Taking Care of What is Mine, Whatever it Costs:

Something To Think About Lawsuits:

I get a variety of newsletters via email.  One I opened this morning featured two well-known names in Evangelicalism and the lawsuits, that currently have their names on them.  One way or another both of them are disputes over the control of intellectual property.  Having spent my life in ministry, I have sympathy for pastors and others who preach and write.  None of us wants to see our stuff used in ways of which we do not approve, and certainly we do not want our  work taken from us. Yet, if a church or other ministry pays my salary, buys me a computer, provides me an office in which to work and in other ways makes it possible for me to write and preach, can I really say that what I produce in those situations is "mine"? It is a complicated concept, but my intention is not to sort it out. I see an element here of that which Paul spoke of to the Corinthians, "I say this to your shame. Is it so, that there is not among you one wise man who will be able to decide between his brethren, but brother goes to law with brother, and that before unbelievers? Actually, then, it is already a defeat for you, that you have lawsuits with one another. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be defrauded?"  (1 Co 6:4–7) The Apostle makes clear that there are bigger concerns, than can be sorted out in a court of law, at stake: The welfare of the church--The Body of Christ--and   The impact our actions will have on a watching world that needs Jesus Christ. When Christians, especially Christians in leadership, sort out their differences in the public domain, the church is weakened and the watching world makes fun of us, rather than listening to us.    I pray that these individuals and churches get their stuff sorted out.   I am more concerned, however, that all of us learn to put the personal behind that which matters far more. When protecting my interest is greater than my interest in the advance of the Gospel, when my concern for my rights is greater than my desire to elevate a sister or brother in the body, when my fight to win so that I can keep what is mine, interferes with the great battle begun by my Lord Who willingly gave all to secure that war, when any of these are true then I am on the wrong side. That applies to those of us who minister in small places as well as it does to those serve in mega-places.  Let's get it together friends. It's Something to Think About.

Succeeding at Being an Invalid

Something To Think About Being a good invalid:

You'd think that being an invalid would be easy.  It's not. First let's sort out some terms and concepts, then we'll come back to being a successful invlaid.   One dictionary defines invalid as "a person made weak or disabled by illness or injury."  That's not quite right, because that definition implies the accidental. "He is an invalid because of a car wreck," or, "Her invalid condition is because of a heart attack."  I know I'm an invalid because I just bought invalid stuff--a walker, etc.--and my condition is the result of something I did on purpose.  So I would add something like, "a person made temporarily weak or disabled by purposeful self-inflicted action." That brings up another important distinction in regard to invalidity (It's a good word in Britain).  For some their invalid condition is temporary.  They will almost surely get better.  Others are invalids for years and years and for still others, being an invalid is a stopping place on the way to impending death. My condition shows every promise of being short-term.  My health care people speak in terms of days and weeks. Whether temporary or long-term, being an invalid is a condition of life.  It is who I am, right now.  Like all of life, I am to use this condition to bring glory to the God of the universe.  Here are some ideas: Like all Physicians since Hypocrites have promised, "First, do no harm."  I've found that a lot of being a successful invalid has to do with eliminating possible dangers.  Since my invalidity was planned, I actually began preparing for it a couple of weeks before it came.  My wife rearranged the furniture, and I constantly ask myself questions like, "If I sit down on that, can I get back up?"  Don't get yourself into anything you can't get out of.   Not all of me is disabled all the time.  There is a lot that I can't do--in some of my previous forays into invalidity, even more so--just ask my wife--but I ought to do what I can.  The rest of you can help we invalids out here.  If we can do it, even if we look awkward, let us. There is a lot I can't do.  Me being an invalid forces others to be a whole lot busier.  I need to acknowledge that with thanks and remember that when my invalidity passes. Being a bad invalid makes everybody's life harder.  I need to do this well. The Bible says that all of us are invalids. Isaiah describes the people of Israel in his day this way, "The whole head is sick And the whole heart is faint.  From the sole of the foot even to the head There is nothing sound in it,  Only bruises, welts and raw wounds, Not pressed out or bandaged, Nor softened with oil.(Is 1:5–6) Jeremiah says,    ““The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?” (Jer. 17:9) Being a good invalid means trust.  I take medicines I didn't prepare, and believe my therapist when she says you can bend that just a little more.  I know there are some things I can't do for myself.  I have to trust someone else.  The Bible makes clear that I can't do anything about the invalidity of which Isaiah and Jeremiah speak.  Jesus, though, says, "Trust me." Find out more below. It's Something to Think About. Click on the graphic to the right to find out about how God saves invalids. At CBC, we are starting a series on prayer, this Sunday.

