Imagine a New Year

 If this New Year’s Celebration at Times Square follows the pattern set since 1986, just before the ball drops and we turn our calendars forward, someone will sing John Lennon’s classic song, Imagine. It is a good thing to close out the past and look to the future by imagining the world as it could be. 

  John Lennon sat down at his piano in Berkshire, England one morning in early 1971 and composed the song that became his most popular single.  The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation named it the greatest song of the last 100 years.  Australians chose “Imagine” as the greatest song of all time. But for many of us, there is a greater vision of how the world could be.

 Every time we quote the Lord’s Prayer we are invited to imagine the world as it is meant to be.  Jesus taught us to pray, “Our Father who art in Heaven, Hallowed be Thy name.  Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven …” What would the world look like if that prayer were answered?  How would the world differ from the world we know? 

 If God’s will were done on earth, there would be no more crime. Theft, violence and murder would end. Prisons would empty.  Neighbor would no longer sue neighbor.  Court dockets would clear.

 Employers would forego extravagant profits in order to pay higher wages to their workers.   No child would go to bed hungry or unsheltered.  Those who possess the food and resources of the world would share with those who have none.

 Corruption, graft and greed would disappear. Wars would cease. Politicians would serve the best interest of others with honesty and integrity.  Fairness, kindness, forgiveness and generosity would prevail. 

 Husbands would love their wives seeking what is best for them and striving to please them.  Wives would love and respect their husbands, building them up and encouraging them. Children would honor their parents and obey them, trusting them in the knowledge that they want what is best for them.

 Racial, cultural and sexual prejudices would vanish.  Discrimination would disappear. Every human being would treat every other human being with respect.  The strong would help the weak.

 None of us are in the position to effect such a whole scale change for the world in which we live.  But we are each able to change our little corner of the world.  We can put into practice the answer to the prayer Jesus taught us to pray. His Kingdom can come and His will can be done in us and through us. 

 In 2024 we can be a part of the answer to the prayer that has been prayed for more than 2,000 years.  What if His kingdom were to come and His will was done on earth as it is in Heaven this day? Just imagine!

A Christmas/New Year gift: Bill Tinsley's children's book, Buddy the Floppy Ear Corgi, free eBook on Amazon December 26-30.

When the "Most Wonderful Time of Year" Becomes the Most Difficult

 For most of us, the holidays are a time of joy and celebration, stretching from Thanksgiving through Christmas and the New Year.  But for some, it can be the most difficult time of year.  We may feel the keen absence of a loved one, the anxiety of measuring up, the pressure of trying to please those we love with gifts we cannot afford. We are constantly bombarded with images of perfect families and happy faces exchanging perfect gifts. All of this can lead to “holiday depression.”

 Depression is widespread. For most of us it is temporary and seldom. For some, it is a lifelong and constant companion. It affects the rich and poor, the unknown and the famous.  Abraham Lincoln was well known for his bouts with depression. His law partner, William Herndon observed, “His melancholy dripped from him as he walked.”

 According to Mayo Clinic, “Depression is a medical illness that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest.” We all know it when we feel it: the heavy weight that seems to bear down upon us, sapping our energy, dragging us down, emotional shackles that reduce our steps to a shuffle, the thief that robs us of creativity and destroys our dreams.

 Here are a few proven steps to combat depression, some from Lincoln himself:

 Refuse to surrender to depression’s emotions. Lincoln learned this discipline and encouraged others to follow it. In 1842, he wrote, “Remember in the depth and even the agony of despondency, that very shortly you are to feel well again.” In his famous letter to Fanny McCollough, he said, “You can not now realize that you will ever feel better. Is not this so? And yet it is a mistake. You are sure to be happy again. To know this, which is certainly true, will make you some less miserable now. I have had experience enough to know what I say.”  Get up and get out. Exercise, walk, run, play.  Exercise of the body somehow releases a wind within that can blow away the dark clouds that close in on us.

 Get with people. Loneliness is depression’s partner. When I was a teenager, I read a little known book by a Christian psychiatrist named Henry C. Link entitled Return to Religion. Basically, the book said that church is good for the human psyche.  Going to church is good for us. 

 Do something good for someone else. Guilt and depression are common companions.  The acts that make us feel guilty often become the seeds of depression.  Acts of altruism will punch holes in the darkness and let in the liberating light.  Accept God’s forgiveness for your sins, and then go out of your way to do something for others.

 If depression persists, seek professional medical assistance.  We are complex creatures with a complex chemical balance that affects our moods.  Proper medication, administered under the careful supervision of a doctor, can help. Speaking of his own depression, Lincoln said, “Melancholy is a misfortune. It is not a fault.”

 Trust in God who cares for you. Look beyond and beneath all the holiday hype to remember the basic message of Christmas.  God has loved you so much that He has given His only begotten Son, just for you.  God loves you just as you are.  He is reaching out His hand to you!

Where Christianity is Growing Fastest

 If I were to ask you where Christianity is growing fastest in the world what would you say?  No, not the United States.  Most of us are aware that Christianity is declining in the U.S. as well as Britain and Europe.  Several years ago, the geographical centers for Christianity shifted to the southern hemisphere: South America, Africa and Asia. 

 But what country is experiencing the greatest growth in the Christian faith?  Would you be surprised if I said, Iran?  Well, so am I. But that is what the reports indicate.  In the last few years Christianity has grown  faster in Iran than in any other nation.

 Some of us remember 1979 when the Shah of Iran was deposed and the Ayatollah Khomeini set up a strict Islamic state in Iran.  For the last 44 years Islam has held a tight-fisted control of the country. But recently, while the world wasn’t watching, a surge of faith in Christ has taken place in Iran.  A little over two years ago Newsweek quoted Shay Katiri of Johns Hopkins University who wrote of Iran, “Islam is the fastest shrinking religion there while Christianity is growing the fastest.” 

 Iran appears to be experiencing what other nations have seen under persecution.  The Christian faith goes underground.  Small cells of believers begin to multiply without clergy or buildings.  A rapidly multiplying network of disciples starts to spread, much like the early Christian faith under Roman persecution. Some estimate a million new believers in Iran.  Others think the number could be far greater.

 At the same time, Iran remains one of the most brutal countries for persecution of Christians. According to Open Doors, that focuses on the persecuted church, “The outlook for Iranian Christians, in particular converts from Islam to Christianity, is by no means improving. Pressure remains extreme against Christians in all spheres of life.”

