Think About It

Several years ago I read the book “Unoffendable” by Brant Hansen. I am not going to say that it was a life-changing read, but I will admit that it was eye-opening. The premise of the book is that we have a choice, we can allow other people to offend us by their words or we can choose to overcome what people say about us (and/or our principles) by making it a point to not allow ourselves to be offended. After all, being offended by others is our choice. An excerpt from the book challenges us, “Real humanity lies in self-forgetfulness. Few want to hear this but it’s true, and it can be enormously helpful in life: if you are constantly being hurt, offended or angered, you should honestly evaluate your inflamed ego.”. Ouch! The words might be rather pointed, but I think the principle rings true – one of the best ways to not let people get under our skin is by practicing humility. Centuries before Hansen wrote his book, the Apostle Paul noted, “So, as those who have been chosen of G...

There are a couple of places where the Bible (or the word of God) is compared to a sword. Hebrews 4:12 states that the word of God is sharper than any two-edged sword. Paul challenges believers to take up the sword of the Spirt, which is the word of God (Ephesians 6:17). The essence of the illustration seems to be that we are in a battle between good and evil and we must be prepared to fight with effective weapons. Now, while this is a great analogy, we need to be careful how we use it. You see, when Paul was describing the opponent he writes, “Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:11-12). He is challenging us to do battle with satan and his minions, not turn the weapons on co-workers of faith. It has ...

Growing up when and where I did, I was intrigued by the Civil War. Being raised in the South just 100 years after the end of the War, there was still a connection to what transpired in the 1860s. The older I have gotten, the less “romantic” the War has become to me. Interestingly, a couple of weeks ago when I drove through Gettysburg, Pennsylvania for the first time, I experienced something I could have never imagined. Many people have described a hallowed feeling; but what I felt was a hollow feeling. I was overwhelmed by the sense the loss of life as I saw the gravestones. I couldn’t help but be saddened by the loss of hope and innocence of a developing nation as I drove passed the battlefields. On paper, the Union Army may have won the battle, but generations of Americans lost a lot. Families were decimated, churches were divided and communities were destroyed! Over the last few weeks I have thought about what it means to win – and the price of victory. Whether it is a war,...

One thing we must accept to be Christians is that we have been called to a different and separate lifestyle. While most of us know this, how many of us really believe that the lives we have been called to live are better than what is available to the world? Sometimes I get the impression that Christians are kind of like the child who is inside the house sitting at the window looking out to the children playing outside lamenting the safety and security we have inside and wishing we could be like everyone else. We are convicted to our values, but we feel bad that we can’t get to do what everyone else gets to do. What would happen if we started looking at godliness as a blessed life? How would our attitudes change if we accepted that what we have with God and in Christ is superior to what the rest of the world has? When David reflected on his life with God he observed, “For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand outside. I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of...

The other day I was listening to an oldies station (maybe I should change that to a way-oldies station – not the 90’s oldies, but the 50’s oldies). The voice coming out of my speakers sounded a lot like Dean Martin, but I didn’t recognize the song. When I looked at the information, I realized it was Al Martino. This led me on a quest – the voices were familiar and the stage names were close, but they were not related. Al Martino was really Jasper Cini from Philadelphia and Dean Martin was really Dino Crocetti from Steubenville, Ohio. After doing a little reading, it became apparent that I wasn’t the first or the only one to expect a connection between the two men. You may be wondering what these two crooners from days gone by have to do with 2023, but hear me out. How many of us who claim to be Christians sound so much like the world that people are convinced we are related? Do the words we use or the principles we espouse seem so close to the secular world that people have to...

We have a problem with truth in our world. Actually, we have a few problems with truth. First, it has become so easy to lie (and be unaffected by it even if we get caught) that telling the truth is not as common as a reliable society needs it to be. Second, opinion has taken the place of truth as the accepted standard of society. We hear, “Well, that’s just your truth.” and we don’t blink an eye. Truth is no longer viewed as an absolute that must be accepted by everyone. When truth fluctuates, is there any way we can have consistency? Interestingly, this issue leads us to a question: upon what do we build truth? To accept that truth exists, we must be willing to agree on an immovable standard. Will truth be based on science? On history? On legal principles? While this is an issue in today’s world, we need to remember that we aren’t the inventors of this quandary – a Roman leader asked, “What is truth?” centuries of years ago. Interestingly, a truth that is immoveable, is ba...

Several years after they were married, a husband and wife were discussing their relationship. The wife looked at her husband and said, “Do you remember when we were dating and I used to sit next to you in your old car? Why don’t we do that anymore?”. The husband, rather sheepishly looked at his wife and asked, “Well, who moved?”. In an era where most cars have bucket seats this can be a rather dated story, but it reminds us of what can happen to our relationships when we lose that zeal we had at the beginning – especially with God. There are times when we feel so close to God that we can’t imagine anything coming between us; then there are other times when we just don’t feel that same closeness. When this happens, we need to ask ourselves, “Who moved?”. God is always there – reliable and dependable. We are the ones who have the tendency to shift. If we are looking for a solid relationship with God, let’s make a commitment to stick with Him through thick and thin. The Apostle P...