Think About It

If you want to be criticized in today’s world, just try to be overtly optimistic. We live in an Eeyoreistic environment that is quick to complain and hesitant to see the Pollyannaish value found in broadcasting good news and an expectation that things are going to be okay. (I realize I just conjoined my metaphors, but I think you get my point.) Modern society is quick to critique and hesitant to hope. While some people call this pragmatic, I am more inclined to see it as problematic. Over the last few months, we have heard a lot about depression, hopelessness and suicide. While people are quick to blame this on the pandemic, these challenges have been with us longer than the COVID-19. Negativism challenged society long before masks became chic. I will be the first to be thankful for a return to human interaction, but if we want to really solve these problems the key is developing an optimistic outlook on life. When we adjust our worldview to see the good that is being done in ...

Last Wednesday evening we had a powerful storm come through our region. There was quite a bit of wind, some pretty intense thunder (it was raining too hard to see the lightning) and a lot of water. According to reports there was somewhere between 3 and 6 inches of rain in just a couple of hours. I have seen a lot of rain in my lifetime, but because of last week’s heat and humidity, this was a deluge! While this was a pretty impressive storm, I think the thing that astounded me was driving back to work 12 hours later. On Wednesday night the ditches were filled with water and any low laying area either became a pond or a roaring creek, but by Thursday morning I was hard-pressed to find any standing water. As I drove around that morning, I was struck by the fact that while the storm may have been impressive to me, to the land of Southern Maryland, it was just another rainstorm that had to be overcome and processed. In fact, if anything, what I noticed was how green everything had ...

As I was driving to worship services Sunday morning, I heard a song by Steven Curtis Chapman that I had never heard before. The title of the song is “His Strength Is Perfect”, but it was this lyric in the song that really got my attention, “I can do all things through Christ who give me strength. But sometimes a I wonder what He can do through me.”. I was quite familiar with the scriptural reference, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13), but it was the commentary that struck me. It is easy for believers to feel the confidence we have through Jesus, but have we ever given much thought to the value we bring to His cause? We can overcome a lot with the power of Jesus, but are we living the type of lives that reflect His wonders out into the world? It is great to feel the comfort and confidence we have by being a part of Christ’s church, but let’s never overlook our need to be active and alive. Jesus has the power to make a difference inside us...

Have you noticed how easy it is to make up excuses? Basically, if we don’t want to do something, we can always find a reason not to do it. Notice that I didn’t say a “good reason” because sometimes our excuses are nothing more than justifications we delude ourselves into believing. When I was growing up, I used to hear excuses defined as tissue paper lies. While that sounded good, I don’t know that I fully understood what it meant – but now I kind of get it. When I think of “tissue paper”, I typically think of three things: First, it makes things look better than they are … second, it is thin and not good for much else … finally, it is fragile – it can’t withstand much pressure. Excuses are similar to tissue paper in that they typically make our actions sound better than they really are, they are easy to see through and it doesn’t take much effort to rip them apart. There are some legitimate reasons we do what we do – especially when we fail, but all too often, the excuses we m...

At some point in our lives, most of us are going to fall on some hard times. While some of these struggles might be due to something that is beyond our control (due to things like natural catastrophes or a nationwide economic downturn), most of the time our struggles are due to our own actions. Interestingly, the Bible divides this even further by describing difficulties that are caused by a godly life centered in a worldly society and those that are caused by our own moral/legal problems. The Apostle Peter taught the early church, “If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.” (I Peter 4:15-16). In addition to being one of the few times the word “Christian” appears in the New Testament, it also explains one of the basic differences between human troubles – those caused because we are Christians and those caused when we don...

Have you noticed that the people with whom we need to be the most patient are the ones who irritate us the most? When I go back and re-read the previous statement, I realize I have a firm grasp of the obvious. Most people with whom we have patience, don’t typically need it – but there are some who test our limits (and our spirituality). The other day I was reminded of the need for patience when I read Ephesians 4:2, “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” (NIV). Paul’s admonition got me to thinking about why we need to express patience – here are a few reflections: 1. Some people require patience because they are under stress. Often, people are difficult because they are in a tough place in their lives. They don’t purposefully intend to irritate us, they do it because they are displaying a crisis response. 2. Some people require patience because they have emotional issues. A lot of people who are able to function in much of society ma...

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 ...