“We have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we will be set free?” (John 8:33). I don’t know if those who spoke those words were blind or forgetful. One or the other, though. I do know they were wrong. The Israelites had been slaves a number of times in their long, colorful history. In fact, they were slaves to the Romans, in a sense, when those words were uttered.
Jesus was less concerned with the reign of Rome than he was the reign of sin, though. You can tell because of what he accomplished. Dying on a Roman cross wasn’t intended to bring down an empire of men. Dying, then resurrecting was intended to defeat sin and death! The Roman Empire lasted for a while after Jesus rose. The dominion of sin came to an immediate end!
You can also tell which slavery Jesus was concerned about because of his response to their ridiculous claim: “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin” (John 8:34). Slavery to sin is worse than any national slavery can ever be. Slavery to sin lasts longer, and its effects are more devastating.
When the people in the American colonies began to feel enslaved because of taxation without representation, they signed a Declaration of Independence; and then fought and won a war for freedom. To this point in our brief history, we can say “We’ve never been slaves of anyone.” But let’s neither be blind nor forgetful. We have all sinned. We have all been slaves to sin. Guns can’t win our freedom from this reign of terror. The Son and His truth are the only way to being truly free. That’s Life at Work.
Monday, June 27, 2005
Thursday, June 23, 2005
Paul and The Crisis
Life at Work
Do one “word association” with me. I’m going to type a word in all caps. You tell me the word that comes immediately to your mind. Ready? “JESUS”. What did you think? What word came to mind? Savior? God? Lord? Christ? There would have been times that if you had done that word association exercise with Paul when you said, Jesus” he would have said “death.” Paul wrote that he and his gospel preaching companions “always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you” (2 Corinthians 4:10-12). He wrote to the Galatians, “I am crucified with Christ” (Galatians 2:20). He had earlier written to the Corinthians, “I die every day….” (1 Corinthians 15:31).
This was not just a choice that Paul made for himself. He was a follower of Christ and Paul understood that his life was not his own. He knew the words of Jesus, “… anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:38).
If you know the history of Paul from Luke’s stories in Acts, you aren’t surprised to read words like those from his pen. One of the greatest stories is one that Luke witnessed with his own eyes:
“A prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. Coming over to us, he took Paul’s belt, tied his own hands and feet with it and said, “The Holy Spirit says, ‘In this way the Jews of Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.’”
When we heard this, we and the people there pleaded with Paul not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” (Acts 21:10-13)
Thomas Paine wrote “The Crisis” on the occasion of General Washington’s retreat across the Delaware River. Washington was so moved by the words he ordered them to be read to some of his soldiers whose courage seemed to be failing. The first words are famous ones: “These are the times that try men’s souls.” These words, also from “The Crisis,” help me understand Paul’s resolve to go to Jerusalem: “Tis the business of little minds to shrink but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death.”
Paul knew that the Jerusalem journey was his path. The hungry there needed the funds he was bringing. The Christians there needed to know about the concern of their Gentile brothers. Everybody there needed the message he would give from God. He needed to do what he was convinced was right.
What’s the right thing that you need to do? That’s your path. That’s Life at Work!
Do one “word association” with me. I’m going to type a word in all caps. You tell me the word that comes immediately to your mind. Ready? “JESUS”. What did you think? What word came to mind? Savior? God? Lord? Christ? There would have been times that if you had done that word association exercise with Paul when you said, Jesus” he would have said “death.” Paul wrote that he and his gospel preaching companions “always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you” (2 Corinthians 4:10-12). He wrote to the Galatians, “I am crucified with Christ” (Galatians 2:20). He had earlier written to the Corinthians, “I die every day….” (1 Corinthians 15:31).
This was not just a choice that Paul made for himself. He was a follower of Christ and Paul understood that his life was not his own. He knew the words of Jesus, “… anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:38).
If you know the history of Paul from Luke’s stories in Acts, you aren’t surprised to read words like those from his pen. One of the greatest stories is one that Luke witnessed with his own eyes:
“A prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. Coming over to us, he took Paul’s belt, tied his own hands and feet with it and said, “The Holy Spirit says, ‘In this way the Jews of Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.’”
When we heard this, we and the people there pleaded with Paul not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” (Acts 21:10-13)
Thomas Paine wrote “The Crisis” on the occasion of General Washington’s retreat across the Delaware River. Washington was so moved by the words he ordered them to be read to some of his soldiers whose courage seemed to be failing. The first words are famous ones: “These are the times that try men’s souls.” These words, also from “The Crisis,” help me understand Paul’s resolve to go to Jerusalem: “Tis the business of little minds to shrink but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death.”
Paul knew that the Jerusalem journey was his path. The hungry there needed the funds he was bringing. The Christians there needed to know about the concern of their Gentile brothers. Everybody there needed the message he would give from God. He needed to do what he was convinced was right.
What’s the right thing that you need to do? That’s your path. That’s Life at Work!
Sunday, June 19, 2005
The End is Near! So What?
Life at Work
As Peter wrote about the judgment and the end in 1 Peter 4:7-11, he gave four instructions that were perhaps intended to keep the readers from sitting in their spiritual rocking chairs and waiting for Christ to come. The Christians who heard this letter read were not to be asleep like Peter was in the garden with Jesus. There are things to do.
I haven’t known of many who expected the return tomorrow and ceased all activity waiting for the clouds to part, but there have been a number of groups and individuals who have done just that. I encounter people, rather, who give little thought during the week, much less the day or hour, of the coming. The instructions that Peter gave fit that situation, too.
1. Be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray.
2. Love each other deeply because love covers a multitude of sins.
3. Be hospitable without complaining.
4. Use your gifts from God for all their worth.
You see, just because the end is at hand doesn’t mean it’s time for life to shut down. While we continue living, though, keep the end in mind. That’s Life at Work!
As Peter wrote about the judgment and the end in 1 Peter 4:7-11, he gave four instructions that were perhaps intended to keep the readers from sitting in their spiritual rocking chairs and waiting for Christ to come. The Christians who heard this letter read were not to be asleep like Peter was in the garden with Jesus. There are things to do.
I haven’t known of many who expected the return tomorrow and ceased all activity waiting for the clouds to part, but there have been a number of groups and individuals who have done just that. I encounter people, rather, who give little thought during the week, much less the day or hour, of the coming. The instructions that Peter gave fit that situation, too.
1. Be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray.
2. Love each other deeply because love covers a multitude of sins.
3. Be hospitable without complaining.
4. Use your gifts from God for all their worth.
You see, just because the end is at hand doesn’t mean it’s time for life to shut down. While we continue living, though, keep the end in mind. That’s Life at Work!
Thursday, June 16, 2005
Adventures in Fatherhood
Life at Work
We’ve put our hand to the plow, so to speak. We’ve marched into the battle. We have framed our building. When Jesus employed those word pictures, he was telling his hearers that they needed to count the cost before striking out on the Christ Adventure.
The pictures are equally applicable to the Adventures of Fatherhood. Before you have kids, count the cost. There are many blessings and there are many sacrifices. What is best for you and your wife right now?
