Think About It

When the United States amended the Constitution to include the freedom of speech it set in motion a process that would inevitably come to a head. Was all speech protected or is there some speech that is so blatantly bad that it wouldn’t be protected by this freedom? Throughout much of the 19th Century, the government was able to limit this liberty if the speech had a tendency to harm public welfare. As you might expect, this concept was vague enough to land it on the doorstep of the Supreme Court and in 1919, the justices ruled that about the only thing that could be used to silence public speech was if it posed a clear and present danger. Without getting too deeply into this debate, let’s just say that the concept of freedom of speech had a whole new lease on life! As we have moved into the 21st Century it seems that there is very little that can’t be said – either by, about or in front of the government! People feel free to say what they want. While this might be a nice liber...

When I was in college we listened to a couple things called albums and 8-track tapes. (Yes, there was a world before CD’s, cassettes and digital downloads.) One of the albums we played a lot at our house was the self-titled album “Boston” by Boston. (We were real original back in the day.) I think my favorite song on that album was “Rock And Roll Band”, but one song we listened to a lot was called “More Than A Feeling”. In this song, the singer uses music to help recall certain events in his life. At least a few of them seem to be connected to someone named Marrianne. The other day as I was thinking about that song title, I got to thinking about love. Not a romantic love, but what might be called goodwill. You see, this type of love that is so often mentioned in the Bible, is more than a feeling, it is tied to actions. Christian love isn’t a warm feeling we have for others, it is a commitment to help others become the best they can be. It is wishing the best for others and do...

Have you ever been wound up about something and had someone say, “Just let it go!”. Most of us have sought counsel about something (or more probably, someone) troubling you and had a confidant say let it go. It’s not only common advice, its pretty good advice … but what does it mean? One of the issues with this type of advice is that even if we admit it sounds good, do we really understand what people are trying to get us to do? Are they telling us to just forget about what has happened to us? Even the best of us will struggle with forgiving and forgetting, so how do we let it go? As I thought about this quip from a deeper level, I don’t think the point is to try to forget what has happened as much as it is for us to just take the emotional pain out of it. We may remember the details, we just don’t feel the hurt. Troubling situations can help us to grow and develop, but when we can extract the lesson without harboring ill-will we will be much better off. Is there something bothe...

A few days ago a preacher-friend of mine was conducting a funeral service and chose the story of Jesus and the disciples traveling across the Sea of Galilee in the midst of a storm as his main text. The minister did a good job of comparing the tempest on the lake with the storms of life, but as he related the story from Mark 4 he mentioned something interesting. Have you noticed what Jesus was doing when the disciples were fearing for their lives – He was sleeping in the back of the boat! Mark puts it this way, “Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke Him and said to Him, ‘Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?’” (Mark 4:38). These full grown men had to wake Jesus up to get Him to do something for them. While they were worried about their uncertain future, Jesus was leisurely sleeping. In a sense it kind of reminded me of parents who are awakened by their children to get rid of the monsters under their beds. The parents (like Jesus) have to ...

If someone came up to you and asked what it would take to be saved, would you know how to answer them? A lot of us have some pretty strong opinions about religious things, but how many of us could succinctly explain the basics of what it would take to be saved? I think we have done ourselves a disservice by thinking that most people know what to do to become a Christian, but the truth is that there are a lot of people who are unchurched and even more who don’t have a grasp on the basic, saving gospel. I am not talking about understanding all the nuances about the nature of God or even being able to explain Revelation, the most important question we can answer deals with the process of salvation. When Jesus left the earth and provided the instructions upon which His disciples would depend for the rest of their lives He told them, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and...

I don’t know the whole history and purpose behind Leap Day, but I kind of get the impression that it had something to do with correcting some of the inadequacies of our calendar. Now, while there may be some scientific aspects to the presence of Leap Day, I am aware of some of the social elements to it. I believe that when I was child – back before an emphasis on equal rights – it had something to do with the Sadie Hawkins traditions. (Some of you younger folks may need to Google that.) In my mind it was a reminder of the Olympic years. When both winter and summer Olympics were held in the same year, they were held in a Leap Year. With the current Olympic cycle, it appears to precede the Summer Games. Come to think of it, it also reminds us that we have a national election coming up … I guess we can’t blame that on the Leap Year, though. As I thought about Leap Years, I got to thinking about another potential use for them – what if we take the extra day to go the extra mile? ...

When you think about Jesus, what comes to mind? It is the Suffering Servant who endured life so that we didn’t have to spend an eternity in hell? Maybe it is the Perfect Son of God who was ready to defend the good life at the drop of a hat. For some it might be the Powerful and Perfect Judge who is sitting on the throne of heaven waiting for us to line up at His feet for our eternal judgement. In a sense, we could make a case for each of this images, but let me give you another one – He is the purveyor of joy! When Jude reflected on the power and presence of Jesus he observed, “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.” (Jude 24-25). Jesus is more than our Teacher and Savior, He is also the one who brings meaning to our lives. Are you looking for a way ...