Think About It

I am not a big fan of basketball (being short and slow may have something to do with that), but I do like March Madness. Now, some people like the NCAA Tournaments because they get to see the best take on the best, but I like it because of the upsets. We don’t know who it will be in 2021, but there will be some David who will bring down a Goliath on their way to a Cinderella season. (I know, I mixed a lot of metaphors on the way to that cliché; but it just seemed to flow.) What makes March Madness so special is that, not only do underdogs get a chance to take on the big names, it is done in an environment that spotlights their talents. These aren’t some games played in a half-full arena on a Tuesday night in the middle of a cold spell, these games are played out on a national stage that showcases everyone’s talents. The reason I am bringing up this event isn’t to get you to tune into the games this week, rather it is to see if we can use these tournaments as an example to encour...

Have you ever heard the phrase “The Great Awakening”? If so, have you ever wondered what it was? According to history.com, the Great Awakening was sort of a spiritual revival in the English American colonies in the 1730s and 1740s. It appears that some of the preachers of the day saw a need to invigorate what had become stale religion. Institutional religion needed a shot in the arm that individual accountability would bring. Several historians believe this movement shaped much of how Christianity came to light (and life) during the early part of our nation’s history. The reason for this history lesson was a passage I came across the other day. The Apostle Paul challenged First Century Christians, “Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave pr...

One of the challenges I face trying to be a good person is coming to grips with the struggles other people have had. While I am mindful of the challenges some people face today, it is easy to get carried away with historic issues of how people have been mistreated. As I think back on the last few centuries we have seen Jews annihilated in Germany, African slaves brought to Europe and the Americas, Native Americans captured and killed as well as regional minorities tortured and killed at the hands of rulers in power. This is not an American-thing, this is a people thing! Now, this brings us back to the challenge – I didn’t participate in these atrocities nor do I don’t condone what has happened, so what can I do other than feel bad about them? As I thought about what I can do to come to grips with these tragedies two things came to find. First, I can treat people with love and respect. No, I cannot make others “play nice”, but I can control my approach to dealing with others, esp...

What does it mean to be persecuted? The dictionary definition is “hostility or ill-treatment, especially because of race or political or religious beliefs”. As you might expect, I would like to focus on religious persecution. First of all, few of us in this country have felt – or will ever experience – true persecution. Sure, people might make fun of us because of our beliefs; but having our feelings hurt doesn’t amount to persecution. Secondly, have you ever considered the difference between feeling persecuted and being a Christian with being persecuted because we are Christians? Sure, like with anyone, Christians experience mistreatment; but how much of it is because we have taken a stand and how much is it just because we live in a mean world? One final question to ask is are we persecuted because of our righteousness or does the pain come when we stray off the straight and narrow? The other day I came across on interesting passage about persecution, “For what credit is th...

It is time for my semi-annual public service announcement – it is time to set your clocks ahead this weekend. If you have trouble remembering which direction to go, I keep them straight by “springing forward” and “falling back” – in other works we lose an hour of sleep in the spring and get it back in the fall. Changing our clocks may give us a false sense of control over time. While we can literally set our clocks to whatever time we like, when it comes to the seasons of our lives, we have no control. As much as we would like, we can’t direct time. We can’t speed it up when our children are in their “terrible twos” nor can we slow it down when the one we love gets close to the end of their lives. We can’t jump ahead when we are going through tragedy or stop it when we are experiencing joy. No matter how hard we try, we are at the expense of time and timing. The thing that helps us make the most of our time is an understanding that the Lord is the Master of time. I am not sure...

Have you noticed how easy it is to criticize other people’s decisions? This really struck me the other day when a couple of states made the decision to either remove mask mandates or merely let them expire. Folks, people came out of the woodwork from all over the country criticizing those who made the decisions! I am sure that each one of us has our own personal beliefs about mask-wearing, but do we have the right to criticize what someone else believes – especially someone who lives halfway across the county in much different circumstances than ours? While I would like to believe this is a modern day COVID problem, but I know that it isn’t. Being a busybody knows no region or era. It has been around from the beginning of mankind and it continues to go strong today. It isn’t relegated to any one gender, location, occupation or stage of life. We are all good at sticking our nose in other people’s business. Again, I have no issue with having different opinions, but when we star...

I Peter 3:15 is a favorite passage for many of us. When Peter challenges his readers, “… 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 …” we are reminded of our need to be able to defend our faith. Through the years, we have used this passage to prove that we need to be vocal about our beliefs as well as reminding us that we need to know what we believe and why. While the last part of the verse can be inspiring, the first part of the passage is challenging. Did you catch Peter’s direction to us to “sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts”? When we dissect this statement, we are challenged to make sure that we do two things: First, we have to make it a point to identify Christ as Someone unique. Sanctify means to set apart or set something aside to demonstrate its uniqueness. When we specifically identify Jesus as special to us, we make the...