March 1st, 2010
What if … the world really is 4.5 billion years old and has been populated by humans for 6.5 million years? Does that mean that God doesn’t exist?
What if … Jesus isn’t really the son of God? What if he was just a man who may, or may not, have had a special relationship with an unseen Being?
What if … the Bible isn’t the certified, authentic word of God? What if it’s just a collection of writings by men whose minds wandered beyond the cosmos? Is there any hope for us?
What if … some of us got the plan of salvation wrong and end up in fiery eternal torment? Just because we didn’t say the magic words or believe the right stuff?
What if … it turns out that doctrine isn’t important and God just wanted us all to get along and help one another?
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September 11th, 2009
I don’t mean why are you HERE. I’m not referring to the 51 unique visitors to this blog who spend an average of 7 seconds each, checking in. I mean why are YOU here — on this earth? If you don’t believe in God, then you don’t have a clue; you’re just an accident that has already happened. A big bang. A mutation from a single-celled organism. An apostrophe.
BUT - if you believe in God, then you may have a lot of work to do. Because he certainly had a reason for causing you to exist, and it would behoove you to determine how you fit in with this amazing creation.
The poet W. H. Auden said,
We are here on earth to do good to others. What the others are here for, I don’t know.
He’s got a point. If your focus is on your role in this world, the others will take care of themselves. How many of us are more concerned with what others think of us, what others are enjoying, how others have offended us or what they have that we don’t?
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August 23rd, 2009
How much sweeter life would have been if I had been what I am now becoming. I can feel the change, although at times it seems very gradual. I suppose that’s how God wants it to be. We live in a world, particularly in developed societies, where waiting patiently for things is just not acceptable. Even our technology centers on getting it good, getting it cheap and getting it NOW.
Microwave ovens can put out tasty, home-cooked meals in minutes. Remote controls save time and energy from having to waddle over to the TV or other device in order to activate it. Why go to the doctor’s office when your online medical advisor is just a click away? The internet is the world’s largest shopping mall and flea market. Screen possible mates on the web before you actually have to interact with them. Instead of having to deal with our own problems, we can escape to an abbreviated version of someone else’s woes in a huge lineup of reality shows. Drive-thru’s are everywhere and provide quick access to food, dry cleaning, tag renewals and your money.
I’ll be the first to confess to enjoying the conveniences, but have we begun to worship them? George MacDonald said,
To have what we want is riches, but to be able to do without is power.
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July 7th, 2009
I don’t know if this was the title of the country-western song I heard (or partly heard), but the phrase came up in the refrain. And it’s certainly a great line for discussion. Of the three observations the first two seem to be ranked, and the third appears to be unrelated.
What makes God great? Let’s say a good ole’ country boy is down to his last few bucks and was given a choice of buying a case of beer or putting that cash in the church offering plate. Which would he choose? I’ve got a feeling the ranking would be reversed: Buy the beer and avoid the church. Like the mealtime prayer, “God is great, God is good, let us thank him for our booze.” It’s the American way.
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March 2nd, 2009
But he [Christ] said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
II Corinthians 12:9
The Apostle Paul was referring to his thorn in the flesh, yet not identifying just what it was. It seemed to be some physical or mental deficiency that annoyed him. Having asked God to remove it on three occasions, he was now ready not only to accept it, but to embrace it. However, in the same passage he reports that someone (very likely himself) received a great revelation and was caught up to paradise.
Strength in weakness is a paradox in which one must be accepted in order to gain the other. The natural tendency, though, is to regard weakness as a negative. We’re taught that only the strong survive, only the aggressive make it in this world, and “do unto others before they do it unto you.”
To be sure, who would naturally welcome insults, hardships, persecutions and difficulties, as listed in verse 10? If we are truly honest, we must admit that weakness is the natural condition for insecurity, sadness, depression and a troubled spirit. So what does the verse mean?
It may very well be a dramatic antithesis for pride, which boasts of strength, accomplishments, beauty and position in life. It’s less of wallowing in weakness, but rather recognizing that our focus is directed to the One who gives us strength. We must realize that all that we have can be taken away from us at any moment. We see it every day. Life itself is fleeting. My 61-year-old body can hardly keep up with my 20-year-old mind.
If we are founded in the fact that God is our strength, then we understand that any supposed weakness, by the world’s standards, is used by Him to sanctify us. It is also used to draw our attention to Him and to keep our pride at bay. Our lives consist of constant reassessments of who we are and why we are here. As our relationship with our Creator grows deeper, we are less likely to dwell on the meaning of life. We simply live it. His grace is sufficient.
