Secondary losses

     I've learned over the span of my life that our lives are full of primary and secondary losses.  Primary losses are easy to explain.  My mom died, my dad died, my brother died.  You get the drift.  Primary losses don't necessarily mean death of someone.  Your car died.  A friend betrayed you.  Many losses are physical and even more are heart losses.  The disciples found themselves in this primary loss situation when their Lord was crucified.  They also found themselves in the position of secondary loss with the death of Lazarus.  How did they handle these losses?  They went into a grief process.  They felt the same feelings that you and I feel with loss.  They were able to better value life and life's circumstances because of their experiences.  I've had the three losses I mentioned above and also many secondary losses.  My daughter informed me last night that her friend committed suicide last week.  She was in a secondary loss situation.  Because she is experiencing grief so am I.   My friend informed me this morning that his mother passed away this morning.  His primary loss and my secondary loss.  When someone you love is in grief, so are you.  It's not a choice. 
     Primary and secondary losses are important only to those who love.  Jesus taught us to love as he loves.  Love is painful sometimes and certainly losses accentuate that fact.  The more we are attached through love, the greater the loss and subsequent grief.  A good measuring stick to see if you actually love is to check out how you have handled loss.  Did you take a fleeting moment to offer sympathy or did you take the time to offer grace?  Quite different expressions of the depth of love.  Most Christians are able to deal with primary loss but skip the secondary losses as they don't pertain to them.  Wrong.  The secondary losses are just as important and in need of experiencing.  The dilemma that we create is that we find our love deepening with every love that is lost.  The losses of those around us affect us more because we love more.  Because we love more, we are more and more in that place of loss and the loss of others.  Jesus went to the cross because of this love he had for all mankind.  His loss was to be our joy.  So why do people not see that we too need to die to self for His love to grow and multiply with others?
     My daughter and friend will heal in different ways.  They will heal though.  My job is to listen and offer mercy and grace.  Like Jesus those who believe will be raised to eternal life with Jesus.  It means we should always love deeply, care intensely and sometimes just listen to their heart because your heart has been there as well.  Sometimes we need to pick up and carry our loved ones because they just can't move themselves at the time.  During all of this we also need to understand OUR secondary losses.  I didn't know my daughters friend or my friends mother.  I did and do know them.  Being there for the living in Christ's capacity encourages us to understand their frailty just as our own frailty.  Because we are loved much we must love much even during the pain, grief and loss.  That's not an easy task but a necessary one.  And, it's always your choice.

Love: Famous Christians Quoted About It

Love

“At best we are but clay, animated dust; but viewed as sinners, we are monsters indeed. Let it be published in heaven as a miracle that the Lord Jesus should set His heart’s love upon people like us.”  ~ Alistair Begg 

“Whatever a person may be like, we must still love them because we love God.” ~ John Calvin 

“Love is the sum of all virtue, and love disposes us to good.” ~ Jonathan Edwards

“Love is the sum of all virtue, and love disposes us to good.” ~ Jonathan Edwards 

“To love is to be venerable” ~ C.S. Lewis 

“Christianity is a love relationship between a child of God and his Maker through the Son Jesus Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit.” ~ Adrian Rogers 

“You can see God from anywhere if your mind is set to love and obey Him”  ~ A.W. Tozer 

“Though we cannot think alike may we not love alike? ~John Wesley

Love: What People in the Bible Said About It 

“ … Only be very careful to observe the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments and to cling to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.” ~ Joshua the son of Nun (Joshua 22:5)

“Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins.” ~ King Solomon (Proverbs 10:12 KJV)

 

“… For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,” ~The LORD  (Isaiah 54:10)

 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust…” ~ Jesus the Christ (Matthew 5:43-5)

“For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.”  ~ Paul of Tarsus (Romans 5:7-9) 

“Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.” ~ James the brother of Jesus (James 1:12) 

“Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.” ~ Simon Peter the son of Jonah of Bethsaida (1 Peter 3:8) 

“By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.” ~ John the son of Zebedee (1 John 3:16)

It's just a story

     The Israelites were in captivity in Egypt for a long time giving their toil to the Egyptians their toil whether they liked it or not.  But, their flocks flourished as did their people.  Through historical documents we learned that they escaped from Egypt by travelling to on foot or animal or cart to the sea that God would divide.  Like most stories this one is told to our children and there is little explanation of the who, what, where, why and how of the event.  So, with that in mind, we can look back and see that this was no ordinary exodus.  First they were God's chosen people.  Second, they were in slavery for 400 years.  Third, they were far from the land God had promised them.  Fourth, they were escaping because God was bringing plagues to the Egyptian people.  The last plague was the angel of death travelling and killing the firstborn among the people but sparing the Israelites.  How God brought the escape of 4.25 million people is amazing.  Yes, I said 4.25 million.  I know it's not an exact figure but it's about the number that fled in the exodus.  It's hard to imagine that many people so think of the Puget Sound area for an example. Seattle and surrounding neighboring cities make up around that number give or take.  That's a long time for Moses to hold up that staff.  But then, it's just a story.
     David was anointed to be king about the age of 13 years.  Saul who was king, did not like it but used David as his personal musician for years.  When David realized that Saul was seeking to kill him, David fled with his "Mighty Men" and were on the run for quite some time.  At one point David and his men have fled into the mountain ravine and are hiding in a cave.  He knows there is no way out so he pens the 23 Psalm as his solace with God.  The distance from Jerusalem to David's location is about 2 weeks journey for Saul and his men.  They are approaching the hiding place when they receive word that the Egyptians (pesky people) are invading from the south.  That's about a month for a runner to come and notify him.  King Saul leaves to protect the southern border and David and his Mighty Men are spared to fight another day. Just how much planning goes into God's work of protecting David?  Let's see, time wise God's deliverance is put into play at least 2 weeks before Saul moves to kill David and his men.  Remembering that God has anointed David as king, God has already provided for his deliverance before David writes Psalm 23.  That's an amazing example of how God is working to take care of you and I today.  We need to know that he works for us but not how.  But then, it's just a story.
     Jesus has been crucified and risen from the dead when Paul comes on the scene just in time to be a part of the lynch mob that stones Steven to death while he is celebrating with God.  He goes on to be the lead person in the movement to put down the Way.  The Way are the first century church people who love Jesus and have committed themselves to loving and honoring Jesus as their Savior.  They are forced to meet "underground" so that they aren't captured worshipping and be killed.  Paul has such an anger at their proliferation that he seeks and gets a letter telling everyone that he, Paul, has the authority to capture and kill those who are Christian.  I don't know how many Christians Paul was responsible for regarding capture an death.  I do know that those Christians were interceding with God on his behalf.  Praying for their enemies.  Like me, Paul required a wake up call.  God delivered along the road to Damascus in a very public and definitive way. He appears to Paul, blinds him, and tells him to stop persecuting his people.  Smack!  Paul didn't see that coming.  He travels to the home of a Christian man who is called to pray for him and receives his sight back.  Amazing!  Paul then goes on to found many churches, bring loads of people to the place where they can love and accept Jesus.  This story is about God's fulfillment of his promises to care for his people and to protect them.  Nothing is told about all the others who had followed Paul before his conversion.  The war against Christianity is nasty.  But then, it's just a story.  It's also your choice what you are going to do with it. 

The Christian and time

Time

The basic nature of time

     Time is the context for a person’s existence. It personally begins at the moment of one’s conception in a female’s womb, and then it goes on and on and on through various stages of life’s processes for living. Particular moments of time are commonly marked for one’s birth, the annual anniversary of that event, and other important events in one’s life, such as school graduations and one’s marriage, and in the process other historic and cultural events are noted and celebrated in accord with personal and family traditions.

The calculation of time

     Most people recognize that time is commonly calculated by the rotation of the earth on its axis and its orbit around the sun. These events mark the days and the years that enable individuals to keep an account of the passing of time. But think for a minute how difficult it would be for an individual to keep track of time without the common tools of clocks and calendars. The form of these modern tools, that many of us probably take for granted, did not just suddenly appear on our walls when we woke up one morning. They have been developed by various individuals who have given their thoughtful attention and creative skills to this matter of the calculation of the passing of time. So we have progressed from circles of stones, as seen at Stonehenge, to sundials to water clocks to gear-driven clocks that were driven by falling weights to electric clocks to tiny watches that are driven by batteries and other forms of clocks and their power sources all to keep track of the passing of the seconds, minutes, and hours of time and various types of calendars to keep track of the passing of days and years. Time marches on, often faster than some of us would like, and its effects tend to get noticed without the aid of clocks and calendars.

