The Christian Ear is a forum for discussing and listening to the voice of today's church. The Lord spoke to churches,“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Rev 2&3
December 31, 2012
Fear of the Lord
I’ve been studying wisdom
literature in the Bible and the concept that wisdom begins with the fear of the
Lord, and that fear must be taught and passed down from one generation to the
next. Understanding this heritage in wisdom, I look back on my own genealogy
and see where some of my ancestors dropped the ball completely, while others only
taught their children to love the Lord. I’m not sure that any of them grasp the
responsibility they had in passing on the fear of the Lord to future generations.
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of
knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.” (Proverbs 1:7 NIV)
December 28, 2012
Fishing From the Bank
I ran into a friend who told me that although there were problems in
her church, she would never change churches. “I just couldn’t leave because I’ve been a member there since 1967.”
I can remember have similar feelings a few years ago when I felt that church
heritage somehow superseded my spiritual need for a change of scenery. I can
imagine the Lord shaking his head at our willingness to be fishers of men…just
as long as we can stay on the bank of our own familiar pond. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will
make you fishers of men. At once they left their nets and
followed him.” (Mark 1:17-18 NIV)
December 27, 2012
Blurred Standards
Recently a man applied to get a liquor license for the restaurant he
owns in Colorado. His background check revealed that he was a Mexican National,
his Social Security number was held by at least 13 other people, he was not
allowed to work in the US and his border crossing card restricted him from
travel beyond a 60 mile radius of the Mexico border. One of the questions that the
Liquor Licensing Authority had to determine in the hearing was, ‘Is the
applicant of good moral character?’ The applicant has been in this country for
many years and numerous people spoke on his behalf saying he is the father of
two teenagers and he wants them to have a college education. He is friendly to
everyone and all he wants to do is make a living to support his family. I don’t
know this man personally, but the fact that he has not abided by US immigration
laws speaks volumes of his moral character. We believers do a similar thing
when we blur the line of salvation. Even though God’s desire is for everyone to
be saved, saying someone is a really good person does not gain them entrance
into eternal life.
December 26, 2012
Adrift
Last week there was a
news paper report about two fishermen lost at sea for three weeks when their
boat engine died. “The water was too deep
to use the anchor and the current too strong to use the oars, so the boat
slowly drifted away from Jamaica.” I have this mental image of believers
who find themselves in a precarious position spiritually. “We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard,
so that we do not drift away.” (Heb 2:1 NIV)
December 25, 2012
God’s Gift
I watched my grandchildren, ages 9 & 7, open their age and interest appropriate
Christmas gifts – $15 in one dollar bills, Lego blocks, Polly Pocket doll, and
books. I wonder what they, or we adults for that matter, would have thought if
we had received gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. I can envision some of
us investing the gold and re-gifting the frankincense and myrrh. It is not
uncommon for people to sometimes receive a gift that they really don’t know
what to do with…even the gift of Jesus Christ.
December 24, 2012
Pre-Death Grief
Recently my cousin
lost her husband and although his was not a lingering death, he was bedridden
for some weeks and the encouragement, the get well and Thanksgiving cards all piled
up. Laura emailed, “I decided to open the
cards tonight while I was alone and it was quiet. As I opened each one, I
began to realize that the hard part was that I wasn’t prepared for whether or
not I was going to have a Christmas card or a sympathy card.” I’ve always
found it comforting in reading about the manner in which David grieved for the
son he had with Bathsheba. While the boy was ill David pleaded with God,
fasted, wept and slept on the ground. On the 7th day when the child
had died, David picked himself up, changed clothes and put on lotion. “now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can
I bring him back again? I will go to him [when I die], but he will not return to me.” (2 Sam 12:23 NIV)
December 21, 2012
Naughty List
While shopping in the
toy aisle of Wal-Mart I found myself next to man and his granddaughter. The mite
of a girl, with a full head of long hair, had her back to me as she was looking
up at the shelves of dolls. Apparently she was shopping for herself with her
own money, but some dolls were out of her price range. The grandfather
suggested that some of the things she wanted might be under the Christmas tree.
