Looking Back

I’m still considering older folks who have trouble coming to grips with aging and their physical limitations. Rather than accepting their present situation, or looking toward the future, they seem to be looking back to yesteryear and lamenting their lost abilities. Although Jesus was speaking specifically about the coming of the Kingdom of God, I find His warning about going back for possessions, or looking back on one’s former life, as being applicable to aging. “Remember Lot’s wife! Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it” (Luke 17:32-33 NIV).

White and Black

Many older folks have a hard time accepting the limits of age when they can no longer do the things they once did. They rebel when they lose control of their lives, their finances…and especially their driver’s license. People of faith are not immune and the Lord must sometimes pry our fingers off this earthly life. Jesus reminds us we actually have no control over life, “And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black” (Matt 5:36 NIV).

The Character of Christ

A preacher told me that after three years a congregation takes on the personality of the pastor, “If your church is failing after three years look at yourself.” From a worldly perspective I understand what he was saying. However, from a spiritual perspective God never intended for the church to take on the personality of the preacher, but rather the personality of Christ. Paul said, “He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy” (Col 1:17-18 NIV).

A Diet of Milk

As a journalist I must be conscious of giving readers credit and not dumbing down the content of articles. Hence, I’m sensitive to sermons where I hear preachers giving their congregation milk, rather than the meat of the Gospel. Certainly, the immature in Christ need the milk of the Word; however, when pastors offer nothing but milk their membership will not mature. The writer of Hebrews said, “Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil” (Heb 5:13-14 NIV).

Merry Christmas 2017

“Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11 NIV).

Down From the Cross

“In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! Let this Christ, this King of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe.” Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him” (Mark 15:31-32 NIV). Satan would have us think that we can save ourselves. We need to be reminded that Jesus did in fact come down from the cross; however, it was not to save Himself, but rather He came down from the cross to save you and me. 

Consider the Cost

In the last couple of weeks our municipality passed their 2018 budget and already they have put out two Amended Supplemental Budgets for 2018…and the year 2018 hasn’t even started yet. Spiritually speaking there is a budgeting process to being a disciple, “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish’ (Luke 14:28-30 NIV). As believers we must consider what Jesus expects from his followers.

Listen to Him

Jesus was transfigured before Peter, James and John. Peter’s reaction was to offer to build three shelters — one for Jesus, one for Moses and one for Elijah. Isn’t that just like believers today…we want to build the Lord a mega church, a vibrant youth group and a spiritual shelter for the homeless and disenfranchised. And yet God doesn’t want us to build anything. “Then a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him” (Mark 9:7 NIV)!

Lessons in Trees

The disciples sat at the feet of Jesus where He explained parables and spoke from firsthand experience with the Father. The Son of God, who had all the knowledge of the kingdom of heaven at his fingertips, said to the disciples, “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door” (Matt 24:32-33 NIV). Many of us love holding the Word of God, the Bible, in our hands, but we tend to forget that God also has lessons written in creation.

Procrastination

In the Parable of the Ten Virgins you have to give the virgins credit for keeping themselves pure, being dressed appropriately for the wedding banquet and having lamps. However, five of the virgins were foolish and failed to take any extra oil with them. When their lamps started going out they were forced to run to town to buy oil. Jesus said, “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. “Later the others also came. ‘Sir! Sir!’ they said. ‘Open the door for us!’ “But he replied, ‘I tell you the truth, I don’t know you.’ “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour” (Matt 25:10-13 NIV). Jesus tells us to keep watch, but the parable implies more than merely keeping watch; we must be ready and prepared. Unfortunately, too many people think they can make a last-minute Wal-Mart run and still make it back before the Lord shuts the door.

Calling Attention

Many of us were raised with our mothers telling us not to air our dirty laundry in public – meaning it is better to handle issues behind closed doors. However, John shows us there is a place for exposure…even in the church. “I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will have nothing to do with us. So if I come, I will call attention to what he is doing, gossiping maliciously about us. Not satisfied with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers. He also stops those who want to do so and puts them out of the church” (3 John 9-10 NIV). While there is something to be said about doing things privately, a case can be made for bringing things out into the open. I especially appreciate John’s willingness to expose people and attitudes that are destructive to the Kingdom of God.

Raising the Living

Paul was speaking specifically to Agrippa, but others would have been included in his remarks when he said, “Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead” (Acts 26:8 NIV)? While raising the dead might be hard to comprehend, we know that with God nothing is impossible. However, it occurs to me that it might be easier for God to raise the dead than to bring life to the living who are dead in their sins.

