Something to Think About for April 30, 2014:

A recent news story reminded me about a question I had to ask close to fifty years ago.  I was a teen driver getting around in the suburbs south of Chicago.  My first vehicle was a Honda 50 Sport.    That was replaced by a Volkswagen "bug" with a soft sunroof.   I worked at an after school job, and sometime ended up traveling home between eleven and midnight.  The late 60s and early 70s were turbulent times in the US.  My area was not exempt.  I used to ride by Dixie Square.  It was one of the earliest enclosed malls built in our area.  Later, after it closed, it starred in the "Blues Brothers."  I shopped in some of the stores Jake and Elwood trashed in the film.  I remember riding by the mall one night knowing that earlier that evening one of the stores had been robbed.  The take was a supply of guns and ammunition.  Other nearby businesses were burned and/or looted during those troubled days.  One of the tactics of some more radical demonstrators of the time was to block a road.  The barrier was not concrete or wood.  It was people.  A group of people would congregate in a street and stop a car.  Usually, what ensued was people surrounding the car, slaps on the top and sides, insults, and maybe something written on the windshield.  On a few occasions--at least according to the news that came my way--things got worse.  People were dragged out of cars, and beaten--even killed.  It was a time when fear ran high.   Recently stories have been published about encounters at the US-Mexican border.  On one side are rock-throwing youngsters.  On the other are armed guards.  I have no idea who is right and wrong, but some of the youngsters, allegedly rock-throwers, have been shot.  Rightly, there has been outrage. I remember the conversations of half-a-century ago.  "If they try to stop me, I'm stepping on the gas instead of the brake." said some of my more militant friends.  (Not a lot of comfort for a rider of a tiny motorcycle, or even a VW driver.)  The scenario has hung around my psyche for a long time.  "What would I do?"  "What would have been the right thing to do?"  I have no doubt that similar conversations take place around the troubled border.  "If one of those rocks . . ." If I had a clear answer the ugly--and thankfully for me, imaginary--scene would not have hung around in my mind for so long.  The perversity of the situation on the border or the street eruptions of my youth is that the decency of one side is used as a tool against them.  The self-restraint of one side becomes the encouragement for the other side's complete lack of respect for life and law.  But if that decency is abandoned, what is there left? It's messy out there. If you are looking for a clear answer, I'm sorry to disappoint.  This is indeed something to think about.  As close as I come being definitive is this:  The respect for life is so valuable that my protection of it, may, at times, put me in danger for my own. Like I said, It's STTA. (Sorry to be so dark.  I'll be watching for something lighter.)

Something to Think About for April 29, 2014:

Something To Think About, A Pleasing Aroma, 4/29

Kathy and I were guests in a lovely home last evening.  We were privileged to eat a big mess* of ramps, dug and prepared by a gentleman who grew up in Richwood WV, the "Ramp Capital of the World."  We had ramps and potatoes, ramps with scrambled eggs, brown beans, bacon, ham, biscuits, and just ramps.  All of it was delicious. A few minutes ago my wife said, "We need to keep some breath mints with us all day."  Ramps have staying power.  If you eat a bunch of them in their purest form, raw, the odor will work out through the pores of your skin for several days.  More than twelve hours later I still have the faint onion/garlic taste of the wild leeks in my mouth. The "staying power" of ramps, though, is nothing compared to the lasting impact of our host's testimony.  His life has been what some would call tragic.  Neither his life, nor his home, though, betray any hint that life is hard.  Rather both are full of beauty and joy.  When we arrived last night we could smell the ramps as soon as we got out of the car.  In the same way you can't be around my friend very long before you sense the fruit of the Spirit--"love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control" (Galatians 5:22-23).  His ongoing interaction with the other guests at last night's Appalachian feast is clear evidence of God's Spirit in him.  These Divine qualities work out through the pores of my friend's life, marking not only him, but giving a pleasing aroma to his surroundings.. Lord, give me a life that will suffuse my surroundings with an unmistakable sign that You are present in my life.  Amen. *"Mess of" is a term I've heard all my adult life, here in Covington.  It is, in a sense, a unit of measure.  "How many beans do you have?"  "Enough for a mess."  When someone goes to get a mess of something, he has a quantity in mind.  It is loosely equivalent to "enough," or "plenty."  If you have a "mess of" something, everybody will get their fill and there will, almost surely, be some leftovers.  God's Story in His Own Words. our Easter message that presents the flow of Divine Revelation from "In the beginning," to the final "Amen."