Although I didn’t hear her response, I smiled when I heard him say, “Well, what did you do to get on the naughty
list?” I finished my shopping, and as I was leaving, I saw my two toy aisle
friends coming toward me. The little girl was older than I had first thought
and I recognized her as having primordial dwarfism. She was such a cutie that I
too started wondering what she did to get on the naughty list. “There is no difference, for
all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Ro 3:22b-23 NIV)
December 20, 2012
Evangelism 101
Our library was one of 40 locations across the nation to host a
traveling exhibit that celebrates the 400th anniversary of the
translation and publication of the King James Bible. This week I attended one
of two sessions with professor and author Leland Ryken, a scholar and national
expert on the KJV. We were seated together closely at tables and behind me was a
stoic, but attractive and smartly dressed woman in her 60’s. At her table sat
one of the local pastors who asked her where she went to church. “Oh, I don’t go to church.” Making a
smooth transition he told her their church doors were always open and she was
welcome to visit them. I turned around in my seat and joked with the pastor
about overhearing his snippet of evangelism. I suppose the woman could have
been library patron, or simply someone who considers the KJV Bible to be great
literature. However, I cannot wrap my head around anyone attending a lecture,
and apparently having some sort of relationship with the KJV, and yet not going
to church.
December 19, 2012
First Responders
In reporting on the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting one TV
reporter described the first responders as being “trained to be heroes.” My thoughts turned to our training as
believers. While I don’t think we are training to be heroes, I do wonder how
many of us would consider ourselves to be first responders. For instance, if
someone wants to know more about Jesus, do we recommend that they go see the
preacher? Or when someone is ill do we tell them they need to schedule a time
with the elders to be prayed over? The Apostle Paul gave this charge to
Timothy: “Preach the Word; be prepared in
season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and
careful instruction.” (2 Tim 4:2 NIV)
December 18, 2012
Protest
One of our local
newspapers has a column titled ‘You Said It’ that encourages people to write in
short snippets of anything that is on their mind. One couple wrote saying that
when Bush was President they put their postage stamps on upside down in protest
of his policies. “Finally in 2008, when
we got Obama, we started putting them on right-side-up.” My husband Bill is
a retired Postmaster and we both had a good laugh. For starters, no one
actually sees stamps on letters today because they are machine sorted. Even our
own letter carrier doesn’t look at the stamp, he looks at the delivery address;
and if you are making a bill payment, the envelope is most likely opened
automatically. Regardless of what type of message we are heralding, nothing is
accomplished if it goes unheard. “You are
the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither
do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its
stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same
way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and
praise your Father in heaven.” (Matt 4:14-16 NIV)
December 17, 2012
Unto Me
The parents of the children whose lives were lost during the elementary
school shooting at Sandy Hook are struggling with their children being taken
from them. No doubt families will also struggle with letting go of the
children. I find comfort in the image of Jesus welcoming these precious little
ones, “Let the little children come to
me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as
these.” (Matt 19:14
NIV)
December 14, 2012
Desensitized
Farmers talk about having good and bad years with their crops and I
find myself applying the same terminology to the five deaths we’ve had in our
family in the last nine months – this has been a bad year. All but one of the
deaths were somewhat expected, however with each successive funeral, the grieving
process is easier. The world might define the grieving as becoming numb or
desensitized, but from the believers perspective there is a spiritual element that
should not be overlooked. In our grief none of us can say to the other, ‘but
you just don’t understand’ or ‘my sorrow is greater than yours’. “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who
comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble
with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.” (2 Cor 1:3-4 NIV)
December 13, 2012
Pre-Existing Condition
On the surface an
insurance company’s rationale behind a pre-existing conditions clause sounds
reasonable; particularly in the case where medical conditions are self-induced,
like drug and alcohol abuse. However, according to a California advocacy group,
possible situations that could come under pre-existing conditions are acne,
hemorrhoids, and bunions. For us, God’s one and only pre-existing condition is simple. “When you were dead in your sins and in the
uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He
forgave us all our sins…” (Col 2:13 NIV)
December 12, 2012
Verbosity
Last Sunday’s 3-5
minute Communion Meditation turned into a 20 minute theological message about
the preparations and events surrounding the Last Supper. Don’t get me wrong, it
was an excellent message but it had a ripple effect. The audience started getting
restless and because there was little time remaining the preacher was forced to
cut his sermon almost in half. Looking on the bright side our auditorium is windowless
and on the ground floor. “Seated in a
window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as
Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the
third story and was picked up dead. Paul went down, threw
himself on the young man and put his arms around him. “Don’t be alarmed,” he
said. “He’s alive!” Then he went upstairs again and broke bread
and ate. After talking until daylight, he left.” (Acts 9-11
NIV)
December 11, 2012
Pick Me Up
The sidewalks were still ice encrusted when I left church last Sunday.
Going out the door at the same time was one of our elderly ladies with her cane
straddling across the handles of her walker. I cautioned her about it being
slick and offered to walk along beside her to her car. “Na-ah.” She said with a
chuckle. “If I fall, I just fall.”
