Every Pizza Must Have a Porpoise

When I was in college, I had a class called "The History and Philosophy of Education."  It was a night class, and I can't remember much that was taught, but I do remember "Every pizza must have a porpoise." 

I would imagine you're confused, but you have to know that:

1. My teacher had a pretty strong accent  - and -
2. My roommate was also in this class.

Because this was a night class, it was very long and we were given a short break in the middle of class.  During one of these breaks, I went to talk to my roommate and noticed a picture similar to the one at the top of this post in her class notebook. 

It took me a while, but I eventually realized that the professor had been teaching us that "Every teacher must have a purpose!"

I've been thinking about this, because I'm realizing that every church must also have a porpoise purpose.  It is not enough to just be there.  It is not enough to show up because we're supposed to, or we've always done it.  It's also not enough to keep doing things just because they've always been done that way.  Always been done doesn't work anymore.  We don't live in that kind of society.  We have become much less traditional and more progressive over the years, and maybe that's not a bad thing. 

The good part about this is that people are no longer walking through their religion asleep.  They aren't just going through the motions.

The bad part about this is that many people have given up religion entirely as something archaic and irrelevant.

The church has been trying for years to be "relevant."  We've relaxed rules and modified our music so that we can better relate to the society around us.  But is that what people are really looking for?  I'm a musician.  I like to think I'm pretty good at it, but I know I can't match popular music, even with the best worship team out there.  There is no way that the church can compete with YouTube.

We have been trying to get "butts in the seats."  But is this a good purpose?  We have the idea that if only people would come and hear the message, they would become Christians.  But what if that's not true?  What if people can sit in church for years and still miss it completely?  What if our methods have done more harm to the gospel, than good?

First Peter 4  is a great chapter that gives us an idea of our purpose as God's people.  I can't print it all here, because it is too long, but I encourage you to follow the link and read it for yourselves.  Here is my summary: 

Christ suffered to overcome sin.  As followers of Christ, we are not to live for our own pleasures, but can expect to suffer for following Him.  We are to love others, be hospitable to them, and use what we have been given to serve others.  We are to speak as God would speak, and serve in His strength, so that God will be glorified in all we do and say. 

Telling people about Jesus is not enough.  Jesus asked his disciples to follow him.  He meant this in a physical way, not just "in the spirit."  He left instructions to his first disciples to go and make more disciples!  That is, followers, not believers.  James gives a good rationale for the idea that we actually have to do something as followers of Jesus.  Saying we believe is not enough:

What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him?  If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?  Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.

 But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”  You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.  But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? (James 2:14-20)

We have cheapened Jesus.  We have made him into a good luck charm, or a "Get out of Hell Free" card.  Christianity is not free.  It is a calling.  And in this world, it is a calling to work, and to suffer.  Jesus said:  "Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter." (Matthew 7:21).  

The purpose of the church is not to "save" people for the afterlife. That is up to God.  Our purpose is to use the power that God has so richly bestowed on us to make this world a better place for the people in it.  God made this world, and made people to be a part of it.  This is not some sort of testing ground for our "real" destiny.  It is what we were made for.  If God had wanted more souls for Heaven only, he could have created more angels!  He wanted a world that would show his glory.  And he gave human beings the job of manifesting that glory on his earth.  Instead, we have preached an escapist view that once we get off this cursed planet, our true life will begin.  And all you have to do to have eternal bliss is to say you believe in Jesus.

We are living in mortal bodies.  This means they will one day die.  But humans were not originally made that way.  Mortality came because the original people decided to live for themselves, rather than for the glory of God.  They lost their purpose.  Jesus came to show us that we can overcome that original sin, or missing of the path that God set for us.  He came to lead us into our true, God-given purpose.  And when we once again turn back to God and fulfill the purpose He has for us, as Jesus did, we will be granted eternal life in Paradise, as God intended for all of us.

Our hope is not in saying a few words, but in the Word of God who became flesh to show us how to live as true sons and daughters of the Living God (John 1).  

The church is supposed to be Jesus' body.  As a body, we are to do physical work.  Let's get going!

Idolatry in the Church

Definition of idol

1 : an object of extreme devotion 

2 : a representation or symbol of an object of worship  

broadly : a false god

 

( https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/idol)

 When you think of idols in the church, what do you think of?  Statues, maybe?  Throughout the Bible we see idols depicted as images made out of stone, wood, or metal.  They appear in the second of the ten commandments:   

 “You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God." (Exodus 20:4-5a)

 

Not many protestant churches have likenesses in their sanctuaries.  Catholic churches have statues, but I don't think they're looked at as things to worship or serve, so they might not quite meet the definition.  However, I want to think about the first of Webster's definitions, above: "An object of extreme devotion."   And as I think about it, I would argue that many churches and Christians do have idols today.