Something to Think About for April 25, 2014:

Something To Think About, Teens, 4/25

Gray haired, bad-knee-ed old preachers like are expected to say things like, "I don't know about these kids, today!"  Well I don't.  Just look at some of the stuff I see these kids posting on their Facebook pages: One young person had had a rough day--a rough day because this student is seeking to live for the Lord. ". . .  people can be rude and disrespectful toward our faith, but don't let that anger you. Forgive them . . .  and pray that they realize what they are doing. Take it in stride, and DONT let this anger you."   Another teen ad this to say about the seriousness of one's faith: "It's important to me to study my bible . . . it's also great to be in a church . . . [that helps] me better understand it. . . .  how blessed I am to be in a country where I can go and learn about God's word freely." Another young person did what an old hymn challenges us to do--"survey the wondrous cross." "The Messiah . . . was put on a cross to be tortured, mocked, humiliated and ultimately murdered. The real suffering was for our sins . . . God could not look upon his son because of our sin. We were bought with a price!" Here are three young people who are seeking to walk with and grow in the Lord.  They are representative of many.  I don't know about these kids.  It is yet to be seen what God will do through them. It's STTA.

My own version of Screwtape:

Something to Think About for April 23, 2014:

Something To Think About, Lies, 4/23

It is absolutely clear that the more time one spends on the road, the more likely he is to have an accident.  The car that stays in the garage will never hit the guardrail.  So, the faster I drive the quicker I will get to my destination, thus spending less time on the road.  Therefore, driving as fast as I can is the safest way to go. I love spinning out that flawed syllogism.  If my presentation has the necessary element of apparent sincerity, and if the listener has the requisite desire to believe--dare I say gullibility, there will be a couple of seconds between when I finish my presentation, and the point where the listener says, "Naw!" in which there is a look in the eyes that says, "Maybe he's got something, there."  I've been there.  For a moment in time I almost believe the unbelievable. Satan is the master of this game, only with him it isn't a game, it is a deadly exercise.  If he can get me to buy into one of his flawed narratives long enough, I become invested in it.  Once I have skin in the game, I come to defend a line of reasoning that just a short time ago I almost proclaimed ridiculous.  At this point I begin to promote error.  I rent billboards to spread my message:    "DRIVE FASTER.  IT'S THE SAFEST WAY TO GO!   Let me give you a real example: I'm a preacher.  I have the incredible privilege of sharing God's word with people, of seeking to persuade people to bring their lives into conformity with "Thus saith the Lord," and in that way giving them the opportunity to reap the blessing that comes from living a God-centered life.  One of the necessary ingredients to preaching is having somebody to listen.  Here is where the "Drive faster" error comes in.  Satan can present it with such smoothness that it looks just like the truth.     You are preaching God's word, right?      Uh, Yeah.      It's a good thing that people hear God's      word, right?      Sure.      More people will come if they like you, if      they think you are cool, smart, relevant        (substitue any number of words, here.)      If you promote yourself it's a good      thing. . .  C. S. Lewis wrote a classic little text, that, though technically fictional, is absolutely real.  The Srewtape Letters is about the games, that are deadly serious, that Satan plays in our minds.  He convinces husbands or wives that violating their wedding vows is really a good thing.  He passes out arguments about justifiable lies like M&Ms.  "They owe you." is a favorite line of his.  He can convince old preachers that John the Baptist's observation that "He must increase and I must decrease," or the Apostle Paul's realization that he was strongest when he was most aware of his weakness, has "nothing to do with me," or this situation, etc. etc. Thankfully, no one has ever really bought my "Drive faster" line of reasoning.  Satan is better at it.  He doesn't give his line of reasoning accompanied by a smile.  If he had a mother, he could lie to her with tears in his eyes. Here is what I need to remember.  I can't out argue Satan.  He's smarter than I am.  He's been at this for thousands of years.  What I need to do is hold to the truth.  It's stronger than he is.  After he has been condemned to eternal damnation, God's truth will go on and on. It's STTA.

