What's In a Name, Redux

A few months ago I wrote an article called "What's In a Name?" In it I talked about the name Christian and what it ought to mean to us as followers of Christ. What prompted that article was the growing number of strange names people are giving their children these days.

Well, according to Yahoo News, I'm not the only one fed up with seeing these ridiculous names given to children. According to a story posted July 24, 2008, a judge in New Zealand made a 9-year old girl a ward of the court so that her name could be changed. What kind of name would be so bad that a judge would take such drastic measures to change it? "Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii." Can you imagine being 9 years old and telling people your name is "Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii"? Well this girl would not tell even her closest friends what her real name was because she was too embarrassed. In his ruling, the judge said of the name the girl's parents had chosen for her, "It makes a fool of the child and sets her up with a social disability and handicap, unnecessarily." I think he's right about that.

Why do people want to give increasingly bizarre names to their children? Maybe they feel as if the common, ordinary names we're all used to hearing will cause their children to get lost in the shuffle. After all, if little Talula Does the Hula had been named Lisa, Mary, Susan or Karen (the most popular girl's names from the year I was born); or even if she had been named Emily, Isabella, Emma, or Ava (the most popular girl's names from 2007), she just would not have been noticed. The more people there are, the more bizarre the name will have to be if you want the child to be "unique."

So where's the spiritual point in this? When the Lord planned the church, He only planned for one to exist. Jesus promised His Apostles that He would build His church, not His churches (Matthew 16:18). From the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2 throughout the rest of the New Testament, only one church is ever described. It is Christ's body (Ephesians 1:22-23), and we all know that there is only one body for one head. It is the bride of Christ (2 Corinthians 11:2), and Jesus is not a polygamist. With only one church in existence, it is not difficult to identify it. The New Testament used several different concepts to describe and indentify the church and its relationship to the Lord; we read about the body of Christ, the bride of Christ, the family of God, the church of Christ, and so on.

But men have corrupted God's simple plan for one church to exist. Today there are hundreds of different unique religious groups that all claim to belong to Christ. But these groups must identify themselves in some unique way to set themselves apart from all the other groups. So, as it is with people's names, it is becoming more and more common with churches' names. As more and more unique groups are started, more and more unique names are devised for those groups.

Wouldn't it be easier if we just went by what the Bible says? If we went back to a single church that simply wears the name of its Head? After all, if this was the way God planned it, why isn't that good enough for people today? To do this, though, we have to get rid of our own ideas and all of the doctrines and practices that cannot be supported by the Scriptures. Paul said that we must do everything "in the name of the Lord" (Colossians 3:17), which means that we must do it according to His authority. If Jesus has not authorized what we believe, what we practice, how we worship, or the name we wear, we are wrong and need to change. Let's seek to be just the church that God designed, the church that Jesus built.

Pet Peeves

What kind of pet peeves do you have? I have to admit I have my fair share of them. For example, why can't people seem to understand how a 4-way stop works? If you get to the intersection first, you go first; if you get there at the same time, the one on the right goes first. Simple, right? Apparently not. Nearly every day I drive up to a 4-way stop and another driver should go first, but they wait and wait and then wave for me to go first. It's great to be kind and polite, but the rules of the road were set up for everyone's safety. If you want to let someone go ahead of you, do it at the grocery store check out or hold the door open for them. On the road, just follow the rules; it's safer for everyone.

OK, now here's the point of this. As I was just thinking about what I was writing, I could feel myself on the verge of getting "worked up." Why is that? Because this is one of my pet peeves. It's one of those things that I let bother me. Why do we seem to have a problem with letting things bother us like this? Should Christians have a mindset that leads to being easily upset and angry about things? I don't think so. I'm not talking about being a little aggravated or frustrated; I'm talking about getting angry over things that really don't matter.

Paul said, "Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand" (Philippians 4:5). The qualities of meekness and gentleness are evidence of the Lord's influence in our lives. Paul listed this among what he called "the fruit of the Spirit" (Galatians 5:22-23). If we are truly following the Spirit's teaching, then we will demonstrate gentleness rather than harshness toward other people.

Hand in hand with gentleness, and immediately following it in Paul's description of the fruit of the Spirit is self-control. Without self-control, there will be no gentleness. You see, we demonstrate a gentle attitude toward others because we choose to do so. I suppose everyone gets frustrated or aggravated about different things now and then. I think Jesus even seemed to be a little frustrated with His followers at times. For example, Jesus told His apostles about how He was about to leave them, but that He was doing all of this to make it possible for men to come to the Father through Him. In response to this, Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us" (John 14:8). To me, Jesus seems to show a little bit of frustration with Philip in His response: "Jesus said to him, 'Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, "Show us the Father"?'" (John 14:9). If Jesus was frustrated with Philip, He chose not to react harshly toward him. He responded with gentleness. Frustration, aggravation, even anger can and must be controlled. Paul said, "'Be angry and do not sin': do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil" (Ephesians 4:26-27). By refusing to control these kinds of emotions, we give an opportunity to the devil in our lives. Many sins can result when someone fails to control his temper.

So let's be careful about our pet peeves. Let's make sure we maintain control and never let our emotions control us. Even if you're frustrated or angry, always try to maintain that spirit of gentleness.

Oh, and it would really help me out a lot if you would make sure you go when you're supposed to at that 4-way stop.

"Is that God?"

I was reading Adam Faughn's blog yesterday and he told a story about his little girl and teaching her about giving. His story reminded me of one with our daughter. Emma is 3 years old and my wife often gives her some money to put in the collection plate. When she does, she tells Emma, "it's time to give our money to God." Well one Sunday she had told Emma that after giving her a dollar. While they were waiting for the men to arrive with the collection plates, Emma looked at the dollar, saw George Washington's picture on it and asked, "Is that God?"

There's a pretty good lesson there for us. How many people look at a dollar and think it is God? They love money, they live for money, they sacrifice their time and sometimes their relationships for money--money is their God. I'm pretty sure this is the reason Paul said that covetousness is idolatry (Colossians 3:5).

I don't know how long it has been this way in American culture, but for a long time success has been equated with the accumulation of wealth. The more money you have, the more successful you are. Many people think they are better than others just because they have more money than they do. We need to be reminded of Paul's warning: "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows" (1 Timothy 6:10, NKJV). Is it even necessary in today's world to enumerate the kinds of sorrows that result from a love for money? We've all seen too much evidence of the truthfulness of this statement to deny it. Everything from violent crime to broken homes is often tied directly to a love for money.

