Ingratitude

 

“Back in 1988, a Polish railway worker named Jan Grzebski was hit by a train. He lived ... but only barely. For the next 19 years (until the year 2007), Grzebski was in a coma. He awoke in 2007 to a whole new world. Nineteen years earlier, Poland was a communist state. Grzebski noted that back then meat was rationed and there were huge lines at nearly every gas station. And, "there was only tea and vinegar in the shops." But 19 years later, he awoke to a free nation where he said there were "people on the streets with cell phones and there are so many goods in the shops it makes my head spin."

“But something puzzled him. "What amazes me is all these people who walk around with their mobile phones and yet they never stop moaning." These people had freedom, and food and wealth greater than Poland had had for decades ... and yet Grzebski woke from his coma to find that ALL they seemed to want to do was grumble! If you don’t get into the habit of thanking God for what you DO have, you’ll soon become ungrateful because of what you DON’T have” (Jeff Strite, sermoncentral.com).

While I would never wish a coma of nearly two decades on anyone, it certainly would provide a unique perspective, wouldn’t it?  The gradual but relentless progress of time can have a numbing effect on gratefulness.  Our focus on the everyday grind of life often causes us to miss the big picture.

If a 19 year stretch suddenly disappeared from our life experience, would we be more grateful for what remained?  Likely so.  My guess is that things would come into sharper focus.  Like Mr. Grzebski, we might become more cognizant of how ingratitude can seep into our lives when we lose sight of where we have been and how we arrived at where we are at currently.

“Ingratitude is a crime more despicable than revenge, which is only returning evil for evil, while ingratitude returns evil for good” (William George Jordan).

 

God loves you!

Mike

Cultivating A Proper Focus

          I learned many lessons as a young lad, growing up on a farm in the Midwest.  Many of those experiences have faded in memory as time passes, but I still remember one lesson vividly.  I was finally old enough to operate the machinery used to cultivate corn.  This involved navigating a large tractor and an attached cultivator between rows of young, delicate corn seedlings.  In those days, if I remember correctly, the rows of corn were 38 inches apart.  That may seem like plenty of room, but it suddenly narrowed appreciably when one was tasked with guiding several thousand pounds of tractor and cultivator between those delicate plants.  The blades of the cultivator were set to destroy weeds as close as possible to the corn itself.

          My grandfather gave me a crash course in the finer points of my mission and, just like that, I was on my own.  I hadn’t gone far until I made a rookie mistake.  I was so concerned about damaging the corn that I was spending most of my time looking back at the cultivator instead of looking ahead at where I should have been steering the tractor.  When I did that, the tractor would veer off course and I ended up doing the very thing I was trying to prevent -- destroying corn.  After letting me struggle a bit, Grandpa stopped me (probably to save the rest of his crop) and explained the importance of focusing on what was ahead, i.e. driving the tractor straight.  If you keep the tractor between the rows of corn, the cultivator has to follow the same path.  It would do its job if I focused on doing mine.

          God reminds us of the same lesson through the writer of Hebrews.  We are encouraged to focus on Jesus instead of all of the other things that seek to distract us (Hebrews 12:1-2).  If we are aiming our lives at him, so much else in life tends to fall in place.  God will do His job if we focus on doing our job (Matthew 6:33).

God loves you!

Mike

Look Out, Lazarus!

 

“The large crowd of the Jews then learned that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He raised from the dead.  But the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death also; because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and were believing in Jesus” (John 12:9–11).

Every time I read these verses, I’m struck by the response of the opponents of Jesus.  The Lord has just accomplished a great miracle by the power of God.  A dead man was raised to life!  Everyone was duly impressed -- except for the chief priests and Pharisees.  They gather together to discuss ways to deal with Jesus and decide that he must be killed.  For a time, the Savior and his followers step back from public ministry and retreat to the wilderness.  But with the approach of the Passover and the fulfillment of his earthly calling, Jesus and the disciples must return to the holy city.  Tensions are high.  Crowds and flocking to see the miracle worker as well as Lazarus, the one raised from the dead.  For that reason, the Jewish leaders now plot to kill, not only Jesus, but also Lazarus!  It’s not enough to just kill the miracle worker.  Now the results of his work must be destroyed.  Incredible!

I suppose the stubborn opposition of these men shouldn’t surprise me.  When one rejects the light and surrenders to darkness, this is the inevitable result.  Jesus confronted these men about this very thing earlier (John 8:43–45).  They are acting just like their father, the devil.  Sons and daughters of the devil will act like their father, opposing all that is good and right, even if it means killing someone who has been recently raised from the dead.  Like the thief Jesus talks about in his teaching about the good shepherd, those who give themselves over to evil will seek “...to steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10).  When eyes and ears are closed to the truth, this is to be expected.

