No More Heroes
by Todd Burus on December 23, 2008
I was listening to a sermon by John Piper on my iTunes the other day when he said something that really intrigued me. Now, Dr. Piper often says things which I find stimulating and inspiring, but this little blurb hit me harder than most. He said, “Following Jesus is first and foremost not heroic!” Not heroic.
This statement came in the context of the two disciples of John the Baptist who, in response to John’s cry of “Behold, the Lamb of God!,” left up and began following Jesus (John 1.35-37). Piper points out that the reason these men followed Christ was not because they were like David’s Mighty Men, rushing about to please the king (2 Samuel 28.13-17), but because they were desperate sinners, longing to be saved by the one who “takes away the sin of the world” (John 1.29). Thus, they were not heroes; they were desperate men in need of a savior.
Why this grabbed me so strongly was because it made me look deep down inside of everything I do, to the core of all that I work in the name of Jesus Christ, to search my motivations for doing such. Why do I teach Sunday School? Why do I write blog posts? Why do I spend so much time studying God’s Word, even when no one’s watching me? It is not heroism which should drive me. I am dead without Christ, condemned to hell. It is not in heroism that I must follow him, it is in humble submission to his worthiness and sacrifice.
Maybe you are having trouble seeing these attempts at heroism, or maybe you are thinking that these things would be so obvious that you would easily put them off, but in doing so you would be denying the heart of all of man’s fallenness. Our attempts at heroism are pride, self-satisfcation, masquerading as humility. This is present in Scripture when we hear Jesus admonish the one who fasts and disfigures his face or prays and elevates her voice (Matthew 6.5, 16). It shows up in Saul who claims to have spared the choice animals in order to sacrifice to the Lord, though this was not his command (1 Samuel 15.15).
It is also present today in the popular movements of postmodern Christianity. Phyllis Tickle in her much heralded book The Great Emergence speaks of the practitioners of the new emerging Christianity, of which she would be one, as “the new faithful” (p.134) and says of “Emergence Christianity” that “what once was an engaging but innocuous phenomenon no longer is. The cub has grown into the young lion and now is the hour of his roaring” (p.163). Her fellow Emergent Village brother Tony Jones even went so far as to write a book about the movement he’s associated with called The New Christians. Both authors depict contemporary Christianity as being in a dire situation, one where lava has crusted over the faith and it will take something radical, their movement, to save us now. This is heroism par excellence.
Don’t get me wrong, there have been heroes, men like Augustine, Luther, Whitefield, Spurgeon, and even contemporary ones like Adrian Rogers and Al Mohler; but I firmly believe that none of these men were heroes of their own creation. They didn’t sit up at night contriving their plans, or writing books as an apologetic for their cause. No, they were raised up by God, desperate men in need of a savior, who God equipped with the spiritual guns to go out and put a heavy loss on the head of Satan’s armies. They didn’t search for it, but in faithfulness to God they found themselves in the midst of something much bigger than themselves and much greater than they personally could handle; and through their victories God, and not them, received all the glory.
We could certainly use some heroes like these men right now, but the process of raising them has to be biblical fidelity and Spirit-filled conviction, not simply a man-made desire. Whether our work is set on a global scale, such as the Emergent Church Movement, or if it is much smaller, like me teaching my Sunday School class, the clear fact is, if what we are doing is just heroism, actions pointing to Christ but only focused on promoting our own glory, then our motivations are in the wrong place and we need to be reminded of our true state. Christianity already has a savior, his name is Jesus Christ, and chances are pretty good that none of us are his second coming.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Pew Research article on eternal life beliefs
Many Americans Say Other Faiths Can Lead to Eternal Life
Most Christians Say Non-Christian Faiths Can Lead to Salvation
December 18, 2008
A majority of all American Christians (52%) think that at least some non-Christian faiths can lead to eternal life. Indeed, among Christians who believe many religions can lead to eternal life, 80% name at least one non-Christian faith that can do so. These are among the key findings of a national survey conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life from July 31-Aug. 10, 2008, among 2,905 adults.
To read the full article, go to: http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1062/many-americans-say-other-faiths-can-lead-to-eternal-life
Most Christians Say Non-Christian Faiths Can Lead to Salvation
December 18, 2008
A majority of all American Christians (52%) think that at least some non-Christian faiths can lead to eternal life. Indeed, among Christians who believe many religions can lead to eternal life, 80% name at least one non-Christian faith that can do so. These are among the key findings of a national survey conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life from July 31-Aug. 10, 2008, among 2,905 adults.
To read the full article, go to: http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1062/many-americans-say-other-faiths-can-lead-to-eternal-life
Monday, December 1, 2008
It Was Truly A Wonderful Life - Dave Burchett
It Was Truly A Wonderful Life
I rarely suggest that anything I write is a must read. There is a simple reason for that. Most of what I write is not. Today is the exception not because of my writing skill but because of the subject of this article. I have been deeply touched, moved and a little shamed by the story of an amazing little boy from Lynnwood, Washington.
KOMO News in Seattle reported the original story on November 7th.
When Brenden Foster was first diagnosed with leukemia, he and his mom began a new tradition. Every night they list three positive things that happened during the day, and they have to share a laugh. A chuckle will do, Brenden said, but a fake laugh will never do.
In the last days of his life, it was a homeless camp, namely Nickelsville, that captured the boy's heart.
"I was coming back from one of my clinic appointments and I saw this big thing of homeless people, and then I thought I should just get them something," he said. "They're probably starving, so give them a chance," said Brenden.
Brenden is too ill to leave his bed and feed the homeless. But Brenden's wish will not go unfulfilled.
One week later KOMO updated what had now become a international story of inspiration and love.
The local boy whose dying wish to feed the homeless inspired thousands across the world has taken a turn for the worse. Brenden Foster is growing weaker, but his message is growing stronger. His body is failing, his skin yellowing. His mother is trying to decide on the wording for his grave marker.
"B-Man is his nickname, or Mr. B. But most people call him B-Man," said Wendy Foster.
The end is near, and Brenden has one question for God. "Why at so young an age? I could have done more. But if it has to be now, it has to be now," he said.
It's easy to imagine all he could have accomplished after seeing what the 11 year old has achieved in his final days. Brenden's dying wish to help the homeless has touched hearts from Saudi Arabia to South Carolina. Many of them left voice messages for their new hero.
"We collected over 20,000 cans of food and donated it to a local food bank in your honor," said a woman named Nina. A Vietnam vet from Kentucky who lost his leg in the war wants me to give Brenden his Purple Heart for bravery.
Brenden's message inspired Daniel Chairez, a 12-year-old boy in California who is also battling leukemia. "He really inspired me because he's not afraid. And he wants to help people and he's not selfish," he said. Daniel says he wants to pick up where Brenden leaves off and help the homeless.
"I think that's very great," Brenden said.
On November 20th Brenden was able to attend a food drive organized on his behalf to feed the homeless and fulfill his dying desire. Brenden urges others to follow their dreams. "Mine already came true," he said. Achieving Brenden's wish makes his mom proud. But the thought of losing him has been devastating her and the expected costs of his funeral frightening her. "We don't know how we're going to pay for it," said Wendy. Worry no more, Wendy. The Seattle Seahawks saw the KOMO News story and asked how they can help. The Seahawks players have decided to pay for the funeral of beloved Brenden Foster, the one little boy who has touched so many lives.
"He's always thought about others. Never complained about having to go through this, ever," said his mother, Wendy Foster. "It's devastating, but I find great peace in knowing we've had our time together and that we will see each other again," said Wendy.
"I had a great time and until my time has come, I'm gonna keep having a good time," he said.
On the morning of November 21st, one day after seeing his food drive come to pass, Brenden passed away in his mother’s arms. I remembered the words of Jesus as the “adults” were arguing over who would be the “greatest” in heaven. About that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?” Jesus called a little child to him and put the child among them. Then he said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. (Matthew 18, NLT)
I am sure that Brenden entered the Kingdom of Heaven as one of the greatest. His life demonstrated exactly what Jesus was teaching. Becoming like a child is not about acting childish. Jesus asked us to model that childlike humility and belief that things that are wrong can and should be made right. The childlike faith to allow God to love you and let that love flow out to others.
Instead of looking at the homeless with disdain or fear Brenden looked at them with a heart to help. Instead of feeling uncomfortable and looking away he looked those unfortunate souls squarely in the eye and said how can I help? I am humbled by his example. Would you join me in doing something out of your comfort zone this Christmas to help others? Sure, things may not be as good as other years but I would imagine most of us are in a better place than where Brenden was when his heart reached out to help others.
Do something special this Christmas in the memory of this special young man. And you can imagine that on the streets of heaven a newly arrived saint will be saying "I think that's very great". Thank you Brenden for putting this year in perspective. Your example will live on.
Dave Burchett is an Emmy Award winning television sports director, author, and Christian speaker. He is the author of When Bad Christians Happen to Good People and Bring'em Back Alive: A Healing Plan for those Wounded by the Church. You can reply by linking through daveburchett.com.
I rarely suggest that anything I write is a must read. There is a simple reason for that. Most of what I write is not. Today is the exception not because of my writing skill but because of the subject of this article. I have been deeply touched, moved and a little shamed by the story of an amazing little boy from Lynnwood, Washington.
KOMO News in Seattle reported the original story on November 7th.
When Brenden Foster was first diagnosed with leukemia, he and his mom began a new tradition. Every night they list three positive things that happened during the day, and they have to share a laugh. A chuckle will do, Brenden said, but a fake laugh will never do.
In the last days of his life, it was a homeless camp, namely Nickelsville, that captured the boy's heart.
"I was coming back from one of my clinic appointments and I saw this big thing of homeless people, and then I thought I should just get them something," he said. "They're probably starving, so give them a chance," said Brenden.
Brenden is too ill to leave his bed and feed the homeless. But Brenden's wish will not go unfulfilled.
One week later KOMO updated what had now become a international story of inspiration and love.
The local boy whose dying wish to feed the homeless inspired thousands across the world has taken a turn for the worse. Brenden Foster is growing weaker, but his message is growing stronger. His body is failing, his skin yellowing. His mother is trying to decide on the wording for his grave marker.
"B-Man is his nickname, or Mr. B. But most people call him B-Man," said Wendy Foster.
The end is near, and Brenden has one question for God. "Why at so young an age? I could have done more. But if it has to be now, it has to be now," he said.
It's easy to imagine all he could have accomplished after seeing what the 11 year old has achieved in his final days. Brenden's dying wish to help the homeless has touched hearts from Saudi Arabia to South Carolina. Many of them left voice messages for their new hero.
"We collected over 20,000 cans of food and donated it to a local food bank in your honor," said a woman named Nina. A Vietnam vet from Kentucky who lost his leg in the war wants me to give Brenden his Purple Heart for bravery.
Brenden's message inspired Daniel Chairez, a 12-year-old boy in California who is also battling leukemia. "He really inspired me because he's not afraid. And he wants to help people and he's not selfish," he said. Daniel says he wants to pick up where Brenden leaves off and help the homeless.
"I think that's very great," Brenden said.
On November 20th Brenden was able to attend a food drive organized on his behalf to feed the homeless and fulfill his dying desire. Brenden urges others to follow their dreams. "Mine already came true," he said. Achieving Brenden's wish makes his mom proud. But the thought of losing him has been devastating her and the expected costs of his funeral frightening her. "We don't know how we're going to pay for it," said Wendy. Worry no more, Wendy. The Seattle Seahawks saw the KOMO News story and asked how they can help. The Seahawks players have decided to pay for the funeral of beloved Brenden Foster, the one little boy who has touched so many lives.
"He's always thought about others. Never complained about having to go through this, ever," said his mother, Wendy Foster. "It's devastating, but I find great peace in knowing we've had our time together and that we will see each other again," said Wendy.
"I had a great time and until my time has come, I'm gonna keep having a good time," he said.
On the morning of November 21st, one day after seeing his food drive come to pass, Brenden passed away in his mother’s arms. I remembered the words of Jesus as the “adults” were arguing over who would be the “greatest” in heaven. About that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?” Jesus called a little child to him and put the child among them. Then he said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. (Matthew 18, NLT)
I am sure that Brenden entered the Kingdom of Heaven as one of the greatest. His life demonstrated exactly what Jesus was teaching. Becoming like a child is not about acting childish. Jesus asked us to model that childlike humility and belief that things that are wrong can and should be made right. The childlike faith to allow God to love you and let that love flow out to others.
Instead of looking at the homeless with disdain or fear Brenden looked at them with a heart to help. Instead of feeling uncomfortable and looking away he looked those unfortunate souls squarely in the eye and said how can I help? I am humbled by his example. Would you join me in doing something out of your comfort zone this Christmas to help others? Sure, things may not be as good as other years but I would imagine most of us are in a better place than where Brenden was when his heart reached out to help others.
Do something special this Christmas in the memory of this special young man. And you can imagine that on the streets of heaven a newly arrived saint will be saying "I think that's very great". Thank you Brenden for putting this year in perspective. Your example will live on.
Dave Burchett is an Emmy Award winning television sports director, author, and Christian speaker. He is the author of When Bad Christians Happen to Good People and Bring'em Back Alive: A Healing Plan for those Wounded by the Church. You can reply by linking through daveburchett.com.
Friday, November 21, 2008
Dishonest Money post from Faith & Theology
Dishonest money: what the financial crisis tells us about ourselves
A guest-post by Scott Stephens (originally written for an Australian church newspaper)
Credit is the lifeblood of the modern economy. It saturates our lives – from the personal credit we each use to purchase household items or to buy our homes, to the shadier, more mysterious world of credit default swaps (CDSs) and other derivatives that commercial banks now trade like a currency.
But it’s the very ubiquity of credit that prevents us from seeing its true nature, like being unable to see the wood for the trees. Credit is, in essence, the promise of limitless, indefinite, unfathomable wealth. And we need credit is because of the kind of lives that we have become accustomed to living, or the size of the profit margins your investors demand. Credit is, like most facets of our economy, an invention, a form of technology for generating more money. But the real innovation of the last two decades has been the willingness of banks to trade debt and risk itself, and thereby to make the economy both more profitable and more volatile.
Likewise, on the personal front, it has been the availability of “cheap money” in the form of low interest mortgages, the subsequent housing bubble, and the conversion of home equity into another line of credit that has pumped billions of dollars into national economies. What we have witnessed, in other words, is a natural extension of the very logic of money, which has aimed from its very beginning at generating more and more of itself, seemingly out of nothing.
This surprisingly modern idea – money generating more money – was actually first put forward by Aristotle in the fourth century BC. He observed the introduction of markets into the first great metropolises of Asia Minor, and even described trade as “the salvation of the states.” But Aristotle was then shocked to observe that the efficiency and simplicity of the market seemed to unleash something monstrous in the human heart. As people saw how much money there was to be made, they began lusting after “profit without limit.” They traded “the good life” (namely, a life organized around virtue and the common good) for lives of excess. Aristotle concluded that, whereas trade had the potential to be “the salvation of the states,” the seemingly limitless flow of money trade introduced into the life of the city brought along with it vices or moral impairments that would be the destruction of the city.
The vices he named were: greed, an inability to be satisfied, a lack of sobriety or self-control, and the willingness to profit through usury. The great tragedy, of course, is that the very vices that Aristotle identified as most corrosive to the common good have become the celebrated virtues upon which the modern economy is built. Capitalism thrives only through these vices.
While we hope and pray that those in positions of influence will find a just and effective response to the current credit contraction, should we not also reflect on our own indulgence in the greed and uncontrolled lifestyles that have brought us to this point? Shouldn’t we hope that out of this comes a rediscovery of a keen sense of the common good, and of new forms of community that nurture the virtues that have long since seemed to disappear from our society?
The onus, then, is on the church – not merely to pray in some benign way that God would mollify the effects of this financial crisis, but really to constitute that alternate form of community. To give the formation of Christian virtue and Christlike generosity priority over misguided “stewardship” (which so often is ecclesiastical code for white-knuckled miserliness). To have the courage to tell our congregations that participation in the Body of Christ means wanting less, using less, wasting less, so that we can distribute more. To embrace those sacramental resources that have been entrusted to us to keep us faithful to our calling, and which themselves enact a radically different kind of economics to that of corpulent capitalism.
Labels: capitalism, current affairs, Scott Stephens
A guest-post by Scott Stephens (originally written for an Australian church newspaper)
Credit is the lifeblood of the modern economy. It saturates our lives – from the personal credit we each use to purchase household items or to buy our homes, to the shadier, more mysterious world of credit default swaps (CDSs) and other derivatives that commercial banks now trade like a currency.
But it’s the very ubiquity of credit that prevents us from seeing its true nature, like being unable to see the wood for the trees. Credit is, in essence, the promise of limitless, indefinite, unfathomable wealth. And we need credit is because of the kind of lives that we have become accustomed to living, or the size of the profit margins your investors demand. Credit is, like most facets of our economy, an invention, a form of technology for generating more money. But the real innovation of the last two decades has been the willingness of banks to trade debt and risk itself, and thereby to make the economy both more profitable and more volatile.