Here's another object lesson from a dollar bill that might be wise for everyone to consider. On the back of a dollar bill is a picture of an eagle with its wings outstretched. Whenever you see that eagle, think of Proverbs 23:5

Will you set your eyes on that which is not?
For riches certainly make themselves wings;
They fly away like an eagle toward heaven.

Commitment

A few days ago I asked why we drove everywhere we went instead of walking or riding a bike if our destination is only a short distance away. The reason I offered was, convenience. Well, guess what: today is the second day in a row I've ridden my bike to the church building. We only live about 1.4 miles from the church building, so it's not a bad ride at all. However, there are 3 hurdles I'm going to be faced with every time I get on the bike.

1. The highway. The shortest route to the church building is the main highway through town. It's really not all that busy, but it's a 4-lane road and it's a little bit intimidating.

2. The hill. About 2/3 of the way to the building I can take a side road to get off the highway. The problem is that there is a pretty big hill to climb. I made it up yesterday, but today I had to walk part of the way.

3. The heat. Summertime in Alabama is not known for its cool temperatures. I may not live that far from the building, but when you carry as much extra weight as I do, temperature is a big consideration.

Individually, these 3 hurdles are not all that much. Together, they are a little more to consider. Now please understand: I'm 43 years old, terribly out of shape, and very much overweight. To a young and/or physically fit person, this probably sounds like nothing. But it's a pretty big deal for me. Oh well, you have to start somewhere, they say.

So what will determine whether these things keep me from riding to work on a regular basis? Commitment. If I am committed enough to getting in shape and saving a little bit on gas, I'll keep it up regardless of the difficulties.

Isn't that true in our spiritual lives as well? Living faithfully for the Lord is not always easy. We face pressures from many different sources. Will we stay faithful in spite of those difficulties, or will we allow the pressures to defeat us in our attempt to live faithfully? The answer is in commitment.

Jesus said that if we will follow Him we must deny self, take up the cross daily and follow Him (Luke 9:23). I'll never forget how Keith Mosher, one of my instructors at Memphis School of Preaching used to explain the concept of taking up the cross. He would remind us that in the First Century the cross did not have the same meaning to people that it does today. The cross today has a religious connotation, and so people think of taking up the cross as bearing some burden as we serve the Lord. But in the First Century, the cross was simply an implement of execution. When someone took up his cross in Jesus' day, he was on the way to be killed. Brother Mosher used to say, if we put this in modern day terms, it would be, "take up your electric chair and follow me." That sheds a whole different light on what Jesus meant. The commitment to follow Christ must be so complete that we put ourselves to death. We no longer live for self. In fact, Jesus must live in us. This is exactly what Paul said: "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me" (Galatians 2:20, NKJV).

There's another parallel here, too. The obstacles I face in my daily bike ride may seem insignificant to some. It all depends on where your strengths lie. If you are very physically fit and you begin to ridicule me for being discouraged by the kinds of things I mentioned, you might just keep me from pressing on toward my goal. Spiritually, we have the same situation. What may seem like strong temptations and overpowering pressures to one person may seem insignificant to another. We need to make sure that we never ridicule or make light of another person's struggles.

Have you ever been around someone who always has to tell you about something he's experienced that makes your difficulty insignificant? You tell someone about some bad thing that's happened to you, or some problem you're facing, and then you can always tell when it's coming. The first thing they say when you've finished your story is, "Well that's nothing, one time I..." This kind of attitude is very discouraging and demeaning.

Paul tells us not to have this attitude toward one another. In Romans 14, he gives instructions on how two different groups of Christians should treat one another. In that time, some people had a conscience problem with eating certain kinds of meats. There was nothing wrong with eating the meat, but some Christians believed there was a problem and would not eat it. Paul told the Christians who did eat the meat not to "despise" the ones who did not (Romans 14:3). The word "despise" means to look down on, to treat with contempt, to ridicule, to make of no account, etc.

We should seek to encourage one another. Commitment to follow Christ is the key to faithfulness. Let's remember that whatever pressure we face can never be greater than the reward Jesus has promised to us. And let's remember that we can be either a great source of encouragement or discouragement to others in their commitment to live faithfully.

Convenience

$4 a gallon for gasoline is making a lot of people reexamine the way they do things. It's made me think a lot more about how much I drive and whether every trip is necessary. For example, yesterday I had a funeral to attend. The funeral home is just a couple of blocks down the road from the church building. I've been to lots of funerals there before, but I've never even thought about leaving my car at the church building and walking to the funeral home. Yesterday I planned to do just that--but it rained, so I drove.

So I started thinking. Why haven't I ever even thought about walking to a funeral from the church building? Why do so many of us get in the car and drive somewhere that we could easily walk to? Convenience. It wasn't that long ago when we thought $1.89 a gallon for gas was high (today in Fayette it's $3.89). But still it didn't cost all that much to fill up the gas tank, so we got used to driving wherever we wanted to go. It was convenient.

Life in America in 2008 is all about convenience for many of us. Who could imagine life without a microwave, cable tv, vcr's, dvd's, cell phones, the Internet, central heat and air, delivery pizzas, dishwashers, washers and dryers, and on and on and on? The lyrics from the song by Queen sums up the American way of life: "I want it all, I want it all, I want it all, and I want it now!"

Well I'm not advocating a return to "simpler times" or "the good old days." But I am concerned about what all of this emphasis on convenience has done to us spiritually. Physically, this mindset has made many of us Americans fat and lazy. The same thing will happen spiritually if we're not careful.

Good Bible knowledge takes lots of time and effort to acquire. But what does the convenience mindset do to that process? Too many Christians show up for worship services having never opened a Bible since the last time they were at church. Are they looking for a pre-packaged, ready-to-consume Bible lesson that will only take up a few minutes of their time? Bible class teachers can fall into this trap, too. Some want to be able to come into class with little or no preparation time, read the lesson from the book, complete the fill-in-the-blanks and the crossword puzzle and think they have taught a Bible class.

Paul told Timothy, "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15, NKJV). Notice a couple of things about this familiar verse.

First, look at the last part of the verse. The worker who does not need to be ashamed is the one who is capable of "rightly dividing the word of truth." The ASV, ESV, and NASB, respectively, translate that last part as "handling aright," "rightly handling," and "accurately handling" the word of truth. There is a right way to handle God's Word. We are not free to twist the Scriptures to make them sound like they teach what we want them to teach. You may have heard people say, "You can prove anything by the Bible." Well that statement is simply not true. You might be able to be dishonest with statements from the Bible and string together some verses so that it appears the Bible supports your proposition; but you have not "proved" anything by the Bible when you do that. Peter talked about some people who "twist" the Scriptures to their own destruction (2 Peter 3:16). Rather than being either dishonest or ignorant about the Scriptures, we need to be able to handle God's Word correctly.

