Think About It

Have you noticed how many people act like Christians?   Now, on the surface, that sounds like a good thing – the problem comes when considering the context.   There are way too many people “acting” like a Christian.   They aren’t committed to living the life, they are merely playing the role.   They do things Christians do, they say things Christians say – the problem is they aren’t living the Christian life with the Christian commitment.   It’s not enough to act like a Christian, we must genuinely be one. Hypocrisy has been a common trait among people for centuries and it continues today.   They do the right stuff – just for the wrong reason.   While this might be okay if the playacting led to a committed life, but all too often, when things become difficult, the façade begins to fade away and their true character is put on full display. Let’s stop advocating for role-playing and start demanding that those who wear the name live the life.   W...

One of my favorite parts of the Old Testament is when Joshua is commissioned as leader of the Hebrew people.   The exiles from Egypt had been under the leadership of the one greatest men of God of any age (Moses), but they had struggled to accomplish what God had led them to do.   Now, with a new opportunity and a renewed attitude, the Lord challenged, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:6-7).   As great as Moses had been, Joshua would be the one who would lead them on to great things! I believe that it is too easy to look backwards in religion and see all the great influences that we have had and ignore the potential that exists in today’s believer...

Today is an interesting day in U. S. history.  On January 8, 1815 the famous Battle of New Orleans was fought.  It was from this battle General Andrew Jackson gained political clout and Johnny Horton recorded a Number 1 record (some 145 years later).  Interestingly, Johnny Horton was not the only one who was impacted by a delay – you see the Treaty of Ghent had been signed on December 24, 1914 which effectively ended the war between the Americans and British.  The problem was that the word of the peace didn’t get to New Orleans before the hostilities began.  That seems kind of ironic (and maybe even a bit laughable) until we realize that there were over 2000 casualties in that skirmish.  To those individuals and their families, this was no laughing matter. As I thought about this, I got to wondering how many people are suffering today because they haven’t heard the message of the gospel of Jesus?  With the death and resurrection of Jesus, sin and suffe...

          There are a lot of theories about Christianity these days.  Some people view religion as optional while others believe that government should be run by the principles of some form of Christian ideals.  Yet, I think that the basic principles of Christianity are pretty simple and straightforward.  In fact, they seem to laid out nicely for us in the New Testament, “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.” (I John 5:1-3).  When it’s all broken down in the most common denominator, Christianity is basically believing in the biblical story of Jesus, loving God, loving His children and following His com...

The other day a couple of us were talking about modern technology and the advancements our society has made in artificial intelligence.   While we saw some of the cool ways these things could be used, we were also leery of how it could be misused.   As exciting as it is, it can also be a bit scary.   One of the things that concerned us was the future of truth.   I have to say that the concept of “truth” has taken a beating over the last several years, but with the advent of some pretty convincing fakery, truth is in danger of becoming passe.   So, how can we maintain truth?   I think the answer lies in establishing an unwavering baseline for it.   We have already learned that politics cannot be relied on to always treat truth with respect.   Even the educational system gets truth confused with theory.   So where can we find true truth?   I think the only place truth can be consistently reliable is in our spiritual world based on the wo...

Welcome back to reality!   For the last couple of weeks, we have been blessed with some fun and relaxing times.   Many people who had banked up time off were able to take several days away from work.   Most of our young people were on break a from school.   Even on those days when our schedules were somewhat normal, the spirit of the holiday season made days a bit more bright.   Sometimes the worst part about the most wonderful time of the year is moving back into the mundane of the new year. While this can be a harsh reality, what if we did something that made the rut a bit more bearable?   What if we took one or two things from the holidays and brought them into January?   No, I am not saying that we keep spending or eating the way we did for the last couple of weeks, but maybe we make it a point to practice giving or look for the peace and joy in the world.   December doesn’t have a corner on the market for good times, they can be enjoyed whe...

On January 2, 1961, the temperature on Haleakala in Hawaii fell to 14 degrees!   Who would have thought this tropical island state could ever get that cold? Interestingly, the state record has been set since then at 12 degrees in 1979.   That’s kind of unbelievable isn’t it – until you also realize that Haleakala’s elevation is over 10,000 feet above sea level.   Mauna Kea (where the new record was set) is almost 14,000 feet above sea level.   Again, who would have thought it was this high and could get that cold! It is easy to make assumptions about things that shield us from considering them rationally.   We just expect something to be a certain way, so that’s how we think about it whether it is the truth or not.   While this can be limiting in our understanding of the world around us, this is most dangerous when we apply it to people.   Just as we assume something in the natural world can divert us from truth, assumptions about people can take us ...