Good Friday Thoughts:

As I work through the Biblical record of Jesus death, I keep running into these words that I can only describe as horrible.  That they are used to refer to the Lord Jesus Christ--the One Who healed the blind, the lepers, the lame, the deaf, and even raised the dead, magnifies the words' impact.  He was despised and rejected.  His enemies--to whom He had never done anything--stared, gloated, jeered, sneered, mocked, and opened their mouths against Him like ravening lions.  Words like beaten, flogged, spit-on, slapped, hit, crushed, pierced,and nailed-to are used to describe what happened to Jesus Christ on the day we remember, today.  He was known as a Man of Sorrows. Beyond any of the horrors contained in those words above, is the unimaginable blackness of the question cried out in the darkness, that "covered the whole land."  The Gospels retain the Aramaic, so we will come closer to hearing the voice of the Lord,  “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?”  Then to make sure we don't miss the meaning of the words, they are translated, "My God, my God, why have You Abandoned Me?"  We can identify with those words of physical and emotional suffering, but this question plunges us into the inner-workings of the Trinity.  It is beyond us--not only beyond us in wonder, but beyond us in horror.  Never before had the sublime, loving fellowship of Father, Son, and Spirit been broken.  Throughout the eons of eternity it never will be broken again.  Yet on that day, as my Savior hung on the cross and endured suffering that could have been heaped on any human, there was an element to His passion that goes beyond any human comprehension. Horror. Side by side with that there is another word.  Again it takes on aspects that exceed my ability to comprehend. Love. It was love expressed by God the Father sending His Son, and God the Son "laying down His life for His friends"--and even beyond that for the world. This evening I'll gather with a group of people to remember the great sacrifice the Lord made on my behalf.  It is a love beyond my comprehension, but from which I reap eternal blessing. Whether in person, or in spirit, I hope you'll join me. It's Something to Think About.

Futility

Preparing my Easter Sunday message, I have been very impressed with the futility of much of the Bible.  I don't mean to say that God's Word has no value, purpose, or effect.  No, working on this message, which is made up entirely of Scripture, has powerfully impressed me with the power of the Bible.  The futility I refer to, is the record of man's failed attempts to regain what was lost when sin entered the world.

• Adam and Eve vainly attempted to regain the feeling of innocence they had until they ate the forbidden fruit by making clothing from fig leaves.
• After sin separated us from God, people began, "thinking up foolish ideas about what God was like."  They created a distorted picture, that, of course, led to dead-end religions.
• There were troubling substitutions:  They "exchanged the glory of God for the shame of idols."  They "traded the truth about God for a lie." And, "worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator Himself."  Though, in our alienated-from-God condition, we might claim "to be wise, instead [we become] utter fools."

Some of these attempts at redemption are incredibly sincere.  The people of Israel, following the pattern of the people around them, "even sacrificed their sons and their daughters."  Sincerity does not, by itself, produce results.

• A big reason people create distorted, and sometimes gruesome, routes to a warped image of God, is because God has declared that the one true way to the one true God passes through some uncomfortable territory, "Each of you must repent of his sins," and make no mistake,  "everyone has sinned."  "We all fall short of God's glorious standard," and, "the wages of sin is death."  Or as I have put it in other places, "The good news begins with bad news."  Rather than accept that, throughout history people have tried to make up their own way.  It is futile.

There is a link below that takes you to a page that has a great deal of information--both on the page itself, and by way of links--about God's way, The Way, The Only Way.
Don't spend your life in futility.

It's Something to Think About.

Something to Think About for April 9, 2014:

Something To Think About, Spreading the Word, 4/8

We have We have been working with John's seven signs that he presents “so that [we] may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing [we] may have life in His name.” (John 20:31, NASB95)  These miraculous signs are prominent in the first half of John's Gospel. Turning water into wine, chapter 2; Healing the nobleman's son, 4; Healing of the paralyzed man at Bethesda, 5; The feeding of the 5,000, 6; Walking on water, 6; Giving sight to the man born blind, 9; and The raising of Lazarus, 11 are all very impressive actions.  They would have impressed no one, however, had not those who knew about them told someone--many someones. I just had a brief exchange with someone who is very aware of God has done for him.  He is eager to tell about it.  From the Apostle John to my friend, unless we tell what Christ has done others won't know what He can do. Go tell somebody!    It's Something to Think About. Explore the Good News here.  Its one of our attempts to tell somebody.

