Thursday; January 20

 When I was growing up, there was a popular refrain from a song that encouraged, “Give me that old-time religion, Give me that old-time religion, Give me that old-time religion, It’s good enough for me.” While the roots of this classic are buried deep in history (even dating back to the mid-19th Century) it gained a lot of popularity in the changing religious landscape of the mid-20th Century. Christianity appeared to be on the move and a lot of people didn’t like where it was heading!

Nostalgia (a fancy word for longing for “those good old days”) is appealing because we like what we like and we feel comfortable with the way things have been. Yet is history always better than growth? Is it better to live in the past or can the potential of new thoughts lead to better ways? Like most people, I like what I like, but I also need to have the wisdom to seek to move beyond where I am. No, growth at the expense of truth is never the answer, but neither is never investigating the possibility of doing something in a better way. The Apostle Paul challenged the early Christians to be wary of “… things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.” (Colossians 2:17).
Let’s not be afraid of doing what we enjoy, but let’s also continue to seek the truth that can lead us to a deeper understanding of Christ and a better way of practicing our religion. That’s what should be good enough for us!

Think About It!

Popular posts from this blog

Thursday; May 3

I have a fish tank that allows my three Bettas (Larry, Darrell and Darrell) to live in the same structure, but remain hidden from each other – well sort of.   When I go to feed the fish, I believe that one of the Darrell’s can sort of see that the other Darrell is getting fed and he will linger over on that side of the tank even after I put his food in his tank.   I have to tap on the side of the tank where his food is floating to help him refocus and eat.   I get the impression that he is so interested in what is going on in the other Darrell’s tank that he can’t enjoy his own food. I have been told that the brain of a fish is pretty small – which explains their inability to process “blessings”, but are we guilty of the same malady as Darrell?   Are we so worried (or consumed) by what happens to the people around us that we fail to realize what is going on with us?   Are we envious of the blessings that others are receiving and end up missing out on what we have been given?   Are w
Read more

Thursday; February 14

         While most of us are familiar with today being Valentine’s Day, there are some who actually refer to February 14 th as “St. Valentine’s Day”.  This title is often affixed to a criminally historic event known as “The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre” on February 14, 1929 in Chicago, but that is another story for another time.  Not knowing much about the history of “Saint Valentine” I did a little research and found out he was a Roman religious leader who was martyred in 269 AD.  According to my limited research Valentine was killed because of his encouragement of Roman men (especially soldiers) to marry which was in violation of Claudias’ edict that prohibited marriage to keep their minds singularly focused on their task of defending the Empire.  Somehow, from this beginning – and possibly embellished by Chaucer – St. Valentine became intertwined with the concept of romantic love.           I am not really sure how February 14 th became connected with love, but inspired by thi
Read more

Wednesday; December 6

What does it mean to be a leader? I subscribe to the belief that a leader is someone who seeks the best for others and works with them to achieve their potential. There are others; however, who define leadership as the ability to have a vision and the tenacity to get their own way. Leaders who are this way are often portrayed as having developed the maturity to manipulate people to do things their way. However, is the ability to drive people in our direction mature or is it childish? The Christians of the 1st Century came from a lot of different backgrounds and had to work hard to work together. As the Apostle Paul challenged Christians in the city of Ephesus he challenged them to accept individual differences, “… until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. “ (Ephesians 4:13). Bossiness was not to be viewed as a sign of maturity, a willingness to wo
Read more