Think About It

During our time together yesterday, we took a look at Psalm 23 and saw the fact that God is willing to go with us wherever we go. We highlighted the confidence we can have when we can enter the valley of the shadow of death because God is with us. While this passage is inspiring and comforting, I think it reminds us of another aspect of our spiritual journey. What would happen if, in addition to God’s guiding hand, we teamed up to walk into the valley of the shadow of death with other believers? Rather than launching out on our journey alone, what if we walked into the dark and scary world with others? There have been a few times in my life when I have been called to go into dangerous situations, but one of the things that made it bearable (and doable) was when the “Calvary” showed up to go into the (literal) darkness with me. There is not only safety in numbers, there is also confidence in numbers. As I reflected on this, I got to thinking about the wisdom of God in creating ...

One of the all- time favorite passages in the Bible is Psalm 23. The 23rd Psalm is an encouraging passage for just about every aspect of life. Through the years, one of my favorite verses in this poem is v. 4, ”Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.”. When I think about this passage, I imagine walking through a deep, dark valley filled with all kinds of evil and scary stuff. If I were to enter this valley on my own, I know that I would feel apprehensive at best and scared to death at worst. In fact, I might even be so afraid of what awaited me, I might not enter the valley. Yet, with the thought of the All-Powerful God walking through with me, not only am I willing to go, I am confident in the journey. In fact, my approach to traversing the valley is summed up in the confidence of Paul, “If God is for us, who is against us?” (Romans 8:31). We live in a world that is filled with...

I believe that one of the greatest challenges of Christianity is not being good enough. I think that, intellectually, we all know that we aren’t perfect, but when it comes to doing good deeds it is difficult to accept the fact that we can’t do it all. I know a lot of people who do a lot of good things, but they still struggle with the fact that they can’t help all the homeless, feed all the poor or save all the sinners. They invest so much into their efforts that, rather than seeing the good that they do, they focus on the failures. They just never feel accomplished. As I was thinking about this, I was reminded of a passage of Scripture that observers, “… for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23). I have been familiar with this passage for a long time and have often used it as a theological reality of the sinfulness of man, but I believe it speaks to many of us who just feel like we can’t do enough. Sure, we know that we fall short of perfection – we...

What is the difference between a celebrity and a hero? While there are several differences, one of the most basic is that often celebrities are famous for being famous while heroes receive their tributes for touching lives. Celebrities are often well-known for their accolades while heroes are notable for their accomplishments. After spending some time thinking about the differences between celebrities and heroes, I came across a guy who spent quite a bit of time writing about them. Daniel Boorstin was a historian back in the 1970s-1980s and had some very astute observations about what made people famous. One of his insights was, “Time makes heroes, but dissolves celebrities.”. When you think about it, this makes a lot of sense. Many of yesterday’s celebrities have faded into oblivion while our past heroes continue to live on in our collective memories. Often, circumstances make celebrities, but actions and attitudes of heroism keep going. While this is true in “popular cultu...

Most of us will find ourselves in need of assistance at some point in our lives. We may not like it, but we will have to reach out to others. That is normal and natural. However, here is the issue – will the way we conduct ourselves make it easier or more difficult for the next person in need? Let me see if I can explain what I mean. When we seek help from others and we are thankful and gracious for what people give us, we reinforce the goodwill being shown by the people who help us. We make them feel good about what they do and “grease the chute” for others who come after us needing help. However, if we ask for help and are contrary with those who volunteer to help us, we may be putting up an impediment for others who will seek assistance in the future. If we complain about the conditions placed on the gifts that are given to us, if we fail to say “thank you” or if we keep going back for more and more and more; there is a chance that the givers will become frustrated and not h...

The other day I was listening to a Bible Class discussing spiritual gifts and heard a different way of approaching the subject. Typically, when we talk about spiritual gifts (or God-given talents), we ask people to assess their own gifts. While we need to be able to identify to how we can personally do the Lord’s work, I think we can struggle with self-awareness. Whether it is humility or insecurity, sometimes we have an issue identifying our talents. Rather than the teacher asking people what abilities God had given them, he asked people to identify the talents the Lord had given their spouse. I thought this was a great approach because not only did it open people’s mouths, it opened their eyes. They were much more willing to express their spouse’s gifts than their own. Hopefully, as one spouse listened to how the other described them, it bolstered each other’s confidence as well as their relationship. Christians are told, “As each one has received a special gift, employ it in ...

Happy Memorial Day! I believe that our American Memorial Day has an identity crisis. For some, it is the unofficial beginning of summer and, to others, it is a great day to have a mattress sale. Yet, in reality, it is day set aside to honor the men and women who have paid the ultimate price in service to our country. These were Americans who were willing to fight and die for the values of our nation – such as freedom from tyranny and peace from international terrorists. No, our nation hasn’t always gotten everything right, but when we accept the fact that we are formed out of the human race, we have done a lot better than many others. We cannot hide the fact that the United States is wrestling with our own identity crises, but let’s put that on hold for a little while and take some time to honor the individuals and families who have suffered so that we can live free and openly debate our differences. I want to thank all the men and women who have served in our Armed Forces to all...