February 18th, 2009
If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.
John 8:31, 32
How many who declare themselves as followers of Christ really follow him? How well do I follow him? It is not enough to merely know about him; we must know him. Even in our daily lives, when we want to get to know someone, we must spend time with them, question them and allow them to enter into our space.
Whether we choose to accept it or not, we all have a tendency to follow someone. This is because we are influenced by their words and lives. That’s not necessarily a bad thing if the one being followed is an example of the truth. The Apostle Paul challenges us to imitate him because of his way of life in Christ. Jesus tells us to follow him so that we can learn about his Father and our Father.
A clear warning exists to not blindly follow someone who maintains a “truth” that is unverifiable or makes no sense. Depending on the character of the person, we may trust what they say about themselves. But we must weigh carefully what they say about heavenly matters. They may also interpret the Bible in a way that doesn’t quite track with common sense. Especially beware of new “revelations.”
Jesus’ teaching was clear and concise. It was the perfect guidebook for living this life. When we accept and follow this truth, then we are free to share what is in our hearts. He gave his life to get this message to us. We must devote ours to pass the message on.
January 28th, 2009
SIGN IN A MALL: I want to ice fish . . . as soon as I’m done beating cancer.
The phrase accompanies a picture of an elderly man, wearing a fur cap, holding up a fish. The purpose of the ad is to promote a local cancer center at the hospital.
I look at it and wonder if the old man is still alive. Did he beat the cancer? Or was he just a model, posing for the photo shoot, having nothing more than a few arthritic aches and pains? Patient or model, from age alone, are in the twilight years of their lives, disease being the main indicator of how many days they have left.
Cancer is from a Latin word for “crab.” The Greek physicians likened the crab’s appearance to a tumor with swollen veins. The astrological sign Cancer seems to also take its cue from the crab, meaning hard or tough, like the crab’s shell, indicating a personality that was determined or resolute.
We usually see cancer as all bad news, a destroying of life. And life is what we’re here for. Unlike other diseases that can strike quickly and hasten death, cancer can develop unseen for long periods, then proceed to kill with great suffering beforehand.
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January 15th, 2009
atheism -noun 1. the doctrine or belief that there is no God. (dictionary.com)
Did you catch that? Taking a position that there is no God is in itself a doctrine and requires belief. How cool is that! It allows for the fact that you can’t be sure, so you must believe such — just like the rest of us.
Not many people go through life without questioning their existence, as well as their mortality. A recent AARP poll noted that the older folks get, the more they begin to believe in God and the afterlife. Those who make it to their twilight years and face death’s door often see it as fish-or-cut-bait time; invariably, they will go with some type of religion in order to hedge their bets.
Have we ever seen God? Not really.
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December 31st, 2008
In this ‘season of calm weather,’ when the past has receded so far that he can behold it as in a picture, and his share in it as the history of a man who had lived and would soon die; when he can confess his faults without the bitterness of shame, both because he is humble, and because the faults themselves have dropped from him; when his good deeds look poverty-stricken in his eyes, and he would no more claim consideration for them than expect knighthood because he is no thief; when he cares little for his reputation, but much for his character — little for what has gone beyond his control, but endlessly much for what yet remains in his will to determine; then I think, a man may do well to write his own life.
George MacDonald, from Wilfrid Cumbermede
How many of us ever take the time to reflect on our lives and give serious thought as to its purpose? Even those who are regular churchgoers confirm to themselves each Sunday that they are to “do God’s work,” only to slip back into the same routine throughout the week — eat, sleep, go to the job, pay the bills, raise the kids, do the laundry, mow the grass and fill the voids with some form of entertainment (TV, movies, sports, etc.).
You might be surprised to find that doing those very things is God’s work.
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December 21st, 2008
I tried cheering myself with wine, and embracing folly — my mind still guiding me with wisdom. I wanted to see what was worthwhile for men to do under heaven during the few days of their lives.
Ecclesiastes 2:3
Life is what happens between the bookends of birth and death. Infants constantly seek attention because they are limited in ways in which to communicate their needs; they are also absorbed in the concept of focusing — on anything.
We regard the activities of children as “playing”, when they are actually mimicking life. Everything they say or do stems from their years of observation. This gives serious consideration as to how we should behave in front of them.
The elderly spend a great amount of time reflecting on their past. They will either dwell on it, with many regrets, or smile over it, with fond memories. They also tend to give more attention to the possibility of an afterlife.
What we all seem to have difficulty with is focusing on the present. We brood over the past, due to our own mistakes, or hang onto feelings of how we were misunderstood or mistreated.
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