Likewise, on the personal front, it has been the availability of “cheap money” in the form of low interest mortgages, the subsequent housing bubble, and the conversion of home equity into another line of credit that has pumped billions of dollars into national economies. What we have witnessed, in other words, is a natural extension of the very logic of money, which has aimed from its very beginning at generating more and more of itself, seemingly out of nothing.
This surprisingly modern idea – money generating more money – was actually first put forward by Aristotle in the fourth century BC. He observed the introduction of markets into the first great metropolises of Asia Minor, and even described trade as “the salvation of the states.” But Aristotle was then shocked to observe that the efficiency and simplicity of the market seemed to unleash something monstrous in the human heart. As people saw how much money there was to be made, they began lusting after “profit without limit.” They traded “the good life” (namely, a life organized around virtue and the common good) for lives of excess. Aristotle concluded that, whereas trade had the potential to be “the salvation of the states,” the seemingly limitless flow of money trade introduced into the life of the city brought along with it vices or moral impairments that would be the destruction of the city.
The vices he named were: greed, an inability to be satisfied, a lack of sobriety or self-control, and the willingness to profit through usury. The great tragedy, of course, is that the very vices that Aristotle identified as most corrosive to the common good have become the celebrated virtues upon which the modern economy is built. Capitalism thrives only through these vices.
While we hope and pray that those in positions of influence will find a just and effective response to the current credit contraction, should we not also reflect on our own indulgence in the greed and uncontrolled lifestyles that have brought us to this point? Shouldn’t we hope that out of this comes a rediscovery of a keen sense of the common good, and of new forms of community that nurture the virtues that have long since seemed to disappear from our society?
The onus, then, is on the church – not merely to pray in some benign way that God would mollify the effects of this financial crisis, but really to constitute that alternate form of community. To give the formation of Christian virtue and Christlike generosity priority over misguided “stewardship” (which so often is ecclesiastical code for white-knuckled miserliness). To have the courage to tell our congregations that participation in the Body of Christ means wanting less, using less, wasting less, so that we can distribute more. To embrace those sacramental resources that have been entrusted to us to keep us faithful to our calling, and which themselves enact a radically different kind of economics to that of corpulent capitalism.
Labels: capitalism, current affairs, Scott Stephens
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
“Missional” Misses the Point Again
Here's an interesting point of view from David Foster (DavidFoster.tv)
There’s a brand new word bouncing around the church world. It’s the word, “missional.” It’s one of those made up words; a word that someone felt they needed to use to say something different about the way things are. But here’s the truth. “Missional” misses the point. Or maybe I miss the point.
People tell me “missional” means that the church ought to get out of its buildings and live like Christians in the real world. How is this a new idea? It’s the same idea that Jesus taught and the church has been teaching for hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years. I’ve heard this since I was a child.
But what’s different in the “missional” movement is that they now somehow want us to believe that being “missional” is superior to being “attractional;” that going to be the church is more important than gathering in worship to be the church. If you ask me, missional and all of these new-fangled words are just more extremes, and missing the true point.
And the point is simply this: the church is not the church if all she does is gather in a building on Sunday and sing and preach to itself. The church is not the church if all she does is meet in Starbucks, and in homes in small groups, and rakes leaves of their neighbors. The church is the church when she gathers to worship and when she goes in service.
Maybe it’s a misunderstanding of the Great Commission because in the original language, the Great Commission is not “go, as though we wouldn’t be going, in all the world and make disciples.” It should be read, “as we are going.”
One of the constants of God’s people has always been to gather. And we’ve gathered everywhere: in tents, in buildings, in secret, in public, in arenas. In America we gather in theatres, in funeral homes, hotels, warehouses, schools, anywhere it’s big enough for God’s people to gather and worship. This is constant. This is essential. Gathering is important.
Attractional is essential. Did you hear me? It’s essential.
So let’s stop this hybrid idea that going to be the church somehow makes us deeper and more profound than gathering. We are both attractional and missional at the same time. Both deserve our concern because they receive equal emphasis in the Scripture.
Maybe I feel this so deeply because I’ve recently been criticized in an article for being too attractional, and for that I will not apologize. Gathering people, Christians or non-Christians, together in order to worship and adore God, to learn His word; to gather to find hope in a dark and weary world is a good thing. It’s a God thing. It’s a thing we do 52 times every year, and will continue to do. But I also must confess that if all we do is meet, we’ve missed the point.
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This was written by David Foster. Posted on Monday, November 10, 2008, at 3:39 am. Filed under Advancing The Church, Blog. Bookmark the permalink. Follow comments here with the RSS feed. Post a comment or leave a trackback.
There’s a brand new word bouncing around the church world. It’s the word, “missional.” It’s one of those made up words; a word that someone felt they needed to use to say something different about the way things are. But here’s the truth. “Missional” misses the point. Or maybe I miss the point.
People tell me “missional” means that the church ought to get out of its buildings and live like Christians in the real world. How is this a new idea? It’s the same idea that Jesus taught and the church has been teaching for hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years. I’ve heard this since I was a child.
But what’s different in the “missional” movement is that they now somehow want us to believe that being “missional” is superior to being “attractional;” that going to be the church is more important than gathering in worship to be the church. If you ask me, missional and all of these new-fangled words are just more extremes, and missing the true point.
And the point is simply this: the church is not the church if all she does is gather in a building on Sunday and sing and preach to itself. The church is not the church if all she does is meet in Starbucks, and in homes in small groups, and rakes leaves of their neighbors. The church is the church when she gathers to worship and when she goes in service.
Maybe it’s a misunderstanding of the Great Commission because in the original language, the Great Commission is not “go, as though we wouldn’t be going, in all the world and make disciples.” It should be read, “as we are going.”
One of the constants of God’s people has always been to gather. And we’ve gathered everywhere: in tents, in buildings, in secret, in public, in arenas. In America we gather in theatres, in funeral homes, hotels, warehouses, schools, anywhere it’s big enough for God’s people to gather and worship. This is constant. This is essential. Gathering is important.
Attractional is essential. Did you hear me? It’s essential.
So let’s stop this hybrid idea that going to be the church somehow makes us deeper and more profound than gathering. We are both attractional and missional at the same time. Both deserve our concern because they receive equal emphasis in the Scripture.
Maybe I feel this so deeply because I’ve recently been criticized in an article for being too attractional, and for that I will not apologize. Gathering people, Christians or non-Christians, together in order to worship and adore God, to learn His word; to gather to find hope in a dark and weary world is a good thing. It’s a God thing. It’s a thing we do 52 times every year, and will continue to do. But I also must confess that if all we do is meet, we’ve missed the point.
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This was written by David Foster. Posted on Monday, November 10, 2008, at 3:39 am. Filed under Advancing The Church, Blog. Bookmark the permalink. Follow comments here with the RSS feed. Post a comment or leave a trackback.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
A Little Spunk Needed
A Little Spunk Needed, by Rob Frazier
I was walking through the Atlanta airport, CNN blaring in the background, headlines screaming from the news stands stocked with magazines covered with glum faces, all the news is bad, bad, bad. You can't help but worry and wonder what the future will hold, what your retirement will be like, what will be left over when all the dust settles.
Then I saw her. She was about 8 years old and a darling little girl.
She was with her mother and father and older brother. She was also on crutches. Her legs barely made a ripple in her little jeans, obviously withered and weak from some chromosome that came unraveled while she was being knitted in the womb. She was happy, and swung her legs in a strong rhythmic motion with her crutches to keep pace with her parents and brother. She was in every way a typical 8 year-old except for her withered extremities.
I thought that no matter where the stock market ends up, or how the economy falls or rises, she will still be crippled. She will grow up in a world where a pair of shorts will be a cause for people to stare.
She'll feel left out as other kids run and play at school, and she will struggle to find a formal dress for the Homecoming dance that will accommodate her braced legs and crutches.
It's too early to fold, and we're made of better stuff!
No matter if my 401(k) recovers or not, she will always -- always -- be crippled. Her parents may lose their job, I might lose mine, but she will never lose her infirmity. We may all weather this storm with nothing more than a few fallen limbs in the yard, but her limbs will never be whole.
It made me a little angry that we have been focused on what we lost, not what we have. I remember Sam Walton, after the 1987 crash, when he said that even after watching Wal-Mart stock fall by a third, he still had the same number of shirts on the shelves as he did the day before.
That is the kind of thinking, the kind of investing, and the kind of courage we need now. The losses are paper losses. The value is still there in the companies the stocks represent. If we will each keep our head in this mess, we'll work through this.
That really is what the little girl does. She marches through the airport like she had every right to be there, withered legs and all. No sympathy, no melancholy, just the spirit and spunk to deal with the hand she was dealt. We need to take a deep breath and get ready to play the game. It's too early to fold, and we're made of better stuff -- the same kind of stuff of which that little girl is made.
---------
(c) 2008 Rob Frazier
I was walking through the Atlanta airport, CNN blaring in the background, headlines screaming from the news stands stocked with magazines covered with glum faces, all the news is bad, bad, bad. You can't help but worry and wonder what the future will hold, what your retirement will be like, what will be left over when all the dust settles.
Then I saw her. She was about 8 years old and a darling little girl.
She was with her mother and father and older brother. She was also on crutches. Her legs barely made a ripple in her little jeans, obviously withered and weak from some chromosome that came unraveled while she was being knitted in the womb. She was happy, and swung her legs in a strong rhythmic motion with her crutches to keep pace with her parents and brother. She was in every way a typical 8 year-old except for her withered extremities.
I thought that no matter where the stock market ends up, or how the economy falls or rises, she will still be crippled. She will grow up in a world where a pair of shorts will be a cause for people to stare.
She'll feel left out as other kids run and play at school, and she will struggle to find a formal dress for the Homecoming dance that will accommodate her braced legs and crutches.
It's too early to fold, and we're made of better stuff!
No matter if my 401(k) recovers or not, she will always -- always -- be crippled. Her parents may lose their job, I might lose mine, but she will never lose her infirmity. We may all weather this storm with nothing more than a few fallen limbs in the yard, but her limbs will never be whole.
It made me a little angry that we have been focused on what we lost, not what we have. I remember Sam Walton, after the 1987 crash, when he said that even after watching Wal-Mart stock fall by a third, he still had the same number of shirts on the shelves as he did the day before.
That is the kind of thinking, the kind of investing, and the kind of courage we need now. The losses are paper losses. The value is still there in the companies the stocks represent. If we will each keep our head in this mess, we'll work through this.
That really is what the little girl does. She marches through the airport like she had every right to be there, withered legs and all. No sympathy, no melancholy, just the spirit and spunk to deal with the hand she was dealt. We need to take a deep breath and get ready to play the game. It's too early to fold, and we're made of better stuff -- the same kind of stuff of which that little girl is made.
---------
(c) 2008 Rob Frazier
Friday, October 3, 2008
In Over Your Head
Here's a post from the LifeChurch.tv blog by Brian Kruckentberg, aka “Kruck,” is the LifeChurch.tv Mesa Campus Pastor in Arizona. Enjoy his insights…
Give me one hundred preachers who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God, and I care not a straw whether they be clergymen or laymen; such alone will shake the gates of hell and set up the kingdom of heaven on earth. God does nothing but in answer to prayer. — John Wesley
In the past, I’ve talked about the importance of prayer and sometimes it didn’t really come from a deep conviction within me. But, lately God is showing me just how much I need Him and how I must rely on Him through prayer. I’m learning that the only way to allow God to truly use you is to be in over your head. From Abraham, to Moses, to David, to Ester, to Paul, we see time and time again God showing His power through men and women who earnestly sought God to accomplish what they could never do on their own. As the Campus Pastor in Phoenix, I’ve come to clearly see that I cannot do what needs to be done. There are too many people to meet with, too many to encourage, too many hurting, too many to mentor … you get the point. I can’t, but God working through me can. It is a humble feeling to know that I’m in over my head and that God is filling in the gaps and using our staff to accomplish some amazing things. I am scared, yet excited, after coming face to face with the fact that I can’t do it without God. I feel completely inadequate yet incredibly energized at the same time.
I don’t know where all of you are in your journey with Jesus but I do know this: God wants to do something through you that is much bigger than you and you cannot do it … without Him. If you are not there already, get in over your head and let God take over. It is a cool place to be. I love it.
Give me one hundred preachers who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God, and I care not a straw whether they be clergymen or laymen; such alone will shake the gates of hell and set up the kingdom of heaven on earth. God does nothing but in answer to prayer. — John Wesley
In the past, I’ve talked about the importance of prayer and sometimes it didn’t really come from a deep conviction within me. But, lately God is showing me just how much I need Him and how I must rely on Him through prayer. I’m learning that the only way to allow God to truly use you is to be in over your head. From Abraham, to Moses, to David, to Ester, to Paul, we see time and time again God showing His power through men and women who earnestly sought God to accomplish what they could never do on their own. As the Campus Pastor in Phoenix, I’ve come to clearly see that I cannot do what needs to be done. There are too many people to meet with, too many to encourage, too many hurting, too many to mentor … you get the point. I can’t, but God working through me can. It is a humble feeling to know that I’m in over my head and that God is filling in the gaps and using our staff to accomplish some amazing things. I am scared, yet excited, after coming face to face with the fact that I can’t do it without God. I feel completely inadequate yet incredibly energized at the same time.
I don’t know where all of you are in your journey with Jesus but I do know this: God wants to do something through you that is much bigger than you and you cannot do it … without Him. If you are not there already, get in over your head and let God take over. It is a cool place to be. I love it.
Friday, September 19, 2008
John McCain: Veteran Faith
John McCain: Veteran Faith
By Mark Alexander
“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.” (John 8:32)
“For I have learned the truth: There are greater pursuits than self-seeking. Glory is not a conceit. It is not a decoration for valor. It is not a prize for being the most clever, the strongest, or the boldest. Glory belongs to the act of being constant to something greater than yourself. No misfortune, no injury, no humiliation can destroy it. This is the faith that my commanders affirmed, that my brothers-in-arms encouraged my allegiance to. It was the faith I had unknowingly embraced at the Naval Academy. It was my father’s and grandfather’s faith. A filthy, crippled, broken man, all I had left of my dignity was the faith of my fathers. It was enough.” —John McCain in Faith of my Fathers, his 1999 book on military tradition, his family, and his faith.
John McCain is a man of strong faith—a faith tested by torturous hardship few men have faced. It is a faith that wholly informs his character, his integrity, his purpose, his mission, his worldview.
Those who know John McCain well—his family, friends, pastor, political colleagues, and those Patriot veterans who suffered beside him as Prisoners of War—describe many facets of his personality. Their descriptions are of a man who is complicated and diverse, but to a person, they recognize him as a man of deep and abiding faith.
McCain, however, is a man who says little about his spiritual convictions, perhaps in constancy with the counsel of 12th-century Friar Saint Francis of Assisi: “Go forth and preach the Gospel; if necessary use words.”
As was the case with most of our Founders, who did not endeavor to make America a “Christian Nation” (though many of them worked tirelessly to forge a “Nation of Christians”), McCain does not make public declarations of his faith when campaigning for political office.
While he does not use his faith as a political platform, he certainly does not subscribe to the errant “Separation of Church and State” doctrine, nor does he hesitate to identify himself as a Christian when asked.
Rick Warren, pastor of California’s Saddleback Church, interviewed Senators McCain and Obama in August, asking them what it meant to be a Christian. John McCain required no teleprompter for his answer, stating flatly: “It means I’m saved and forgiven.”
McCain attends North Phoenix Baptist Church, a Southern Baptist congregation, though his “quiet faith” is surely more in keeping with his upbringing in the historic but now troubled Episcopal Church.
His Baptist pastor, Dan Yeary, says of McCain, “It is a privilege and an honor to be this close to a man I’ve learned to love, who has the potential to be a great president for our country. I certainly am in favor of God’s endorsement on his life.”
Biographer Paul Alexander writes that McCain’s quiet faith is also the result of military tradition: “He’s a very spiritual person but... in his core, he’s a military man. They don’t feel comfortable talking about religion.”
Perhaps not in uniform, anyway.
In Faith of My Fathers, McCain says his father, a full admiral and son of a full admiral, was also a man of quiet faith, who knelt twice daily for devotions with a prayer book frayed from use.
For his part, McCain wrote that he really came into account with his Creator when he was a POW.
A long-time McCain friend, Col. Bud Day, a Medal of Honor recipient and fighter pilot who, like McCain, was shot down over Vietnam, met McCain when they became roommates at the infamous “Hanoi Hilton.” Col. Day was a senior officer among the POWs and, recognizing McCain’s faith, appointed him a chaplain to their fellow prisoners.
Day says that McCain “remembered the Episcopal liturgy, and sounded like a bona fide preacher.”