 

Paul identified idolatry with covetousness (Eph. 5:5), and greed (Col 3:5).  Jesus identified the great commandment as  ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ (Matthew 6:27).  The second, he said, was  ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’(Matthew 6:29).  These commandments leave no room for covetousness or greed.  But we are a greedy people, even in our worship and service.

 

The church is described in the Bible as the body of Christ, the bride of Christ, the temple of God, and the family of God.  All of these refer not to objects made by hands, but to the people who make up the church.  They also depict things belonging to God, not man.   So any time that we raise the importance of a physical object, ministry, or ritual, we are creating an idol in our mind.

Are you devoted to your church building?  

 

It doesn't matter the age, size, or location of your church, or whether it is plain or ornate; do you feel that without the building, your church would cease to be?  This is idolatry.  You have taken your devotion to God and transferred it to a building.  You cannot love God with all your heart, soul, and mind if you are worried about a property, and you cannot love your neighbor as yourself if you are worried that "those people" would in some way harm your beautiful "church" or the physical items inside or around it.

 

Maybe you're not that physically minded.  You may not care so much about the building or the objects in it.  Good for you.  But what about your church service? 

What is the service like at your place of worship?  Is it structured or free-flowing?  Are there certain things that happen every week?  Month?  Year?  What if these things suddenly stopped?  Or what if something was inserted that was not usually done?  What if you had no music?  No sermon?  No prayer?  No quiet time?  No offering?  What if your church suddenly changed its meeting time to Thursday?  Could you still worship?  Or have some of these things become idols in your mind - replacing God with worship?

Maybe this isn't a problem for you.  You can worship God in any circumstance.  But what about your ministry?

Many of us are involved in "ministry," either within the church or outside it.  It may be music, Sunday School, community programs, visiting the sick, or even taking care of the building or setting up for communion service.  I'm sure I've missed many ministries that you may be involved in!  But what if your ministry suddenly stopped?  What if your church decided to stop funding the ministry?  What if you, yourself, became unable to contribute to the ministry you've been part of?  Would this put a rift between you and God?  Believe it or not, it is possible to make our service to God an idol.  Remember the great commandment?  Love God with ALL your heart, soul, and mind.  And love your neighbor as yourself, not as God!

I'm going to add one more thing that can be made an idol.  Your church.  This time I'm not talking about the building, but the people.  

 

God loves all people.  We are to love all people.  But we are not to love them more than we love God.  When serving others and having fellowship with our church family becomes more important to us than our devotion to God, we are allowing them to become idols.  If church has become a social club for you, a place to find human companionship, or a group of people to help, you may have started worshiping people instead of God.  People are not perfect.  If you equate God with the people in your congregation, even with your pastor, get ready to be disillusioned.  We are meant to be a family, but we are all fallible people on a journey to God.  We can and should help each other physically, emotionally, and spiritually, but the only one who will never ever let us down is God himself.  He is perfect.  

Why am I going through all this?  Because idolatry in the church is damaging to church members and those we are trying to reach.  Any time we elevate something above God, we are cheapening him in our hearts and in the eyes of the unsaved.  If we teach devotion to any of the things I've mentioned, Heaven help us!  Jesus told people to drop everything and follow him.  No one was allowed to follow him until they had given up the things of this world.  Unfortunately, we have used the past 20 centuries or so to heap more and more things onto our backs.  What if Jesus walked into your church this weekend and asked you all to follow him?  How many truckloads would you take with you?  Could you go with only one set of clothes and no money as he told his disciples to do?  Or would you have to bring your Bible, hymnal, piano, notebook, flat shoes, purse, sunglasses and extra sweater...Oh, maybe that's just me.  Sorry!  

We're all searching for the "perfect church."  Well, the only perfect church is the bride that Christ will introduce at the wedding supper of the lamb.  Until then, we have to rely on God to perfect us, and remember that His ways are not our ways.  In the meantime, take a look at the idols in your life, and turn back to God himself.

Who Stole the Church?

Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles.  And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common;  and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need.  Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart,  praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Acts 2:43-47 NASB 

Where did this go?  Where is the Bride of Jesus Christ?  What have we become?  