Short-term loss, long-term gain:

It's really odd.
I have known my friend all of my adult life.  We have raised our children, played, worked, and grown old together.  We didn't plan it, but both of us checked in yesterday for total knee repacement surgery.  We are in two didfferent hospitals, two different surgeons, each with their own ideas on how things should be done.
Bottom line, though, they cut out the old and put in the new.  My buddy is a veteran of a number of orthopedic surgeries.  He says this one, from the viewpoint of pain, etc., is the worst.
I won't argue.
So, why do two guys--reasonably sane--who were able to walk into the hospita,l volunteer to have a procedure done that requires us to be hospitalized, makes us hurt, and exposes us to complications that could be life threatening?  Not everyone will agree with this reasoning--and that's ok--but, it comes down to short-term discomfort that will result in long-term benefits.    My friiend and/or I could be wrong about our calculations; we don't think so, but even if we are, the basic principle is the same.
To an infinitely greater degree the Apostle Paul puts it this way:
"For I consider that the sufferings of this present timeare not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed in us."  (Romans 8:18)  Don't sell-out short.hh

Prayer

Something To Think About Prayer, 9/22

I had the privilege of leading a Bible study at the local jail, today.  I'm thankful to the jail administration for making it possible for the inmates to have input from God's word. As we were starting I told the guys that we would pray together.  I asked them if anybody had any important hearings coming up, or any other matters they would like for me to pray about.  Nobody had any upcoming court appearances.  Several mentioned family on the outside.  Then one guy said, "How about praying that we'll get out?" I think the little gathering was kind of shocked when I said I wasn't going to pray that.  Instead, I said, "I'll pray that what is right would be done."  I went on to explain that I want to live in a world where people who do wrong things are held accountable.  Looking at one guy who had asked that I pray for his grandkids, I mentioned that only in a world where people are accountable for their actions could little children be safe.  Before I was finished most nodded in appreciation, if not agreement with my reply. We are beginning a series on prayer at Covington Bible Church.  Prayer is a spiritual discipline that we don't understand very well, and that many of us don't practice nearly enough. In the prayer that Jesus offered as a model for praying He said, Thy (God the Father) will be done."  My friend at the jail wasn't thinking about God's will, and often I'm not either.  I want what I want, and right now would be just fine. As I tried to explain to my little congregation this morning.  A world where any old preacher or prisoner could order God around would be a messed up world.  I'd rather live in a world where people seek God's will. It's Something to Think About.

Humility?

Something To Think About Humility,. 9/19

Often--maybe always--vice lives right next door to virtue.  This is true beyond any doubt with the virtue of humility, and several rather sneaky vices. The Bible counsels that we should not think of ourselves more highly than we ought (Romans 12:3), and that we should give preference to one another in honor (Romans 12:10).  However, one who fails to admit to certain abilities that he has--capabilities that exceed those of others--deprives others of the benefit of those strengths.  Prestige or respect is sometimes a necessary ingredient of leadership.  For one to "humbly"refuse anything that smacks of honor can prevent one from being a blessing to others.  Too much humble-pie can cause one's waist to swell with a perverse sort of pride, while allowing the muscles of service to atrophy. Hard work is a virtue the book of Proverbs frequently upholds, yet the notion that "I can do whatever needs to be done by myself." is a mark of pride. We need the guidance of God's word and the Holy Spirit to navigate the difficult route.  Sunday morning at CBC we will look at Peter's counsel to live humbly. It's Something to Think About.