 Lela Gilbert, an adjunct fellow for the Center for Religious Freedom recently wrote, “As I’ve learned about the many abuses suffered by our sisters and brothers in Iran, I have also been awestruck by their courage and boldness — and by the remarkable results. More than a million new converts — called Muslim Background Believers (MBB) — are reading the Bible for the first time, praying, gathering in small groups, and sharing their new faith with friends and family, despite the risks. Their faith is amazing, encouraging, and inspiring.”

 As we celebrate this Christmas season, we all remember the Magi, the Shepherds, and the angels singing.  But we overlook the persecution that fell upon Bethlehem. “Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and sent men and killed all the boys who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity who were two years old or under, according to the time which he had determined from the magi. Then what had been spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: ‘A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and she refused to be comforted because they were no more.’” (Matthew 2:16-18). 

 At this Christmas season when we freely, openly and joyfully celebrate the birth of Jesus, let us remember the millions of Christians world-wide who do not share this privilege.  While we attend our parties, concerts, family gatherings and gift-giving, let us pray for those who risk their freedom and their lives to embrace Jesus as their Savior.

Sunrise Season

 I sat in the pre-dawn dark, watched the gathering glow in the east and heard the first bird break the stillness with song. Soon others joined him in the gathering light until the air echoed with a chorus of calls celebrating the break of day. It was as if the birds had waited through the long hours of darkness wondering if the sun would return, and, once it did, they were delirious with joy.

We sometimes feel that way, when we consider the darkness in which our world exists: continued wars in the Ukraine, Israel, Myanmar, and Sudan; Jihadist insurgencies in Niger, Burkina Faso and Tunisia; daily reports of sexual abuse, domestic violence and prejudice.   We sometimes wonder, as the birds seem to do, if the dawn of light and goodness will again dispel the darkness of violence and suffering .

I have watched the sun rise over the snow-covered hills of Minnesota, painting the landscape with crimson and gold, its light sparkling like diamonds on ice covered limbs. I have watched the sun stain the eastern horizon with purple and gray before penetrating the breaking clouds with shafts of gold. I have watched the day dawn over the mountains of Montana and Switzerland. I have seen it transform the sea into pink and purple waves. I watched the sun rise on the first day of the new millennium, bursting above the horizon as a brilliant ball of light in a clear blue sky.

Sunrise is the perfect symbol for God’s intervention into our world at this Christmas season.

When the forerunner, John, was born, his father, Zechariah understood the importance of his birth. For nine months he had reflected on the angel’s announcement in the temple, that he would have a son in his old age. He had remained mute throughout Elizabeth’s pregnancy. But when John was born, his tongue was loosed, and he burst into praise. He said, “And you, child, also will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare His ways;  to give His people the knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, with which the sunrise from on high will visit us, to shine on those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” (Luke 1:76-79).

Every generation has witnessed the sunrise of God. Darkness cannot conquer it. Corrie Ten Boom and Dietrich Bonhoffer saw it during the dark days of Hitler’s holocaust. Louis Zamparini discovered it after surviving the Japanese POW camps. Rachel Scott and Cassie Bernall bore witness to it during the massacre at Columbine. The light from on high refuses to be extinguished by the violence and suffering of this world.   

This is what John meant when he wrote, “In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. … The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:4-14).

The Master Potter

 A few miles north of Waco, Texas on the east banks of the Brazos River sits the Homestead Heritage, an agrarian Christian community committed to preserving nineteenth century craftsmanship.  The community offers shops where visitors can observe “artistry-in-action” complete with a pottery barn, blacksmith forge, grist mill and a carpentry shop.  George and Laura Bush commissioned the Homestead to construct and furnish their house at the Crawford Ranch. This year the annual Homestead Heritage Fair has been extended to 3 weekends through December 9.

 When we lived in Waco, Homestead was one of our favorite places to visit.  I especially liked the pottery shop.  I marveled at the talent of those who worked there. The artists applied water and shaped the clay spinning on the potter’s wheel in front of them. With nimble fingers and just the right amount of pressure, they brought the clay to life and shaped it into the form they desired.

 Pottery is an ancient art.  For thousands of years the trade was passed down from generation to generation in cultures around the world.  Communities developed around clay deposits in India, China and the Middle East.  Archeologists continue to excavate pottery from the earliest sites of civilization.

 Jeremiah must have marveled, as I did, when he visited a potter’s house in ancient Jerusalem.  When he watched the clay spin upon the wheel, he saw the potter’s ability to change the shape of the clay in an instant.  He sensed God speaking to him, “Can I not, O house of Israel, deal with you as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand.” (Jeremiah 18:6). 

 Isaiah made a similar observation. “Shall the potter be considered as equal with the clay?

That what is made would say to its maker, “He did not make me”; or what is formed say to him who formed it, “He has no understanding”?” (Isaiah 29:16).

 God has made each of us unique.  We are, each and every one of us, special in His sight.  He never abandons us or gives up on us.  Like the clay, we continue to be molded in His hands.   With every pressure, whether success or failure, joy or sorrow. God is fashioning us for His purposes so that we can reflect His glory, bless others and be filled with joy. He wants us to love ourselves and one another just the way He made us.

 This is what Paul meant when he said, “God causes all things to work together for good to those who love the Lord, to those who are called according to His purpose.”  (Romans 8:28).  All things work together for good when we realize the Master Potter is shaping us for His purposes on the earth.

 “For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me,  Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, ‘My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure’” (Isaiah 46:9-10).

Thanksgiving 2023

 When we think of Thanksgiving, we usually think of Pilgrims and Indians gathered for a harvest feast at Plymouth, but it was Abraham Lincoln who gave us Thanksgiving as a national holiday. Prior to Lincoln, each state celebrated Thanksgiving on different dates according to the discretion of each state’s governor. In 1863, in the middle of the Civil War, Lincoln issued a Presidential proclamation for a national day of Thanksgiving.

After noting the many blessings of God in spite of the Civil War with all its suffering and severity, Lincoln wrote in his proclamation, “No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.”

 We must never take the blessings of God for granted. He holds every nation of every age accountable.  We cannot descend into the chasms of corruption, deception, anger, prejudice, arrogance, greed and immorality and expect God’s blessings to remain upon us. 

 Thomas Jefferson’s words are inscribed on the Northeast Portico of the Jefferson Memorial: “Can the liberties of a nation be secured when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God?  Indeed I tremble for my nation when I reflect that God is just, that His justice cannot sleep forever.” 