I read the book of Acts, and all I can feel is a sense of emptiness.  The church I know is nothing like the church described in the Bible.  There is no sense of awe anymore, no sharing, and we are definitely not  "continuing with one mind."  

I haven't posted here in quite a while, partly  because I was writing weekly posts on my church website, summarizing the Sunday sermons.  But I am getting discouraged with my church and my community.  Another church in our town closed its doors yesterday.   The attendance at our church is very small.  What happened to "the Lord adding to their number those who were being saved?"  What are we doing wrong?

Jesus said:

 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you" (Matthew 28:19-20), 

 and

 “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you." (John 15:12).

But I see a church that is locked up in its own four walls for a couple of hours a week, and then disappears from sight until the following Sunday.  It's like the musical "Brigadoon," where a town appears for one day every 100 years.  In the story, this spell was cast to preserve the culture.  The people would never be in any century long enough for their way of life to be influenced by it.  Is our church trying to do the same thing?  Are we so afraid of becoming like the world that we insulate ourselves into our own church culture?  And are our children like the ill-fated Harry, who is kept in the town against his will because if anyone leaves the town, the spell will be broken?  

What spell are we under, that makes us afraid of the very people we should be ministering to?  How can we make disciples of all nations if we won't leave our pews?  How can we love one another if we only have this superficial, once-a-week relationship with our fellow hostages church members?

I do not believe that all of Jesus' church is like this.  I believe that there are people out there doing great things for God's Kingdom and His children around the world.  I am frustrated because I don't see it happening in my town, and I feel that there is a great void here.  

What can we do to change this?  Will you pray with me that my church and my community will experience a new filling of the Holy Spirit, like the disciples did on Pentecost?  I would sure appreciate it.  And I would love to hear your suggestions for how to effectively minister to a small-town community!  Thank you! - Robin

The What-Ifs

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven." 

Matthew 18:1-3

 And the little ones that you said would be taken captive, your children who do not yet know good from bad—they will enter the land. I will give it to them and they will take possession of it.  But as for you, turn around and set out toward the desert along the route to the Red Sea.”

Deuteronomy 1:39-40

God holds a special place in his heart for children, it seems.  They are promised blessings, even as their parents are judged.  But why is this?  Why should children, who don't know good from bad, be promised the kingdom, while their parents are sent away?

I think it's because God knows that children still understand the "What-ifs" of life.  

The older we get, the more education we have, the more we think we have all of the answers.  We aren't teachable.  We become arrogant.  I see this in the modern church, and I think God saw it in ancient Israel, and in the Jewish Pharisees, and sometimes even in the disciples. 

There is an atmosphere in the church these days that pastors, teachers, and elders are always right.  That they know everything.  That there are no more mysteries or questions.  Only pat answers.  

Children don't think like this.  Children have myriads of questions.  They look at things with open eyes and open minds.  Not through a cloud of dogma.  And sometimes they see things that older people don't.  

It will come about after this

That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind;

And your sons and daughters will prophesy,

Your old men will dream dreams,

Your young men will see visions.

Joel 2:28

I think we are in the days that Joel spoke about.  But we are missing it.  We are so caught up in what we "know" that we can't learn.  We aren't leaving room for prophecy, visions, and dreams.  The church is stagnant.  It is dying, because it is without imagination.  

We tend to ignore scientists because we believe they are against God.  But God made this world, and he gave people the drive to find out about it.  No other species on this earth seems to be concerned about who they are, where they came from, or where they are going.  They have done things the same way through all of the years of their existence.  Lions have always acted like lions, and apes have always acted like apes.  If their environment changes too much, they become extinct, like the dinosaurs did.  But not humans.  We have continued to adapt.  We are naturally weak, and are not suited to a whole lot of environments, but have instead managed to change our environments to accommodate us.  We have invented clothes, shelters, and ways of getting food, depending on where we live.  We can live in the arctic tundra, or the Sahara desert, by modifying the things around us.  No other creatures can do these things!  

This ability to adapt our environment, rather than ourselves, has allowed us to expand and cover the globe.  But our spirituality has stayed in one place.

I believe that the Bible is true.  But I don't believe it contains all the truth that's in the world.  I believe God created the world, but I am wary of anyone who says they know that it happened in a specific amount of time and in a specific way, regardless of if they are a preacher or a scientist.  Not one of them was there.  Scientific thought is changing all of the time, as more and more things are discovered.  And the creation story in the Bible, while beautiful, is not very specific.  I am also wary of anyone who professes to know how or when the earth will end.  Only God knows that.  I think we are missing the mark.  I think God gave men brains that ask questions.  And I think that he expects us to keep asking.  Pretending that we know everything we need to know is just arrogance.  