Shaky Conclusions:

Something To Think About America's Day Began Pretty Shaky, This Morning. 9/17

Where America's Day Begins--that's one of the descriptions of Guam.  A pretty small--though it is the largest in Micronesia--island in the Pacific.  As I write in the morning, here in Virginia, it is already the middle of the night, tonight, there on the other side of the world. If America's day begins in Guam, then this day started badly. About 3:00 this morning EDT, a 7.1 earthquake, centered just twenty-five miles off Guam shook the island with enough force to get everyone's attention.  Surely such a phenomena, especially where our day begins, has to be a warning--maybe even a punishment.  Perhaps God is rattling our new-day to shake us from our complacency.  Maybe God is sending a signal to Washington.  "You think you are secure from attack?  You think you can ignore the cries of the refuges fleeing for their lives?  I can shake you from your position of faux-security as easily as I can shake your island on the far horizon." No doubt an imam somewhere is drawing entirely different applications from the shake-up in the place where America's dawn first creeps over the horizon. If you didn't read yesterday's STTA, I hope you will.  This one is a follow-up. As the old song goes, "He's got the whole world in His hands."  Yet, as my tongue-in-cheek interpretation of natural phenomena indicates, unless God gives us a clear indication of what something means, we are clueless.  And--I know I'll raise some antagonism here--folk who claim to heard from God about the why behind the what, haven't.  Hurricane Katrina wasn't a judgment on the Gay community, Sandy didn't strike New York in judgment against Mayor Bloomberg, and the fact that one person's house is bigger than another is no particular indication of God's blessing. When you ask me "Why?" concerning the What.  My answer is, "I don't know." Is there nothing we can learn from natural disasters and wondrous natural beauty? No, there is a great deal we can learn.  Psalm 19 tell us that the sky is the display of God's handiwork.  Job saw his smallness as he viewed the greatness of God's creation.  Basic characteristics inherent in creation can lead a thinking person to conclusions about the creator. But when we claim to know specific meaning behind specific happenings in the natural world we are, to quote Job, "declar[ing] that which I [don't]  understand, things too wonderful for me, which I [don't] know.”  (Job 42:3)   It's Something to Think About.

Does the sky prove God loves America?

Something To Think About God's Love in the Sky: 9/16

Does God love America? Yes. But there is some nuance that a one word answer doesn't give.  I'll get back to it in a moment. I was watching the news this morning.  One of the talking heads was quite enamored with this picture (I think I have the right one.)  He, quoting the claims of the photographer, pointed out that the sky looks like the American flag.  He went on to say something about this beautiful scene demonstrating God's love for America. OK.  It is a pretty picture, and in the same way that kids watching clouds see horses and men with beards, I can see that it does have some resemblance to the Star-Spangled-Banner. It's been a tough time for Americans.  ISIS has beheaded two American journalists, and bragged about it by posting video and threats online.  A nation "liberated" at great cost--most significantly of lives--now is in peril of descending into . . . I can't think of a word horrible enough to describe the thought. Our most cherished pass-time, at the beginning of a new season, is marked by controversy and scandal. So in Rorschach manner it is no wonder that one looking at the sky at the picture above would see the symbol of our nation, and then grow on to conclude, "It means God loves us." Let's all be anchor-people at this point, and anchor our thinking and imagining to some reality.   Scripture does indicates that God is in control.  The Old-Testament books of Daniel and Esther abound with evidence of God's sovereignty.   Roman's 8:28 is a straight forward statement of that fact in regard to "those who love Him."  There are no exception sub-clauses in the verses that follow.  I conclude that God is in control of the sunrise and set.   But, But, BUT, our ability to read or decipher what events around us mean is very limited--maybe to the point of nonexistence.  If the appearance of the flag of one nation in the sky indicates God's favor, does the storm that bears down on another--and one doesn't have tax the memory to recall when that was my nation--indicate a lack of Divine favor?  Might Jihadis viewing the sky have concluded that this was a sign of God's confirmation of their plans to eliminate the nation that flies that flag? "Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor? Or who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to him again? (Romans 11:33-35) Does God Love America? Yes. He loves Mexico, Russia, England, Iraq, and Iran. He demonstrated His love for the world by the gift of His Son. ls God pleased with what America is doing.  Clearly, not always.  Thankfully my nation has done many things right.  Sadly, there is much that is wrong.  It's not painted in the sky; it's written in the Book.    “Righteousness exalts a nation, But sin is a disgrace to any people.” (Proverbs 14:34)   Whatever nation one belongs to, whether that country is being blessed or headed for divine judgment, the Lord is willing to deal with individuals. More important than the question of whether God loves a nation is the assurance that God loves me. Have I responded to His love? It's Something to Think About. Click here to view a message about the bad news in the Bible that leads to good.