Though McCain initially treated the assignment lightly, it was a turning point for him: “I’ll never forget that first Christmas when I... read from the Nativity story... And I looked in that room around and there were guys who had already been there for seven years and tears were streaming down their face, not out of sorrow, but out of joy that for the first time in all that captivity, we could celebrate the birth of Christ together. It was more sacred to me than any service I had attended in the past, or any service I have attended since.”
Of faith tried and tested, McCain writes, “Our senior officers always stressed to us the three essential keys to resistance, which we were to keep uppermost in our mind, especially in moments when we were isolated or otherwise deprived of their guidance and the counsel of other prisoners. They were faith in God, faith in country, and faith in your fellow prisoners... Without faith, we would lose our dignity, and live among our enemies as animals lived among their human masters.”
“POWs often regard their prison experience as comparable to the trials of Job. Indeed, for my fellow prisoners who suffered more than I, the comparison is appropriate. Hungry, beaten, hurt, scared, and alone, human beings can begin to feel that they are removed from God’s love, a vast distance separating them from their Creator. The anguish can lead to resentment, to the awful despair that God has forsaken you. To guard against such despair, in our most dire moments, POWs would make supreme efforts to grasp our faith tightly, to profess it alone, in the dark, and hasten its revival.”
“Once I was thrown into another cell after a long and difficult interrogation. I discovered scratched into one of the cell’s walls the creed ‘I believe in God, the Father Almighty.’ There, standing witness to God’s presence in a remote, concealed place, recalled to my faith by a stronger, better man, I felt God’s love and care more vividly than I would have felt it had I been safe among a pious congregation in the most magnificent cathedral.”
Anyone who has been through life-changing trauma will understand these words John McCain wrote about prayer: “There were many times I didn’t pray for another day and I didn’t pray for another hour—I prayed for another minute to keep going.”
Of McCain’s courage and fortitude, Col. Day says with certainty, “He wasn’t corruptible then, he’s not corruptible today.”
Capt. Tom Moe, who also got to know the real John McCain while they were imprisoned together, says that one of his strongest recollections of McCain was one day when McCain’s captors were returning him to his cell after torturous interrogations. Moe looked through a pinhole in his door as McCain looked back in the direction of his cell and gave him a smile and thumbs up: “I look back and that vision of him looking over at me and going ‘we’re going to pull through this’ under terrible, terrible conditions is a great memory for me.”
Another of McCain’s fellow POWs, and one of my personal heroes, Col. Roger Ingvalson, told me this week, “I spent two years with John McCain in some of the worst circumstances imaginable. I have spent time with John under much better circumstances in the years since. John McCain has the highest integrity of any political leader I have ever had the privilege of knowing, and I have known plenty.”
In this political season, many political stump speeches end with the words, “God Bless America.” But rest assured, when John McCain uses those words, they are much more than an obligatory footnote.
Quote of the week
“I’m not running for president because I think I’m blessed with such personal greatness that history has anointed me to save our country in its hour of need. My country saved me... and I cannot forget it. And I will fight for her for as long as I draw breath, so help me God. I’m going to fight for my cause every day as your president. I’m going to fight to make sure every American has every reason to thank God, as I thank Him: that I’m an American, a proud citizen of the greatest country on earth, and with hard work, strong faith and a little courage, great things are always within our reach. Fight with me. Fight for what’s right for our country. Fight for the ideals and character of a free people. Fight for our children’s future. Fight for justice and opportunity for all. Stand up to defend our country from its enemies. Stand up for each other, for beautiful, blessed, bountiful America. Stand up and fight. We’re Americans, and we never give up. We never quit. We never hide from history. We make history. Thank you, and God bless you, and God bless America.” —John McCain, concluding his nomination acceptance speech
By Mark Alexander
“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.” (John 8:32)
“For I have learned the truth: There are greater pursuits than self-seeking. Glory is not a conceit. It is not a decoration for valor. It is not a prize for being the most clever, the strongest, or the boldest. Glory belongs to the act of being constant to something greater than yourself. No misfortune, no injury, no humiliation can destroy it. This is the faith that my commanders affirmed, that my brothers-in-arms encouraged my allegiance to. It was the faith I had unknowingly embraced at the Naval Academy. It was my father’s and grandfather’s faith. A filthy, crippled, broken man, all I had left of my dignity was the faith of my fathers. It was enough.” —John McCain in Faith of my Fathers, his 1999 book on military tradition, his family, and his faith.
John McCain is a man of strong faith—a faith tested by torturous hardship few men have faced. It is a faith that wholly informs his character, his integrity, his purpose, his mission, his worldview.
Those who know John McCain well—his family, friends, pastor, political colleagues, and those Patriot veterans who suffered beside him as Prisoners of War—describe many facets of his personality. Their descriptions are of a man who is complicated and diverse, but to a person, they recognize him as a man of deep and abiding faith.
McCain, however, is a man who says little about his spiritual convictions, perhaps in constancy with the counsel of 12th-century Friar Saint Francis of Assisi: “Go forth and preach the Gospel; if necessary use words.”
As was the case with most of our Founders, who did not endeavor to make America a “Christian Nation” (though many of them worked tirelessly to forge a “Nation of Christians”), McCain does not make public declarations of his faith when campaigning for political office.
While he does not use his faith as a political platform, he certainly does not subscribe to the errant “Separation of Church and State” doctrine, nor does he hesitate to identify himself as a Christian when asked.
Rick Warren, pastor of California’s Saddleback Church, interviewed Senators McCain and Obama in August, asking them what it meant to be a Christian. John McCain required no teleprompter for his answer, stating flatly: “It means I’m saved and forgiven.”
McCain attends North Phoenix Baptist Church, a Southern Baptist congregation, though his “quiet faith” is surely more in keeping with his upbringing in the historic but now troubled Episcopal Church.
His Baptist pastor, Dan Yeary, says of McCain, “It is a privilege and an honor to be this close to a man I’ve learned to love, who has the potential to be a great president for our country. I certainly am in favor of God’s endorsement on his life.”
Biographer Paul Alexander writes that McCain’s quiet faith is also the result of military tradition: “He’s a very spiritual person but... in his core, he’s a military man. They don’t feel comfortable talking about religion.”
Perhaps not in uniform, anyway.
In Faith of My Fathers, McCain says his father, a full admiral and son of a full admiral, was also a man of quiet faith, who knelt twice daily for devotions with a prayer book frayed from use.
For his part, McCain wrote that he really came into account with his Creator when he was a POW.
A long-time McCain friend, Col. Bud Day, a Medal of Honor recipient and fighter pilot who, like McCain, was shot down over Vietnam, met McCain when they became roommates at the infamous “Hanoi Hilton.” Col. Day was a senior officer among the POWs and, recognizing McCain’s faith, appointed him a chaplain to their fellow prisoners.
Day says that McCain “remembered the Episcopal liturgy, and sounded like a bona fide preacher.”
Though McCain initially treated the assignment lightly, it was a turning point for him: “I’ll never forget that first Christmas when I... read from the Nativity story... And I looked in that room around and there were guys who had already been there for seven years and tears were streaming down their face, not out of sorrow, but out of joy that for the first time in all that captivity, we could celebrate the birth of Christ together. It was more sacred to me than any service I had attended in the past, or any service I have attended since.”
Of faith tried and tested, McCain writes, “Our senior officers always stressed to us the three essential keys to resistance, which we were to keep uppermost in our mind, especially in moments when we were isolated or otherwise deprived of their guidance and the counsel of other prisoners. They were faith in God, faith in country, and faith in your fellow prisoners... Without faith, we would lose our dignity, and live among our enemies as animals lived among their human masters.”
“POWs often regard their prison experience as comparable to the trials of Job. Indeed, for my fellow prisoners who suffered more than I, the comparison is appropriate. Hungry, beaten, hurt, scared, and alone, human beings can begin to feel that they are removed from God’s love, a vast distance separating them from their Creator. The anguish can lead to resentment, to the awful despair that God has forsaken you. To guard against such despair, in our most dire moments, POWs would make supreme efforts to grasp our faith tightly, to profess it alone, in the dark, and hasten its revival.”
“Once I was thrown into another cell after a long and difficult interrogation. I discovered scratched into one of the cell’s walls the creed ‘I believe in God, the Father Almighty.’ There, standing witness to God’s presence in a remote, concealed place, recalled to my faith by a stronger, better man, I felt God’s love and care more vividly than I would have felt it had I been safe among a pious congregation in the most magnificent cathedral.”
Anyone who has been through life-changing trauma will understand these words John McCain wrote about prayer: “There were many times I didn’t pray for another day and I didn’t pray for another hour—I prayed for another minute to keep going.”
Of McCain’s courage and fortitude, Col. Day says with certainty, “He wasn’t corruptible then, he’s not corruptible today.”
Capt. Tom Moe, who also got to know the real John McCain while they were imprisoned together, says that one of his strongest recollections of McCain was one day when McCain’s captors were returning him to his cell after torturous interrogations. Moe looked through a pinhole in his door as McCain looked back in the direction of his cell and gave him a smile and thumbs up: “I look back and that vision of him looking over at me and going ‘we’re going to pull through this’ under terrible, terrible conditions is a great memory for me.”
Another of McCain’s fellow POWs, and one of my personal heroes, Col. Roger Ingvalson, told me this week, “I spent two years with John McCain in some of the worst circumstances imaginable. I have spent time with John under much better circumstances in the years since. John McCain has the highest integrity of any political leader I have ever had the privilege of knowing, and I have known plenty.”
In this political season, many political stump speeches end with the words, “God Bless America.” But rest assured, when John McCain uses those words, they are much more than an obligatory footnote.
Quote of the week
“I’m not running for president because I think I’m blessed with such personal greatness that history has anointed me to save our country in its hour of need. My country saved me... and I cannot forget it. And I will fight for her for as long as I draw breath, so help me God. I’m going to fight for my cause every day as your president. I’m going to fight to make sure every American has every reason to thank God, as I thank Him: that I’m an American, a proud citizen of the greatest country on earth, and with hard work, strong faith and a little courage, great things are always within our reach. Fight with me. Fight for what’s right for our country. Fight for the ideals and character of a free people. Fight for our children’s future. Fight for justice and opportunity for all. Stand up to defend our country from its enemies. Stand up for each other, for beautiful, blessed, bountiful America. Stand up and fight. We’re Americans, and we never give up. We never quit. We never hide from history. We make history. Thank you, and God bless you, and God bless America.” —John McCain, concluding his nomination acceptance speech
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Ed Stetzer's blog
While Ed's blog is included among the blog roll, this particular post, The Temptation of Disconnect, falls in the required reading category.
Read his post, peruse the comments, stir the pot a mite if you so desire. If democracy exists to the extent that those concerned participate, does that same logic not apply to the local church?
Read his post, peruse the comments, stir the pot a mite if you so desire. If democracy exists to the extent that those concerned participate, does that same logic not apply to the local church?
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Joe Gibbs Demonstrates No-Spin Responsibility
Joe Gibbs Demonstrates No-Spin Responsibility
Chuck Colson
BreakPoint
August 22, 2008
You may have seen ads for an insurance company touting its commitment to responsibility. They feature people doing the right thing, such as returning lost property and helping strangers, simply because it is the right thing to do.
The ads have struck a nerve with the public—probably because personal responsibility is not one of the defining traits of our age.
There is another, equally important, aspect of good character and responsibility: that is, owning up to your mistakes and transgressions. Happily, there are real-world examples of this kind of responsibility in, of all places, the race track.
Earlier this year NASCAR ordered one team to reduce the horsepower generated by its engines in an attempt to make races more competitive. That team had won more than half of the races this season.
Compliance with the order was determined by what is known as a "chassis dynamometer" test—or "dyno test" for short.
In the competitive world of auto racing, where money, prestige, and pride are always on the line, such an order does not go down very well. Mechanics and technicians who have spent countless hours perfecting their cars might resent this attempt to level the playing field. They might even put a kind of moral spin on the issue: It is "unfair," maybe even "un-American," to "punish" excellence in this way.
So it comes as no surprise that someone might try to disobey the order while appearing to be in compliance by fooling the dynamometer. And that is exactly what happened: During "chassis dyno" tests after a recent race in Michigan, NASCAR inspectors found that the team's mechanics had rigged the cars to appear as if they were in compliance when they were not. In other words, they cheated.
While the cheating is not surprising, the name of the team is: Joe Gibbs Racing. It is surprising because Gibbs is an outspoken Christian who has gone into prisons with me. I know Joe well and respect his character and integrity—they are unimpeachable.
That is why I was not surprised at what followed: While neither Joe nor his son J. D. had any clue as to what their employees were doing, they took "full responsibility" for their employees' actions.
Joe said that the incident "goes against everything we stand for as an organization." He added that "we will take full responsibility and accept any penalties NASCAR levies against us."
That's it: no evasion, no excuses, no spin. It stands in marked contrast to the evasions and "damage control" we hear and read about all the time. People caught breaking the law or behaving badly blame everything from dyslexia, their disadvantaged upbringing, and even acid reflux for their failings. When they do acknowledge fault, they seek to mitigate their responsibility by citing "extenuating" circumstances—or, as we see with politicians, regularly they call sin just a "mistake."
It is not just celebrities and politicians. Americans talk about responsibility, but we are all-too-eager to pass the blame along, especially if there is punishment involved.
That is why I so admire Joe Gibbs's willingness to take his punishment without qualifiers. Joe and family are not only doing the right thing, they are setting a real-world example for the rest of us to emulate. Thank you, Joe, for your Christian witness and teaching the rest of us a lesson.
Chuck Colson’s daily BreakPoint commentary airs each weekday on more than one thousand outlets with an estimated listening audience of one million people. BreakPoint provides a Christian perspective on today’s news and trends via radio, interactive media, and print.
Chuck Colson
BreakPoint
August 22, 2008
You may have seen ads for an insurance company touting its commitment to responsibility. They feature people doing the right thing, such as returning lost property and helping strangers, simply because it is the right thing to do.
The ads have struck a nerve with the public—probably because personal responsibility is not one of the defining traits of our age.
There is another, equally important, aspect of good character and responsibility: that is, owning up to your mistakes and transgressions. Happily, there are real-world examples of this kind of responsibility in, of all places, the race track.
Earlier this year NASCAR ordered one team to reduce the horsepower generated by its engines in an attempt to make races more competitive. That team had won more than half of the races this season.
Compliance with the order was determined by what is known as a "chassis dynamometer" test—or "dyno test" for short.
In the competitive world of auto racing, where money, prestige, and pride are always on the line, such an order does not go down very well. Mechanics and technicians who have spent countless hours perfecting their cars might resent this attempt to level the playing field. They might even put a kind of moral spin on the issue: It is "unfair," maybe even "un-American," to "punish" excellence in this way.
So it comes as no surprise that someone might try to disobey the order while appearing to be in compliance by fooling the dynamometer. And that is exactly what happened: During "chassis dyno" tests after a recent race in Michigan, NASCAR inspectors found that the team's mechanics had rigged the cars to appear as if they were in compliance when they were not. In other words, they cheated.
While the cheating is not surprising, the name of the team is: Joe Gibbs Racing. It is surprising because Gibbs is an outspoken Christian who has gone into prisons with me. I know Joe well and respect his character and integrity—they are unimpeachable.
That is why I was not surprised at what followed: While neither Joe nor his son J. D. had any clue as to what their employees were doing, they took "full responsibility" for their employees' actions.
Joe said that the incident "goes against everything we stand for as an organization." He added that "we will take full responsibility and accept any penalties NASCAR levies against us."
That's it: no evasion, no excuses, no spin. It stands in marked contrast to the evasions and "damage control" we hear and read about all the time. People caught breaking the law or behaving badly blame everything from dyslexia, their disadvantaged upbringing, and even acid reflux for their failings. When they do acknowledge fault, they seek to mitigate their responsibility by citing "extenuating" circumstances—or, as we see with politicians, regularly they call sin just a "mistake."
It is not just celebrities and politicians. Americans talk about responsibility, but we are all-too-eager to pass the blame along, especially if there is punishment involved.
That is why I so admire Joe Gibbs's willingness to take his punishment without qualifiers. Joe and family are not only doing the right thing, they are setting a real-world example for the rest of us to emulate. Thank you, Joe, for your Christian witness and teaching the rest of us a lesson.
Chuck Colson’s daily BreakPoint commentary airs each weekday on more than one thousand outlets with an estimated listening audience of one million people. BreakPoint provides a Christian perspective on today’s news and trends via radio, interactive media, and print.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
The Spin Zone (Mart De Haan)
BEEN THINKING ABOUT: THE SPIN ZONE
The FOX News Network has made a name for itself by promising to present the news “fair and balanced.” Its anchors say, “We report. You decide.” Bill O’Reilly opens his hour-long program with, “You’re in the no spin zone.” He closes with a bit of a smile and twinkle in his eye, saying, “Remember, the spin stops here.”
Most of us would probably like to believe that “fair and balanced” is our style of news. But what do our actions say? How do we report our own stories? Isn’t it true that when we do our own anchoring . . .
We wonder. They’re nosy.
We’re cautious. They’re paranoid.
