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Archive for the ‘Faith’ Category

Yesterday I found an article linked from a friend’s Facebook status.  It was entitled “Where Are All The Men?” I found the subject matter interesting and “clicked through”. It starts out talking about a Facebook page called “Praying People” and the fact that about 81% of the “fans” of that page are female.  From there the author goes on to remark on the disparate numbers of women vs men in the church.  This is a phenomenon I’ve noticed in churches, although not in the ones where we minister.  Back about 1997 I took part in a city wide gathering of church leaders. When the deacons were asked to stand there were three men standing amoungst the  crowd of women.  Those three were men from our congregation, the rest of the city’s deacons (at that particular meeting) were all women. Read the rest of this entry »

Boys live only for themselves; men fully enjoy life’s pleasure but also live for a higher purpose. Boys try to find themselves in what they buy; men find themselves in what they do. Boys base their identity on what they consume; men base their identity on what they create. Growing up doesn’t have to mean donning a gray flannel suit. It really means taking an active role in the world instead of a passive one. Making an impact. And creating your world instead of consuming it.–Brett McKay

Wow! I just got that from a friend on Facebook.  Good stuff there, and a lot to reflect on.  Really, there is a LOT of difference between men and boys – and little has to do with age.  Read the rest of this entry »

Soon after Jesus’ resurrection, He was talking with the apostle Peter.  Here’s how the little exchange went:

When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?”  “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”  Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”

Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me?” He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”

The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. John 21:15-17

That passage gives a lot to reflect on, but here I want to consider the aspect of Jesus’ charge to Peter.  To me it is interesting that three times He told Peter to take charge of His sheep.  He said, “Feed My lambs.”, “Take care of My sheep.” and “Feed My sheep.” It is interesting to me because later we see Peter passing on that charge.  He wrote:

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Well, the Congress critters did it – at least some of them did.  They maneuvered and connived and double dealt and underhandedly passed the so called “Obamacare” “Health Reform Bill”.  If it is such a good idea – why was there so much opposition to the bill by common folks?  And if it’s such a good idea, why do they not obligate Congress and the President to sign on to it – rather than providing their own first class service that is not available to the “great unwashed masses”? Read the rest of this entry »

The Apostle Paul wrote, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”  Those words ring true not only for religious freedom (the object of the comment above) but also for freedom in general.  God made man a free being.  He designed us for freedom and gave us the ability to think and reason and choose.  This is not an easy life to live – but it is the one for which He designed us.  In fact, the very freedom and the ability to choose present problems to many people who can not understand that if we have no choice but to do good that our obedience is empty and hollow, mechanical in nature rather than stemming from a heart that is desirous of pleasing one’s Creator.

The other evening we were discussing the problem of sin and evil with a new Christian.  Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve read this before, but it arrived in my e-mail inbox yesterday and I got that round tuit to read it again today.

The Cycle of Democracy follows this sequence:

1. From bondage to spiritual faith;
2. From spiritual faith to great courage;
3. From courage to liberty (rule of law);
4. From liberty to abundance;
5. From abundance to complacency;
6. From complacency to apathy;
7. From apathy to dependence;
8. From dependence back into bondage (rule of men).

(Attributed to Frasier Tytler)

It reminds me of the story of the little boy who asked his mother, “Mommy, is it true that God made Adam from the dust of the earth?” Read the rest of this entry »

And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, 19 since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.)  And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him.  For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness.  All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” – Mark 7:18-23

For millennia people have sought ways to be ceremonially pure. Their conscience has burned and caused distress because they know that they do not match up with the Divine ideal.  God, through The Law of Moses, helped them to search out this tendency – and find that mankind is incapable of attaining purity by elimination of externals.  The Lord spoke to His people and told them that He was fed up with their ceremonies and celebrations and fasts – that He wanted a people who sought after justice and mercy rather than being obsesses with sacrifices.

The key to all this?  Man is not defiled by that which he eats or drinks, he is defiled by that which comes out from within him.  When his thoughts lead him to do that which is against God’s nature – that is what defiles him.  Even today people search ways to eliminate externals.  “If there is no opportunity to sin there will be no sin” is the rationale.  But sin does not come from opportunity, it comes from desire.

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Have you ever thought to yourself what the consequences of your beliefs would be – if you REALLY lived them out?  I’m talking about what you claim to believe, not what you show you believe by your actions.  What would really happen if you lived out your truth claims to the fullest? Read the rest of this entry »

In this, an election year, it would do us all well as a nation to give thought to the quotes below.  We should seriously give consideration to the path which we have recently fallen into and whether such a path is for the greater good over time.  Huge amounts of debt acquired in order to fund an ever growing governmental body which overshadows our entire nation, choking the freedom which we once knew.  Is it really best for the government to oversee our entire life, from cradle to grave?  Is it really best for us to exchange our Creator’s benevolent and wise oversight for the intrusion into our private lives by fallible and corrupt men and women?  Give careful consideration to the quotes below.  What path shall we follow?

We electors have an important constitutional power placed in our hands: we have a check upon two branches of the legislature, as each branch has upon the other two; the power I mean of electing at stated periods, one branch, which branch has the power of electing another. It becomes necessary to every subject then, to be in some degree a statesman: and to examine and judge for himself of the tendencies of political principles and measures.

[John Adams, The Papers of John Adams, Robert J. Taylor, ed. (Cambridge: Belknap Press, 1977), Vol. 1, p. 81, from "'U' to the Boston Gazette" written on August 29, 1763.]

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People.  We are weird creatures. Given the ability to choose, too often we choose unwisely.  Most seem to prefer to be told what to think rather than to reason through issues themselves.  Over the years I’ve participated in various internet forums and e-mail lists, acting as moderator on a few.  In that time it has been my privilege to observe humans interacting with each other.  I was reminded today about something my friend Jim Taylor said years ago.  “The internet is a great place to talk and a poor place to communicate.“  That pretty much sums it up right there.

And it is interesting to hear folks talk on the ‘net.  Over the years it has been my pleasure to visit various internet friends in person.  And getting to talk with someone over a cup of coffee or a meal is a great way to get to know them a bit better.  Sometimes one forms an opinion about folks because of the way they “talk” on the internet. But once you get to know them personally you see a different face entirely.  And then there’s the voice.  Am I the only one who forms an “image” of what someone’s voice must sound like by reading what they write?  The first time I talked with various people was an experience – because they didn’t sound like I’d thought they would.  And what about SEEING them? That reminds me of my dad and a story he told about someone he used to talk with on the phone all the time.  He built up an image of the person based on their name and their voice. But when he met that person in person he was in for a surprise.  From physical stature to race – everything was different. Read the rest of this entry »