The gift of time

     Time is God’s gift to you with your conception and birth. You did not do anything to create or to generate it. You do not have any direct control over its operations. You did not choose when it would start for you, and you may not realize it, but it will go on forever for you. Its coming and going are the only factors that all human beings have in common. Everything else in every person’s life throughout all the days of history are different for each individual. As you grow day by day, you may have some choices in how you spend your time, but in a real sense many of these choices are limited or otherwise conditioned by the timing and placement of your initial existence over which you had no control. And the choices that you are able to make in your use of this gift are all made in the now moment of time! That is the only moment in which you can make any personal use of this gift of time.

Past, present, and future factors of time

     The events and choices and things that you have done or have happened to you in the past are past. They are parts of your personal history and life story, but there is nothing that you can do in the present to change them. You cannot relive any moment in your past. And the effects of any moment may go on for days and years throughout your life. There is seldom many positive benefits to be received from hanging onto or carrying around a heavy load of bad experiences or poor choices from one’s past, except as they provide positive lessons for new learnings in the present moments of the now.
     How you respond to those past events and choices and situations is part of the challenge of living your life in the dynamic of now. All of the work that you will ever accomplish in life will be accomplished in how you use each now moment. All that you will ever experience, remember, learn, receive, gain, achieve, share, loose, love, hate, regret, seek, celebrate, and worship will be encountered in these now moments.
     And while you are living in the now, you will have no direct control over any future moments that will come your way. That does not mean that what you do or think or say or believe in the present now moments of your life do not have any effects on your future moments; they do affect your future. That is why one’s wise use of one’s present now moments can produce good benefits for one’s future. The wisdom of this process is commonly seen in the practice of good habits for healthy living and secure saving and investment accounts and careful building projects and loving relationships with family and friends and the faithful care of what one has received, which includes time and money.

Christian Christmas 101

Christmas

The nature of Christmas

    Christmas is a hodgepodge of celebrations, personal behaviors and attitudes, rituals of worship, the selling and buying of a lot of gifts, and public and private gatherings that are brought together from ancient pagan festivals, a variety of ethnic traditions, the biblical stories of Jesus’ birth, historic religious traditions and practices and beliefs, and secular business strategies that are all focused around December 25th.
     There is a lot of personal and collective controversial opinion regarding whether or not Christmas is a Christian holiday, a pagan festival that should be rejected by Christians and ignored by enlightened citizens of the modern world, a set of nice stories and traditions about love and giving that are worthy of being emphasized once a year, or just a very agressive business strategy to get millions of people to buy and give a lot of goods.

A brief history of Christmas

     It was common in ancient cultures for people to gather together in festivals at the time of the Winter Solstice on December 22nd. These gatherings were associated with the worship of sun gods, as with the Stonehenge community and the Romans. In Europe the festival was associated with the slaughter of cattle that could not be fed during the winter months and the subsequent feasts and relaxing social activities. Yule logs were burned in German and Scandinavian countries, and candles were burned in many of these festivals. Fruit was tied to the branches of trees to encourage the return of the warm sun in Spring.
     In regard to the influence of the biblical stories and the birth of Jesus in these celebrations, the accounts are not without pagan comparisons. “The Hindu god Krishna, Gautama Buddha and Zoraster were reputedly the product of virgin births. Alexander the Great, Constantine and Nero claimed to have virgin births....In the ancient world virgin birth was a sign of distinction.” 1
The date of December 25th for the birth of Jesus is not biblical. “December 25th was celebrated worldwide for thousands of years before Jesus was born....” 2 “This date was first officially recognized on Roman calendars about 336 A.D. having been decreed by Pope Sylvester in 320 A.D. to coincide with the sun-god feast, Saturnalia.” 3 It is generally recognized that if the visiting shepherds had been out in the fields with their flocks (as reported by Luke in the New Testament book of Luke 2:8), the birth of Jesus would not have been in December.
     The biblical story of the Magi (Matthew 2:1- 12) has been interpreted and illustrated in various Christian legends, artistic drawings, songs, and children’s pageants since Medieval times. Three gifts are mentioned, but it is not certain that there were only three Magi. Other details regarding the Magi have been given unsupported interpretations, such as their races and ages.
      The features of Saint Nicholas, Santa Claus, and the giving of gifts also have their particular histories. Saint Nicholas became a bishop at the age of 17. At the age of 30 he served as the bishop of Myra (the city of Demre in Turkey). After being jailed by the rulers of the Eastern Roman Empire for ten years, he was released by Constantine. Later he helped him in Constantine’s conflict with Arius that produced the Nicene Creed in support of the unity of the trinity at the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D.
     After this victory, Saint Nicholas became the subject of many legends. One of these including a poor family with three daughters who had no wedding dowries and were faced with the prospect of having to become prostitutes. He threw bags of gold through a bedroom window for two of the daughters and another bag down the chimney, which landed in a stocking that the third daughter had hung by the fireplace to get dry. He was noted for his generosity with children, and became the patron saint of Greece and Russia.
     The veneration of his legends was abolished by Luther in many European countries, but not in the Netherlands. In Germany the figure of Saint Nicholas was replaced by “a tall Christ child” (Christkindl) who was known as Kris Kringle in English-speaking countries. 4 “The transformation of Saint Nicholas to Santa Claus happened largely in America -- with inspiration from the Dutch. In the early days of Dutch New York, Sinterklass became know among the English- speaking as ‘Santa Claus’ (or ‘Saint Nick’).” 5 In 1809 Washington Irving created a tale of a “chuppy, pipe-smoking little Saint Nicholas who road a magic horse through the air visiting all houses in New York. The elfish figure was small enough to climb down chimneys with gifts for the good children and switches for the bad ones.” 6 The poem “The Night Before Christmas”, reputedly by Clement Moore in 1823, “replaced the horse with a sleigh drawn by eight flying reindeer” and an “elf”who brought children only presents without any switches. 7 Thomas Nast, head cartoonist for Harper’s Weekly magazine, “depicted Santa Claus from 1863 to 1886 as an unaging, jolly, bearded fat man who lived at the North Pole....” 8 He had a red suit trimmed with white fur. “The first department store Santa Clause was at J.W. Parkinson’s store in Philadelphia in 1881.” 9

Pros and cons regarding the celebration of Christmas by Christians

     The annual celebration of Jesus’ birth is not taught in the Bible. “Celebration of birthdays -- even including that of Christ -- was rejected as a pagan tradition by most Christians during the first three hundred years of Christianity....” 10 But in order to counteract the heretical Gnostic claim that Jesus had not been a mortal person, Christians began to emphasize the Nativity account of “the Incarnate God as a lovable infant born to a holy mother”. 11 But they “condemned the inclusion of Saturnalia customs such as exchanging gifts and decorating homes with evergreens” and cutting and erecting and decorating trees (which is condemned in Jeremiah 10:3–4). 12
The Protestant Reformation in 16th century Europe resulted in the rejection of many teachings and practices of the Roman Church and a return to the authority of the Bible for the practice and teaching of the Christian faith. So these Protestants did not observe the celebration of Christmas, the “mass of Christ”, which had been established by Constantine.
     Presbyterians suppressed the celebration of Christmas in Scotland where it was considered a normal working day until 1958. 13 English Puritans abolished the celebration of Christmas in 1647, and they didn’t resume the tradition of caroling until the 1800s. Christmas was not widely celebrated in New England until 1852. 14 In 1836 Alabama became the first State to recognize Christmas. Some “fundamentalists still regard Christmas to be an un-Christian pagan holiday, which they do not celebrate”. 15
     In the light of these different traditions, legends, pagan associations, unbiblical additions to the accounts of Jesus’ birth in the Bible, and controversial history among Christians each person has to decide whether or not to celebrate Christmas and what to do during this annual festival in their various locations. Some groups within our society want to remove all references to Jesus, the Christ, from any public statement regarding Christmas. They are satisfied if it is only celebrated as a festive holiday for merry feasting and the sharing of gifts without reference to Christ.
     Parents are challenged with the difficult task of trying to explain the relationship between the historic biblical accounts of the birth of Jesus and all of these legends and traditions as their children grow older and begin to ask questions about various details. Christian ministers and priests have to decide how to balance the biblical story with the non-biblical legends and traditions in services of worship and their preaching and teaching ministries. Companies have to decide how they are going to advertise and promote the celebration of Christmas to their customers. The leaders of governments and the representatives of their citizens have to decide how they are going to legislate that all of the people of their nations behave during this world-wide festival.