Surely, though, there are readers who have already stepped out in faith, but are asking, “What was I thinking?” They didn’t consider some of the cost before, but they are paying the price now. Christianity often calls us to a higher level of courage and conviction than we dreamed in the beginning it would.
There are a lot of us who are fathers who often feel like we’ve bitten off more than we can chew. Some of us felt that way the first time that we had to change a diaper by ourselves. Others of us felt ahead of the game until we met our match in our teenage children. Maybe you’ve asked the question, “What was I thinking when I thought I wanted to have kids?”
Here are three things that I think are important for fathers to do so that fatherhood doesn’t become a burden:
First, create the fun. Be imaginative, make the appointment (if you have to call it that to keep it), and have some fun with your children. You’ll need to do a little research to discover what they would really enjoy doing, but get yourself out of the house and away from your other irritations. You might just find that you aren’t so much frustrated with your kids as you are other demands that have become irritants.
Second, allow room for mistakes. You’re a Christian for goodness sake, practice a little grace.
Third, learn to laugh again. Kids laugh four hundred times per day. Adults laugh less than twenty times. Look how much happier they are! Laughter really is the best medicine – that’s in the Bible nearly (Proverbs 17:22).
Don’t give up. You fathers are already in it now. Get determined again. Don’t look back. Finish this tower and win the fight over the temptation to give up. That's Life at Work.
We’ve put our hand to the plow, so to speak. We’ve marched into the battle. We have framed our building. When Jesus employed those word pictures, he was telling his hearers that they needed to count the cost before striking out on the Christ Adventure.
The pictures are equally applicable to the Adventures of Fatherhood. Before you have kids, count the cost. There are many blessings and there are many sacrifices. What is best for you and your wife right now?
Surely, though, there are readers who have already stepped out in faith, but are asking, “What was I thinking?” They didn’t consider some of the cost before, but they are paying the price now. Christianity often calls us to a higher level of courage and conviction than we dreamed in the beginning it would.
There are a lot of us who are fathers who often feel like we’ve bitten off more than we can chew. Some of us felt that way the first time that we had to change a diaper by ourselves. Others of us felt ahead of the game until we met our match in our teenage children. Maybe you’ve asked the question, “What was I thinking when I thought I wanted to have kids?”
Here are three things that I think are important for fathers to do so that fatherhood doesn’t become a burden:
First, create the fun. Be imaginative, make the appointment (if you have to call it that to keep it), and have some fun with your children. You’ll need to do a little research to discover what they would really enjoy doing, but get yourself out of the house and away from your other irritations. You might just find that you aren’t so much frustrated with your kids as you are other demands that have become irritants.
Second, allow room for mistakes. You’re a Christian for goodness sake, practice a little grace.
Third, learn to laugh again. Kids laugh four hundred times per day. Adults laugh less than twenty times. Look how much happier they are! Laughter really is the best medicine – that’s in the Bible nearly (Proverbs 17:22).
Don’t give up. You fathers are already in it now. Get determined again. Don’t look back. Finish this tower and win the fight over the temptation to give up. That's Life at Work.
Monday, June 13, 2005
Father's and Good Foundations
“And, fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4; NRSV)
Dads, as Father’s Day approaches, meditate on that passage. Consider that as Paul details the really important things in relationships; his instruction for you is about the training of your children, not providing for your children. I thought about that when I read Stephen Covey’s book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families. In regard to the amount of energy a family gives to work, he wrote this:
“The place to start is not with the assumption that work is non-negotiable; it’s with the assumption that family is non-negotiable. That one shift of mind-set opens the door to all kinds of creative possibilities” (p. 118).
Covey warns us not to get addicted to the stimulation of the work environment and a certain standard of living. When we do, we are compelled to make all other lifestyle decisions based on the false assumption that lifestyle is high on the list of important foundations for children.
The discipline and instruction of the Lord is what your children need most from you. Don’t set aside that priority for anything. That’s Life at Work!
Dads, as Father’s Day approaches, meditate on that passage. Consider that as Paul details the really important things in relationships; his instruction for you is about the training of your children, not providing for your children. I thought about that when I read Stephen Covey’s book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families. In regard to the amount of energy a family gives to work, he wrote this:
“The place to start is not with the assumption that work is non-negotiable; it’s with the assumption that family is non-negotiable. That one shift of mind-set opens the door to all kinds of creative possibilities” (p. 118).
Covey warns us not to get addicted to the stimulation of the work environment and a certain standard of living. When we do, we are compelled to make all other lifestyle decisions based on the false assumption that lifestyle is high on the list of important foundations for children.
The discipline and instruction of the Lord is what your children need most from you. Don’t set aside that priority for anything. That’s Life at Work!
Monday, June 06, 2005
No More Wasted Time
Life at Work
The Eagles sing in “Wasted Time” about a girl who has given herself in a number of relationships that have ultimately faltered. She is distraught over having no close relationship after long-time personal, emotional investments. Having reminisced, Henley sings:
So you can get on with your search, baby,
And I can get on with mine
And maybe someday we will find,
That it wasn’t really wasted time.
We aren’t always concerned about wasting time while we are wasting the time. Something happens periodically, though, that causes us to reflect; and when we realize that time will be short, or has gone by too quickly, we mourn wasted time.
Peter wrote about wasted time in a letter to people who had invested part of their lives in wicked ways. He wrote, “For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do-living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry…” (1 Peter 4:3). Paul asked the Christians in Rome why returning to the kind of life in which they found shame and death would even cross their minds. He told them that the beneficial life was the one in which the slave to God would be led to holiness and to the great ending: eternal life.
I don’t want to say, “Get on with your search, and I can get on with mine.” I want to tell you instead that Jesus has called us to the abundant life. For either of us to pursue any life course without heaven as the goal will prove to be wasted time. I don’t want to waste anymore time! Do you? That’s Life at Work!
The Eagles sing in “Wasted Time” about a girl who has given herself in a number of relationships that have ultimately faltered. She is distraught over having no close relationship after long-time personal, emotional investments. Having reminisced, Henley sings:
So you can get on with your search, baby,
And I can get on with mine
And maybe someday we will find,
That it wasn’t really wasted time.
We aren’t always concerned about wasting time while we are wasting the time. Something happens periodically, though, that causes us to reflect; and when we realize that time will be short, or has gone by too quickly, we mourn wasted time.
Peter wrote about wasted time in a letter to people who had invested part of their lives in wicked ways. He wrote, “For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do-living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry…” (1 Peter 4:3). Paul asked the Christians in Rome why returning to the kind of life in which they found shame and death would even cross their minds. He told them that the beneficial life was the one in which the slave to God would be led to holiness and to the great ending: eternal life.
I don’t want to say, “Get on with your search, and I can get on with mine.” I want to tell you instead that Jesus has called us to the abundant life. For either of us to pursue any life course without heaven as the goal will prove to be wasted time. I don’t want to waste anymore time! Do you? That’s Life at Work!
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
That There May Never Be Another Case Like Emmett's
Life at Work
The ground in Burr Oak Cemetery is being turned near the headstone of Emmett Till today. The FBI is exhuming his body while his family looks on in order to dispel rumors that the body in that grave might not be the body of the thirteen year old killed in Money, Mississippi in August 1955.
