Praying and Praising

Something To Think About, Praying and Praising:

My co-pastor and I have been working through a series on prayer recently.  In part we have been dealing with some of the idiocy that is taught about the subject.  The view some folk have of prayer would cause it to end up being like one of those face-offs of wizards or witches that sometimes occur in fantasy movies.  The bearded ones, pointy hats in place face off and hurl lightning bolts at one another to see which one really has the most power.  Many folk think the power of prayer is me learning the proper power-techniques so that I can get God to do what I want.  So we've got prayer warrior A naming-and-claiming, rebuking the forces of foul weather, and praying through for sunshine for the Sunday School picnic.  Meanwhile right next door prayer-master B has grabbed hold of the horns of the altar and won't turn loose until God sends rain for the corn. Do we really want to live in a world where God suspends His omniscience, in order to use Hisomnipotence to do the bidding of creatures who are inherently selfish and who are horribly limited in what they can see in terms of both space and time? In the model prayer Jesus says that we should pray, "Thy will be done." Surrender. Prayer is not my manipulation of God.  It is my submission to Him. The great wonder and mystery is that God chooses to use our prayers to accomplish His will, and when His plan unfolds we are in a unique position to praise God for what He has done.             For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction . . . but [God] . . .delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us, you also joining in helping us through your prayers, so that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the favor bestowed on us through the prayers of many.  (2 Corinthians 1:8–11)  The end result of the kind of prayer taught in the Bible is not me talking God into what I want, it is me entering into what God is doing, and praising Him for it. It's Something To Think About.

MASKS

Something To Think About, Masks:

I don't know, maybe it's just the view from where I sit, but it appears to me that dressing up in a costume and wearing a mask has gotten bigger among adults than it used to be.  It might be an accompaniment to the move away from Trick-or-Treat and toward events like Trunk-or-Treat.  To get into the spirit of the events, lots of adults assume the role of somebody or something else.   I don't remember stores selling adult costumes back in the day.  I've noticed ads for them a couple of times lately. Whether the number of adults "dressing up as" is really more than it used to be or not, it is clear that a lot of we grown-ups are working really hard every day to not let others know who we really are.  That's not all together bad.  An employee who is angry at his boss probably ought to keep that hidden until he gets it settled.  Otherwise she/he will have to assume a new role--unemployed.  And please take note that I'm only saying this might be a good idea for a short time.  Ultimately the answer is not to cover your anger but to deal with it and become not angry. I've worn masks.  It's hard work.  Every day, every moment, one must make sure that the masquerade is properly adjusted.  You tend to not look folk in the eye, because then they are looking in yours.  You can't disguise what shines--or fails to shine--out from these windows to the soul.  Since the getup I've adopted isn't really me I have to put out a lot of effort.  I can't really live life.  I end up being like an actor assuming the role of a character who is living life.  It'll wear you out. Some folk have the mistaken notion that Christianity is just a new role, a new way of appearing, a smiling mask in a frowning world.  Here is the good news from the Bible.    “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”  (2 Corinthians 5:17, NASB95)   It's not a way of acting.  Christianity is new life that begins on the inside at the very core of my being.  As you help your kids or grandkids "dress up" this week, maybe as you yourself assume another role to help others have fun, ask yourself, beneath it all, who am I.  That is the level where Jesus Christ wants to meet you and change you.  Find out more below. It's Something To Think About. Here is a site where you can find out about Jesus Christ and His plan for you.  You'll find several opportunities to explore.  If we can help you, let us know. We would love for you to make the Live Nativity a part of your Christmas Season.  It is a very family friendly activity. Click the picture for more information.   November 17-24, CBC will be a drop-off point for Operation Christmas Child  shoe box-gifts.  covingtonbiblechurch.com -

You Bought What?!

Something To Think About, Are we upset in the wrong direction?