Something To Think About, Blessing, 4/8

"Blessed," "Blessing," or "Bless your heart."  I don't know of any other word that is as much a part of Christian jargon as the word bless.   Engineers don't give that label to a good design--"We are just so blessed that Mary came up with this new configuration for the Q-bolts."  Can you imagine an accountant, with his requisite spread-sheets, pronouncing the bottom line, "Blessed"? God is the bless-er.  We are blessed by things like a nice worship service, or a timely visit from a Godly friend. This isn't an anti-jargon piece.  It is a challenge.  Do we even know what we are talking about when we claim to be blessed.  I fear we don't.  Often that which "blesses me" is nothing more than Christianese for "I like it."  I find, though, that the Bible speaks of some very un-enjoyable Blessings.  In Luke 6 Jesus speaks of poverty, hunger, weeping, and persecution as being conditions of blessing.  While those who are well fed, rich, laughing and well-spoken-of as being those who are in a state of woe (Luke 6:20-26).  In Psalm 107 blessing begin with misery.  As an old joke about a mule goes, "First you got to get his attention."  (I've heard it told much better, but here is the joke.)   A song some young people have shared at our church asks, "What if Your blessings come through raindrops . . . ?"  (This is just a cellphone video, buthere Grace and Julia share the song at a sister church.)  Biblical blessing is more than feeling good; it is being made better. Too many of we preacher-types are looking for a message to make people feel better, and too many pew-sitters are looking for a more comfortable place to sit.  Too bad.  We are likely missing some blessings.   It's Something to Think About. Explore the Good News here.  A great place to start:

Getting Rid of the Trash:

Most every Friday something happens that greatly improves my home.  It is not an addition, or a repaint, and it doesn't involve anything new.  The trash truck comes and hauls away several bags of stuff, some of it well on its way to rotten. As I saw the truck go by my picture window this morning my mind went back to a couple of houses I'd been in over my six decades of life.  I remember one where I had to turn sideways to slide betweèn piles of stuff.  I had been to the door of one house a number of times, but when I finally entered I understood why I had never been invited in.  I stepped over a heap of stuff to arrive in the living room.  A good half a pickup truck load of stuff lie between the chair where the lady of the house sat and the TV.  The pile reached to just below the line of sight.  Not only was every other piece of furniture in the room covered--as in at least a foot deep--with paper, etc., but there was no open place big enough for a chair.  I took a chair from the kitchen and put it on the floor furnace.  I was very glad the heat didn't come on.  In another house I was afraid to sit--the chairs were encrusted with well-aged and various remains--and I'll spare you the smell of another that nearly knocked me down. Thankfully my experience with that kind of trash and filth has been limited.  Far and away most houses I have been in have been clean and welcoming.   Not so with many of the lives I have observed.  People hoard trashy and destructive material in their hearts.  In fact everyday, via the internet and other media they pile yet more trash into their minds.  Like real world hoarders, from time to time they will think about cleaning out the mess, they may even throw out a few items, but they soon grow weary, a new temptation distracts them, and they settle back into the filth. I'll not insult you by acting like dealing with such a problem is easy or quick.  It isn't, but it can happen; in fact I'll assure you it will happen if you seriously turn to the Lord. The Lord is in the trash business.  He takes it away.   It's Something to Think About. Explore the Good News here.  A great place to start:

Be Somebody Who Is Worth Following:

Something To Think About, Storms, 4/2

Any one who pays the slightest attention to our culture can see that there is a crisis in manhood.  Eric Metaxas addresses this crises in his book, 7 Men and the Secret of Their Success.  It is not a book that is full of instructions; once you get past the introduction there is little in the way of how to, rather the book is full of example--as Metaxas calls them, "Living pictures," which he says are worth a thousand words. Young men, and even those of us well past youth, are in need of heroes, role-models, and people  we can look up to.   It is a relationship that is seen throughout scripture:  Moses and Joshua, Elijah and Elisha, Paul and Timothy, and, more than any other example, Jesus and His Apostles. A few of us are working through Metaxas's book.  To quote a Marine motto, we could use a "few good men."  Whether you are a part of our little group or not, step up, man, be someone worth following. It's Something to Think About. Explore the Good News here.