A twelve year-old boy from Alaska died after “voluntarily inhaling gas for nearly twenty minutes” this week, according to the AP. Adults should know that a popular activity in some circles called “huffing” is the inhalation of chemical vapors in order to get high.”
A year ago my wife and I were riding in a car with some friends and their eight year-old grandson. The grandson was talking about a babysitter. He described something she had done that normal baby-sitters do, and then he added, “She’s a cutter.” Cutters abuse themselves with sharp objects.
My guess is that many of you have heard about huffing and have never attempted it. Many of you may have heard about cutting and have never attempted it. Maybe you have even spoken to your children about these activities, warning them sternly. Good for you!
I am very concerned that the children in these stories are so young, yet they have been exposed to dangerous behaviors that a few years ago were exclusive to older kids. The Bible teaches that temptations will come, but harsh judgment is due to those through whom temptations come (Matt 18:7). Who is bringing temptation, including unhealthy knowledge about these kinds of things into your home? Give the time, attention, and instruction to your kids that they need. That’s Life at Work!
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Thursday, July 13, 2006
The End and the Beginning of the Jesus Perspective
Those sitting on the mountainside who heard the Jesus Perspective knew that there was authority behind what they heard that day. Matthew records that when the sermon was done, “…the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law” (Matt. 7:28-29). Mark says the same thing about those who heard Jesus teaching in the synagogue (Mk. 1:22). We must understand, then, as we come to the end of the Jesus Perspective, that it isn’t just another set of ideas to consider. My ideas are not on a level with Jesus’ teachings. Yours aren’t either. Plato’s wisdom, Confucius’ wisdom, Mohammed’s wisdom, all shrink into the category of foolishness when compared to the Jesus Perspective. Philosophers taught the Golden Mean, but Jesus taught the Golden Rule, and it is greater! Even the godly men Moses and Elijah are moved to the background in the glorification of Jesus as God said from heaven, “This is my Son, whom I love. With him I am well pleased. Listen to him.”
Jesus claimed authority. Matthew claimed he had authority. So at the end of the day, Jesus says that you can choose the difficult way that leads to life or you can choose the broad way that leads to destruction. There is no questioning what he means by the difficult way. It is his way as he has expressed it in the sermon.
In case the picture isn’t clear, he illustrates his final point with a story of two builders. One builder was wise. He built his home on a rock, and when the storm came, though it was ferocious, the home stood. One builder was foolish – a bonehead. He built his home on the sand, and when the storm came, because the foundation was weak, the home collapsed with a great crash!
Who is the wise builder whose home can withstand the ferocious storm? He is the man who hears the words of Jesus and puts them into practice.
When Jesus walked away from the mountain, maybe some said, “He’s finished. Let’s go home.” But it wasn’t finished for them. It isn’t finished for us either. Louis L’Amour said, “There will come a time when you believe everything is finished. That will be the beginning.” The words are completed, but the choice remains. Will you take the difficult road or the broad road? Will you build on rock or sand? Will you hear and do, or will you not? That’s Life at Work!
Jesus claimed authority. Matthew claimed he had authority. So at the end of the day, Jesus says that you can choose the difficult way that leads to life or you can choose the broad way that leads to destruction. There is no questioning what he means by the difficult way. It is his way as he has expressed it in the sermon.
In case the picture isn’t clear, he illustrates his final point with a story of two builders. One builder was wise. He built his home on a rock, and when the storm came, though it was ferocious, the home stood. One builder was foolish – a bonehead. He built his home on the sand, and when the storm came, because the foundation was weak, the home collapsed with a great crash!
Who is the wise builder whose home can withstand the ferocious storm? He is the man who hears the words of Jesus and puts them into practice.
When Jesus walked away from the mountain, maybe some said, “He’s finished. Let’s go home.” But it wasn’t finished for them. It isn’t finished for us either. Louis L’Amour said, “There will come a time when you believe everything is finished. That will be the beginning.” The words are completed, but the choice remains. Will you take the difficult road or the broad road? Will you build on rock or sand? Will you hear and do, or will you not? That’s Life at Work!
Monday, July 10, 2006
A Christian Home
The family was riding home after church one Sunday when the father noticed in the rear-view mirror that his eight year-old son was crying in the back seat. He nudged his wife who turned around to see what was going on.
“What’s wrong, son,” she asked.
He wiped his eyes and responded with trepidation, “The preacher said this morning that it is important that children be raised in Christian homes, and you told him afterwards that you appreciated his sermon.”
The mom was puzzled so she said, “We do agree that you should be raised in a Christian home. What’s wrong with that?”
Glancing over at his little brother to show that he spoke for both, the boy sobbed, “But we want to stay with you and dad!”
It is important that your children be raised in a Christian home, but it’s not just important for kids. It is critical for you to have a Christian home whether or not you have children to rear.
A Christian home is a home in which Christ’s standards are followed, in which godly morals are the goal, in which the focus is on heavenly things, and in which relationships are lived as Jesus instructed.
Develop a Christian home - one your kids can identify as Christ-like, and one that God can use for his glory. That’s Life at Work!
“What’s wrong, son,” she asked.
He wiped his eyes and responded with trepidation, “The preacher said this morning that it is important that children be raised in Christian homes, and you told him afterwards that you appreciated his sermon.”
The mom was puzzled so she said, “We do agree that you should be raised in a Christian home. What’s wrong with that?”
Glancing over at his little brother to show that he spoke for both, the boy sobbed, “But we want to stay with you and dad!”
It is important that your children be raised in a Christian home, but it’s not just important for kids. It is critical for you to have a Christian home whether or not you have children to rear.
A Christian home is a home in which Christ’s standards are followed, in which godly morals are the goal, in which the focus is on heavenly things, and in which relationships are lived as Jesus instructed.
Develop a Christian home - one your kids can identify as Christ-like, and one that God can use for his glory. That’s Life at Work!
Thursday, July 06, 2006
Watch out for the Wolves
Jesus ends his Sermon on the Mount with a call to choose the right way. He uses two pictures to make two points. The first picture is of two roads, one that leads to destruction and the other that leads to life. The second picture is of two builders, one who builds his home on solid foundation, and the other who builds on sand.
The points made by these two pictures are: (1) there is a decision to make from two options, one way is right and the other is wrong; and (2) the reward for making the right decision is great and the consequences for making the wrong decision are dreadful.
Between the word pictures, Jesus warned that there would be some who would try to give us a nudge in the wrong direction. He said:
"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.
"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'” (Matt 7:15-23; NIV)
It’s the fruit produced in the lives of people that is useful in identifying false prophets and those who will “enter the kingdom of heaven.” One can look like a sheep, talk like a sheep, spend time with the sheep, yet be a ferocious wolf out to destroy the real sheep. What would Matthew’s readers have looked for if they needed to distinguish between the wolves in sheep’s clothing and the real sheep around them? They would have looked for fruit like humility, gentleness, hunger for righteousness, mercy, purity, peace making desire, and willingness to endure suffering for Christ’s sake. In short, when they saw someone who did to others what they would have wanted others to do to them, they could know that they were seeing real sheep.
They would have looked to see fruit like angry name-calling; long, lustful stares at women and divorce papers drawn up so that another spouse could be pursued; broken promises, and acts of revenge. They would have looked to see fruit like a powerful desire for recognition, love of money, and hypocritical, harsh judgment. When they saw these things, they could know that they were seeing a wolf in disguise.
One final bit of information was vitally important to determine their response to the fruit they witnessed. When they determined whether they were seeing a sheep or a wolf in disguise, they needed to know whether they were looking at others or looking in a mirror. That’s Life at Work!
The points made by these two pictures are: (1) there is a decision to make from two options, one way is right and the other is wrong; and (2) the reward for making the right decision is great and the consequences for making the wrong decision are dreadful.
Between the word pictures, Jesus warned that there would be some who would try to give us a nudge in the wrong direction. He said:
"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.
"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'” (Matt 7:15-23; NIV)
It’s the fruit produced in the lives of people that is useful in identifying false prophets and those who will “enter the kingdom of heaven.” One can look like a sheep, talk like a sheep, spend time with the sheep, yet be a ferocious wolf out to destroy the real sheep. What would Matthew’s readers have looked for if they needed to distinguish between the wolves in sheep’s clothing and the real sheep around them? They would have looked for fruit like humility, gentleness, hunger for righteousness, mercy, purity, peace making desire, and willingness to endure suffering for Christ’s sake. In short, when they saw someone who did to others what they would have wanted others to do to them, they could know that they were seeing real sheep.
They would have looked to see fruit like angry name-calling; long, lustful stares at women and divorce papers drawn up so that another spouse could be pursued; broken promises, and acts of revenge. They would have looked to see fruit like a powerful desire for recognition, love of money, and hypocritical, harsh judgment. When they saw these things, they could know that they were seeing a wolf in disguise.
One final bit of information was vitally important to determine their response to the fruit they witnessed. When they determined whether they were seeing a sheep or a wolf in disguise, they needed to know whether they were looking at others or looking in a mirror. That’s Life at Work!
Thursday, June 29, 2006
I Will Draw All Men
The salesman was talking to his supervisor about the sales pitch he had just made that had ended without a sale. The salesman sought to dismiss his failed attempt with the adage, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.”
His supervisor responded pointedly, “You job isn’t to make him drink. Your job is to make him thirsty.”
Jesus said, “But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself."
Jesus is so attractive. Not in regard to his appearance. Scripture says that Jacob was good looking, but nothing is ever said like that about Jesus. His attraction is in his power, love, justice, holiness, and godliness. Much of his nature was revealed prior to the Golgotha event, but when he was lifted up, all of those attributes were magnified a thousand fold! If people will notice him, they will be drawn to him. When people see Jesus, really see him, they get thirsty.
If people hear what we say, and they are not drawn to Jesus – they don’t get thirsty – could it be that they are not really seeing him? If the picture we paint with our words as we speak about Jesus is consistently ineffective, could it be that we are not “lifting up” Jesus, but something or someone else? There will be those who consider the cross foolishness, but if we rarely see someone who sees in our message the “power of God” and believes to their salvation, we need to rethink our words. Are we trying to make people drink with our reasoning, or are we trying to make people thirsty with the good news?
When we lift Jesus up, he will draw all men to himself. That’s Life at Work!
His supervisor responded pointedly, “You job isn’t to make him drink. Your job is to make him thirsty.”
Jesus said, “But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself."
Jesus is so attractive. Not in regard to his appearance. Scripture says that Jacob was good looking, but nothing is ever said like that about Jesus. His attraction is in his power, love, justice, holiness, and godliness. Much of his nature was revealed prior to the Golgotha event, but when he was lifted up, all of those attributes were magnified a thousand fold! If people will notice him, they will be drawn to him. When people see Jesus, really see him, they get thirsty.
If people hear what we say, and they are not drawn to Jesus – they don’t get thirsty – could it be that they are not really seeing him? If the picture we paint with our words as we speak about Jesus is consistently ineffective, could it be that we are not “lifting up” Jesus, but something or someone else? There will be those who consider the cross foolishness, but if we rarely see someone who sees in our message the “power of God” and believes to their salvation, we need to rethink our words. Are we trying to make people drink with our reasoning, or are we trying to make people thirsty with the good news?
When we lift Jesus up, he will draw all men to himself. That’s Life at Work!
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
The Golden Rule
Sometimes my understanding of scripture is impacted by my selfishness. What did Jesus mean when he said, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened” (Matt 7:7-8)? I have discovered that it’s not about me and what I would petition for, seek out, and knock to enquire about. Matthew connects this saying of Jesus with teaching about God’s goodness as a Father, and then he commands that we do to others as we would have them do to us. That sums up the Law and the Prophets.
God gives us what we need when we ask, seek, and knock. Since God is that way, shouldn’t we be that way. We are so glad that God doesn’t give us stones and snakes when we are seeking bread and fish. If he gives me good things, how could I, as his child, not give good things to people when they ask me?
There are two questions to consider, then, when someone asks me for something. First, would I be like God if I refused this request? Second, how would I want them to respond if the tables were turned?
Do to others as you would want them to do to you. That’s Life at Work!
God gives us what we need when we ask, seek, and knock. Since God is that way, shouldn’t we be that way. We are so glad that God doesn’t give us stones and snakes when we are seeking bread and fish. If he gives me good things, how could I, as his child, not give good things to people when they ask me?
There are two questions to consider, then, when someone asks me for something. First, would I be like God if I refused this request? Second, how would I want them to respond if the tables were turned?
Do to others as you would want them to do to you. That’s Life at Work!
Saturday, June 24, 2006
Believe
Brooks and Dunn released “Believe” a few weeks ago, a song about a young man who was unofficially mentored by an old man in his hometown. The old man had experienced much grief, and the young man was amazed at his sanity. “How do you keep from going crazy?”
He said, ‘I'll see my wife and son in just a little while.’
I asked him what he meant
He looked at me and smiled, said
(Chorus)
‘I raise my hands, bow my head;
I'm finding more and more truth in the words written in red.
They tell me that there's more to life than just what I can see.
Oh I believe.’
There will always be something more in the words written in red for you to find in your search for truth. There is an endless supply of living water and bread of life for you. You’ll never be thirsty or hungry, but you’ll never empty the stream or the storehouse. How should I live in these circumstances? How should I treat this person whom I have contacted? How can I have peace in my heart? What does love look like? Why do I feel like God is against me? How could God forgive me for what I’ve done? Why has God blessed me so much? How can I have hope for tomorrow in the darkness of today? How can there be anything better than what I am experiencing with the grace of God right now?
All these questions, and there is truth in the words of Scripture about them. There is more to life that just what you can see. It doesn’t all end in a slow riding hearse. I believe! That’s Life at Work!
He said, ‘I'll see my wife and son in just a little while.’
I asked him what he meant
He looked at me and smiled, said
(Chorus)
‘I raise my hands, bow my head;
I'm finding more and more truth in the words written in red.
They tell me that there's more to life than just what I can see.
Oh I believe.’
There will always be something more in the words written in red for you to find in your search for truth. There is an endless supply of living water and bread of life for you. You’ll never be thirsty or hungry, but you’ll never empty the stream or the storehouse. How should I live in these circumstances? How should I treat this person whom I have contacted? How can I have peace in my heart? What does love look like? Why do I feel like God is against me? How could God forgive me for what I’ve done? Why has God blessed me so much? How can I have hope for tomorrow in the darkness of today? How can there be anything better than what I am experiencing with the grace of God right now?
All these questions, and there is truth in the words of Scripture about them. There is more to life that just what you can see. It doesn’t all end in a slow riding hearse. I believe! That’s Life at Work!
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Judas, DaVinci, and Jesus
The discovery of the Gospel of Judas and the publication and production of the book and movie The DaVinci Code draw attention to literature from an early Christian period to which few of us give any thought.
So, now that they have drawn our attention, what do you think? The Gospel of Judas, though recently discovered does not reflect ideas that are only recent ideas. Most of what we have heard of the Gospel of Judas involves details about Judas’ relationship with Jesus and how that story differs from the story in the gospels of the New Testament. There are other details in the Gospel of Judas, however, that reflect influence by heretics of the early days of Christianity. The early Christians knew to disregard the philosophies of these teachers, and we should follow their lead. These false teachers were not leaders of a rival Christianity who were put down by the stronger group. They were heretics rejected by Christians who held to the teachings of Jesus as revealed in gospel accounts that they knew were authentic.