We’re composed. They’re stuffy.
We’re concerned. They gripe.
We’re determined. They’re bullheaded.
We don’t have to try to make such distinctions. They just happen. In unguarded, emotional, or self-protective moments, we naturally choose words that give the benefit of the doubt to ourselves at the expense of others. With little thought, we hide our own wrongs and exaggerate the faults of others.
What’s behind the spin?
How do we explain our tendency to be unfair and unbalanced? Has spin been necessary for the survival of the fittest? Or does the Bible give us a better explanation for why we, even unintentionally, color, slice, and dice the truth?
One evidence of the Bible’s credibility is that it doesn’t seem to hide or minimize the faults of its own people. From the Bible itself we learn that Moses was a killer, David was an adulterer, and Paul, in his own words, was the chief of sinners.
Let’s take this a step further. Could the Bible be the ultimate no-spin zone? Look at what it does. Without covering up the wrongs of its own “chosen people,” it tells a story that reflects not only our inclinations, but why we all aspire to something higher.
When did the spin begin?
According to Genesis, in the beginning the first two people had no reason to do anything but love life and truth. They were both created by a great Author who used His own words to compose a perfect story for them.
With the turn of the page, however, the Author’s real-life cast of characters walk out on Him. Instead of following His script, they decide to write their own story.
Who spun first?
The history of truth telling took a turn for the worse when the first man and woman met someone who claimed to know more about their Author’s motives than they did. Like a tennis player hitting an intentional slice, the stranger put his own spin on the only limitation the Author had given them. He asked the woman whether it was really true that the Author had told them they could not eat from every tree in the garden.
Because the couple had no experience with evil, the woman didn’t see the danger of talking to a stranger. While they may have wondered why the Author had put the tree of the knowledge of good and evil off limits, they had no reason to doubt His motives.
But the stranger raised an interesting question. Why didn’t the Author want them eating from that tree? What secrets was He keeping from them? Why didn’t He want them knowing as much as He knew?
They had entered a spin zone.
The spread of spin
When the Author found the couple and asked the man what he had done, the man blamed the woman. The woman, in turn, pointed her finger at the Serpent who, as we later learn, has his own issues with the Author (Job 1:9-11).
Even though neither of them saw it coming, the man and woman now had something in common with the blame-shifting devil whose name means “the accuser.”
Some would say the first couple bet the farm and lost it on bad advice. But being evicted from their home and land was the least of their growing problems. Something in them had died. For the first time, they were not on the same page with the Author. Their loss of innocence and knowledge of good and evil changed the way they thought and talked about one another.
From that time on, the first couple and their children had something to hide about themselves and to suspect in others. In an effort to avoid blame for what they had done, they would always tend to tell their story in a way that blurred the line between fact and fiction.
Today we are living out the legacy of our first parents’ spin. The use of half-truths to color our thinking is a commercial and political art. Urban legends multiply. Advertising plays with our minds. Truth is told and sold at a price none of us can afford.
The solution for spin
With such spinning of the truth running through our veins, how could our own story turn out well?
According to the Bible, the great Author and finisher of our faith offers to reverse and stop the spin for us (Romans 5:19; Hebrews 12:2). While we are inclined to project our guilt onto others, Jesus does the opposite. He takes our guilt upon Himself (2 Corinthians 5:21), accepts full responsibility for our spiritual debts, and gives His blamelessness to anyone who receives Him (John 1:12; 5:24).
With an offer that releases us from our addiction to sin and spin, Jesus says, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31-32).
Father in heaven, the way we twist the truth about ourselves and others says so much about our need of You. We keep falling back into our old ways of favoring ourselves at the expense of others. Please help us to show increasingly an honesty of conversation and integrity of life demonstrating to our world that our hope and our security is not in our spin, and certainly not in our sin—but in You. — Mart De Haan
Click here to share your thoughts on Mart’s article or visit us online at www.rbc.org. We value your feedback.
The FOX News Network has made a name for itself by promising to present the news “fair and balanced.” Its anchors say, “We report. You decide.” Bill O’Reilly opens his hour-long program with, “You’re in the no spin zone.” He closes with a bit of a smile and twinkle in his eye, saying, “Remember, the spin stops here.”
Most of us would probably like to believe that “fair and balanced” is our style of news. But what do our actions say? How do we report our own stories? Isn’t it true that when we do our own anchoring . . .
We wonder. They’re nosy.
We’re cautious. They’re paranoid.
We’re composed. They’re stuffy.
We’re concerned. They gripe.
We’re determined. They’re bullheaded.
We don’t have to try to make such distinctions. They just happen. In unguarded, emotional, or self-protective moments, we naturally choose words that give the benefit of the doubt to ourselves at the expense of others. With little thought, we hide our own wrongs and exaggerate the faults of others.
What’s behind the spin?
How do we explain our tendency to be unfair and unbalanced? Has spin been necessary for the survival of the fittest? Or does the Bible give us a better explanation for why we, even unintentionally, color, slice, and dice the truth?
One evidence of the Bible’s credibility is that it doesn’t seem to hide or minimize the faults of its own people. From the Bible itself we learn that Moses was a killer, David was an adulterer, and Paul, in his own words, was the chief of sinners.
Let’s take this a step further. Could the Bible be the ultimate no-spin zone? Look at what it does. Without covering up the wrongs of its own “chosen people,” it tells a story that reflects not only our inclinations, but why we all aspire to something higher.
When did the spin begin?
According to Genesis, in the beginning the first two people had no reason to do anything but love life and truth. They were both created by a great Author who used His own words to compose a perfect story for them.
With the turn of the page, however, the Author’s real-life cast of characters walk out on Him. Instead of following His script, they decide to write their own story.
Who spun first?
The history of truth telling took a turn for the worse when the first man and woman met someone who claimed to know more about their Author’s motives than they did. Like a tennis player hitting an intentional slice, the stranger put his own spin on the only limitation the Author had given them. He asked the woman whether it was really true that the Author had told them they could not eat from every tree in the garden.
Because the couple had no experience with evil, the woman didn’t see the danger of talking to a stranger. While they may have wondered why the Author had put the tree of the knowledge of good and evil off limits, they had no reason to doubt His motives.
But the stranger raised an interesting question. Why didn’t the Author want them eating from that tree? What secrets was He keeping from them? Why didn’t He want them knowing as much as He knew?
They had entered a spin zone.
The spread of spin
When the Author found the couple and asked the man what he had done, the man blamed the woman. The woman, in turn, pointed her finger at the Serpent who, as we later learn, has his own issues with the Author (Job 1:9-11).
Even though neither of them saw it coming, the man and woman now had something in common with the blame-shifting devil whose name means “the accuser.”
Some would say the first couple bet the farm and lost it on bad advice. But being evicted from their home and land was the least of their growing problems. Something in them had died. For the first time, they were not on the same page with the Author. Their loss of innocence and knowledge of good and evil changed the way they thought and talked about one another.
From that time on, the first couple and their children had something to hide about themselves and to suspect in others. In an effort to avoid blame for what they had done, they would always tend to tell their story in a way that blurred the line between fact and fiction.
Today we are living out the legacy of our first parents’ spin. The use of half-truths to color our thinking is a commercial and political art. Urban legends multiply. Advertising plays with our minds. Truth is told and sold at a price none of us can afford.
The solution for spin
With such spinning of the truth running through our veins, how could our own story turn out well?
According to the Bible, the great Author and finisher of our faith offers to reverse and stop the spin for us (Romans 5:19; Hebrews 12:2). While we are inclined to project our guilt onto others, Jesus does the opposite. He takes our guilt upon Himself (2 Corinthians 5:21), accepts full responsibility for our spiritual debts, and gives His blamelessness to anyone who receives Him (John 1:12; 5:24).
With an offer that releases us from our addiction to sin and spin, Jesus says, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31-32).
Father in heaven, the way we twist the truth about ourselves and others says so much about our need of You. We keep falling back into our old ways of favoring ourselves at the expense of others. Please help us to show increasingly an honesty of conversation and integrity of life demonstrating to our world that our hope and our security is not in our spin, and certainly not in our sin—but in You. — Mart De Haan
Click here to share your thoughts on Mart’s article or visit us online at www.rbc.org. We value your feedback.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Solzhenitsyn vs. Evil
Solzhenitsyn vs. Evil
Dr. Paul Kengor
Grove City College
August 4, 2008Alexander Solzhenitsyn, a great figure of the 20th century, is dead at the age of 89.How does one adequately honor the man? It’s impossible to capture in one column what Solzhenitsyn meant, experienced, and how he went about translating it to the West in an unprecedented way. Professors everywhere will struggle to fully convey his impact to their students. I will point to just a few things that stand out in my mind.
First was his creative, trenchant opening to his majestic, The Gulag Archipelago, the shocking firsthand account of the Soviet forced-labor-camp system, where tens of million innocents perished and countless more, like Solzhenitsyn himself, were held captive. Solzhenitsyn began his work with a mundane but instructive example: He cited an article in the journal Nature, which informed its readers, in a strictly scientific fashion, about a group of fleeing, desperate men in Siberia who, starving, happened upon a subterranean ice lens that held a perfectly preserved prehistoric fauna.“Flouting the higher claims of ichthyology,” narrated Solzhenitsyn, and “elbowing each other to be first,” they chipped away the ice, hurried the fish to a fire, cooked it, and bolted it down. No doubt, said Solzhenitsyn, Nature impressed its readers with this account of how 10,000-year-old fish could be kept fresh over such a long period.
But only a narrower group of readers could decipher the true meaning of this “incautious” report. That smaller club was the fellow gulag survivors—the “pitiable zeks,” as Solzhenitsyn called them. When your goal is survival, you survive, even if it means hurriedly devouring something that in a normal world would be carefully rushed to a museum.As Solzhenitsyn knew, however, and proceeded to make clear in the pages that followed, Soviet communism was no normal world. His groundbreaking work unearthed gem after gem to an outside world not yet fully acquainted with the “horror house” (Boris Yeltsin’s characterization) that was the Soviet Union.
Among the many other items worthy of mention from The Gulag Archipelago was how Solzhenitsyn literally did the Lord’s work by reporting on the Moscow “church trials” of the 1920s—classic, prototype communist show trials, aimed specifically at the Russian church. These were outrageous miscarriages of justice, the outcome always predetermined, and the goal to undermine communism’s most despised foe: God.
Solzhenitsyn’s reporting on these trials, including excerpts of exchanges between saintly priests and stooge apparatchiks, offered only one glimmer of solace each time another good man was sentenced to execution: every priest could identify with Christ’s passion.
There was never a need for witnesses. Guilty as charged.
Some, like Severian Baranyk, were killed with a cross-shaped slash across their chests, or, like Zenobius Kovalyk, in mock crucifixions.The Gulag Archipelago, plus other Solzhenitsyn masterpieces such as A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, may get a half-day-news-cycle worth of attention from our superficial media.
That’s too bad, since Solzhenitsyn’s unfiltered voice in our press frequently exploded like cannon fire at the Iron Curtain.
The Soviets recoiled each time Solzhenitsyn’s words were broadcast in the West. A striking case that enraged them twice over was when his words were (spiritually) employed inside the USSR by the visiting American president. This occurred on May 30, 1988 at the Moscow Summit, when President Ronald Reagan—who had been quoting Solzhenitsyn since the 1970s—met with Soviet religious leaders at the 700-year-old Danilov Monastery. Reagan said "There is a beautiful passage that I’d just like to read, if I may. It’s from one of this country’s great writers and believers, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, about the faith that is as elemental to this land as the dark and fertile soil."
He wrote: “When you travel the byroads of central Russia, you begin to understand the secret of the pacifying Russian countryside. It is in the churches. They lift their bell-towers—graceful, shapely, all different—high over mundane timber and thatch. From villages that are cut off and invisible to each other, they soar to the same heaven…. [T]he evening chimes used to ring out, floating over the villages, fields, and woods, reminding men that they must abandon trivial concerns of this world and give time and thought to eternity.”In our prayers we may keep that image in mind: the thought that the bells may ring again, sounding through Moscow and across the countryside, clamoring for joy in their new-found freedom.
The Soviets hated this. For Reagan to invoke Solzhenitsyn inside the USSR was bad enough, but to do so in behalf of religious liberty was galling. They wasted no time blasting this passage in editorials in their government-controlled newspapers. Reagan had dared cite Solzhenitsyn in the House of Lenin, an unacceptable blasphemy to the Gospel of Marx.
If a man’s achievements can be measured by the vicious un-holiness of his persecutors, then Alexander Solzhenitsyn will now enjoy a lifetime of heavenly rewards. Spared the martyrdom of the dead Russian believers who could not live to blow the whistle, it was left to him to witness to the outside world. It was a job that this faithful servant did better than any other zek.
May he rest in peace, free from pain and elevated high above his tormentors.
Editor’s Note: This article is also posted at National Review Online.
Paul Kengor is professor of political science and executive director of the Center for Vision & Values at Grove City College. His books include God and Ronald Reagan: A Spiritual Life (HarperCollins, 2004), The Judge: William P. Clark, Ronald Reagan's Top Hand (Ignatius Press, 2007), and The Crusader: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism (HarperPerennial, 2007).
Dr. Paul Kengor
Grove City College
August 4, 2008Alexander Solzhenitsyn, a great figure of the 20th century, is dead at the age of 89.How does one adequately honor the man? It’s impossible to capture in one column what Solzhenitsyn meant, experienced, and how he went about translating it to the West in an unprecedented way. Professors everywhere will struggle to fully convey his impact to their students. I will point to just a few things that stand out in my mind.
First was his creative, trenchant opening to his majestic, The Gulag Archipelago, the shocking firsthand account of the Soviet forced-labor-camp system, where tens of million innocents perished and countless more, like Solzhenitsyn himself, were held captive. Solzhenitsyn began his work with a mundane but instructive example: He cited an article in the journal Nature, which informed its readers, in a strictly scientific fashion, about a group of fleeing, desperate men in Siberia who, starving, happened upon a subterranean ice lens that held a perfectly preserved prehistoric fauna.“Flouting the higher claims of ichthyology,” narrated Solzhenitsyn, and “elbowing each other to be first,” they chipped away the ice, hurried the fish to a fire, cooked it, and bolted it down. No doubt, said Solzhenitsyn, Nature impressed its readers with this account of how 10,000-year-old fish could be kept fresh over such a long period.
But only a narrower group of readers could decipher the true meaning of this “incautious” report. That smaller club was the fellow gulag survivors—the “pitiable zeks,” as Solzhenitsyn called them. When your goal is survival, you survive, even if it means hurriedly devouring something that in a normal world would be carefully rushed to a museum.As Solzhenitsyn knew, however, and proceeded to make clear in the pages that followed, Soviet communism was no normal world. His groundbreaking work unearthed gem after gem to an outside world not yet fully acquainted with the “horror house” (Boris Yeltsin’s characterization) that was the Soviet Union.
Among the many other items worthy of mention from The Gulag Archipelago was how Solzhenitsyn literally did the Lord’s work by reporting on the Moscow “church trials” of the 1920s—classic, prototype communist show trials, aimed specifically at the Russian church. These were outrageous miscarriages of justice, the outcome always predetermined, and the goal to undermine communism’s most despised foe: God.
Solzhenitsyn’s reporting on these trials, including excerpts of exchanges between saintly priests and stooge apparatchiks, offered only one glimmer of solace each time another good man was sentenced to execution: every priest could identify with Christ’s passion.
There was never a need for witnesses. Guilty as charged.
Some, like Severian Baranyk, were killed with a cross-shaped slash across their chests, or, like Zenobius Kovalyk, in mock crucifixions.The Gulag Archipelago, plus other Solzhenitsyn masterpieces such as A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, may get a half-day-news-cycle worth of attention from our superficial media.
That’s too bad, since Solzhenitsyn’s unfiltered voice in our press frequently exploded like cannon fire at the Iron Curtain.
The Soviets recoiled each time Solzhenitsyn’s words were broadcast in the West. A striking case that enraged them twice over was when his words were (spiritually) employed inside the USSR by the visiting American president. This occurred on May 30, 1988 at the Moscow Summit, when President Ronald Reagan—who had been quoting Solzhenitsyn since the 1970s—met with Soviet religious leaders at the 700-year-old Danilov Monastery. Reagan said "There is a beautiful passage that I’d just like to read, if I may. It’s from one of this country’s great writers and believers, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, about the faith that is as elemental to this land as the dark and fertile soil."
He wrote: “When you travel the byroads of central Russia, you begin to understand the secret of the pacifying Russian countryside. It is in the churches. They lift their bell-towers—graceful, shapely, all different—high over mundane timber and thatch. From villages that are cut off and invisible to each other, they soar to the same heaven…. [T]he evening chimes used to ring out, floating over the villages, fields, and woods, reminding men that they must abandon trivial concerns of this world and give time and thought to eternity.”In our prayers we may keep that image in mind: the thought that the bells may ring again, sounding through Moscow and across the countryside, clamoring for joy in their new-found freedom.