And I think we need to listen to our children.  It is too easy to "pull rank" on them and tell  them what to believe.  But that's not doing them, or us, any favors.  We are just pushing them down into the same tired mold that we came out of.  Joel spoke of sons, daughters, and young men.  They are our future, and the future of our faith.  The Word of God is not stagnant, nor is it set in stone.  We call the Bible a Living document, but do we believe it?  Can we accept that God may be giving our children visions that we haven't yet seen, and prophesies that we haven't yet heard?  Can they be seeing things with new eyes that are unclouded by the doctrines of tradition?  And can we learn to do the same?  I think our future depends on it.

Finding your Purpose

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.  Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

How many times have you been told that God has a plan for you?  That He made you special?  That He made you to do great things for His Kingdom?  

And how many times have you looked at your life and wondered whether you're missing it?

Jesus said "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark16:15 KJV).

And here you are, sitting in the exact same house you've been in for the past 20 years, seeing the same people day after day, most of whom are related to you.

Where is the great revelation?  Where is the voice from Heaven?  Where is the instruction book?

Now I know that all of you wonderful Christian people will quickly inform me that He HAS left an instruction book, and if I would only read His Word, I would find all of these answers.

Well, I have read it, and it seems rather general to me.  All except that one time when I was a kid and decided it would be more fun to read my Bible than clean my room, and my eyes fell on Proverbs 18:9 - "He who is slack in his work is a brother to him who destroys" (RSV).  You never saw a kid clean her room so fast!

But What If...we have this purpose thing all wrong?  What if the Bible is not written for you to know YOUR purpose, but to know God's?  What if (gasp!) it is all about HIM?

One of our dogmas about purpose is that God has created a special mate for each of us.  A soulmate, if you please.  If you can only find this person who you are perfectly matched to, you will be eternally happy.

What if I told you this is not in the Bible?

What if I told you this is a Greek myth, perpetuated by Plato?

I have found nothing in the Bible that says God will pick a spouse for you.  There are some guidelines as to what kind of person to look for, but nothing saying that God has "created someone specially for you."

Do you know that God is about fulfilling HIS purpose, not YOURS?

Do you know that if you choose not to do God's will, He will find someone else who will?

In Isaiah chapter 6, we find Isaiah in the temple.  He is having a vision of God.  Verse 8 states:  "Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?"  Then I said, "Here am I.  Send me!""  This seems to be a situation of God looking for someone who was willing.  Do you suppose that if Isaiah had pretended not to hear, God would have said "Oh, well.  I guess no one is going."  I don't think so.  I think he would have found someone else.  His purpose would have been fulfilled.  Isaiah would have lost his blessing, perhaps, but it would not have stopped God from getting his message out.

John states in his gospel why he wrote it.  And it was not intended as an instruction book, but as a proof of who Jesus is.  John 20:31 says:  "but these have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.  Paul writes to Timothy:  "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

Our instructions may not be specific.  We may never hear the voice of God.  We may never be given a "calling."  God's purpose for us is to believe in Jesus so that we may have life, and to be equipped for every good work.  

So we don't need to wait around for God to direct us.  If we have read His word, we will know who He is.  We will know His purpose.  We will be able to act in His will.  We will be able to deal with the ups and downs that this world throws at us.  Not because we know our purpose, but because we know God's.  

I'll leave you with one of my all-time favorite verses.  (Not the one about cleaning my room).  It is Micah 6:8 - 

He has told you, O man, what is good;

And what does the LORD require of you

But to do justice, to love kindness,

And to walk humbly with your God?

So today, be blessed, and be a blessing.

My War Room

Have you seen the movie "War Room"?  We just watched it this week, and I only wish I had seen it sooner.  It's one of those movies that make you see your life just a little differently.

I have to admit that I was a little dejected at first after watching it.  You see, the "war room" in the movie is a clothes closet, made over into a prayer closet.  Now, I've heard people say "when you're in your prayer closet" before, but this really took that concept literally!  I was inspired to make my own war room.  The problem is, our house boasts a total of three small closets shared by four people for all of our clothes.  No chance of a war room there.

I read in a blog since then that you can take a spot in your bedroom, "not your bed," put down a pillow, a chair, a lamp, and make yourself a nice quiet place to sit and pray...  Ummm... not likely.

You see, I don't have a room of my own.  I share every room in the house with at least one other person and cannot count on any of them being available for my private use consistently.