 God loves you! Mike

Normal

“I sure wish things would get back to normal.”  My guess is that you have heard this statement or even made it yourself at some point since the beginning of the response to the coronavirus pandemic back in March.  In some measure, everyone’s life has been disrupted.  At one end of the spectrum, there are relatively minor inconveniences, like not being able to eat at your favorite restaurant or go to the movies whenever you want.  At the other end are much more serious things like loss of jobs and shuttering of businesses.  Wherever you are on the spectrum, you have likely caught yourself yearning for some semblance of “normal.”

Have you considered that “normal” may never return?  It has happened over and over again in history.  We see several examples in the Bible.  God called Abraham and things were never really the same again.  He had a “new normal” from that point on.  Due to their sin, both the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah were taken into captivity.  Although some eventually returned home, “normal” as they knew it was as a distant memory.  A “new normal” had to be built.  The “normal” of first century Jewish life was decisively altered in A.D. 70 with the ravaging of Judah and the destruction of Jerusalem and it’s temple by God through the Roman army.  The “normal” they were used to was gone forever, never to return.

Have you considered that, sometimes, it’s best that “normal” doesn’t return?  Without the events listed above, God’s rescue plan for the world through the Messiah and the New Covenant would have been derailed.  We would have been stuck in the “old normal” of estrangement from God.  The “old normal” may have been comfortable, but it was deadly to our spiritual health.  A “new normal” was desperately needed.

Rather than pining for the “old normal,” perhaps we could look for the opportunities God might be providing in the “new.”  It’s easy to get comfortable with the “old normal” and miss the growth that comes through stretching to adapt to the “new.”

God loves you!

Mike

A Previous Engagement

James A. Garfield, the 20th President of the United States, took office on March 4, 1881. On his first Sunday in Washington following his inauguration, a member of the Cabinet insisted that a meeting must be called to discuss a matter that purportedly threatened a national crisis. The President refused, stating that he was already committed to another appointment. The Cabinet member insisted, telling the President that the national matter was of grave importance and that he should break his prior engagement. Still, Mr. Garfield refused to do so.  Obviously appalled, the Cabinet member remarked, “I would be interested to know with whom you have an engagement so important that it cannot be broken.”  Mr. Garfield replied, “I will be as frank as you are. My engagement is with the Lord, to meet Him at His house, at His table, at 10 o’clock tomorrow morning, and I shall be there.”  What an example! May we, too, be so dedicated to the worship of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, that we shall not forget we have a standing “prior engagement” every Sunday morning (BulletinDigest.com).

There are any number of things that can keep us from gathering with our brothers and sisters in Christ -- some more legitimate than others.  I’ll not get into debating what are “good” reasons and what are not, because (1) such debate would be missing the point, (2) your list is probably different than mine, and (3) the Bible doesn’t have an approved list for comparison.  But a few things are clear.

First, the Scriptures encourage us to be together (Hebrews 10:24-25). Second, assembling as believers was assumed and affirmed as a reality (Acts 2:41-44; 16:13; 20:7; 1 Corinthians 5:4; 11:17-18,20; 14:23).  Third, history records that when early Christians faced persecution which prevented them from meeting together as they normally would, they didn’t give up being together.  Instead, they continued to meet in underground burial caves to avoid detection.

Being together is vital.  What is keeping us from being with our church family? 

 

God loves you!

Mike

Follow The Blood

In the current issue of WORLD magazine (9-12-20, p.38), Mindy Belz reports on the struggles facing the country of Lebanon as it deals with the aftermath of the recent explosion in Beirut.  She arrived in person four days after the blast and describes the effects of what is being called “one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history.”  But compounding the problem is the country’s financial situation.  Lebanon’s currency has been devalued by 90 percent over the past 10 months due to government corruption and loan defaults.  Of course, all of this is taking place in the midst of the COVID 19 pandemic which also is compounding things.  But in the midst of it all, Belz speaks of the resolve of many of the Lebanese people who are stepping up to do what they can to help, even with little resources.

The opening paragraph of her article contained a word picture that made me think.  “One thing the victims of the August explosion in Beirut all said in recounting their stories: They could tell where to go by following the trails of blood.  As evening fell in the hour after the blast, they struggled to leave buildings blocked by debris and broken glass, only to make it to streets filled with rubble and pancaked cars”  Then later in the piece, she says this: “There are protests and unrest, to be sure, in such times of crisis.  But there are also people who know their call is to follow the blood and the hurt, the way Jesus would do, without letting up.”