Second, look at the first part of the verse. This is where we learn how to achieve the ability to handle God's Word correctly. "Be diligent." The KJV has the familiar word "study" here. Usually when people use the word "study," they use it in the sense of "applying the mind to the acquisition of knowledge." Certainly that is involved in what Paul was saying, but the word he used has a little more to it. That Greek word (spoudazo) means, "to do something with intense effort and motivation" (Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament Based on Semantic Domains). We must pursue the ability to handle God's Word correctly with intense effort and motivation. That will be neither convenient, easy, nor quick. It takes time; it takes effort; it takes deep thought and meditation.

Let's devote ourselves to being diligent, hard-working Christians not only in Bible study, but also in every aspect of service to the Lord. Christianity is not about convenience; it is about service to the Lord.

I wonder if my old bicycle is still in working order?

I'm Going to Quit

There was a recent news report that former NBA star, Charles Barkley, owed $400,000 in gambling debts to Wynn Resorts Ltd, a Las Vegas Casino. Mr. Barkley quickly made public statements accepting all responsibility for his failure to pay the debts by the date they were due. In a television interview, Mr. Barkley said he has paid the debt and that he plans to use this for something good. He vowed to stop gambling. Apparently, this is a major decision for the NBA Hall of Famer. In an interview with ESPN in 2006, Barkley estimated that he had lost a total of $10 million by gambling. He defended his actions by reasoning that he had not put himself in a financial strain, even after losing such a significant amount of money. Now he says he realizes it's time for a break. He plans to stop gambling. However, he doesn't know if this will be for life. He said it will be for at least a year or two.

I heard a recording of the interview on a sports radio station, while driving in my car today. The two hosts of the program then started talking about how difficult it is to give up your worst vice, both of them citing their own struggles to give up vices. One of the two radio personalities said that he had given up two vices with great difficulty: drinking and gambling. I didn't really have time to admire the man for his decision to get rid of such dangerous (and sinful) habits, because he quickly qualified his statement by saying (in all seriousness) he had given up gambling for 9 months and drinking for 32 days.

I applaud anyone who decides to quit bad habits like drinking and gambling. But what is the rationale for deciding to give them up for limited amounts of time? What good does it really do to give up a sinful practice only to take it up again later? Obviously, these men did not view their habits of drinking and gambling as sinful activities, just practices that could lead to bad things if they let them get "out of control."

God calls upon us to rid ourselves completely of every sinful practice. When we become Christians we die to sin (Romans 6:1-2). We are to put to death certain sinful practices (Col. 3:5). The mindset that says, "I'm going to quit this sin for a while," is completely incompatible with righteousness. John said,

God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:5-7, NKJV).

Paul said that we must have "no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness" (Ephesians 5:11). How can we think we are in a right relationship with God while participating in things God condemns?

Let me leave you with the words of Peter. If a person decides to quit some sinful practice only temporarily, consider this:

For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: “A dog returns to his own vomit,” and, “a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire” (2 Peter 2:20-22, NKJV, emphasis added).

Day of Silence

Today (April 25) is the day for the so-called "Day of Silence" in schools across the country. Never heard of the "Day of Silence"? I hadn't either, until someone called my attention to it. Apparently, this has been going on for several years. It is a day when students take something akin to a vow of silence. Now before all you parents of teenagers start asking, "Where can my kids sign up," let me tell you who sponsors this day and why. The Day of Silence is in its 12th year and is sponsored by GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network. According to their website, they envision "a future in which every child learns to respect and accept all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression." The Day of Silence is a form of protest against what GLSEN calls "anti-LGBT [Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender] name-calling, bullying and harassment in schools." They believe such harassment forces homosexual students to remain silent about their "sexual orientation and gender expression." So to protest the silence society has forced upon them, and to call attention to the problem of harassment, these people and those who support their cause have chosen to impose a voluntary silence upon themselves today. Those who are taking part will not speak today. Many will wear t-shirts and put up posters advertising the purpose of their silence. Some may hand out cards explaining what they're doing and calling attention to the problem of harassment. This is what this "Day of Silence" is all about.

First, let me say that name-calling, bullying, and harassment for any reason is wrong. Jesus teaches against that kind of thing in so many ways. There is the "Golden Rule" (Matthew 7:12); there is the command to love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:39); there is the command to preach the gospel to the lost (Mark 16:15-16); I could go on, but I think it is pretty clear that the Lord does not want us to be bullies. As Paul said, we must speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15). So I'm all in favor of doing away with the cruel treatment of other people, regardless of who is on either end of the cruel treatment.

But what about the GLSEN and their "Day of Silence"? They want every child "to respect and accept all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression." Let's examine their directive. Should every child learn to respect all people? Yes, if by "respect" we mean to recognize that person as a fellow human being who was made in the image of God. But what do they mean by "accept"? One definition of "accept" is, "to regard as proper, usual, or right." Here is where I have to draw the line. We cannot "regard as proper, usual, or right" all people, "regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression." God does not do that and neither should we.

Then Peter opened his mouth and said: "In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him." (Acts 10:34-35).

God deals with all people equally. He holds them to the same standard: the one He established. He accepts only those who submit to that standard. We cannot accept people "regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression" because God's standard clearly defines the acceptable conditions of sexual expression. Sex is limited to marriage; and marriage is for one man and one woman. Those who seek to "express" their sexuality outside of these boundaries are not acceptable with God, and therefore we should not regard their lifestyles as "proper, usual, or right." This teaching does not single out homosexuality, but it certainly includes it. All sexual activity outside of marriage is sinful, whether it is between a man and woman who are not married to each other, two men, two women, an adult and a child, or even a human being and an animal.

Maybe a day of silence is a good idea. The homosexual special interest groups have become so vocal over the past several years that it is almost impossible to get away from their influence. They complain that they are being discriminated against and denied their civil rights. Their willing accomplices in Hollywood seem to take about any opportunity they can to portray homosexuals in the most positive light, while often portraying those who believe the Bible as bigoted, corrupt, and immoral. If they would all remain silent about their agenda, it would be great. Maybe this day of silence is a great opportunity for those who believe the truth to speak up.