Roy Bryant and his half-brother J.W. Milam were charged with murdering Emmett, but were acquitted by an all white jury. I wonder if they experienced even a moment of imprisonment by guilt for killing that young boy. They are dead now, but before they died, they confessed to abducting, beating, and shooting Emmett because he whistled at Bryant’s wife.
Emmett’s home was in Chicago. He was visiting his family that summer in the Mississippi Delta community where he died. He was found in the Tallahatchie River three days after he was abducted from his uncle’s home and killed. His body had been held under the surface of the waters by the weight of the seventy pound gin fan that was tied to him. A strand of barbed-wire had been wrapped around his neck and tied to the fan to keep him under the water.
They will find that the body they found and buried thirty years ago is Emmett, I’m confident. A momma knows her son, and Emmett’s mom had the casket open during the funeral to expose the violence of the crime against her son – and against humanity. I hope they will find some evidence that will link someone else to the murder, if in fact anyone else participated, or knew about it and said nothing. And if that someone is alive, I hope they will be charged, found guilty, and live the rest of their lives in prison.
I was born in Tupelo, Mississippi in March of 1966 - eleven years after the brutal hate crime against Emmett Till. I lived in Mississippi for twenty-three years. I can say without a moment of hesitation that the hatred that was prevalent among some my fellow Mississippians in the fifties and sixties did not infiltrate my heart in the least.
From the days of my earliest memories in elementary school, to my experiences in Mississippi churches where we were members or frequently visited, and to my high school experience, I encountered many people of various races. While we were obviously different – we looked different, we talked different, and we worshipped different – we were all God’s children, and I knew that.
There are a number of reasons why I could love anybody – even those of different races – in a state where hatred was at an epidemic level. No doubt, the impact of the civil rights movement in the late fifties and early sixties, exposed race hatred for the horrible thing it is. I believe, though, that what made me appreciate people of all skin colors was the influence of my parents who appreciated people of all skin colors. You see, if my parents had been racists, the likelihood is that I would have been one, too, until I developed enough maturity and/or saw the idiocy of racism to bring about change in me. Since, however, my parents were equal opportunity lovers, I learned it from them.
One of the most powerful things you can do to stop racism is to model respect for all people to your children. If you haven’t been doing that, another Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam are a generation away. If you have been modeling respect for all people, your children have seen the reflection of God in your life. That’s Life at Work!
The ground in Burr Oak Cemetery is being turned near the headstone of Emmett Till today. The FBI is exhuming his body while his family looks on in order to dispel rumors that the body in that grave might not be the body of the thirteen year old killed in Money, Mississippi in August 1955.
Roy Bryant and his half-brother J.W. Milam were charged with murdering Emmett, but were acquitted by an all white jury. I wonder if they experienced even a moment of imprisonment by guilt for killing that young boy. They are dead now, but before they died, they confessed to abducting, beating, and shooting Emmett because he whistled at Bryant’s wife.
Emmett’s home was in Chicago. He was visiting his family that summer in the Mississippi Delta community where he died. He was found in the Tallahatchie River three days after he was abducted from his uncle’s home and killed. His body had been held under the surface of the waters by the weight of the seventy pound gin fan that was tied to him. A strand of barbed-wire had been wrapped around his neck and tied to the fan to keep him under the water.
They will find that the body they found and buried thirty years ago is Emmett, I’m confident. A momma knows her son, and Emmett’s mom had the casket open during the funeral to expose the violence of the crime against her son – and against humanity. I hope they will find some evidence that will link someone else to the murder, if in fact anyone else participated, or knew about it and said nothing. And if that someone is alive, I hope they will be charged, found guilty, and live the rest of their lives in prison.
I was born in Tupelo, Mississippi in March of 1966 - eleven years after the brutal hate crime against Emmett Till. I lived in Mississippi for twenty-three years. I can say without a moment of hesitation that the hatred that was prevalent among some my fellow Mississippians in the fifties and sixties did not infiltrate my heart in the least.
From the days of my earliest memories in elementary school, to my experiences in Mississippi churches where we were members or frequently visited, and to my high school experience, I encountered many people of various races. While we were obviously different – we looked different, we talked different, and we worshipped different – we were all God’s children, and I knew that.
There are a number of reasons why I could love anybody – even those of different races – in a state where hatred was at an epidemic level. No doubt, the impact of the civil rights movement in the late fifties and early sixties, exposed race hatred for the horrible thing it is. I believe, though, that what made me appreciate people of all skin colors was the influence of my parents who appreciated people of all skin colors. You see, if my parents had been racists, the likelihood is that I would have been one, too, until I developed enough maturity and/or saw the idiocy of racism to bring about change in me. Since, however, my parents were equal opportunity lovers, I learned it from them.
One of the most powerful things you can do to stop racism is to model respect for all people to your children. If you haven’t been doing that, another Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam are a generation away. If you have been modeling respect for all people, your children have seen the reflection of God in your life. That’s Life at Work!
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
I Might Decide to Preach All Day
Life at Work
Lyle Lovett sings “Church,” a song about a church service during which the preacher keeps on preaching to an increasingly hungry congregation. The moral of the story is in the last verse:
And the moral of this story
Children it is plain but true
God knows if a preacher preaches long enough
Even he'll get hungry too
And he'll sing
To the Lord let praises be
It's time for dinner now let's go eat
We've got some beans and some good cornbread
Now listen to what the preacher said
He said to the Lord let praised be
It's time for dinner now let's go eat
Some preachers preach through lunch time, others preach into the nighttime. That’s what Paul did in one of the funniest stories Luke records in his Acts of the Apostles.
I say it’s a funny story. It might not be if Eutychus, the man who fell asleep and then fell to his death had stayed dead. Luke says that Paul went “on and on,” and that Eutychus fell sound asleep. It is important not to sit in a window sill during a long sermon. Interestingly, after the man fell, died, and was brought back to life, Paul ate and then talked with them some more until daybreak. Even the dead man stayed around for the additional conversation.
These people in Troas really wanted to hear a word from God through Paul. Knowing that he was about to leave, they wanted to take in all they could. When you’ve been without food, you get so hungry so that you can’t get enough when you finally get some. When you know that food is about to be scarce, you take in all you can, like a squirrel before winter.
I come across a lot of people who don’t eat what they have set in abundance before them. In the natural world, I understand that. If I go to an all-you-can-eat buffet restaurant, I get full the minute I walk in the door. Just the realization that when I finish one plate, I’m no closer to being without food than I was when I started, makes my stomach shrink in a hurry. Do you suppose that the availability of the Word keeps you from being hungry for it? Could it be that since you can listen to the word on the television and radio; you can hear it Sundays and Wednesdays; and you can read it any day from any number of versions that you feel full though you are receiving limited nourishment?
Do you feel that hunger pain for a Word from God? That’s Life at Work!