She wasn’t being cantankerous, but merely implying that if she falls she’ll
either pick herself up, or if she can’t get up, then she’ll ask for help. I
sort of wish that I could apply more of that type of attitude to my Christian
walk. There are times when I am overly cautious because I don’t want to fall,
or I don’t want others to help me. I need to be reminded, ‘If I fall, I just fall…and Jesus will be there to pick me up.’
December 10, 2012
Give Credit Where Credit is Due
My brother-in-law, Ray, was diagnosed with a larger cancerous mass in
his esophagus and stomach. He had some chemo and the doctors attempted surgery,
but they stopped during the procedure because of liver complications. Ray
reached out in all directions for treatment and cure. He started coming to
church and the elders prayed over him, he went to an acupuncturist who put him
on a vegan diet, where he lost 60 pounds, and he traveled to Arizona for a
second opinion. The recent scope of his esophagus showed no signs of the mass
and the PET showed only one lymph node to have cancer. Ray is being inclusive in
his thanksgiving saying that whether it is God, the diet, the acupuncture
doctor, or all of our prayers, he is rejoicing. There are times that we’ve all
struggled with giving credit where credit is due. Even in Paul’s day, some who
were very religious were careful to cover all their bases so as not to offend
any god or object of worship. “For as I
walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an
altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. Now what you worship as
something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.” (Acts 17:23 NIV)
December 07, 2012
Not To Worry
A recent blood test showed my husband’s PSA is on the rise again. Dr.
Chipman, his oncologist, is a positive and enthusiastic sort of man and he knew
from my questions that I was concerned. “Look,
I don’t want you to worry. I’m the one who worries.” He laughed, “That’s what you pay me for!” I told him
I could go with that, but only so far, I really hadn’t seen him doing any
worrying. We both laughed and he assured me that when it is time to worry, he
would worry. Maybe that’s the same problem some of us have when we give our
problems over to God. We know the Lord has everything under control, but we’re
still looking for evidence that He is doing the worrying. Jesus asks, “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour
to his life?” (Matt 26:27 NIV)
December 06, 2012
Write Offs
My mother passed away six months ago and she just got a bill in the
mail from CenturyLink, her telephone service provider. The total amount due is
$.08. Seriously, you can’t make this stuff up. No telling how much it cost the
company to process the billing and mail it. My options are to ignore the
statement, call the company to see if they would reconsider, send them a check,
or mail them eight cents. I decided it was worth the cost of first class
postage to mail the eight pennies to the company’s outsourced billing
department. Companies today always requests that the consumer remit with
checks, credit cards and electronic transfers, so I’m wondering if they even
have a local bank where they can deposit eight cents cash. Of course the most
practical solution would be for the company to simply write off the eight
cents, but I suppose this situation is no different than some of us failing to
write off wrongs that were done to us.
December 05, 2012
Hit and Run
A couple months ago my friend was driving into my driveway when she was
rear ended by an SUV. As Sharon’s van spun around 180 degrees, the teenage
driver in the other car screeched to a stop, turned to talk to his passenger,
then floored the accelerator and sped off. The expression that ran across the
driver’s face was, “We’re in big trouble.
What should I do? Maybe if we can get out of here fast enough no one will catch
us and no will know who we are.” Little did the driver realize that two
witnesses wrote down his licenses plate number, and three others were able to
make written police reports of the incident. I can imagine that the same image of
fear and flight runs across our faces when we sin. We think that a fast getaway
from the scene will keep our sin from being exposed…and we too think there are
no witnesses.
December 04, 2012
Reading of the Will
In the limousine on the way to the graveside service the
twenty-something granddaughter asked the grieving widow, “When do you read the Will? I’m sure grandpa would have left me
something. I need to know if we read the Will now, or if I need to make
arrangements to come back later.” Even giving a pass for the selfishness of
youth, I’m still left saying, “Really?”
However, after a little more thought I’m wondering if the church is missing out
on a great opportunity. Just as soon as a new believer comes out of the waters
of baptism we should be reading the Will. They need to know that Jesus left
them something, they are included in the inheritance and they are an heir.
December 03, 2012
Paying It Forward
One of our local
papers has a weekly column titled “You Said It”, where people write in with
little comments about things they see and hear going on in the community. It is
amazing how many of the comments are from people thanking others for
anonymously paying for their groceries or their bill for a meal. Often the
writer is so appreciative that they promise to pay it forward by passing the
same generosity on to someone they encounter. Certainly Jesus paid for my
salvation by going to the cross and although I try to reach others with the
Gospel message, I’ve never thought in terms of paying my salvation forward. I
now wonder what those actions would look like.
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