Think About It

Have you ever heard the phrase, “the attack on the church” or “an attack on Christians”?   Often, this phrase is used when someone believes that believers are being unfairly treated and feels like we are being attacked.   In my experience, the most often cited offenders of this perceived process are the government, the media or society but are they really the ones attacking God’s people?   Sure, these entities can make scathing remarks about Christians and they can put pressure on us to give up or give in, but have we ever given much thought to who is really behind it?   The answer is satan!   Since we can’t see satan I believe that it is easy to blame these other entities, but we have to remember the real culprit.   He is the general in the war on religion.   He may hide behind the cloak of a tyrant or a media mogul, but he is responsible for evil.   This observation should not surprise any of us.   The Christian movement has been aware o...

          I hadn’t read the Declaration of Independence in a while, so went back and reread it.   While I was intrigued by the reasons for our separation from Great Britain and the declaration of independence at the end, there was another part of it that captivated my interest.   At the beginning of the document, this statement is made, "When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the  Laws of Nature  and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.".   I don’t know that I had ever really noticed that the Founding Fathers felt compelled to explain to the world why they were doing what they were doing.   Being men of princ...

Last week I took my first opportunity to visit Fort McHenry in Baltimore, Maryland.  Fort McHenry played an important role if the War of 1812, but it is probably best known for being the focus of Francis Scott Key’s song “The Star Spangled Banner”, which became our National Anthem.  While the events of 1814 might be the highlight of the fort’s history, it played several roles in the decades (and wars) to come.  As I walked around the fort I appreciated the way it was interpreted.  In a time when it is easy to pick sides that promote social perspectives, the guardians of the fort captured the uneasiness surrounding the fort’s occupants throughout the years, especially during the Civil War.  Less than a half century following a glowing defense of the Americans from the British it became a part of a war that pitted “brothers against brothers”.  Less than a hundred miles from our nation’s capital – and in a state that was a hotbed of opinions in the 1860s – th...

          Have you ever read something and assumed that you knew what it meant only to go back and look at it from a different perspective and come up with a new appreciation for it?   Let me give you an example.   Throughout most of my Christian walk I have been very familiar with the Peter’s admonition, “... but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always  being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence ...”.   (I Peter 3:15)   To me, it made logical sense to be able (and prepared) to defend my Christian doctrine.   Yet, is that what this passage is all about?    Sure, we should be able to defend the precepts of our faith, but what about being able to justify our “hope”?   As I pondered this it lead me to a couple of different thoughts: 1).   Do we have hope in us? ...

When I was a child, I lived most of my life in the South.   All but a couple years of my childhood were spent in Florida, Texas or Georgia.   You might expect that I would have been used to the heat, but the truth is that by the time I was a young adult I was ready for some coolness.   For the next few decades I enjoyed living in places that were cooler than normal – in fact, some of them were just flat cold!   While I got to where I enjoyed the cold weather, I found that the older I get, the more the warmth feels to me.   In fact, I have enjoyed the hot muggy weather of the last few days.   Sometimes, when we age, we find that our tastes change – and I have found this to be true in several aspects of life.   When I was younger; I enjoyed exploring new things, now, I tend to like the familiar.    Earlier in life; I was drawn to the parties and celebrations, now I enjoy the quietness of solitude.   Interestingly, I have even found a ch...

          When we discuss leadership one thing that often gets overlooked is the ability to lay the groundwork for future leaders.  Ironically, it is typically against human nature to develop the next level of leaders because when we do, we risk being ousted by their rise to the top.  In the past, we have given lip service to developing future leaders while doing what we can to keep them in their place.  Whether it is in not trusting them enough to provide them with our knowledge and insight or doing what we need to do to make sure we stay on top of the ladder, we are tempted to secure our place at the top.  What would happen, though, if we created an environment of mentorship (aka leadership) where we willingly shared what we had accumulated with an eye toward turning over the reigns of leadership to them.  If we were more open to developing future leaders they might be less likely to do whatever was necessary to climb the ladder of su...

The other day I did a lesson on the difference between “temptations” and “trials”.   While these words or often used interchangeably, there seems to be a distinct difference between them.   In fact, the New Testament book of James takes on the topic by noting, “ Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. ” (James 1:3-4).   In essence, God provides trials to challenge us to grow; but satan tempts us in an effort to steal our soul.   To put it succinctly, trials are good – temptations are bad. At the end of the lesson a friend of mine added another “T” to the mix – “tragedies”.   As we considered tragedies we discussed that due to circumstances, sometimes things happen.   Sure, some tragedies (such as school shootings and drug-induced crashes) have a connection to evil, but I can’t believe that God is the Source of all tragedies and I am not sure that the de...