The Soviets hated this. For Reagan to invoke Solzhenitsyn inside the USSR was bad enough, but to do so in behalf of religious liberty was galling. They wasted no time blasting this passage in editorials in their government-controlled newspapers. Reagan had dared cite Solzhenitsyn in the House of Lenin, an unacceptable blasphemy to the Gospel of Marx.
If a man’s achievements can be measured by the vicious un-holiness of his persecutors, then Alexander Solzhenitsyn will now enjoy a lifetime of heavenly rewards. Spared the martyrdom of the dead Russian believers who could not live to blow the whistle, it was left to him to witness to the outside world. It was a job that this faithful servant did better than any other zek.
May he rest in peace, free from pain and elevated high above his tormentors.
Editor’s Note: This article is also posted at National Review Online.
Paul Kengor is professor of political science and executive director of the Center for Vision & Values at Grove City College. His books include God and Ronald Reagan: A Spiritual Life (HarperCollins, 2004), The Judge: William P. Clark, Ronald Reagan's Top Hand (Ignatius Press, 2007), and The Crusader: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism (HarperPerennial, 2007).
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Our Daily Bread for July 27, 2008
The Revisable Edition
ODB RADIO: Listen Now DownloadREAD: Matthew 5:43-48
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable . . . for instruction in righteousness. —2 Timothy 3:16
Randall Peterson, a retired autoworker, thinks there could be an interest for a new kind of Bible. He sarcastically says that a publisher ought to create an electronic Bible that would allow for editing from the pew. That way individuals and churches could make the Bible say what they want it to say. He says it could be called the “LAME” Bible: “Locally Adaptive Multifaith Edition” and “could be sold to any church regardless of what it believes.”
He’s making a point, of course, but we might be tempted by such a product. Jesus gives us some hard teachings! As believers, our desire is to be obedient to Him in our choices and attitudes, but at times we resist the Word of God and may wish we could soften His commands.
Some of Jesus’ hard teachings are found in the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 5, He says: “Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you” (v.44). That’s what He tells us to do, so we know we can’t just delete it. We need to apply it to our personal situation with the Holy Spirit’s enablement.
God’s Word is to be obeyed by His people. We’re the ones who need to be “revised”—not the Scriptures. — Anne Cetas
The laws of God are true and right;They stand as firm todayAs when He put them in His WordAnd told us to obey. —Fasick
To love God is to obey God.
ODB RADIO: Listen Now DownloadREAD: Matthew 5:43-48
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable . . . for instruction in righteousness. —2 Timothy 3:16
Randall Peterson, a retired autoworker, thinks there could be an interest for a new kind of Bible. He sarcastically says that a publisher ought to create an electronic Bible that would allow for editing from the pew. That way individuals and churches could make the Bible say what they want it to say. He says it could be called the “LAME” Bible: “Locally Adaptive Multifaith Edition” and “could be sold to any church regardless of what it believes.”
He’s making a point, of course, but we might be tempted by such a product. Jesus gives us some hard teachings! As believers, our desire is to be obedient to Him in our choices and attitudes, but at times we resist the Word of God and may wish we could soften His commands.
Some of Jesus’ hard teachings are found in the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 5, He says: “Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you” (v.44). That’s what He tells us to do, so we know we can’t just delete it. We need to apply it to our personal situation with the Holy Spirit’s enablement.
God’s Word is to be obeyed by His people. We’re the ones who need to be “revised”—not the Scriptures. — Anne Cetas
The laws of God are true and right;They stand as firm todayAs when He put them in His WordAnd told us to obey. —Fasick
To love God is to obey God.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Playing Through Your Pain
Playing Through Your Pain, by Rubel Shelly
Whether you play golf or not, you surely know the name Tiger Woods. So bear with me. This week's article (from FAX of Life) isn't so much about golf as life.
Almost a month ago now, Tiger outlasted Rocco Mediate in this year's U.S. Open. Playing the course at Torrey Pines in San Diego, the two were tied after four days. They were still tied at the end of an 18-hole playoff. Tiger won on the first sudden death hole. Some say it was the greatest U.S. Open in history.
No, the score wasn't the lowest ever. No, it wasn't won by an eagle from the fairway. No, there was no miracle shot that ended things. The miracle was that the man who won was able to complete the competition.
Tiger Woods played the tournament with a torn anterior cruciate ligament and two stress fractures below the left knee. As I watched part of the Open on TV, it was obvious that the world's greatest golfer was in excruciating pain at times. His powerful swing would contort his whole body, wrench his injured knee in particular, and register quite dramatically on his ordinarily poised face.
Golf is only a game, but watching a professional athlete compete through such pain was inspiring. He could have simply withdrawn because of the injury. Fans would have been disappointed but would have understood. He could have played to his pain and hit the ball less aggressively. He might have fallen back into the pack and taken a high score and low finish. He would have none of it.
Tiger played through his pain. He wouldn't quit. He gave his best on every hole. He insisted on playing to his full potential -- even when that potential was putting both his body and mind under incredible stress. Hooray for him!
There are pains of all kinds.
The winner of this year's U.S. Open had successful reconstructive surgery on his damaged knee about ten days later. He will miss the remainder of this year's PGA tournament events, of course, while he rehabs the knee. But few people doubt he will be ready to play the tour next year. He is, after all, Tiger Woods. He is the ultimate competitor. He doesn't quit.
There are pains of all kinds. Physical trauma, broken relationships, failed ventures, consequences of wrongs done -- all are different and all the same. And each of us has to decide about quitting, playing to the pain, or working through.
As you're deciding what to do with yours, think about why so many people are speaking of Tiger Woods with such admiration these days -- even the folks like me, who hardly know which end of a golf club to hold.
True courage isn't just outlasting difficulty, but turning it into triumph.
---------
(c) 2008 Used by permission. From Rubel Shelly's
"FAX of Life" printed each Tuesday. See Faith Matters for
previous issues of the "FAX of Life."
Whether you play golf or not, you surely know the name Tiger Woods. So bear with me. This week's article (from FAX of Life) isn't so much about golf as life.
Almost a month ago now, Tiger outlasted Rocco Mediate in this year's U.S. Open. Playing the course at Torrey Pines in San Diego, the two were tied after four days. They were still tied at the end of an 18-hole playoff. Tiger won on the first sudden death hole. Some say it was the greatest U.S. Open in history.
No, the score wasn't the lowest ever. No, it wasn't won by an eagle from the fairway. No, there was no miracle shot that ended things. The miracle was that the man who won was able to complete the competition.
Tiger Woods played the tournament with a torn anterior cruciate ligament and two stress fractures below the left knee. As I watched part of the Open on TV, it was obvious that the world's greatest golfer was in excruciating pain at times. His powerful swing would contort his whole body, wrench his injured knee in particular, and register quite dramatically on his ordinarily poised face.
Golf is only a game, but watching a professional athlete compete through such pain was inspiring. He could have simply withdrawn because of the injury. Fans would have been disappointed but would have understood. He could have played to his pain and hit the ball less aggressively. He might have fallen back into the pack and taken a high score and low finish. He would have none of it.
Tiger played through his pain. He wouldn't quit. He gave his best on every hole. He insisted on playing to his full potential -- even when that potential was putting both his body and mind under incredible stress. Hooray for him!
There are pains of all kinds.
The winner of this year's U.S. Open had successful reconstructive surgery on his damaged knee about ten days later. He will miss the remainder of this year's PGA tournament events, of course, while he rehabs the knee. But few people doubt he will be ready to play the tour next year. He is, after all, Tiger Woods. He is the ultimate competitor. He doesn't quit.
There are pains of all kinds. Physical trauma, broken relationships, failed ventures, consequences of wrongs done -- all are different and all the same. And each of us has to decide about quitting, playing to the pain, or working through.
As you're deciding what to do with yours, think about why so many people are speaking of Tiger Woods with such admiration these days -- even the folks like me, who hardly know which end of a golf club to hold.
True courage isn't just outlasting difficulty, but turning it into triumph.
---------
(c) 2008 Used by permission. From Rubel Shelly
"FAX of Life" printed each Tuesday. See Faith Matters for
previous issues of the "FAX of Life."
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Pew Research article on religion in the military
Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life published a quite interesting article on religion in the military. Click on the above link to access the complete article.
Friday, July 4, 2008
Denny Burk
A link to Denny Burk's blog was included in Ed Stetzer's 4th of July post. Interesting reading on theology, politics and culture. Denny's blog's rss feed is now added to the links, blogs, and feeds available on Bobology. :) Kent
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Galatians 6 - Text for June 29th class discussion
Per Doug's e-mail:...I am planning to build a little on what we discussed last week (Fellowship, Koinonia, Covered Dishes, front porches, etc.) and talk a little about Bearing One Another's Burdens. Just so you can give it some thought ahead of time, we'll start in Galatians 6.
Why are we told to do it?
What does that mean?
What does it look like?
How do we do it?
What's up with verse 5?
Not sure exactly where this will end up but with our group it's bound to be somewhere interesting and unexpected. And just so you know, I don't have the answers either.
Galatians 6
Bear and Share the Burdens
1 Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. 2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. 5 For each one shall bear his own load.
Be Generous and Do Good
6 Let him who is taught the word share in all good things with him who teaches. 7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. 9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.
Glory Only in the Cross
11 See with what large letters I have written to you with my own hand! 12 As many as desire to make a good showing in the flesh, these would compel you to be circumcised, only that they may not suffer persecution for the cross of Christ. 13 For not even those who are circumcised keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh. 14 But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation.
Blessing and a Plea
16 And as many as walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God. 17 From now on let no one trouble me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus. 18 Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.
Why are we told to do it?
What does that mean?
What does it look like?
How do we do it?
What's up with verse 5?
Not sure exactly where this will end up but with our group it's bound to be somewhere interesting and unexpected. And just so you know, I don't have the answers either.
Galatians 6
Bear and Share the Burdens
1 Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. 2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. 5 For each one shall bear his own load.
Be Generous and Do Good
6 Let him who is taught the word share in all good things with him who teaches. 7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. 9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.
Glory Only in the Cross
11 See with what large letters I have written to you with my own hand! 12 As many as desire to make a good showing in the flesh, these would compel you to be circumcised, only that they may not suffer persecution for the cross of Christ. 13 For not even those who are circumcised keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh. 14 But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation.
Blessing and a Plea
16 And as many as walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God. 17 From now on let no one trouble me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus. 18 Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
June 25th, Hope for Each Day
The June 25th entry from Billy Graham’s Hope for Each Day devotional:
Then the king…rejected the advice of the elders.
2 Chronicles 10:13
Tragically, many people are the victims of their own bad decisions. Faced with choices everyday, they turn their backs on what is right or what is best and decide instead on what is wrong or what will bring them harm. Only afterward do they realize that bad decisions always result in bad consequences.
King Rehoboam stubbornly rejected the wise advice of his nation’s elders and instead followed those who told him only what he wanted to hear. As a result, conflict broke out and the nation divided. The Bible warns, “Whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” (Gal. 6:7)
Life is filled with decisions – some minor, but some life changing. How will you make them? The most important thing I can tell you is this: Seek God’s will in every decision. Pray. Turn to the Scriptures. Seek the advice of godly friends. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you. God loves you, and His way is always best.
Then the king…rejected the advice of the elders.
2 Chronicles 10:13
Tragically, many people are the victims of their own bad decisions. Faced with choices everyday, they turn their backs on what is right or what is best and decide instead on what is wrong or what will bring them harm. Only afterward do they realize that bad decisions always result in bad consequences.
King Rehoboam stubbornly rejected the wise advice of his nation’s elders and instead followed those who told him only what he wanted to hear. As a result, conflict broke out and the nation divided. The Bible warns, “Whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” (Gal. 6:7)
Life is filled with decisions – some minor, but some life changing. How will you make them? The most important thing I can tell you is this: Seek God’s will in every decision. Pray. Turn to the Scriptures. Seek the advice of godly friends. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you. God loves you, and His way is always best.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Prayer Requests from the Pastor Search Committee
Pray that the pastor search period will be a time that our church will learn to seek God Himself more than just a new pastor.
Pray for a powerful move of congregational cleansing and renewal.
Pray for strong consistency and focus in the present ministry of the church.
Pray for a miraculous sense of love and unity among all members of the church.
Pray that we will patiently await God’s timing and settle for nothing less than His perfect will. Ask God for His mercy in giving us a true man of God and a great leader.
Pray that we will be prepared to make the necessary changes to embrace a new day of ministry.
Pray for great unity in calling the new pastor.
Friday, June 20, 2008
Annual Summer Reading List
This could be a fun challenge: Annual Summer Reading List
Dr. James Emery White Professor of Theology and Culture Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Senior Pastor of Mecklenburg Community Church in Charlotte, North Carolina
Each year around this time, through the Update, I offer ten titles - in no particular order – from the previous twelve months for your summer reading consideration, usually with an emphasis on cultural understanding. Enjoy.
The New Christians: Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier by Tony Jones. The “emergent church movement”: whether you love it or hate it, feel attraction or fear, consider yourself “in the know” or feel bewildered – or all of the above – this may be the definitive work to date on all things “emergent” by one of its leading voices. Jones, the national coordinator of Emergent Village and a doctoral fellow in practical theology at Princeton Theological Seminary, offers an in-depth view of this new “third way” of faith that attempts to stand between religious conservatism and religious liberalism.
The Great Upheaval: America and the Birth of the Modern World, 1788-1800 by Jay Winik. As you can tell from this year’s list, I was taken by the number of excellent histories that give insight into our present day through the lens of the past. The author of April 1865, Winik’s accomplishment is his global analysis, linking a new United States, the imperial power of Russia, Islamic peoples preparing for war, and the French revolution. As Winik argues, their seemingly individual fates were actually a singular and deeply interconnected moment in time that changed the world and continues to shape the one in which we live.
The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court by Jeffrey Toobin. Few would argue that the judicial system is one of the great epicenters of American culture. Within the judicial system, the Supreme Court is the most important legal body in our country. The Nine, referring to the Court’s nine members, explores an institution in transition as it adjusts to its new conservative majority and what it might hold for such issues as abortion, civil rights, presidential power, and church-state relations.
The World Without Us by Alan Weisman. In what the New York Times called a “morbidly fascinating non-fiction eco-thriller,” Weisman explores humanity’s impact on the planet by asking us to envision our earth without us. As the flyleaf to the book details, “Weisman explains how our massive infrastructure would collapse and finally vanish without human presence…how, just days after humans disappear, floods in New York’s subways would start eroding the city’s foundations, and how, as the world’s cities crumble, asphalt jungles would give way to real ones. It describes the distinct ways that organic and chemically treated farms would revert to wild, how billions more birds would flourish, and how cockroaches in unheated cities would perish without us.” Beyond the sheer fascination Weisman’s exploration brings, the work raises profound issues related to humanity’s relationship with creation.
A Secular Age by Charles Taylor. Emerging from the Gifford Lectures at Edinburgh, Taylor delivers an 874-page magnum opus on secularism and its meaning from a historical perspective. Central to his thesis is that secularism is not a single, continuous transformation but rather a series of departures. Further, that secularism is not marked by an absence of religion as much as the multiplication of options available which may be seized in order to make sense of our lives and give shape to our spiritual inclinations.
Unchristian by Steve Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons. The findings of a study which revealed that those outside of the Christian faith think Christians no longer represent what Jesus had in mind. We’re seen as hyper-political, out of touch, pushy in our beliefs, and arrogant – and most of all, homophobic, hypocritical, and judgmental. (Disclosure: I was one of several “essay” contributors to the book, along with Chuck Colson, Andy Crouch, Louie Giglio, Dan Kimball, Brian McLaren, Chris Seay, Andy Stanley, John Stott, Jim Wallis, and Rick Warren).
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. In this remarkable and highly readable new translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky, who brought equal skill to their translations of Anna Karenina and The Brothers Karamazov, one of the great works of world literature is brought to life for our day. Easily destined to become the definitive English edition.
The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century by Alex Ross. The music critic for The New Yorker explores modern music in all its forms, from Stravinsky to the Velvet Underground, and how it illumines the world in which we live. Beginning in Vienna before the First World War, Ross’ sweeping narrative carries us to Paris in the twenties, on to Hitler’s Germany and Stalin’s Russia, through to downtown New York in the sixties and seventies. As the flyleaf promises, “the end result is not so much a history of twentieth-century music as a history of the twentieth century through music.”
American Creation: Triumphs and Tragedies at the Founding of the Republic by Joseph Ellis. The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Founding Brothers and His Excellency examines the founding years of our country. Noting that both success and tragedy during the last quarter of the eighteenth century shaped our burgeoning nation, Ellis “guides us through the decisive issues of the nation’s founding, and illuminates the emerging philosophies, shifting alliances, and personal and political foibles of our now iconic leaders.” Much that shaped those early years continues to shape us – this book helps us understand how, and why.