Lyle Lovett sings “Church,” a song about a church service during which the preacher keeps on preaching to an increasingly hungry congregation. The moral of the story is in the last verse:
And the moral of this story
Children it is plain but true
God knows if a preacher preaches long enough
Even he'll get hungry too
And he'll sing
To the Lord let praises be
It's time for dinner now let's go eat
We've got some beans and some good cornbread
Now listen to what the preacher said
He said to the Lord let praised be
It's time for dinner now let's go eat
Some preachers preach through lunch time, others preach into the nighttime. That’s what Paul did in one of the funniest stories Luke records in his Acts of the Apostles.
I say it’s a funny story. It might not be if Eutychus, the man who fell asleep and then fell to his death had stayed dead. Luke says that Paul went “on and on,” and that Eutychus fell sound asleep. It is important not to sit in a window sill during a long sermon. Interestingly, after the man fell, died, and was brought back to life, Paul ate and then talked with them some more until daybreak. Even the dead man stayed around for the additional conversation.
These people in Troas really wanted to hear a word from God through Paul. Knowing that he was about to leave, they wanted to take in all they could. When you’ve been without food, you get so hungry so that you can’t get enough when you finally get some. When you know that food is about to be scarce, you take in all you can, like a squirrel before winter.
I come across a lot of people who don’t eat what they have set in abundance before them. In the natural world, I understand that. If I go to an all-you-can-eat buffet restaurant, I get full the minute I walk in the door. Just the realization that when I finish one plate, I’m no closer to being without food than I was when I started, makes my stomach shrink in a hurry. Do you suppose that the availability of the Word keeps you from being hungry for it? Could it be that since you can listen to the word on the television and radio; you can hear it Sundays and Wednesdays; and you can read it any day from any number of versions that you feel full though you are receiving limited nourishment?
Do you feel that hunger pain for a Word from God? That’s Life at Work!
Absurd but Not Unbelieveable
Life at Work
Abraham was told that he and his wife Sarah would have a child. Why was it so great a thing that Abraham should believe that he was going to be a daddy? Because he and Sarah were right at ninety years old when they received the promise.
Imagine Abraham and Sarah talking with the local crib maker. "So, are you buying this for a nephew, a cousin, or what?" Abraham responds, "Nope, Sarah's expecting our first. We're getting this for him and his children to come. Better make that crib big. God said there's going to be a bunch of 'em."
Ridiculous? Yes. Preposterous? I'd say so. Absurd? You bet. Laughable? Sarah laughed, at first. Unbelievable? Well, not really. Remember, it was God who promised. God has often done ridiculous, preposterous, absurd, laughable things. That's why, even this, is not unbelievable.
For example, God said, "I'll forgive you of your sins, resurrect you from the dead, and bring you to heaven with me to live forever." Ridiculous? Yes. Preposterous? I'd say so. Absurd? You bet. Laughable? When I look at my own sinfulness, yes. Unbelievable? Well, not really. Remember, it was God who promised. God has often done ridiculous, preposterous, absurd, laughable things. That's why, even this, is not unbelievable.
Abraham was told that he and his wife Sarah would have a child. Why was it so great a thing that Abraham should believe that he was going to be a daddy? Because he and Sarah were right at ninety years old when they received the promise.
Imagine Abraham and Sarah talking with the local crib maker. "So, are you buying this for a nephew, a cousin, or what?" Abraham responds, "Nope, Sarah's expecting our first. We're getting this for him and his children to come. Better make that crib big. God said there's going to be a bunch of 'em."
Ridiculous? Yes. Preposterous? I'd say so. Absurd? You bet. Laughable? Sarah laughed, at first. Unbelievable? Well, not really. Remember, it was God who promised. God has often done ridiculous, preposterous, absurd, laughable things. That's why, even this, is not unbelievable.
For example, God said, "I'll forgive you of your sins, resurrect you from the dead, and bring you to heaven with me to live forever." Ridiculous? Yes. Preposterous? I'd say so. Absurd? You bet. Laughable? When I look at my own sinfulness, yes. Unbelievable? Well, not really. Remember, it was God who promised. God has often done ridiculous, preposterous, absurd, laughable things. That's why, even this, is not unbelievable.
Monday, May 23, 2005
Life at Work
Life at Work
“Give him a fair fight!” Most of us remember those words or words like them from our elementary school days. One of the funny things about that cry that usually had to do with making sure it was one against one is that we knew what a fair fight was. We forget what a fair fight is when we become adults. That’s why when you are reading books about relationships there is likely to be a chapter or two to educate us about how to fight fair. In Becoming a Couple of Promise (NavPress, 1999), Dr. Kevin Leman tells about unfair fighting.
It is not a fair fight when:
We generalize the behavior of another by using words like “you always” and “you never.”
We change the issue during an argument in order to make a personal attack.
We make a vague accusation instead of being clear about a complaint.
We respond to a complaint by citing a case where something worse has been done to us.
We flood the other by throwing out the multitude of things they have done wrong.
We bring out an old grievance that we’ve been saving in our minds to drop at just the right time.
We use passive-aggressive comments to lay guilt on the other.
The tendency of many will be to read that list to see when others have fought unfairly. Don’t do that. Read each one and ask yourself, “When have I used this tactic to fight unfairly.” Give him/her a fair fight! That’s Life at Work!
“Give him a fair fight!” Most of us remember those words or words like them from our elementary school days. One of the funny things about that cry that usually had to do with making sure it was one against one is that we knew what a fair fight was. We forget what a fair fight is when we become adults. That’s why when you are reading books about relationships there is likely to be a chapter or two to educate us about how to fight fair. In Becoming a Couple of Promise (NavPress, 1999), Dr. Kevin Leman tells about unfair fighting.
It is not a fair fight when:
We generalize the behavior of another by using words like “you always” and “you never.”
We change the issue during an argument in order to make a personal attack.
We make a vague accusation instead of being clear about a complaint.
We respond to a complaint by citing a case where something worse has been done to us.
We flood the other by throwing out the multitude of things they have done wrong.
We bring out an old grievance that we’ve been saving in our minds to drop at just the right time.
We use passive-aggressive comments to lay guilt on the other.
The tendency of many will be to read that list to see when others have fought unfairly. Don’t do that. Read each one and ask yourself, “When have I used this tactic to fight unfairly.” Give him/her a fair fight! That’s Life at Work!
Tuesday, May 17, 2005
Artemis of the Ephesians
You’ve got to call her "Artemis of the Ephesians;" otherwise you might confuse her with another Artemis, goddess of the Greeks. The Artemis about whom the Ephesians cried, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians” was born, so the myths say, near Ephesus. She did not make the temple that was built for her in Ephesus her home, she lived in the woods – or wherever living things lived. She was the mother of all the living. Anything, then, could be given or offered to her. Maybe that’s why her shrine in Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Greek World was so large and why so much of value came into the city.
Demetrius was a silversmith who made his money making Artemis memorabilia. No, that isn’t what they would have called it, but since her only lasting value has been the trinkets of her likeness that have been discovered, “memorabilia” is appropriate. Demetrius was a worshipper, it would seem. He mentions the fact that Paul slandered Artemis in his preaching against idols, and that he didn’t think that was right. Yet, twice, before he mentions the slander, he mentions the money that he and his cohorts will be out if people continued turning from Artemis to Yahweh. He no doubt knew that there could not be a profitable conversion for him, either. After all, Yahweh does not want any images made of his likeness – as if that could really happen.