The Vicar of Christ

You've probably seen the news coverage of the pope's visit to America. How could you miss it? I have not really paid much attention to it, but I happened to be watching TV when they broadcast the papal mass at St. Patrick's cathedral in New York. I watched a few minutes of the proceedings here and there and then turned away. Quite a while later I turned back to the Fox News Channel and the pope had finished and he was walking down the aisle, leaving the cathedral. I was interested to see, alongside the pope and other members of the Catholic clergy dressed in their official costumes, a number of security guards, wearing dark suits, walking up the aisle with the pope and his entourage. I knew these had to be security guards because they had the tell-tale wires running out from under their shirt collars into ear pieces they were wearing for communication. Now the thing that really caught my attention was that the pope was waving to the crowd as he passed down the aisle and most people were waving back and taking pictures. But there were a few people who were especially zealous in wanting to greet the pope and they reached out to touch him. As soon as someone tried to reach out to the pope, one of the security guards would position himself between that person and the pope and push his hands away from the pope.

So I started thinking. One of the official titles the pope wears is "the Vicar of Christ." It basically means that the pope is Christ's representative--he operates in the place of Christ. If the pope is supposed to operate in Christ's place, shouldn't he try to act like Christ? Jesus often had to deal with crowds of people who wanted to see Him, to talk to Him, and to touch Him. What if the apostles acted like the pope's security guards and pushed people away from Jesus? Well, there was at least one time when they did. Mark 10:13-16 says,

Then they brought little children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them. But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.” And He took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them.

From the ornate costumes, to the elaborate security, the pope bears little resemblance to Jesus. There's a very simple reason for this: the Roman Catholic Church is the product of human ideas and doctrines. When human beings do things their own way instead of God's way, they make choices that bring glory and honor to them, not God.

Spiritual Lessons from Nutrisystem

You've seen the commercials on TV. " 'Mary' lost 57 pounds on Nutrisystem!" Then they show lots of before and after pictures of "Mary." She's so happy now that she's lost all that weight. Before, she was unhappy, unhealthy, people didn't like her, she didn't feel good about herself, and so on. But now she's happier than she's ever been, she's able to do things she never could do before, people think she's the life of the party. She loves the way she looks and feels now and she never wants to go back to the way she was before. One of the commercials even has the client talking about herself as a different person before she lost the weight, and saying, "You'll never see that person again" (referring to a picture of her before she lost weight).

Well let's go two completely different directions here.

First, I hate those commercials. I know it's not healthy to be overweight; but how shallow are we when we start thinking the way these commercials tell us to think. That woman on the commercial thinks she was a different person when she was fat? Really?? American culture frowns on prejudice and discrimination. Or does it? When it comes to race, gender, religion (other than Christianity), and (sadly) sexual orientation, we're told that prejudice and discrimination are abominable. But apparently it's OK to be prejudiced against fat people. You can make fun of them, you can make them pay extra for airline tickets, you can treat them like dirt--all because they are fat.

But all people are valuable in God's eyes (1 Timothy 2:3-4). Jesus died for everyone (John 3:16). Just like the children's song says, "Red and yellow, black and white, all are precious in His sight." It wouldn't make for very good poetry, but maybe we should add "skinny and fat" to that song somewhere. If losing a lot of weight makes someone a "new person" I'm not sure I would be interested in getting to know the "new person." What counts the most is what a person is like on the inside. It is the heart of a person that matters, and the person whose heart has been cleansed by Jesus' blood (Hebrews 9:13-14; 10:22) is acceptable in God's sight, and therefore ought to be acceptable in ours as well. If that person's heart is not right with God, God still loves him and we should, too. Jesus told us to preach the gospel to him (Mark 16:15-16). We do that because we love him; and we love him because God loves him.

Second, the Nutrisystem commercials illustrate a positive thing for us. Even though I don't like the way they present themselves, I do like the illustration their attitude provides. These people have seen a drastic change take place in their lives. That change is so great that they see themselves as different people now. They enjoy the change so much that they are determined never to go back to the way they were before.

Isn't this the way Christians ought to view the change that has taken place in their lives? Paul talked about putting off the "old man" and putting on the "new man" (Ephesians 4:22-24). In Christ, we truly are a "new creation" (2 Corinthians 5:17). Do we have the same joy over the change that has taken place as the Nutrisystem clients seem to have over their change? Do we see the same drastic differences in lifestyle and direction as those people do? Are we as determined to maintain the change and never go back as those people are? We should be. Sin holds nothing for anyone, except death (Romans 6:23; Revelation 21:8). But in Christ we have all spiritual blessings (Ephesians 1:3). We have an abundant life (John 10:10). We have the hope of Heaven (John 14:6).

If we're talking about physical life, let's not be as shallow as some of the Nutrisystem success stories seem to be. Regardless of physical appearance, every person is precious in the sight of God and therefore ought to be precious to us as well. But if we're talking about spiritual life, let's try to develop the same passion for the new, better life we have in Christ, along with the same determination not to go back to the way we were before, like we see illustrated in those weight loss success stories.

Some People Just Have to Be Recognized

You know the kind of people they are: always pointing out the good things they do, and getting their feelings hurt if no one notices or makes a fuss over them. Take my friend, Bob McEachern, for example. I don't know how many times he has said something to me about giving him credit on here for taking the picture of me and Jan that appears on the blog. OK, Bob, here you go. You took a great picture (considering half the subject matter, anyway). Seriously, though, I'm only kidding Bob, and he's the kind of person who both knows that and can take the kidding. Truth be told, Bob is the exact opposite of the kind of person I'm talking about. He will gladly sacrifice himself to help out other people and never seek, expect, or want any kind of public recognition.

But there are plenty of people who want the recognition. Why is that? It's a problem with "self." When "self" becomes too important in a person's life, all kinds of problems emerge. Seeking recognition for what they do is only one of them. Jesus talked about people who made a big commotion to call attention to themselves whenever they did some charitable deed (Matthew 6:1-4). Their motivation was to receive glory from men. Now think about the dynamics of this. They performed some charitable deed. That would obviously help someone who needed the help. But the kindness and aid given to someone in need wasn't significant enough to them to satisfy them. This act also should have brought glory to God. After all, God was the One responsible for their ability to give in the first place, and He was the One who taught about the giving nature of true love. But not even this was significant enough for them. Why? Because "self" was more important than the needy, and even more important to them than God.