 Jeremiah counseled, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Do justice and righteousness, and deliver the one who has been robbed from the power of his oppressor. Also do not mistreat or do violence to the stranger, the orphan or the widow; and do not shed innocent blood … Did not your father eat and drink and do justice and righteousness?  Then it was well with him.  He pled the cause of the afflicted and the needy; then it was well. Is not that what it means to know Me?’ declares the Lord” (Jeremiah 22:3,5, 15-16).

 Just over two weeks before his death in 1963,  John F. Kennedy issued a Thanksgiving proclamation on November 5.  He wrote, “Today we give our thanks, most of all, for the ideals of honor and faith we inherit from our forefathers – for the decency of purpose, steadfastness of will, for the courage and the humility, which they possessed and which we must emulate.  As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them.”   

 In an interview with Jeremiah Greever, Eric Metaxas, author of Bonhoffer and If You Can Keep It, reflected  on the failure of the German church to confront and oppose the rise of totalitarianism under Hitler. He referred to Alexis de Toqueville’s  assessment concerning America in 1835, “Liberty cannot be established without morality, nor morality without faith … despotism may govern without faith, but liberty cannot.”

 As we enter the 2024 Presidential election year, it is important that we approach this Thanksgiving with humility, gratitude and prayer that as individuals and a nation we might fulfill God’s will in our treatment of one another and the nations of the earth.

For Thanksgiving, my newest book, We Beheld His Glory, free eBook on Amazon November 23-26.

November 22

 Next week will mark sixty years since a rifle shot echoed in Dallas altering the course of history.  It left John F. Kennedy dead and a nation in shock.    For those of us who are older, it is a moment frozen in time.  Each one who experienced it remembers where we were and what we were doing when we heard  that President Kennedy had been shot. This week will be filled with documentaries, flashbacks, stories, and remembrances of that event. But something else happened on that date that the world little noticed.

 On the same day, November 22, 1963, C. S. Lewis collapsed at 5:30 PM in the bedroom of his Oxford home and died one week before his sixty-fifth birthday.  Sixty years later, C. S. Lewis’ death is little noted.  But his writings may be more popular and more widely read than ever.  Both events marked by November 22 continue to shape our world: the traumatic assassination of President Kennedy and the writings of C.S. Lewis.

 An avowed atheist in his youth, C.S. Lewis came to faith in Christ in 1931, partially influenced by his friend and colleague, J.R.R. Tolkien.  By some estimates he became the most widely read Christian writer in history.  He is perhaps best known today for The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, a Christian allegory written for children in 1950.  

 I expect both Lewis and Tolkien would be shocked to discover their fantasies, The Chronicles of Narnia and The Lord of the Rings have become blockbuster movies in the twenty-first century. And, I expect C.S. Lewis would be even more surprised to learn that he is one of the most quoted authors on social media.  Here are a few of his most famous quotes:

 “A man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word 'darkness' on the walls of his cell.”

 "Relying on God has to begin all over again every day as if nothing had yet been done."

 "God has infinite attention to spare for each one of us. You are as much alone with him as if you were the only being he had ever created."

  "When Christ died, he died for you individually just as much as if you had been the only person in the world."

 Millions who have struggled with doubt and disbelief have found a path to faith through his best known book, Mere Christianity.  I first read Mere Christianity when I was a college student  55 years ago, along with The Screwtape Letters and The Four Loves.  Later I added his science fiction books, Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra and That Hideous Strength.  Like many others my faith and my thinking have been shaped by  Lewis’ writings.

 As the world pauses to reflect on that fateful day in Dallas sixty years ago, we are afforded opportunity to reflect on faith in Christ, as described so beautifully by C. S. Lewis. A faith that can carry us through any crisis, global or personal. 

Changing the Rules

 

It is always important to know the rules in anything we do.  We have rules at school, rules at work and rules at home. We establish laws to govern traffic: speed limits, stop signs, turn lanes and signals.  We pass laws for family, marriage, commerce and civil conduct.  We spend billions of dollars to employ law enforcement officials, judges and lawyers to make sure the rules are obeyed.

 We even have rules for play. Every sport has its rules with umpires and referees to insure that the rules are enforced.  We have added instant replay to make sure their rulings are fair and objective.  Still, arguments erupt and tempers flare when either side believes it has been unfairly judged. Many OU fans are miffed today because of several penalties and a missed call in their loss to OSU on Saturday.  

 Some rules are unwritten. We assume we know them from birth. They are common to every culture on earth.  They are simple rules:  love your family and your friends.  Do good things for them.  Love your country.  If someone hits you, hit them back.  Don’t break in line. Lend only to those who will pay you back with interest. Look out for “number one.”  Protect your property. Defend yourself. If someone wrongs you, get even.  Sometimes we follow these rules even when they conflict with the law.  They are the stuff of most movies and novels.  They are the rules by which the world lives.

When Jesus came, he changed all the rules.  His words sound strange when compared to our natural assumptions about how life is supposed to work. "But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either. Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back. Treat others the same way you want them to treat you. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” (Luke 6:27-36). 

Biker Believers

 This week, November 2-5, half a million bikers will show up in Galveston for the Lone Star Rally, the largest motorcycle rally in Texas. They come from all walks of life with a shared love for the road, the wind and the machine.  Normally the Seawall hums with the quiet traffic of tourists, the squeal of children playing on the beach and the rumble of waves breaking on the shore.  But this week, it will vibrate with the thunder of Harley Davidsons.

 I have always liked bikes.  I got my first motor scooter when I was 13.  Two years later, my first motorcycle.  It wasn’t much.  I didn’t have much money, only a 175 cc engine.  It would only do 45 mph, that is until I took the engine apart and cleaned out the exhaust ports.  Then it would do 75.  Great fun! 

 After I became a pastor, I found myself serving a church where many of the members had motorcycles.  I bought a Suzuki.  Again, not much of a bike because, again, I didn’t have much money.  But my wife rode with me and I was able to go on some bike rides with my members.  I took my son on a ride and toured Pea Ridge, Civil War battlefield in northwest Arkansas.

 I never owned a Harley, but a few years ago I visited the Harley Davidson plant in Kansas City with a group of church leaders interested in Harley Davidson.  I listened as a young man introduced himself as a disciple of Jesus Christ disguised as a Harley Davidson executive.

 Of course, not all Bikers are Christian or gentle.  Eight years ago, on a quiet Sunday afternoon in Waco, Texas, my wife and I happened upon the scene at Twin Peaks Restaurant where conflict between two biker gangs erupted into a shootout.  Nine bikers were killed, and 18 others wounded.

