically where my wife wanted it parked, although not exactly. But it is within a quarter of a mile of her instructed location. If it rains and the parade is cancelled I will have a long walk from work to retrieve the vehicle, anyway.
I signed two copies of Fast Asleep last night for a lady who purchased them for her sons as Christmas presents. I appreciated the purchase and always feel humbled when I sign one of my books for someone else. I appreciate even more the emails I receive from readers telling me how they liked or disliked the novel, and most of all when they ask questions about the characters in the story. It makes me feel like they ended up caring for each fictional person in the book as much as I did when I penned it.
I hope to be back to my regular posts in the morning, but today I have so many things going on that this is the best I can do at the moment. Let me leave you with this:
“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28
That’s good stuff!
Playing in a rare McNeill snowfall
Accepting God
I’ve had problems in my life I thought I could handle on my own. And I’m bad about letting them 'go on and on' without resolving the issue. In the end, what usually happens is they will spiral out of control; growing larger and more complex, until I find myself wishing I had asked for help in the beginning instead of waiting until it was too late to do so.
I’m an ignorer. I let things go. That never solves anything. Left unresolved, small problems grow into larger problems and denial is no excuse. When it reaches that point, then my nature is to blame someone else. Unfortunately you can only get so much mileage out of the blame game before you are back at square one, facing your problem all over again and by this time it is much worse. They grow, you know?
When everything else is exhausted, then I usually throw my time and energy into the situation, hoping to pound the problem into submission by brute force. My will-power and stamina versus an ever-worsening situation, head-to-head and man-to-man. Sometimes I make a little progress, but again, it is a hard realization when you come to grips with the fact that the problem is too tough and you are in over your head. It is when I reach this stage that I give in, give up, and ask for help from someone stronger than me.
When it comes to judgment, we can’t ignore G_d. We cannot distract G_d by pointing our finger at someone else. We do not look better when we do so, except maybe in our own eyes. Finally we cannot work our way back into G_d’s favor with our own good deeds and careful planning. The chasm between us and G_d is too wide and too deep. In the end, we fail to meet the standard that has been set for us by His Law as recorded in His Word. This is truth. This is honesty. This is… reality.
Is there any hope at all left for us? Is there a way for us to be made right in G_d’s eyes? Can we escape His righteous judgment which we know is waiting for us in the end? In the first few chapters of Romans, Paul has given us a spiritual beat-down. He has explained how we are all sinners and how we have missed the mark. Finally we move on to chapter five, and he records a grand statement, maybe the most profound verse you’ll find recorded in the Bible:
“But G_d commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Once we understand how lost we truly are, then we can begin to comprehend where we stand on the totem-pole of spirituality. We are sinners, lost, helpless, and unable to take care of the problem on our own. But G_d has made a way. While we were in the depths of sin and despair, He sent His Son to die on the cross as payment for our sins.
That verse, the one everyone knows? After reading the first few chapters of Romans, its truth becomes apparent and we can better understand the meaning behind, “For G_d so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
We are lost without hope, facing a dark and dreary eternity ahead of us. We can’t disregard G_d and hope He will look the other way or pretend He doesn’t exist. We can’t distract G_d by pointing out all of the faults we see in our neighbors. Finally, there is no way we can make the grade by simply performing enough good deeds or living a decent life. We have to give in and accept what He, G_d, has already done for us. He provided the solution to our sin-problem that we inherited honestly from Adam.
“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that G_d hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” It is that simple. You just give in and accept what he has already done for you. No strings attached. No hidden meaning or fine print to mull over. Just a mere acceptance of what He did by faith and a belief in the One He Sent. In fact, you can accept Him today, taking care of your sin and thereby making yourself right in His eyes. You’ll be glad you did!
Take it from someone who has learned when to face a problem and also knows when to ask for help.
I’m an ignorer. I let things go. That never solves anything. Left unresolved, small problems grow into larger problems and denial is no excuse. When it reaches that point, then my nature is to blame someone else. Unfortunately you can only get so much mileage out of the blame game before you are back at square one, facing your problem all over again and by this time it is much worse. They grow, you know?
When everything else is exhausted, then I usually throw my time and energy into the situation, hoping to pound the problem into submission by brute force. My will-power and stamina versus an ever-worsening situation, head-to-head and man-to-man. Sometimes I make a little progress, but again, it is a hard realization when you come to grips with the fact that the problem is too tough and you are in over your head. It is when I reach this stage that I give in, give up, and ask for help from someone stronger than me.
When it comes to judgment, we can’t ignore G_d. We cannot distract G_d by pointing our finger at someone else. We do not look better when we do so, except maybe in our own eyes. Finally we cannot work our way back into G_d’s favor with our own good deeds and careful planning. The chasm between us and G_d is too wide and too deep. In the end, we fail to meet the standard that has been set for us by His Law as recorded in His Word. This is truth. This is honesty. This is… reality.
Is there any hope at all left for us? Is there a way for us to be made right in G_d’s eyes? Can we escape His righteous judgment which we know is waiting for us in the end? In the first few chapters of Romans, Paul has given us a spiritual beat-down. He has explained how we are all sinners and how we have missed the mark. Finally we move on to chapter five, and he records a grand statement, maybe the most profound verse you’ll find recorded in the Bible:
“But G_d commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Once we understand how lost we truly are, then we can begin to comprehend where we stand on the totem-pole of spirituality. We are sinners, lost, helpless, and unable to take care of the problem on our own. But G_d has made a way. While we were in the depths of sin and despair, He sent His Son to die on the cross as payment for our sins.
That verse, the one everyone knows? After reading the first few chapters of Romans, its truth becomes apparent and we can better understand the meaning behind, “For G_d so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
We are lost without hope, facing a dark and dreary eternity ahead of us. We can’t disregard G_d and hope He will look the other way or pretend He doesn’t exist. We can’t distract G_d by pointing out all of the faults we see in our neighbors. Finally, there is no way we can make the grade by simply performing enough good deeds or living a decent life. We have to give in and accept what He, G_d, has already done for us. He provided the solution to our sin-problem that we inherited honestly from Adam.
“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that G_d hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” It is that simple. You just give in and accept what he has already done for you. No strings attached. No hidden meaning or fine print to mull over. Just a mere acceptance of what He did by faith and a belief in the One He Sent. In fact, you can accept Him today, taking care of your sin and thereby making yourself right in His eyes. You’ll be glad you did!
Take it from someone who has learned when to face a problem and also knows when to ask for help.
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