This is the problem with seeking recognition. It shows that we think we are more significant in the grand scheme of things even than God! This kind of thinking causes us to undervalue everything everyone else does (even including God) and to overvalue everything we do. This person might as well just come out and say, "Since I'm so important, what I do must be worthy of recognition."

Maybe this little exercise will help us to put ourselves in perspective. Anytime you are tempted to think people ought to recognize you for something you did, try to see your good deeds in light of life as a whole. "I bought some food for a hungry family," someone might say. OK, that's great; but what's going to happen when that food runs out, and how many other hungry families are there in the world that you could not buy food for? Another might say, "I spent an afternoon repairing some things on a widow's house." Again, that's wonderful; but think of all the other people in similar situations that you were not able to assist. "I had a home Bible study with someone." Terrific! But are you the only person in the world trying to save the lost? What about the billions of people in the world who are still in sin?

The point of this is not take away from the importance and significance of doing good works. These kinds of things are wonderful and we need more people who are willing to do them. But our attitude toward doing them needs to be right. Jesus said, "So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do’ " (Luke 17:10). We do what we do in service to the Lord because we are servants and that's what the Lord expects of us. If we want to please our Master then we will gladly serve Him by doing good, whether other people recognize us for it or not.

On Being Sick

You may have noticed that a few days went by without anything new on the blog. That's because I've been sick. Yes, I caught whatever bug this is that's going around here. I hate being sick like this. The general aches and tiredness that come with fever, the coughing, the sore throat, the congestion, the runny nose, waking up throughout the night either drenched in sweat or shivering with chills: it all gets old quick and you're ready for it to be gone long before it goes away. So what do you do? You go to the doctor. He may give you a shot and prescribe some medicine to take, and you wait for all of that to work. Meanwhile, you gradually try to work your way back to some semblence of a normal day's routine. But then even though you're starting to feel better, you still run out of energy about as soon as you get started doing anything. It just takes time and patience.

Now I'm not fishing for any sympathy here, I'm just setting up an object lesson for us. Physical sickness is obvious and we generally do something to address it; but what about spiritual sickness? There are obvious symptoms of spiritual sickness: a dying prayer life, dwindling zeal for the work of the church, lack of interest in studying the Bible, giving in to temptation more and more, and so forth. When we see symptoms like these in our spiritual lives, how do we respond? We ought to respond in a similar way to the way we do with physical illness. Jesus alluded to Himself as a physician, when He said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance" (Mark 2:17). Sin is the greatest sickness of all and Jesus is the only physician who can make us well. When we see symptoms of spiritual sickness in our lives, we need to turn to the Great Physician and seek the healing only He can give.

1 in 4 Teenage Girls

One out of four teenage American girls--that's something like 3.2 million. That's a lot of girls. So what do these teenage girls have in common? Well, according to a study released on March 11, one out of four teenage American girls have at least one sexually transmited disease. According to a news story on the website of the Boston Globe, the study tested its subjects for the 4 most common STD's. The study showed that of those infected, 15% had more than one disease. Because many of those infected showed no symptoms at the time of testing, many of those who have an STD do not even realize they have it and that they are passing it along to their sexual partners.

This information is both sad and alarming. One of the researchers said, "This means that far too many young women are at risk for the serious health effects of untreated STDs, including infertility and cervical cancer." Well, it is alarming that all of these girls are at risk for serious health issues. Having sex with multiple partners exposes a person to some serious health issues. When teenage girls and boys (the study didn't include boys, but obviously the same applies to them) have sex before marriage they put themselves at great risk that may affect them, their future spouses, and potentially their children. It is alarming that so many young girls are infected with STD's; but that is not the most alarming thing. Obviously, for a person to contract a sexually transmitted disease, he or she must be sexually active. The consequences of violating God's laws are serious. Physical disease is a problem, but the most alarming thing is to see how many young girls (and obviously boys as well) are sexually active. Society nearly forces sex on our kids at the youngest of ages. From sex ed classes in the earliest of grades to the sexually explicit movies and song lyrics that are popular today, kids' minds are being permeated with sex. And obviously the message is having its effect.

So what's the solution? According to a doctor from the CDC, "efforts must be made to improve screening, education, and other prevention strategies for sexually active teens." Do you see the problem in the thinking here? Do we need efforts to improve screening and education? Obviously so. But look at what he said in the last part of his assessment. We need efforts to improve prevention strategies for sexaully active teens. Call me simplistic in my thinking, but if teens are sexually active, they will be at risk for contracting sexually transmitted diseases. Do you want to know the best strategy for preventing teens from contracting sexually transmitted diseases? Teach them not to be sexually active. The logic is insurmountable. If teens don't have sex they won't get STD's.

But you see, there's the problem. No one in a position of influence and authority in this nation seems to want to teach kids that sex outside of marriage is wrong. Those who do try to promote this idea are ridiculed as being out of touch with reality. "Kids are going to have sex," we're told. Well of course they are going to have sex when all they see and hear is saturated with sexuality and then no one ever tells them it's wrong. Regardless of how unpopular it is, we have to get back to teaching our kids what is right and wrong about sex. There are much more serious consequences at stake than STD's.

What's In a Name?

We’ve all heard stories of people giving strange names to their children. Some of them are surely pure fiction. I’ve heard the story of the two children named “Orangejello” and “Lemonjello” (supposedly pronounced “o-RON-juh-lo” and “luh-MON-juh-lo”) many times, and, according to the reports, they have lived anywhere from Alabama to Michigan. Or the twins that were supposed to have been named “Male” and “Female” (pronounced “MAH-le and fe-MAH-le). And there are many other examples of these kinds of stories. Most, if not all of these are surely fictional.

But what about the true stories of unusual names. There is a professional football player whose mother believed when he was born that he would be without peer, so she named him Peerless. Florida Atlantic University gave a football scholarship to a young man named “Yourhighness Morgan” (plus I saw a couple of different places on the Internet where Yourhighness apparently has a brother named Handsome and a sister named Princess). Add to these the long list of odd names that some Hollywood celebrities have given to their children, such as: Bob Geldof, who named his children Fifi-Trixibelle, Peaches Honeyblossom, and Little Pixie; or Nicholas Cage, who named his son Kal-El (which is the name Superman was given when he was born on the planet Krypton); or actress Shannyn Sossamon, who named her child (I don’t know whether it was a boy or a girl, sorry), Audio Science. Let’s face it; there are lots of people in this world who have been stuck with unusual names. Don’t you just want to ask, “What were those parents thinking?”