Sometimes Christians struggle to find their role in the kingdom.  “What does God want me to do?”  “How could God use me?”  Sometimes it's as simple following the trails of blood.  The world is full of hurting people.  Sometimes it may be literal blood from literal wounds.  It could also be the figurative “bloodshed” of emotional or relational wounds that are just as real as the physical ones.  But either way, the trails are there to follow.

God loves you!

Mike

Warning Lights

            On our recent trip, we were heading down a lonely stretch of SH 89 from McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park on our way to Lassen Volcanic National Park.  Although the scenery was great, there was not much of anything else available in the way of modern amenities, like cell service.  All of a sudden, several warning lights lit up the instrument panel in the van.  I pulled over, expecting the serpentine belt on the engine had broken.  A quick look under the hood showed the belt still in place and the engine still running fine.  At that point, I suspected the alternator wasn’t charging like it should.  So we shut off all non-essential electrical gadgets (like the air conditioner on a 100 degree day) and headed back to the motel, some 80 miles away.  Thankfully, we made it and a test at a local auto parts store confirmed that the alternator was, indeed, malfunctioning.  A new one was purchased (along with several tools that match ones I already own back in the garage at home).  The next morning, with a cooler engine and a lighter wallet, the alternator was replaced and we were back on the road.

            While no one wants to see warning lights come on, they are there for a very important purpose -- to alert us to an issue that can potentially lead to even greater problems.  In most cases, they get our attention before catastrophic engine damage occurs.  Their message?  Fix this before things get worse or you will regret it!

God provides warning lights on the instrument panel of our spiritual lives.  These “check engine” lights illuminate when things aren’t working properly and, if not corrected, can lead to bigger problems.  Like when partners in a marriage begin to mistreat one another.  Harsh words, inattention, a “harmless” or “innocent” interaction with a third party -- things that don’t seem like a big deal at the start.  But God’s warning light comes on and we ignore it.  And, the next thing you know, a marriage is destroyed.

Pay attention to the warning lights!

 

God loves you!

Mike

Kingdom Fitness

“My Wife and I recently tried out a new gym. A new Planet Fitness opened in our neighborhood and we thought we would check things out. During the tour, (think sales pitch) we kept hearing the same phrase over and over again; “We are a judgment free zone.”

“Planet Fitness prides itself on providing a judgment free fitness experience. A place where anyone at any level can come and begin their fitness journey. The phrase was printed on brochures featuring athletes with optimal bodies. It appeared in large letters above the weightlifting equipment where intimidating biceps were curling impressive amounts of weight. So while there may have been no judgment, there was a good deal of, shall we call it, personal self-critique.

“Thinking that maybe one day we could look like the person on the promotional material, Kim and I decided that we would give the center a try. The representative then produced a contract with no commitment (pause and think about that for a few minutes). We were assured that we could cancel anytime, no matter what nobody was going to judge us.

“As we placed initials and signatures on paper, we were presented with a document labeled “Terms and Conditions.” Printed on this digital document was a list of do’s and don’ts, what would be permitted and what would be impermissible. Actions which the company had “judged” to be inappropriate and inconsistent with corporate objectives and customer safety. Then it dawned on me, at Planet Fitness, judgment free does not mean rule free” (Major Dalton, preaching.com).

Christians live in a “judgment free” zone.  Jesus Himself said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life” (John 5:24).  But that doesn’t mean that a life of faith is rule free.  Those who love Christ will endeavor to keep His commandments (John 14:15).  Perhaps we can call it “Kingdom Fitness.”

God loves you!

Mike

The Cost of Discipleship

“As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore” (John 6:66).

By the time you reach John 6, the large crowds of followers attracted to Jesus were beginning to thin.  Sure, the miracles like turning water to wine, healing a lame man, and feeding an enormous gathering with only five loaves of bread and two fish were impressive.  But now, Jesus was making some claims that were hard to accept.  “I am the bread of life which comes down out of heaven” (John 6:33-35).  “I have come down from heaven” (John 6:38).  “He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life” (John 6:54).

Claims like these were making it much harder to be a follower of Jesus.  It’s one thing to follow a miracle worker.  It’s a much different thing when the miracle worker begins to require a commitment on your part -- to make a claim on your life.  The cost of being a disciple of Jesus was suddenly becoming much higher and many were leaving.  The departure point differs among individuals.  For Nicodemus, it was when Jesus told him he had to be born again (John 13.3).  For one rich young man, it was when Jesus told him to sell his possessions and give the money to the poor (Matthew 19:21-22).  For others, it is when troubles and persecution comes (Matthew 13:20-21).  In each case, the cost of discipleship became too high, at least at that point in their lives.