Modernism by Peter Gay. The single best book for understanding the Enlightenment was penned by Peter Gay. It can now be said that he has written the single best book for understanding modernism. Originating in the middle of the nineteenth century, through such founding figures as Flaubert and Baudelaire, the history of modernism continued through such figures as Oscar Wilde, Pablo Picasso, James Joyce, Marcel Proust, Virginia Woolf, Igor Stavinsky, T.S. Eliot, Frank Lloyd Wright, Charlie Chaplin, Orson Welles – down to our day, with the novels of Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. Through its “ability to integrate the history of art and literature with the Western society it changed forever, Modernism informs our present like no other recent work of cultural history.”
James Emery White 2007 List To view last year’s list, visit:http://www.serioustimes.com/Blog.asp?ID=37
Dr. James Emery White Professor of Theology and Culture Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Senior Pastor of Mecklenburg Community Church in Charlotte, North Carolina
Each year around this time, through the Update, I offer ten titles - in no particular order – from the previous twelve months for your summer reading consideration, usually with an emphasis on cultural understanding. Enjoy.
The New Christians: Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier by Tony Jones. The “emergent church movement”: whether you love it or hate it, feel attraction or fear, consider yourself “in the know” or feel bewildered – or all of the above – this may be the definitive work to date on all things “emergent” by one of its leading voices. Jones, the national coordinator of Emergent Village and a doctoral fellow in practical theology at Princeton Theological Seminary, offers an in-depth view of this new “third way” of faith that attempts to stand between religious conservatism and religious liberalism.
The Great Upheaval: America and the Birth of the Modern World, 1788-1800 by Jay Winik. As you can tell from this year’s list, I was taken by the number of excellent histories that give insight into our present day through the lens of the past. The author of April 1865, Winik’s accomplishment is his global analysis, linking a new United States, the imperial power of Russia, Islamic peoples preparing for war, and the French revolution. As Winik argues, their seemingly individual fates were actually a singular and deeply interconnected moment in time that changed the world and continues to shape the one in which we live.
The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court by Jeffrey Toobin. Few would argue that the judicial system is one of the great epicenters of American culture. Within the judicial system, the Supreme Court is the most important legal body in our country. The Nine, referring to the Court’s nine members, explores an institution in transition as it adjusts to its new conservative majority and what it might hold for such issues as abortion, civil rights, presidential power, and church-state relations.
The World Without Us by Alan Weisman. In what the New York Times called a “morbidly fascinating non-fiction eco-thriller,” Weisman explores humanity’s impact on the planet by asking us to envision our earth without us. As the flyleaf to the book details, “Weisman explains how our massive infrastructure would collapse and finally vanish without human presence…how, just days after humans disappear, floods in New York’s subways would start eroding the city’s foundations, and how, as the world’s cities crumble, asphalt jungles would give way to real ones. It describes the distinct ways that organic and chemically treated farms would revert to wild, how billions more birds would flourish, and how cockroaches in unheated cities would perish without us.” Beyond the sheer fascination Weisman’s exploration brings, the work raises profound issues related to humanity’s relationship with creation.
A Secular Age by Charles Taylor. Emerging from the Gifford Lectures at Edinburgh, Taylor delivers an 874-page magnum opus on secularism and its meaning from a historical perspective. Central to his thesis is that secularism is not a single, continuous transformation but rather a series of departures. Further, that secularism is not marked by an absence of religion as much as the multiplication of options available which may be seized in order to make sense of our lives and give shape to our spiritual inclinations.
Unchristian by Steve Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons. The findings of a study which revealed that those outside of the Christian faith think Christians no longer represent what Jesus had in mind. We’re seen as hyper-political, out of touch, pushy in our beliefs, and arrogant – and most of all, homophobic, hypocritical, and judgmental. (Disclosure: I was one of several “essay” contributors to the book, along with Chuck Colson, Andy Crouch, Louie Giglio, Dan Kimball, Brian McLaren, Chris Seay, Andy Stanley, John Stott, Jim Wallis, and Rick Warren).
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. In this remarkable and highly readable new translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky, who brought equal skill to their translations of Anna Karenina and The Brothers Karamazov, one of the great works of world literature is brought to life for our day. Easily destined to become the definitive English edition.
The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century by Alex Ross. The music critic for The New Yorker explores modern music in all its forms, from Stravinsky to the Velvet Underground, and how it illumines the world in which we live. Beginning in Vienna before the First World War, Ross’ sweeping narrative carries us to Paris in the twenties, on to Hitler’s Germany and Stalin’s Russia, through to downtown New York in the sixties and seventies. As the flyleaf promises, “the end result is not so much a history of twentieth-century music as a history of the twentieth century through music.”
American Creation: Triumphs and Tragedies at the Founding of the Republic by Joseph Ellis. The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Founding Brothers and His Excellency examines the founding years of our country. Noting that both success and tragedy during the last quarter of the eighteenth century shaped our burgeoning nation, Ellis “guides us through the decisive issues of the nation’s founding, and illuminates the emerging philosophies, shifting alliances, and personal and political foibles of our now iconic leaders.” Much that shaped those early years continues to shape us – this book helps us understand how, and why.
Modernism by Peter Gay. The single best book for understanding the Enlightenment was penned by Peter Gay. It can now be said that he has written the single best book for understanding modernism. Originating in the middle of the nineteenth century, through such founding figures as Flaubert and Baudelaire, the history of modernism continued through such figures as Oscar Wilde, Pablo Picasso, James Joyce, Marcel Proust, Virginia Woolf, Igor Stavinsky, T.S. Eliot, Frank Lloyd Wright, Charlie Chaplin, Orson Welles – down to our day, with the novels of Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. Through its “ability to integrate the history of art and literature with the Western society it changed forever, Modernism informs our present like no other recent work of cultural history.”
James Emery White 2007 List To view last year’s list, visit:http://www.serioustimes.com/Blog.asp?ID=37
The Frantic Pursuit of Rest
The Frantic Pursuit of Rest, by Bill Sherrill
A few years ago, a Hollywood "star type" was heard to say, "I think we are rushing headlong into oblivion." It may have been a more profound statement than it appeared. At the very least, we are rushing headlong toward something. And the key word is "rushing." We rush to work. We rush to dine. We even rush to relax. I think that last statement must be an oxymoron, but whatever we call it, we certainly are rushing into it. Peace and tranquility are seldom achieved in our pursuit of them.
Rather than peace, we are more likely to seek distraction. Noise, visual images, and frantic activity are our constant companions.
Many people have turned to Eastern religions as a means of slowing down the slide to eternity. Others have sought release through drugs. But none of the things men have pursued have brought the desired effect.
Everything we do demands an escalation to remain effective. Eventually it is out of control. For many, the only true peace appears to be to drop out. Why do you suppose man has such a difficult time assembling his life? It would appear that he follows the same reasoning in life that he does in those purchases which need assembly. Question: When does he read the instructions? Answer: When all else fails!
Most have never read it!
There is a Book of excellent instructions for a life of joy and peace, but most have never really read it. They continue to try to force the various parts together in a display of vain pride. The old saying, "Please, I'd rather do it myself," is still very much alive. While that sounds very independent, the truth is that we cannot!
I know, O LORD, that a man's way is not in himself; Nor is it in a
man who walks to direct his steps (Jeremiah 10:23 NASB).
The real answer is found in the Book. There, the master of Heaven and Earth beckons us:
Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you
rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and
humble in heart; and YOU SHALL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My
yoke is easy, and My load is light (Matthew 11:28-30)(Emphasis
added).
Soul rest is what we are really looking for. Everything else has failed, why not read the instructions?
---------
(c) 2008 Bill Sherrill's Thought for
the Week. Used by permission.
A few years ago, a Hollywood "star type" was heard to say, "I think we are rushing headlong into oblivion." It may have been a more profound statement than it appeared. At the very least, we are rushing headlong toward something. And the key word is "rushing." We rush to work. We rush to dine. We even rush to relax. I think that last statement must be an oxymoron, but whatever we call it, we certainly are rushing into it. Peace and tranquility are seldom achieved in our pursuit of them.
Rather than peace, we are more likely to seek distraction. Noise, visual images, and frantic activity are our constant companions.
Many people have turned to Eastern religions as a means of slowing down the slide to eternity. Others have sought release through drugs. But none of the things men have pursued have brought the desired effect.
Everything we do demands an escalation to remain effective. Eventually it is out of control. For many, the only true peace appears to be to drop out. Why do you suppose man has such a difficult time assembling his life? It would appear that he follows the same reasoning in life that he does in those purchases which need assembly. Question: When does he read the instructions? Answer: When all else fails!
Most have never read it!
There is a Book of excellent instructions for a life of joy and peace, but most have never really read it. They continue to try to force the various parts together in a display of vain pride. The old saying, "Please, I'd rather do it myself," is still very much alive. While that sounds very independent, the truth is that we cannot!
I know, O LORD, that a man's way is not in himself; Nor is it in a
man who walks to direct his steps (Jeremiah 10:23 NASB).
The real answer is found in the Book. There, the master of Heaven and Earth beckons us:
Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you
rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and
humble in heart; and YOU SHALL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My
yoke is easy, and My load is light (Matthew 11:28-30)(Emphasis
added).
Soul rest is what we are really looking for. Everything else has failed, why not read the instructions?
---------
(c) 2008 Bill Sherrill
the Week. Used by permission.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
The Perfect Storm
The Perfect Storm
Mary Southerland
Today's Truth
2 Corinthians 1: 4 He comforts us every time we have trouble.
Friend to Friend
The comfort of God is faithful and strong - even during the fiercest storms of life. I enjoy going to movies -- only if they have a happy ending. Daily life has enough reality in it that I don't want to pay to see more reality made bigger on a movie screen. However, when the movie, "The Perfect Storm" came out, my family was on vacation in North Carolina. The previews suggested a happy ending to the movie. I should have known better, but we love the water and particularly enjoy being on a boat, water skiing, tubing...you get the idea! We bought tickets, popcorn and drinks, found the best seats in the theatre and prepared to be entertained. Wrong! Every scene seemed to be submerged in water, with another monstrous wave on the way! By the end of the movie, I never wanted to set foot on a boat again! I was worn out and tempted to demand a refund on the tickets because of false advertising and an unhappy ending! I did, however, come away with a new fascination and deep respect for the sea.
I have a friend who does quite a bit of sailing, so I asked him if he had ever been caught in a bad storm. "Many times!" he said. Unbelievable! I had to ask, "Then why on earth do you keep sailing?" His answer was profound. "Mary, every sailor knows that there will be storms. The trick is to learn how to respond to the storm. In a fierce storm, there is only one thing to do and only one way to survive. You have to put the ship in a certain position and keep her there."
The same is true for the believer. When the storms of life overwhelm us, there is only one thing to do. We must place ourselves in the comfort of God and He will keep us there until the storm is past. Yes, God's comfort is faithful! What a great promise that every time we have trouble He will be there with comfort! The faithful and consistent comfort of God depends upon nothing but the character and heart of God.
I love my children with all of my heart. Naturally, there are times that they make me very angry. They disobey me and sometimes even disappoint me, but if they are hurt, sick or in trouble, the anger, disappointment and even the disobedience is overruled by my love for them and a driving need to comfort them! If my imperfect heart responds to my children that way think about the perfect heart of our heavenly Father! Richard Fuller writes:
"This, Christian, is what you must do. Sometimes, like Paul, you can see neither sun nor stars, and no small tempest lies on you. Reason cannot help you. Past experiences give you no light. Only a single course is left. You must stay upon the Lord; and come what may -- winds, waves, cross seas, thunder, lightening, frowning rocks, roaring breakers -- no matter what, you must lash yourself to the helm and hold fast your confidence in God's faithfulness and his everlasting love in Christ Jesus."
Few things in this unstable life are completely dependable, but God's comfort is one of them! When the hard times come, we can hold on to the promise that is found in Jeremiah 16:19, "Lord, you are my strength and my protection, my safe place in times of trouble."
Mary Southerland
Today's Truth
2 Corinthians 1: 4 He comforts us every time we have trouble.
Friend to Friend
The comfort of God is faithful and strong - even during the fiercest storms of life. I enjoy going to movies -- only if they have a happy ending. Daily life has enough reality in it that I don't want to pay to see more reality made bigger on a movie screen. However, when the movie, "The Perfect Storm" came out, my family was on vacation in North Carolina. The previews suggested a happy ending to the movie. I should have known better, but we love the water and particularly enjoy being on a boat, water skiing, tubing...you get the idea! We bought tickets, popcorn and drinks, found the best seats in the theatre and prepared to be entertained. Wrong! Every scene seemed to be submerged in water, with another monstrous wave on the way! By the end of the movie, I never wanted to set foot on a boat again! I was worn out and tempted to demand a refund on the tickets because of false advertising and an unhappy ending! I did, however, come away with a new fascination and deep respect for the sea.
I have a friend who does quite a bit of sailing, so I asked him if he had ever been caught in a bad storm. "Many times!" he said. Unbelievable! I had to ask, "Then why on earth do you keep sailing?" His answer was profound. "Mary, every sailor knows that there will be storms. The trick is to learn how to respond to the storm. In a fierce storm, there is only one thing to do and only one way to survive. You have to put the ship in a certain position and keep her there."
The same is true for the believer. When the storms of life overwhelm us, there is only one thing to do. We must place ourselves in the comfort of God and He will keep us there until the storm is past. Yes, God's comfort is faithful! What a great promise that every time we have trouble He will be there with comfort! The faithful and consistent comfort of God depends upon nothing but the character and heart of God.
I love my children with all of my heart. Naturally, there are times that they make me very angry. They disobey me and sometimes even disappoint me, but if they are hurt, sick or in trouble, the anger, disappointment and even the disobedience is overruled by my love for them and a driving need to comfort them! If my imperfect heart responds to my children that way think about the perfect heart of our heavenly Father! Richard Fuller writes:
"This, Christian, is what you must do. Sometimes, like Paul, you can see neither sun nor stars, and no small tempest lies on you. Reason cannot help you. Past experiences give you no light. Only a single course is left. You must stay upon the Lord; and come what may -- winds, waves, cross seas, thunder, lightening, frowning rocks, roaring breakers -- no matter what, you must lash yourself to the helm and hold fast your confidence in God's faithfulness and his everlasting love in Christ Jesus."
Few things in this unstable life are completely dependable, but God's comfort is one of them! When the hard times come, we can hold on to the promise that is found in Jeremiah 16:19, "Lord, you are my strength and my protection, my safe place in times of trouble."
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
The Gain is Worth the Pain
The Gain is Worth the Pain, by Tim Archer
I was about 9 years old. I was taking Red Cross swimming lessons at our municipal pool. The day had arrived when I was to be tested to see if I could advance from the Advanced Beginners class to the Intermediate class. Approximately fifteen of us were to take turns swimming from one side of the pool to the other and back, doing various strokes and exercises along the way. I watched as my classmates one by one tried and failed to pass the test. Then it was my turn to fail, I mean, my turn to attempt to pass the test. I got about halfway across the pool when I felt that burning sensation you feel when chlorinated water enters your nose. I immediately stopped and grabbed the side of the pool, ending my test.
One of the instructors was standing above me, a scraggly-haired college student. "Why did you stop?" he yelled, in a less-than-compassionate voice. "I got water in my nose," I explained.
That's when this scruffy college student taught me one of life's great lessons, even if he probably never realized he was doing just that.
Bending down, he shouted, "So?"
So?
So? The question took me aback. It had just seemed logical to me that the answer to pain was to eliminate the thing causing the discomfort.
My 9-year-old brain had not latched onto the fact that a valuable goal is worth achieving even if we have to go through discomfort to get there. Recognizing that, I wasn't sure what would keep me from completing the test. In fact, I did it rather easily on my next attempt. Seeing me pass the test, almost all of the others did so as well.
At times I think Jesus lovingly says "So?" to so many of the things that seem important to me. The obstacles, the hardships, the barriers that appear along the way can't be compared to the goal that waits at the end. We have to focus on the final destination, not the bumps in the road. The apostle Paul wrote: "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us" (Romans 8:18). God's plan for us is not to eliminate suffering in our lives, but to teach us to look past it. When Paul and his companion Barnabas were visiting churches they had started, they told them, "We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22). The night before the crucifixion, Jesus told his disciples: "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world"
(John 16:33).
If you're not a Christian, it's only fair that we warn you that the road won't always be easy. But I can assure you that the goal is more than worth any difficulties we might face along the way. I'd like to tell you more about living above the hardships of life, with our eyes focused on the goal. You can write to me at tim@hopeforlife.org or leave a comment on our blog at www.hopeforlife.org/blog.
I was about 9 years old. I was taking Red Cross swimming lessons at our municipal pool. The day had arrived when I was to be tested to see if I could advance from the Advanced Beginners class to the Intermediate class. Approximately fifteen of us were to take turns swimming from one side of the pool to the other and back, doing various strokes and exercises along the way. I watched as my classmates one by one tried and failed to pass the test. Then it was my turn to fail, I mean, my turn to attempt to pass the test. I got about halfway across the pool when I felt that burning sensation you feel when chlorinated water enters your nose. I immediately stopped and grabbed the side of the pool, ending my test.