The basic significance of Christmas

     The basic message of Christmas is the announcement that God, the almighty creator of the universe, has come into the world in the human form of a person whose birth name is Jesus. This is the news of God’s incarnation in human flesh. The apostle John has given the appropriate meaning to this historic event in his statement that, “No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only (referring to Jesus Christ), who is at the Father’s side, has made him known” (John 1:18 ).
In his account of Jesus’ life and ministry, John does not mention the details of Jesus’ birth that are cited by the other writers Matthew and Luke, not even the name of his mother, Mary, nor the presence of any shepherds or Magi who brought him gifts. In this account (John 1:1–18), John refers to Jesus Christ as “the Word” (verses 1 and 14) This term (“Logos” in the Greek language) was understood by the Jews to refer to “an agent of creation” and by the Romans in their knowledge of Greek philosophy as “the principle of reason that governed the world”. 16
     In regard to gifts, the gifts of the Magi that were given to Jesus and Mary and Joseph in their act of worship, or the gifts that are shared between family and friends in this Christmas festival, it should be recognized and emphasized in our celebrations that the primary and most important gift is God’s gift of “his one and only Son” (John 3:16) whom he sent into the world “to save the world” (John 3:17).
Without the message of God’s incarnation in human flesh and the gift of his Son, Jesus, for the salvation of the world, the celebration of Christmas by Christians or anyone else is just another secular festival among many on one’s calendar of annual holidays. There can be no “peace” on earth or real “joy” in a human’s heart apart from the Spirit of Jesus Christ. The gifts of these blessings through the birth of Jesus Christ is worth celebrating and the sharing of God’s love to the world is worth repeating over and over again in gifts and contributions, but we Christians need to make sure that our Christmas celebrations are for the glory of God and nothing else; certainly not for the worship of any sun god, saint, or material gift.

Living in the aftermath.

     It's all about utilizing what you have to the best of your ability.  I'm talking about left overs!  Okay, and the Christian as well.  The feast is over and like most people I've eaten more than I should have.  I didn't stop myself and enjoyed most every bite.  I felt the need to clean up my plate and then have pie as well!  All the time knowing my blood sugars would spike and there would be an absence of exercise except the fork to mouth and folding out of the recliner.  Am I the only one?  I greatly doubt it.  Meanwhile, many people put on their best "face" in order to have the holiday together just like they did last holiday and will do the next holiday.  It's a shame because the rest of the year doesn't reflect that "face" much at all.  The aftermath of our celebrating, eating and community becomes a façade to the world much like our thinking going to church on Sunday and Wednesday nights is all that is required of the Christian.  Forgetting what we've experienced and know the other days of the week and months of the years.  Fill up, have coffee and treats, comment on the sermon, give your friends a hug and go home.  That's it.  What is missing is the message that we, like Jesus, are called to be able to give an account of the hope that is within us every hour of every day.
     There has got to be more.  Not to us but from us.  So, yesterday at dinner we shared food, laughs and a lesson.  The lessor was for the past, present and future.  The episode began when one teenage male attendee was goofing around and gave a Hitler salute while talking with his cousin.  It bothered me but I didn't want to spoil the party.  I began by asking him trivia questions about our national holiday and how it came to be.  That morphed nicely into the cost by which Thanksgiving actually was about.  When the number of servicemen and women who gave their lives for OUR freedom, the moment took on another dimension.  God prompted me to talk about the Holocaust and I told stories about the current usage of the "salute" by disgruntled voters to those who still cling to the thinking that there is a superior race.  We also talked about various Christian and Jewish people and their very real experience with concentration camps and death of family members.  All of this culminated in a lesson about forgiveness, it's difficulty and it's freedom.  The end statement was the surrender of one man's life so that all who choose could have life eternal for the asking.   The table had grown quiet and not people began to talk.  Really talk...just as it should be. 
     The aftermath was a reminder of why we are charged to live fully the Christian life in a manner that keeps the past alive, the present thriving and providing hope for the future.  Yes, life can be light and full of humor.  There's nothing wrong with that at all.  Yes, life can be serious.  Same thing.  Sometimes our depth of humor is the most wonderful element  Sometimes we need to have the balance and not neglect the REAL reason we are celebrating the holiday in the first place.  It would be good for those who are elderly, those who are middle aged and those who are young.  Why?  Because that's what we are to do in order to have a balanced life in Christ.  If we forget the past we are doomed to revisit it in the future.  That's the aftermath...and it's your choice.  I'll have a piece of pumpkin pie for breakfast!

Thanksgiving is about love and giving love

 

     Love is both a quality of life that individuals can have and enjoy, and it is a special activity that they can express to others. This means that love is both a noun and a verb, something to have and also something to do. References to love in both senses of the word are very common in many daily conversations and publications. Love is regularly used in advertising copy to attract viewers and to get individuals to buy various products, so a person’s understanding of love is very strongly conditioned by how it is displayed and described and received and delivered in various cultural settings. These cultural definitions and examples of love can create a lot of personal confusion and stress within individuals as they seek to learn how to receive love and to share love with others. And the challenges of this process can have a lot of severe consequences for individuals throughout their lives regardless of their gender, religious identity, living situation, or education.
     Paul, an ancient Christian apostle who wrote thirteen of the documents in the New Testament, cited these qualities in his classic statement on the “gift” of “love” (Greek noun agapen) in his first letter to his Christian friends in Corinth. see 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. He said “love

• is patient
• and kind
• does not envy
• or boast
• is not arrogant
• or rude
• does not insist on its own way
• is not irritable
• or resentful
• does not rejoice at wrongdoing
• but rejoices with the truth
• bears all things
• believes all things
• hopes all things
• endures all things
• never ends.”

     These qualities of love in one’s relationships with others are timeless. They are as important for individuals today as they were for the ancient people of Corinth, a port city with several temples to pagan gods and a reputation for “wanton sexuality”. 19 So these ancient Romans, and perhaps some of Paul’s Christian friends, had some important lessons to learn about love in their personal relationships. An expression of love without some of these qualities is probably not a very good gift. And the inclusion of these qualities in God’s gift of love makes this divine gift superior to those of “faith” and “hope”. (see 1 Corinthians 13:13)

Wise Counsel and the Christian

Definition

     Wise counsel is a special gift of advice that can enable the young generation of individuals to avoid some of the poor decisions and mistakes of their elders. It is absolutely necessary, because poor decisions and mistakes have consequences that affect the lives of others beyond those who just made the poor decisions and mistakes. Sometimes the consequences are very extensive and can last for a long time. Most of us can probably think of at least one example of a poor decision that affected a wide circle of individuals, perhaps even for generations.

Wise counsel must come from elders

     It is the older generation of men and women who have the opportunity and the responsibility to share their wisdom with the young generation. This is how children and youth learn. This is how progress and improvements in living are made over a span of time. This is how any bad cycle of severe consequences from poor decisions and mistakes is broken or halted. It is the elders who must tell the children and youth “No!” or “that is not a good idea” when these children and youth seek to implement some dangerous or poor course of action.
Parents are usually the first set of elder counselors that anyone has in this process, and they may have this particular role and responsibility for years without much assistance from anyone else. It is nice if grandparents are around, because they can provide even a bigger frame of wisdom from a longer span of years than that which would come just from the recent generation of the parents.