So you can imagine my frustration.

Okay.  That's nothing but the devil talking, isn't it?  Is God concerned about where we pray?  Are we supposed to wait until we have the perfect spot fixed up?  I'm thinking not.  I'm also thinking it's a convenient excuse to not spend time with our Heavenly Father.

So I stepped a little outside the box.  Are you ready for the big reveal of my war room?  (Drum roll, please).  My War Room Is............

..............A book.

Yep.  A cheap lined journal.  Actually, a partially written in cheap lined journal.  It won't pass the Pinterest test, but it works.  Here's how.  First of all, it's portable,so I can use it in any room whether or not it already has another person in it.

Second of all, it's quiet.  Part of my problem is that I can't be praying out loud like in the movie.  Maybe I could, but sometimes I pray things that are meant to be private, just between me and God, you know?  As a result, my prayers tend to go on inside my head, but then I tend to get off track and think about what to have for dinner or whether the kids got their schoolwork done.  So I decided to write out my prayers.  No one else can hear what I'm writing, and it keeps me on track.

So far, I have spent time in my War Room on my bed (sorry, blog person),  on the couch, and at the kitchen table. And you know what?  Once I start praying, it doesn't matter where I am physically.  I am spiritually in the presence of God.

I write down Bible verses that come to me, write what they mean to me, and then write out my prayer.  I think it will be a great help actually to look back and see what I've prayed for, instead of forgetting almost instantly.  I'll be better able to see God's hand in my life.

If you haven't seen the movie, I would highly recommend it.  But don't take it too literally!  If God didn't give you a huge walk-in closet, it doesn't mean he doesn't want to spend time with you.  Use whatever God has given you.  It's worth it!

2017: The Year of Love - Who should you Love?

I haven't posted in this series for a little while.  Partly because I've been through some unloving things, and partly because our country is in such an unloving state, and I really didn't know where to go. 

If you have been following, you will remember that the last post, "Step one - What is love?" focused on 1 Corinthians 13, the love chapter.  Did you do your homework?  Did you find out what love is, and what it isn't?  If you haven't done that, take a minute to look at it now.  You will also remember that love is not a feeling, but an action.

Okay.  Now we are ready to find out who we need to apply this action to.  I admit, this is a tough one.  If you have ever been misunderstood, betrayed, abused, or treated badly by anyone, you know that it is hard to love them.

But Jesus didn't leave anyone out.  Look at what he says in Luke 6.

²⁷ “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 

²⁸ bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.  

³⁵ But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.  

³⁶ Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

Did you get all that?  Love your enemies.  Do good to those who hate you.  Bless those who curse you.  Pray for those who mistreat you.  

Bottom line:  Your actions do not depend on who they are.  Your actions are a result of who you are.  You are children of the Most High God.  And He is merciful.  The prophet Daniel said in chapter 9 - 

 ⁹ The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him; ¹⁰ we have not obeyed the Lord our God or kept the laws he gave us through his servants the prophets.

And James, in chapter 2 - 

¹² Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, ¹³ because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

  

Mercy triumphs over judgement.  To be loving is always better than to be right.

This is a hard lesson for these hard times.  We in the United States are feeling divided and fractured.  It seems that every group is against every other group.  Take your pick.  Political.  Racial.  Religious.  Everyone is judging everyone else based on who they think they are.  But that is not our job.  Our job is to show mercy to all.  Everyone.  Whether they agree with you or not.  Whether or not they are merciful to you.  

So here is your homework.  Make yourself a sign or a note or a memo or whatever you need to do so that you will see it often.  Write down these three verses:

Daniel 9:9

The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him.

Luke 6:36

Be merciful,  just as your Father is merciful.

 

James 2:13b

Mercy triumphs over judgement.

Let these words sink into your heart and your mind.  And the next time you are tempted to lash out because of something that someone else does, remember who you are.   And be merciful.

Previous posts in this series:

2017: The Year of Love 

Step one - What is Love? 

2017: The Year of Love - Step One: What is Love?

In my last post, I proclaimed 2017 the Year of Love, and I promised to come back with some ideas.  But before we get to the how, we need to understand the what.  What is love?

The word "Love" is pretty over-used these days.  We love our spouse, our children, our parents, our pets, and ice cream.  We might love our favorite TV show.  We might love the color green.  Or maybe we love roses.  Of course, we love God.  The English language doesn't give us a whole lot of options for differentiating between these types of "love."  But we really can't put ice cream and God in the same category. 