Later on the city clerk is going to console the people who riot by saying that they all know that Artemis is divine and their beliefs shouldn’t be threatened. He seems concerned that he will have to answer to the higher authorities regarding a riot and really wants to avoid that. He succeeds in quieting the crowd, and is able to dismiss the crowd.
Demetrius is concerned about money and says that when Paul says that man-made gods are not gods at all that he was destroying the reputation of Artemis. The city clerk is concerned about riots and says that no one had blasphemed their goddess by what they had said. Someone isn’t telling the truth, here. The city clerk is avoiding reality to avoid a confrontation with his superiors. The message about the God of Heaven, the God whom Paul preached, the God who sent Jesus allows no room for other gods.
Yahweh is jealous. Yahweh demands all of your loyalty. Yahweh is real and alive. Do you think he is trying to push all of your other loyalties aside? Have you gotten the impression that he refuses to be one of two masters to you? Do you perceive that he wants you to love him with all your heart, soul and strength? Then you have understood correctly. He’ll have no place but the only place. That’s Life at Work!
Demetrius was a silversmith who made his money making Artemis memorabilia. No, that isn’t what they would have called it, but since her only lasting value has been the trinkets of her likeness that have been discovered, “memorabilia” is appropriate. Demetrius was a worshipper, it would seem. He mentions the fact that Paul slandered Artemis in his preaching against idols, and that he didn’t think that was right. Yet, twice, before he mentions the slander, he mentions the money that he and his cohorts will be out if people continued turning from Artemis to Yahweh. He no doubt knew that there could not be a profitable conversion for him, either. After all, Yahweh does not want any images made of his likeness – as if that could really happen.
Later on the city clerk is going to console the people who riot by saying that they all know that Artemis is divine and their beliefs shouldn’t be threatened. He seems concerned that he will have to answer to the higher authorities regarding a riot and really wants to avoid that. He succeeds in quieting the crowd, and is able to dismiss the crowd.
Demetrius is concerned about money and says that when Paul says that man-made gods are not gods at all that he was destroying the reputation of Artemis. The city clerk is concerned about riots and says that no one had blasphemed their goddess by what they had said. Someone isn’t telling the truth, here. The city clerk is avoiding reality to avoid a confrontation with his superiors. The message about the God of Heaven, the God whom Paul preached, the God who sent Jesus allows no room for other gods.
Yahweh is jealous. Yahweh demands all of your loyalty. Yahweh is real and alive. Do you think he is trying to push all of your other loyalties aside? Have you gotten the impression that he refuses to be one of two masters to you? Do you perceive that he wants you to love him with all your heart, soul and strength? Then you have understood correctly. He’ll have no place but the only place. That’s Life at Work!
Thursday, May 12, 2005
Blessing Our Communities
Luke describes prayer clothes, demon possessions, Jewish exorcists, Seven Sons of Sceva, Ephesian Kung-Fu, beaten streakers, and book burnings. This is a wild story in Acts 19. Despite all of the strange things that make up this story, there is one part of the account that we are not surprised to see Luke include: "In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power" (Acts 19:20). What is it about the work in the areas where Paul traveled that brought about positive result so consistently? I’m going to suggest three things that seem to be true about Paul’s work that we can use to cause the word of the Lord to spread quickly and grow in power.
The dynamics of the area were considered when an approach was determined. Paul would not have tried to put on a brush arbor meeting in New York City. If an area was particularly philosophical, Paul was a philosopher. If the area was superstitious like Ephesus, showing power over the established superstitions would be a great way to go. So maybe, maybe the extraordinary miracles of Paul were needed in this extraordinary city of Ephesus.
Our primary push has been to reach people for Jesus who live around Yukon, Mustang, El Reno, and Piedmont. There are things that are peculiar about these areas that we need to consider when we think about serving. We provide opportunities for our college kids here, but we don’t have a campus ministry. The way we help the poor of our area is not going to look like an inner-city ministry. If we have high divorce rates, high teen pregnancy rates, drug/alcohol abuse problems, lots of kids at home by themselves in the afternoons, a high widow/widower population, a high single parent population, a high blended-family population, and a significant number of teens, then those things will help us decide what we do to be a blessing to our communities. We need to place high priority on those things.
Paul brought with him certain abilities and strengths. He also brought with him other people with certain abilities and strengths. He also used the local people to whom God had given certain abilities and strengths. We need to consider what talent God has put in the local body here as we move to reach our communities. To mention one, we have a great number of excellent teachers in this church. We ought to have the best Bible School available, and we should consider the other ways that we can utilize this extraordinary blessing of the Spirit.
One other thing that was true about Paul and the people with whom he worked that was important in their successful outreach was the determination they had not to let trouble get them off their path. They kept their eyes on the goal, hurdled their obstacles with help from Heaven, and moved forward. Let’s do that, too.
That’s Life at Work!
The dynamics of the area were considered when an approach was determined. Paul would not have tried to put on a brush arbor meeting in New York City. If an area was particularly philosophical, Paul was a philosopher. If the area was superstitious like Ephesus, showing power over the established superstitions would be a great way to go. So maybe, maybe the extraordinary miracles of Paul were needed in this extraordinary city of Ephesus.
Our primary push has been to reach people for Jesus who live around Yukon, Mustang, El Reno, and Piedmont. There are things that are peculiar about these areas that we need to consider when we think about serving. We provide opportunities for our college kids here, but we don’t have a campus ministry. The way we help the poor of our area is not going to look like an inner-city ministry. If we have high divorce rates, high teen pregnancy rates, drug/alcohol abuse problems, lots of kids at home by themselves in the afternoons, a high widow/widower population, a high single parent population, a high blended-family population, and a significant number of teens, then those things will help us decide what we do to be a blessing to our communities. We need to place high priority on those things.
Paul brought with him certain abilities and strengths. He also brought with him other people with certain abilities and strengths. He also used the local people to whom God had given certain abilities and strengths. We need to consider what talent God has put in the local body here as we move to reach our communities. To mention one, we have a great number of excellent teachers in this church. We ought to have the best Bible School available, and we should consider the other ways that we can utilize this extraordinary blessing of the Spirit.
One other thing that was true about Paul and the people with whom he worked that was important in their successful outreach was the determination they had not to let trouble get them off their path. They kept their eyes on the goal, hurdled their obstacles with help from Heaven, and moved forward. Let’s do that, too.
That’s Life at Work!
Monday, May 09, 2005
You Say One Thing and Do Another
“You say one thing and do another.” That is the regular complaint that I make to my preacher, the man I look at in the mirror every morning. “They do not practice what they preach,” Jesus said concerning the Pharisees. Then he calls them hypocrites for the rest of Matthew 23. That hurts.
I preach about marriage, parenthood, morality, service, faith, and priorities. But I’m not the husband or father that I ought to be sometimes. I sin because I don’t always behave morally. My service is lacking, my faith is weak, and my priorities are out of whack.
