When Moses came down from the mountain with the stone tablets that had the law inscribed on them by the finger of God, he saw the Israelites worshiping a golden calf they had fashioned for themselves out of melted down jewelry. Moses was so upset he dropped and broke the tablets God had given him with the ten commandments. This is what most folks think that idol worship is, but it is so much more.
I'm not a legalist when it comes to the things of God. I believe Jesus came to set us free from the law and bring us liberty in love. Aside from there being order, I don't believe God prescribed any particular order of worship or how we worship. Jesus so simply put it. We are to love the Lord our God with our whole heart, whole mind, and whole strength.. He also said we are to love our neighbor as our self. All of the law hangs on these two things.
The Gap is Widening
Someone once said, "If you were on trial for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?" I've even seen this printed on a business card sized track and left in places for people to find them. I do not wish to debate the usefulness of leaving tracks around for people to find, but this one can really cause you to think.
There seems to be an ever increasing gap between perceived Christian living and following Christ in the world today. Too many people believe what they have learned about Christianity from Hollywood or from their friend who has an acquaintance who is one of those radical born again Christians. I have a thought about that and it is based on Scripture.
There seems to be an ever increasing gap between perceived Christian living and following Christ in the world today. Too many people believe what they have learned about Christianity from Hollywood or from their friend who has an acquaintance who is one of those radical born again Christians. I have a thought about that and it is based on Scripture.
The Promise of New Life
I have been reflecting on the things that bring me joy. That is one of the things we do at Christmas time. I often wonder if it is not only the most wonderful time of the year, but also the most nostalgic. Why else would two of the most popular movies at this time of the year be found filmed in black & white? Something came to mind when thinking about what brings me joy that I want to share with you as we prepare to celebrate Christmas.
It was 2:20 am on a cool April night when my very pregnant wife woke me. It was time. This did not bring me joy. It brought me a bit of panic. A few hours later I saw my son, Aidan, born. He was big and loud, which hasn't really changed over the years. Regardless of the pain Kelly endured, and the uncertainty and inadequacy I felt, we were overcome with joy with this gift of new life. Two years later similar feelings swept over us as our daughter, Emma breathed her first breath of life.
It was 2:20 am on a cool April night when my very pregnant wife woke me. It was time. This did not bring me joy. It brought me a bit of panic. A few hours later I saw my son, Aidan, born. He was big and loud, which hasn't really changed over the years. Regardless of the pain Kelly endured, and the uncertainty and inadequacy I felt, we were overcome with joy with this gift of new life. Two years later similar feelings swept over us as our daughter, Emma breathed her first breath of life.
Storms at Sea Show Our Faith
A submarine is designed to operate in the depths of the ocean, not on the surface. This was proven to me a number of years ago on-board a nuclear fast attack submarine in the Atlantic Ocean near the East Coast and Hurricane Andrew was raging above. Modern submarines are round. They do not have the familiar "V" shaped hulls that surface ships have and older submarines had. They are meant to operate under the waves not in them. When you are 400 feet deep in the ocean and you can still feel the waves, you know there's quite a storm overhead. Only later when we received news reports did we know the devastation caused by that hurricane.
Have you noticed how Jesus faced storms? There are a couple of times in the book of Matthew where we read about Jesus and his response to storms and the disciples' response to the same storms. Now before you say, "I've heard this before" and click the close button, hear me out. I'm not focusing on the disciples' reaction. I'm focusing on Jesus' reaction.
Have you noticed how Jesus faced storms? There are a couple of times in the book of Matthew where we read about Jesus and his response to storms and the disciples' response to the same storms. Now before you say, "I've heard this before" and click the close button, hear me out. I'm not focusing on the disciples' reaction. I'm focusing on Jesus' reaction.
It's All a Matter of Perspective
When I was a kid, there was a movie called "My Bodyguard". It 's about a small kid in a new school who is being bullied. He takes an interesting approach to the problem. He hires the most feared kid in school to be his bodyguard. Have you ever wished you had a bodyguard like that? You wouldn't need to fear anyone who comes against you. With the right bodyguard you can face anyone, no matter how big.
In one of the most recognizable passages of scripture we see something, at least at first glance, similar. The army of Israel under the kingship of Saul was facing the Philistine army in the Valley of Elah. Each day, for 40 days, a champion from the Philistine army would come out and challenge the Israelites. They were scared to death of him. He was 9 feet 9 inches tall and wore 175 pounds of armor. Then along comes David.
In one of the most recognizable passages of scripture we see something, at least at first glance, similar. The army of Israel under the kingship of Saul was facing the Philistine army in the Valley of Elah. Each day, for 40 days, a champion from the Philistine army would come out and challenge the Israelites. They were scared to death of him. He was 9 feet 9 inches tall and wore 175 pounds of armor. Then along comes David.
The Danger of Self Reliance
A song from my pre-Christian days in the 80s popped into my head the other day. A portion of the lyrics goes, “Here I go again on my own. Going down the only road I’ve ever known.” I don’t know what brought that to the forefront of my mind at the time. But it caused me to think and rejoice. Yes, a Heavy Metal Rock song from the 80s caused me to reflect and rejoice in the fact that since June 18, 1989, I no longer had to face anything alone. That was the night that I asked Jesus Christ to forgive me of my sins and to be the Lord of my life.
When God created man, He created man for relationship and for fellowship. The Bible says in Genesis that God saw that man shouldn’t be alone and He created a help mate, woman, to come alongside him so that he would not be alone. God never intended for us to be alone, or to go it alone. Sometimes our pride gets in the way of that. How many times have you found yourself in some sort of trouble that could have been avoided if you had only asked for help?
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