What Some of You Were

Most of us evaluate others on the basis of who they are today, rather than who they might become. For instance, I would have a hard time seeing a convicted serial killer as anything other than a serial killer. However, Paul brought me up short when he said, “Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (emphasis added, 1 Cor 6:9-11 NIV).

Spreading a Net

Yet again the Democrats are trying to entrap President Trump by calling into question his conversation with the Ukrainian President. Solomon wrote, “How useless to spread a net in full view of all the birds! These men lie in wait for their own blood; they waylay only themselves! Such is the end of all who go after ill-gotten gain; it takes away the lives of those who get it” (Proverbs 1:17-19 NIV).

Obligated to the Foolish

Paul longed to visit the believers in Rome so that he might impart some spiritual gift to make them strong and that they might be encouraged by each other’s faith. Paul said, “I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles. I am obligated both to Greeks and non–Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are at Rome” (Romans 1:13-15 NIV). I understand Paul feeling obligated to both Greeks and non-Greeks, but I’m trying to wrap my head around his obligation to the wise and the foolish.

If You Believe

The pastor said, “There are times in our life when we want others to pray for us because we don’t feel our own prayers are enough.” Of course there are many reasons to ask others to pray for us and there is power in collective prayers. However, Scripture never says that an individual’s prayers are not enough. Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer” (Matt 21:21-22 NIV).

Make America Great Again

I happen to like President Trumps motto, “Make America Great Again”. However, the motto can give the false sense that citizens are the ones who have the power to fashion America. When in Pisidian Antioch Paul was allowed to speak in the synagogue. “Standing up, Paul motioned with his hand and said: “Men of Israel and you Gentiles who worship God, listen to me! The God of the people of Israel chose our fathers; he made the people prosper during their stay in Egypt, with mighty power he led them out of that country, he endured their conduct for about forty years in the desert, he overthrew seven nations in Canaan and gave their land to his people as their inheritance. All this took about 450 years” (Acts 13:16-20 NIV). We should be reminded that in America’s 243 years of existence our prosperity, then as now, is credited to God alone.  

What’s in a Name

My car died and since it is still under warranty it had to be transported 250 miles over the mountains to the closest dealership in the metro area. It was a relief to find out it was just the battery and a quick fix; however, the time it took to transport the car to and from the dealership meant I was without the car for a week. Since we weren’t close enough to the dealership to get a loaner vehicle, I was relegated to drive Bill’s old truck — which has white paint peeling off in chunks, the turn radius of a tank, a broken gas gage and a misaligned shift indicator. It was a humbling experience. However, I decided I could give the truck more prestige if I simply re-named it and called it “the farm truck”.  As a follower of Christ, we too have a new name and ambiance. Peter said, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy” (1 Peter 2:9-10 NIV).

Climate Change

Many people say climate change is man-made and they predict what the future of the world will look like if we don't sign on to the Green New Deal. However, the prophet Joel revealed what God said about climate change in the last days, “I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved’” (Acts 2:19-21 NIV).

Cast Out of Heaven

The Apostle Paul caused a riot in Ephesus when it was reported that he said man-made gods were no gods at all. For two hours the crowd shouted, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” The city clerk quieted the crowd and said, “Men of Ephesus, doesn’t all the world know that the city of Ephesus is the guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image, which fell from heaven? Therefore, since these facts are undeniable, you ought to be quiet and not do anything rash” (Acts 19:35-36 NIV). I have to laugh at these undeniable facts; particularly the idea that being cast out of heaven is a qualification for being a god. Peter said, “For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment…” (2 Peter 2:4 NIV).

Arbiter for the Spirit

My pianist friend was in charge of the music sets for her congregational worship, but a church administrator asked her substitute other selections. When the pianist explained she could not and would not make last minute changes, the administrator said, “Well, you obviously aren’t listening to the moving of the Spirit.” To her credit the administrator came back later to the pianist and apologized; however, it is clear that the administrator thinks she is an arbiter for the Spirit. Paul said, “If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like–minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Philippians 2:1-4 NIV).

Alive and Active

In his attempt to relate to the congregation my pastor unwittingly devalues the Bible and hinders the power found in the Word of God. On multiple occasions he has said the Bible is hard to understand. Sunday his sermon began, “To some of you the book of Hebrews is boring.” The writer of Hebrews most certainly takes exception to the comment, “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double–edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Heb 4:12 NIV).

Tarnished Temple

In Hollywood and on television homosexuality is pervasive. Even though actors may try to convince the viewing public that they are only acting, I’m bewildered that heterosexual actors would play the part of a gay with such a display of sexual acts. Paul said, “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple” (1 Cor 3:16-17).

Blind Spot

Some believers think they can follow Jesus by walking in His blind spot. It should give us pause to know that it is not just our walk that the Lord sees, but it is also the motives of our heart. Paul said, “My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God” (1 Cor 4:4-5 NIV).

