Freedom in Christ

Yesterday was a special day in the spiritual life of the church where I worship.  Our goal for our assembly was reflected in our theme:  “Gripped by Worship”.  We sought to see God and were overwhelmed by his majesty and greatness.  We thought about our own weaknesses and inadequacies and were saddened, yet willing to recommit as living sacrifices.  We listened to God–we celebrated his goodness.  We remembered his love for us, visible in Jesus’ sacrifice.  We sang and we prayed.  As we concluded we stood and sat and knelt and bowed–all indications of our gratitude and love and recommitment.  We cried and touched, honoring special prayer requests from Margaret and Joyce.

We were overjoyed later in the day to hear Lynn’s statement of faith in God; we sympathized with Charlie’s concern for his hometown; we shared special times in small groups, thinking about how God is forming this community of faith and salvation to reflect life through His Spirit.

To God be the Glory–great things he has done!

Your Nose–Top Ten Things to Do With It!

10.  Look down it at somebody.  After all, everyone needs to know that you are a proud person.
9.  Poke it into someone else’s business.  This will help you keep strife and dissension stirred up and others will know how much you care.
8.  Snoop around with it.  Being nosy and a gossip is good if you have the other person’s wellbeing in mind, isn’t it?
7.  Get it out of joint.  A little anger sure helps get your point across.
6.  Cut it off to spite your face.  Nothing like a little bitterness to help you feel better.
5.  Pay through it.  No price is too high if you really want something–so says our materialistic world.
4.  Find something right under it.  Close at hand are the love and salvation of God–if we will only look.
3.  See past it.   Keep hope and eternity in view.
2.  Keep it clean.  Good advice–humility and obedience.
And the number one thing to do with your nose….
1.   Get it stuck in a book (the Bible!)

Spider Crossing?

I was just driving down the road, minding my own business, when I saw “it”.  “It” was a 4-5 inch spider casually crossing the road.  I went on about my business–it went on about its business.

Why did I notice it?  Why am I writing about a spider on the road?  I noticed it because it was unusual and out of the ordinary.  I don’t see spiders crossing the road every day.

I see a life lesson.  People notice the unusual.  As long as God’s people look pretty much like others around us, we will not often be noticed.  As long as our lives pretty much mirror the lives of those around us–why would anyone notice or care? 

Look for opportunities today.  What could you do that would be out of the ordinary?  What opportunity will God present for you to demonstrate Christ’s present in your life by reacting differently than others do?  What will I do that is counter-cultural.  “In the world, but not of the world.”  “Let your lights so shine….”

Beware:  Christian crossing! 

Introspection

I love questions.   Questions teach–I learn.  Questions sharpen–I have to think.  Questions cut–they reveal my inner soul.

 “Am I committed to something bigger than I am, that will last longer than I will?”  Good question!  The question has multiple dynamics.

Am I committed?  Hard to measure.  What does it mean to be committed?  How committed?  A few years ago, there arose a movement often referred to as the “total commitment” movement.  Guess what?  Many of Christians I knew were against it!  The old chicken and pig story–I’m willing to make a contribution, but total commitment is beyond the question.  How would I know if I were committed?  Would it reflect in my life? my priorities? my actions? my daily routine?

 Bigger than I am!  What a challenge!  We are so full of ourselves.  Much of what we do we do for visible results.  Much of what we do is for us.  Where is something bigger than we are?  Something invisible…something seen only by faith…something that can grasp me and challenge me and give meaning to life.

That will last longer than I will.  Something eternal.  Something beyond this world.

Those of you who read regularly know my thinking–Jesus Christ is the answer to the question.  He is our eternal yes. 

On Being Educated….

I am thinking today about what it means to be educated.

J. K. Rowling (of Harry Potter fame) spoke at the spring graduation at Harvard earlier this month.

Some of the graduates were appalled. “She just writes children’s books. She can hardly have anything to say to a Harvard grad.”

Some applauded the decision to invite her. “She models participation in the world—finding a niche, thinking, contributing.”

One might remember the description frequently heard among educators: “Where freshman bring so much and graduates take away so little.” Being educated means more than having a degree.  One is not more educated by a degree from a prestigious school.

Competence—now there’s a possibility for what it means to be educated!