 A few years ago, I served as coach to a pastor who was starting a Biker Church, a church for people who served their community and shared their faith as biker enthusiasts.  The church met on Thursday nights for worship and participated in biker rides and rallies on the weekend. They raised money for those in need and started a Bible-base ministry for substance abuse. Bikers for Christ has more than 100 chapters in 20 countries and thousands of members worldwide.

 When I turned 60, I bought a Kawasaki, again a used bike, but by far the best and fastest bike I ever owned.  I went down on it at 60 mph but my full-face helmet and the Lord saved my life.   I survived with only a couple of broken ribs and road rash.  I still love bikes.

 If the Apostle Peter lived today, perhaps he would be a biker.  After all he was a rough fisherman when Jesus met him and he was prone to jump out of boats.  Jesus loved him and made him the leader of his followers.  When I think about Jesus, the places he went, the people he befriended, it makes think He would love bikers. 

Children of the Kingdom

 When we think about being religious, we conjure up different images.  Some imagine ascetic monks living in desert regions, emaciated and starving, bleary eyed and anti-social. Others picture nuns wearing habits and whispering prayers as they finger their rosaries.  Still others imagine TV evangelists with slicked-back  hair. When Jesus wanted to forge an image in the minds of his followers, he chose a child and stood him in their midst and said, “Unless you change and become as children, you shall not enter the Kingdom of Heaven,” (Matthew 18:2-3). Why would he do this?

 Jesus left the answer to that question up to us.  We can all speculate about the lesson he wanted to teach by choosing a child.  Here are a few characteristics that stand out to me when I think about children and the reason he chose a child to illustrate the nature of Kingdom people. 

 Children live in the moment.  They are not worried about the future.  They are not burdened with guilt about the past. Watch children playing on a playground.  They have little awareness of time. They wear no watches.

 Children become friends fast. Most children have not learned to be hesitant and shy.    They greet one another as if they have already met.  “Want to play?”  And the game is on.

 Children laugh. I love listening to children on the school playground and in the park. Anywhere children gather, the air is filled with laughter.  It is their nature to laugh.

 Children do not know prejudice.  I’m not sure when we learn racial and cultural prejudice, but young children readily accept each other as equals regardless of skin color or clothing.  If they notice a difference between them, they do not hesitate to ask about it.  And, once the difference is recognized and addressed, they move on.

 Children trust.  With their father’s extended arms and a little encouragement, they will fling their bodies into open space fully confident they will be caught. 

 Children are awed by God’s creation.   They are mesmerized by grasshoppers, caterpillars, butterflies, and flowers. They stop and take time to watch an ant wrestle a crumb of bread across the ground.  They notice the spots on a ladybug.

 Children have great imaginations. Give a child a sandbox, a stick, or a can and they can construct unbelievable creations. I watched children recently playing in the sand.  They were digging a hole.  When I asked what it was, they stared at me with a puzzled look, as if I was the only one who did not recognize the obvious.  They patiently explained that it was a grasshopper sanctuary.

 This list isn’t complete.  You can add others, I am sure.  Somewhere within us all is buried the child we once were.  Perhaps if we could re-connect with the child-like simplicity within us, we might take our first steps toward becoming Kingdom citizens as Jesus described it. 

Israel, Jerusalem and the End Times

 Israel is dominating the news again with the Hamas invasion and Israel’s declaration of war.

 Like many, I have visited Israel.  I have descended the path from the Mount of Olives, strolled among the shops, lunched on falafel with hummus and pita, walked the Via Dolorosa, prayed at the Western Wall, visited the Temple Mount and walked the ramparts of Jerusalem.

 There is no place on earth like Jerusalem, built on the southern slope of Mount Moriah where Abraham ascended with  his son Isaac beside him bearing a bundle of firewood.  It was here that God provided the sacrifice, a ram caught in the thicket over 4,000 years ago.  His descendants returned hundreds of years later after the Egyptian captivity and the Exodus.  The young king David chose Jerusalem for his capital 3,000 years ago and his son,  Solomon built the first temple. Jesus was crucified outside its gates 2.000 years ago. And it was here that He rose from the dead. It is difficult to sift through centuries of warfare and reconstruction to find the original sites and to imagine them as they were. 

 Alexander the Great conquered Jerusalem in 332 BC. The Romans in 63 BC. After demolishing the city in 70 AD, Rome rebuilt it in 135 AD. After Constantine, Jerusalem came under Roman Christian rule which included construction of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which was destroyed by the Persians 300 years later. In 638 the Caliph Omar captured Jerusalem and brought it under Islamic rule. The Dome of the Rock was built in 691 where Solomon’s Temple once stood.  Between 1099 and 1250 rule over Jerusalem shifted repeatedly between Muslims and Christian Crusaders ending with Islamic rule between 1250 and 1517.  For the next 400 years Jerusalem was ruled by the Ottomans until British rule was established in 1917 following WWI. The present state of Israel was created in 1948 following WW II and the Holocaust. Jerusalem was a divided city until Israel took possession of Old Jerusalem in 1967. In the light of this long history and current events, the words of Zechariah and the words that Jesus spoke only days before His crucifixion sound remarkably relevant. 

 Zechariah wrote, “It will come about on that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will injure themselves severely. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it,” (Zechariah 12:3).

Jesus said, "Jerusalem will be trampled under foot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.  There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress among the nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves,  people fainting from fear and the expectation of the things that are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near,” (Luke 21:20-28).

Water of Life

 Perhaps somewhere out there some extraterrestrials are listening to Jimmy Carter’s greetings and Chuck Berry singing, Johnny Be Good on the recordings launched into space aboard Voyager in 1977. Voyager has left the solar system and is in interstellar space.  Or, maybe someday we will pick up alien radio messages like Jodie Foster in Contact. But, so far, the evidence indicates that life in the universe is precious.  Quite possibly, we are it. Although I have to agree that it makes sense there should be life somewhere out there.  Surely in God’s economy He would not create this vast expanse of universe and only create life on our small pebble.

 Scientists are searching for water again.  Not on earth, but in far-flung places in our solar system and the universe.  In their search for life on other planets they know that water is the key.  Where there is water, there could be life. Scientists have discovered a vast cloud of water in space containing 130 trillion times the water in all the seas and oceans on earth. (Space is a big place). The only problem is that it is 12 billion light years away.

 Whenever scientists search for life in the universe they search first for water.  Ellen Stofan, chief scientist for NASA said, “NASA science activities have provided a wave of amazing findings related to water in recent years that inspire us to continue investigating our origins and the fascinating possibilities of other worlds, and life, in the universe.” Water is the essence of life as we know it. Without it, life cannot exist.