Those things are true of everybody at some point or another, but not everybody stands in a pulpit regularly calling people to repent of their failures. Preachers do. I do. So often, I look in the mirror and in the faces of the people who know my sin; and I am hit squarely with my failures, and I feel like a hypocrite.
Lord, forgive my sins – which are many. In my mind and heart I want to completely quit sinning, “but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members” (Romans 7:23-24). To quit sinning completely, I become more and more convinced out of my own experience is not going to happen. Thank God, for me and for you, there is forgiveness in Christ. That’s Life at Work.
I preach about marriage, parenthood, morality, service, faith, and priorities. But I’m not the husband or father that I ought to be sometimes. I sin because I don’t always behave morally. My service is lacking, my faith is weak, and my priorities are out of whack.
Those things are true of everybody at some point or another, but not everybody stands in a pulpit regularly calling people to repent of their failures. Preachers do. I do. So often, I look in the mirror and in the faces of the people who know my sin; and I am hit squarely with my failures, and I feel like a hypocrite.
Lord, forgive my sins – which are many. In my mind and heart I want to completely quit sinning, “but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members” (Romans 7:23-24). To quit sinning completely, I become more and more convinced out of my own experience is not going to happen. Thank God, for me and for you, there is forgiveness in Christ. That’s Life at Work.
Thursday, May 05, 2005
A Mom's a Mom
You might have brought your baby home from the hospital having delivered her yourself. She has your eyes, your husband’s hair (or lack thereof), your sister’s dimples, and your dad’s feet. One thing is for sure - she has all your love, and you have all of hers. Because a mom’s a mom.
You might have watched from behind a window when he was carried by a nurse from the birthing room to the nursery. You might have known that the baby that just went by would be at your home before long. You’ve been good to the birth mom who just couldn’t take care of the child in her womb. You’ll always know what she looked like because you’ll see her in the baby you’ve adopted as your own. His features don’t look like anybody in your family, but one thing is for sure, he has all your love. You have all of his, too. Because a mom’s a mom.
Maybe the kids you care so much about came to your home knowing who their birth mom was and knowing they couldn’t live with her anymore. You adopted them after personalities developed, after they had to consider whether they were loved, and after they could be held and rocked comfortably. You’ve struggle, you’ve taught, you’ve hugged, and you’ve spent yourself on them. One thing is for sure, they have all your love. And you have all of theirs, because a mom’s a mom.
You were going to be their grandparent, but your role has changed. There’s a huge age difference, and you find it hard to keep up most days. You’ve stepped up to the challenge, though. You take him to school and pick him up. You go to his soccer games and sit with the soccer moms smiling as he falls all over the field. You weren’t planning on this. There were days when you thought you couldn’t do it, and wished you didn’t have to. But now, one thing is for sure. He has all your love, and you have his. Because a mom’s a mom.
She’s lived in your house for six months. You have no clue how long she is going to stay. DHS could come tomorrow to take her from you. You’ve held her as she cried. You’ve comforted her when she’s been scared. You’ve done all you can to heal her heart. You’ve modeled a good home. You’ve hugged her and kissed her. You’ve told her things she should have been told all her life, but that she’s never heard before. You don’t know if the phone call will signal the end of your time with her, but one thing is for sure. She’s got all your love, and you’ve got hers. Because a mom’s a mom.
God bless you Moms. All of you.
You might have watched from behind a window when he was carried by a nurse from the birthing room to the nursery. You might have known that the baby that just went by would be at your home before long. You’ve been good to the birth mom who just couldn’t take care of the child in her womb. You’ll always know what she looked like because you’ll see her in the baby you’ve adopted as your own. His features don’t look like anybody in your family, but one thing is for sure, he has all your love. You have all of his, too. Because a mom’s a mom.
Maybe the kids you care so much about came to your home knowing who their birth mom was and knowing they couldn’t live with her anymore. You adopted them after personalities developed, after they had to consider whether they were loved, and after they could be held and rocked comfortably. You’ve struggle, you’ve taught, you’ve hugged, and you’ve spent yourself on them. One thing is for sure, they have all your love. And you have all of theirs, because a mom’s a mom.
You were going to be their grandparent, but your role has changed. There’s a huge age difference, and you find it hard to keep up most days. You’ve stepped up to the challenge, though. You take him to school and pick him up. You go to his soccer games and sit with the soccer moms smiling as he falls all over the field. You weren’t planning on this. There were days when you thought you couldn’t do it, and wished you didn’t have to. But now, one thing is for sure. He has all your love, and you have his. Because a mom’s a mom.
She’s lived in your house for six months. You have no clue how long she is going to stay. DHS could come tomorrow to take her from you. You’ve held her as she cried. You’ve comforted her when she’s been scared. You’ve done all you can to heal her heart. You’ve modeled a good home. You’ve hugged her and kissed her. You’ve told her things she should have been told all her life, but that she’s never heard before. You don’t know if the phone call will signal the end of your time with her, but one thing is for sure. She’s got all your love, and you’ve got hers. Because a mom’s a mom.
God bless you Moms. All of you.
Tuesday, May 03, 2005
Mother's Memory
Life at Work
Woman’s Day magazine was recommending some gift ideas for Mother’s Day. One neat gift idea was “Mom’s Memory Jar.” Write some memories, some special moments to you, on some colored pieces of paper, put them in a pretty cup or jar, then tie a Mother’s Day balloon to it. I like that idea. I think I’ll suggest it to my kids.
Funny thing about that, though, is that the real gift for my kid’s mom will be that they counted the moment as special. You see, JeannaLynn won’t need to be reminded of the moment. I promise you, she remembers.
As Luke wrote about Mary seeing the baby Jesus lying in that manger with all the shepherds around, he said that she “treasured up all of those things and pondered them in her heart.” Later, when she thought back on finding Jesus talking to the leaders in the temple when they thought he was lost, Luke wrote again, “His mother treasured all these things in her heart.”
Mother’s have a special gift from God that enables them to remember and cherish special moments with their children. Whether you write them on notes and put them in a jar, or call your Mom Sunday to talk a little, tell her about some occasion involving the two of you that is cherished by you. She’ll likely remember, and then she’ll never forget that you remembered, too.
Have a Happy Mother’s Day Sunday.
Woman’s Day magazine was recommending some gift ideas for Mother’s Day. One neat gift idea was “Mom’s Memory Jar.” Write some memories, some special moments to you, on some colored pieces of paper, put them in a pretty cup or jar, then tie a Mother’s Day balloon to it. I like that idea. I think I’ll suggest it to my kids.
Funny thing about that, though, is that the real gift for my kid’s mom will be that they counted the moment as special. You see, JeannaLynn won’t need to be reminded of the moment. I promise you, she remembers.
As Luke wrote about Mary seeing the baby Jesus lying in that manger with all the shepherds around, he said that she “treasured up all of those things and pondered them in her heart.” Later, when she thought back on finding Jesus talking to the leaders in the temple when they thought he was lost, Luke wrote again, “His mother treasured all these things in her heart.”
