Think About It

How important are we to God? Well, that depends on how that question is posed. On one hand, we are special enough to God for Him to send His Son to die for us; however, does that mean we are indispensable to His cause? It is easy to get to thinking that we are the key to God’s success – I mean, without us, God’s work on earth on would suffer, right? Or would it? In reality, God was doing just fine before we showed up in His world and He won’t miss a beat after our days are over. Sure, we should do our very best to be good workers in His service, but the victory of His kingdom is not dependent on me being a valiant warrior. The truth of the matter is that we need Him a lot more than He needs us. Now, once we understand that, how does that influence our opinion about things like work and worship? Rather than taking on the smugness of being essential in His church, what if we desired to be closer to Him through our worship? When we convince ourselves God needs us, we set the te...

One of the things I have learned in life is how good I am at finding the faults in others. I could be an expert scout when it comes to identifying failure. I can spot someone else’s failings at a hundred paces with one eye tied behind my back. You might think I am bragging, but it ain’t bragging if it is true, right? Unfortunately – and the real problem with this is that it is not by job to lead the pack of faultfinders. This revelation shouldn’t surprise anyone, but there is another challenge to this issue. In addition to encouraging the forgiveness of others, I need to be working on identifying and correcting my problems. Rather than beating up others for what they have done wrong, I need to invest my energies into correcting my errors (or maybe I should call them what they are – my sins). Rather than peering through binoculars to be the first to spot the failure of others, I need to look at myself in the mirror. When Jesus addressed this issue early in His ministry, He ch...

Last Sunday I heard a really good lesson about the Old Testament character, Rahab. Some of you may not be familiar with Rahab, but many more of us are just not comfortable with her. The New Testament praises her, “By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish along with those who were disobedient, after she had welcomed the spies in peace.” (Hebrews 11:30-31). While this sounds so faith-filled, the fact is that a lying prostitute can create some cognitive dissonance! How can this woman of ill-repute be an example to those of us who strive to live moral, upright lives? The answer might be two-fold. First, you can say what you want about her lifestyle, but she believed in the presence and power of the Almighty God! Secondly, she is proof of what God can do with people who are willing to do His work. No, she did not fit the mold of a disciple, but she played an important role in delivering Israel’s v...

I am not sure when all of these special days started, but the traditional Thanksgiving season has given rise to several parallel days. After Black Friday, there is Small Business Saturday, Cyber-Monday and today, Giving Tuesday. While most of these days are designed to drive the economy, Giving Tuesday is intended to help volunteer groups and non-profits raise money and awareness. Many people I know are involved in some kind of giving, but if you aren’t I would like to encourage you to take the opportunity to reach out to help some organization who could benefit from our generosity. It is fun to fill our carts with “stuff” for our friends and families, but it might not be as satisfying as making a donation to an agency that can use it to ease suffering or make life better for someone or something. While I have several organizations I would love to see you support, I am not asking for donations today, rather I am hoping that we display a giving spirit. Godly people have always bee...

There is absolutely nothing wrong with being passionate about our agenda. In fact, without dedicated and focused people good ideas have a tendency to fade away. However, there comes a time when our desire to advance a program can actually turn people away. The more enthusiastic we are about something, the more of a risk we take in alienating people. So how can we keep spreading our message and avoid the diminishing returns? Here are a few suggestions: 1. Realize when enough is enough. Do people avoid us when they see us coming? Do we notice that their eyes glaze over when we begin to recount our pet project? Let’s have the social awareness to know when others have had their fill of us or our cause. 2. Don’t criticize others’ inactivity in our movement. While it is great that we are laser-focused that doesn’t mean everyone else will be – and that doesn’t make them bad people. In fact, they may be just as passionate about another program that is just as worthy as ours! ...

You might have noticed a theme during our times together this week. My goal this Thanksgiving Week has been to highlight some things for which I am thankful. As I entered the week, I realized that thanksgiving is more than a day – it is an attitude. Since I am the one who gets to control my attitude, then I get to pick just how thankful I am going to be. I am sick and tired of being sick and tired – I think I like being thankful better – and I am the only one who can make that happen. One of the challenges I have faced over the last few years is an appreciation for the nation in which we live. Whether it is a disappointment in leaders or feeling disheartened at social and political developments, I have struggled with appreciating our country. As I have been thinking about things this week, I have come to realize we are blessed. We have good people doing good things. We have a say in the way our government is being run. We have an affluence and the freedom that is the envy of...

Happy Thanksgiving! I make no secret of the fact that this is my favorite holiday of the year. Food, family, friends and football – it just doesn’t get any better than that! Through the years Americans have been celebrating a National Day of Thanksgiving. While there have been some tweaks in the process here and there, the need to stop and express our gratitude has been firmly entrenched in our nation for the last half of our existence. While we still stop and observe the day, I wonder if we are losing our focus. I am in favor of celebrating all the aspects of giving thanks – including being appreciative to our friends and family – but unless we stop and appreciate the gifts we have been given by the Greatest Giver of all, we miss out on an important part of the day. Honestly, I wonder if this might be part of an overall problem in modern society. When we ignore God, we are bound to lose sight of what is important and necessary for contentment. This past week I have thought a ...