I think the biggest problem is that we treat the word Love as a feeling.  So any time we feel fondness for something or someone, we say we love it or them.  But this Year of Love is not about a warm, fuzzy feeling.  This year, we are going to learn love as an action.  Not as something we feel, but something that we choose to do.  

In order to do something, we have to have some instruction.  So here's your first step.  From 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, the Contemporary English Version of the Bible reads:

Love is kind and patient,
never jealous, boastful,
    proud, or ⁵ rude.
Love isn’t selfish
    or quick tempered.
It doesn’t keep a record
    of wrongs that others do.
⁶ Love rejoices in the truth,
    but not in evil.
⁷ Love is always supportive,
loyal, hopeful,
    and trusting.⁸ Love never fails! 

If you notice, this is a short list of what love is, and what it isn't.  So your first assignment is to get a piece of paper and make two columns.  Head the first column "Love Is" and the second "Love Isn't."  Then go through these verses and sort them out.  The passage begins "Love is kind," so the first word in the "Love Is" column would be "kind."  If you don't like this version, feel free to get out your favorite bible and look up the scripture.  

That's it!  Keep watching for the next post in the series.  And please feel free to share it with your friends.  Let's use this year to spread love!

Previous Posts in this Series:

2017: The Year of Love 

2017: The Year of Love

Happy New Year!  Isn't it funny how something as simple as a calendar change can set us in a new direction?  I'm not one for making New Year's resolutions.  In my experience, I get about two weeks in and mess up, if not sooner.  So I'm not making one this year either. 

I do have an idea, though, and I wondered if you would like to join me? 

I am declaring 2017 the Year of Love.  Now, I am not an official person who can make official declarations and make everyone comply.  But that's okay.  Love doesn't work that way, anyhow. 

Love is a very personal thing. 

So why make a declaration?  Because I need it for myself.  Last year was tough.  I have heard that statement all over the place, in all different ways.  It was tough politically, tough inter-racially, tough financially, tough even in the vast amount of iconic people who passed away.  As we pull ourselves into a new year, we are the walking wounded.  We are dragging all sorts of baggage, and limping along.

But there is hope.

I propose that we leave our baggage at the border.  Walk into this new year unencumbered by hate and hopelessness.  Picture yourself stepping over that line from 2016 to 2017 and leaving all that hate and pain and fear behind. 

I have some ideas about how we can make this happen, and I'll be writing about it soon (no, that is not a New Year's resolution to keep up on my blog!)  But since this is January 1, and also a Sunday, I'm going to leave you with a song to start your year off right.  Enjoy!

When You Fast

Fast - as per Webster's online 1913 dictionary -   verb - 
1.  To abstain from food; to omit to take nourishment in whole or in part; to go hungry.
2.  To practice abstinence as a religious exercise or duty; to abstain from food voluntarily for a time, for the mortification of the body or appetites, or as a token of grief, or humiliation and penitence.


I've been involved in a few discussions recently about fasting, so I'm trying to figure out what it means, and why you should or should not do it.  So, I'm looking up fasting in the Bible.  It seems like it was done mostly as an atonement for sins (1 Sam. 7:5-6), a cry for mercy, or a mourning, as when Saul died (2 Sam 1:12).  People fasted in order to ask help from the LORD, as when Jehoshaphat proclaimed a fast for all of Judah because of the fear of their enemies (2 Chron. 20), or the fast of the Jews when Haman plotted to have them all killed (Esther 4).

Jesus also equated fasting with mourning, when he explained that his disciples had no cause to fast while he was still with them (Matt. 9:15).   He also understood fasting as a way to greater faith in God, telling his disciples that they were unable to cast out a devil because their faith was small, and then saying in the next breath that it would only be cast out by prayer and fasting (Matt. 17:18-21). 

The early church fasted when they needed to make decisions (Acts 13:1-3).  Cornelius the centurion fasted and Peter was sent to him to bring him the gospel and baptize him (Acts 10).

I think the best passage about fasting is found in Isaiah 58:1-11 -

 Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.

² Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God.

³ Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours.

⁴ Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high.

⁵ Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord?

⁶ Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?

⁷ Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?

⁸ Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy reward.

⁹ Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity;

¹⁰ And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noon day:

¹¹ And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.

 So God is not really impressed by our sacrifice.  I guess that makes sense.  He provided the ultimate sacrifice in the life of his own Son.  Anything we could possibly do in our fleshly, selfish way can only pale in comparison.  And simply going without food, entertainment, or comfort is not helpful to anyone.  Our Christian walk is not really dependent on what we abstain from, as much as it is dependent on what we do with our resources.  We could go without food and spend our food money on clothes.  We could sacrifice our favorite TV program and spend the time reading a trashy novel instead.  Whereas we may look like we're doing something for God, we're really just trying to look good without having to suffer.  