Here are three important things to remember in regard to recent exploration of the gospels of Judas, Philip, Thomas, and Mary Magdalene. First, there is little newness here. The agenda to make Jesus what people want Jesus to be is not new. That is what is happening here and we do not need to be disturbed when darkness acts like darkness. Second, the assertion that the books in our Bible are the result of stronger group beating back a weaker group is false. Third, the gospel accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are reliable. The early church knew it, and that fact can be demonstrated today. That’s Life at Work.
So, now that they have drawn our attention, what do you think? The Gospel of Judas, though recently discovered does not reflect ideas that are only recent ideas. Most of what we have heard of the Gospel of Judas involves details about Judas’ relationship with Jesus and how that story differs from the story in the gospels of the New Testament. There are other details in the Gospel of Judas, however, that reflect influence by heretics of the early days of Christianity. The early Christians knew to disregard the philosophies of these teachers, and we should follow their lead. These false teachers were not leaders of a rival Christianity who were put down by the stronger group. They were heretics rejected by Christians who held to the teachings of Jesus as revealed in gospel accounts that they knew were authentic.
Here are three important things to remember in regard to recent exploration of the gospels of Judas, Philip, Thomas, and Mary Magdalene. First, there is little newness here. The agenda to make Jesus what people want Jesus to be is not new. That is what is happening here and we do not need to be disturbed when darkness acts like darkness. Second, the assertion that the books in our Bible are the result of stronger group beating back a weaker group is false. Third, the gospel accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are reliable. The early church knew it, and that fact can be demonstrated today. That’s Life at Work.
Friday, June 16, 2006
He Used His Authority
Ferdinand I, emperor of Austria in the mid 1800’s, was insane; and according to historical accounts, wasn’t too smart even in his more controlled moments. He knew, however, that his position was one of authority, and he could demand whatever he wished. His one recorded demand that is worthy of note reflects his poor leadership quality. He said, “I am the emperor, and I want dumplings.”
You would hope that a man with an emperor’s authority would at least leave a legacy of notable anecdotes. Ferdinand wanted dumplings.
Jesus said that “all authority in heaven and earth” was his. He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Did he know that his position was one of authority? Yes, he did; and he did leave a legacy of notable sayings. Some of the more famous ones are: “Do to others what you would have them do to you” and “Blessed are the merciful because they will be shown mercy.”
Did Jesus do anything significant with his authority? Of course he did! He conquered sin and death! He set the captives free! He’s gone to prepare a place for people of faith, and we will rule with him. Jesus knew what to do with his authority. He is worthy of our trust and discipleship. Have you submitted to his authority? That’s Life at Work!
You would hope that a man with an emperor’s authority would at least leave a legacy of notable anecdotes. Ferdinand wanted dumplings.
Jesus said that “all authority in heaven and earth” was his. He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Did he know that his position was one of authority? Yes, he did; and he did leave a legacy of notable sayings. Some of the more famous ones are: “Do to others what you would have them do to you” and “Blessed are the merciful because they will be shown mercy.”
Did Jesus do anything significant with his authority? Of course he did! He conquered sin and death! He set the captives free! He’s gone to prepare a place for people of faith, and we will rule with him. Jesus knew what to do with his authority. He is worthy of our trust and discipleship. Have you submitted to his authority? That’s Life at Work!
You Can Call Me....
The day after Henry Kissinger was nominated as secretary of state in the early 1970’s, he held a news conference. One of the newsmen asked this final question: “Do you prefer being called ‘Mr. Secretary or ‘Dr. Secretary’?”
“I don’t stand on protocol,” Kissinger said without a flinch. “If you will call me ‘Excellency,’ that will be okay.”
I doubt anybody every addressed him “Excellency,” except in jest, perhaps. Nobody has ever addressed me that way. But I, along with other forgiven faithful folks, do have several names or designations that are important to us.
“Greater love has no one than this that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command” (John 15:13-15; NIV)
“However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name” (1 Peter 4:16).
“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3:1)
Friends, Christians, and Children of God! Notice that no follower is called those things because of his own greatness. Everything we are is by God’s grace. Obey him. Praise Him. Thank him for his wonderful love! That’s Life at Work!
“I don’t stand on protocol,” Kissinger said without a flinch. “If you will call me ‘Excellency,’ that will be okay.”
I doubt anybody every addressed him “Excellency,” except in jest, perhaps. Nobody has ever addressed me that way. But I, along with other forgiven faithful folks, do have several names or designations that are important to us.
“Greater love has no one than this that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command” (John 15:13-15; NIV)
“However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name” (1 Peter 4:16).
“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3:1)
Friends, Christians, and Children of God! Notice that no follower is called those things because of his own greatness. Everything we are is by God’s grace. Obey him. Praise Him. Thank him for his wonderful love! That’s Life at Work!
Fathers and Leaders
Leadership Journal’s website featured an article titled “Like Father, Like Leader” that revealed some great thought that are worth sharing. The entire article can be read at http://www.christianitytoday.com/leaders/newsletter/2006/cln60612.html. The Christianity Today website is good to have in your list of favorite sites anyway. Check it out.
Gordon Dalbey suggests three things to remember in your role as a dad and as a leader in general:
Watch for what God is doing in people and bless it.President Kennedy once recalled, "If I walked out on stage and fell flat on my face, Father would say I fell better than anyone else." Good fathers look for opportunities to encourage their children, not with false praise, but with honest appraisal.
Our tendency is to be quick with criticism and slow with praise. We forget that even our kids need to hear words that build up instead of tear down. Is your attention to what your kids do right at least as keen as your attention to what they do wrong. By the way, you may want to ask them instead of asking yourself. Remember that even if you don’t agree with their assessment, it is still their perspective and “perspective is reality.”
Don't coerce behavior, no matter how righteous, but lead into deeper relationship with Jesus.Trying to force "proper behavior" without a loving hand of grace stirs rebellion because it violates the child's heart, which God has already oriented, if not to do the right thing, certainly to do what Dad does. "Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children" (Eph. 5:1).
Surely the command to avoid embittering your children in Ephesians 6 should cause us to reconsider manipulation and browbeating to coerce good behavior. Go out of your way to model integrity, compassion, generosity, and honesty to your children. God’s primary way of changing you is not via threat of punishment, but calling you to imitate Christ.
Recognize your faults, but don't pass them on.
All of us are going to make mistakes in front of our kids and our children will likely imitate us in it at some point. When you mess up, admit to you children, apologize and vow to do better. Why should your kids respect their mother when you speak disrespectfully to her in front of them and never apologize? Why should your sons respect females when they see you gawking at the Victoria Secret ad? Apologize today. Don’t pass on your faults!
Gordon Dalbey suggests three things to remember in your role as a dad and as a leader in general:
Watch for what God is doing in people and bless it.President Kennedy once recalled, "If I walked out on stage and fell flat on my face, Father would say I fell better than anyone else." Good fathers look for opportunities to encourage their children, not with false praise, but with honest appraisal.
Our tendency is to be quick with criticism and slow with praise. We forget that even our kids need to hear words that build up instead of tear down. Is your attention to what your kids do right at least as keen as your attention to what they do wrong. By the way, you may want to ask them instead of asking yourself. Remember that even if you don’t agree with their assessment, it is still their perspective and “perspective is reality.”
Don't coerce behavior, no matter how righteous, but lead into deeper relationship with Jesus.Trying to force "proper behavior" without a loving hand of grace stirs rebellion because it violates the child's heart, which God has already oriented, if not to do the right thing, certainly to do what Dad does. "Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children" (Eph. 5:1).
Surely the command to avoid embittering your children in Ephesians 6 should cause us to reconsider manipulation and browbeating to coerce good behavior. Go out of your way to model integrity, compassion, generosity, and honesty to your children. God’s primary way of changing you is not via threat of punishment, but calling you to imitate Christ.
Recognize your faults, but don't pass them on.
All of us are going to make mistakes in front of our kids and our children will likely imitate us in it at some point. When you mess up, admit to you children, apologize and vow to do better. Why should your kids respect their mother when you speak disrespectfully to her in front of them and never apologize? Why should your sons respect females when they see you gawking at the Victoria Secret ad? Apologize today. Don’t pass on your faults!
Thursday, June 01, 2006
God Has Spoken
“If we are going to have answers for the twentieth century world, we must not only have a God who exists, be we must have a God who has spoken” (Francis A. Schaeffer).
I read that first from the preacher’s perspective. It’s likely that you didn’t. I read it as if someone has asked me a question. I know that if I have any answer to offer, I must go to God’s word to offer the answer from heaven.
But not everyone asks the preacher. And often, the preacher has questions himself about God and heavenly things related to him. It’s not enough at the time of questioning to know that God exists. If I am going to find the true answer to my most significant questions, I’ve got to know that God has spoken and that his truth is found in scripture.
The writer of Hebrews confirms, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” (Hebrews 11:6). I believe that careful contemplation of our universe can direct an individual toward belief in the existence of God and even the truth that he rewards those who seek him. However, to know how to seek him, we must have a God who has spoken. He has spoken. He has the answers for you and for me. That’s Life at Work!
I read that first from the preacher’s perspective. It’s likely that you didn’t. I read it as if someone has asked me a question. I know that if I have any answer to offer, I must go to God’s word to offer the answer from heaven.
But not everyone asks the preacher. And often, the preacher has questions himself about God and heavenly things related to him. It’s not enough at the time of questioning to know that God exists. If I am going to find the true answer to my most significant questions, I’ve got to know that God has spoken and that his truth is found in scripture.
The writer of Hebrews confirms, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” (Hebrews 11:6). I believe that careful contemplation of our universe can direct an individual toward belief in the existence of God and even the truth that he rewards those who seek him. However, to know how to seek him, we must have a God who has spoken. He has spoken. He has the answers for you and for me. That’s Life at Work!
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Enemies of the Sheep
Sir Walter Scott and his wife were enjoying a stroll around the grounds at their home and passed by some lambs in a field playfully enjoying the spring day. Scott remarked, “It’s no wonder that poets from the earliest of times have made lambs the symbols of peace and innocence.”
His wife agreed that lambs are special, yet with something quite different in mind. She said, “Delightful creatures indeed, especially with mint sauce.”
You get a strange mix of the metaphor in the Bible because sheep are people, but the greatest enemies of sheep are also people. When the Psalmist writes, “You prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies,” the enemies are people. When Jesus warns about those who would steal, kill, and destroy the sheep; the thieves are people. When Paul told the shepherds of the church in Ephesus to protect the flock of God from the savage wolves, the wolves were people.
Shepherds that protect you, fellow sheep that fellowship with you, and enemies who would destroy you can all look very much alike. So Jesus offers one more warning in metaphor: “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” Be as innocent as sheep, but be shrewd, too. It is likely that someone is thinking about you with mint sauce. Know the difference between those who will protect you and those who would destroy you spiritually. That’s Life at Work!
His wife agreed that lambs are special, yet with something quite different in mind. She said, “Delightful creatures indeed, especially with mint sauce.”
You get a strange mix of the metaphor in the Bible because sheep are people, but the greatest enemies of sheep are also people. When the Psalmist writes, “You prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies,” the enemies are people. When Jesus warns about those who would steal, kill, and destroy the sheep; the thieves are people. When Paul told the shepherds of the church in Ephesus to protect the flock of God from the savage wolves, the wolves were people.
Shepherds that protect you, fellow sheep that fellowship with you, and enemies who would destroy you can all look very much alike. So Jesus offers one more warning in metaphor: “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” Be as innocent as sheep, but be shrewd, too. It is likely that someone is thinking about you with mint sauce. Know the difference between those who will protect you and those who would destroy you spiritually. That’s Life at Work!
Monday, May 15, 2006
Balanced Preaching and Listening
Preaching (March – April 2006) features a cartoon in which two preachers are standing by the signs in front of their respective side-by-side church buildings. The signs advertise the titles of the sermons upcoming in each church. The preacher on the left is preaching momentarily on the topic “Taking Sin Seriously.” The preacher on the right is preaching a sermon titled, “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff.” One preacher looks excitedly happy because he has a standing room only crowd waiting to enter. The other preacher looks distraught because no one is entering through his building’s doors. Guess which sermon people line up to hear in the cartoon. You probably guessed right. They are not lined up outside the door where “Taking Sin Seriously” is the topic for the morning.
I understand jokes like that. Jokes about the people in pews can be humorous without truly revealing the hearts of people in the pews. Likewise, jokes about preachers can be humorous without truly revealing the hearts of people in the pulpit. But when I saw that cartoon it caused me to consider my own preaching. Right now, I am preaching through the Sermon on the Mount. I’m preaching a series of sermons on a sermon.
The people lined up to hear Jesus were called to take sin seriously. Jesus warned his hearers about anger, lust, divorce, hatred, and dishonesty, in the end telling them if they failed to do what he said they would experience a “great fall.” Take sin seriously. Yet in the same sermon, he said, “Don’t be anxious about tomorrow.” Don’t sweat the small stuff.
We all need to hear a balance of sermons about the kindness and sternness of God. Preachers can probably do a better job of balancing them. I’ll try. Will you? That’s Life at Work!
I understand jokes like that. Jokes about the people in pews can be humorous without truly revealing the hearts of people in the pews. Likewise, jokes about preachers can be humorous without truly revealing the hearts of people in the pulpit. But when I saw that cartoon it caused me to consider my own preaching. Right now, I am preaching through the Sermon on the Mount. I’m preaching a series of sermons on a sermon.
The people lined up to hear Jesus were called to take sin seriously. Jesus warned his hearers about anger, lust, divorce, hatred, and dishonesty, in the end telling them if they failed to do what he said they would experience a “great fall.” Take sin seriously. Yet in the same sermon, he said, “Don’t be anxious about tomorrow.” Don’t sweat the small stuff.
We all need to hear a balance of sermons about the kindness and sternness of God. Preachers can probably do a better job of balancing them. I’ll try. Will you? That’s Life at Work!
Monday, May 08, 2006
Happy Mother's Day!
Sunday is Mother’s Day! Make your mom happy. Do something special for her! Teach your young children to do something surprising for their mother by leading the way – involve them in the fun, in other words.
Proverbs is full of blessings for various people. Occasionally there will be a blessing for someone, but the happiness is generated in the life of another. Here’s what I hope for you:
May your father and mother be glad;
may she who gave you birth rejoice! (Proverbs 23:25; NIV)
Rejoicing isn’t just going to happen. In Proverbs, a mother rejoices because her teaching is not forsaken by her children, and her children wisely work diligently to help the poor. Mothers rejoice when the discipline they hated to administer is effective at the time of application and into old age. Mothers rejoice when the children they made secure, return that security when the mother is old.
Whether your mom or the mother of your children has a Happy Mother’s Day is largely up to you. Make it happen. That’s Life at Work!
Proverbs is full of blessings for various people. Occasionally there will be a blessing for someone, but the happiness is generated in the life of another. Here’s what I hope for you:
May your father and mother be glad;
may she who gave you birth rejoice! (Proverbs 23:25; NIV)
Rejoicing isn’t just going to happen. In Proverbs, a mother rejoices because her teaching is not forsaken by her children, and her children wisely work diligently to help the poor. Mothers rejoice when the discipline they hated to administer is effective at the time of application and into old age. Mothers rejoice when the children they made secure, return that security when the mother is old.
Whether your mom or the mother of your children has a Happy Mother’s Day is largely up to you. Make it happen. That’s Life at Work!