 Most of us think little about water. We are more focused on beverages that tease our taste and promise a lift.  We take water for granted.  But water is the essential element for life. Humans can live weeks without food.  But living without water is another story. Most wilderness guides warn that we can only survive a  few days without water.

 Jesus knew this when He spoke about water.  He said, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life,” (John 4:13-14).

 As important as water is to the existence of life and to our own physical well-being, there is another element even more important to the life of our soul.  Millions who have access to food, shelter, water and wealth are dying every day for lack of the spiritual water that can nourish their soul. 

 In John’s Revelation Jesus said, “ I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give water to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life, without cost.”

 “Thus says the Lord who made you and formed you from the womb, who will help you, …  ‘For I will pour out water on^]the thirsty land and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring  and My blessing on your descendants;  and they will spring up ^]among the grass like poplars by streams of water,” (Isaiah 44:2-4).

Finding Denouement - Tying Up Loose Ends

Every time we attend a play, watch a movie, or read a book, we are looking for, and expecting denouement. Webster’s Dictionary defines denouement as “the final solution or untangling of the conflicts or difficulties that make up the plot or a literary work.  The outcome of a complicated or difficult situation or sequence of events.”

In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet the denouement occurs when enmity between the Capulets and Montagues drives their beloved children to suicide.  In Les Miserables the denouement occurs when Jean Valjean rescues his adopted daughter’s fiancé from battle in the French Revolution. Simultaneously, he spares the life of his enemy, Javert, who, in despair, casts himself into the Siene and drowns.

 We all want denouement in our stories.  Whenever we read a book that leaves us hanging without reconciling the conflicts and questions raised by the telling, we feel unsatisfied.  Life, however, is not like fiction.  It does not always tie the loose ends into a neat bow at the end.  Often, we are left to live our lives with unanswered questions.

Yet the Bible offers us help.  The unanswered questions in our immediate circumstance can find meaning in the greater narrative found in its pages.  The Bible is, after all a story: the grandest of stories, from creation to consummation of the age.

 In his early adult years Joseph would have had difficulty predicting the denouement of his life.  In a rage of resentment and jealousy, his brothers sold him into slavery.  Finding himself a slave in Egypt, he was falsely accused by his master’s wife and thrown into prison.  Through a series of events in which he continued to demonstrate faithfulness and a gift for discernment, he was rescued from prison and rose to prominence in Pharaoh’s court. Years later, during a global famine, his brothers arrived in Egypt desperately seeking food. When they recognized their brother they had sold into slavery, they feared for their lives. But, with tears, Joseph embraced them and declared, “You meant it to me for evil, but God meant it to me for good.” 

 While we are in the midst of life we have difficulty predicting the outcome of the tragedies and disappointments that come our way. But in the end, the Master Author of life will write a denouement for those who put their faith and trust in Him. 

 The Apostle Paul recognized this when he wrote, “All things work together for good for those who love the Lord, for those who are called according to His purpose.”  As long as we love ourselves and seek out own purposes, life will continue to be a mess.  But, when we love God and are called according to His purpose, all things work together for good.

 Jesus provides the greatest example of this truth.  At the crucifixion, everything seemed to have fallen apart. Nothing good, it seemed, could come of this.  But the resurrection changed everything.  The empty tomb provided the greatest denouement in the history of man.

When You Are Angry

 Anger doesn’t require significant issues to raise its ugly head.  Several Tampa Bay baseball fans got into an angry fight over a foul ball that landed in a garbage can. After tempers flared, the security guard stepped in and ruled that the ball would remain where it landed, beneath a pile of peanut shells, beer cans, hot dog wrappers and whatever else had been deposited in the can. If we can’t get along with one another, nobody wins.

We are all acquainted with anger. We have felt the rising resentment and boiling emotions that overwhelm rational thought and take control of our words and our actions leading us to say things and do things that we later regret. We call it losing our temper. It is built into us. We are born with it. Anyone who cares for a newborn soon discovers that babies have a temper. For most of us, age helps. We call it “mellowing.” Things that once pushed our button and shoved us over the edge are not as frustrating as before. We become more patient; we gain greater perspective.

It is okay to become angry. When anger causes us to take action that will result in improved environment and behavior, it is good. Jesus became angry. He did not casually cleanse the temple. He drove out all those who were using religion for profit, overturned their tables, scattered their money on the stones and drove the bleating sheep, braying oxen and fluttering pigeons before him with a whip. Later, when the religious authorities wanted to prevent him from healing the sick on the Sabbath, the Bible says he looked at them “with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart.”

But it is not okay to lose our temper. Uncontrolled anger can be disastrously destructive. It is not okay to live an angry life as an angry person. Angry people alienate others, and, when their anger spins out of control, they inflict damage and injury to themselves and others. When anger cuts off conversation and communication that can lead to understanding and solutions to shared problems, it is a bad thing. When anger spills over into rage that lashes out at others to hurt and to harm, it is a bad thing.

Anger is one of those human emotions we all possess that must be channeled and controlled to produce constructive results. Left unchecked and allowed to run wild, it can destroy us. The Bible instructs us to “Be angry and yet do not sin. Do not let the sun go down on your anger.”(Eph. 4:26). The Bible also says, “The anger of man does not fulfill the righteousness of God.” (James 1:20).

 When we are introduced to the Apostle Paul in the book of Acts, he is an angry young man. After assisting in the murder of Stephen, he proceeded to persecute Christians, going from house to house, arresting men and women and throwing them into prison. But, on the way to extend his rage to Damascus, he met the risen Christ. His life was changed.  His anger was quenched.  Later, he extended the love of Christ to those who persecuted him (Acts 16:22-30) and authored one of the greatest passages on love the world has ever known, (1 Corinthians 13).  

Spiritual Myopia

 Myopia. I learned the word when I was ten years old from the optometrist who checked my eyes and told my parents that I was nearsighted. I didn’t know I was nearsighted. I thought everyone saw everything the way I saw it. Trees were green blobs, the landscape blurred into blotches of pink, green, brown and blue, like an Impressionist painting. I wondered how other kids could catch and hit a baseball. I never saw the ball until it was on top of me. I could see some vague arm motion in the distance and then, wham! The ball was in my face.

My first pair of glasses changed my world. I discovered leaves on trees. I could see people’s faces inside their cars. I could read the blackboard from the back of the room. As a teenager I became the cleanup hitter on the all-star team, and could catch a fly ball over my shoulder while galloping toward the centerfield fence, like Joe DiMaggio. When I returned to the dugout, I heard the coach say, “I always knew if he could see it he could catch it.”