Breaking Bad is one of the most popular series on television.  It's the story of teacher who becomes a major force in the methamphetamine market.  I've never watched the show, but critics say it is well done.  It has received a number of awards. A toy company recently decided to make action figures of the main characters in the series.  The model of the main character, Walter White comes complete with a gun and a duffle-bag full of money and blue crystals. At first the dope dealing dolls were carried by Toys-R-Us, but after a petition stirred up negative publicity, they pulled them from their shelves.  I'm not sure if it is the official version, or a bad Breaking Bad toy, but I found Walter and Jesse, complete with hazmat suits, on Ebay. At first, like the Florida mom who started the petition drive to get Toys-R-Us to stop selling the dolls, I was upset with the retailer.  After I thought about it a while my thinking began to shift.  I still don't think it is a good idea, on any level, for a retailer to sell such a product.  However a bigger question began to loom in my mind.  Instead of asking, "Why would anyone sell that?"  I began to ask, "Why would anybody buy such a thing?"  Especially, "Why would any parent buy such a thing for their child?" Dad, Mom, retailers aren't responsible for the spiritual, ethical, moral health of your children.  You are. It's Something To Think About.

Thoughts on Christmas, #5, Let's Redeem Christmas

Something To Think About, Christmas, #5 Where will you be for Christmas?

In a letter I recently wrote to some fellow pastors I, tongue in cheek, suggested that, in light of our current celebration of the holiday, perhaps Christmas should be renamed "Santa-mas, Gift-mas, or Party-mas."  If I had been sincere, I would be four-hundred years too late.  Early Seventeenth Century Puritans called the celebration "Foolstide,"  and forbade its celebration.  Hugh Latimer is reported to have said,  "Men dishonor Christ more in the 12 days of Christmas than in all the twelve months besides." I'm gray-haired enough that I could assume the curmudgeon role and start a campaign to persuade Christians to cease and desist all Christmas celebrations.  If I did so, I'd be put in the rogues gallery along side Ebeneezer Scrooge and The Grinch. I think the Apostle Paul gives us better advice about Christmas, though.  Well, he really doesn't say anything about Christmas, but he does say that we ought to make the most of every opportunity" (Ephesians 5:16).  The opportunities that Christmas presents are many and obvious.  In my humble opinion, Christmas is a time ripe for redeeming to the Glory of God. It is the day we celebrate the birth of the Savior of the world. It commemorates an integral part of God's plan for complete victory over all the evils that plague us and this world we live in.  Romans 8, Revelation 11:15, andIsaiah 65:25 are all made possible by the Babe in the manger, pictured millions of times in art, music, Christmas cards, and cretches. Be looking for ways to redeem Christmas, so you can point folk to the Christ, Whose birth we remember, and Whose life, death, and resurrection change lives. Look below for information on two ways we can help you do that. It's Something To Think About. We would love for you to make the Live Nativity a part of your Christmas Season.  It is a very family friendly activity. Click the picture for more information.   November 17-24, CBC will be a drop-off point for Operation Christmas Child  shoe box-gifts.  covingtonbiblechurch.com

Thoughts on Christmas, #4, Where Will You Be This Christmas?

Something To Think About, Christmas, #4 Where will you be for Christmas?

For all of my life Christmas has involved traveling. I grew up in a post-WW2, Baby-boom families.  Dad, a Southern boy, had gone North shortly after the war to seek his fortune and raise a family.  In the process he separated himself and that young family from grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.  We often traveled South for a quick trip around Christmas.  On a few occasions some of our relatives would brave a trip to the frigid North to celebrate with us.  Sometimes we'd visit someone else from the diaspora, or they us.  I'd say well more than half the time Christmas involved somebody spending all day, or night, in a car or on a train.  When my boys were growing up we were always a day's travel from at least one set of their grandparents, and now my sons and their families are of at the fringe of what sane people drive.  Of course grandparents at Christmas aren't always in their right mind.  :) Over the years gasoline has been one of the major Christmas related investments in my family. Numerous times, though, when we would be on our way home from a yule odyssey my wife would comment about a particular family member.  "I never feel like I can get close . . ."  Packing presents in the trunk, keeping the snow boots from smashing the pumpkin pie, staying up all night to get there Christmas morning, those things are all doable, but bridging the gap that existed between my wife and this loved-one, even though they were both in the same room, just never got done. Most of what I've had to say, this week, about Christmas has gone in the opposite direction of the way our culture tends to celebrate the holiday.  Here is an area where, at least in part, the popular view of Christmas is right.   Christmas is about family. This Christmas make the most of family.  Don't let the busy-ness of the season keep you from reaching out to those you love, and who love you.  Gasoline and plane tickets can help bridge the miles, but it takes an act of the will to open your heart to those around you.  It's worth the effort. It's Something To Think About. We would love for you to make the Live Nativity a part of your Christmas Season.  It is a very family friendly activity.   Click the picture for more information.  covingtonbiblechurch.com

Thoughts on preparing for Christmas, #3

Something To Think About, Christmas, #3 What do you want for Christmas?