Looking for Grace
The actor W.C. Fields was an agnostic. A fellow actor once walked unannounced into his dressing room and found Fields reading the Bible. Like a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar, in embarrassment, Fields shut the Bible quickly and explained, "Just looking for loopholes." Philip Yancey in What's So Amazing about Grace commented, "Probably, he was looking for grace."
The Bible reveals the God who loved his creation so much, he gave his Son to rescue the creation from eternal punishment for sin. There has never been a greater love, nor will there ever be. If you want to experience it, there is only one place -- in Christ. There has never been a greater gift; nor will there ever be. There is only one place to learn about it -- the revelation from God in your Bible. People hunger for kindness directed toward them. In this world, kindness is rare. When someone reads about the loving kindness of God as revealed in Jesus, one can't help but be impressed. God wants us to be so impressed that we love him back. Do you know of his love for you? Open your Bible, but don't look for loopholes. That would be wasting time. Look for grace. That will be easy to find. That's Life at Work!
The Bible reveals the God who loved his creation so much, he gave his Son to rescue the creation from eternal punishment for sin. There has never been a greater love, nor will there ever be. If you want to experience it, there is only one place -- in Christ. There has never been a greater gift; nor will there ever be. There is only one place to learn about it -- the revelation from God in your Bible. People hunger for kindness directed toward them. In this world, kindness is rare. When someone reads about the loving kindness of God as revealed in Jesus, one can't help but be impressed. God wants us to be so impressed that we love him back. Do you know of his love for you? Open your Bible, but don't look for loopholes. That would be wasting time. Look for grace. That will be easy to find. That's Life at Work!
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Selfless Prayer
I have a book called Golden Moments of Religious Inspiration. It is a collection of inspirational writings from way back. One of the most interesting to me is an article by Homer Croy called "We Thank Thee 0 Lord." In this article, Croy recorded a prayer that he found in The Charleston (South Carolina) Courier of April 4, 1837. The prayer was copied from a London paper and may have been originally uttered by John Ward, a Member of Parliament from Hackney. This is the prayer he prayed:
"0, Lord, thou knowest I have nine houses in the City of London, and likewise that I have lately purchased an estate in fee simple in the county of Essex. I beseech thee to preserve the counties of Essex and Middlesex from fire and earthquake; and as I have a mortgage in Hertfordshire, I beg Thee to have an eye of compassion on that county; as for the rest of the counties, Thou may'st deal with them as Thou art pleased. 0, Lord, enable the banks to answer all their bills, and make all my debtors good men.
"Give me a prosperous voyage and give return to my sloop, the 'Mermaid,' because I have insured it; and as Thou hast said that the ways of the wicked are short, I trust that Thou wilt not forget that promise, as I have purchased an estate in reversion, which will be mine on the death of that profligate young man, Sir John Lawson."
Quite a prayer, isn't it? Humorous obviously, and shocking! It's also scary, though, because I believe that it is strikingly similar to many prayers offered in this twenty-first century. “How,” you might ask.
Many pray today, thanking God for all the ways that he has blessed them. After the thanks, come the petitions for more blessings. And there is nothing wrong with that. Yet, what the prayer above verbalized, many act out in their lives. They often go about with their attention focused on themselves, and still worse, on their own worldly possessions. When it comes to looking after someone else, being concerned about someone else, they are blind.
There are times when we need to forget about that boat, forget about those homes; forget about the things that our selfishness brings to mind. Forgetting those things, let’s pray that God will bless others, not only through his work and providence, but also, through us. We would do well to follow Paul's example who, though while he in jail, was concerned not with himself, but with the Philippians.
What do you need to pray about today that is more about someone else than it is about you? That’s Life at Work!
"0, Lord, thou knowest I have nine houses in the City of London, and likewise that I have lately purchased an estate in fee simple in the county of Essex. I beseech thee to preserve the counties of Essex and Middlesex from fire and earthquake; and as I have a mortgage in Hertfordshire, I beg Thee to have an eye of compassion on that county; as for the rest of the counties, Thou may'st deal with them as Thou art pleased. 0, Lord, enable the banks to answer all their bills, and make all my debtors good men.
"Give me a prosperous voyage and give return to my sloop, the 'Mermaid,' because I have insured it; and as Thou hast said that the ways of the wicked are short, I trust that Thou wilt not forget that promise, as I have purchased an estate in reversion, which will be mine on the death of that profligate young man, Sir John Lawson."
Quite a prayer, isn't it? Humorous obviously, and shocking! It's also scary, though, because I believe that it is strikingly similar to many prayers offered in this twenty-first century. “How,” you might ask.
Many pray today, thanking God for all the ways that he has blessed them. After the thanks, come the petitions for more blessings. And there is nothing wrong with that. Yet, what the prayer above verbalized, many act out in their lives. They often go about with their attention focused on themselves, and still worse, on their own worldly possessions. When it comes to looking after someone else, being concerned about someone else, they are blind.
There are times when we need to forget about that boat, forget about those homes; forget about the things that our selfishness brings to mind. Forgetting those things, let’s pray that God will bless others, not only through his work and providence, but also, through us. We would do well to follow Paul's example who, though while he in jail, was concerned not with himself, but with the Philippians.
What do you need to pray about today that is more about someone else than it is about you? That’s Life at Work!
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
No Mistakes
William Mart Miller used to tell a story to sad story about a Civil War veteran.
On July 3, 1863, the body of Ansell Fassett, a twenty-one year old boy wearing the Blue, was picked up for dead on the field of Gettysburg, and was listed as dead in the records. Before the burial party could reach him, however, he showed signs of life, and was rushed to the field hospital where he eventually recovered and was discharged as incapacitated for further service. He applied for a disability pension, but the record of his death was an insurmountable barrier. Struggling with his disability and the problem of making a living, he had misplaced his discharge papers. Finally, with advancing years, he sought admission to the Soldier's Home in Sawtelle, CA, but again the record of his death shut him out and he was forced to eke out a living in the most humble way. For him, Gettysburg lasted 63 years! Again he fell, and this time no moan from him interrupted the burial party. The day after his funeral in 1926 the missing discharge paper was found, but it didn't matter. The mistaken records had done their worst.
The Hebrew writer taught us, “Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him” (Heb 9:27-28; NIV).
All of us will stand before the judgment seat of God. We will await the news of our admission into the home Jesus has prepared for his own. There will be no lost or mistaken records. Everything will be correct, everything will be in order, and everything will be eternal. That’s Life at Work!
On July 3, 1863, the body of Ansell Fassett, a twenty-one year old boy wearing the Blue, was picked up for dead on the field of Gettysburg, and was listed as dead in the records. Before the burial party could reach him, however, he showed signs of life, and was rushed to the field hospital where he eventually recovered and was discharged as incapacitated for further service. He applied for a disability pension, but the record of his death was an insurmountable barrier. Struggling with his disability and the problem of making a living, he had misplaced his discharge papers. Finally, with advancing years, he sought admission to the Soldier's Home in Sawtelle, CA, but again the record of his death shut him out and he was forced to eke out a living in the most humble way. For him, Gettysburg lasted 63 years! Again he fell, and this time no moan from him interrupted the burial party. The day after his funeral in 1926 the missing discharge paper was found, but it didn't matter. The mistaken records had done their worst.
The Hebrew writer taught us, “Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him” (Heb 9:27-28; NIV).
All of us will stand before the judgment seat of God. We will await the news of our admission into the home Jesus has prepared for his own. There will be no lost or mistaken records. Everything will be correct, everything will be in order, and everything will be eternal. That’s Life at Work!
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Jesus Perspective: Disciples and Money
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Matt 6:19-21
He thought he had it all, and so did a lot of other people. We call him the rich, young, ruler. He was wealthy and he was righteous (in his own eyes). He had treasure everywhere except where he needed it most! Jesus told him to sell all he had and give it to the poor, then he would have treasure where it would really do some good He went away sorrowfully, though. He considered having treasure here more important that having it in heaven.
We are in danger of making the same decision. Oh, we don’t make it face to face with Jesus in the way the rich, young, ruler did; nevertheless, the decision is still made, and the consequences are the same. There are rich people who, like that young ruler, are too interested in their wealth to be interested in the things of God They will walk away from opportunities for eternal life just like the young man did. There are also those who barely make it between paychecks who spend their lives just trying to pay that next credit card bill, or that next car note, or that next house payment They are so busy in fact, that while not rich, the buck has become their god. They have as much interest in possessions as the guy who already has the possessions.
The two messages from those Matthew 6 and 18 are: (1) God can tell where our hearts are by the treasures that we lay up for ourselves and (2) the only treasures that will last forever are the ones deposited in heaven.
Marcus Cicero called "Out of this Life” to illustrate these truths:
Out of this life I shall never take
Things of silver and gold I make.
All Om I cherish and hoard away
After I leave, on earth must stay.
Though I call it mine and I boast its worth,
I must give it up when I quit the earth.
All that I gather and all that I keep
I must leave behind when I fall asleep.
And I wonder often, just what I shall own,
In that other life when I pass alone,
What shall He find and what shall He see,
In the soul that answers the call for me?
Shall the great Judge learn when my task is through
That my soul had gathered some riches too?
Or shall at the last, it be mine to find,
That all I had worked for, I had left behind?
That’s Life at Work!
Matt 6:19-21
He thought he had it all, and so did a lot of other people. We call him the rich, young, ruler. He was wealthy and he was righteous (in his own eyes). He had treasure everywhere except where he needed it most! Jesus told him to sell all he had and give it to the poor, then he would have treasure where it would really do some good He went away sorrowfully, though. He considered having treasure here more important that having it in heaven.
We are in danger of making the same decision. Oh, we don’t make it face to face with Jesus in the way the rich, young, ruler did; nevertheless, the decision is still made, and the consequences are the same. There are rich people who, like that young ruler, are too interested in their wealth to be interested in the things of God They will walk away from opportunities for eternal life just like the young man did. There are also those who barely make it between paychecks who spend their lives just trying to pay that next credit card bill, or that next car note, or that next house payment They are so busy in fact, that while not rich, the buck has become their god. They have as much interest in possessions as the guy who already has the possessions.
The two messages from those Matthew 6 and 18 are: (1) God can tell where our hearts are by the treasures that we lay up for ourselves and (2) the only treasures that will last forever are the ones deposited in heaven.
Marcus Cicero called "Out of this Life” to illustrate these truths:
Out of this life I shall never take
Things of silver and gold I make.
All Om I cherish and hoard away
After I leave, on earth must stay.
Though I call it mine and I boast its worth,
I must give it up when I quit the earth.
All that I gather and all that I keep
I must leave behind when I fall asleep.
And I wonder often, just what I shall own,
In that other life when I pass alone,
What shall He find and what shall He see,
In the soul that answers the call for me?
Shall the great Judge learn when my task is through
That my soul had gathered some riches too?
Or shall at the last, it be mine to find,
That all I had worked for, I had left behind?
That’s Life at Work!
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Jesus' Financial Plan
If you run after money, you’re materialistic. If you don’t get it, you’re a loser. If you get it and keep it, you’re a miser. If you don’t try to get it, you lack ambition. If you get it and spend it, you’re a spendthrift. If you have it after a lifetime of work, you’re a fool who never got any fun out of life.
If you listen to everybody’s ideas about other people and their money, you’ll quickly get the idea that you can’t win. You always end up looking bad.
You can win with Jesus, though. What I mean is that if you will cling to the teachings of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount regarding money, you will have treasure in the right place. He gives four instructions:
1. Store up treasure in heaven to assure that your heart is in the right place.
2. If your heart is greedy, or otherwise darkened by an ungodly view of money, your whole life will be impacted negatively.
3. You’ve got to decide whether you will live for wealth or God. You can’t do both.
4. Don’t spend your life worrying about what you don’t have. God knows your need and will care for you.
That’s Life at Work!
If you listen to everybody’s ideas about other people and their money, you’ll quickly get the idea that you can’t win. You always end up looking bad.
You can win with Jesus, though. What I mean is that if you will cling to the teachings of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount regarding money, you will have treasure in the right place. He gives four instructions:
1. Store up treasure in heaven to assure that your heart is in the right place.
2. If your heart is greedy, or otherwise darkened by an ungodly view of money, your whole life will be impacted negatively.
3. You’ve got to decide whether you will live for wealth or God. You can’t do both.
4. Don’t spend your life worrying about what you don’t have. God knows your need and will care for you.
That’s Life at Work!
Thursday, April 13, 2006
Resurrection and Spring
My lover spoke and said to me,
“Arise, my darling,
my beautiful one, and come with me.
11 See! The winter is past;
the rains are over and gone.
12 Flowers appear on the earth;
the season of singing has come,
the cooing of doves
is heard in our land.
13 The fig tree forms its early fruit;
the blossoming vines spread their fragrance.
Arise, come, my darling;
my beautiful one, come with me.”
(Song 2:10-13; NIV)
Whether you’ve considered the arguments about the timeframe of the resurrection, and regardless of what you’ve concluded about them, you’ve got to admit, there is something quite natural about thinking of the resurrection in the spring when flowers appear, doves coo, fruit trees blossom, and emotions lift. I don’t know the order in which the thoughts come, but either resurrection reminds me of spring or spring reminds me of resurrection. There is too much new life around not to think of new life (Romans 6:4).
But Jesus didn’t resurrect for me to think about his victory over death on Easter Sunday. He resurrected to change my life – and change my death. Because Jesus resurrected, when I submit to baptism, I am saved. Because Jesus resurrected, I set my heart and mind on things above instead of on earthly things. Because Jesus resurrected, God will give life to my mortal body when Jesus returns.
Nothing is the same. Everything is new. It’s better than the spring! That’s Life at Work!
“Arise, my darling,
my beautiful one, and come with me.
11 See! The winter is past;
the rains are over and gone.
12 Flowers appear on the earth;
the season of singing has come,
the cooing of doves
is heard in our land.
13 The fig tree forms its early fruit;
the blossoming vines spread their fragrance.
Arise, come, my darling;
my beautiful one, come with me.”
(Song 2:10-13; NIV)
Whether you’ve considered the arguments about the timeframe of the resurrection, and regardless of what you’ve concluded about them, you’ve got to admit, there is something quite natural about thinking of the resurrection in the spring when flowers appear, doves coo, fruit trees blossom, and emotions lift. I don’t know the order in which the thoughts come, but either resurrection reminds me of spring or spring reminds me of resurrection. There is too much new life around not to think of new life (Romans 6:4).
But Jesus didn’t resurrect for me to think about his victory over death on Easter Sunday. He resurrected to change my life – and change my death. Because Jesus resurrected, when I submit to baptism, I am saved. Because Jesus resurrected, I set my heart and mind on things above instead of on earthly things. Because Jesus resurrected, God will give life to my mortal body when Jesus returns.
Nothing is the same. Everything is new. It’s better than the spring! That’s Life at Work!
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
How Have You Reacted?
How Have You Reacted?
How could it be that people could know about a tomb-now-empty, yet remain the same? A resurrection from the dead is a powerful claim. You don’t just hear a story about someone coming back from the grave and dismiss it like someone told you the score between two teams that you care nothing about. Overcoming death is too big of an event for apathy.
How have you reacted to the news? Paul said that the resurrection of Jesus is my reason to put faith in Jesus, it is the proof of eternal life for me now, and the proof of a bodily resurrection for me later. The resurrection is the reason I recognize Jesus as Lord and the reason that I can bear fruit to God in my life.