Every follower of Jesus needs to periodically count the cost of following Jesus in their own life.  Is there anything that could cause me to quit walking with Jesus?  Family?  Friends?  Job?  Trials?  Persecution?  Finances?  The time to ask these kinds of questions is BEFORE the particular situation presents itself.  That way, I can prepare beforehand to face the temptations that will inevitably come to give up.  Walking with Jesus is the only way to experience eternal life.  Don’t stop walking!  Don’t give up!

 

God loves you!

Mike

Essential

The Oxford English Dictionary defines the word “essential” as something that is “absolutely necessary; extremely important” (www.lexico.com/en/definition/essential).  There is a word in the New Testament that carries the same idea.  It is the Greek word “dei” and it speaks of “...what must happen, i.e. what is absolutely necessary” (HELPS Word-studies).  It is used 104 times in its various forms.  Let me remind you of several things the Bible says are essential for the church as it interacts with the world around it:

• We must worship in spirit and truth (John 4:24).
• We must help the weak (Acts 20:35).
• We must respond to all gracefully (Colossians 4.6).
• We must conduct ourselves properly in the church (1 Timothy 3:15).
• We must engage in good deeds (Titus 3:14).
• We must pay close attention to teaching so that we do not drift (Hebrews 2:1).
• We must obey God rather than man (Acts 5:29).

According to Jesus and other inspired writers, these are essential activities for the church, the people of God.  These are things we “must” do.  But some today would have us believe there are no “essential” functions of the church -- that in effect, society can do without us for a time, just as it can do without barber shops, nail salons, gyms, and theaters.  I respectfully disagree.

A case could be made that the church is preeminently essential in our modern culture.  In a time when fear, anger, and disillusionment are running wild, the church is needed now as much as ever.  The time may come when the church is driven underground once again.  But while we still have the freedom to do so, let’s stand firm as salt and light and endeavor not to be driven to the fringes as an irrelevant bystander.  Perhaps now is our time to shine instead of retreat.

God loves you!

Mike

Exceptional

“Having a bit of time on a Saturday afternoon drive through Virginia, Emily Schantz decided to stop and pick up a bag left in the roadway that a car in front of her swerved to miss.  Assuming it was trash, Schantz and her two sons pitched that bag in the bed of their truck.  After returning to their home in Caroline County, Va., the Schantzes discovered the bag was stuffed with about $1 million in cash.  Rather than hide the loot, Schantz phoned local deputies about the money.  Caroline County deputies believe the money belonged to  the U.S. Postal Service and was bound for a bank.  Maj. Scott Moser of the sheriff’s office praised the family for turning the money in: “For someone so honest and willing to give that almost a million dollars back, it’s exceptional on their part.”” (World Magazine, 7-18-20)

Kudos to Ms. Schantz and her sons for doing the right thing, especially when there were about a million reasons not to. Mr. Moser’s statement about it being “exceptional on their part” got me thinking.  Have we reached a point where such actions are the exception rather than the rule?  Or has it always been that way?  Imagine for a moment that 100 randomly selected American citizens were presented with the same scenario.  How many do you suppose would turn the money in?  Without any specific empirical data to offer, I guess it’s all conjecture.  But I wonder…

Perhaps a more important question to ask is: How do we develop the kind of integrity that does what is exceptional?  The Bible offers some help:

 

➢   Remember that doing the right thing pleases God (15:1-    2).

➢   Understand that doing the right thing builds our trust in the Lord (Psalm 26:1)

➢   Recognize that doing the right thing is truly valuable (Proverbs 28:6).

➢   Realize that doing the right thing starts with the small things (Luke 16.10).

 

So whether it’s one dollar or a million dollars, let’s always endeavor to do the right thing.  May God help us all to be truly exceptional.

 

God loves you!

Mike

Public Service Announcement

The following public service announcement is brought to you by the Bible:

“These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful” (Revelation 17:14).

Wikipedia defines a public service announcement as “...a message in the public interest disseminated without charge, with the objective of raising awareness of, and changing public attitudes and behavior towards, a social issue.”  My purpose in sharing the verse above is the same.  While being respectful of the immediate context of the Revelation of Jesus Christ to its first century readers, there is a principle here that transcends time and culture.  It is this: Jesus Christ “...is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful.”  What is it that causes you concern?

“Evil is running rampant in our society.  What are we going to do?”  Find a way to make a difference and remember: Jesus is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful.  That will always be true.

“Racial tensions are tearing our country apart.  What are we going to do?”  Find a way to make a difference and remember: Jesus is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful.  That will always be true.

“Devilish forces are conspiring to rule the world.  What are we going to do?”  Find a way to make a difference and remember: Jesus is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful.  That will always be true.