Wise counsel is not always well received

     Of course children and youth are not always going to like to hear “No!” or any other negative directive in regard to what they want to do. Other children and youth and even older individuals in their circles of friends may be encouraging them to go ahead with a particular course of action, to make the decision that they desire to make. Elders, including parents, do not exercise their responsibilities in a neutral environment or even one that is wisely designed or managed. There may be too many consequences of previous poor decisions and mistakes still around to make the environment of the children and youth completely safe and wholesome. And children and youth like to argue that the changes of time over the course of years invalidates the wisdom of their elders because the situation is different now than it was then and the decision that they seek to implement will not have the same consequences that it had years before.

And not all elders are wise all of the time

     Some elders even seem to believe that time changes situations so that what was a poor decision years previously may be OK now, that the consequences of a chosen course of action were not as bad as they initially seemed to be. And some elders are very good at rationalizing their poor decisions and minimizing the consequences of their mistakes. Some elders still do not like to hear negative comments from others, particularly if it comes from someone in the younger generation. And most of us elders can be overly influenced by our emotions, if we are not careful.

Wise counsel is more thoughtful than good advice

     A person can probably get a lot of “good advice” at the race track regarding what horse to bet on in the next race, but the best “wise counsel” that he or she might get from a mature friend is to “go home and pay off your credit card debt”. What is often passed off as “good advice”, like what one might get at a race track, is probably too often only popular opinion.

Wise counsel will come from individuals who know the difference between...

• what is ultimately good and what is just currently popular,
• what is really valuable and what is just cheap,
• a smart investment and just a quick profit,
• what is earned and what is only borrowed,
• what is achieved by hard work and what is just lucky,
• being happy and just having fun,
• what is beautiful and what just looks attractive,
• what is ultimately right and what may just be legal,
• what is really a generous gift and what is a selfish token,
• a sincere apology and a weak excuse,
• what is true and what is just a matter of opinion,
• what is to be hard sought and what is to be tolerated,
• when help is appropriate and when it should be withheld to encourage one to struggle,
• love and lust,
• what is really dangerous and what may just be somewhat risky,
• what is worth fighting against and what one should run from,
• what is a legitimate source of hope and what is a technique of mass marketing,
• a real miracle and a magic trick,
• what is wise and what is foolish,
• what is a divine blessing and what is a demonic temptation,
• what can last forever and what is only temporary,
• humble worship that glorifies God and pride-filled religious rituals that offend God,
• what is from God and what is from the world.

Christian peace...we all need it!

Peace

     It is obvious from the medias’ reports of daily events throughout the world that there is a lot of violence and little peace being experienced by many people today. In addition to the wars that are taking place in several countries and terrorist attacks in major cities throughout the world, there are the reports of many murders and personal assaults in the neighborhoods of various cities. In spite of great advances in our understand of what provides for good health in our bodies, diseases and mental illness continue to take away the experience of peace in the lives of millions of people. It seems like this world in which we live has become a battleground, and there are few havens where anyone can experience guaranteed safety and peace. Air travel anywhere is hampered by the need for the personal searching of everyone who boards a plane to see whether or not they are carrying weapons of destruction. And the purchase of guns for personal protection has become a major political issue at least in the United States. Racial prejudice continues to hamper the peace of some US cities, and in some neighborhoods there is little evidence for peace between its residents and the police who patrol its streets. Moods of fear, anxiety, despair, depression, and even hopelessness affect many, including even young people, in their efforts to experience peace in their daily lives.
     Not only is there a need to experience peace in the public gatherings of people, but there is also a need for it in many religious organizations. History has recorded the stories of various religious wars, and many Christians suffer much personal abuse and persecution from other Christians with whom they cannot serve and worship in peaceful relationships. Paul, an early apostle of the Christian faith, in his letters to the troubled church in Corinth (in the Bible) that he had established urged them to “Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.” (2 Corinthians 13:11)
     And even the early disciples in their experience with Jesus became “troubled” (John 14:1) as Jesus explained to them that he was going away and that they would not be able to immediately come to where he was “going” (John 13:33). They had some questions for Jesus regarding his remarks, and Jesus tried to put their minds at ease by indicating that he was going “to the Father” (John 14:12) and that he would continue to respond to their requests from there (See John 14:5-9 for their anxious discussion with Jesus). Finally he comforted them with these words: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (John 14:27). So “bad” news can frequently disrupt our experiences of peace in our daily lives by creating troubling moods regarding what might happen to us in the approaching moments and days.

The source of lasting peace in our lives

     It should be obvious from the daily news that we receive that the political action of government officials and the efforts of armies and even police authorities cannot provide lasting peace on the battlefields of this world. We have gone from fighting our battles with stones to the use of spears and arrows and swords to bullets and flying shells to the use of nuclear bombs and missiles in efforts to maintain a balance of powerful weapons that will produce peace between nations of aggressive people, but there is no peace and no treaties seem to be adequate to the conflicts that threaten people everywhere. And the care of health professions and the pills that they prescribe can seldom provide lasting peace and freedom from the discomforting effects of disease, old age, and death.
Isaiah an ancient prophet of God in his messages to the troubled people of Israel identified the source of relief that would come to them in these words: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this” (Isaiah 9:6-7). This prophecy from Isaiah is his inspired announcement from the LORD, who is God, that “a son” (vs. 6) is going to be born into their nation who will eventually establish a “kingdom” (vs. 7) of “peace” and “justice” (vs. 7) that would last forever. This is a reference to Jesus who, as the Jewish Messiah, would physically return to this world to establish an extension of God’s kingdom from his throne in Jerusalem. (For a complete explanation of this matter see this statement: The Second Coming of Jesus.)
     As we wait for the establishment of this “kingdom” of “peace” by Jesus, we have an indication from Paul that although Jesus has physically left this world, he is still able to provide peace to those who live in a personal relationship with him. In his closing remarks of his second letter to the Christian church in Thessalonica he offered them this benediction: “Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all.” (2 Thessalonians 3:16)
In his letter to the Christian church in Ephesus Paul explains how Jesus does this in his teaching regarding how Jesus has abolished the “hostility” (Ephesians 2:14) that many of these early Christians experienced in their separation from their Jewish associates and “the covenants of promise” (Eph. 2:12) that God had made with these people of Israel for his special providential and protecting care. He says this: “For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.” (Ephesians 2:14-18) This is Paul’s theological explanation regarding how the “peace” that Jesus offered to his “troubled” (John 14:27) disciples could be accessed from God, the Father, through the indwelling work of the Spirit in them and in the hearts and minds of those whom God is making into “members of the household of God” (Ephesians 2:19) through his work of sanctification or discipleship. In his letter to the Christian churches of Galatia Paul cites “peace” (Galatians 5:22) as one of the blessings of the “fruit” (vs. 22) that God gives to those who “walk by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16).

Christians have the best of intentions

     Yesterday I had the best of intentions of living my life for Jesus.  How about you?  Did you wake with the best of intentions, rearrange those intentions by 10 and then noon with the final adjustment at dinner?  I did. The best of intentions is not the same as doing what is right.  It's a plan to not do what is right at the time it's right to do it.  Procrastinators are particularly good at accomplishing this feat.  Those who think the best of intentions is a good thing are inevitably going to not accomplish what they should.  The Christian is very good at (generally speaking) rationalizing and justifying why those intentions were thwarted.  We can simply call it excuse making.  In any case, the life of Jesus doesn't flow through me when I only have intentions.  It's what James calls faith with out works.  There can be evidence of our faith but what takes place is faith without an outcome.  Faith should be practiced and when practiced should produce.  When there is something produced by our faith we then can see the results.  How?  We can see change in our lives, the lives of others and a visible testimony to the world that Jesus is alive and well in us.  The best of intentions is not that testimony.
     I'm one of those who makes a list of things that need to be done.  I don't put a timeline to the list but my intention is to get to all of the items sooner or later.  Crossing those items off when completed is fulfilling.  Sometimes I have worked on an item but not completed it.  Can't cross that one off!  Sometimes I have to work on it multiple days or even months (depending on the job/project).  Then sometimes other priorities come up and they go to the top of the list.  You probably do the same thing.  Whether it be at home, church, or work, there are always things that come up to derail that which we have intended to be working on.  You are mowing the lawn and are half done when you run out of gas and have to go to the gas station for more gas.  You might as well go to the hardware store for that item you need for project B while you are out.  You convince you are saving gas by making only one trip.  When you eventually get home and gas up the mower it's getting dark and you quit for the day with the lawn unfinished.  Unfinished jobs really mess with my head.  I don't like unfinished.  This is a pitfall for me.  When I have some project or job to do, I either want to do it completely or not start at all.  So, when I'm in the middle of a job I don't like to be interrupted. 
     Paul tells us to be ready to give an account of the hope inside of us (Jesus).  Being ready is different than making a list.  Being ready is having your faith (in this case) so up front that you can complete the job of witnessing that faith at any moment.  We may intend to do this or that or even have our intention be the best thing we could do.  If we don't do what we need to do, the Bible tells us that we are sinning.  That's James 4:17.  The best of intentions is not a fruit of the Spirit. Why?  Because it's not a verb.  There is no action in the best of intentions.  It's like saying my truck is white.  Yes, that's true.  If I say that my truck moves like white lightening, the verb takes over and there is progress, process and a resultant movement.  Okay, that's not the best example.  You get the point though.  The point is to not just sit or stand there and have the best of intentions. The point is not to shrug your shoulders and say, "Oh well.."  The point is to be doing what the Spirit tells you to think, say and do...all the time.  It's always your choice.