The South Yukon Church will assembly this Sunday morning to eat the Lord’s supper, like we do every Sunday, because Jesus rose on Sunday. Scripture calls Sunday the Lord’s Day. Two thousand years later, we still call it the Lord’s Day. One who can come out of his own grave, by his own power, can declare his resurrection day as his own.
He wants to claim you as his own, too. He has the right, but he wants you to choose him! That’s Life at Work!
How could it be that people could know about a tomb-now-empty, yet remain the same? A resurrection from the dead is a powerful claim. You don’t just hear a story about someone coming back from the grave and dismiss it like someone told you the score between two teams that you care nothing about. Overcoming death is too big of an event for apathy.
How have you reacted to the news? Paul said that the resurrection of Jesus is my reason to put faith in Jesus, it is the proof of eternal life for me now, and the proof of a bodily resurrection for me later. The resurrection is the reason I recognize Jesus as Lord and the reason that I can bear fruit to God in my life.
The South Yukon Church will assembly this Sunday morning to eat the Lord’s supper, like we do every Sunday, because Jesus rose on Sunday. Scripture calls Sunday the Lord’s Day. Two thousand years later, we still call it the Lord’s Day. One who can come out of his own grave, by his own power, can declare his resurrection day as his own.
He wants to claim you as his own, too. He has the right, but he wants you to choose him! That’s Life at Work!
Friday, March 31, 2006
It's All About Jesus
Following Jesus is not about a few minor changes. Following Jesus is about an entirely new direction and walk. Paul told the Colossian Church “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory” (Col 3:2-4). The phrase “who is your life” can certainly mean that Jesus has given us life since we have died to sin, but it can also mean that we live in Jesus – we LIVE in him.
Chris Rice sings the untitled hymn most often called “Come to Jesus.” The message is that when you are weak and wounded, you should come to Jesus. When your burden has been lifted, you should sing to Jesus. When you fall, and we all fall, then fall on Jesus. When you are experiencing loneliness and pain, you should cry to Jesus. When you can’t contain your joy because the love spills over, then dance for Jesus. Finally, when your heart beats its final beat and you go to Glory’s side, you should fly to Jesus.
When you follow Jesus, wherever you are and whatever you are doing, Jesus is the focus. He is the one to whom, for whom, and on whom we are always coming, singing, falling, crying, dancing and flying.
That’s Life at Work!
Chris Rice sings the untitled hymn most often called “Come to Jesus.” The message is that when you are weak and wounded, you should come to Jesus. When your burden has been lifted, you should sing to Jesus. When you fall, and we all fall, then fall on Jesus. When you are experiencing loneliness and pain, you should cry to Jesus. When you can’t contain your joy because the love spills over, then dance for Jesus. Finally, when your heart beats its final beat and you go to Glory’s side, you should fly to Jesus.
When you follow Jesus, wherever you are and whatever you are doing, Jesus is the focus. He is the one to whom, for whom, and on whom we are always coming, singing, falling, crying, dancing and flying.
That’s Life at Work!
Monday, March 20, 2006
Love and Loyalty
Roger Casement had served as British Consul in Mozambique in the early 1900s. In that role he had seen the mistreatment of the locals by the Belgium governmental authorities who ruled there. His criticism of their policy of mistreatment led to an overhaul of Belgium’s administration there. When he retired he moved to Dublin where he had been born. There, he witnessed the same kind of mistreatment of his own people by the British government who ruled. He played some role in organizing an armed protest called the Dublin Rising in 1916 and was subsequently arrested, convicted, and hanged by Britain. He gave a speech after his conviction that expressed a great truth about love and loyalty. Can you see lessons regarding discipleship in this statement?
“Loyalty is a sentiment, not a law. It rests on Love, not on restraint. The government of Ireland by England rests on restraint and not on law; and, since it demands no love, it can evoke no loyalty.”
Jesus told his apostles, “If you love me, you will obey what I command” (John 14:15). John wrote later on: “This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world” (1 John 5:2-4a).
More than restraint due to law, Jesus is interested in your loyalty due to love. His life, death, and resurrection, though revealing his kingship was not intended primarily to motivate subjection because of the threat of condemnation. His life, death, and resurrection was intended to evoke you to love him, so that you would obey him with all your heart.
That’s Life at Work!
“Loyalty is a sentiment, not a law. It rests on Love, not on restraint. The government of Ireland by England rests on restraint and not on law; and, since it demands no love, it can evoke no loyalty.”
Jesus told his apostles, “If you love me, you will obey what I command” (John 14:15). John wrote later on: “This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world” (1 John 5:2-4a).
More than restraint due to law, Jesus is interested in your loyalty due to love. His life, death, and resurrection, though revealing his kingship was not intended primarily to motivate subjection because of the threat of condemnation. His life, death, and resurrection was intended to evoke you to love him, so that you would obey him with all your heart.
That’s Life at Work!
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Growing Spiritually by Prayer
Neil Wiseman wrote Growing Your Soul to offer “practical steps to increase your spirituality.” Of course, he writes about prayer. Specifically, he reveals ten ways that prayer changes the prayer. It is important to know that by the time you get to this point in the book and chapter, the need for honest, unguarded talking with God is essential for spiritual growth. In other words, prayer won’t have the incredible impact on you that it can if you don’t open up before the God who knows your heart anyway.
Prayer unchains an individual from old habits of feeling, thinking, and acting.
Prayer takes us on a voyage of inner discovery.
Prayer shapes us into Christ likeness.
Prayer requires a wholehearted honesty.
Prayer judges integrity.
Prayer provides a long range perspective of life.
Prayer frees us from self-centeredness.
Prayer motivates action.
Prayer encourages plain talk with God.
Prayer admits absolute dependence.
Pray cultivates friendship with God.
Those things will never happen in prayers prayed in the pulpit, before meals, or in family devotionals. You must spend time in prayer alone with God. If someone else is present, it must be someone with whom you are completely vulnerable, someone with whom you will be totally honest, like your spouse or a very close prayer partner.
Wiseman recommends this exercise for prayer. Finish these lines in the beginning of prayer when you are alone with God:
Father, to make it happen in my inner world,
Free me from _______________________;
Enable me to become _________________;
And tear down every hindrance in my, such as ____________________;
I open my whole life to your will and your promise. Amen
That’s Life at Work!
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
Pray and Breathe
“For Christians, prayer is like breathing.” That’s the opening line of John MacArthur’s study of prayer called Alone with God. Of course, the fact that so many of us hold our spiritual breath for so long is the reason why he wrote the book; and why this article is written. Jesus’ teaching about prayer in the Sermon on the Mount did not first address those who don’t pray much. He first addressed those who prayed a lot – at least in public.
I can imagine that those who stood in the synagogues or on street corners going on and on with their babbling thinking they would be heard because of their word count weren’t closet prayers. Closet prayers are only heard by God. These people weren’t praying to be heard by God. Unless they kept the closet door open, no one was likely to hear them and the purpose for their prayer is defeated.
To be quite honest with you, I believe that the people who pray publicly in my circles are not praying to be heard by men. I think we are too presumptuous about motives when we hear people saying some of our most famous prayer phrases, then assume that their prayer is not genuine. I think people just want to pray right – to be heard by God and to effectively lead the family.
It is possible, though, that our pure motives in public prayer are the only way that we are different from the hypocrites that Jesus addressed. How long have you held your spiritual breath? How long has it been since it was just you before the throne adoring, confessing, giving thanks, pledging loyalty, and petitioning? Has it been a month? A week? Has it even been a day since you knelt in private before the Almighty? Pray now…and breathe! That’s Life at Work!
Happiness for a Lifetime
"People get from books the idea that if you have married the right person you may expect to go on 'being in love' for ever. As a result, when they find they are not, they think this proves they have made a mistake and are entitled to a change--not realizing that, when they have changed, the glamour will presently go out of the new love just as it went out of the old one. In this department of life, as in every other, thrills come at the beginning and do not last. . . Let the thrill go--let it die away--go on through the period of death into the quieter interest and happiness that follow--and you will find you are living in a world of new thrills all the time." (C. S. Lewis in Mere Christianity)
Those are some words of wisdom for today! Someone reading this article is thinking about leaving his/her family because the thrill is gone. Leaving will not fix things. Whatever thrill you find after leaving will die, too. Husbands, find out how to love your wife with a godly love. Wives, find out how to love your husbands with a godly love. We can help you with that! You will discover that happiness for a lifetime is much better than a thrill-a-minute.
Those are some words of wisdom for today! Someone reading this article is thinking about leaving his/her family because the thrill is gone. Leaving will not fix things. Whatever thrill you find after leaving will die, too. Husbands, find out how to love your wife with a godly love. Wives, find out how to love your husbands with a godly love. We can help you with that! You will discover that happiness for a lifetime is much better than a thrill-a-minute.
Friday, March 03, 2006
The Secret is It's Secret
“The paid off home mortgage has replaced the BMW as the status symbol of choice” (Dave Ramsey, Financial Peace). I’m not sure that everyone buys into that notion, but Ramsey has certainly changed the minds of many of his listeners in regard to their emphasis on “stuff.” But better money management that leads to the paid off mortgage is still about money. What we think of ourselves and what others think about us, in America, has so much to do with our money and how we use it.
Though perhaps archaic, “alms” is still the word most frequently associated with giving for spiritual cause. So I believe you’ll understand what I mean when I say that status, money, and church intersect at “alms giving.” The big giver has replaced the “service to all” as the status symbol of choice in the church. Righteous and giving were for Jews in the days of Matthew’s writing nearly synonymous. That’s why you see these different translations of the same passage in Matthew 6:1:
NIV
Matthew 6:1
“Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.”
Matt 6:1
“Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.”
The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia comments about alms, “The later Jews often used "righteousness" as meaning alms, that being in their view the foremost righteousness.”
In the culture of Matthew’s readers, then, giving lots of money at the synagogue purchased lots of praise because giving lots was evidence of lots of righteousness. That says a lot, doesn’t it?
There doesn’t seem to be much evidence that givers were actually “announcing it with trumpets,” but they were making sure that their charity was known by all around in some way. Maybe you drop a hint, maybe you make sure your check is facing upward in the plate as it is passed, or maybe you hold the cash a little higher than you have to hold it. Maybe you can’t think of a way that lets people know about your “big giving,” but you wish you could. Jesus wants us to evaluate what our actions say about our motives. The question of the day is: Can you give generously without letting anyone know that you’ve done it?
Though perhaps archaic, “alms” is still the word most frequently associated with giving for spiritual cause. So I believe you’ll understand what I mean when I say that status, money, and church intersect at “alms giving.” The big giver has replaced the “service to all” as the status symbol of choice in the church. Righteous and giving were for Jews in the days of Matthew’s writing nearly synonymous. That’s why you see these different translations of the same passage in Matthew 6:1:
NIV
Matthew 6:1
“Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.”
Matt 6:1
“Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.”
The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia comments about alms, “The later Jews often used "righteousness" as meaning alms, that being in their view the foremost righteousness.”
In the culture of Matthew’s readers, then, giving lots of money at the synagogue purchased lots of praise because giving lots was evidence of lots of righteousness. That says a lot, doesn’t it?
There doesn’t seem to be much evidence that givers were actually “announcing it with trumpets,” but they were making sure that their charity was known by all around in some way. Maybe you drop a hint, maybe you make sure your check is facing upward in the plate as it is passed, or maybe you hold the cash a little higher than you have to hold it. Maybe you can’t think of a way that lets people know about your “big giving,” but you wish you could. Jesus wants us to evaluate what our actions say about our motives. The question of the day is: Can you give generously without letting anyone know that you’ve done it?
Monday, February 27, 2006
God and the Oklahama Smoking Ban
“If people are going to come to your place of business to kill liver cells, we’ll let them destroy their lungs there, too.” That’s what crossed my mind as I was reminded Monday morning of the Oklahoma ban on smoking in restaurants except in establishments where sixty percent of income is from the sale of alcoholic beverages.
Did you know that God cares about your body? I remember the emails that circulate occasionally that say that the elements that make up your body and your skin are worth four dollars and fifty cents. I don’t doubt that, but God has never determined the value of something buy the dollars it generates. My guess is that a dead sparrow and the wild flowers in a field are worth less than $4.50, but God is still aware of the sparrow and dresses the wild flowers.
You are body, mind, and spirit; and God cares about you as a complete person. He wants your spirit to be healthy, your mind to be healthy, and your body to be healthy. He created you with body, mind, and spirit. He has prepared heaven so that you can live there with glorified body, mind, and spirit. He isn’t going to divide you up for eternity. He wants you complete; and completely. If God cares so much about all of you, shouldn’t you care that much about all of you? That’s Life at Work!
Did you know that God cares about your body? I remember the emails that circulate occasionally that say that the elements that make up your body and your skin are worth four dollars and fifty cents. I don’t doubt that, but God has never determined the value of something buy the dollars it generates. My guess is that a dead sparrow and the wild flowers in a field are worth less than $4.50, but God is still aware of the sparrow and dresses the wild flowers.
You are body, mind, and spirit; and God cares about you as a complete person. He wants your spirit to be healthy, your mind to be healthy, and your body to be healthy. He created you with body, mind, and spirit. He has prepared heaven so that you can live there with glorified body, mind, and spirit. He isn’t going to divide you up for eternity. He wants you complete; and completely. If God cares so much about all of you, shouldn’t you care that much about all of you? That’s Life at Work!
Thursday, February 16, 2006
Cuddling Up With Sin
Gary Richmond is a zoo keeper and author of A View From the Zoo. He told a story in the book about his friend name Julia who had a pet baby raccoon. Gary knew animals, so he explained to Julia that raccoons go through a glandular change at about 24 months that causes them to be vicious when they had not been vicious before. It was important that Julia know that because a thirty pound raccoon is like a hundred pound dog in a scrap. The animal could cause he physical harm. Gary said he would never forget Julia’s answer. "It will be different with me," she said. "Bandit would not hurt me." Three months later, Julia was having facial reconstructive surgery to cover the laceration made by Bandit when he attacked her for no apparent reason.
There are times when we are appalled at the ugliness of sin. I guess that one of the most graphic ugly pictures of sin, in my eyes, and the eyes of many others, is the gay pride marches or Mardi Gras celebrations that are shown on the news. If sin were always so ugly, we might not sin nearly as much. But sin does not always come in ugly packages. Sometimes, in fact most times, temptation comes in very pretty packages.
That was even true of the temptations that Satan brought to Jesus in the desert. Remember, Jesus had not eaten for forty days and Satan said turn this rock into bread. Jesus was going to suffer and die to establish his Kingdom, the church. Satan offered him the kingdoms if he would only bow down. Jesus was just beginning his ministry, what a wonderful presentation it would be to cast himself offthe temple to let the angels catch him. Temptation was not ugly. John wrote in 1 John 2:16 of "the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life."
What happens so often is that people say the same thing about these pretty temptations that Julia said about Bandit. That won’t happen to me. But it does happen.
Now, I’ve got to be honest with you. Cuddling up to sin, treating it as if it is a pet that would never hurt you, does not always end in tragedy in this life. Sometimes people sin willingly, continually, and never seem to face any earthly consequences for their actions. I would guess that Satan works hard to see that they don’t face consequences. He wants to keep them involved in their sinful activity. But, many do have to endure in this lifetime, the consequences of sin. And those consequences are often horrible. Death, disease, broken relationships, unbearable emotional strain, just to name a few.