Myopia is not only physical. It can bespiritual. We are all born spiritually nearsighted. Like my childhood years, we think we see things clearly, but we don’t. We are unaware of what we don’t see. The only person who ever had perfect vision was Jesus. That is why He said, “I am the light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness … if anyone walks in the night he stumbles because the light is not in him.” (John 8:12; 11:10)

When the prophet Elisha and his servant were surrounded by the enemy at Dothan, the servant was gripped with fear. But Elisha told him, “Do not fear. Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” When God opened the servant’s eyes, he saw that “the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” (2 Kings 6) When we are gripped with fear and despair, we need God to open our eyes so we can see clearly. “If God be for us,” Paul said, “who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31)

Jesus once met a blind man in the village of Bethsaida. Jesus laid His hands upon him and asked him, “Do you see anything?” The man responded, “I see people; they look like trees walking around. Once more,” the Bible says, “Jesus put His hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened … and he saw everything clearly.” (Mark 8:22-25) Many of us are like that blind man. We may be religious. We may attend church. But we need a “second touch” from God so that we can see clearly.

We are born with spiritual nearsightedness so that we only see things close up, our own self interests. As a result, we are often filled with fear, doubt, anger, resentment and despair. When we turn from our sins and place our faith in Christ, He is able to touch us so that we see clearly and walk in the light. Only Christ can cure the spiritual myopia that afflicts us from birth and enable us to see the world as God sees it.

This We Believe

 Over the years I have preached many funerals for friends and family.  None stands out more in my memory than the funeral I preached for my niece.  By the time she ended her long battle with breast cancer she was in her fifties.

 I still remember her innocent blue eyes as a child.  I watched her grow through childhood and into her teen years.  When she was a young adult, she was lured down painful and destructive paths refusing to heed the warnings of those who loved her. I prayed for her, along with others and she fell deeper into addiction to drugs and alcohol. She gave her first born up for adoption and eventually served a sentence in prison.

 But somewhere along the way, whether in prison or afterward, she came to faith in Jesus Christ. Just as He said to the woman who pressed through the crowd and touched the hem of His garment, Jesus said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you whole.” 

 In the last decade of her life, I saw her reunited with her first-born whom she gave up in her youth. She was reconciled with her family who surrounded her with love.  God brought a good man into her life who, like herself, was a recovering alcoholic.

 She often shared with me her testimony of faith and what God had done in her life.  She still wasn’t perfect. She still had issues. But she was different. God was healing her on the inside.

 The week before she died, we visited.  Family and friends gathered around her, comforting her, praying for her and loving her.  On Wednesday of that week, she drew her last breath.

 Once again, I thought of her as that innocent blue-eyed girl I first knew. It reminded me of Jesus’ visit to the home of a mother and father whose twelve-year-old daughter had died.  The house was surrounded by people who were weeping. But Jesus entered the child’s bedroom with her parents and spoke these gentle words to her.  “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”   She immediately breathed, opened her eyes and got up.   

 This is the faith we believe as followers of Christ.  We make mistakes.  We may wander far from God.  We may cause pain to ourselves and others.  But He seeks us out.  He never lets us go.  He reconciles, redeems and, in the day of our death, He raises us up!

Did Jesus Do Dishes?

 Did Jesus do dishes?  The very question sounds sacrilegious.  That might be the point.  Sometimes our “religion” prism causes us to miss the real miracle about Jesus.  The whole idea of “religion” tends to confine our thinking to “church” related activities and theological conversations.  To most people, Jesus never enters day-to-day conversation because to do so is to introduce “religion,” and daily life has little to do with religion.

 Those who knew Jesus, who met him, heard him, saw him, ate with him, and walked with him were struck by his humanity.  He was real, but, as some say, “not real religious.”  He went to the synagogues and spoke there, but it was the religious people who had difficulty with him.  He ate with tax collectors, visited with prostitutes, and befriended lepers, violated religious laws by healing the sick and allowing his disciples to harvest grain on the Sabbath.

 Jesus’ divinity continued to shine through for all to see:  he made the blind see, caused the deaf to hear, enabled the lame to walk and raised the dead.  Even the wind and the sea obeyed him.  But, just as importantly if not more so, he made the mundane extraordinary.

 He lived most of his life as a carpenter in a remote village.  As Dallas Willard wrote, “If he were to come today as he did then, he could carry out his mission through most any decent and useful occupation.  He could be a clerk or accountant in a hardware store, a computer repairman, a banker, editor, doctor, waiter, teacher, farmhand, lab technician, or construction worker.  He could run a house cleaning service or repair automobiles. In other words, if he were to come today he could very well do what you do.”

John described him like this:  “The Word became flesh and lived among us and we saw his glory, glory as the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14);  “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.”

 The Bible never says that Jesus did the dishes.  It does say that he washed feet. Which, it seems to me, required a great deal more humility than washing dishes.  I expect dishes were prized possessions in most homes of Galilee. They weren’t cheap.  You could not pick up dishes at the local Walmart or the Dollar store.  They were all hand crafted and often passed down from generation to generation.  Most homes likely had little more than the essentials when it came to dishes. They did not pile up in the sink waiting for someone to unload the dishwasher. I wouldn’t be surprised if Jesus helped his mother out, or even lent a hand to Martha in the kitchen at Bethany, and washed dishes.

I always think my wife will be most impressed when I buy her flowers.  She does appreciate them. But what she really seems to like is the times that I do the dishes.  It may be that the most spiritual thing you do today is to do the dishes.  It could be a God thing.

What Our Dogs Can Teach Us

 We live in a dog-friendly neighborhood.  Everyday, weather permitting, I see people walking their dogs. Men and women, old and young, couples pushing strollers, teenagers, some riding a bike with their dog on a leash.  Once I met a woman walking her cats. She had three of them on leashes which she periodically paused to untangle. There aren’t many “cat-walkers.”

 After years of feeding, bathing, picking up poop and emptying litter boxes for the dogs and cats that belonged to the family, our kids grew up and left home. The house was quiet. Even the pets were gone. I decided I wanted my own dog, just for me. It took several months and many promises to my wife that I would do all the feeding, bathing and poop picking up, but my wife finally agreed.  We adopted Buddy, a tri-color Corgi.  

 Buddy isn’t with us anymore. After 14 years he lived out his Corgi-life.  But the memories and the lessons he taught me remain. Here are a few things I learned from my dog, Buddy.