Christian friendship

Friendship

A definition

A friend is someone who likes you even though he/she doesn’t have to. He/she isn’t a relative or doesn’t work for you. This person is an individual who has established a genuine bond with you. He/she is there for you. You have good contact with each other on a regular basis, even if it is only once a year. You are comfortable with each other, can share personal feelings and concerns with each other, relax and have fun together, or share some serious moments of support and encouragement.
Friendship is a GOOD gift, because it provides part of the cement that holds neighborhoods, communities, groups, governments, and our world of sinful humans together. It is far reaching, extending around the world, and its benefits can span the decades of anyone’s life and continue into eternity.

Cultivating friendships

GOOD friendships are not bought or sold. Although they can’t be bought or sold, they can be given away. That is usually how they are received and experienced. The attraction may start with a friendly word or gesture or deed. It may be strengthened by some common shared experiences of fellowship, social fun, or even personal suffering. In a short while it may be recognized by both individuals that they are becoming good friends. So the friendship is carefully and thoughtfully nourished and protected. As it grows and is sustained through the years, it can expand to reach and to touch others and bring them into circles of friendship.
There shouldn’t be a doubt in anyone’s mind that it is good to have friends, that friendship is good. Therefore it should be easily admitted that being friendly is a GOOD gift to be shared with others. But it should also be easy to recognize that friendships can be polluted or damaged by a variety of harmful, “sinful”, and otherwise selfish attitudes and actions.

Friendship can make a difference

I encourage everyone to take thoughtful care of his or her friends. They are somewhat rare and very precious. And I urge everyone to be willing and ready to be a friend to others and to share this beautiful and GOOD gift of friendship with others. Note this statement on the value of friends from the Bible: “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” (Ecclesiasties 4:9–12)
Friendship is especially GOOD when you share God’s love in Jesus Christ with someone else. Such a sharing friendship will last forever. This is one GOOD gift that can make a lot of difference in the way “sinful” humans relate to each other and to God in this world!

Christian morality

Morality

Definition

Morality for a Christian is the application of God’s laws regarding a person’s private and public behavior. In his or her seeking to live a moral life, a Christian tries to obey the rules for his or her personal behavior that have been decreed by God and recorded in the Bible. Throughout centuries of history these rules have been proclaimed by God’s prophets, like Moses and Isaiah and Jeremiah, taught by Jesus, interpreted by the apostles, like Peter and Paul, established by Emperor Constantine, and proclaimed by various popes, theologians, and preachers, like St. Augustine, Martin Luther, John Calvin, Jacob Arminus, Jonathan Edwards, John Wesley, Dwight L. Moody, Billy Graham, and other contemporary preacher/teachers within the Jewish-Christian traditional understandings of what is right and what is wrong.

Problems with moral behavior

In spite of all of the clearly written and proclaimed statements of moral law, individual Jews and Christians and non-members of these biblically based religious communities have found it to be impossible to live in accord with these laws. No one has the ability to be as good as he or she knows that he or she should be. Although most people have a basic understanding of what is right and what is wrong, most of us cannot be consistently right in how we obey God’s laws as well as those that have been established by various governmental authorities.
The psalmist of ancient Israel said that “all have turned aside (from seeking to do good and from seeking God) they have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one” (Psalms 14:3). Paul quotes this in his teaching letter to the Romans in Chapter 3, verses 10-11, and he adds this comment to include believers “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). All human beings live and have lived on a battlefield between the righteous God and his rebellious angel Lucifer or Satan, and this battle between God’s righteous will and Satan’s rebellious desires goes on day after day in everyone’s life.

Attempts to deal with personal immorality

No one likes to admit that he or she is a rebel against God, that he or she is a sinner. Individuals have gone to a great deal of effort in the study of God’s moral laws to find loopholes in these laws that will enable them to excuse their immoral behavior and attitudes. They have written new interpretations of these laws, and defined exceptions to them, like it is all right to use “deadly force” against a person if that person is threatening to use a “deadly” force against you or someone you love.
The book shelves of hundreds of law offices and law schools are filled with books interpreting these laws and their derivatives and how they have been applied in numerous legal cases throughout history. Our courts, including our Supreme Court, are constantly seeking to apply these laws to the behavior of individuals with whom they are dealing. The legislative bodies of our society are regularly engaged in the processes of trying to understand what is “right” for our citizens and what laws need to be enacted in order to get people to behave and to live basically moral lives. But there are hundreds of examples of how some legislators and lawyers and enforcers of these laws do not and cannot live in accord with them themselves. The moral life is neither easily defined nor demonstrated.

God’s summary of his moral laws

Jesus engaged in a lot of discussions regarding the laws of God and personal morality with the lawyers of his people, the Sadducees and the Pharisees. They were constantly challenging him in regard to his interpretation of some of these laws and why his accepted disciples did not follow them more fully. In one situation a Pharisee, an expert in these laws, asked Jesus, as he addressed him as “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” (Matthew 22:36). And Jesus replied with this answer: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:37- 40.
This really simplifies the rules for morality, God’s laws for moral behavior. Just love God completely and love everyone else as much as you love yourself. So the moral life is to be lived in love, and immorality is not living with such love for God and others. A life lived in accord with these two laws would be a perfect demonstration of morality.

How to practice morality

In the first place it must be done with a person’s sincere confession of his or her sin and his or her inability to obey God’s laws by his or her own efforts. Such confession and repentance demonstrate one’s acceptance of God’s will and love.
With the acceptance of God’s will and love comes his forgiving grace and his gift of the Holy Spirit. It is God’s grace, faithfully trusting in his good will, and surrender to the transforming power of the Holy Spirit that enables any Christian or believer in Jesus to practice morality, to live a moral life. This is not a matter of regularly practicing traditional religious rituals of worship or even service to others, but it is a matter of being “born” by the Spirit of God.

Christian faith, it's always your choice

Faith in Jesus brings one back into a GOOD relationship with God

The summary of the gospel, God’s good news is contained in Jesus’ words of instruction and appeal to Nicodemus: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
This relationship is restored when a person believes that God offers him/her, even though he/she is a rebellious sinner, the gift of a blessed relationship with him if he/she will have faith in his word and trust him by acknowledging that his Son, Jesus, is Lord, God in human flesh, and in repentance from his/her sinful rebellion accept Jesus’ atoning sacrifice when he was crucified on a cross.
As Jesus began his ministry, he said, “Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15) When Peter concluded his powerful sermon on the day of Pentecost with a proclamation of the Lordship of Jesus, in response to their question, “what shall we do?”, he replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.” (Acts 2:36–38) Paul covers this topic of the connection between faith and repentance, belief and obedience, sin and righteousness in Romans chapters 4–8.
God is saying to his sinful human creatures, if you want to live in a GOOD relationship with me, have faith in me, trust me that I can and will bring you back into a joyous and providential relationship with me as you believe upon my Son, Jesus, and accept his sacrifice for your sins.
Like your physician by your bed who is ready to transplant a perfectly healthy heart into your dying body, God offers you his challenging invitation for an amazing personal experience of his loving and GOOD care, by saying in effect, “If you really believe me and trust me or have faith in me, surrender to my surgery and let me give you the heart of Jesus, and I’ll even give you the faith to undergo the process.” But there is a challenging rule that comes into play here. It is this: if you do not trust me enough to accept my invitation, then you will not be able to experence the benefits that you claim to believe that I am offering you. Belief has to be expressed in active faithful obedient surrender or it will not bring you the experience.
But this new dynamic life as a new person with the power of Jesus’ Spirit working within you is not accomplished by keeping a set of divine rules or regularly practicing a series of religious rituals or even believing a creed of theological doctrines. It is surrending in trust to the wisdom and the power and the love of Jesus, the Spirit, and the Father who lives within you.