Mother’s have a special gift from God that enables them to remember and cherish special moments with their children. Whether you write them on notes and put them in a jar, or call your Mom Sunday to talk a little, tell her about some occasion involving the two of you that is cherished by you. She’ll likely remember, and then she’ll never forget that you remembered, too.
Have a Happy Mother’s Day Sunday.
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
A Team
Life at Work
“When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately” (Acts 18:26).
We already knew that Priscilla and Aquila were hospitable – they housed Paul for nearly two years. I wonder if their exposure to his evangelistic spirit and teaching ability enabled them to help out Apollos. They were certainly effective, and the succeeding verses reveal why that was so important – but first things first.
John Maxwell noted about teams, “A team is many voices with a single heart.” The fact that this couple works together stands out to me. Look at the verses that mention either Priscilla or Aquila.
“There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them…,” (Acts 18:2)
“Paul stayed on in Corinth for some time. Then he left the brothers and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. Before he sailed, he had his hair cut off at Cenchrea because of a vow he had taken. They arrived at Ephesus, where Paul left Priscilla and Aquila. He himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews” (Acts 18:18-19)
“He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately” (Acts 18:26).
“Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus” (Romans 16:3)
“The churches in the province of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Priscilla greet you warmly in the Lord, and so does the church that meets at their house” (1 Corinthians 16:19).
“Greet Priscilla and Aquila and the household of Onesiphorus” (2 Timothy 4:19)
They were Christians as a team. They were teachers as a team. They suffered as a team. They housed individuals and churches as a time. They even sent and received greetings as a team. They succeeded as team.
Why? Because though they were individuals, they had one heart; a heart for God. That’s Life at Work.
(Maxwell Quote from: The 17 Essential Qualities of a Team Player.)
“When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately” (Acts 18:26).
We already knew that Priscilla and Aquila were hospitable – they housed Paul for nearly two years. I wonder if their exposure to his evangelistic spirit and teaching ability enabled them to help out Apollos. They were certainly effective, and the succeeding verses reveal why that was so important – but first things first.
John Maxwell noted about teams, “A team is many voices with a single heart.” The fact that this couple works together stands out to me. Look at the verses that mention either Priscilla or Aquila.
“There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them…,” (Acts 18:2)
“Paul stayed on in Corinth for some time. Then he left the brothers and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. Before he sailed, he had his hair cut off at Cenchrea because of a vow he had taken. They arrived at Ephesus, where Paul left Priscilla and Aquila. He himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews” (Acts 18:18-19)
“He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately” (Acts 18:26).
“Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus” (Romans 16:3)
“The churches in the province of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Priscilla greet you warmly in the Lord, and so does the church that meets at their house” (1 Corinthians 16:19).
“Greet Priscilla and Aquila and the household of Onesiphorus” (2 Timothy 4:19)
They were Christians as a team. They were teachers as a team. They suffered as a team. They housed individuals and churches as a time. They even sent and received greetings as a team. They succeeded as team.
Why? Because though they were individuals, they had one heart; a heart for God. That’s Life at Work.
(Maxwell Quote from: The 17 Essential Qualities of a Team Player.)
Help in Times of Trouble
Some friends in Manhattan are in the NICU with their baby who is struggling to live. My friends are one in the struggle with their infant son named Ira. Their struggle is not physical, though. It is emotional and spiritual. Why does their baby have to be on extreme life support while other babies in that hospital were born perfectly healthy? Why wasn’t their baby formed with organs in the correct position when baby after baby is born with organs in perfect order? I know these questions are out there. If they are not on lips, they are on hearts. Now, they are on paper.
One of the doctors asked my friend, a preacher, if he would preach Sunday. He responded that he just doesn’t have anything to say these days. I’ve been there. Maybe you have, too.
The truth is, not many of us have an arsenal of helpful things to say at times of heavy grief and fear. What has helped my friend the most is the attention from his church family and the promises that people are praying for him and his wife, for their daughter, and for their son.
We can offer some help for you in your times of struggle. Our answer box isn’t empty. We’ve got some answers for some struggles. But what we can offer in endless supply for you is love from a caring church family and the promise to pray that God will see you through. That’s Life at Work!
One of the doctors asked my friend, a preacher, if he would preach Sunday. He responded that he just doesn’t have anything to say these days. I’ve been there. Maybe you have, too.
The truth is, not many of us have an arsenal of helpful things to say at times of heavy grief and fear. What has helped my friend the most is the attention from his church family and the promises that people are praying for him and his wife, for their daughter, and for their son.
We can offer some help for you in your times of struggle. Our answer box isn’t empty. We’ve got some answers for some struggles. But what we can offer in endless supply for you is love from a caring church family and the promise to pray that God will see you through. That’s Life at Work!
Thursday, April 14, 2005
What You Can, When You Can
A Saturday Night Live skit recently satirized President Bush and his never-ending efforts for the country. “I’m working 24/7. That’s twenty-four hours a week. Seven months out of the year.”
The President’s work is important. It does require a good bit of time, no doubt. Probably more than the twenty-four/seven of Saturday Night Live. Our work is important, too. “Which work?” you ask. The work of taking the good news about salvation in Jesus to the world is important!
There are lost people here and yonder who need to know what sin does to their relationship with the God who has set a day to judge the world, and what that Awesome God has done to make things right with him again. Our opportunities vary with the day. They certainly did with Paul as Luke tells his story in Acts 18.
Paul went from Athens to Corinth to preach. The first thing that Luke wrote points to obstacles that stand in the way of what we want. He said that Aquila and Priscilla were in Corinth because all Jews had been ordered to leave Rome. Sometimes you can’t even live where you want to! But Paul lived with them, working as a tentmaker, in order to keep from being a burden to the Corinthians (cf. 2 Cor. 11:7-12). He taught about Jesus in the synagogue on the Sabbath days.
When Timothy and Silas arrived, Paul’s opportunities increased because Timothy and Silas were able to help Paul. Paul devoted himself exclusively to the work of preaching and teaching. The funds were there and the time was there. God provided the protection he needed, too. There were people there who wanted to hear. Many of those hearers believed and were baptized. But not everybody.
Even though he had funds, and time, and protection; Paul still had those who opposed him. He was taken by force to Galileo, which turned out just to be a waste of time, because Galileo wouldn’t even hear the bogus case they brought against Paul.
Do you see all the things that impact our ability to tell our neighbors and the world what God wants them to hear? There are funds, time limitations, dangers, unwilling hearers, and other responsibilities.
So what can we learn from Paul’s experience in Corinth? Don’t lose site of God’s purpose for you during the slower times. Pick up the pace on the straight-aways. In other words, do what you can, when you can. That’s Life at Work!
The President’s work is important. It does require a good bit of time, no doubt. Probably more than the twenty-four/seven of Saturday Night Live. Our work is important, too. “Which work?” you ask. The work of taking the good news about salvation in Jesus to the world is important!
There are lost people here and yonder who need to know what sin does to their relationship with the God who has set a day to judge the world, and what that Awesome God has done to make things right with him again. Our opportunities vary with the day. They certainly did with Paul as Luke tells his story in Acts 18.
