Friday; July 19

If you are familiar with the overall theme of the Old Testament, you are probably aware of the multiple storylines that occupy its pages.  The start of the Old Testament contains the story of the beginning the world and the fall of man.  Much of the material deals with the selection of Israel as a redeeming nation and the avenue through which God would go to provide a Savior.  The history of Israel has its ups and downs where during one era the nation is flying high as God’s chosen people then, in the next, they are being disciplined for losing their focus.  Interestingly, it is during this time when we see that the Jews not only struggled with their relationship with God, they also lost sight of the commitment to decency.  In fact, in justifying His involvement with the Jews the Lord cited His disapproval by how they had ignored His commands, but interestingly is wasn’t just their worship He didn’t like.  In working through a prophet Jehovah reminded them of His standards, “Thus has the Lord of hosts said, ‘Dispense true justice and practice kindness and compassion each to his brother; and do not oppress the widow or the orphan, the stranger or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another.’” (Zechariah 7:8-9); then, condemned them for not following through.
I believe it is important for us to be tuned into God’s message to the Israelites because it reminds us of His expectations for us.  Sure, we need to make sure our theology and worship are acceptable to God, but we must also recognize that we have a moral responsibility.  In essence, a review of history teaches us that our relationship with God is contingent on our relationship with our neighbors.
Are we pleasing to God?  That might be dependent on how pleasant we are with our fellow man. 
          Think About It!

Popular posts from this blog

Tuesday; November 29

The biblical story of the Good Samaritan has changed our world. Notice I didn’t say that it had change religion or even Christianity, it has influenced the world. There are very few people who don’t know the moral of Jesus’ parable about the Good Samaritan. In fact, the phrase has become a common description of everyday people doing good to their neighbors. While Jesus’ parable from Luke 10 shares several spiritual lessons, one of the most practical is that good can be done by anyone. You don’t have to be a church official to do good, it is not only possible for each one of us to help, it is required of all of us. If a Samaritan can be good, so can we! After presenting the parable, Jesus asked the man who had originally asked the question about being a good neighbor which character in the story was a good neighbor, “… he said, ‘The one who showed mercy toward him.’” at which point, the discussion from theoretical to personal, “Then Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do the same.’” (Luke
Read more

Thursday; January 12

The other day I was watching a television show that used a rather common term applied to overcoming challenges. When organizations experience unexpected setbacks – especially when they lose key people – they rely upon the concept of “Next Man Up”. In essence, when our starters (or stars) go down, effective organizations rely upon their next levels to step into the vacancy. While this is an effective response, have we given much thought as to how we prepare to be the “next people up”? First, we must know our job. Even when we aren’t the primary players, we need to be preparing ourselves to be ready when we get the opportunity to shine. Second, we must do our best when we get the chance. Knowledge is important but what turns potential into talent is effort. Yet, maybe the most underappreciated aspect of this concept is a willingness avoid excuse-making and whining about the unfairness of our situation. When we complain about the circumstances that caused the need for replacements
Read more

Monday; September 25

When I was a youngster, I remember hearing about this thing called the Generation Gap. I was a little bit too young to be active in the social movements of the 1960s, but I do remember listening to the challenges the generations were experiencing way back then. Interestingly, now that I have been on both sides of the aging process, I have to admit that the Gap of the 1960s was nothing new. With the development of each generation comes conflict. The young people don’t feel like the older people understand them and the older folks tend to believe their input is being underappreciated. Too often trust is the casualty when two generations collide. The sad thing is that it doesn’t have to be this way. When we can capture the innovation and energy of the younger folks and harness the wisdom of those who have been around for a while we can develop a winning combination. No, we won’t always see things eye-to-eye nor will we necessarily speak the same emotional language, but when we app
Read more