God expects us to spend our lives for others, as he poured his out for us.  Going without a meal may do nothing for us or for our relationship with God, but giving our meal to someone who is hungry will go a long way toward building His kingdom here on Earth.  Skipping TV won't help us to hear God's voice if we replace it with anything other than God, but skipping TV to help someone who is sick or in trouble, or using that time to read the Bible and pray, can bring us closer to Him.  

So...Should you fast or not?  I think that depends.  First, search your heart.  Are you fasting to try to convince God to give you something you desire?  Then it is probably not a good idea.  Are you fasting to come closer to what God wants of you?  Then it may be the right thing to do.  I do not find anywhere that we are commanded to fast.  What we are commanded to do is to love one another, and to take up our cross and follow Jesus.  And since the cross is an instrument of death, we are to take seriously the admonition to die to self.  Which means that our desires no longer matter, but only the desires that God has for us.  And that, my friends, is a true fast.

Fighting the Wrong War

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.  

(Ephesians 6:12)

It has just occurred to me that we are fighting the wrong war.  We are spinning our wheels, fighting the symptoms rather than the disease.  What happens when you have an infection, but only treat the fever?  The infection gets stronger, because the fever was not the problem, only a symptom.  In fact, fevers are part of your body's defense against infections.  In defeating the symptom, you gave more power to the disease.

We have a war on drugs, a war on cancer, a war on aids, and a war on terrorism.  I am sure there are more wars going on, but these are the ones that come to mind immediately.  But what if all of these wars are not fighting the disease, but only the outward symptoms?  Or in the case of drugs and terrorism, the misapplied cures? 

As Paul said to the church in Ephesus, "We wrestle not against flesh and blood."  Terrorists are flesh and blood, as are drug dealers.  Cancer and aids are part of our flesh and blood.  But they are not the enemy.  Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8  NASB).

We would do better to fight the real enemy here.  Not the symptoms.  

We are fighting against "spiritual wickedness in high places."  And we can't fight spirit with flesh.  The battle is in the spiritual realm.  We have to fight spiritual battles. 

But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts.  These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit.  But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.  And of some have compassion, making a difference:  And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.  Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.

(Jude 1:17-25)

 Our job is first of all to pray.  And then to have compassion and relieve what suffering we can.  To save those we can, and to keep ourselves in the love of God.   If we do this, we may just win the right war.

 

  

Divided We Fall

 

 And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand  (Matthew 12:25).

I am sad.  I look around, and all I see is division.  Black divided from white.  Democrat divided from Republican.  Christian divided from Muslim.  Man divided from woman.  This is not right.  It is not healthy.  It is not helpful.  And it is not Christ-like.

There is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.  Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any:  even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.  And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.  And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.  

(Colossians 3:11-15)

Brothers and sisters, we are in difficult times.  But so was Paul when he wrote Colossians.  It was during the persecution of the new Christian church by the Jewish authorities.  The verse in Matthew is a quote by Jesus.  He was speaking to the Pharisees, who were accusing him of casting out demons by the power of the devil.  In the same chapter, it states that the pharisees were holding a council to determine how to destroy him.

My family and I attend a very small church in a very small town.  But it is one of the most diverse churches, culturally, that I have ever had the pleasure to be a part of.  We are a family made up of blacks, whites, Hispanics; immigrants and people who have lived here for generations; rich and poor; law enforcement officers and former offenders; democrats, republicans, and independents; old people and little children.  And when we meet together, we are one.  We are family.  It doesn't matter what color you are, or how old, or your job or your political persuasion.  We are all brothers and sisters In Christ Jesus.  

Now I realize that this country is not made up only of Christians.  But that is part of the beauty of it.  There is a poem inscribed on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty.  It is a poem called "The New Colossus" by Emma Lazarus:

The New Colossus

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,

With conquering limbs astride from land to land;

Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand

A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame

Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name

Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand

Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command

The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

"Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she

With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" 

 This is the America that I love.  Not the one where everyone is trying to get their own way and to make everyone else agree with them.  The one that "Glows world-wide welcome."  The America that was built on freedom.  Not Tyranny.  Not Selfishness.  The America that worked together through tough times to come out stronger.  Not the one that fell apart when the going got tough.