 Buddy trusted me.  Whenever I got in my truck he jumped in and took his place, ready to go.  He didn’t know where we were going or what we were going to do. But he believed that if I was driving it was okay.  I need to be more like that with God.  I always want to know where we are going, when we are going to get there and what we are going to do once we arrive.  I need to jump in the truck with God and give him control of my life.

 Buddy wanted to be with me.  He didn’t care if he was at the lake running, splashing and rolling in the mud, sitting in a chair next to me on the patio or in my study lying at my feet while I wrote.  He just wanted to be where I was.   I need to spend time with God.  What made the early disciples different was the fact they had been with Jesus (Acts 4:13).

 Buddy followed me.  He even followed me from room to room in the house. Whenever we went for walks on an empty beach, I let him off his leash and he ran free.  But he kept an eye on me.  He developed a radius of his own, about thirty yards from wherever I was.  Within that radius he felt comfortable sniffing washed up driftwood and marking sand dunes.  Occasionally he got out of eyesight. But, when I called his name he came running. Not real fast, but as fast as he could. After all he was a Corgi.    It reminds me of what Jesus said to His disciples, “Come, follow me!”  “My sheep know my voice.” 

 Buddy waited for me. When I was writing, he rested his head on his paws, kept one eye on me and waited.  If we were walking and I stopped, he sat down with his tongue hanging out and waited.  If I went to the store when it was cool, he waited in my truck until I returned.  Buddy never complained about waiting on me.  He never got in a hurry.  I should be more like that with respect to God and those I love.

 Buddy has his own book, Buddy the Floppy Ear Corgi, on Amazon that tells how he was rescued off the streets and how he learned to love himself and others just the way God made them.  Free eBook Aug 29-Sept.2.

Tragedy in Paradise

 We are entering the second week since wildfires swept through Lahaina on Maui.  The painful reports from Maui continue.  The death toll stands at 114. Children, parents, families, tourists, trapped in an inferno at a least suspected place in a least suspected moment.

 Like many we have been to Maui and visited Lahaina.  We have treasured memories of the “aloha” and “mahalo” island, palm trees swaying in a gentle breeze, waves cresting upon the shore, luaus on the beach at sunset.  It doesn’t take long to travel the island, including the Haleakala Crater and the road to Hana where we found Charles Lindbergh’s remote grave overlooking the ocean.

 This tragedy strikes an especially painful chord.  How could this happen in such an idyllic place?  The deadliest wildfire  in the U.S in more than 100 years.  

 This week tropical storm Hillary lashed southern California with high winds, mud slides and flooding.  Like Maui, we have been there. We visited San Diego six months ago, relaxing at Mission Beach, strolling through Balboa Park, listening to the street musicians, shopping and dining at Embarcardero.

 My wife grew up on the coast of Texas, at Freeport. When she was 12, Hurricane Carla struck her home on September 11, 1961. Winds reached 173 mph.  The storm was so intense the weather Bureau retired the name “Carla,” never to be used again for an Atlantic hurricane.   Her family fled to east Texas for safety.  When they returned, they drove through miles of devastation with bloated cows lying in the fields. Their home was flooded with 3 feet of saltwater. They had to rebuild and start over.

 The deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history remains the Galveston storm of 1900.  An unexpected hurricane struck the island on September 8 and left more than 6,000 dead in its wake.

 Jesus was clear that disasters, both natural and manmade,  would continue on this earth (Luke 21).  He was also clear that these tragic events would affect the just and the unjust, the good and the evil, (Luke 13:1-5).  So how are we to respond?

 When his disciples encountered a man blind from his birth, they asked Jesus, “Who sinned, this man or his parents that he was born blind?  Jesus responded, ‘It was not that this man sinned, nor his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.” (John 9:1-3).  Jesus then proceeded to heal the man who was blind.

 This gives us a clue about our response when others suffer inexplicable disease and disaster. We must enter into their grief, share their sorrow, pray for them and do whatever we can to help. Most of us can give. There are numerous charities.  We should choose one we trust and give what we can. Every little bit helps those who lose everything when disaster strikes.

 We are to place our trust in the One who overcomes every adversity and gives to us life eternal. We must be like the man in Jesus’ parable who built his house upon the rock. ““Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts on them, will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock,” (Matthew 7:24-25).

Back To School

 Last week we kept our grandchildren, ages 12, 10 and 6.  Their parents had taken them shopping for school supplies the day before.  It might as well have been Christmas! They were elated to show us all the new supplies for school: pencils, pens, notebooks, dividers, glue, backpacks and new shoes!  White Nikes for the girls, orange Under Armor shoes for our 6-year-old grandson.  He insisted they were superhero, super-fast shoes.  We gathered at the living room picture window and watched him demonstrate, sprinting across the front lawn, an orange streak against a grass-green background!

 It was fun to listen to them talk about all the things they are looking forward to after a long hot summer, their new teachers, schedules and friends who would share the same class.  The same scene is unfolding in families all across our country. 

 I thought of the many children whose parents are short on funds, who are struggling to pay rent, to put gas in the car and food on the table.  I thought of children who will show up on that first day with worn hand-me-down shoes.  So, we went shopping for school supplies, especially nicer new shoes, which we dropped off at a local charity for distribution.  It wasn’t much. Hopefully it meant something to one or more children.  If we all do a little, it can help a lot.

 When my wife was a child, she spent days organizing her supplies anticipating the first day back at her desk.  When she became a kindergarten teacher, she faced the greater challenge of managing preschool children armed with crayons and markers in a room with freshly painted walls.

 It will soon be time to put away the lazy days of sleeping late, TV, video games, camp and vacations.  Kids will wake before sunrise and wait for the bus.  Going back to school is the rhythm of life, as surely as the first crisp scent of fall and the turning of green leaves to gold.  We will soon wake up to the early morning echo of school bands, coaches’ whistles, and the smack of shoulder pads.  

 Jesus’ invitation to follow Him is an invitation to each of us to go “back to school” with all the child-like enthusiasm and wonder of children skipping expectantly across the school yard.   That is the meaning of the word, disciple.  He is the Master Teacher.

 No person ever lived who was as wise as Jesus.  Jesus concludes the Sermon on the Mount by telling the story of two men who built houses, one on the sand and one on rock.  When the storm came, the house on the sand crumbled and the house built on rock survived.  “Everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them,” Jesus said, “may be compared to the wise man who built his house upon the rock.”

 We all need to go to school.  We all have something to learn.

