Think About It

Can Christianity be better than it is today? Okay … hold on just a second … before we cavalierly answer this question I must warn you it is a trick question. The answer is, “No!”. Christianity is the perfect design of the perfect God lead by the perfect Savior. It was formed by the One who created the earth and administered by the only human being to have perfected life. It is the result of centuries of planning and action by God. Christianity – the Lord’s church – is perfect. Now, back to our original question, can Christianity be better than it is today? No, but Christians can. The problem with the Lord’s church is not in its design, it is in its implementation by humans. Because we are fallible, we take something pure and perfect and mess it up. So, if we want to make the most of the Christian experience, we don’t need to adjust the pattern, we need to change the people. Rather than saying that the church needs to become more relevant, what we need to be saying is that ...

According to those who worked with him, the convicted serial killer Jeffery Dahmer, repented of his heinous ways and became a Christian later in life. If you aren’t familiar with Dahmer’s crimes, let’s just say that from 1978 to 1991 he was one of the worst of the worst. In 1992 he was sentenced to fifteen life sentences; but something happened to change his focus and, after studying with a local minister, he was baptized and reborn into a new life in 1994. Interestingly, it was that same year that he was killed in prison by another inmate. There is always some question of sincerity whenever you discuss prison conversions, but my job is to report the story not judge a man’s conviction. So, for a minute, let’s accept it on its face value. If this is true, if the message of Christianity is enough to penetrate and change the heart of a “monster” like Jeffery Dahmer, what can it do to everyone else? It may be odd, but when I think about Jeffery Dahmer, I am drawn to the story of th...

Have you noticed how difficult it is to be a Christian? There are several rules we have to follow … we have to be nice to people – even those who are mean to us … we can’t have as much fun as our unchristian friends and neighbors … we have to stay faithful – even when we don’t understand what is going on around us … we must always be on our best behavior … we must become selfless and endure persecution whether it is merely a minor inconvenience or a life-threatening situation. Yep, Christianity is difficult – or is it? Several years ago, as the Apostle John challenged his contemporaries, he reminded them, “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and is commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith.” (I John 5:3-4). Here, the inspired writer of God, dispels the belief that Christianity is difficult (or burdensome as he calls it). The difficulties we face are often...

I find it pretty easy to fuss and complain about the last several months. From my job to my exercise routine to my social and sporting life a lot of stuff has been disrupted. How could anyone find any redeeming value come out of the last few months? Well, why not ask the Miami Marlins? In 2019 the South Florida based Major League Baseball franchise had the worst record in the National League – by a long way! They were almost 50 games under .500 and were 40 games behind the team that won their division. Now, fast forward to a very forgettable 2020 season for most of us and they were two games above .500 and made the playoffs. Not only did they make the playoffs, they won their Wild Card Playoff series and faced the Braves in the Division Championship Series. While their “Cinderella Season” came to an end on October 8; the 2020 campaign was anything but disappointing. No, they didn’t make the World Series and they had some tough times during the year; but the team that lost 105...

Who can you believe? If one party prevails, we will lose our civil rights. If the other party wins, our morality and economy will take a nose dive. We must remain vigilant in our defense against COVID-19 or we will have an increased spike in cases and deaths. All of this health talk is just something to sway an election, and if we aren’t careful it will destroy our way of life. Humans have ruined the planet to the point that climate change will forever alter the face of the earth. The change in our weather is merely cyclical and it will return eventually balance itself out. The next generation has the wisdom, insight and lack of historical baggage to raise us to new social heights. If left unchecked, our young people will drive humanity into despair and destruction. I repeat, who can you believe? There are a lot of opinions in our world these days – and many are diametrically opposed to each other. People are passionate about their beliefs – to the point that if you don’t be...

Our house is one great big mess right now. We have two big chunks of carpet ripped up, appliances in temporary locations, noisy fans blowing 24/7 and contents from two rooms and a closet stacked in our dining room. If you have ever had a water heater leak, you understand what I am talking about. It is amazing what 50 gallons of water can do to a floor! Actually, it wasn’t the last 50 gallons of water that caused the problem, it was the gallons of water that leaked into the flooring, subfloor and wall before we knew what was going on! By the time my bare feet squished on the soggy carpet our fate was sealed! As you might imagine, I have spent a lot of time thinking about water heaters and such, but the other day it dawned on me how our damage parallels spiritual living. Rarely is the damage sudden and catastrophic, our problems tend to creep up on us slowly but steadily. There may be a few times when we are stunned by something that rocks of our world, but most of the time the ...

When you think about God, what comes to mind? Many of us who claim a belief in the Lord like to wrap our hearts around the patriarchal nature of God. We enjoy talking about His forgiveness, compassion, sacrifice and even His love for us. We see God as longsuffering and caring. Now, while all of this is true, there is more to God than a warm-and-fuzzy Father-figure. When David reflected on God, he noted, “For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness; no evil dwells with You. The boastful shall not stand before Your eyes; You hate all who do iniquity. You destroy those who speak falsehood; the Lord abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit.” (Psalm 5:4-6). King David was a close to God as almost anyone who walked on this earth, but even the man whom God loved recognized the fiery side of God. Words such as hate, destroy and abhors paint a clear picture of God’s opinion of sin. God will not tolerate those who oppose Him or oppress His people. Centuries after David wrote ...