If this is starting to sound repetitive, good.  Because we need to hear it over and over again.  Jesus is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful.  That will always be true.

God loves you!

Mike

A Restoration Movement

“Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted.  Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:1–2 NAS95).

Anyone who has been involved in a physical restoration process, such as a home, car, etc., knows that success depends on many different factors.  The same is true of spiritual restoration.  In the verses above, the apostle Paul highlights several factors that are important in restoring someone caught up in sin.

First, restoration is best done by someone who is qualified and has experience.  Paul refers to that person as “spiritual.”  In the context of the letter to the Galatians, that is the person who is endeavoring to live and be led by the Spirit of God (Galatians 5:16,18,25).  

Second, restoration should be done gently.  This is no time for recklessness or heavy-handedness.  A bad situation can be made worse by one who approaches the offender with an attitude of moral superiority or impatience.  The numerous examples of how Jesus dealt with sinners provide excellent guidance in this area.

Third, restoration should be done carefully.  In this case, Paul isn’t referring to the one being helped.  The warning is for the helper -- the one seeking to restore the wayward one.  The temptation is always there to become ensnared ourselves.  Perhaps the reference is to the sin of the one we are trying help or maybe it speaks of the temptation to help in the wrong kind of ways.  Either way, we need to guard against becoming the next victim of sin.

Fourth, restoration is a natural outgrowth of the care and concern we should have for one another.  It is just one way, among many others, of “bearing one another’s burdens.”  If we are looking out for each other as we should, we won’t hesitate to step in and help where we can.

Do you want to be a restorationist?  Paul shows us how!

God loves you!

Mike

Love Your Neighbor

“You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other” (Galatians 5:13–15).

As I read news reports of the turmoil that is enveloping much of our nation, I think of these verses that we recently considered in our study of Galatians.  I realize that Paul is addressing relationships among believers in the body of Christ and not national issues.  But it seems to me that some of the same principles could apply in any situation where humans interact.

Principle #1: Freedom is easily abused.  Our nation has been an experiment in freedom from the very beginning.  And, sadly, that freedom has been abused in many ways from the very beginning.  Freedom hasn’t been equally applied in too many cases.  But addressing the abuse of freedom with more abuses of freedom just feeds the beast.  It perpetuates and deepens the problem.

Principle #2: Love accomplishes more than law.  Yes, laws are needed and should be respected in an orderly society.  But without love for others, laws can become tools for evil by being unequally administered and abused.  When hate rules, no amount of law can restrain evil.  Society will devolve into anarchy in spite of its laws.  But when love for each other is the guiding force, law doesn’t have to be preeminent.

Principle #3: Hate is destructive.  When a nation begins to “bite and devour each other,” mutual destruction is assured.  And who is the winner then?  The one who takes the last bite?  The last person standing can claim to be “king of the world” while standing on a pile of smoldering rubble.  Seems like a hollow victory to me.  But what do I know...

Loving one another seems so simplistic in the face of such turmoil.  But it really is the answer.

God loves you!

Mike

Do Your Homework

        The title of a recent article on scitechdaily.com matter-of-factly proclaimed: “Kepler Space Telescope Reveals as Many as Six Billion Earth-Like Planets in Our Galaxy.”*  Amazing, right?  The advances of modern science are truly breath-taking as astronomers are able to gaze deeper and deeper into the dark recesses of our corner of the universe.  But be careful before sharing this particular headline as an established fact.
As you read the article, you find that those involved in the project aren’t nearly as certain as the title of the article assumes.  In fact, the very first sentence doesn’t sound nearly as confident: “There MAY (emphasis mine, MJA) be as many as one Earth-like planet for every five Sun-like stars in the Milky Way Galaxy, according to new ESTIMATES (emphasis mine, MJA) by University of British Columbia astronomers using data from NASA’s Kepler mission.”  Here’s another example: “According to UBC astronomer Jaymie Matthews: “Our Milky Way has as many as 400 billion stars, with seven percent of them being G-type. That means less than six billion stars MAY HAVE (emphasis mine, MJA) Earth-like planets in our Galaxy.”
What’s my point?  Take the time to do your research.  Be very careful about grabbing a headline and running with it.  This is especially so in the Internet age.  Bold statements are made and, often, we swallow them without checking the facts.  And this is true in every area of life, not only science.  Believers can be susceptible to this in religion as well.  We can be quick to grab the latest “amazing” headline that seems to bolster our case and then get embarrassed because we didn’t do our homework.  Sometimes, if we had just taken the time to investigate the claim, we could avoid ending up with egg on our faces.
I’m not anti-science.  If it turns out there are “...as Many as Six Billion Earth-Like Planets in Our Galaxy,” I’m fine with that.  But at this point, if I do my homework, I know it is just a theory, not a fact.

