Think About It

If you live on the Eastern Seaboard, get ready for a hot one!  Now some of you may have already had the heat come to your house; but we are just now experiencing it.  One of the bonuses we get around here is the humidity in addition to the heat.  I am not going to compare our our misery index with anyone’s – so let’s just agree that it’s going to be yucky!  Unless you have a pool or a Slip-And-Slide I doubt that you are looking forward to the week ahead – so how can we make the most of the brutal weather?  Well, one thing we can do is learn from it.  Now, let me see if I can put this perspective – you see, if we believe the Bible, we probably already have an understanding that hell is hot and miserable!  As Jesus was describing punishment, He observed, “If your eye causes you to stumble, throw it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be cast into hell, where their worm does not die,...

Not long ago I watched the Tony Awards.   Okay – now that I have your attention, let me explain.   First, part of my family wanted to watch a performance featured on the award show, so we watched it up until that aired.   Second, as soon as the performance was done, we turned the channel and watched something else.   For those of you who saw the show – or know what all was included in the show – you might be asking, “So, were you surprised or shocked by what you saw?”.   Interestingly, my answer is “No”.   I didn’t agree with everything I saw, but I saw what I expected to see.   People who make their living on Broadway are typically politically and socially liberal and spend their time imagining a world of fantasy. I kind of knew what to expect.   Now, the reason I bring this up is to ask a different question.   If people watched our lives – or came into our church – would they be surprised by what they saw?   If we call ourselves Chri...

On June 19, 1865 General Gordon Granger read the following words to those who had gathered in Galveston, Texas: “The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired laborer.”  General Order Number 3 changed Texas … and brought America one step further to the goal of freedom.  Can you imagine what it would have been like to have been a slave in Texas on what has become Juneteenth?  While freedom had been in the works for a while, at that moment their individual lives had changed!  Interestingly, there is a parallel found today – not because we are indentured servants, but because we are sinners.  You see, there is freedom available to all of us.  When we sin, we become slaves of satan –...

Growing up as a sports fan, I have to admit that there were times when I had problems separating my teams’ efforts with my attitude.  Whether it was the Cowboys and the Dolphins in the ‘70s, the Broncos in the 2000’s or even the modern Texas Rangers, there are times when I put too much of the “fan” in fanatic.  The problem with this isn’t necessarily the passion, it is investing too much of myself in something over which I have no control.  They won’t let me play or make player moves, so really other than cheering louder, I can’t determine the outcomes of their games. As I pondered about this, I got to thinking about other areas where it is too easy to invest too much of ourselves in things over which we have little control.  Take politics, for instance.  Yes, we can vote for our people, but we don’t really have an impact on national or international policy.  What about the economy?  We can do some saving, spending and investing; but many of the econom...

Last week, one of the most influential individuals in American music passed away.  On Wednesday, Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, died at the age of 82.  I have been around Wilson’s music all my life.  First, through the Beach Boys … and then, later – to a lesser degree – through his daughters’ group Wilson Philips.  I liked the Beach Boys’ music, but when I became aware of it, I was developing my own tastes in popular music.  Interestingly, as popular as the California sound was in the 1960s, there was another musical influence invading America.  The Beatles and the Beach Boys are synonymous with the Rock/Pop sound of the ‘60s.  Interestingly, Brian Wilson was quoted as saying, “There’s no outdoing The Beatles.”.  This didn’t mean the Boys weren’t going to try to sell records, but they also understood the realities of the day. What comes to mind when you hear the world “humble”?  For some people, humility has to do with thinking less of ourse...

I have been reading Acts 2 for almost as long as I have been reading.   Growing up when and how I did, the story of the conversions on Pentecost were an important part of my religious upbringing.   However, it wasn’t until recently – when someone new to studying the Bible pointed it out – that I realized I had missed an interesting observation.   Most of us are familiar with Luke’s introduction to Peter’s sermon, “But Peter, taking his stand with the eleven, raised his voice and declared to them: ‘Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and give heed to my words.’” (Acts 2:14); but I want us to take a closer look.   I would imagine that many of the people in the audience on this occasion had been in the crowd that called for Jesus’ crucifixion.   Now, here is the point I missed.   The handful of people who were about to preach to them had been personally impacted by their audience’s rejection of Jesus.   Becau...

Back in the day it was said that you could tell the “good” cowboy star in the movies because they always wore the white hats.  I am not sure if that was true or not, but “wearing a white hat” has become synonymous in our culture with being the good guy.  Interestingly, something happened along the way – a lot of people began wearing “gray” hats.  Throughout my lifetime, there has been a movement away from being a goodie two shoes and adopting a mindset of blending in with everyone else.  The rationale has become that we can do a lot more good if we look like (and are trusted by) those we are trying to influence.  I am not sure about that.  Wouldn’t it give those who are watching us the wrong message if they are having trouble distinguishing the good from the bad?  The closer we get to the edge, the easier it is to fall off the line and onto the wrong side. When Jesus was establishing His movement, He called on His people to make sure that people knew...