I can tell you, however, that willingly continuing to sin will, without a doubt bring horrible eternal consequences to you. You cannot escape God’s judgment and all of us will have to give an account for the things that we have done (Ecclesiastes 12:14).
So, what should we do? Remember these verses the lessons from 2 Corinthians 11:14 and 1 Thessaloians 5:22: Satan can be transformed into an angel of light if it means fooling you and we should avoid every kind of evil That inlculdes the pretty kinds. They, too will hurt you. That’s Life at Work!
There are times when we are appalled at the ugliness of sin. I guess that one of the most graphic ugly pictures of sin, in my eyes, and the eyes of many others, is the gay pride marches or Mardi Gras celebrations that are shown on the news. If sin were always so ugly, we might not sin nearly as much. But sin does not always come in ugly packages. Sometimes, in fact most times, temptation comes in very pretty packages.
That was even true of the temptations that Satan brought to Jesus in the desert. Remember, Jesus had not eaten for forty days and Satan said turn this rock into bread. Jesus was going to suffer and die to establish his Kingdom, the church. Satan offered him the kingdoms if he would only bow down. Jesus was just beginning his ministry, what a wonderful presentation it would be to cast himself offthe temple to let the angels catch him. Temptation was not ugly. John wrote in 1 John 2:16 of "the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life."
What happens so often is that people say the same thing about these pretty temptations that Julia said about Bandit. That won’t happen to me. But it does happen.
Now, I’ve got to be honest with you. Cuddling up to sin, treating it as if it is a pet that would never hurt you, does not always end in tragedy in this life. Sometimes people sin willingly, continually, and never seem to face any earthly consequences for their actions. I would guess that Satan works hard to see that they don’t face consequences. He wants to keep them involved in their sinful activity. But, many do have to endure in this lifetime, the consequences of sin. And those consequences are often horrible. Death, disease, broken relationships, unbearable emotional strain, just to name a few.
I can tell you, however, that willingly continuing to sin will, without a doubt bring horrible eternal consequences to you. You cannot escape God’s judgment and all of us will have to give an account for the things that we have done (Ecclesiastes 12:14).
So, what should we do? Remember these verses the lessons from 2 Corinthians 11:14 and 1 Thessaloians 5:22: Satan can be transformed into an angel of light if it means fooling you and we should avoid every kind of evil That inlculdes the pretty kinds. They, too will hurt you. That’s Life at Work!
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Doing the Things You Do
“Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven” (Matthew 6:1)
For some who heard the Jesus Perspective on giving, praying, and fasting that day on the mountainside, these words were a warning about ongoing hypocrisy. Their practice was to make themselves seen when they did righteous acts. You might say they were acting righteous. It was a role they played, and they were excellent actors. The Greek word for that kind of acting is the root of the English word “hypocrite.”
For others these words, were a warning to guard their motives. That takes some serious introspection. I can guard my tongue in an instant. When I realize I’m about to say something that that I shouldn’t, I can pull back on the reigns of my tongue and keep my mouth shut. We call it “biting our tongues.” But to guard my heart in regard to motives for doing righteous acts; that may take a little time, some prayer, and some real exploratory heart surgery.
Ask yourself today, and be perfectly honest, “Why do you do the good things you do?” Are you doing them to be seen by others for admiration’s sake? Or are you doing them to be seen by God for the reward he has prepared?
That’s Life at Work!
For some who heard the Jesus Perspective on giving, praying, and fasting that day on the mountainside, these words were a warning about ongoing hypocrisy. Their practice was to make themselves seen when they did righteous acts. You might say they were acting righteous. It was a role they played, and they were excellent actors. The Greek word for that kind of acting is the root of the English word “hypocrite.”
For others these words, were a warning to guard their motives. That takes some serious introspection. I can guard my tongue in an instant. When I realize I’m about to say something that that I shouldn’t, I can pull back on the reigns of my tongue and keep my mouth shut. We call it “biting our tongues.” But to guard my heart in regard to motives for doing righteous acts; that may take a little time, some prayer, and some real exploratory heart surgery.
Ask yourself today, and be perfectly honest, “Why do you do the good things you do?” Are you doing them to be seen by others for admiration’s sake? Or are you doing them to be seen by God for the reward he has prepared?
That’s Life at Work!
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
Marriage Week Communication
A man was watching the news with his wife when a story was reported about a politician who was discovered in scandal. The story included a picture of the politician standing next to his wife who was especially pretty.
The man watching the news said out loud, “It’s not fair. The biggest jerks have the best looking wives!
His wife calmly replied: “Thank you, dear.”
The story above ought to remind us of a few things about communication in marriage, and in other relationships for that matter: First, sometimes, like the man who made the foot-in-my-mouth comment about jerks and beautiful women, we say things without thinking that hurt. Some of us speak unencumbered by the thought process. Be careful about what you say.
Second, sometimes when we’ve been hurt by words we forget the Proverb, “A soft answer turns away wrath.” When your spouse says something that hurts your feelings, don’t respond with the “eye for an eye” response that comes so naturally. You can express hurt with hurting back.
Finally, see the humor in things, and when your spouse jokes in the midst of tension, laugh at it. Laughter breaks the tension, lightens the moment, signals a desire for reconciliation, and heals. Receive the signal and laugh.
Maybe you are aware that February 7-14 is Marriage Week. It shouldn’t be surprising that Valentine’s Day occurs in Marriage Week! Don’t forget to express your love in a special way to your spouse on February 14.
That’s Life at Work!
The man watching the news said out loud, “It’s not fair. The biggest jerks have the best looking wives!
His wife calmly replied: “Thank you, dear.”
The story above ought to remind us of a few things about communication in marriage, and in other relationships for that matter: First, sometimes, like the man who made the foot-in-my-mouth comment about jerks and beautiful women, we say things without thinking that hurt. Some of us speak unencumbered by the thought process. Be careful about what you say.
Second, sometimes when we’ve been hurt by words we forget the Proverb, “A soft answer turns away wrath.” When your spouse says something that hurts your feelings, don’t respond with the “eye for an eye” response that comes so naturally. You can express hurt with hurting back.
Finally, see the humor in things, and when your spouse jokes in the midst of tension, laugh at it. Laughter breaks the tension, lightens the moment, signals a desire for reconciliation, and heals. Receive the signal and laugh.
Maybe you are aware that February 7-14 is Marriage Week. It shouldn’t be surprising that Valentine’s Day occurs in Marriage Week! Don’t forget to express your love in a special way to your spouse on February 14.
That’s Life at Work!
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Life at Work
Ever seen the geyser “Old Faithful” in Yellowstone National Park? I haven’t yet, but I will. We will join the millions who have visited the site fully expecting to see the eruption, and we leave without being disappointed. Author Wallace Fridy wrote about the dependability of Old Faithful and how we can learn from it:
“Old Faithful” is not the largest geyser, nor does it reach the greatest height. Nevertheless, it by far the most popular geyser. Its popularity is due mainly to its regularity and dependability. You can count on Old Faithful. Nothing in life can take the place of faithfulness and dependability. It is one of the greatest virtues. Brilliance, genius, competence – are all subservient to the quality of faithfulness.”
Paul wrote about our reliable God, reliable words, teaching reliable men, and rearing reliable children. We are called to be faithful, dependable, and reliable. You will grow, your family will thrive, and you will bring glory to God in wonderful ways as you develop this virtue. You may not attract millions of visitors, but you will have a following. Lead them to faithfulness. That’s Life at Work!
“Old Faithful” is not the largest geyser, nor does it reach the greatest height. Nevertheless, it by far the most popular geyser. Its popularity is due mainly to its regularity and dependability. You can count on Old Faithful. Nothing in life can take the place of faithfulness and dependability. It is one of the greatest virtues. Brilliance, genius, competence – are all subservient to the quality of faithfulness.”
Paul wrote about our reliable God, reliable words, teaching reliable men, and rearing reliable children. We are called to be faithful, dependable, and reliable. You will grow, your family will thrive, and you will bring glory to God in wonderful ways as you develop this virtue. You may not attract millions of visitors, but you will have a following. Lead them to faithfulness. That’s Life at Work!
Thursday, January 05, 2006
God Said He Was Coming
God said he was coming. I mean he said he was coming. “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel” (Is 7:14). Matthew explains the fulfillment of this prophecy in the context of Jesus of Nazareth (Matt 1:18-23).
He lived among us for a while - that is, in our world, among people; so we say that he was here. But, we also say that when we’ve lost a dog or our little brother whom we were supposed to be watching. “He was here,” we say when people or animals are missing. The idea is that we know where he was a little while ago. We’re not sure where he is now.
Not so when we say about Jesus, “He was here.” When he came he was “God with us.” When he left, he promised, “I will be with you always.” We can talk about Jesus as if he is here, because he is. Though we don’t see him, he is here. He is with us when we eat the Lord’s Supper, he is with us as we make disciples of the nations, and he is with us as we live out his teaching concerning life in the kingdom. That’s Life at Work!
He lived among us for a while - that is, in our world, among people; so we say that he was here. But, we also say that when we’ve lost a dog or our little brother whom we were supposed to be watching. “He was here,” we say when people or animals are missing. The idea is that we know where he was a little while ago. We’re not sure where he is now.
Not so when we say about Jesus, “He was here.” When he came he was “God with us.” When he left, he promised, “I will be with you always.” We can talk about Jesus as if he is here, because he is. Though we don’t see him, he is here. He is with us when we eat the Lord’s Supper, he is with us as we make disciples of the nations, and he is with us as we live out his teaching concerning life in the kingdom. That’s Life at Work!
Life at Work
"It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery (Matthew 5:31-32).
Hosea (not his real name) was getting a divorce. His wife begged him not to send her away. She wanted to work it out. "Don’t you love me?" she asked. "Don’t you know this will wreck the kids?"
Hosea responded, "Look, were divorcing. That’s it. But I promise, we’ll do it right. I’ll give you a certificate of divorce like the law requires."
It was like Deuteronomy 24:1-2 was printed bigger than the rest of the Old Testament. Maybe it was just the phrase "certificate of divorce" that was so large in the eyes of many Jewish men. "If a man marries a woman who becomes displeasing to him because he finds something indecent about her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house…"
The Jews were using that verse as much as unbelievers use the "don’t judge" verse today. They were so accustomed to using it, in fact, that some among the disciples said "If we can’t divorce, we shouldn’t even get married."
Their idea of doing marriage right was being sure to divorce with the right forms. Jesus stressed that doing marriage right means staying together. Only in extreme circumstance could you divorce. The Jesus Perspective is that marriage was designed to last a lifetime.
Are you thinking about getting out so much, and the possibility or impossibility of divorce so much, that you are not giving your marriage the energy it needs? Quit trying to find the right way out. Refocus on staying in and getting better. That's Life at Work!
Hosea (not his real name) was getting a divorce. His wife begged him not to send her away. She wanted to work it out. "Don’t you love me?" she asked. "Don’t you know this will wreck the kids?"
Hosea responded, "Look, were divorcing. That’s it. But I promise, we’ll do it right. I’ll give you a certificate of divorce like the law requires."
It was like Deuteronomy 24:1-2 was printed bigger than the rest of the Old Testament. Maybe it was just the phrase "certificate of divorce" that was so large in the eyes of many Jewish men. "If a man marries a woman who becomes displeasing to him because he finds something indecent about her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house…"
The Jews were using that verse as much as unbelievers use the "don’t judge" verse today. They were so accustomed to using it, in fact, that some among the disciples said "If we can’t divorce, we shouldn’t even get married."
Their idea of doing marriage right was being sure to divorce with the right forms. Jesus stressed that doing marriage right means staying together. Only in extreme circumstance could you divorce. The Jesus Perspective is that marriage was designed to last a lifetime.
Are you thinking about getting out so much, and the possibility or impossibility of divorce so much, that you are not giving your marriage the energy it needs? Quit trying to find the right way out. Refocus on staying in and getting better. That's Life at Work!
Monday, January 02, 2006
The Worst of the Worst Couples
Life at Work
Ahab and Jezebel were the worst of the worst couples. They beat out Samson and Delilah. They were worse than Bonnie and Clyde. They were incredibly evil! Here are some things that were true about them that we should guard against in our own lives.
First, they trivialized sin. At the beginning of the story about this couple (1 Kings 16:29), it is said about Ahab that he was worse than any of the wicked kings before him and he trivialized the sins of his fathers. He not only did what they had done, he spoke about it and acted in such a way that it seemed he thought nothing of being wicked.
Second, they created an atmosphere for wrongdoing. For centuries the city Jericho that had been destroyed by the Israelites when they entered the land of promise lay desolate as a testimony to God’s power – and as a testimony to belief in the curse inherited by any who would rebuild it (Josh 6 ). Hiel rebuilt Jericho at the cost of his sons. Ahab and Jezebel made it easy to think of evil and practice evil in Isreal.
Third, they encouraged greed in each other. Jezebel couldn’t wait to get Naboth’s vineyard for her husband, though killing Naboth was the mean to getting it done. Ahab couldn’t wait for Jezebel to do it for him. They had so much, but wanted more. It was their murderous greed that ended their reign for good.
You wouldn’t take their names. Don’t act like them. Remember the cost of sin. Create an atmosphere or righteousness where you live, work and play. Encourage contentment instead of greed. You don’t have to be the best of the best. Do what pleases the Lord. That’s Life at Work.
Ahab and Jezebel were the worst of the worst couples. They beat out Samson and Delilah. They were worse than Bonnie and Clyde. They were incredibly evil! Here are some things that were true about them that we should guard against in our own lives.
First, they trivialized sin. At the beginning of the story about this couple (1 Kings 16:29), it is said about Ahab that he was worse than any of the wicked kings before him and he trivialized the sins of his fathers. He not only did what they had done, he spoke about it and acted in such a way that it seemed he thought nothing of being wicked.
Second, they created an atmosphere for wrongdoing. For centuries the city Jericho that had been destroyed by the Israelites when they entered the land of promise lay desolate as a testimony to God’s power – and as a testimony to belief in the curse inherited by any who would rebuild it (Josh 6 ). Hiel rebuilt Jericho at the cost of his sons. Ahab and Jezebel made it easy to think of evil and practice evil in Isreal.
Third, they encouraged greed in each other. Jezebel couldn’t wait to get Naboth’s vineyard for her husband, though killing Naboth was the mean to getting it done. Ahab couldn’t wait for Jezebel to do it for him. They had so much, but wanted more. It was their murderous greed that ended their reign for good.
You wouldn’t take their names. Don’t act like them. Remember the cost of sin. Create an atmosphere or righteousness where you live, work and play. Encourage contentment instead of greed. You don’t have to be the best of the best. Do what pleases the Lord. That’s Life at Work.
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Calling Jesus Lord
In the first six chapters of Matthew, “Lord” is a designation for God. Then,Jesus preaches the Sermon on the Mount during which he says, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven” (7:21). The lone exception to the rule before the Sermon on the Mount is the prophecy about John the Baptist preparing the way for the Lord.
After that people are calling Jesus Lord. The Centurion with great faith called him Lord. Remember the disciple who wouldn’t immediately follow Jesus because he wanted to bury his father? He called Jesus Lord. The disciples in the boat, Peter on several significant occasions, the blind men, the Canaanite woman, and even King David in prophecy called Jesus Lord. Those who got close enough to converse knew perhaps that calling him Lord wasn’t enough, but they knew to call him Lord.