God loves you!
Mike
*https://scitechdaily.com/kepler-space-telescope-reveals-as-many-as-six-billion-earth-like-planets-in-our-galaxy/

Professing and Practicing

“If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.  Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another” (Galatians 5:25–26).

Being made alive through the Spirit of God is an incredible gift!  Our Savior Himself said that “...it is the Spirit who gives life” (John 6.63).  Though we were all dead in our trespasses, transgressions, and sins, it was God who, through the work of His Spirit, “...made us alive together with Christ…” (Eph. 2:1-6).  It’s the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus that has released us from bondage to sin (Romans 8:2).  If we are indwelt by the Spirit of God, we share in the resurrection power of God (Romans 8:11).  I could go on and on with references to the blessings of the life we enjoy through the Spirit of God.  We should be eternally grateful for the life we live by the Spirit.

But Paul says that’s only one part of our response.  Not only should be gratefully accept the life given by the power of the Spirit, we also should order our lives according to the desires of the Spirit.  Not only does God make us alive,  but He also directs us in the right way to keep on living.  It’s at this point where some believers stall in their maturity.  They are more than happy to accept the blessings of God’s Spirit, but they are hesitant to submit to the direction of God’s Spirit.  It’s as if they say, “God, please save me but don’t tell me how to live.”  No, they probably wouldn’t say it outloud that way, but that is how it works out in practice (or, better yet, lack of practice).

 According to the inspired apostle in Galatians 5, there are ways a Spiritually-regenerated believer acts and speaks and there are ways a Spiritually-regenerated believer doesn’t act and speak.  Periodically, I need to do an assessment.  Does my walk match my talk?  Does my practice match my profession?

            How about you?

God loves you!

Mike

A Father For Fathers

The pillars of godly fatherhood are forged early in life.  Current fathers are called by God to be the guides for the fathers of the future.  Today’s dads seek help from the Ultimate Father in fashioning men of God.  General Douglas MacArthur understood this and wrote these words in the Philippines during the desperate early days of the Pacific war:

“Build me a son, O Lord, who will be strong enough to know when he is weak, and brave enough to face himself when he is afraid; one who will be proud and unbending in honest defeat, and humble and gentle in victory.

“Build me a son whose wishbone will not be where his backbone should be; a son who will know Thee and that to know himself is the foundation stone of knowledge. Lead him, I pray, not in the path of ease and comfort, but under the stress and spur of difficulties and challenge. Here let him learn to stand up in the storm; here let him learn compassion for those who fail.

“Build me a son whose heart will be clean, whose goal will be high; a son who will master himself before he seeks to master other men; one who will learn to laugh, yet never forget how to weep; one who will reach into the future, yet never forget the past.

“And after all these things are his, add, I pray, enough of a sense of humor, so that he may always be serious, yet never take himself too seriously. Give him humility, so that he may always remember the simplicity of greatness, the open mind of true wisdom, the meekness of true strength.

“Then I, his father, will dare to whisper, “I have not lived in vain.”

Father God, I pray today for fathers everywhere who feel the weight upon their shoulders of a role for which they are truly inadequate without Your help.  Father, help them to bear that burden with the confidence that You will help them as they guide their sons and daughters.  Strengthen them for the road ahead.  Thank you Lord.

God loves you!

Mike

Using The Bible Like The Devil

“You will not be afraid of the terror by night, or of the arrow that flies by day; of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, or of the destruction that lays waste at noon. A thousand may fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not approach you. You will only look on with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked. For you have made the LORD, my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place. No evil will befall you, nor will any plague come near your tent” (Psalm 91:5–10 NAS95)

These verses are being used by some to call into question the faith of believers who have chosen to follow social distancing guidelines to help curb the spread of the coronavirus.  “What, do you not trust God enough to protect you?” they ask.  “Just read the Bible.  It says the pestilence shall not approach you.  The plague will not come near you.”  The implication is that if you just had enough faith, you would be immune to the virus.  You could forge ahead without any precautions because God would not let anything happen to you.  But is that a correct understanding of this text?  Here are some things to think about.

The Psalmist is speaking in aspirational terms, praising God for His protection of those who trust in Him.  Does it mean the writer believed that no faithful person had ever experienced fearful times?  That no believer had ever fallen in battle?  That no one who trusts in the Lord will ever experience anything evil?  That no faithful person had ever died of pestilence or plague in all of history?  I strongly doubt the Psalmist believed any of these things.  The Psalmist lived in a world like ours where bad things routinely happen to faithful people.  What the writer is doing is speaking in lofty terms to encourage trust in God no matter what happens.