One of the instructors was standing above me, a scraggly-haired college student. "Why did you stop?" he yelled, in a less-than-compassionate voice. "I got water in my nose," I explained.
That's when this scruffy college student taught me one of life's great lessons, even if he probably never realized he was doing just that.
Bending down, he shouted, "So?"
So?
So? The question took me aback. It had just seemed logical to me that the answer to pain was to eliminate the thing causing the discomfort.
My 9-year-old brain had not latched onto the fact that a valuable goal is worth achieving even if we have to go through discomfort to get there. Recognizing that, I wasn't sure what would keep me from completing the test. In fact, I did it rather easily on my next attempt. Seeing me pass the test, almost all of the others did so as well.
At times I think Jesus lovingly says "So?" to so many of the things that seem important to me. The obstacles, the hardships, the barriers that appear along the way can't be compared to the goal that waits at the end. We have to focus on the final destination, not the bumps in the road. The apostle Paul wrote: "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us" (Romans 8:18). God's plan for us is not to eliminate suffering in our lives, but to teach us to look past it. When Paul and his companion Barnabas were visiting churches they had started, they told them, "We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22). The night before the crucifixion, Jesus told his disciples: "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world"
(John 16:33).
If you're not a Christian, it's only fair that we warn you that the road won't always be easy. But I can assure you that the goal is more than worth any difficulties we might face along the way. I'd like to tell you more about living above the hardships of life, with our eyes focused on the goal. You can write to me at tim@hopeforlife.org or leave a comment on our blog at www.hopeforlife.org/blog.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Stop Signs
Stop Signs, by Ann Voskamp
I think it was because my window was rolled down a few inches that he bothered to yell at me.
Otherwise, he might have just left it at that disgusted frown and shake of his head. But his driver's window was cranked down, too. We both were looking for the relief of breezes from that sun blazing down. So when we turned north off the 4th line, down at Knapp's corner, our dusty van barely paused there at the intersection. He didn't even have to lean over when he hollered at me. "There's a stop sign there, you know!"
Color, shame, floods my cheeks. But before I can nod, mumble an apology, he and his diesel pick-up rumble off. "That wasn't very nice of him. You had stopped, Mom." Joshua's passenger seat defense tries to soothe. "Why did that man yell that?" Hope turns back after the truck's dust cloud, looking for answers.
Flustered, I carefully scan to the west, then east, then west again, before creeping forward through the intersection. And then manage a feeble explanation. "He was concerned I wasn't going to brake in time.
That I hadn't seen the stop sign. It scared him. And that's fair."
The wind blows through our open windows, our hair. In the rush of spring, I wonder if each of us replays his words again, the scene, reading his anger as fear. But maybe they don't, their young faces silently watching the meadow slip close to the road with its petticoat of white trilliums. Maybe it's just me thinking about stop signs nearly missed.
I'm like that. Always rushing, hardly braking in time, off again. In a hurry. So much to be done. Or so I think.
What hard stops in my life have I been driving through -- or hardly pausing for?
How often am I mindfully slowing to intersect my time with God? Early, throughout, and late. Or do I barely make meaningful time at anytime in my day to commune in lingering, unhurried ways with God? Some days, yes. Some days, no. There are too many rolling stops.
So I'll stop and linger long.
The meadow retreats and waving fields of greening wheat lap up along the roadside. The children, hands pointing and voices sure, debate whether that farmer is planting corn way off in a field on the horizon, or if he's drilling in beans. And it's just me thinking about stop signs nearly missed and slowing to meet with God.
I'm listening to the prophet in a pick-up: There are stop signs here, you know. So I'll stop and linger long in prayer.
To avoid life crashes.
Lord, if life is crashing ... have I been running stop signs?
Today, it's all speeding by so fast, I simply have to stop and pray.
I think it was because my window was rolled down a few inches that he bothered to yell at me.
Otherwise, he might have just left it at that disgusted frown and shake of his head. But his driver's window was cranked down, too. We both were looking for the relief of breezes from that sun blazing down. So when we turned north off the 4th line, down at Knapp's corner, our dusty van barely paused there at the intersection. He didn't even have to lean over when he hollered at me. "There's a stop sign there, you know!"
Color, shame, floods my cheeks. But before I can nod, mumble an apology, he and his diesel pick-up rumble off. "That wasn't very nice of him. You had stopped, Mom." Joshua's passenger seat defense tries to soothe. "Why did that man yell that?" Hope turns back after the truck's dust cloud, looking for answers.
Flustered, I carefully scan to the west, then east, then west again, before creeping forward through the intersection. And then manage a feeble explanation. "He was concerned I wasn't going to brake in time.
That I hadn't seen the stop sign. It scared him. And that's fair."
The wind blows through our open windows, our hair. In the rush of spring, I wonder if each of us replays his words again, the scene, reading his anger as fear. But maybe they don't, their young faces silently watching the meadow slip close to the road with its petticoat of white trilliums. Maybe it's just me thinking about stop signs nearly missed.
I'm like that. Always rushing, hardly braking in time, off again. In a hurry. So much to be done. Or so I think.
What hard stops in my life have I been driving through -- or hardly pausing for?
How often am I mindfully slowing to intersect my time with God? Early, throughout, and late. Or do I barely make meaningful time at anytime in my day to commune in lingering, unhurried ways with God? Some days, yes. Some days, no. There are too many rolling stops.
So I'll stop and linger long.
The meadow retreats and waving fields of greening wheat lap up along the roadside. The children, hands pointing and voices sure, debate whether that farmer is planting corn way off in a field on the horizon, or if he's drilling in beans. And it's just me thinking about stop signs nearly missed and slowing to meet with God.
I'm listening to the prophet in a pick-up: There are stop signs here, you know. So I'll stop and linger long in prayer.
To avoid life crashes.
Lord, if life is crashing ... have I been running stop signs?
Today, it's all speeding by so fast, I simply have to stop and pray.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Christ Briefs His Men for Their Mission
Christ Briefs His Men for Their Mission
Kenny Luck
Every Man Ministries
This whole time the disciples traveled with Jesus they were learning the art of war, how to advance the Kingdom amidst hostile men of all persuasions—religious, political, cultural, and Satanic. He was showing them how a compassionate God-man fights during his time on earth: teaching, preaching, healing, feeling compassion, and boldly liberating those who were held captive and controlled by the god of this world and sin. But now their residency was coming to an end. The season of selection, association, and demonstration was giving way to the next phase: delegation and supervision. He looked at them and said, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out more workers into his harvest field.” Matthew 9:37 NIV
Their "mission briefing" called by the Master Instructor went exactly like this: He called his disciples to Him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness. "As you go preach this message: 'The Kingdom of heaven is near.' Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore, be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. Now that is what I call a green light! With the full endorsement of the Supreme Commander, God's men were given:
a sanction to fight (gave authority)
a message to forward (preach this)
targets to find (sick, dead, leper, demon possessed)
power to free (to heal, raise, cleanse, and drive out)
a charge to feel (freely you have received, freely give)
a metaphor to familiarize (sending you as sheep among wolves)
two commands to fulfill (be shrewd and be innocent)
Imagine you are there. Which of these would send your neurons into high gear? A certain metaphor maybe?
Sheep among wolves you say? This means it's hostile now. Every instruction up to that point had to feel good to the disciples and then came the harsh reality of a Hot L.Z. (as in a Hot landing Zone). This condition of hostility would not change for these men until eleven were martyred and John died in exile. Jesus didn't provide false hope or codependent comfort. He gave them the straight poop about this campaign to rid the world of Satan's grip through Kingdom advance whenever and wherever possible. He didn’t say, "sheep among wolves for a while and then sheep among rabbits for a while." So since this is our present reality I want you to think "wolves" for a second.
predatory carnivores that hunt in packs
aggressive, greedy and cruel when they find their prey
beautiful to look at but extremely dangerous
wicked sense of smell
extremely smart
never want to be caught alone amongst a pack
Take this in, God's Man: you are a sheep among wolves right now and you will remain among them going forward here on earth until you get called back to the office of the Supreme Commander for debriefing. One of the main reasons we are getting massacred is that we are sheep among wolves but we act like sheep among squirrels. We get along in this world as if there is no hostility in a war zone! What bombs? What enemy? What destruction? What blood? Bondage? Affairs? Divorce? Fatherlessness? Shattered lives? Oh, that. What a pity. It's awful. Anyways, did you say you wanted a Diet Coke with your chips? That is the definition of spiritual dysfunction! Sane men who call attention to these evil-sponsored campaigns are considered goofy, while the goofy men playing with the rabbits are considered sane. That kind of dysfunctional view of spiritual warfare makes those who are fighting it with wisdom and integrity upset at those who should be fighting but aren't. "Today," says Bono (front man for mega-band U2), "it's a load of sissies running around with their 'bless me' clubs and there’s a war going on between good and evil. Millions of children and millions of lives are being lost to greed, bureaucracy, and to a church that’s been asleep. And it sends me out of my mind with anger" (The God Factor, Cathleen Falsani Sarah Crichton Books, New York, NY 2006 , p.12).
You can just feel the frustration and, at the same time, Satan's elation. "Lovely," he sighs. "My wolves have been accepted as rabbits and squirrels." Even now I can see Satan saying to you: "Why is this Luck guy all jacked up about this? Bono? Who are you kidding? He's no theologian. Relax. Tranquilo. Chill. Get back to the game, put the book down, grab some chips, and pour yourself that Diet Coke."
He’s not just really smooth, he wants you to let him remain hidden or docile or both. Don't let him lie to you. Listen to Jesus: it's WOLVES, not rabbits! Suit up in you’re your armor and don't let your guard down today.
Kenny Luck is the Men's Pastor at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California. He is also the Founder and President of Every Man Ministries which helps churches worldwide develop and grow healthy men's communities. Please visit http://www.everymanministries.com/ for more information.
Find this article at: http://www.crosswalk.comhttp://www.crosswalk.com/spirituallife/men/11576133/
Monday, June 2, 2008
Coming Down in the Wrong Place
Coming Down in the Wrong Place, by Phil Ware
Did you hear about the pilot who landed his 737 jet on an abandoned World War II era landing strip? The correct runway was nearly five miles away! "It was essentially pilot error ..." the airline official said.
Yeah, no joke!
As horrible as this sounds, haven't you done the same thing? Oh sure, it wasn't with an airliner, but haven't you come down in the wrong place before? Maybe you said something inappropriate, falsely judged someone's motives, did something embarrassing at the wrong moment, made a gigantic boo-boo at a public occasion, or ruined the mood of a tender moment. We come down in the wrong place a whole lot. It's just part of being human! None of us is perfect ... and most of us are far from it!
A number of years ago, I attended the funeral of the brother of a dear friend. He was born with Down Syndrome. The service was wonderful and sweet. But it was based on an assumption that struck me as tremendously
flawed: "When this sweet man gets to heaven, he will be made whole and perfect like we are."
But didn't Jesus say that in his Kingdom the greatest person is a servant, that love is the cardinal virtue, that the last will be first, that the least will be greatest, and that unless we become like little children we won't get into the Kingdom of Heaven! What Jesus' words tell me is that we have it wrong. In the areas of life which matter most, instead of this sweet man being more like us, in heaven we'll be more like him.
So much of what we value comes down in the wrong place -- how we look, the titles we hold, the money we make, our physical and our mental capabilities. Yet the things that matter most, things like unrestrained joy, unfeigned kindness, expressive love, unmitigated wonder, unreserved forgiveness, and un-coerced service are often found most in those our world regards as broken, deformed, handicapped, or retarded.
What should we do?
While the politically correct police have sought to reform our terminology, our bias and bigotry have only deepened as more and more of these who are more like heaven are never given the opportunity to grace our earth. That sort of makes an airplane coming down on the wrong landing strip seem pretty insignificant.
None of us should underestimate the difficulties of raising a child with "special challenges," but we must also learn to value those who are "precious in his sight." Otherwise I'm afraid we will find our "more perfect" children crash landing in many wrong places because the compass we give them is false and the place we land is in the wrong place.
Did you hear about the pilot who landed his 737 jet on an abandoned World War II era landing strip? The correct runway was nearly five miles away! "It was essentially pilot error ..." the airline official said.
Yeah, no joke!
As horrible as this sounds, haven't you done the same thing? Oh sure, it wasn't with an airliner, but haven't you come down in the wrong place before? Maybe you said something inappropriate, falsely judged someone's motives, did something embarrassing at the wrong moment, made a gigantic boo-boo at a public occasion, or ruined the mood of a tender moment. We come down in the wrong place a whole lot. It's just part of being human! None of us is perfect ... and most of us are far from it!
A number of years ago, I attended the funeral of the brother of a dear friend. He was born with Down Syndrome. The service was wonderful and sweet. But it was based on an assumption that struck me as tremendously
flawed: "When this sweet man gets to heaven, he will be made whole and perfect like we are."
But didn't Jesus say that in his Kingdom the greatest person is a servant, that love is the cardinal virtue, that the last will be first, that the least will be greatest, and that unless we become like little children we won't get into the Kingdom of Heaven! What Jesus' words tell me is that we have it wrong. In the areas of life which matter most, instead of this sweet man being more like us, in heaven we'll be more like him.
So much of what we value comes down in the wrong place -- how we look, the titles we hold, the money we make, our physical and our mental capabilities. Yet the things that matter most, things like unrestrained joy, unfeigned kindness, expressive love, unmitigated wonder, unreserved forgiveness, and un-coerced service are often found most in those our world regards as broken, deformed, handicapped, or retarded.
What should we do?
While the politically correct police have sought to reform our terminology, our bias and bigotry have only deepened as more and more of these who are more like heaven are never given the opportunity to grace our earth. That sort of makes an airplane coming down on the wrong landing strip seem pretty insignificant.
None of us should underestimate the difficulties of raising a child with "special challenges," but we must also learn to value those who are "precious in his sight." Otherwise I'm afraid we will find our "more perfect" children crash landing in many wrong places because the compass we give them is false and the place we land is in the wrong place.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Hymn Styles - Tennessean letter to the editor
Where have I heard this before? :) Kent
Churches can't afford a rift over hymn styles
To the Editor:
Republicans vs. Democrats. Pro-choice vs. pro-life. It seems to always be "us vs. them." And now, it's in our churches. Contemporary music vs. traditional hymns. Has anyone noticed it besides me?
Many churches seem to be battling it out. One part of the congregation enjoys the drum-driven, loud-guitar music. The other part seems bewildered by the disappearance of the old familiar hymns. You're either "with it and progressive," or you're "stale, close-minded and grumpy." Why? Whatever happened to diversity and acceptance, especially in worship?
In April, I attended the Community Hymn Sing at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center. We experienced every kind of music — the old, sweet songs, soul, majestic anthems, full orchestration, a cappella and even what some would call rock. It was wonderful! Why? Because every song was presented the way it should be experienced. Every song has its own emotion and character. All contemporary music doesn't have to be wild. A traditional hymn, sung properly, should never be dull.
It largely depends on the music leadership. He/she should first understand the music, then pass that knowledge on to the other participants. A tall order in this day of controversy and opinions. But the music in a religious setting is of great importance. The musicians owe it to their people to be creative and sensitive in their planning. Some songs need drums and guitars. Other songs beg for an organ.
Churches can't afford the time and energy to argue over music!
Joyce Bell
Joelton 37080
Churches can't afford a rift over hymn styles
To the Editor:
Republicans vs. Democrats. Pro-choice vs. pro-life. It seems to always be "us vs. them." And now, it's in our churches. Contemporary music vs. traditional hymns. Has anyone noticed it besides me?
Many churches seem to be battling it out. One part of the congregation enjoys the drum-driven, loud-guitar music. The other part seems bewildered by the disappearance of the old familiar hymns. You're either "with it and progressive," or you're "stale, close-minded and grumpy." Why? Whatever happened to diversity and acceptance, especially in worship?
In April, I attended the Community Hymn Sing at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center. We experienced every kind of music — the old, sweet songs, soul, majestic anthems, full orchestration, a cappella and even what some would call rock. It was wonderful! Why? Because every song was presented the way it should be experienced. Every song has its own emotion and character. All contemporary music doesn't have to be wild. A traditional hymn, sung properly, should never be dull.
It largely depends on the music leadership. He/she should first understand the music, then pass that knowledge on to the other participants. A tall order in this day of controversy and opinions. But the music in a religious setting is of great importance. The musicians owe it to their people to be creative and sensitive in their planning. Some songs need drums and guitars. Other songs beg for an organ.
Churches can't afford the time and energy to argue over music!
Joyce Bell
Joelton 37080
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Junk Mail and Happiness
Junk Mail and Happiness, by Tim Archer
You can learn a lot about the world by looking at the junk mail folder on your computer. You'll find offers of wealth, offers of health, offers of forbidden pleasures. It's a world of illusion, spinning fantasies before your eyes of increased wealth, of increased sexual prowess, of unheard-of bargains and opportunities. Spam almost seems too nice of a term for it; it's evil come calling, sin just a mouse click away. At best, it's an annoyance. At worst, it's an open door to a world of problems.