One person sticks out as refusing to call Jesus Lord. Instead, on the two occasions that he addresses Jesus as anything, he calls him Rabbi. He spent a lot of time with Jesus, but wouldn’t call him Lord. He was one of the twelve, but wouldn’t call him Lord. His name was Judas. We call him the betrayer. To Matthew, he represented the synagogue community who wouldn’t call Jesus Lord. Does what you call Jesus say anything about what you think of him? Do you ever call him Lord? Have you given him that role in your life? You won’t be in the kingdom if you don’t. He is worthy. That’s Life at Work!
After that people are calling Jesus Lord. The Centurion with great faith called him Lord. Remember the disciple who wouldn’t immediately follow Jesus because he wanted to bury his father? He called Jesus Lord. The disciples in the boat, Peter on several significant occasions, the blind men, the Canaanite woman, and even King David in prophecy called Jesus Lord. Those who got close enough to converse knew perhaps that calling him Lord wasn’t enough, but they knew to call him Lord.
One person sticks out as refusing to call Jesus Lord. Instead, on the two occasions that he addresses Jesus as anything, he calls him Rabbi. He spent a lot of time with Jesus, but wouldn’t call him Lord. He was one of the twelve, but wouldn’t call him Lord. His name was Judas. We call him the betrayer. To Matthew, he represented the synagogue community who wouldn’t call Jesus Lord. Does what you call Jesus say anything about what you think of him? Do you ever call him Lord? Have you given him that role in your life? You won’t be in the kingdom if you don’t. He is worthy. That’s Life at Work!
Monday, November 28, 2005
Explosive Anger
Steve Tran of Westminster, California, had some roaches in his apartment. He decided that he would set off bug bombs to kill them. The directions on the can said that two would be plenty for his apartment, but he wanted to make sure he got rid of them all. He set off twenty-five of them. When the spray reached the pilot of the stove, it ignited, blasting his screen door across the street, breaking all of his windows, and setting his furniture on fire.
The blast did over $10,000 damage to his apartment building. Asked about the cockroaches, Tran reported, ''By Sunday, I saw them walking around." That story was reported in the Arizona Republic of April 25, 1995. I read it in Leadership Journal with this comment, "As Proverbs 29:11 says, ‘A fool gives full vent to his anger.’”
As we deal with people, we are going to become angry at times. That is true whether you are talking about a husband/wife relationship, parent/child relationship, employee/employer, employee/employee, or Christian/Christian. Jesus warned his disciples, “I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment” (Matt 5:22). Paul added later, “In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry” (Eph 4:26).
The commands here mean that first, we are to have control of our anger instead of letting our anger control us. Watch your mouth, check your attitude, sit on your hands, and do not sin.
Moreover, make sure that the day of conflict is also the day of reconciliation. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry. Go to your wife, your children, your boss, your co¬worker, or your brother in Christ. Forgive where there needs to be forgiveness. Confront in love where confrontation is necessary, but do not put it off. Here's a good rule. If the damage done by the other individual is bad enough to make you angry, it is bad enough to deal with immediately. If it is not bad enough to deal with now, it is not bad enough to make you angry so get over it and go on in love. That’s Life at Work.
The blast did over $10,000 damage to his apartment building. Asked about the cockroaches, Tran reported, ''By Sunday, I saw them walking around." That story was reported in the Arizona Republic of April 25, 1995. I read it in Leadership Journal with this comment, "As Proverbs 29:11 says, ‘A fool gives full vent to his anger.’”
As we deal with people, we are going to become angry at times. That is true whether you are talking about a husband/wife relationship, parent/child relationship, employee/employer, employee/employee, or Christian/Christian. Jesus warned his disciples, “I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment” (Matt 5:22). Paul added later, “In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry” (Eph 4:26).
The commands here mean that first, we are to have control of our anger instead of letting our anger control us. Watch your mouth, check your attitude, sit on your hands, and do not sin.
Moreover, make sure that the day of conflict is also the day of reconciliation. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry. Go to your wife, your children, your boss, your co¬worker, or your brother in Christ. Forgive where there needs to be forgiveness. Confront in love where confrontation is necessary, but do not put it off. Here's a good rule. If the damage done by the other individual is bad enough to make you angry, it is bad enough to deal with immediately. If it is not bad enough to deal with now, it is not bad enough to make you angry so get over it and go on in love. That’s Life at Work.
Friday, November 18, 2005
So Far From Want
Edward Winslow was actually at the first Thanksgiving meal with somewhere around fifty other colonists and ninety Wampanoag Indians. His account is the only extant firsthand account of that meal:
Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together after we had gathered the fruit of our labors. They four in one day killed as much fowl as, with a little help beside, served the company almost a week. At which time, among other recreations, we exercised our arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and among the rest their greatest king Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five deer, which they brought to the plantation and bestowed upon our governor, and upon the captain, and others. And although it be not always so plentiful as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want that we often wish you partakers of our plenty.
A great harvest, more fowl than before, plenty of venison from Massasoit’s men - enough to prompt Winslow to write in his journal that he apparently was sending to England that “we are so far from want that we often wish your partakers of our plenty.”
We are so far from want. God has chosen us to be holy and blameless; he predestined us to be adopted as his children; we have redemption through the blood of Jesus, the forgiveness of sins; we are lavished with the riches of God’s grace; we have the Holy Spirit within us who guarantees our inheritance (Eph 1:3-9). “For this reason… I have not stopped giving thanks.”
Who have you thought about recently to whom you should say in regard to the spiritual blessings you have, “I often wish that you were a partaker of our plenty”? Maybe since Thanksgiving is an official holiday and you’ve got some time, the time is here to write that letter or make that visit.
Give thanks, and then give what you have to others.
Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together after we had gathered the fruit of our labors. They four in one day killed as much fowl as, with a little help beside, served the company almost a week. At which time, among other recreations, we exercised our arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and among the rest their greatest king Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five deer, which they brought to the plantation and bestowed upon our governor, and upon the captain, and others. And although it be not always so plentiful as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want that we often wish you partakers of our plenty.
A great harvest, more fowl than before, plenty of venison from Massasoit’s men - enough to prompt Winslow to write in his journal that he apparently was sending to England that “we are so far from want that we often wish your partakers of our plenty.”
We are so far from want. God has chosen us to be holy and blameless; he predestined us to be adopted as his children; we have redemption through the blood of Jesus, the forgiveness of sins; we are lavished with the riches of God’s grace; we have the Holy Spirit within us who guarantees our inheritance (Eph 1:3-9). “For this reason… I have not stopped giving thanks.”
Who have you thought about recently to whom you should say in regard to the spiritual blessings you have, “I often wish that you were a partaker of our plenty”? Maybe since Thanksgiving is an official holiday and you’ve got some time, the time is here to write that letter or make that visit.
Give thanks, and then give what you have to others.
Monday, November 14, 2005
Colic and Christ: Are You Desperate Yet?
Our daughter Brittney was incredibly colicky as an infant. I remember the seemingly endless crying. She could not be satisfied with diaper changes, feeding, or even the rocking chair. We spent countless hours in the rocking chair, but it wasn’t for her. It didn’t help or hurt her. It helped us. We felt so out of control. We needed to feel like we could do something, and we needed to get close to her so the frustration would subside.
I try not to think about those days too much. Brittney is so healthy, and she is so not a crier. I was reading a New York Times article about colic. The NYT interviewed Felina Rakowski-Gallagher a mother of two, on remedies for colic. She operates a business that educates women about baby care. She’s heard plenty of remedy rumors and knows how badly parents want help to get rid of colic. What she said became the NYT quote of the day for November 11: "You would boil pork rinds if someone told you it worked."
When people really become aware of their sin, they really want to know what to do about it. The Jews in Jerusalem at Pentecost, the Ethiopian Eunuch, and the jailer in Philippi are just a few of the people who, since the resurrection of Jesus, have sought the remedy for sins. They were ready to try any remedy, but only one is necessary; and only one works. The remedy is Jesus. Are you desperate enough yet? That’s Life at Work.
I try not to think about those days too much. Brittney is so healthy, and she is so not a crier. I was reading a New York Times article about colic. The NYT interviewed Felina Rakowski-Gallagher a mother of two, on remedies for colic. She operates a business that educates women about baby care. She’s heard plenty of remedy rumors and knows how badly parents want help to get rid of colic. What she said became the NYT quote of the day for November 11: "You would boil pork rinds if someone told you it worked."
When people really become aware of their sin, they really want to know what to do about it. The Jews in Jerusalem at Pentecost, the Ethiopian Eunuch, and the jailer in Philippi are just a few of the people who, since the resurrection of Jesus, have sought the remedy for sins. They were ready to try any remedy, but only one is necessary; and only one works. The remedy is Jesus. Are you desperate enough yet? That’s Life at Work.
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
This Won't Disappoint You
Morey Amsterdam said about his musical pursuits, “I studied cello for five years in Italy, ten years in Germany, and fifteen years in vain.” I never heard Morey Amsterdam play the cello, so I don’t know first hand about the vanity of his lessons. I do know how disappointing it is to commit a great deal of time and energy to some enterprise, only to end in failure. Maybe you do, too. Maybe your entrepreneurial spirit is grieved because of your failed business adventure. Perhaps you devoted several years to a marriage that ended in divorce. Did you parent a child for eighteen years to end up with an adult son or daughter who wouldn’t even drive across town to visit you?
Here’s a promise from God that ought to motivate you to give yourself to something that won’t end in disappointment:
“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us” (Romans 5:1-5; New International Version).
Put your faith in God. Endure whatever you have to endure in this life to keep it. Your hope for eternal life will be realized. You will not be disappointed. That’s Life at Work!
Here’s a promise from God that ought to motivate you to give yourself to something that won’t end in disappointment:
“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us” (Romans 5:1-5; New International Version).
Put your faith in God. Endure whatever you have to endure in this life to keep it. Your hope for eternal life will be realized. You will not be disappointed. That’s Life at Work!
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Leading Leaders
Several of us have been meeting early Monday mornings to talk about leadership. We’ve been using John Maxwell’s The Twenty-one Most Powerful Minutes in a Leader’s Day as our resource. It is an excellent resource. Maxwell uses leaders from the pages of the Bible to illustrate the Twenty-one Irrefutable Laws of Leadership – the title of an earlier book he wrote.
As we talked this week about the Law of Explosive Growth, we hit again on the need to lead other leaders to great leadership. The future will need effective leaders. When those leaders can “hit the ground running” so-to-speak, they will be much more effective, much quicker than if they have to learn then what they could be learning now from you. That is true whether the future leaders you have opportunity to influence are leaders in a business or organization, a church, or your home.
Don’t allow neglect, laziness, or selfishness keep you from helping the groups that are important to you. They can experience explosive growth if you will create or continue the cycle of leading effective leaders. That’s Life at Work!
As we talked this week about the Law of Explosive Growth, we hit again on the need to lead other leaders to great leadership. The future will need effective leaders. When those leaders can “hit the ground running” so-to-speak, they will be much more effective, much quicker than if they have to learn then what they could be learning now from you. That is true whether the future leaders you have opportunity to influence are leaders in a business or organization, a church, or your home.
Don’t allow neglect, laziness, or selfishness keep you from helping the groups that are important to you. They can experience explosive growth if you will create or continue the cycle of leading effective leaders. That’s Life at Work!
Thursday, October 20, 2005
Blessed Are the Persecuted
“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:11-12).
How should I respond to that amazing teaching by Jesus? Is this a calling to persecution like Jesus just called the disciples to humility, meekness, hunger, mercy, purity, and peace? Or is persecution something that I am likely to encounter as a follower, like mourning, and Jesus is teaching me about the heavenly attitude to have when persecution happens?
I think I have an idea about what was happening in the lives of Matthew’s first readers. Some of the disciples who Matthew wrote specifically to influence were being mistreated, at least socially, by fellow Jews who didn’t trust Jesus. These unbelievers were led in their meanness by the Pharisees who were an influential bunch. Jesus said, “They persecuted the prophets before you,” and emphasized that again later (Matthew 23) directly identifying the Jews who actually murdered the prophets.
I don’t know that there is evidence of wide-spread deadly persecution for the first readers of Matthew. Yet, it seems that Matthew wants to underscore the relationships these followers have. They are related to the prophets who were killed by the Jews, yet now have reward in heaven. They are related to Jesus, who was persecuted by the socially and religiously elite among the Jews and has ascended to the right hand with all authority. They are in great company, even if the social standouts don’t think so.
I’ve never been mistreated by a Jew. There haven’t been many times in my life that I felt like I was being mistreated by anybody because I am a follower of Jesus. But I have some incredibly brave relatives; ancestors and contemporaries in Christ who have their reward in heaven. If I ever do have to put up with discrimination or deadly force “because of Jesus,” I’ll remember them, and I will not deny my Savior and Lord! That’s Life at Work!
How should I respond to that amazing teaching by Jesus? Is this a calling to persecution like Jesus just called the disciples to humility, meekness, hunger, mercy, purity, and peace? Or is persecution something that I am likely to encounter as a follower, like mourning, and Jesus is teaching me about the heavenly attitude to have when persecution happens?
I think I have an idea about what was happening in the lives of Matthew’s first readers. Some of the disciples who Matthew wrote specifically to influence were being mistreated, at least socially, by fellow Jews who didn’t trust Jesus. These unbelievers were led in their meanness by the Pharisees who were an influential bunch. Jesus said, “They persecuted the prophets before you,” and emphasized that again later (Matthew 23) directly identifying the Jews who actually murdered the prophets.
I don’t know that there is evidence of wide-spread deadly persecution for the first readers of Matthew. Yet, it seems that Matthew wants to underscore the relationships these followers have. They are related to the prophets who were killed by the Jews, yet now have reward in heaven. They are related to Jesus, who was persecuted by the socially and religiously elite among the Jews and has ascended to the right hand with all authority. They are in great company, even if the social standouts don’t think so.
I’ve never been mistreated by a Jew. There haven’t been many times in my life that I felt like I was being mistreated by anybody because I am a follower of Jesus. But I have some incredibly brave relatives; ancestors and contemporaries in Christ who have their reward in heaven. If I ever do have to put up with discrimination or deadly force “because of Jesus,” I’ll remember them, and I will not deny my Savior and Lord! That’s Life at Work!
Monday, October 17, 2005
All My Life
George Shearing was a jazz pianist He had been blind from birth. An admirer of his musical ability asked him, “Have you been blind all your life?”
“Not yet,” Shearing responded.
“All my life” hasn’t happened yet. If you are reading this, it hasn’t for you yet either. I wonder if Shearing expected to be blind all his life, or if he had some reason to hope that some day, he would see the keys on the piano he played.
“…make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.
(2 Peter 1:5-7)
You have things that are part of your life that you would love to get rid of. There are some things that are true about you now, that you don’t want to be true. Some of those things, perhaps like Shearing’s blindness, are not likely to go away. But there are other things – weaknesses, habits, sins, etc. – that are more under your control. You haven’t lived all your life yet. Be diligent to change those things about you that need changing.
There are other things about you that are great. You have strengths, habits, and goodness that you need to keep. You haven’t had them all your life yet, but you should. Be diligent to keep and build up those things that are true about you that are strong and good. That’s Life at Work!
“Not yet,” Shearing responded.