The dagger to the heart of the idea that Psalm 91 teaches that the faithful one can throw caution to the wind in the face of danger comes from later in the Bible.  In Luke 4, Jesus is facing the temptations of the devil in the wilderness.  Satan challenges Jesus to throw Himself off the pinnacle of the temple and then he quotes from Psalm 91:11-12 to back up his challenge (Luke 4:9-11)!  Surely if there was ever a faithful one who could claim the promise of God’s protection from harm it would be Jesus!  But how does Jesus respond?  “Yes, I can do it because God has promised to protect me”?  That would certainly show Satan!  No, He doesn’t do that.  Jesus also quotes scripture to tell the devil: “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test” (Luke 4.12).  Apparently, one shouldn’t presume upon the care and protection of the Lord.  Apparently, wisdom and common sense should have a place at the table in the decisions of faithful people.  Putting your complete trust in the Lord doesn’t mean that you have to avoid common sense ways to protect yourself and others.

Take your time as you read and apply the Scriptures, especially if you are going to use them as a weapon against the decisions of other believers.  If you don’t, you may end up using the Bible like the devil.

God loves you!

Mike

It's Not A Competition!

“But on the contrary, seeing that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been to the circumcised (for He who effectually worked for Peter in his apostleship to the circumcised effectually worked for me also to the Gentiles), and recognizing the grace that had been given to me, James and Cephas and John, who were reputed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, so that we might go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised” (Galatians 2:7–9).

The troublemakers in the Galatian congregations were doing their best to drive a wedge between local Christians and Paul.  Apparently they were discrediting his ministry by claiming his teaching and ministry was different than that of Peter, James, and John.  In Galatians 2:1-10, Paul emphasizes the common ground his gospel mission shares with the leadership of the Jerusalem church.  During one of his visits to Jerusalem, Paul sat down with “those who were of reputation.”  They discussed their respective efforts and found themselves squarely on the same page.  In the verses listed above, Paul highlights three commonalities.

First, God entrusted each of them with the same gospel.  Yes, the primary focus of their efforts differed (Paul to the Gentiles, Peter to the Jews), but the message they preached remained the same.

Second, God effectually worked within each ministry.  The sense here is that God was the energizing force in both gospel efforts.  He didn’t favor one other the other.  He was eager to empower them both.

Third, God encouraged them with a spirit of fellowship. Rather than letting themselves be pitted against one another, the Jerusalem leaders extended “the right hand of fellowship” to Paul and Barnabus.  They served on the same team.

True gospel ministry is never a competition.  Anyone who seeks to make it so (like the troublemakers in Galatia) is not serving the purposes of God.  May God help us all to be supportive of any and all efforts to share the gospel of God!

God loves you!

Mike

Unbelievable!

“I was still unknown by sight to the churches of Judea which were in Christ; but only, they kept hearing, “He who once persecuted us is now preaching the faith which he once tried to destroy.”  And they were glorifying God because of me” (Galatians 1:22–24).

Imagine being a Christian in the region of Judea during the murderous rampage of Saul of Tarsus.  The young Pharisee had made it his mission to destroy the fledgling movement which claimed loyalty to the recently crucified Jesus of Nazareth.  Not content with merely driving them out of Jerusalem, this young firebrand traveled to the far reaches of the land, imprisoning and even having some disciples put to death.  The name “Saul” struck fear in even the stoutest of hearts.  Perhaps your own family or church had been torn apart in the purge.  Who would be next?

Now imagine that you begin to hear the whispered rumors: Saul has become a disciple!  Given what you know, you find this extremely difficult to believe.  In fact, you wonder if perhaps this is a ruse to lure more Christians into his trap.  Given his track record, that’s not such a stretch, is it?  But then, people you trust tell you of how they heard him proclaiming Christ in the synagogue.  Even Barnabus was vouching for him.  Could it really be possible?  Has the persecutor become a preacher?

If you ever doubt God’s ability to change your life, think back to what He did in Saul’s life.  It’s easy to think that you have done too many evil things, that you have made too many mistakes, that you have burned too many bridges to ever be used by God.  Saul’s story says otherwise.  If God can change Saul’s life, then there is no reason to think that you are beyond hope.  If you are willing, God can give you a new start and direction.  Who knows?  Maybe others will hear your story and have a hard time believing it.  Maybe your story will give hope to others and prompt them to give glory to God as well.

God loves you!

Mike

Name Droppers

            In a recent article, Mike Glenn addresses the decline in church attendance in our country.  Various reasons are debated for this decrease and Glenn offers his own take on the issue.  He likens it to the social practice of “name dropping”, where someone claims to “know” someone yet, in reality, they would hardly qualify as a casual acquaintance.  Read on as he describes what he means:

            “According to recent studies, as much of 40% of students will walk away from the Christian faith as they become adults. Millions of people have stopped coming to church at all and deny any kind of religious affiliation.