Let Your Light Shine

A man who plays guitar in a local band said, “Right now there are only three of us, but we have another guy who is going to start playing with us.” He laughed and said, “We need another person. It’s hard to hide when there are only three people.” Believers can feel a similar reservation when it comes to sharing flickering flames of faith. However, Jesus said, “No one lights a lamp and hides it in a jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, he puts it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light. For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open. Therefore consider carefully how you listen. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken from him” (Luke 8:16-18 NIV).

Teach Us to Pray

Jesus went up on a mountainside and began to teach his disciples, the session included the Lord’s model prayer (Matt 6:9-13). It appears that later in Jesus’ ministry an unnamed disciple said, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples” (Luke 11:1b NIV). I’m wondering if this particular disciple was a new recruit, or if perhaps he had missed the Sermon on the Mount and the lesson on prayer. Jesus said to them, “When you pray, say: “‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation’”. (Luke 1:2-4 NIV).

Know Who You Are

Often Christians are bold and courageous until someone stops us in our tracks by saying, “Just who do you think you are?” At the gym I go to everyday there is woman who is so disagreeable that everyone goes out of their way to avoid her, even to the point of not making eye contact. Over the Labor Day weekend this vixen personally took me to task when I ask the attendant to adjust one station on the bank of eight television sets. In a loud voice she said, “Oh great, so everyone gets to watch Fox News!” I said, “Well, yes we can.” She colored the air blue with, “What the #@*#?” It wasn’t until the next day that I confronted her about her bad behavior and informed her that she would not again speak to me in such a manner…and that she really did not want me as her enemy. She said, “Who do you think you are?” I recalled that some Jews confronted Jesus in a similar way, “Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?”  Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me” (John 8:53-54 NIV). In my situation the Holy Spirit prompted me look her in the eye and simply say, “I know who I am.”

Tradition

It’s been my church experience to have two communion trays, one for the bread and the other for the juice. The emblems were served in an orderly manner with the plate of bread passed down the pew from one person to the next, followed by the juice. When we established a new church, we went with a more efficient one-piece communion tray where the bread is placed in the small center section of the tray, surrounded by thimble sized cups of juice. After taking communion last Sunday I watched as the person next to me partook of the emblems and I was surprised when they drank the juice first and then they took the bread. I wanted to say, “Stop! That’s not the right order. You eat the bread first and then drink the juice.” The order in which we consume the emblems is of little importance, but it does give those of us who are rule followers mental whiplash. Paul said, “For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” (1 Cor 11:23-26).

Frenemy

As a former elected official, I’ve made it a point to keep political enemies at arm’s length. However, last week I was caught off guard when I came face to face a former enemy while shopping at Walmart. He reached out to shake my hand and after his greeting we spent five-minutes discussing local politics. He avoided talking about the personal attacks he’d made, but he expressed regret for being manipulated, deceived and used by others. I’ve never really understood how people can be enemies one day and then cordial the next, but it is possible. Jesus was taken before Pilate and Herod, “The chief priests and the teachers of the law were standing there, vehemently accusing him. Then Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked him. Dressing him in an elegant robe, they sent him back to Pilate. That day Herod and Pilate became friends—before this they had been enemies” (Luke 23:10-12 NIV).

Preparing a Place

The new house we are building is adjacent to our current residence and I can step out on my back deck and watch as every 2 X 4 is framed, every shingle nailed and every window and door hung. It can be exciting. However, it takes a minimum of six months for construction, so it can also be like watching paint dry. This experience has put the construction of my heavenly dwelling into a whole new perspective. Jesus said, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going” (John 14: 1-4 NIV).

Abandoning Your Faith

In his Sunday sermon my pastor mentioned two prominent, celebrity-type preachers who are going through a crisis of faith. I’m guessing the pastor did not give their names because he didn’t want the appearance of having spread rumors about another pastor. However, it’s important for us to know the names of celebrated Christian authors, speaker or leaders who go over a spiritual cliff and renounce their faith, if for no other reason than we no longer purchase their books. Paul said, “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron” (1 Tim 4:1-2 NIV).

The Winds and the Waves Obey God

Hurricane Dorian is poised to hit the US this week and I expect the media to report that global warming played a role in the severity. However, I did not expect conspiracy theories that this category-five storm is deliberately man-caused. I’m baffled when people try to marginalize God by asserting that man controls nature. Jesus and the disciples were on the lake when a furious storm came up and the waves swept over the boat. Jesus was sleeping, “The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him” (Matt 8:25-27 NIV).

Labor Day

Having enjoyed the Labor Day weekend, I’m mindful that my generation is reaping the benefits of past generations. Jesus said, “Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor” (John 4:36-38 NIV).