Paul went from Athens to Corinth to preach. The first thing that Luke wrote points to obstacles that stand in the way of what we want. He said that Aquila and Priscilla were in Corinth because all Jews had been ordered to leave Rome. Sometimes you can’t even live where you want to! But Paul lived with them, working as a tentmaker, in order to keep from being a burden to the Corinthians (cf. 2 Cor. 11:7-12). He taught about Jesus in the synagogue on the Sabbath days.
When Timothy and Silas arrived, Paul’s opportunities increased because Timothy and Silas were able to help Paul. Paul devoted himself exclusively to the work of preaching and teaching. The funds were there and the time was there. God provided the protection he needed, too. There were people there who wanted to hear. Many of those hearers believed and were baptized. But not everybody.
Even though he had funds, and time, and protection; Paul still had those who opposed him. He was taken by force to Galileo, which turned out just to be a waste of time, because Galileo wouldn’t even hear the bogus case they brought against Paul.
Do you see all the things that impact our ability to tell our neighbors and the world what God wants them to hear? There are funds, time limitations, dangers, unwilling hearers, and other responsibilities.
So what can we learn from Paul’s experience in Corinth? Don’t lose site of God’s purpose for you during the slower times. Pick up the pace on the straight-aways. In other words, do what you can, when you can. That’s Life at Work!
Monday, April 11, 2005
They Serve a Puny God
They served a puny god. That’s what I thought when I read an article in my hometown newspaper in the Southeast several years ago that described a new temple being built in a larger city nearby. The article described how a prominent Eastern religious group was trucking in their gods. Their gods have to be brought in by truck? Those are puny gods.
I don’t want a puny god. I want a god about whom you say, “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else” (Acts 17:24-25).
A god who needs me is no good to me. I need a God who can do things for me that I can’t do. I want to know that when I pray for my spouse to come home safely, for sickness to be removed from my body, or for my family to be healthy again that the God to whom I pray can actually do those things that I can’t accomplish. How could I believe that a god who I have to truck in to his new home could do anything for me?
The truth is that one of the hardest things God ever had to do was get us to heaven. But he can even do that! The God of Heaven, the creator of everything, the giver of life and breath, doesn’t need me. I am so glad about that. I need him, though. You do, too. That’s Life at Work!
I don’t want a puny god. I want a god about whom you say, “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else” (Acts 17:24-25).
A god who needs me is no good to me. I need a God who can do things for me that I can’t do. I want to know that when I pray for my spouse to come home safely, for sickness to be removed from my body, or for my family to be healthy again that the God to whom I pray can actually do those things that I can’t accomplish. How could I believe that a god who I have to truck in to his new home could do anything for me?
The truth is that one of the hardest things God ever had to do was get us to heaven. But he can even do that! The God of Heaven, the creator of everything, the giver of life and breath, doesn’t need me. I am so glad about that. I need him, though. You do, too. That’s Life at Work!
Thursday, April 07, 2005
What Do You Say About God to Someone Who Doesn't Know Him?
The little boy was fairing poorly, to say the least, in elementary math. His mom did everything she could to help him get his grades up, but all her efforts were in vain. She finally decided to take him out of the large public school he attended to enroll him in a small, private Christian school nearby. They had never exposed themselves to Christian teaching, she just thought some of the differences might make the difference for him.
The first day she picked him up from school; he got into the car with her and immediately opened his math book and started studying. When they got home, he went to his room and stayed there studying until dinner. After dinner he went back to his room and studied more. This kind of study was so out-of-character for him, the mother was shocked to silence. But it happened everyday for six weeks!
Finally, he got in the car with her and handed her the report card he had received that day. She slowly opened the card, and a big smile spread across her face. He got an A in math! She was so happy – for him and herself.
“What’s the difference, son?” she asked. “Is it the smaller class size? Is the material explained better? Is the teacher that much better?”
“No, none of that,” he son said. “I just knew the first day that I walked in the classroom and saw that man nailed to that plus sign that they were serious about math.”
There have been a few times that I’ve come across someone who knows next to nothing about Christianity. Even people who know something about Christianity can be limited in what they know, really know, about God. Paul found some people in Athens who had erected an altar to the unknown God. They did that to cover their bases, so to speak. Paul knew that there really was a God that they did not know. What do you say to someone who doesn’t know God?
Paul told them five things in Acts 17. They are important things. Maybe they are important because you need to know them. Maybe their importance is in the need for you to express them to someone you have encountered and care about. Here, in a nutshell, is what he told them. Read it with a tone of caring, not arrogance. You can bet that is how Paul said it.
1. The God You Don’t Know Doesn’t Need You, But You Need Him
2. He Wants You To Seek Him, But You Don’t Have To Look Far
3. Since You Are His Offspring, You Would be a Fool to Worship Idols
4. He’s Been Patient, But Now Is the Time to Repent Because Judgment Is Coming
5. The Resurrection of Jesus Should Prove It to You
Turn from the life that sets you at odds with the God who you need. He’s been close to you all your life, even when you didn’t know it. He raised Jesus to be your savior, but also to be your judge. You are his offspring because you are his creation. It’s time to become one of his children. It’s time to get know God. That’s Life at Work!
The first day she picked him up from school; he got into the car with her and immediately opened his math book and started studying. When they got home, he went to his room and stayed there studying until dinner. After dinner he went back to his room and studied more. This kind of study was so out-of-character for him, the mother was shocked to silence. But it happened everyday for six weeks!
Finally, he got in the car with her and handed her the report card he had received that day. She slowly opened the card, and a big smile spread across her face. He got an A in math! She was so happy – for him and herself.
“What’s the difference, son?” she asked. “Is it the smaller class size? Is the material explained better? Is the teacher that much better?”
“No, none of that,” he son said. “I just knew the first day that I walked in the classroom and saw that man nailed to that plus sign that they were serious about math.”
There have been a few times that I’ve come across someone who knows next to nothing about Christianity. Even people who know something about Christianity can be limited in what they know, really know, about God. Paul found some people in Athens who had erected an altar to the unknown God. They did that to cover their bases, so to speak. Paul knew that there really was a God that they did not know. What do you say to someone who doesn’t know God?
Paul told them five things in Acts 17. They are important things. Maybe they are important because you need to know them. Maybe their importance is in the need for you to express them to someone you have encountered and care about. Here, in a nutshell, is what he told them. Read it with a tone of caring, not arrogance. You can bet that is how Paul said it.
1. The God You Don’t Know Doesn’t Need You, But You Need Him
2. He Wants You To Seek Him, But You Don’t Have To Look Far
3. Since You Are His Offspring, You Would be a Fool to Worship Idols
4. He’s Been Patient, But Now Is the Time to Repent Because Judgment Is Coming
5. The Resurrection of Jesus Should Prove It to You
Turn from the life that sets you at odds with the God who you need. He’s been close to you all your life, even when you didn’t know it. He raised Jesus to be your savior, but also to be your judge. You are his offspring because you are his creation. It’s time to become one of his children. It’s time to get know God. That’s Life at Work!
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