“I get it. There are, of course, several reasons that feed into this new reality. One of them is honesty. Several years ago, being a member of a local church was a social expectation. No one really cared if you attended or not, or if you adhered to the church’s statements of faith. You just had to be a member. That means denominational executives were able to claim thousands of members who were never active in any reasonable manner in any church. Their names were the rolls. That’s it.

“So, when the numbers started dropping, I wasn’t surprised. I thought we were finally getting our numbers straightened out. The numbers seemed to be a little more accurate – at least from my experience. Let’s just say there have never been as many Christians in local churches as was claimed. We have a lot of name droppers.”*

            I think he is on to something.  Perhaps as Christianity is increasingly pushed to the margins in our society, there is less of an appeal to merely claim religious affiliation.  The “name droppers” start to drop off when the social benefits of membership start to wane. When the perks of being part of the country club are out-weighed by the cost, people start looking for a different club.  Perhaps Glenn is right.  Maybe tough times have a way of differentiating the “name confessors” from the “name droppers.” 

God loves you!

Mike

*https://www.christianitytoday.com/scot-mcknight/2020/february/name-dropping.html

The Personal Touch

I saw this news item this past week: “Today Amazon is opening its first grocery store to pilot the use of the retailer’s cashierless “Just Walk Out” technology that has previously powered 25 Amazon Go convenience stores in a handful of major U.S. metros. Based in Amazon’s hometown of Seattle, the new Amazon Go Grocery store allows customers to shop for everyday grocery items like fresh produce, meat, seafood, bakery items, household essentials, dairy, easy-to-make dinner options, beer, wine and spirits, and more. The store is 7,700 square feet in the front of the house and 10,400 square feet overall, making it the largest use of Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology to date.

“As with Amazon Go convenience stores, shoppers first use the Amazon Go app to scan in as they enter the store, then shop as usual. Cameras and sensors track the items removed from the shelves which are then added to the shopper’s virtual cart. When the customer exits the store, their cart is checked out automatically using their payment card on file. The end result is a grocery store with no lines or waiting. Meanwhile, store staff are freed up to take care of other aspects of the business like restocking shelves and customer service.”*

            Technology can be a blessing and a curse. I suppose in this case the blessings come in the form of corporate savings due to lower employee costs.  But I wonder if the loss of the “human touch” could also become a curse for our culture.  Digital technology and artificial intelligence are making it increasingly easy to avoid human interaction.  While the introverts among us may view that as a plus, I think we need to be vigilant that we don’t sacrifice too much on the altar of efficiency.

            The body of Christ is designed to be a relational organism.  I’m not advocating a return to the days of catacombs and parchment, but just reminding us that the personal touch is vital to our mission.

God loves you!

Mike

*https://techcrunch.com/2020/02/25/amazon-opens-its-first-cashierless-grocery-store/

Freedom For The Guilty

            Perhaps you saw the local news reports recently regarding the man who was released from jail after serving 15 years for a crime he didn’t commit.  New evidence cleared him of the charges that kept him behind bars for the last decade and a half of his life.  It’s difficult to even imagine paying such a high price for something you didn’t do.  Imagine the anger you would have toward the injustice of it all.  Imagine the despair you would feel after a while when you realized that your professions of innocence were useless.  Imagine the gratefulness you would feel for those who kept trying to help you.  Imagine how good it would feel to be free once again.

            Now imagine getting off the hook for crimes for which you WERE guilty.  Let’s say you were on death row waiting to be executed.  You knew as well as anyone you deserved everything you were going to get and never maintained otherwise.  I’m not talking here about getting released because of some technicality or because of the unscrupulous trickery of your defense team.  In this case, someone who wasn’t guilty of your crimes volunteered to take your place on death row and receive the lethal injection instead of you.  The guard unlocks your cell and escorts you to the main gate of the prison.  Your shackles are removed and you walk away -- free from the penalty of your crimes.

            Friend, this is what God through Jesus Christ has done for you.  As the Incarnate Word, He was executed in your place for your crimes (sins).  You didn’t deserve it because you were guilty.  But He did it anyway.  He died for YOUR sins (1 Corinthians 15:3).  He gave Himself for YOUR sins (Galatians 1:4). He bore YOUR sins in His body on the cross (1 Peter 2:24).

            As you breathe the crisp air of freedom, are you grateful for the One Who took YOUR place?  Always remember that your freedom came at a great price and live as if you believe it.

God loves you!

Mike