Criticism and Critics

At the gym where I work out there’s a guy who does a handstand and then proceeds to do push-ups from the handstand. I was surprised to hear someone else say, “He’s showing off”. It made me think that if you are living your life at a really high level or at a really low level then you are setting yourself up for criticism but if you are living your life at an average level you’ll be OK. Everyone wants to be average. Christians are supposed to be living their lives at really high levels in service to God, to each other and to the world. They are supposed to let their “lights shine brightly” so that people will be drawn to the light of Christ living in us. Unfortunately some will even criticize that. We have to be careful about being critical people. Criticism, done the wrong way, can be emasculating. I never thought that guy at the gym was showing off… it never entered my mind. Rather, it inspired me to be in better shape physically. We can choose to be inspired or we can choose to become critics. Inspiration builds us up… being critical tears us and others down. Choose which you want to be. Heaven will only be filled with those who let their lights shine and who help others to be illuminating.

The Power of Blood

Church News. 19Mar2006

A few weeks ago a client brought in a sick puppy. It was hypothermic and comatose and when I looked at its gums I knew immediately what was wrong with it...Hookworm anemia. You see those little Hookworms have teeth...they bite the intestine and make it bleed and then feed on the blood. I told the client that the puppy needed a blood transfusion to survive but was so close to death that it might die just due to the stress associated with giving the blood. She said for me to go ahead and try and to spare no expense. I took 30 cc of whole blood from a donor and as I started infusing the blood into the puppy I could see him slowly getting stronger. In an hour he was standing up and barking and wanting to go home. Blood has an amazing affect. The owner cried with joy when she took that puppy home.

We're an awfully lot like that sick puppy. Our lives are wrecked with sin and a lot of times we are so deep in sin we don't even realize the harm we are doing to ourselves. Sin is like an illness that slowly saps us of our strength and can ultimately kill us. The cure for that illness, just like for that of the sick puppy, is blood. Christ's blood restores life to us and not just any kind of life but good healthy lives for us on this earth, to say nothing about eternal life. While the life of a christian is not necessarily an easy life it is a good life that builds us up. We can have the benefit of Christ's blood by simply believing in him. We contact his blood through the waters of baptism.

I wish I could be like that puppy's owner and take some of you to the Great Physician and tell him to baptize you and cure you of your spiritual illness, but I can't do that...you have to do it yourselves.

If you haven't received the life giving blood of Christ...don't wait...it will make you stand up and bark.

Jean Cave

Jean Cave passed away today. I think I heard RD and Jean had been married 63 years. God blees you Jean.

Paying the Price

1 John 2:1-2, "... And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father... Jesus Christ the righteous... and he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins..." Jesus is called our advocate with the Father. An advocate is like a lawyer. If we have to go to court before a judge, a lawyer goes with us to plead our case for us whether we are guilty or not guilty of violating some law. When we pray to the Father asking him to forgive us for breaking his Law (sin) we are in essence... pleading guilty. Jesus as our advocate identifies us to God. Jesus says, "this is one of my people... I paid the price with my blood... forgive him..." What a wonderful blessing we have as people of faith. Imagine those who never confessed Jesus to be the Son of God. They get in trouble... they pray to God... Jesus says, "He is not one of mine... let him pay the price for violating your Law". How horrific! Help your friends and loved ones learn about God.

The Prodigal Daughter

Remember in Luke 15:11-32, the very emotional story of the “Prodigal Son”? The son claimed his inheritance from his father and with that money he went to another country and wasted it up in “riotous living”. Finally he was broke and starving. No one would help him. He decided he would go back home and tell his dad he was sorry and ask to be a servant on the farm.

When his dad saw him far off down the road, he recognized his lost son and ran to him and hugged and kissed him. The boy said to him, “Father I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight: I am no more worthy to be called son”.

The father turned to his servants and said, go get the best clothes, put a ring on his finger and shoes on his feet: bring the fatted calf… we’re going to have a party… “for this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found”.

This is a very emotional story about forgiveness and how we treat those who want forgiveness. I love that story. Let’s change it up a little. Let’s make the Prodigal Son a Prodigal Daughter.

She wastes her life in “riotous living” she recognizes her sin and decides to go back to her Dad. He sees her and runs up to her and hugs her neck and kisses her. She asks for forgiveness and then looks down and notices she is… pregnant.

What happens next? My guess is the old man is so happy to have his “dead” daughter back that he does just for her what he would do for the son… even if she is pregnant.