Our culture doesn’t place as much significance on the meaning of names as some other cultures have done.The names we’re most familiar with have meanings, but how many people really care what those meanings are? For example, according to babynames.com, the name “Kevin” is of Irish origin and means, “Handsome, beautiful” (I kid you not), but I doubt my parents knew that when they named me. I would imagine most people choose names for their children mainly because they like the sound of the name.

Because of this, maybe our culture misses the significance of the name we wear as God’s people. The name “Christian” is far from an empty label. It indicates that we are both a follower of Christ and that we belong to Christ. I believe it was God who chose the name “Christian” and first gave it to the disciples in Antioch (Acts 11:26; see also Isaiah 62:2). Peter said it was a name worth suffering for (1 Peter 4:16). Someone noted one time from the letters of the name “CHRISTIAN” that without CHRIST, I Am Nothing. The name “Christian” honors our Lord and identifies us as belonging to Him. What kind of effect does your life have on the name you wear? Does it help the cause of Christ when people hear that you are a Christian? Let’s never forget the glorious nature of the name we wear. Let’s always remember to do it honor by the way we live.

Signed, "Handsome, beautiful" Beard. Uhhh...maybe not.

Pessimism

Pessimism is defined: “an inclination to emphasize adverse aspects, conditions, and possibilities or to expect the worst possible outcome.” Lots of people take the pessimistic approach to life and it brings them misery.

Pessimism makes problems as bad as they can be: minor illnesses become life-threatening diseases; financial difficulties become financial ruin; a disagreement with a friend becomes a relationship-destroying catastrophe, and so on. We do have problems in life, but how often to those problems really end up being major issues in our lives?

Pessimism makes us assume the worst in unknown situations: a phone call late at night must be bad news; a message from the boss must mean I’m being fired. Many people burden themselves with anxiety over these kinds of situations even before they get all of the information.

Christians should try to throw off the shackles of pessimism. Living this way is not in harmony with the abundant life Jesus came to give to His followers (John 10:10). Actually, I think pessimism is nothing but a manifestation of fear. We are so afraid of the bad things that might happen that we allow those thoughts to consume us. Then we begin to see evidence of these terrible things all around us.

What is the answer, then? Paul said, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7). Fearfulness is spiritually paralyzing. How can we face the devil’s attacks if we have a fearful attitude toward everything in life? How can we give an answer to those who ask if fear controls our thinking? How can we survive trials of faith if we assume the worst is always going to happen? No wonder the fearful are listed among those who will have a place in the second death (Revelation 21:8)!

John said, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love” (1 John 4:18). We have no need to be afraid of God when we are children of God. The more we realize this and come to love Him, the less we should be motivated by fear of Him. In the same way, the more we come to love God, the more we will trust God’s love for us. He has promised never to leave us nor forsake us, and so there is no need to be controlled by fear (Hebrews 13:5-6).

So let’s try to learn to love God and trust Him to keep His word. Yes, life will have plenty of setbacks for us; but God has promised to be with us, to strengthen us, and to help us overcome. The more we can trust in this, the less we should be controlled by pessimism.

Sin holds on tight

Scott Spiezio started his career in Major League Baseball with the Oakland A's in 1996. Though he was never a superstar, his career did include playing for World Series Champions with the Anaheim Angels in 2002 and the St. Louis Cardinals in 2006. How many young baseball fans would love to have the opportunity to play in the majors for more than 10 years and win the World Series twice?

Though he was living the dream of many young men, Scott Spiezio had problems. He missed much of the 2007 season because of "substance abuse" issues. The Cardinals placed him on the Restricted List in August, while he went through an outpatient treatment program. He returned after his treatment and played fairly well for the rest of the season.

Spring Training this year brought hope for Mr. Spiezio, according to reports. He was said to have been looking and feeling great. Then, on Tuesday of this week, police in Irvine, CA issued a warrant for Spiezio's arrest. He was being accused of several alcohol-related crimes. The Cardinals released Spiezio from the team on Wednesday.

I don't know Scott Spiezio, so I don't know the circumstances of how he came to develop these problems or how seriously he was trying to conquer them. But I do know this. Scott Spiezio illustrates one of the most dangerous things about sin: it doesn't let go easily.

Some sins, like drug and alcohol abuse, add physical addictions to the equation. But all sin creates a hold on us that is often difficult to break. Sin results when we give in to our desires (James 1:14-15). We do what we want to do and because sin is pleasurable, it's hard to change. Solomon declared, "Good understanding giveth favour: but the way of transgressors is hard" (Proverbs 13:15). The way of transgressors is hard for many reasons: it often brings bad consequences in this life, it always brings bad consequences in the life to come, and it latches on to us and holds on tight.

Reasonable people can look at sin and see easily that it just is not worth it. Why risk the potential difficulties in this life and the certain destruction in the life to come for temporary pleasure that cannot fulfill? But when we get involved in sin, reason often leaves the picture. The pleasure of sin keeps a strong hold on us that is often very difficult to break. So, people continue to make the same mistakes. Whether it is because of physical addictions or not, it's hard to break the habit of sin.

But breaking that habit is possible and necessary. When we become children of God a change must take place. John said, "No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God" (1 John 3:9, ESV). In His parable of the sower, Jesus said, "...the seed is the word of God" (Luke 8:11). To be God's child, we must make God's Word a part of our lives. That word guides us and helps keep us from sin (Psalm 119:105, 11). If we keep on sinning, we show that God's Word really isn't living in us and therefore, we're really not living like children of God are supposed to live.

Scott Spiezio's story is a sad one. But maybe we can learn from it how dangerous all sin is.

1 out of 100 Americans...

When you hear the phrase, "1 out of 100 Americans," what do you expect to hear next? Well I heard a report today that used that figure and it didn't have anything to do with toothpaste, owning pets, getting on the Internet, or anything like that. The report I heard was, "1 out of 100 Americans are now in prison." I don't know where the figure came from--it was on a Sports Talk Radio Station, of all things--but let's assume for the sake of discussion that they reported it accurately. What does that say about our nation? The USA was known as a "Christian Nation" (whatever that means) at one time. We have prided ourselves on the principles of "truth, justice, and the American way." How could we have reached a point where 1% of our nation's population is behind bars?

