Think About It

You can’t make me do that – I have rights! How many times have we heard that? More importantly, how many times have we said it! When I look at this statement, two things come to mind. First, I am thankful that we can honestly say it in our nation without fear of reprisal. We live in a land that has put in place certain rights that we can depend upon. No, we may not always get it right in every case, but the underlying principle upon which our nation was built was to protect certain basic individual rights. The second thing that stands out to me is how this can be a way for Christians to demonstrate our faith – however, it comes with a cost: humility. How powerful could it be to be able to say, “I have rights, but I will do something for you because I care about you.”. When we voluntarily suspend our rights to demonstrate that the love and service of Christ is alive inside us, we give up our civil rights to promote Christian love. When Jesus was teaching His earliest disciples ...

There are many visions of heaven. In fact, if you ask several people how they think heaven will look, I am sure you will get very different answers. While there will be diverse opinions, there will also be some shared visions of God being the focal point and a lifetime of peace and joy. Let me add another image that can be added to a universal expectation of heaven – there won’t be any cemeteries there! Our communities are filled with cemeteries and some of our most revered mental images might be a graveyard next to a community church. However, these won’t be in heaven because there will be no need for them. You see, heaven is eternal – once we arrive we won’t die and without death there is no need for a place to be buried. No death means no graveyards and that may be one of the best revelations about our future. We need cemeteries on earth, but once we advance to heavenly bliss we can put these boneyards behind us. When Jesus described His believers He promised, “My sheep hear...

According to one of those “This Day In History” lists, on this day in 1991 Associate Justice Thurgood Marshall resigned from the United States Supreme Court. Justice Marshall had become the first African American to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States when it opened its 1967 session. Much can be said about Marshall, but I want to focus on one of his statements, “None of us got where we are solely by pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps. We got here because somebody – a parent, a teacher, an Ivy League crony or a few nuns – bent down and helped us pick up our boots.” Americans have grown up with the notion that the pathway to success begins with hard work and self-reliance. While this is important, we must not overlook the impact others have made on us. Being self-made is a misnomer that belittles the influence others have had in our lives. Competence may help us sustain our opportunities, but often the thing that opens the doors is the influence others have had in ...

I believe I was in the 3rd Grade when I got my first pair of glasses and things haven’t gotten much better in the last half century. My eyesight is bad and without the aid of glasses or contacts I wouldn’t be blind – but I would be severely limited in what I could do. As I was dealing with my contacts the other day, my first thought was how much of a pain it was, then I realized how fortunate I am to live in the times we do. With a little planning and a few dollars, my eyesight can be restored to a functional level. Rather than fussing about how bad my eyes are, I need to focus on the blessings I have. It is easy to complain about the times in which we live today – let’s face it, there are some challenges and a few dangers in 21st Century America. But, let’s not overlook just how blessed we are – and not just the economic or physical benefits we enjoy. Maybe the greatest opportunity we have is living in a time when we can access forgiveness. Because we can look back on ...

What are you doing this weekend? If you are like most people, your summer weekends are probably jam-packed. Whether it is vacationing, day trips, activities or yard work, it is easy to find something to keep us busy. While this is good for the most part, we need to make sure that we take some time for something important – and fun. Each weekend we have a chance to worship the Lord and we need to take advantage of it. Attending what has become known as a “church service” is important. It isn’t so much that God needs us to be there for Him, it is vitally important that we spend time with Him. By making time to worship Him we establish a priority for who we are and what we do. It is not only important for that day, it can carry us throughout the rest of the week. The other aspect of attending worship is that surrounds us with good people who share our priorities. We are exposed to a lot of folks who tend to drag us down throughout the week so we can benefit from spending time wi...

Do you know some Negative Nellies? I am not sure where the title comes from, but we all know them. These are people who constantly keep the pot stirred by talking about people, circumstances and situations. They not only see the bad, they are more than willing to share it with everyone around them. While these folks tend to keep themselves in a funk, they are also instrumental in deflating the people around them. The problem with these folks is not spotting them – they are plentiful and obvious – the issue is what do we do with them? If we leave them be, they will continue to produce negativity; so we can’t just ignore them hoping they’ll go away because they probably won’t. So, what can we do? Interestingly, the wise man of the Old Testament provides a plan, “Drive out the scoffer, and contention will go out, even strife and dishonor will cease.” (Proverbs 22:10). We must actively deal with these folks before they get to us. Whether it is asking them to move on from being ar...

When you look into the Bible, you can find a lot of good role models – some are famous, others are not quite as well known. Among those in the latter category might be Ezra. While there is an Old Testament book named for him, the story of Ezra is somewhat unknown; but it is important and inspiring. Ezra was instrumental in attempting to restore godly religion back in Judah following the Babylonian Captivity. In the book of Ezra we find a resurgence of national commitment to the spiritual restoration, but I want to focus something a bit more personal. In his biography, it is says, “For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the Lord and to practice it, and to teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel.” (Ezra 7:10). When we dissect this statement we find a formula for making a difference. First, we need to study the Word. Spiritual growth comes from learning the message. Then we need to commit to putting the information into practice. It isn’t enough to “know it”, we must...