We have to get back to that.   We can't let ourselves be divided and conquered.  We have to band together as ONE nation.  White AND Black.  Republican AND Democrat.  Christian AND Muslim.  Men AND women.  And ALL Americans.  That is our heritage.  And it is the only way we will survive.

 

Why did Jesus have to Die?

So we're coming up hard on Easter here.  There are advertisements for egg hunts and pictures with the Easter Bunny.  Sometimes it seems as if the real meaning of the day was buried in the tomb almost 2000 years ago and somehow failed to emerge.  All that came out was a stuffed, fake facsimile of new life. 

But that isn't true.  We know it's not.  We are told every year that Jesus rose again.  That His death was for us, that somehow he died for our sins. 

I have gone to church almost my whole life.  I have heard the message every year since I can remember.  I have sung the same songs over and over.  I have chosen to believe in Jesus, that he can save me from my sins.  But it is so...hard...to...under...stand...how.

It seems like every time I try to understand the end I have to go back to the beginning.  To get to Jesus' coming return, you have to get to why he left to begin with.  To get to that, you have to understand why he came, and to get to that you have to read the Old Testament.  Maybe not all of it, although I think that would help, but at least the beginning - how things began.

We have to go back to the garden and the snake and the woman who was deceived and the man who chose his wife over his creator.  And why he had to choose at all. 

It seems a little mean of God to plant a tree as a test.  Why not just leave the tree out?  There would have been nothing to tempt anyone, would there?

Well, I think there would have.  I think it wasn't so much the tree that was the problem, but the ego.  It wasn't that Adam and Eve were hungry for food.  They had all the food they could ever want.  Fresh, organic, non-GMO food in fact.  For free.  But they forgot something.  The garden wasn't put there for them.  They were put there for the garden.

 

 And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.

 But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.

 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

 And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.

And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

  And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

 Genesis 2:5-9, 15

So there was a reason for man to be on earth.  To take care of it.  To make sure there was enough food for all of the creatures God had made.  

And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.

 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.

Genesis 1:28-30

 By taking the fruit from the forbidden tree, man was saying that he was in charge, rather than God.  He took his life upon himself.  He decided that he could take better care of himself than God could, and he broke the contract of his job.  So he was fired.  He wanted to be independent, so God let him be.  He was banished from the garden, and had to figure out how to feed himself without God's help.  He had to figure out how to take care of the animals.  But there was no way back.

God still talked to people.  He didn't abandon them.  All through the Bible there are people who were able to talk to God one on one.  There were those who listened to him.  But there were very few who would listen to them.  Generation by generation people continued to try to get to that perfect place on their own.  Striving and working to subdue the world which they should have had dominion over from the beginning, but lost because they wanted dominion over themselves.

So now we  come to Jesus.  How can the death of one man save the world?  His death was terrible, but he was not the only person ever crucified.  It was actually a pretty common punishment for the day.  What was the difference?

First of all, Jesus was not just a man.  He was Emmanuel, God With Us.  

But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.

And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.

Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,

Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

Matthew 1:20-23

 Can you imagine this?  Because man would not bow down to the rule of God over his life, God came down and submitted Himself to the rule of man.  He died a man's death on a man's torture device.  He did something which no one would ever have had to do if man had submitted to God in the beginning.

Can you imagine?  A life without sin?  Without all those "bad people" who make us lock our doors and worry about the security of our credit cards?  There would have been no reason for the Romans to invent a way to torture and kill criminals.  There would have been no wars, because wars are always fought out of greed.  There would have been enough of everything for everyone.  This would have happened without all of the different forms of government that people have tried to come up with to replace the rule of God, their creator.  

So Jesus died.  He turned the world upside down.  He rose again, victorious over the sin that is self-will and self-preservation and every other word that starts with self.  Because he gave himself up.  

So how does this save you and me?

It shows us that it is possible to give up our strive for self-_________ and to depend on God.  It shows us that we can get off the merry-go-round that is our striving, get-all-we-can-get existence.  There is a way back.

When we say "yes" to Jesus, we are accepting His rule over our lives.  We are giving up our allegiance to this world.  That is why he said to take His yoke.  To lay our burdens down.

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Matthew 11:28-30

So as we go toward Easter, remember where you came from.  You are a citizen of God's world.  Not the world that we have made, but the one He created in the beginning.  You are not meant to have to try so hard.  You can have Eden.  But you have to give it up.  Take off the self, and put on Christ.  

Jesus died to save you.  And me.  Anyone who will come to Him.  God came and did what no man would do.  And because He did, we can be what we were meant to be in the beginning.