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