Stump the Preacher

During my youth my church would occasionally have a Sunday night event called, “Stump the Preacher.” Most people would ask questions that came up during their Bible study. However, we teenagers would often don our Pharisee hat and, similar to the Jews who tried to trap Jesus with a question he couldn’t answer, we’d try to trap the preacher. As a kid I loved those iron-sharpening-iron sessions and my preacher had such a grasp on the Word of God that he never failed to have an answer. Today’s pastors and ministers might likewise be able to answer any and all impromptu Bible questions from their membership, but I can’t think that many would allow themselves to be put in such a precarious position.

Authorities Determine Your Rights

During a local public meeting a pro-immigration activist said, “It’s important to recognize the right of all individuals to migrate…This is a critical moment when many immigrants are facing threats from the current administration.” In the days surrounding the birth of Jesus, Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world and everyone went to their own town to register. I’m trying to imagine the activists of that day telling the Roman Empire that all individuals have a right to migrate. “So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn” (Luke 2:4-7 NIV).

Jesus in a Rocking Chair

We recently inherited two rocking chairs. One is a big sturdy oak chair with a deep seat, wide arms and well worn. The chair, which belonged to Bill’s grandma, rocked children and grandchildren many a mile. The other chair, which belonged to his step-grandmother, is knitting chair about a third the size, low to the ground, has no arms and appears to be in pristine condition with little, or no use. This little one seater chair could hardly accommodate a plump grandma, much less a grandma and grandchild. Of course there is no Bible account of Jesus in a rocking chair, but if there were I know which chair we would find the Lord sitting in. Jesus said, “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).

Scorched Earth Policy

In order to keep the wildfires from jumping lines and roads the firefighters in California are setting backfires. President Trump sets a lot of verbal backfires in an attempt to contain his adversaries, but his method often resembles a scorched earth policy. We believers possess the same flame throwing weapon as the President. James said, “Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison” (James 3:5-8 NIV).

Exposed

During my second visit to a church the pastor mentioned the article I’d written about my first visit. He told me that someone in his congregation had later asked him if he was mad about what I’d written. I understand. I too hate it when someone takes a picture of me that exposes how I’m actually seen by others…warts and all. However, I can’t very well go to the photographer and ask him why he didn’t airbrush away the imperfections, photo shop the roll around my middle, or brighten the color of my hair. The Lord told John to write to the seven churches in Revelation and according to the footnote in my NIV Bible it appears that the church letters, along with the entire book of Revelation, was sent to each church. I have to wonder if some of the people in the seven congregations weren't a little bit tweaked about what John had written.

Do you Hear What I Hear?

Without her hearing aids my 94-year-old mother-in-law is totally deaf. I’ve learned that even with hearing aids it is important to speak more slowly and face to face so that she can read lips and facial expressions. There are some people who are deaf to the Word of God and no amount of consideration for their disability will make a difference. Jesus said, “Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! ...He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God” (John 8:43-45, 47 NIV).

In Remembrance of Me

I placed the empty thimble size cup back into the communion tray and making eye contact with the server I mouthed a thank you. The server responded, “I love you” and then proceeded to take the tray to the man standing in the foyer. Once again the server told the man, “I love you.” I now have another image of Christ as he served the first communion to his disciples. On the night of his betrayal Jesus gave thanks for the bread and the cup, “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.” I participate in communion and loudly proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes, but in that proclamation he whispers to me, “I love you.” (1Cor 11:24-25 NIV).

The Measure You Use

People of both genders are coming forward with accusations of sexual misconduct leveled against people in power — politicians, movie moguls, TV personalities, etc. I find it interesting that the abusers who once held power over their victim’s careers are now having their own careers destroyed by exposure. Jesus said, “Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more” (Mark 4:24 NIV).

Transparency

Transparency is a big buzz word in the political arena. Generally speaking, politicians don’t want to be transparent, but they want the appearance of transparency. It gives me pause to think about transparency as it relates to people of faith. While Jesus had selective conversations meant only for his disciples, His message to the world was clearly seen. The Jews accused Jesus of subverting their law and questioned him about his disciples and his teaching. Jesus said, “I have spoken openly to the world, I always taught in synagogues or at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret. Why question me? Ask those who heard me. Surely they know what I said” (John 18:20-21 NIV).