Some experts say that these unwanted messages may someday choke the Internet to death, making it virtually unusable. Those of us who use e-mail a lot must work with spam blockers and spam filters, running the risk of missing valid messages as we wade through a swamp of junk. I don't know anyone who likes getting junk messages. So why do they keep coming?
Because somebody out there gets taken in. Someone lets greed overpower them, buying that illegal software or falling for that scam message that offers them millions of dollars for no work at all. Someone else gets deceived by the message that love can be found through physical enhancements and that the necessary enhancements are available in that pill, that cream or that herbal supplement. Others are fooled by voyeuristic desires, tempted by offers of pornographic material.
People look for happiness in their inbox
The sad thing is that these people don't realize that they're going about it all wrong. They are trying to fill a spiritual void with physical things. They need things like love, companionship, and meaning in their lives, none of which can be found in junk messages. Even though they don't realize it and would probably deny it, what they crave above all is God.
In the book of Psalms, the Bible says: "Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart" (Psalms 37:4). It's easy to focus on the second part of that verse and miss the whole message. It's saying that when we realize that our greatest desire should be God, when we make Him our greatest delight, then all of the other things that we've been longing for will be taken care of. Some will be granted to us, others will no longer seem desirable. But only if we take care of that one need that every man has -- the need for a relationship with God.
Happiness isn't found in your e-mail. Lasting happiness, the kind that reaches to the very core of our being, is found only in God. Let me tell you more about it. Just write to me at tim@hopeforlife.org or leave a comment on our blog at www.hopeforlife.org/blog.
You can learn a lot about the world by looking at the junk mail folder on your computer. You'll find offers of wealth, offers of health, offers of forbidden pleasures. It's a world of illusion, spinning fantasies before your eyes of increased wealth, of increased sexual prowess, of unheard-of bargains and opportunities. Spam almost seems too nice of a term for it; it's evil come calling, sin just a mouse click away. At best, it's an annoyance. At worst, it's an open door to a world of problems.
Some experts say that these unwanted messages may someday choke the Internet to death, making it virtually unusable. Those of us who use e-mail a lot must work with spam blockers and spam filters, running the risk of missing valid messages as we wade through a swamp of junk. I don't know anyone who likes getting junk messages. So why do they keep coming?
Because somebody out there gets taken in. Someone lets greed overpower them, buying that illegal software or falling for that scam message that offers them millions of dollars for no work at all. Someone else gets deceived by the message that love can be found through physical enhancements and that the necessary enhancements are available in that pill, that cream or that herbal supplement. Others are fooled by voyeuristic desires, tempted by offers of pornographic material.
People look for happiness in their inbox
The sad thing is that these people don't realize that they're going about it all wrong. They are trying to fill a spiritual void with physical things. They need things like love, companionship, and meaning in their lives, none of which can be found in junk messages. Even though they don't realize it and would probably deny it, what they crave above all is God.
In the book of Psalms, the Bible says: "Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart" (Psalms 37:4). It's easy to focus on the second part of that verse and miss the whole message. It's saying that when we realize that our greatest desire should be God, when we make Him our greatest delight, then all of the other things that we've been longing for will be taken care of. Some will be granted to us, others will no longer seem desirable. But only if we take care of that one need that every man has -- the need for a relationship with God.
Happiness isn't found in your e-mail. Lasting happiness, the kind that reaches to the very core of our being, is found only in God. Let me tell you more about it. Just write to me at tim@hopeforlife.org or leave a comment on our blog at www.hopeforlife.org/blog.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Memorial Day Quote
We can't all be heroes. Somebody has to sit on the curb and clap as they go by. - Will Rogers
Friday, May 9, 2008
Motherhood in the Bible: A High Calling
Motherhood in the Bible: A High Calling
Judy Bodmer & Larry Richards, Ph.D.
Authors, What's in the Bible for Mothers
May 9, 2008
Each of you must respect his mother and father, and you must observe my Sabbaths. I am the Lord your God. (Leviticus 19:3)
The treatment of women in the Middle East has left us with the impression that this is the way women were treated in biblical times. On the nightly news we see pictures of darkly shrouded figures completely covered except for their eyes. We read stories of how some of these women have been forced to abandon their careers and are treated like slaves by their husbands, and we assume that's the way it was in the Old Testament times.
But is this true? Were women treated like this? Were they hidden away, never to be seen or heard from? Let's look at what the Bible has to say.
The Old Testament is full of Scripture commanding the respect of children for both mother and father. In fact, this is such a basic principle that it's one of the Ten Commandments. In the book of Proverbs, the duty of reverence, love, and obedience of sons to their mothers is emphasized over and over.
How Others See It: Henry Cloud and John Townsend"Mothering is the most significant, demanding, and underpaid profession around.... We strongly believe that God ordained the specialness and importance of mothering: 'Honor your mother and your father' is a recurring theme throughout the entire Bible."
Equality in the Garden Genesis 1:28, 31: God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground." ... God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.
In the story of the Garden of Eden, Eve is as important as Adam. In fact, the Scripture clearly states that they were given equal responsibility. He didn't give this command only to Adam, but to them, Adam and Eve. Their roles changed after the fall, but their status didn't.
Examples From the Bible
Other examples of prominent women in the Bible are:
Sarah (Genesis 12–23): Abraham listened carefully to Sarah's advice in Genesis 16 when she suggested that her maidservant provide him with a son. Later, God tells Abraham to listen to Sarah again, in Genesis 21:11–12, because she will be the mother of a great nation through Isaac.
Rebekah (Genesis 24–28). Jacob's chief counselor was his mother, Rebekah (Genesis 28:7).
Miriam (Exodus 15:20). Moses' sister, Miriam, led the women in Exodus 15:20.
Deborah (Judges 4–5). Judges 4:4 clearly states that Deborah was leading the nation of Israel.
Huldah (2 Kings 22:14). God spoke to the leaders of Judah through the prophetess Huldah, even though the prophets Jeremiah and Zephaniah were alive.
The biblical stories wouldn't be the same without Leah and Rachel, Delilah, Bathsheba, Ruth and Naomi, Hannah, and Esther.
Women were listed in the lineage of Jesus Christ. This was considered to be the highest honor that could be bestowed upon an Israelite. Another example of the importance placed on women in the Bible.
How Others See It: Beverly LaHaye"Genesis 1:27 says that God 'created' man, but Genesis 2:22 tells us that God 'fashioned' the woman. This word comes from the Hebrew root word meaning 'to build' or 'to design.' God had a special blueprint and design for woman, so he fashioned her into what he wanted her to be. Could it possibly be that God took extra care in making woman, so she could be a fairer sex and a feminine beauty? She was designed to complement the man, not to replace him."Deborah Newman"Most women accept the subtle messages the world tells us about what we need to be as women—young, sexy, rich, powerful. Others of us try to measure ourselves by certain roles we see outlined in the Bible—submissive, gentle, hospitable. But there is so much more God wants us to experience as women."
Ave Maria—A Child Is BornJohn 19:26–27: When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, "Dear woman, here is your son," and to the disciple, "Here is your mother." From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.
With the birth of Jesus, a new era dawned for women. For two thousand years Mary has been honored and even worshiped.
But she wasn't the only woman whom Jesus treated with respect. Throughout the New Testament he is shown visiting women in their homes, forgiving their sins, caring for the widows, and healing women of their ailments.
His final act on the cross was seeing to the care of his mother. He asked one of his disciples, John "the beloved," to take his mother into his home and treat her as if she were his own.
How Others See It: Henry E. Dosker"The birth of Christ lifted motherhood to the highest possible plane and idealized it for all time.... What woman is today, what she is in particular in her motherhood, she owes wholly to the position in which the Scriptures have placed her."
Where Have All the Mothers Gone?Colossians 2:8: See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.
The pressures on mothers have never been greater. Seventy-five percent of us are employed or looking for work, and the percentage is higher for mothers with children age twelve and older. This means most of us are trying to do a good job at work, be a first-class mom, keep a house clean, cook, shop, run errands, maybe do some gardening, and, if we're married, be an excellent wife. When someone gets sick, we're the nurse. When someone needs a ride, we're the chauffeur. When someone needs just about anything, we're it. We're the fixers, the lovers, the counselors, the bill payers. Let's face it, there aren't enough of us to go around. I don't know how many times I've driven to work in the morning with tears running down my face, feeling like a failure at everything.
Everyone else seems to make it look easy. The moms on TV are not only beautiful, but they also solve their problems in half-hour sitcoms that make us laugh. Somehow it wasn't so funny to me when I'd been up all night with a crying baby and then the next day had to take care of customers or employees' problems in a professional manner. The other women I worked with seemed to make a go of it. What was wrong with me?
Then there's the pressure from church. Sometimes it's subtle, but other times it can be blatant. A sermon on the Proverbs 31 woman can leave us feeling like failures. An afternoon with Mrs. Faultless Christian can leave us wondering why we can't find fifteen minutes for a quiet time every morning and why our children aren't perfect like hers.
There were lots of days I dreamed of running away.
Those of us who hang in there and continue to do the best we can need to know we're not alone. There are many mothers who feel the same way we do. We need to let go of some of the man-made pressures and prioritize what's most important.
How Others See It: Mary Whelchel"If you are sure of God's direction for you in the working world, then your role there is just as sacred, just as important to God, and of just as much service to him as anything else you could do. It is not second best; it is not the alternative for those who have never sensed a call into a public ministry. It is full-time Christian service!"
Mother's Day
On the second Sunday of every May, the English-speaking world stops and honors its mothers. Card shops and florists rake in big bucks. Children write poems and make plaster casts of their hands. Breakfast is served to Mom in bed, and someone else, for a change, prepares dinner.
We have Ann Jarvis to thank for coming up with the idea for this special day. After the death of her mother, she brought a group together on the second Sunday of May to honor her memory. The first Mother's Day was celebrated on May 10, 1908, at Andrews Church in Philadelphia. Two years later the governor of West Virginia officially set aside the second Sunday in May to honor all mothers.Excerpted from: What's in the Bible for Mothers by Judy Bodmer and Larry Richards, Ph.D. Copyright © 2008; ISBN 9780764203855 Published by Bethany House Publishers Used by permission. Unauthorized duplication prohibited.
Find this article at: http://www.crosswalk.com/parenting/11575046
Judy Bodmer & Larry Richards, Ph.D.
Authors, What's in the Bible for Mothers
May 9, 2008
Each of you must respect his mother and father, and you must observe my Sabbaths. I am the Lord your God. (Leviticus 19:3)
The treatment of women in the Middle East has left us with the impression that this is the way women were treated in biblical times. On the nightly news we see pictures of darkly shrouded figures completely covered except for their eyes. We read stories of how some of these women have been forced to abandon their careers and are treated like slaves by their husbands, and we assume that's the way it was in the Old Testament times.
But is this true? Were women treated like this? Were they hidden away, never to be seen or heard from? Let's look at what the Bible has to say.
The Old Testament is full of Scripture commanding the respect of children for both mother and father. In fact, this is such a basic principle that it's one of the Ten Commandments. In the book of Proverbs, the duty of reverence, love, and obedience of sons to their mothers is emphasized over and over.
How Others See It: Henry Cloud and John Townsend"Mothering is the most significant, demanding, and underpaid profession around.... We strongly believe that God ordained the specialness and importance of mothering: 'Honor your mother and your father' is a recurring theme throughout the entire Bible."
Equality in the Garden Genesis 1:28, 31: God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground." ... God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.
In the story of the Garden of Eden, Eve is as important as Adam. In fact, the Scripture clearly states that they were given equal responsibility. He didn't give this command only to Adam, but to them, Adam and Eve. Their roles changed after the fall, but their status didn't.
Examples From the Bible
Other examples of prominent women in the Bible are:
Sarah (Genesis 12–23): Abraham listened carefully to Sarah's advice in Genesis 16 when she suggested that her maidservant provide him with a son. Later, God tells Abraham to listen to Sarah again, in Genesis 21:11–12, because she will be the mother of a great nation through Isaac.
Rebekah (Genesis 24–28). Jacob's chief counselor was his mother, Rebekah (Genesis 28:7).
Miriam (Exodus 15:20). Moses' sister, Miriam, led the women in Exodus 15:20.
Deborah (Judges 4–5). Judges 4:4 clearly states that Deborah was leading the nation of Israel.
Huldah (2 Kings 22:14). God spoke to the leaders of Judah through the prophetess Huldah, even though the prophets Jeremiah and Zephaniah were alive.
The biblical stories wouldn't be the same without Leah and Rachel, Delilah, Bathsheba, Ruth and Naomi, Hannah, and Esther.
Women were listed in the lineage of Jesus Christ. This was considered to be the highest honor that could be bestowed upon an Israelite. Another example of the importance placed on women in the Bible.
How Others See It: Beverly LaHaye"Genesis 1:27 says that God 'created' man, but Genesis 2:22 tells us that God 'fashioned' the woman. This word comes from the Hebrew root word meaning 'to build' or 'to design.' God had a special blueprint and design for woman, so he fashioned her into what he wanted her to be. Could it possibly be that God took extra care in making woman, so she could be a fairer sex and a feminine beauty? She was designed to complement the man, not to replace him."Deborah Newman"Most women accept the subtle messages the world tells us about what we need to be as women—young, sexy, rich, powerful. Others of us try to measure ourselves by certain roles we see outlined in the Bible—submissive, gentle, hospitable. But there is so much more God wants us to experience as women."
Ave Maria—A Child Is BornJohn 19:26–27: When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, "Dear woman, here is your son," and to the disciple, "Here is your mother." From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.
With the birth of Jesus, a new era dawned for women. For two thousand years Mary has been honored and even worshiped.
But she wasn't the only woman whom Jesus treated with respect. Throughout the New Testament he is shown visiting women in their homes, forgiving their sins, caring for the widows, and healing women of their ailments.
His final act on the cross was seeing to the care of his mother. He asked one of his disciples, John "the beloved," to take his mother into his home and treat her as if she were his own.
How Others See It: Henry E. Dosker"The birth of Christ lifted motherhood to the highest possible plane and idealized it for all time.... What woman is today, what she is in particular in her motherhood, she owes wholly to the position in which the Scriptures have placed her."
Where Have All the Mothers Gone?Colossians 2:8: See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.
The pressures on mothers have never been greater. Seventy-five percent of us are employed or looking for work, and the percentage is higher for mothers with children age twelve and older. This means most of us are trying to do a good job at work, be a first-class mom, keep a house clean, cook, shop, run errands, maybe do some gardening, and, if we're married, be an excellent wife. When someone gets sick, we're the nurse. When someone needs a ride, we're the chauffeur. When someone needs just about anything, we're it. We're the fixers, the lovers, the counselors, the bill payers. Let's face it, there aren't enough of us to go around. I don't know how many times I've driven to work in the morning with tears running down my face, feeling like a failure at everything.
Everyone else seems to make it look easy. The moms on TV are not only beautiful, but they also solve their problems in half-hour sitcoms that make us laugh. Somehow it wasn't so funny to me when I'd been up all night with a crying baby and then the next day had to take care of customers or employees' problems in a professional manner. The other women I worked with seemed to make a go of it. What was wrong with me?
Then there's the pressure from church. Sometimes it's subtle, but other times it can be blatant. A sermon on the Proverbs 31 woman can leave us feeling like failures. An afternoon with Mrs. Faultless Christian can leave us wondering why we can't find fifteen minutes for a quiet time every morning and why our children aren't perfect like hers.
There were lots of days I dreamed of running away.
Those of us who hang in there and continue to do the best we can need to know we're not alone. There are many mothers who feel the same way we do. We need to let go of some of the man-made pressures and prioritize what's most important.
How Others See It: Mary Whelchel"If you are sure of God's direction for you in the working world, then your role there is just as sacred, just as important to God, and of just as much service to him as anything else you could do. It is not second best; it is not the alternative for those who have never sensed a call into a public ministry. It is full-time Christian service!"
Mother's Day
On the second Sunday of every May, the English-speaking world stops and honors its mothers. Card shops and florists rake in big bucks. Children write poems and make plaster casts of their hands. Breakfast is served to Mom in bed, and someone else, for a change, prepares dinner.
We have Ann Jarvis to thank for coming up with the idea for this special day. After the death of her mother, she brought a group together on the second Sunday of May to honor her memory. The first Mother's Day was celebrated on May 10, 1908, at Andrews Church in Philadelphia. Two years later the governor of West Virginia officially set aside the second Sunday in May to honor all mothers.Excerpted from: What's in the Bible for Mothers by Judy Bodmer and Larry Richards, Ph.D. Copyright © 2008; ISBN 9780764203855 Published by Bethany House Publishers Used by permission. Unauthorized duplication prohibited.
Find this article at: http://www.crosswalk.com/parenting/11575046
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