I'm not exactly sure where the age tipping point is, but over the next couple of months two questions will be asked over and over.  To the older set, "Are you ready for Christmas?"  And to the younger, some variation of this query, "What do you want for Christmas?" The two questions are not unrelated because a lot of "being ready" involves being prepared to give the kids what they want, and you don't have to be very old to realize that all the activity going on among the adults has something to do with what the youngster will find under the tree on Christmas morning. One question has an element of entitlement to it, the other has plenty of room for obligation to take root.  If allowed to go to the extreme both are problematic. Christmas can very easily become an exercise in adults feeling obligated to give what they can't afford to children who have a growing sense that the world--in particular mom, dad, and grandparents--somehow owe them the latest, greatest, and most fashionable.  The whole thing is made worse when what is given isn't good for the one who is receiving.  It's an ugly symbiosis.   The syndrome is not isolated to the family realm.  Every time we use the self-contradictory sentence, "I have to give . . . ." we are involved in this Christmas error.  Likewise whenever we think--we seldom say it--"he/she owes me a gift." We put another log on this yuletide fire that ought to be extinguished.  If one were given the task of teaching people, especially children, to have an unhealthy feeling of entitlement, he would be hard pressed to come up with a better curriculum than our current Christmas celebration. Haven't we had just about enough?  You can take that question in a couple of profitable directions.  Adults aren't obligated, and kids aren't entitled.  Look in your garland-decorated mirror and tell yourself that.  Believe yourself.  Then go do something about that reality. The gift that we celebrate at Christmas, was given without obligation, to people who had no entitlement to it.  Let's allow that gift to set the standard for this year's Christmas. It's Something To Think About. We would love for you to make the Live Nativity a part of your Christmas Season.   Click the picture for more information.

Sane Christmas, #2

Something To Think About, Christmas, #2

A dear lady, who is with the Lord, now, used to be famous at Covington Bible Church for leaving her Christmas tree up all year.  The basement of her house was a large open room.  She used it for entertaining, including Christmas parties, so, to save time and trouble, she simply left the tree up all year.  You have likely noticed bedraggled Christmas lights still "adorning" a house in the middle of summer.  For other folk, though, it is Christmas all year round, not because of neglect, rather it is the opposite--an almost obsessive focus on the holiday.  I've met some folk for whom you could remove the "almost." There is nothing wrong with planning, and shopping early--sometimes almost twelve months early--can certainly save money, but at some point all that planning and saving and organizing can becomeChristmas-itis.  The main symptom of this ailment is an obsessive quest for thePERFECT CHRISTMAS.  The problem is, or "one problem is," many of the elements that make up the perfect Christmas are beyond our control.  For instance, the perfect Christmas--just ask Bing Crosby--is white.  Unless you have access to snow machines that is simply beyond your control.  In the area where I live there is an over 80% chance you'll be disappointed.  And if you think the weather is hard to control, just try working with Aunt Mildred, or Cousin Eddie.  Christmas trees and turkeys get dry, babies get wet, lights burn out, and flu is no respecter of the calendar. CHILL! Likely if you take time to think about it, a lot of what takes up your time and money in the quest for the perfect Christmas, or even a less disastrous than last year Christmas, really doesn't matter all that much.  It may sound like the motto of "Slackers-R-Us," but one way of being pleased with the outcome is to lower your expectations.  Be humble enough to realize that much of what you obsess about is beyond your control. CHILL! It's Something To Think About. We would love for you to make the Live Nativity a part of your Christmas Season.   Click the picture for more information.  covingtonbiblechurch.com -

Dreaming of a Sane Christmas, #1:

Something To Think About, Christmas

If your house is like mine, the "C" word has already come up in conversation.  No doubt the colder temperatures will stimulate the Yuletide conversations.  My wife has been preparing a gift list--what we'll give to our grandchildren, and lesser mortals.  Travel schedules have been discussed.  There has even been some mention of dread, not that we don't enjoy the Christmas season;  we do.  It is just that it can be a very busy time--sometimes overwhelmingly so. Over the years I have shared messages with the congregation of Covington Bible Church about planning for Christmas.  Christmas is like a run-away truck--or fully loaded sleigh.  Once it builds up momentum it is hard to control.  So, start early, as in right now.  This week in STTA I'll share some ideas from those past messages.  I hope they'll help you have sane Christmas.  Here is #1: Make sure you focus on what really matters. I encourage you to read Luke 10:38-42.  Jesus came to the home of two ladies.  One was the model hostess--by the standard we usually use to measure such things.  She focused in on the details.  Her sister, on the other hand chose to listen to what the Lord had to say. Christmas is a wonderful time to focus in on some life changing truth from God's word.  As the angel told the shepherds, the report that a Savior has been born is indeed Good News.  Unless, though, we make a conscious choice to not be distracted by the many details, and instead focus on that which matters most, we may find ourselves on the far side of Christmas with nothing more than an evergreen devoid of needles and massive credit card bills. Make  yours a Mary Christmas instead of a Martha holiday. It's Something To Think About. We would love for you to make the Live Nativity a part of your Christmas Season. Click the picture for more information.  covingtonbiblechurch.com

To Spank or Not to Spank . . . ?

Something To Think About, Parenting

Some recent incidents involving well-known athletes and their children have once again brought the debate concerning the corporal discipline of children to the fore.  Retired NBA star Charles Barkley commented on the uproar.  His comments might not have been as carefully articulated as one would want, but the bottom line point he made is worth considering.  Barkley grew up in an environment where parents spanking their children was a common means of discipline.  The implied question behind his comments is, "What would you rather have, what we have now, or a situation in which children were actually loved and disciplined by parents who were constructively involved in their lives?" More than half a century ago I was raised in a home where corporal punishment was part of the means by which my parents sought to impart discipline, self-control, and the knowledge that actions have consequences to me.  With complete conviction I say, I was not abused.  I am a better man because of that up-bringing The Book of Proverbs speaks of the "rod" nine times.  At least five of those are related to the discipline of children.  (13:24, 22:15, 23:13-14, & 29:15)  Some interpreters have adopted creative ways of explaining away what these texts appear to say--appropriately applied corporal punishment is, or at least can be, a good thing.  I don't think they succeed.  The rod is what the rod is. Supplementing these references from thebook of wisdom is this word about the only perfect father, "WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES.”  (Hebrews 12:6)  Check out that word translated "scourge." The text goes on to specifically speak about how the Lord's discipline is unpleasant.  We might consider ourselves abused when we are in the midst of this discipline, yet, if we endure we reap the good result. Are there children who are abused by misapplied, extreme, or perverted forms of discipline, so-called?  Yes, and we should make no room for such behavior.  When we follow the popular knee-jerk line of thinking, however, that all forms of discipline that involve physical pain are wrong we heap abuse on many more children, and even on society at large.   It's Something To Think About.

Further Thoughts On My Out-Of-Control Life:

Something To Think About, Control, 2

A couple of weeks ago I woke up after surgery--well half of me woke up.  Because of the type of anesthesia I had received, from the waist down absolutely no one was home. "Wiggle your toes."  Nobody home. "Can you feel this?"  Feel what? If my life had depended on doing something with my lower-limbs there is no doubt I would have died.  I had no control over them. Thinking back on my 50/50 body, I ask myself, "Which end of my body best illustrates my day-to-day life?" I'd like to think it is the waist up portion.  I go where I want to go, do what I want to do.  My destiny is in my own hands.  I think, especially, we guys all felt our spines stiffen when we first heard the words of Invictus by William Ernest Henley. We want to think we are the "masters of our fates" and "captains of our souls." If we keep thinking that, though, we are simply whistling in the "night that covers" us. It doesn't take a great deal of thought to realize that my true condition is more like my waist-down post-op self.  I live in a world that is held together by God's power.  Were he to remove hissuperintending control for a nano-second, all that is, including both ends of me would fly into I-don't-even-know-what. I live in this strange matrix known as time, yet I have no ability make even a second of the stuff.   As Robert Burns mused to a rodent, "The best laid plans of mice and men aft gang agley."  Like me, you probably don't speak the Scott dialect of the poet, but you know what it means. I am out of control because that which I need to control in order to control my life is beyond my control.  To live my life thinking, "I can handle it." is to lay a foundation on the sand of falsehood.  My house won't stand.  My life is not built on the sand of my ability--so called--to maintain control.  My life is built on trust in the One Who transcends, and Who created all that is, and maintains it down to the falling sparrow.  That's as solid as it gets. It's Something To Think About. At CBC, we continue a series on prayer, this Sunday morning. In CBC Sunday Night, What would Hosea say to 21st Century Christians?   covingtonbiblechurch.com