The GOODness of such faith

Accepting God’s invitation in faith is extremely GOOD. Not only will it deliver you from being separated from God by your sin and death, but it will enable you to live as a forgiven sinner who has been cleansed and renewed by the righteousness of Jesus, God’s Son, and who is able to live with dynamic energy in this world of sickening and deadly forces protected from their harmful effects and ultimately empowered to resist the devil’s lying and seductive words for eternity (see Romans 8:28–39).
Sharing such faith with others in daily demonstrations of trusting God, testifying to the GOODness of his will and the dependability of his promises, can have extensive and everlasting blessings to you and to those with whom you share your faith. The life of “faith” with the Spirit and power of Jesus within you should not be a passive experience in which one just enjoys God’s thrilling blessings. Jesus has work that he wants to accomplish through you as he motivates your desires and empowers the activities of your life. There are hungry men, women, and children that need to be fed and clothed. There are the sick and broken that need to be healed and visited. There are those who are “lost”, perhaps members of your family and friends, who are overwhealmed by the challenges and burdens of living, that need to hear and to see your “witness” regarding what God and Jesus can do when one has “faith” in God’s GOODness and his victorious power. There are your “enemies” that need to be forgiven. God and Jesus need to be glorified by what others see happening in your life as Jesus empowers you to live as a new person of faith on this “battlefield” in which we all live. And they will be glorified as you resist the temptation to be constantly trying to live in accord with your own selfish feable efforts to do what only Jesus can do.
This is what the Christian faith is all about. It is the experience of living in a new relationship of trust and surrender with God through his Son, Jesus, by the indwelling power of the Spirit. And your fundamental Christian ministry is sharing the good news of Jesus’ redemption of sinful humanity. This is why Christianity is not a religion of rules and rituals but rather a life of personal faith in God and a daily walk of surrender and trust in union with him and Jesus.

More on Christian faith

Faith is trusting in the goodness of God

After God created the universe with all of its various coordinated systems and the earth with living creatures (including Adam and Eve) with all of the food and resources that they all would need, he “saw all that he had made, and it was very good”. (Genesis 1:31)
He gave man, these human beings that he had created (Adam and Eve), dominion over all of the living creatures that he had made and told them to “take care” of his garden. (Genesis 2:15)
He also gave Adam and Eve the freedom to eat from and to enjoy the trees of the garden that he placed there; but there was one tree whose fruit was forbidden to them, the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil”. (Genesis 2:17) If they ate of it, they would “surely die”. (Genesis 2:17)
So God apparently had given Adam and Eve everything that they needed only requiring from them that they trust him with the exclusive authority and power to determine in their existence what would be GOOD and what would be evil. And so Adam and Eve resided in God’s garden in a personal relationship with God, the creator of everything, and it was GOOD!

Sin breaks the relationship of faithful trust

When Eve and Adam desired this forbidden fruit and decided to eat of it, with the devil’s lying and seductive encouragement, their relationship of faith and trusting submission with God was broken. They didn’t die immediately, but they were expelled from God’s garden and forced to endure pain and hard work to produce their children and their provisions.
Because of this rebellious act of distrust, sin became the inheritance of the entire human race and the relationship of faith that God desired and enjoyed with his human creatures was replaced by separation, struggle, pain, and death. The 3rd chapter of Genesis in the Old Testament contains this report of man’s fall, his rebellion against God’s GOOD will and providential care.

But God in his love didn’t leave humanity alone

The Bible is the record of God’s ongoing efforts to restore this relationship that he intended with his human creatures. It relates over and over again his calls, his invitations, to human beings to trust him, to have faith in his word, and to accept his GOOD gift of grace and his GOOD will.
The record includes the stories of Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the nation of Israel, Moses, Samuel, David, Isaiah, Daniel, John the Baptist, Mary and Joseph, Jesus, and a group of disciples that included Peter, James, John, Matthew, Mark, Paul, Barnabas, Luke, Timothy and others (see Hebrews chapter 11 for some details regarding this record).
Throughout this record God demonstrates time and time again his loving desire to bless and to care for those who will trust him, who will live in a relationship of faithful submission to his GOOD will and care.

Faith in Christ

     The Christian faith is the experience of living in a dynamic and new personal relationship with God through the transforming and indwelling power of Jesus in your body and life. The key to this new experience of living, and its essential factor, is trusting God to make you into a new person by allowing him to place the Spirit on behalf of Jesus, his Son, into your mind and body where Jesus (really Jesus, the Spirit, and God, the Father) can do their work to give you a new life.

     Imagine that your heart has become so weak that you are no longer able to live with any dynamic energy. You can’t do any work. You can’t really enjoy any of the benefits of living. You feel crushed by the challenges of each day. You can no longer effectively fight infections in your body, even with the help of pills. Your basic desire is to escape this state of deadness by sleeping all of the time as your bodily functions stop working or you induce that process by drugs. Your doctors tell you that you need a heart transplant in order to experience a new quality of living. And they have a new heart that is in “perfect” shape that they can place within your body where its power can restore all of your basic vital signs of healthy living. Your doctors want you to have the new heart. The donor of the heart knew in love that this organ, this gift, would dynamically change your life. The heart has been donated and is ready to be placed in your body. All that you need to do is to allow the transplant to be made, to allow the new heart to be placed in your body, to trust your doctors and the donor of your heart enough to go through the process of “dying” when your weak heart is removed so that the new strong perfectly healthy heart can be planted into your body where it can give you a new experience of living. When you “surrender” to the surgery, trusting the doctors and the donor who already trust the process and the organ, the transplant is made, and your body accepts the new powerful working presence of the new heart within you. And you awake from your ordeal, including the surgery, as a new person.

When time stops for the Christian

    I'm not talking about the Old Testament story of the clock going backwards.  Though that would be great for a bit longer sleep!  I'm talking about the perception of time from God's perspective.  There was "in the beginning" and "there will be an end" so we know that there is "time" and we are living in time but we who are Christian are not.  Sound confusing?  I'll try to explain the concept of which I speak and the Scripture testifies.  "In the beginning" is a starting point of telling the story.  We know that time has always existed as God has always existed.  We know that "eternity" will continue that infinite "time" for both the believer and the non-believer alike.  What happened between then and then?  Time is evident with the rising and setting of the sun.  The tides are on a time table.  The seasons mark the rotation of the earth and the tilt by which we have the seasons.  All of this we know and acknowledge.  What we don't really understand as Christians is the time continuum for those who believe and have accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior.  This "time" is marked with the fall, rebirth and physical death of mankind.  When Adam and Eve ate of the fruit, "time" began for humans.  They no longer lived forever in the Garden of Eden. 
     I remember making the trip to one or the other of my grandparents farms when I was a child and the holidays rolled around.  We had a stopping time for work (which on the farm was perpetual) and a beginning time of leisure which existed until we returned home from the day.  There was no overnight as we had to be home to milk the cows and care for the other animals.  Once home we were back to start work time.  I use this example to show that we do have that same time sample in our daily lives.  You can take the analogy and put it upon many facets of our lives both at home and at work.  It stretches to time before we begin school to whenever we graduate from school.  What is necessary is that we see the flow of life.  We who are Christian have a cycle as well.  Prior to our understanding and becoming Christian we are in a state of being dead in the world.  That "time" stops and so does the curse Adam and Eve brought upon all mankind when we choose to accept Christ's offer of life.  Time for the human begins when they are conceived and ends when they give their lives to Christ.  The Bible tells us that God knew us before the beginning of time.  If that doesn't boggle your mind, nothing will. 
     Most Christians choose to live their lives confined by time and remain in the world's prison of time.  They don't have to but they do so by choice.  When we encounter the living God, there is no end to that encounter.  We are forever freed from the prison of time.  The continuum is broken and was broken with the death and resurrection of Jesus.  The Christian from the time of their conversion no longer are confined to time.  The life of the Christian goes on forever.  There is no end to the Christians life.  The act of physical death actually happened when we died to self and became alive in Christ.  There is no end of the Christian life.  With the last breath we exhale here on earth we take our first breath in heaven with God.  That's forever!  Choosing to live with no "time" allows the Christian to do the work of Christ ongoing and should be the only urging we need to share the gospel with those who are still in the time prison of unbelief.  Nothing should mean anything to us more than the life Christ has breathed in us.  Nothing.  Time stops when the Christian first believes.  Period!  It's always your choice.