Walls

[Note:  the following is not original with me.  Unfortunately I do not know the source.]

Ten reasons we don’t need new walls!

1. We’ve gotten by fine without them for 100 years.
2. They’ll cost too much.
3. We tried to build them once and it didn’t work.
4. Nobody will help.
5. Some of “them” don’t like the idea.
6. I’ve heard too many rumors about our leader.
7. What’s the big deal about walls?
8. I heard of one town that had them and they fell down at the sound of a trumpet.
9. They’ll just be something else to maintain.
10. What we really need is a better security system.

Ain’t It Awful!

I love some of the signature lines people put at the end of their e-mails. Here’s my nomination for the signature of the day: “Drop out of the ‘Ain’t It Awful Club’—Volunteer!”

Easy to figure out what’s wrong. Easier to bemoan what’s wrong. Easiest to criticize what’s wrong.

Hard to to get involved. Hard to make a difference. Hard to change the world. But worth it.

Do You Ever Do Anything but Study?

The question caught me by surprise.  It was only a casual conversation meandering across a lot of subjects randomly.  Eventually the question, “How do you know all that stuff?”  The immediate response, “It’s my job to know stuff.”

Indeed!  It is my job to know stuff.”  I remember the compliment paid to one of my friends, “He knows a little bit about everything.”  Seems better to me than the alternative:  knowing a lot about nothing!

A major part of my job is to communicate “stuff.”  Not just any stuff, but the things of God.  Along the way, it is helpful to know about lots of other things as well, since truth is of God wherever one finds it.

That’s why I have spent my life studying—not just the word of God, but lots of other things along the way.  Music and mathematics, chemistry and calculus, history and heritage, languages and leadership, ministry and missions.  Abraham Lincoln said, “I will study and get ready, and perhaps my chance will come.”  So will I.

Faith or Hope?

My neighbor hurried across the street. I could tell she had something on her mind. Turns out, she had a story she knew I would enjoy. She had been talking to one of her religious friends. They were talking about the tribulation. Her friend had said, “I believe in pre-trib. But if that doesn’t happen, then I’m going for mid-trib. And if that doesn’t happen, I’ll go for post-trib.” My neighbor’s explanation of her friend’s position: She believes in what she hopes is true, but if it turns out it isn’t, she’ll go for plan B. If that turns out to be untrue, she’ll go for plan C.

Never mind that the concepts under discussion aren’t biblical concepts—you’ll be hard pressed to find pre-trib (or pre-tribulation), mid-trib, or post-trib in your concordance. Amazing how people will buy into someone’s explanation of the Bible, and the use of terms that aren’t even in the Bible, when the Bible is its own best interpreter. Also amazing that people believe in what they hope is true. Is it faith or is it hope? The line is increasingly blurred.

It may seem “old hat”, but we do need to be reminded each day, along with millions in our world, “Faith comes from hearing the word of God.”

Self-destructing trees–and churches!

I’m back in my cul-de-sac today (not literally, but in my thinking).

There’s a big hole in my neighbor’s front yard.  Not a literal hole in the ground, a place where a tree used to be—until last winter’s ice storm.  My neighbor lost a Bradford pear.  Why?  Because Bradford pear trees, despite their beautiful early spring flowering, have a major weakness.  The way they grow, coupled with the laws of physics, makes them susceptible to wind and ice damage.  It’s rare to see an old Bradford pear that isn’t missing a substantial section of its limbs or trunk.

Here’s an explanation of the problem.  The branches are more brittle than other trees.  The tree grows up but not out.  The Bradford’s branches are too narrow, they grow too close together and get in each other’s way, and they naturally push the tree apart as its grows.  The tree is in-grown.  In essence, the tree self-destructs under pressure.

Lessons for the church.  Churches self-destruct under similar circumstances.  When we are brittle (overly sensitive); when we are narrow (in understandings or attitudes); when we spend all our energy reaching up and seldom reach out; when we are in-grown; when we want our own place and push others away; when we are more interested in our branch than in the health of the tree.

The Bradford looks like it has it all together, and people keep planting them.  But when troubles come, they keep coming apart.  What matters down at the church house is not whether we look like we have it all together.  As long as we are in this world, we won’t have it all together!  What matters down at the church house is whether we are growing in healthy ways or unhealthy ways.