My Life Is Out Of Control . . .

Something To Think About, Control

There are times when I simply can't deny that my life is out of control, my control, that is. At any given time, all the time, my plans, well-laid or frivolous, can be interrupted, discarded, and/or shreded, and there is nothing I can do about it. My world is full of bad news from the doctor, identity theft, car-wrecks, down-sizing, out-sourcing, discrimination, and numerous other evils that bring forth an "Oh, no!" response. One of the arrogant assumptions that came out of modernism is that given enough resources, thought, and planning, we can fix anything.  I'm wonderfully glad for the technology that shields me from many of life's unpleasant realities.  When it is cold, my house is warm, when it is hot, I remain cool.  Many of the health scourges of the past have been all but eliminated, by medicine and sanitation.  Distances are shrunk by modern transportation and communication.  I need to remember, though, that just because I exercise a measure of control in my life, that does not mean that I can always . . . and even if there are some things I can manipulate, that doesn't mean that all things come under my control.  Finally, since events are interrelated, if I can't control everything, all the time, then I really can't control anything.   WARNING! CONTROL FREAKS, breath deeply.  Really, though, the fact that my life is out of control propels me in a profitable direction.  Realizing that I can't control critical factors in my life I can be compelled to despair or follow the example of the Prodigal Son, living high until I land in the hog pen.  I chose neither.  Rather I trust the One Who does control all.   So, bottom-line:  My life is not out of control.  It's in God's hands. It's Something to Think About.  Click here to find out how you can have this kind of relationship with the Lord.

Something To Think About, Abuse

I'm never quite sure who gets to declare a month to be "such and such month."  I figure if you want to you just do, and if you get enough people to wear ribbons, put bumper-stickers on their cars, and post statuses on Facebook and websites, low-and-behold, you've got yourself a month.  The idea behind this syndrome is that awareness will lead to change.  If enough people know about what is going on in dysfunctional homes, then surely change will come.  I agree to this point:  Clearly, hiding the problem of violence that marks way too many of our homes won't help. The assumption, though, that me being aware of an evil will lead me to seek to correct that wickedness, is based on a faulty view of human nature.  Some think that it is the natural reaction of people to respond with righteous love to whatever morally  wrong activities they see going on around them.  We'd like to think this was the case, but from the horrendous injustices of the slave-trade, to the pogroms of Russia, to the Holocaust of Nazi Germany, to all the kids who sit idly by, or even join in the mockery, while some kid lacking his world's social coin-of-the-realm is utterly decimated of all self-respect in a high school cafeteria, we humans have amassed an impressive record of being aware, yet never becoming involved in opposing evil.  Too often we join in the lynch-mob. I've also noticed that a lot of us are far more interested in wearing a ribbon, joining a group, signing a petition, or advertising for a cause online than we are in really doing anything.  If I "give at the office" I can with good conscience--so I think--turn my eyes when I see real life examples of the problem at hand.  (BTW, I very much don't want this piece to be that kind of exercise in Pharisaism.) Actually doing something is much harder.  It is something that each of us, and each of our churches should be involved in.  It is messy, hard, and expensive.  If someone asks me to, I'll wear a ribbon, but I'll wear it with the awareness that putting on a token  doesn't mean I have really done anything.  As I wear it, I'll be reminded of somethings that I am really doing--together with my church.  We are confronting, preventing, and alleviating the abuse as God gives us opportunity. It's Something to Think About.