Consider the Ant

 The ants are back!  We have kept them at bay inside the house, but outside, that is a different matter.  A single dropped crumb on the patio and the next morning a stream of ants appear, hundreds of them in a neatly organized operation to dismantle the discarded food and store it in bits and bites for later use. 

 How do they do this?  Do the wandering scout-ants have cell phones?  When they make a discovery do they place a call back to home base and say, “Send the troops.  We have food!”  Who organizes the operation?  Who tells these worker ants to answer the call, and who plots the shortest and least obstructed route to the treasure? 

 If they were humans, the searchers who discovered the food supply would immediately stake a claim, lay title to it and horde it so that they could be wealthier than all the other ants.   They would let the weaker ants in the colony starve.  And, they would probably spend most of their time in “ant court” defending the right to their possessions.  “Ant lawyers” would probably claim the greatest portion of the wealth. Maybe they would find an Oppenheimer ant to invent a bomb so they could destroy other ant colonies.

 Why can’t we learn from these little creatures?  According to the United Nations “the world is in the midst of a global food crisis ... the largest in recent history.”  345 million people are facing severe hunger. 32 countries are in conflict including wars, civil wars, drug wars, ethnic violence, and organized crime.

 I have to admit this convicts and alarms me.  I need to be more like the little critters that invade my patio.  I need to sound the alarm, send out the signal, marshal others and join them in distributing food and resources to those who need it.  But how do we do this?  How do we know that our gifts get to the people and places where they are needed?  There is so much graft and corruption in the world that charitable gifts are often routed into the pockets of the greedy. 

 I guess the best thing is to be alert to local opportunities that can be trusted, churches and local charities that are accountable. Check out the records and reputation of national and international charities.  We should always be generous to neighbors and those we encounter who are in need. The point, I guess, is to choose some way to help.  If all of us gave more generously we could make a difference, like the ant.

 Proverbs says, “Go to the ant … consider its ways and be wise!  It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest” (Prov. 6:6-8).  John the forerunner, described what we should do if we really want to respond in faith to the Messiah.  He said, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same” (Luke 3:11).

The Father's Voice

 This year our 6-year-old grandson played T-ball for the first time.  It is a different game. They are just learning the rudiments. The little guys and girls swing at the ball as many times as necessary until they hit the ball . There are no strikes. There are no outs. After hitting the ball they run to first, then second, third and home. The players are positioned and taught to remain ready.  Catch the ball, if you can, throw it as best you can.  Sometimes they fight over the ball and hurl it toward a base, any base.  The runners are never called out. We cheer them on. Parents, grandparents, even siblings, as if they were scoring a walk off home run. And they beam with pride.

 They will soon graduate to Little League which is a bit more challenging. Strikes are called. Outs are made.  The pressure is on.  Every year a similar scenario plays itself out.  A 10-year-old boy steps to the plate in the final inning.  He must score if the team is to win. Everyone knows he cannot hit. The coach whispers into his ear, “Don’t swing. The pitcher is wild. You will get a walk.” He does exactly what the coach says.  The bat rests firmly on his shoulder and, after four balls, he is down on first. A wild pitch and he is down to second.

 Second base is unfamiliar territory. He is surrounded by the enemy.  The next batter lofts a shallow fly to right field. He starts for third, but has second thoughts and starts to retreat to second. But he knows he must get to third to score. Everyone on each side has an opinion regarding what he should do. Parents and grandparents rise to their feet. Some are shouting ‘Go back! Go back!”  Others are shouting, “Run! Run!”  The boy must decide, and in a split second.

 Then, he hears one voice above all the others, his father’s voice.  His father cups his hands to his mouth and shouts, “Run!” Immediately he hurls his body toward third base!  One voice made the difference, the father’s voice.

 We are all like the Little Leaguer on second base.  Voices come from every corner telling us what to do. Every day we face an onslaught of commercials on TV, pop ups on computers and smart phones. Everyone has opinions and advise about what we should do. But, there is only one voice that truly matters, the Father’s voice.  

 This is what Jesus taught us as a 12-year-old boy.  The Father’s voice makes the difference.  When Mary and Joseph found him in the temple after he had been missing in Jerusalem for 3 days, he said to them, “Why were you looking for me?  Did you not know I must be about the things of my Father?” (Luke 2  Later, as an adult, he said, “I speak the things I have seen from my Father,” (John 8:38). “All things I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.” (John 15:15).

 What is the will of our Father in Heaven? What does He want us to do?  He always has our interest at heart and He always knows what is best.  Listen to Him.

The Barbie Effect

 Anyone who has not heard about Barbie must live on the moon. We have been inundated with trailers and clips and commercials about Barbie, the first live-action film about the iconic doll starring Margot Robbie as Barbie and Ryan Gosling as Ken.  After years of production, Barbie, the movie, was released last week grossing $382 million at the box office.  Many years ago, the movie industry discovered the power of trailers, short clips and promotional scenes that entice us to spend money to watch their movies. 

 Perhaps we can learn something from Barbie.

The Australian writer, Michael Frost, argues that Christians and churches are like movie trailers for the Kingdom. We are to live in such a way that when others see us, they say, “I want to be a part of that,” or ”I wish the world was like that.” This is what Jesus meant when he said, “Let your light so shine that men may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

Whether we like it or not, our churches and our lives are being viewed like movie trailers by others. When non-believers look at our churches and our lives, they are whispering to themselves and to one another saying, “I’ll have to check that out,” or, “I wouldn’t want to be part of that.”

Jesus presented the clearest preview of the Kingdom. He invited others to look at his life to see what the Kingdom looks like. He said, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18-21).

The early followers of Jesus practiced Kingdom living in such a way that others were drawn to them and to their churches. This is why the Christian faith exploded in the first three centuries. People saw previews of the Kingdom practiced in the churches and the lives of believers, and they wanted to be part of it. Across the centuries the Christian faith has been the primary source for charities that care for the poor and dispossessed.

This is also the reason Christianity is stumbling in our day. Too often churches and Christians are selfish and self-centered, fighting among themselves for control with a judgmental attitude toward others. When others see this, like patrons at a theater, they whisper to themselves, “That’s not for me.”

Every church and every believer must live in such a way that others see God’s Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. This is what the Apostle Paul meant when he said, “But thanks be to God, who … manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.” (2 Cor. 2:14-15).

Bill's book of poems, Peole Places and Things, is FREE on Amazon eBook July 26-29.  His poems have won first place in the Colorado Open Poetry Contest and the Mimssissippi Valley Poetry Contest.