“All my life” hasn’t happened yet. If you are reading this, it hasn’t for you yet either. I wonder if Shearing expected to be blind all his life, or if he had some reason to hope that some day, he would see the keys on the piano he played.
“…make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.
(2 Peter 1:5-7)
You have things that are part of your life that you would love to get rid of. There are some things that are true about you now, that you don’t want to be true. Some of those things, perhaps like Shearing’s blindness, are not likely to go away. But there are other things – weaknesses, habits, sins, etc. – that are more under your control. You haven’t lived all your life yet. Be diligent to change those things about you that need changing.
There are other things about you that are great. You have strengths, habits, and goodness that you need to keep. You haven’t had them all your life yet, but you should. Be diligent to keep and build up those things that are true about you that are strong and good. That’s Life at Work!
Thursday, October 13, 2005
Blessed Are Those Who Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness!
Hungry? Thirsty? You will be filled.
There was an awful lot to learn to keep up with the Pharisees. Jesus spoke about the burden that Pharisees put on people, “They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.” That word picture is meaningful to most of us. We know what it means to carry something that is just too heavy.
Not only did the Pharisees offer a load to heavy to bear, they offered a food without the substance to satisfy and nourish. Matthew records early in his gospel account that if you are hungry and thirsty for righteousness, you will be filled. Matthew reveals as he continues to tell the gospel story that what he means is that Jesus is the source of satisfaction. Listen to him, eat his bread, and you will be satisfied; filled with righteousness.
Matthew was writing to Christians. He knew they wanted to be filled with righteousness. What disciple wouldn’t want that? But there have always been multiple messages about what teaching you should eat and drink in or to be filled. Some teachings just don’t do it.
So Jesus fed five thousand plus women and children from a small amount of bread. Then he fed four thousand more plus women and children from a small amount of bread. Immediately after he fed them, the disciples realized they had not prepared for the next meal. They hadn’t brought any bread onto the boat with them. Jesus told them, “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.” The disciples finally learned that Jesus was telling them to beware of the teaching and influence of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
You see the Pharisees, who were more influential when Matthew wrote these words than they were when Jesus spoke them, and the Sadducees who basically died out after 70 A.D., demanded much, but delivered little. Their teachings couldn’t fill the follower with righteousness.
Jesus could fill them, though. He can fill you! That’s Life at Work!
There was an awful lot to learn to keep up with the Pharisees. Jesus spoke about the burden that Pharisees put on people, “They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.” That word picture is meaningful to most of us. We know what it means to carry something that is just too heavy.
Not only did the Pharisees offer a load to heavy to bear, they offered a food without the substance to satisfy and nourish. Matthew records early in his gospel account that if you are hungry and thirsty for righteousness, you will be filled. Matthew reveals as he continues to tell the gospel story that what he means is that Jesus is the source of satisfaction. Listen to him, eat his bread, and you will be satisfied; filled with righteousness.
Matthew was writing to Christians. He knew they wanted to be filled with righteousness. What disciple wouldn’t want that? But there have always been multiple messages about what teaching you should eat and drink in or to be filled. Some teachings just don’t do it.
So Jesus fed five thousand plus women and children from a small amount of bread. Then he fed four thousand more plus women and children from a small amount of bread. Immediately after he fed them, the disciples realized they had not prepared for the next meal. They hadn’t brought any bread onto the boat with them. Jesus told them, “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.” The disciples finally learned that Jesus was telling them to beware of the teaching and influence of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
You see the Pharisees, who were more influential when Matthew wrote these words than they were when Jesus spoke them, and the Sadducees who basically died out after 70 A.D., demanded much, but delivered little. Their teachings couldn’t fill the follower with righteousness.
Jesus could fill them, though. He can fill you! That’s Life at Work!
Breast Cancer Awarenesss Month
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. There is good news regarding treatment of breast cancer. The death rate due to breast cancer is dropping. Much of the success of breast cancer treatment is due to early detection. Trouble is being found earlier because women have been educated regarding self-examination.A number of the members at South Yukon have been impacted by breast cancer. We have survivors as a part of the family here. We have family members who have lost family members to this horrible disease. They would all encourage you to read the information from credible sources like the American Cancer Society regarding effective self-examination. Check yourself regularly. Your life may depend on it. We want you to stick around.
All of us need to examine ourselves regularly in regard to our faith. Paul told the Corinthian Church, “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves” (2 Corinthians 13:5). He knew in that context that they would know after some self-examination that they were in the faith, but we might find that we are not.Do you resist temptation like you should? Are you growing in the Fruit of the Spirit? Does your attitude about others reflect humility like Jesus’? Is your heart set on things above? Does your belief reflect Bible teaching?Those questions, and many more like them, are questions of self-examination. Ask them of yourself regularly. Your life may depend on it. That’s Life at Work!
All of us need to examine ourselves regularly in regard to our faith. Paul told the Corinthian Church, “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves” (2 Corinthians 13:5). He knew in that context that they would know after some self-examination that they were in the faith, but we might find that we are not.Do you resist temptation like you should? Are you growing in the Fruit of the Spirit? Does your attitude about others reflect humility like Jesus’? Is your heart set on things above? Does your belief reflect Bible teaching?Those questions, and many more like them, are questions of self-examination. Ask them of yourself regularly. Your life may depend on it. That’s Life at Work!
Thursday, October 06, 2005
Blessed Are the Peacemakers
“Blessed Are the peacemakers; they will be called children of God.”
What does it take to be a peacemaker? Certainly there are some skills that individuals can use to maintain peace in their own relationships. There are other tools that third parties can utilize to create peace between others who need some help getting along.
Peacemakers begin with a motivation that is incredibly important. In fact, this motivation is a must. To be a peacemaker you must place a high value on relationships. If relationships are not important to you, your drive to have peace will be low.
There is good reason to value relationships. Surely you are aware that relationships are important to God. Paul wrote about his “ministry of reconciliation” (getting people and God back into relationship).
“For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:14-19).
Christ died for all … to bring us back into relationship with God! When he did that, he created a relationship between the people he saved. He expects that we, who together share relationship with him in the Spirit, will make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit peaceful (Ephesians 4:3).
If you don’t care whether we have a good relationship, you will not put any effort toward being a peacemaker when we are at odds. If it doesn’t concern you when you see a family warring, you’ll have no interest in intervening. If you don’t really care about being close to your family, you won’t pursue peace with your spouse or children.
If relationships are close to God’s heart, they should be close to mine. Isn’t that true? God went to extremes to create peace because he values relationships. What do your efforts toward peace say about the value you put on them? That’s Life at Work!
What does it take to be a peacemaker? Certainly there are some skills that individuals can use to maintain peace in their own relationships. There are other tools that third parties can utilize to create peace between others who need some help getting along.
Peacemakers begin with a motivation that is incredibly important. In fact, this motivation is a must. To be a peacemaker you must place a high value on relationships. If relationships are not important to you, your drive to have peace will be low.
There is good reason to value relationships. Surely you are aware that relationships are important to God. Paul wrote about his “ministry of reconciliation” (getting people and God back into relationship).
“For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:14-19).
Christ died for all … to bring us back into relationship with God! When he did that, he created a relationship between the people he saved. He expects that we, who together share relationship with him in the Spirit, will make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit peaceful (Ephesians 4:3).
If you don’t care whether we have a good relationship, you will not put any effort toward being a peacemaker when we are at odds. If it doesn’t concern you when you see a family warring, you’ll have no interest in intervening. If you don’t really care about being close to your family, you won’t pursue peace with your spouse or children.
If relationships are close to God’s heart, they should be close to mine. Isn’t that true? God went to extremes to create peace because he values relationships. What do your efforts toward peace say about the value you put on them? That’s Life at Work!
Sunday, October 02, 2005
Blessed Are the Meek
Pushy, rough, harsh, knock-down, drag-out efforts put people in position to get theirs.
Perhaps we think of the cloak-clothed inhabitants of Palestine in the fi rst century as wholly rural, keep-to-myself, community concerned kind of people. There were some of those. Th ere were others, though, who were urbanites, concerned mostly for themselves and used to maneuvering their way up the leadership ladder using whatever means were necessary.
Some of the people listening to the Jesus Perspective on the mountainside were being called to continue in their gentleness with the promise that they, not the harsh, would inherit the earth. That might have been hard to believe for those who knew that even the priesthood could be purchased. Others were there who were being called to dramatically change their view about achieving success.
As Matthew recorded the Sermon on the Mount in his gospel account years after Jesus spoke the words those harsh people were still around and increasing in numbers probably, and the disciples of Jesus were likely having a harder time remaining meek.
You’ve got some opportunity in the next twenty-four hours to be pushy. You will be in a position in which some heaviness would get you something that you want. That possibility might present itself before breakfast in your own home. You might have several opportunities in your office or at the job site. Maybe the most obvious chance to move ahead hard will be in the softball game you play with your church team.
You might get your way in your home, and the price paid will be the feelings of your wife or husband or kids. You might close the big deal and look good for your superior or customer, at the expense of the trust or friendship of a colleague. You might coerce Blue so that the call goes your way on the next close call; and think the cost is minimal.
But the heavenly view is that the meek will inherit the earth. What are you going to do with that? That’s Life at Work!
Perhaps we think of the cloak-clothed inhabitants of Palestine in the fi rst century as wholly rural, keep-to-myself, community concerned kind of people. There were some of those. Th ere were others, though, who were urbanites, concerned mostly for themselves and used to maneuvering their way up the leadership ladder using whatever means were necessary.
Some of the people listening to the Jesus Perspective on the mountainside were being called to continue in their gentleness with the promise that they, not the harsh, would inherit the earth. That might have been hard to believe for those who knew that even the priesthood could be purchased. Others were there who were being called to dramatically change their view about achieving success.
As Matthew recorded the Sermon on the Mount in his gospel account years after Jesus spoke the words those harsh people were still around and increasing in numbers probably, and the disciples of Jesus were likely having a harder time remaining meek.
You’ve got some opportunity in the next twenty-four hours to be pushy. You will be in a position in which some heaviness would get you something that you want. That possibility might present itself before breakfast in your own home. You might have several opportunities in your office or at the job site. Maybe the most obvious chance to move ahead hard will be in the softball game you play with your church team.
You might get your way in your home, and the price paid will be the feelings of your wife or husband or kids. You might close the big deal and look good for your superior or customer, at the expense of the trust or friendship of a colleague. You might coerce Blue so that the call goes your way on the next close call; and think the cost is minimal.
But the heavenly view is that the meek will inherit the earth. What are you going to do with that? That’s Life at Work!
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Stubbed Toes and Stitches
Once I was walking through my parent’s room in the dark. They had been out of town and there was a suitcase on the floor that I didn’t see. I straddled the latch of their suitcase between my “pinky toe” and whatever you call the toe next to it. Hard! I had to go get stitches between my toes! The healing was worse than the hit!
I wish I could have decided then and there that I would never straddle my toes on a suitcase latch or even stub a toe again, but I couldn’t. The only way to keep from stubbing your toe is to stand still – all the time. That’s just not an option.
To get somewhere, you’ve got to move. When you move, there is potential for toe stubs. It is only in movement, however, that there is potential for getting somewhere. I believe that going nowhere is worse than getting hurt in the travel.
Paul talked about his own race in life. He declared that he would press on toward the goal to win the prize to which God had called him in Christ Jesus (Phil 3:14). He knew that his race meant stubbed toes and stitches, but he also knew that races aren’t won standing still. Been hurt? What do you need to get back in the race? Scared of getting hurt? The prize from God is worth the pain. That’s a promise! That’s Life at Work!
I wish I could have decided then and there that I would never straddle my toes on a suitcase latch or even stub a toe again, but I couldn’t. The only way to keep from stubbing your toe is to stand still – all the time. That’s just not an option.
To get somewhere, you’ve got to move. When you move, there is potential for toe stubs. It is only in movement, however, that there is potential for getting somewhere. I believe that going nowhere is worse than getting hurt in the travel.
Paul talked about his own race in life. He declared that he would press on toward the goal to win the prize to which God had called him in Christ Jesus (Phil 3:14). He knew that his race meant stubbed toes and stitches, but he also knew that races aren’t won standing still. Been hurt? What do you need to get back in the race? Scared of getting hurt? The prize from God is worth the pain. That’s a promise! That’s Life at Work!
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Happily-Ever-After Depends on Today
Life at Work
“It is only possible to live happily-ever-after on a day-to-day basis” – Margaret Bonano.
Do you want to have a great marriage 5 years from now? Ten years? Twenty-five, forty, and fifty years from now? I hope you are planning on that. I hope you dream about it, and talk about your dream with your spouse. Whatever happiness you’ll find on your anniversary fifteen years from today depends on what you do today and tomorrow.
The age old wisdom of Proverbs offers this instruction that can be applied to your marriage today:
“Do not say to your neighbor (or spouse),
‘Come back later; I'll give it tomorrow’--
when you now have it with you.”
You’ve got some great things to give to your spouse today. Maybe you’ve been holding them back for some reason. No reason is good enough if you want to live happily-ever-after. You’ve got to create that day-to-day. Give your spouse your gifts of love, attention, fun, and commitment today! That’s Life at Work!
“It is only possible to live happily-ever-after on a day-to-day basis” – Margaret Bonano.
Do you want to have a great marriage 5 years from now? Ten years? Twenty-five, forty, and fifty years from now? I hope you are planning on that. I hope you dream about it, and talk about your dream with your spouse. Whatever happiness you’ll find on your anniversary fifteen years from today depends on what you do today and tomorrow.
The age old wisdom of Proverbs offers this instruction that can be applied to your marriage today:
“Do not say to your neighbor (or spouse),
‘Come back later; I'll give it tomorrow’--
when you now have it with you.”
You’ve got some great things to give to your spouse today. Maybe you’ve been holding them back for some reason. No reason is good enough if you want to live happily-ever-after. You’ve got to create that day-to-day. Give your spouse your gifts of love, attention, fun, and commitment today! That’s Life at Work!
Thursday, September 08, 2005
The Jesus Perspective: Blessed are those who Mourn
The Baby Centre lists seven reasons why babies cry. I noticed that being in pain is not one of them, so the list is not exhaustive. Maybe this list is the seven reasons babies cry when there isn’t an obvious pain source. Here are the reasons a baby would tell you she is crying if she could talk:
I need food
I need to be comfortable
I need to be warm — and not too hot or too cold
I need to be held
I need a rest
I need something to make me feel better
I need something ... but I don't know what
(http://www.babycentre.co.uk/refcap/536698.html)
Are you thinking what I’m thinking? Those are the reasons I cry! I don’t think that means I’m a baby. I think it means that those things that make us mourn stay pretty consistent and last a lifetime. I’m glad that Jesus said, “Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted.” That’s not just a word for babies. It’s a word for me.
Jesus knew when he said “Happy are the mourners” that some don’t mourn. They never allow themselves to feel hungry, uncomfortable, cold, alone, weary, less than perfect, or unsatisfied. They take care of themselves. Oh, maybe they’ll give to another if they aren’t put out any by their giving; but they will never have to ask for comfort. They make sure they are comfortable.
The assumption of Jesus is that all of us have reason to mourn, but people who have hardened their hearts – like those who won’t acknowledge sin, feel compassion for others, admit their inadequacy, or recognize their helpless estate – never will.
As Matthew tells the story, those who won’t mourn simply miss out on the blessing of comfort. But Luke reveals more. He tells us that Jesus went on to say, “Woe to you who laugh now. You will mourn and weep.”