I have a feeling it has a lot to do with our mindset toward autority. For many years now, children have been taught in many public school systems that they are the ultimate judge of their own morality. The concept of an absolute standard of right and wrong has been discarded from many people's thinking. What else can this kind of thinking lead to, but for millions of people to live their lives in disregard of the system of authority that is in place in this nation. In ancient Israel, there was a similar problem. "In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes" (Judges 21:25). It is for this reason that many have called the period in Israel's history, which is chronicled in the book of Judges, "The Dark Ages of Israel." Over and over those people repeated a cycle of rebellion, oppression, and deliverance.

God has warned us about such thinking. Whenever human beings cast off that standard of authority that governs us all, they set themselves up for destruction. Divine wisdom declares: "There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death" (Proverbs 14:12). Human beings are incapable of establishing a moral system for themselves. Jeremiah said, "O Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself; It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps" (Jeremiah 10:23).

It is a shame if it's true that 1 out of 100 Americans are now in prison. Let's face it, it is a shame that even 1 person is in prison. But until people realize the need to acknowledge that there is a standard of authority to govern us all, and that God is the One who has that authority, the problem will never be solved. Increasing prison populations is only one symptom of the real problem. People's attitudes and actions in daily life and interaction with their fellow man reveal that the problem is much larger. We need to turn people back to the divine standard of God's authority.

No More Crunch Berries

I love Crunch Berries Cereal. I know, 43-year old men are supposed to eat things like All Bran or Shredded Wheat; but what can I say? Crunch Berries have been my favorite since I was a kid. So this morning I went to the pantry, saw the familiar yellow box, and pulled it off the shelf to fix a bowl of that sweet, crunchy goodness for breakfast. But when I opened the box and looked in the bag, all I found was about 7 pieces of cereal and a handful of crumbs. I have an idea one of my boys has some explaining to do. Anyway, that empty cereal box made me think about a couple of things.

First, the box promised something it was unable to deliver. When I saw the box on the shelf, I believed there was cereal inside; but there was no cereal. How often does Satan do this to us? He shows us things that offer what we greatly desire; but when we take his offer we find that there was nothing but an empty box. He offered Eve the ability to be like God (Genesis 3:4-5); but taking Satan's offer did not make her like God. Instead it drove her from the presence of God. I wonder what Judas expected to get from his deal to betray Jesus for 30 pieces of silver? When he took the offer, he didn't get what he bargained for. He regretted what he had done, tried to give the money back, and then committed suicide (Matthew 27:3-5).

God offers to bless us when we live for Him. If we seek Him first, He will supply all we need (Matthew 6:33). In Christ, He will bless us with all spiritual blessings (Ephesians 1:3). God's offers are reliable. Trust in the Lord and follow His Word and you won't come away empty handed.

Second, that box of cereal had supplied what I wanted for a time; it just ran out. Here again we see a parallel to what Satan does to us. Sin is pleasurable; but that pleasure from sin is limited. "By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin" (Hebrews 10:24-25, ESV). Sin's pleasures are fleeting and temporary. They will end at some point.

The blessings of following God have no end. Paul said that God has "blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ" (Ephesians 1:3). The blessings He gives us in Christ are from "the heavenly places." I like to think of that as God's heavenly storehouse. Our eternal God has an infinite storehouse of blessings to shower upon the faithful. We will never find a time when we go to God for blessings and find that He has run out. Not only is the supply unlimited, but the blessings themselves last beyond this life. Paul pointed out the eternal nature of our blessings in Christ:

Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).

So put your trust in the Lord and follow His Word. His blessings will never disappoint you and they will never run out. Oh, and when the cereal box is empty, throw it away; don't put it back in the pantry!

A Good Person? Really??

I had only seen a few minutes of the show before, and since Fox hyped it so much, I decided to watch "Moment of Truth" last night. This game show challenges its contestants to tell the truth about potentially embarrassing personal questions. As I understand it, before the game section of the show goes on air, they hook up the contestant to a polygraph machine and ask them a lot of questions, then record the results. On the air, the host then asks the contestant a series of 21 increasingly difficult questions that were selected from that group. On stage with the contestant they have friends and family members. To win the big money ($500,000), the contestant must answer all of the questions truthfully, as determined by the prior polygraph test. At any point in the game, the contestant may opt out and keep the money they have won up to that point; but if they ever give a "false" answer, they go home with nothing.

So last night's episode was touted as the one that wasn't supposed to air. The show's host appeared on stage alone to give a disclaimer about the episode before they aired it. If he had his way, they would not have shown the episode, he told us. The contestant was a woman who had been married for a couple of years. Her husband, parents, and brother and sister were on the stage with her.

In the course of the game, she answered truthfully that she had been fired from a previous job for stealing money. This was something she claimed to have dealt with and when asked whether she would steal again, if she knew she would not get caught, the polygraph said she answered truthfully that she would not. At another point she admitted that she had removed her wedding ring in order to appear unmarried when she was out with her friends.

Then came the questions about her relationship with her husband. I don't recall the order of these questions, but one question was whether she thought she might have been in love with another man on her wedding day. To her husband's surprise, she answered, "yes." The question they hyped so much on the commercials came from a surprise guest: her ex-boyfriend. He asked her, "If I wanted to get back together with you, would you leave your husband?" The woman looked terrified. The host looked to her husband and asked whether he wanted to use the one opportunity the family is given to avoid the current question. When he said he did not, the sister pushed the button to move things on to the next question. The sister said nobody needed to hear that answer. As the contestant made her way toward more and more prize money, the question came out, "Since you have been married, have you had sexual realtions with someone other than your husband." She admitted that she had and her husband looked devastated.

At several points in the show, the host nearly pleaded with the woman to stop and take the money. But she kept saying she wanted to continue and get the truth out. When he asked the husband, he said that she couldn't tell him anything worse at this point, so she might as well keep going. If I remember correctly, the question she had to answer to move up to $200,000 in prize money was, "Do you think you are a good person?" She said, "Yes." Her reasoning for her answer was that she had made a lot of changes for the better and she thought she was a good person. Really? You've admitted that you were in love with another man when you married your husband. You've admitted that you have pretended not to be married while out with your friends. You've admitted that you've been unfaithful to your husband. And at least your sister was afraid to hear your answer about whether you'd leave your husband to get back together with your ex-boyfriend. And you think you are a good person?

I find it interesting that the Bible does not very often call anyone a good person. It says that Joseph of Arimathea was a good man (Luke 23:50), and it says the same thing about Barnabas (Acts 11:22-24). But other than that, when it comes to saying specifically, "'so and so' is a good person," you don't really find it. But in our world today, it's easy to call someone a good person, regardless of what kind of life they live. Goodness must be judged according to the absolute standard of goodness: God. When the rich young ruler called Jesus, "Good teacher," Jesus said, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God" (Matthew 19:17). How can anyone who lives contrary to God's standard of goodness be considered a good person?