Happy Monday! Friday is coming!

     The dread of going to work or school on Monday is only surpassed with the joy of 5:00 on Friday!  We seem to allow time to write our lives rather than we writing our lives as we engage them.  The Christian is much like the military, police, firemen and so many other service professions that are never "off" the job.  Whether we face the day from God's perspective or the world's perspective makes all the difference in the world.  Not just for us but for those around us.  Does the world see Christ in us through our positive or negative attitude.  If we just celebrate being off work on Friday and then Christmas and Easter, we don't fulfill the mission that God has for us.  Looking forward to what God wants to do in our sphere of influence is of vast importance.  If someone doesn't go, how will they hear?  If someone doesn't talk, how will they know?  If someone doesn't ask the question, how will they decide to follow Jesus? 
     It's not about Monday, Friday or any specific day.  It's about living the joy of the Lord every day from waking to sleep.  There is no off time or days off.  We can't put aside our life in Christ and take a break, lunch time, or even that stop at the bar on the way home.  We think we can.  We believe that someone else will pick up where we were supposed to be.  Why do those who have declared faith and life in Christ feel that this abandonment of God is okay?  You might wonder what this has to do with Monday or Friday.  Great question.  It's all about attitude.  If we are to be effective for Christ we must not find ourselves filled with dread of every approaching day.  Nor should we be celebrating when the work is done on Friday.  For the Christian the attitude needs to be continual and not just kick started when we feel like it or have time for God.  There are many times I don't feel like being "up" or even out of bed.  Yet, there are times when I NEED to have the godly attitude and to know that He is King and Lord. I want others to know this as well so it's imperative for me to step up to the plate and like Paul, "put on Christ."
     I'm not suggesting that any of us can ever be positive all the time.  That's not going to happen.  What will happen is we can go through our grief, emotions and other stuff with the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  People can see Christ in us when we grieve, are sad, and angry as long as it's the grief, sadness and anger that God would have.  People need to know that the Christian who is around them know Jesus ALL the time.  That the Lord is with them when they rise or when they sleep.  In their going out and their coming in.  Even when we are in commute driving!  Okay, that's one that is hard for me any day of the week.  So, happy Sunday through Saturday and beyond.  Every day can be a positive day of the Lord in your and my life.  It's all about choice and the choice is always ours!

I wish I was an Oscar Meyer weiner...

     Because everyone would be in love with me!

     Once heard this is one of those songs that haunt your memory causing you to sing along whenever the thought of it comes up!  It's a catchy tune that won't let go of your mind and dates you to the era from which it came.  We don't have to memorize the tune because it's written on our hard drive.  It pops up at inopportune times and causes us to laugh (sometimes out loud).  Today you and I will be finding it popping up several times during the day.  That's okay.  The object lesson of this tune is what's important.  Most Christians I know can't quote more than John 3:16 if they can quote even that.  They may remember a Sunday school ditty but little more than that.  Some can't tell you what last weeks sermon was much less what it said to them.  The messages don't catch on and be a part of the hard drive unless you and I want them to.  The desire to be like everyone else if only one reason we readily memorize things of the world while neglecting the things of God.  Those verses that can lead us in righteousness popular at that party, family gathering or even at work.  Yet, Oscar Meyer wieners rise to any occasion or place. 
     When something isn't going right, do we quote a Scripture like, "All things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to his purpose." or do we say OMG!  Do we search our memory for a teaching of Jesus or recall Murphy's Law?  When things are forming around us and causing distress do we recall what Grandpa or Grandma would say or do we go to God knowing what he would say and do?  Those habits tend to stereotype our lives as being either of the world or God working within us.  Then, some of those sayings tend to set us up with wishful thinking.  "I'd like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony..."  Read the Bible lately?  The Christian shouldn't be in harmony with the world.  Being in harmony with God is life saving and life fulfilling.  Being in harmony with the world aligns us with Satan's purposes for mankind.  Once takes us to God and the other takes us away from God.  Yet, that's what so many Christians do and also teach their children to do. 
     Some may think I'm taking this to far.  That's their opinion and they have the right to be wrong.  When we choose to give our lives to Christ, we choose to align ourselves with him and his Word.  When we choose to be honest with ourselves and others, we are not putting ourselves in a place for people to be in love with me but rather are putting Christ out there for people to love.  We are to be there as a beacon for all that is right shining his light into the world...and it's not a little light of mine.  It's the light of the world in Jesus.  You see, when we think about our thoughts, words and actions, there is no such thing as an idle word or the want to be part of both worlds.  We represent the Lord of lords and the King of kings!  He is the beginning and the end as well as everywhere in between.  Are your lives permeated with God or the world?  Can people see Jesus in all you think, say and do?  These are questions the Holy Spirit would like to ask you.  When you are done listening to God, you still have to make a decision.  It's always your choice.

Sometimes I wonder about myself.

     Being me is a bundle of mixed feelings and rapid thoughts on many different thoughts.  I'd love to say that my life is well organized and full of positive influences.  However, that wouldn't be true.  What my life appears to be and what it actually is bare almost no resemblance  Perhaps you feel that way as well  We are in good company.  Paul laments "those things I know I shouldn't do, I do and those things I know I should do, I do not. I am a wretched man."  My paraphrase but you get the point.  We all fall into this stereotypical description of the lament of mankind whether we are Christian or not.  For the Christian there is a deeper struggle of the conscious as we strive to love and pleas Christ in all of our lives.  When I look back over my life both before and after Christ I wonder what happened.  It sounds crazy but I sometimes wonder about myself, who I am, and where I'm headed in life.  My mission of serving Christ is included in that equation.  Yet, I'm not so stressed that I can't function.  Nor am I so distracted that my focus is back on selfishness instead of Christ.  I just wonder from time to time what my life would have been like if things had been different.  Like, if I hadn't sinned.
     Why is it that we grieve the loss of that which doesn't glorify Christ in our lives?  Why do the things of the past take precedence over things of the present.  Why do we resist change and the guidance of the Holy Spirit?  No easy answer unless I really like my misery.  Something is wrong when we experience that in our lives.  Misery is not an adjective Christ uses to describe the Christian life...or is it?  Remember that we will suffer much persecution for proclaiming faith in Him.  We will be ostracized and rejected by those who hate as well as those who love us.  The world will cause us much pain and distress should we steadfastly adhere to the love of God that is in us through the love of Christ on the cross.  We needn't shy away from all of this as it's our lot when we choose to die and let Christ live through us.  Perhaps you struggle with this because of the world you find yourself within.  Maybe you feel that the deck is stacked against you as you struggle to let go of the world.  It's a struggle that sometimes can feel very overwhelming.
     My thinking distracts me.  When I'm on auto pilot for Christ it's smooth sailing.  When I'm on auto pilot for me the flight is grounded.  Yet, I seem to go there to frequently with the same results.  I sometimes wonder about myself.  Yes, I preach and teach the abandonment of the world for the life with Christ and I believe it.  Still, just when I don't expect it something will happen and I will find myself wondering this or pondering that all the time not living for Christ. Wondering about myself is a waste of time.  All that needs to be known about myself God knows.  He knows my past, my present and my future.  He loves me and NEVER wonders about me.  He created me for his good pleasure.  Simple enough.  Not God help me to not be distracted by me.  It's always my choice.