Those who don’t mourn have shut their hearts from the reality of their own insufficiency and from the pain of others. Jesus said that those who will keep their hearts open will receive comfort. That’s good. That’s Life at Work!
I need food
I need to be comfortable
I need to be warm — and not too hot or too cold
I need to be held
I need a rest
I need something to make me feel better
I need something ... but I don't know what
(http://www.babycentre.co.uk/refcap/536698.html)
Are you thinking what I’m thinking? Those are the reasons I cry! I don’t think that means I’m a baby. I think it means that those things that make us mourn stay pretty consistent and last a lifetime. I’m glad that Jesus said, “Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted.” That’s not just a word for babies. It’s a word for me.
Jesus knew when he said “Happy are the mourners” that some don’t mourn. They never allow themselves to feel hungry, uncomfortable, cold, alone, weary, less than perfect, or unsatisfied. They take care of themselves. Oh, maybe they’ll give to another if they aren’t put out any by their giving; but they will never have to ask for comfort. They make sure they are comfortable.
The assumption of Jesus is that all of us have reason to mourn, but people who have hardened their hearts – like those who won’t acknowledge sin, feel compassion for others, admit their inadequacy, or recognize their helpless estate – never will.
As Matthew tells the story, those who won’t mourn simply miss out on the blessing of comfort. But Luke reveals more. He tells us that Jesus went on to say, “Woe to you who laugh now. You will mourn and weep.”
Those who don’t mourn have shut their hearts from the reality of their own insufficiency and from the pain of others. Jesus said that those who will keep their hearts open will receive comfort. That’s good. That’s Life at Work!
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
Thanks for Helping
John, Al, Mike, Gary and their families appreciate people like you for your generosity and concern towards people like them. They are friends of mine who cannot live in their own homes because of Hurricane Katrina. They are victims of what will likely be declared the worst natural disaster in American history. People like you, many of you, have contributed to organizations that are going to help the displaced and despairing thousands. Some of you have volunteered your own time in our town and cities nearby to serve hand in hand with other volunteers, and face to face with those who have lost nearly everything.
I believe that’s something of God in you, prompting you to do something for others who are hurting. I believe that when God created us in his own image, he placed in us a conscience that carries a seed of God’s own character. That’s why I believe that ultimately, for all that any of us do, God gets the glory.
But some people suppress that urge in them to help the hurting. Some sear their consciences with flames of greed and self-centeredness. They don’t respond to that voice on the inside that says “love your neighbor.”
You’ve let your heart have your ear. And you’ve helped. My friends in south Mississippi would have me tell you, “Thanks.” I’ll say it, too. “Thanks!” That’s Life at Work!
I believe that’s something of God in you, prompting you to do something for others who are hurting. I believe that when God created us in his own image, he placed in us a conscience that carries a seed of God’s own character. That’s why I believe that ultimately, for all that any of us do, God gets the glory.
But some people suppress that urge in them to help the hurting. Some sear their consciences with flames of greed and self-centeredness. They don’t respond to that voice on the inside that says “love your neighbor.”
You’ve let your heart have your ear. And you’ve helped. My friends in south Mississippi would have me tell you, “Thanks.” I’ll say it, too. “Thanks!” That’s Life at Work!
Monday, August 29, 2005
The Jesus Perspective: Blessed are the Poor in Spirit
There are a couple of things that many people depend on to bring wealth to the soul:
One is the personal bank account. The rich man who wouldn’t care for Lazarus had this. The drive to be rich is so strong in many people. Getting there is the goal of poor. Staying there is the goal of the wealthy. Lives are consumed with the gaining and the holding of wealth. Some know how to do it, others don’t. Some want to be wealthy due to hard work; others look to the lottery or to theft; others know they want to be wealthy and are just hoping it falls in their laps some way, sometime. Monetary wealth is not the only goal, however. Coupled with that is the desire to feel secure, even powerful. It is believed that the wealth in the wallet brings wealth to the heart and mind – the soul. That is the human perspective and it drives the human agenda.
Another is personal righteousness; you might say rightness. The Pharisees had this. Many never believe that they are less than adequate spiritually – and that’s on their worst day. Most of the time we find enough people who are less ethical, less moral, less driven by conscience, that we are able to compare ourselves right into the belief that we must look good in God’s sight.
The Jesus Perspective is dramatically different. Jesus said that happiness (blessedness) will not come those who think they are spiritually or monetarily wealthy, but to the poor in spirit. To be poor in spirit is to, in humility, recognize spiritual poverty. The truth is that all of us are bankrupt spiritually because of sin. True happiness belongs to those who recognize that truth and are willing to admit it.
That’s Life at Work!
One is the personal bank account. The rich man who wouldn’t care for Lazarus had this. The drive to be rich is so strong in many people. Getting there is the goal of poor. Staying there is the goal of the wealthy. Lives are consumed with the gaining and the holding of wealth. Some know how to do it, others don’t. Some want to be wealthy due to hard work; others look to the lottery or to theft; others know they want to be wealthy and are just hoping it falls in their laps some way, sometime. Monetary wealth is not the only goal, however. Coupled with that is the desire to feel secure, even powerful. It is believed that the wealth in the wallet brings wealth to the heart and mind – the soul. That is the human perspective and it drives the human agenda.
Another is personal righteousness; you might say rightness. The Pharisees had this. Many never believe that they are less than adequate spiritually – and that’s on their worst day. Most of the time we find enough people who are less ethical, less moral, less driven by conscience, that we are able to compare ourselves right into the belief that we must look good in God’s sight.
The Jesus Perspective is dramatically different. Jesus said that happiness (blessedness) will not come those who think they are spiritually or monetarily wealthy, but to the poor in spirit. To be poor in spirit is to, in humility, recognize spiritual poverty. The truth is that all of us are bankrupt spiritually because of sin. True happiness belongs to those who recognize that truth and are willing to admit it.
That’s Life at Work!
Monday, August 22, 2005
Theology of Marriage
Important reminders from Genesis 1-2 about marriages:
A Theology of Marriage from Genesis 1:
Man and woman together make mankind. They created them, and it was very good. All mankind, male and female, are created in God’s image.
A Theology of Marriage from Genesis 2:
Man was created first and received instruction from God. There was closeness between the man and the Creator.
Man was initially alone, and it was not good. This is the first time that something about what God had done was seen as “not good.”
Man was made to realize his tremendous desire for companionship before God gave him the woman.
Woman was made from the man – the only created being to come from another created, breathing being.
Woman was a wife. God didn’t create a mother to care for Adam, nor a child for him to give care. This was a wife.
Woman was the completion of man – at her creations mankind was whole.
The man’s immediate response was to keep the woman. No comparisons. No complaints. She was his. He was hers. No questions.
Husband/Wife relationship was declared the most important of relationships. There were no fathers or mothers, but Moses commented “A man shall leave his father and mother and be united to his wife….”
Marriage is unique relationship. The two are “one flesh.”
Understood to be for all of life (Matthew 19:6)
That’s Life at Work!
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
The Importance of Washing
Life at Work
In 1818, when Ignaz Phillip Semmelweis was born the finest hospitals lost one out of six young mothers to the scourge of "Childbed fever." A doctor's daily routine began in the dissecting room where he performed autopsies. As the doctor left that room to move to the rooms of his patients, including expectant mothers, he never stopped at a sink to wash his hands. Dr. Semmelweis was the first man in history to make the connection between unwashed hands and the infection that led to death from “Childbed Fever.” Semmelweis did begin to wash his hand with a chlorine solution, and after eleven years and the delivery of 8,537 babies, he lost only 184 mothers - about one in fifty. He spent much of his time and energy debating with his colleagues. Once he argued, "Puerperal fever is caused by decomposed material conveyed to a wound....I have shown how it can be prevented. I have proved all that I have said. But while we talk, talk, talk, gentlemen, women are dying. I am not asking anything world shaking. I am asking you only to wash....For God's sake, wash your hands." Bruce Mouton vividly described the response of his Semmelweis’ contemporaries and the consequence: “Virtually no one believed him. Doctors and midwives had been delivering babies for thousands of years without washing, and no outspoken Hungarian was going to change them now! Semmelweis died insane at the age of 47, his wash basins discarded, his colleagues laughing in his face, and the death rattle of a thousand women ringing in his ears.”
When David realized the wickedness that had been a major part of his life ever since he saw Bathsheba on her rooftop, he wept as he wrote, “Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin” (Psalm 51:2). “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow” (vs. 7). Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me” (vs. 10) “Wash me!” was the anguished prayer of King David.
In the New Testament, being washed clean of sin is a wonderful theme. Paul moved the Corinthians to refuse to return to sinful living by reminding them of their spiritual past: “But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” 1 Cor. 6:11). He wrote to Titus about the kindness of God:
“At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior…” (Titus 3:3-6).
Without being washed clean, in a much worse way than the women who died by the touch of unclean hands, we all die from the contamination of sin. Paul was in the same filthy condition as David - and us - when he heard the words, “What are waiting for? Arise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.” What are you waiting for? For God’s sake, wash! That’s Life at Work!
In 1818, when Ignaz Phillip Semmelweis was born the finest hospitals lost one out of six young mothers to the scourge of "Childbed fever." A doctor's daily routine began in the dissecting room where he performed autopsies. As the doctor left that room to move to the rooms of his patients, including expectant mothers, he never stopped at a sink to wash his hands. Dr. Semmelweis was the first man in history to make the connection between unwashed hands and the infection that led to death from “Childbed Fever.” Semmelweis did begin to wash his hand with a chlorine solution, and after eleven years and the delivery of 8,537 babies, he lost only 184 mothers - about one in fifty. He spent much of his time and energy debating with his colleagues. Once he argued, "Puerperal fever is caused by decomposed material conveyed to a wound....I have shown how it can be prevented. I have proved all that I have said. But while we talk, talk, talk, gentlemen, women are dying. I am not asking anything world shaking. I am asking you only to wash....For God's sake, wash your hands." Bruce Mouton vividly described the response of his Semmelweis’ contemporaries and the consequence: “Virtually no one believed him. Doctors and midwives had been delivering babies for thousands of years without washing, and no outspoken Hungarian was going to change them now! Semmelweis died insane at the age of 47, his wash basins discarded, his colleagues laughing in his face, and the death rattle of a thousand women ringing in his ears.”
When David realized the wickedness that had been a major part of his life ever since he saw Bathsheba on her rooftop, he wept as he wrote, “Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin” (Psalm 51:2). “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow” (vs. 7). Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me” (vs. 10) “Wash me!” was the anguished prayer of King David.
In the New Testament, being washed clean of sin is a wonderful theme. Paul moved the Corinthians to refuse to return to sinful living by reminding them of their spiritual past: “But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” 1 Cor. 6:11). He wrote to Titus about the kindness of God:
“At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior…” (Titus 3:3-6).
Without being washed clean, in a much worse way than the women who died by the touch of unclean hands, we all die from the contamination of sin. Paul was in the same filthy condition as David - and us - when he heard the words, “What are waiting for? Arise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.” What are you waiting for? For God’s sake, wash! That’s Life at Work!
Sunday, August 14, 2005
Citation or Savior
Life at Work
In 1992 a Los Angeles police officer was writing citations for parking violations. His practice was to come up behind the automobiles, write out the ticket, and place it on the automobile somewhere where it would be seen. One of the cars he ticketed that day was occupied at the time of violation by the driver. The policeman filled out the citation, walked to the open window on the driver’s side, and then placed the ticket on the dash right in front of the driver. There was no argument from the man in the car. He offered no explanation for being parked where he was, and the officer asked for none.
A few hours later, the police officer was questioned about the ticket because the man in that car had been shot and killed 10 to 12 hours before the ticket was written. He was dead, but the officer was too busy writing tickets to notice.
I know I’m guilty. So does Jesus. He understood that I need a savior, not a citation. Instead of sitting in judgment, Jesus became sin for us. Paul wrote about that blessing to Timothy, “Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 1:13-14).
Instead of writing citations, Jesus became our Savior. Instead of sitting in judgment, Jesus became sin for us! That’s good news. That’s Life at Work!
In 1992 a Los Angeles police officer was writing citations for parking violations. His practice was to come up behind the automobiles, write out the ticket, and place it on the automobile somewhere where it would be seen. One of the cars he ticketed that day was occupied at the time of violation by the driver. The policeman filled out the citation, walked to the open window on the driver’s side, and then placed the ticket on the dash right in front of the driver. There was no argument from the man in the car. He offered no explanation for being parked where he was, and the officer asked for none.
A few hours later, the police officer was questioned about the ticket because the man in that car had been shot and killed 10 to 12 hours before the ticket was written. He was dead, but the officer was too busy writing tickets to notice.
I know I’m guilty. So does Jesus. He understood that I need a savior, not a citation. Instead of sitting in judgment, Jesus became sin for us. Paul wrote about that blessing to Timothy, “Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 1:13-14).
Instead of writing citations, Jesus became our Savior. Instead of sitting in judgment, Jesus became sin for us! That’s good news. That’s Life at Work!
Thursday, August 04, 2005
Effort to Grow
Life at Work
We joke about putting a brick on our kids’ heads to keep them from growing, but we know it is a joke. Growth of the human body is natural. When a body is healthy and it receives proper nutrition, it grows. Christian growth doesn’t happen naturally, though. Paul wrote, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved….” (2 Tim. 2:15) Peter wrote, “Make every effort to add to your faith… for if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 1:5-9). Christian growth depends on “doing our best” and “making every effort.”
In “Southern Cross,” Crosby, Stills, and Nash sang the words, “We never failed to fail. It was the easiest thing to do.” They sang about human relationships, but some have that same approach to their growth toward God. It is easier to do nothing, fail, and then moan about the failure, than it is to grow.
I don’t know all the reasons someone would live that way – failed past attempts or laziness might be a couple. It’s certainly true that someone who never excels will rarely be given responsibility in the future. Some might be trying to stay away from future callings.
I do know what Peter says about those who don’t make the effort. He says they have forgotten that they were cleansed from their past sins. When you remember how far you’ve come by the grace of God, you have the motivation to keep going. Have you settled in? Are you in a pattern of failure because that’s the easiest thing to do? Remember where you’ve come from because of God’s mercy, then do your best again. That’s Life at Work.
We joke about putting a brick on our kids’ heads to keep them from growing, but we know it is a joke. Growth of the human body is natural. When a body is healthy and it receives proper nutrition, it grows. Christian growth doesn’t happen naturally, though. Paul wrote, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved….” (2 Tim. 2:15) Peter wrote, “Make every effort to add to your faith… for if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 1:5-9). Christian growth depends on “doing our best” and “making every effort.”
In “Southern Cross,” Crosby, Stills, and Nash sang the words, “We never failed to fail. It was the easiest thing to do.” They sang about human relationships, but some have that same approach to their growth toward God. It is easier to do nothing, fail, and then moan about the failure, than it is to grow.
I don’t know all the reasons someone would live that way – failed past attempts or laziness might be a couple. It’s certainly true that someone who never excels will rarely be given responsibility in the future. Some might be trying to stay away from future callings.
I do know what Peter says about those who don’t make the effort. He says they have forgotten that they were cleansed from their past sins. When you remember how far you’ve come by the grace of God, you have the motivation to keep going. Have you settled in? Are you in a pattern of failure because that’s the easiest thing to do? Remember where you’ve come from because of God’s mercy, then do your best again. That’s Life at Work.
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