I tell this story because sometimes when a girl gets pregnant out of wedlock we think we have to treat her different. Somehow she has to know that she has sinned, and throwing a party or a baby shower might mute that message or perhaps encourage other girls to get pregnant out of wedlock.

I think we think too much sometimes.

The joy of recovering a loved one lost in sin should be so joyous that we want to send the message… you are completely forgiven… welcome back daughter. That’s consistent with Luke 15

Citizenship

There is a big push in our country to limit immigration to this country, some of it so that immigrants will not compete with Americans for jobs.

I see a lot of hard working immigrants in our country; Hispanics, Nigerians, Chinese… to name a few. I also see a lot of Americans who just flat won’t work. They would rather live off of government programs.

If I had my way citizenship in this country would not be based upon where you were born but on your character and your drive to work. That’s right… you could have your citizenship revoked based on a lack of these attributes.

That’s not a strange or foreign concept. It describes something similar to what happened with God’s nation, Israel. The people had become elitist and arrogant and despised those who were not Jews. God condemned them for their lack of character… their hypocrisy, their inconsistency and their twisting of his laws to suit themselves. He changed the rules for citizenship in his nation. No longer would it be based on who you were and where you were born… it would be based on Christian character… on faith.

Of course basing citizenship in America on character will not ever happen and we are perhaps doomed to follow in the footsteps of Israel and become an “elitist, arrogant nation who despises those who are not us.” Let’s be good citizens of the nation of America but more importantly let’s be good citizens of the nation of God.

Talking Frogs

Church News 8/24/08

There’s an old guy at the gym where I work out… we’ll call him Bosquez. Bosquez is great at telling jokes. His face is very expressive, he gives just enough detail and he has a slow, gravelly voice with a Hispanic accent. I love to watch him tell jokes. The trouble is, he doesn’t know any good jokes. So I thought I would help him out with my “talking frog” joke. The condensed version goes like this… an old man playing golf comes across a talking frog who informs him that she is really a beautiful, young princess who has been placed under a curse. If the old guy will kiss her, she can transform back and they can be married and live happily ever after. The frog really has a hard time convincing the old guy to do this and finally the old guy explains… “I think I’d rather have a talking frog”.

Most people really laugh at that joke… not Bosquez. Bosquez looks at me through those thick glasses and says… yeah, we just want someone to talk to. He never smiled.

In our day and time, and perhaps every day and time, most young men who are looking for a wife are looking for a young woman of beauty and sensuality. Certainly physical attraction is important but importance should also be placed on things like character and chastity and godliness. People can’t help how they look but they can control… who they are… and the one who possesses inner beauty can be far more attractive than the one who possesses external beauty only.

According to Bosquez he’s had a lot of girl friends and wives over his 78 year life span. Don’t be like him and learn the hard way that a talking frog may be more attractive than a beautiful woman.

Having a Good Enemy

Church News August 31, 2008

Walker loaned me a book that has an interesting quote in it…

“The true military man is pleased if he has a resourceful and courageous enemy opposing him. ‘The next best thing to a good friend is a good enemy’ is no doubt a saying of military origin.” On the other hand the professional’s scorn for an easily beaten or unskilled foe passes all bounds.

The Christian after all is a type of soldier in the army of the Lord. Our enemy is Satan. Satan has been around a long time and has been victorious in many battles to subvert the souls of men. He is a “good” enemy, so to speak, to the true soldier of Christ because he is highly skilled. Christ defeated him. It was Satan after all who was behind the Jewish nation and Roman empire when they murdered Jesus. Satan thought he had achieved a great victory. Little did he know that he was playing right into the hands of God. The Christ could not be killed.

The Christian soldier can win great honor in his battles with Satan by resisting Satan’s trickery to induce Christians to sin. The Christian soldier can also win great honor by coming to the rescue of those who are losing their personal battle with Satan.

1 Peter 5:8, “Be sober, be watchful: your adversary the Devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour.”

James 4:7, “Be subject therefore unto God; but resist the Devil, and he will flee from you.”

Satan hates every good thing. He doesn’t like seeing people praying. He is weakened by every kind deed. He doesn’t like seeing Christians congregating together. Their singing is repulsive to him. The Christian soldier must prepare himself and be pure and good. He must pledge fealty to his Lord and be unafraid of the enemy. Hunt Satan down and bring back his scalp. Remember this… there won’t be any cowards in heaven.