We can be good people. We ought to strive to be good people. In fact, one of the qualities Paul used to define the "fruit of the Spirit" is "goodness" (Galatians 5:22). But we don't set the standard for our goodness. We can't compare ourselves with others around us and say, "Since I'm better than those people I must be a good person." We can't say, "Since this group of people like me and support me I must be a good person." Goodness begins in the heart and is demonstrated in actions. Jesus said, "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things" (Matthew 12:35). When we learn to love the truth of God's Word, allow it to define the condition of our hearts, and live sincerely according to what it says, then we are good people.

So what happened with the woman on TV? She stood to win $200,000 for saying she thought she was a good person. Apparently, she couldn't even fool herself. The polygraph said her answer was "false." It seems that no matter how much she wanted to believe she was a good person, deep down inside she knew the truth.

Toothaches and Used Cars

Saturday night my wife came down with a terrible toothache. She's had lots of problems with her teeth, but this one is one of the worst she's had. She couldn't go to church Sunday morning and then she wished she hadn't gone Sunday night. She didn't get much sleep last night because she couldn't get any relief from the pain. She goes to the dentist at 2:00 this afternoon.

Last night my second son, Justin, called, asking if I could come and jumpstart his car. Well, it wasn't his battery. I guess it's either his starter or the solenoid. For all I know about cars, it could be anything.

"When it rains, it pours," isn't that what they say?

At times like this, when life's troubles seem to be ganging up on us I try to think about the fact that this world is only temporary. Paul made a marvelous statement about these things:

Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).

If we keep our focus on things tied to this world we will miss out on the things of the life to come. What a great loss! This world is full of trouble. Physical life is burdened with sickness, injury, and all other kinds of problems. But the Lord has promised us that there is more to our existence than what takes place between the time we're born and the time we die. When this life is over we can look forward to an inheritance that is incorruptible and undefiled and does not fade away (1 Peter 1:3). The Lord has promised that death, pain, and sorrow will be removed in that home that waits for us in heaven (Revelation 21:4).

The more problems life throws our way, the more it makes us long to go home to heaven.

Living Water

The Accenture Match Play Championship is being played on a golf course outside of Tucson, Arizona. Like all the golf courses on the PGA Tour, it boasts luxurious green grass. But wait a minute, this is the middle of the desert! Overhead camera shots from the blimp show that when you step off the greens and fairways you're in rocky, sandy, desolate territory that should never be able to support the growth of thick, green grass. How do they do it? Irrigation, of course. Every day, sprinkler systems provide life-giving water to the golf couse. Without it, the grass would quickly wither and die.

That started me thinking. Christians are a lot like that golf course. We live in a world that cannot support spiritual life. Yet here we are: thriving and growing and enjoying the rich spiritual blessings from God's heavenly storehouse. How can that be? Only through the provision of Jesus can we ever hope to have real life in this world. John said of Jesus, "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men" (John 1:4). When Jesus visited the Samaritan woman by Jacob's well, He said, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water" (John 4:10). Paul said that the Rock in the wilderness that supplied water for the Israelites was Christ (1 Corinthians 10:4).

We need to understand how important it is to stay in touch with our Lord. If Jesus is the one who provides living water, then if we disconnect from Him we disconnect from the water of life. It would not take long for us to become like that desert: spiritually dry and desolate. Sow how do we get and keep this supply of living water?

First, we have to get access to the water, to begin with. Baptism puts us into Christ (Romans 6:3-4)--that's when our relationship with Him begins. Then we have to maintain an ongoing relationship with Him. We have to keep on feeding on His Word (1 Peter 2:2). We have to continue in prayer (1 Thessalonians 5:17). We have to stay in touch with His people (Romans 12:4-5). We have to stay faithful to His cause (Revelation 2:10).

If we put Jesus first and live for Him in all things we will enjoy the blessings of that living water. In a dead and desolate world we will thrive and flourish as we enjoy the spiritual blessings only Jesus can offer.

How Do I Love Thee?

Here's something I came across today. Isn't it interesting how you can read a passage a thousand times and then still notice something you've never noticed before? John wrote: "By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments" (1 John 5:2). We know that children of God are supposed to love one another. Jesus said this would identify us as His disciples (John 13:34-35). But look at what John said. How do we know that we love the children of God? It is by loving God and keeping His commandments. So if I don't keep the commandments of God, I don't love the children of God? That's what John said.

Why is that? God's commandments are for our good; that's why John said they are not burdensome (1 John 5:3). But no one lives an isolated life as a Christian: "For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself" (Romans 14:7). What I do affects you. If I live in disregard of the laws and commands of God that will have some kind of effect on you. It may influence you to disobey God, too. It may cause you to become skeptical or cynical toward other Christians. It may cause you to suffer grief and sorrow over my spiritual state. Remember, Paul said a little leaven leavens the whole lump (1 Corinthians 5:6). My disobedience potentially can have devastating effects on you. Is that love? I don't think so.

In the same way, my obedience to God's commands will have a positive effect on others. Isn't it easier to do what's right when others are trying to do right, too? Besides, how many of God's commands directly relate to the well-being of others? Following His will means I will try to restore one who strays away. It means I will seek to build up and encourage. It means I will sacrifice for the good of my brothers and sisters. I really cannot love you without obeying God!

In an age where people want to move away from the strict adherence to God's laws in favor of a more "loving" approach to things, we need to understand what it really means to love. You cannot separate love and obedience to God's laws.

Caution: New Blog Under Construction

What is a blog anyway? Is it just a forum to express yourself? If so, I don't guess my thoughts and opinions are anything all that special and worthy of attention. So I don't plan to make this blog all about me and my thoughts and opinions. I guess there will be times when I'll have the occasional personal offerings, but I want to make this more worthwhile and helpful than that.

The world today is sorely lacking a respect for truth. I want to do what I can to direct people's hearts and minds to the truth. Society does not determine what the truth is. Jesus said the Word of God is truth (John 17:17). Now the common idea today is that everyone is entitled to his own opinion of truth. Yes, everyone is entitled to believe what he wants to believe, but believing what you want to believe does not mean that what you believe is true.

So I'll use this blog to discuss the eternal truth found in the Word of God. Hopefully what I decide to write will be beneficial and relevant. I hope you enjoy reading it from time to time.