If you hold onto the past you will be doomed to repeat it.

    Ground Hog Day with Bill Murray was hilarious!  It's also a good example of doing something over and over expecting different results while not learning the lessons that we need to learn.  Christians do this as well as non-Christians.  What we need to learn is how to not repeat the past or any version of it.  We are encouraged by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount to not live in the past.  There is nothing we can do about the past.  In fact, when people focus on the past and try to change the same situation all they do is frustrate the same situation with a modified answer.  There is absolutely nothing we can do about what happened a second ago much less a decade or century.  Staying hinged to the past means we will repeat the past over and over and over with the same results.  That's the definition of insanity.  Christians aren't supposed to be insane...unless it's insanely in love with Jesus.  In the movie Bill Murray eventually gets it right and that is supposedly what puts his world right.  Wrong.  That's the message of the world and not of God. 
     I really don't like the saying "let go and let God" because it's so trite sounding.  People use this saying for most everything but letting go of their lives and surrendering to Jesus as Lord and Savior.  The Christian usage of the phrase is addressed to individual situations with and without others.  It's what we do when we throw up our hands because we don't believe that there is anything to be done.  Perhaps a better rendition of the saying could look like this: "surrender yourself and your situations and God's will can be accomplished".  It's a bit longer, not easily remembered and certainly contains a different focus.  Instead of throwing up our hands and doing nothing for whatever your reason, we can raise up our hands and watch God work!  It's marvelous!  Again, Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount tells us that we are to not have cares because God cares for us.  We are told to not worry about yesterday or tomorrow because we need to focus on the present.  We are told that he knows the number of hair (or lack of) on our heads as well as knows when a single sparrow falls to the earth.  Why don't we trust God with our present? 
     In the 1990's Billy Graham's schedule was full for 3 1/2 years out.  I checked.  Corporations as well as individuals have yearly, or longer, goals and the steps to get "there".  Christians are a part of this hysteria or good planning however you interpret the action.  Yet, we don't know if we will wake tomorrow, we don't know if we will make it through the day, we have no idea of the possible disasters that could overtake us, and we certainly don't have to plan for tomorrow.  God takes care of that.  He can only be effective in our lives if we surrender our life calendar to Him.  This scares a lot of people who are afraid of what God will ask of them.  How incredibly insulting if you are a Christian.  God will never leave nor forsake you.  He will always have you in the palm of his hand.  The Son is busy preparing a place for YOU.  Yet, you and I seem to think we know better than God how to live our lives.  And so, you and I will repeat our ill planned life because it's based on the past (known) and not the present (unknown).  Yes, it's uncomfortable at first allowing God to have his way in your life.  No, it's not impossible.  Read the book "In His Steps" and you will have a better idea of what that might look like.  Remember it's always your choice.

God is in charge...even if we question that!

     Sometimes we all are confronted with that which is not explainable.  Why this or why that are all to common in our thoughts and conversations.  I've had an ongoing conversation with a friend regarding this election and what the politics mean for America.  They have been the doubters of the issues and candidates.  I've been the optimist in focusing on what God can do in any given situation.  Regardless of our pithy plans, God was, is and will ever be the final word.  When things don't go as we wish often the Christian takes it upon themselves to try and force their agenda.  We see that in the response of those who are rioting and protesting.  We see it in those who would rather leave the country than stand as an American.  We know that Christians are to put their faith in God but are left weighing out our faith in those in office or going into office.  We even say that our lives are in their hands.  Hence the hysteria and crazy responses to this election.  There were measures and people who I did not vote for that are now in effect.  I need to put my optimist attitude in place and see how God can do anything he wants without my panic.  I feel strongly in the Christian taking a stance for God in their participation with mankind. 
     Though things may look confused today, they will clear up just as this mornings fog will melt away with the sunshine.  We can have confidence in what God is doing because of several elements.  First, we have a long written history of God being consistently God amongst a disobedient and selfish people.  Second we have a continuing history of his goodness as prophesied in the Bible.  Thirdly, we have the promises of the future that take us from where we are to where we will be.  We needn't fear as God is in charge...even if you question that.  The Bible tells us that there is no wavering in the character of God.  He has been, is and will always be in love with us.  He has been, is and will always be working his will for our benefit.  He has blessed us, is blessing us and will continue to bless us.  That's his nature.  In turn, we need to trust in Him instead of mere men and women who think themselves to be wise.  No wisdom comes from anywhere else but God.  Worldly wisdom is not wisdom at all but foolishness and a vain effort to be the god of our own world.  We may have leaders who do not know God.  They may even speak out against God and his commands.  However, we know the end of the story.  Those who believe go home to be with God.  He has won, is winning and will continue to win.
     So, what does questioning, whining, and complaining accomplish?  Furthermore, why do Christians think it's okay to do so?  Any questioning, whining and complaining comes from the world around us and the god of this world, the devil.  At least that's what the Bible says.  Don't take my word for it, read it yourself.  You and I are either part of the problem or part of the solution to the world we live in.  Which are you?  Even if you practice being the problem only part time, it's still not a Christian act.  Where is the faith accompanying your belief in God?  There has to be a time and place where you and I come to the end of me and start at the beginning of Thee!  Remember that you have the freedom of Choice only because God has given it to you.  Since there is no future in questioning, whining and complaining, stop.  It's always your choice. 

Christian response to the election results

     Now what?  Your candidate did or did not win.  Your measure did or did not win.  Your ideology was supported or it wasn't. However, the election is over and we must respond as Christians.  Just what does that mean?  It doesn't mean that you are an enemy if you voted against who and what won.  Nor does it mean you have a right to abscond with our possessions and go to a different country, state or town.  It also doesn't mean that you are some horrible person for voting the way you did.  The response of the Christian is not to be negative.  There is no love in negativity.  Jesus told us to be all about love and in particular His love for others. There are many different responses we can and should have in our hearts and minds as we contemplate what we have just succeeded or been defeated in with regards to elections.  Just as it was and is your duty to vote, it's also your duty to now support what is.  Well, mostly.  You see, we need to pray for our leaders regardless of who they are.  We cannot effect any change in anyone.  What we can do is beseech God to send the Holy Spirit to help those in leadership to do the job they were elected for by the wisdom and guidance of God.  The prayers of the people of God are what really brings change in the Christian world and also in the non-Christian world.  You are a necessary and vital part of that world.
     Before you go all hating on me, listen to the rest of the story.  What do we do if there are measures that have been passed that aren't what Scripture would agree with?  What do we do if there are people who have been elected that don't adhere to a Godly life?  What does the Christian do?  For beginners, they respond.  There is no abdicating the responsibility we Christians carry.  None.  The only choice is to do something.  There have been many Christians (beginning with Peter and John) who have stood up to the authorities and chose to honor God instead.  There is everything right about making a stand for what God wants.  Just make sure it's what God wants and not what we want.  The self deceived are in trouble at this point.  Life isn't about you.  It's also not about me or the president or that favorite measure.  Life and the Christian life in particular should be first ad foremost about Jesus.  That's where we either rise to the occasion or we fall flat on our faces.  The old acronym WWJD has been much overplayed but fits here.  What would Jesus do with what we have done?  If it's what he would have done then we are in good shape.  If it's not what Jesus would have done, we are in trouble from the get go.
     Bottom line.  If you are not a part of what Jesus is doing and wants you to do, you are against Him.  James 4:17 says that "if we know what is right to do and don't do it, we sin."  How much simpler does the Scripture have to be?  Remembering that God gave us free will, we need to assess just how he wants us to use that free will.  Would he want the Christian to disavow any support of the leaders who have been elected?  No.  Would he want the Christian to go against the law that has been put in place by the authorities?  No.  Would Jesus want the Christian to spend the next 4 or more years complaining about what is wrong?  No.  Would Jesus want the Christian to roll over and play dead for that same time span?  No.  NO.  He would like to choose Jesus every moment of every day.  If you can do nothing else, pray for change that reflects God's will.  It's your choice...always!