Deep Questions

 I think I’ve told you before that I like to sit out on our back patio when the weather allows, and just watch nature, along with the people who go by on the walking path in the park behind our house.  I especially like to go out in the evening and watch the twilight come and darkness…well, as much darkness as can be had in a city…fall.  Things gradually become more quiet, more subdued, and one feels more closeness, if you will, as darkness invades the day.

We have a decent amount of traffic on the walking path in the park.  Kids on bicycles, people walking for exercise, a few runners, families out for a stroll, people exercising their dogs, and the occasional rider on a horse go by.  During the quieter moments, deer often will come up close to the fence and wander along it because the grass is shorter there…there are no trees in that narrow strip of land, and it is easier for them to navigate to and from food and water.

Squirrels are nesting in trees close by, and sometimes come into the yard for a drink out of the fish pond.  Once in awhile I see a garter or bull snake sauntering along in our back yard, or that of our neighbor.  And the birds are always, it seems, there in some fashion.

Recently, I’ve begun to wonder about the people I see.  I know many of the children, if they live to a normal old age, will probably see the turn of the 22^nd century.  I wonder what life will be like for them then, and in the intervening years.  I see older kids, and wonder how they’re doing in school…what home life is like for them…and how they see the world and their place in it.  I see adults, young and old, and wonder what they think and believe about an afterlife…about God…about their purpose in life and living.

I wonder if the young woman walking with the two-year old will go home a little later to an abusive partner.  I think about whether the teens may have anything illegal on them…weapons, pills, and so on…and what their home life is like.  I have to also wonder how those teens are getting along socially and how well they are maturing into the kind of adults the world needs right now.

These are admittedly deep questions that I can’t answer, and even if I stopped someone and asked, probably wouldn’t get an honest answer.  But I know things can’t be all roses and rainbows for these folks.  It isn’t for me.  It isn’t that way for you.  And it isn’t that way for them either.

We all have issues…physical, emotional, relational, mental…that keep poking at us, reminding us that we are fallible and frail…not in control of our lives nearly as much as we might like to think.

I was reminded of that just today when I read a Facebook post from one of my friends who lives several states away.  She used to live in Wichita where we got acquainted, and for a time worked together, but she moved a few years ago.  Her post said that tomorrow she was going under the knife to have a new pacemaker implanted, as the old one was eleven years old, and it was time for a new one.

This woman is at least 25 years younger than I am, has a busy, full life, family, and friends.  I had no clue when we knew each other in Wichita that she had a pacemaker or had need of one.  Just looking at her posts, one would think that the rainbows and unicorns were dancing all around her and her life.  And at times, that may be true; but there’s that “thing” always in the background that reminds her, and me, that life isn’t perfect.  That there are always thorny places and uncertain times in everyone’s life.  Her pacemaker is a great example of that, because without it, she may well not be alive today, or if she was living today may well be an invalid, unable to work or be as productive and active as she now is.

If you just look around a bit, you’ll see mothers who have miscarried, people who have lost jobs, families in financial crisis, children who are mentally ill, victims of abuse, generationally dysfunctional families, many who are afraid of death and dying, victims of bullying, racial bias, or poverty, those who are despairing of life and contemplating suicide, people with chronic physiological ailments, those who are addicted to pornography, pills, or gambling, along with a host of other societal, human, and life-and-living ailments and issues.  Undoubtedly, you fit in one or more of these kinds of categories.

But I don’t want to leave you in a funk about life and living.  There is hope.  There is relief.  There is blessing.  Look around you.  There is beauty.  There is good.  There is hope.  And those things point to, for those who will accept it, the promise of God made through Jesus the Christ.  The promise that all will be made right.  Death and decay will be no more.

 

I pray that you know the Everlasting God and that you come to Jesus Christ for healing and peace.

 

Blessings,

"If You're Going to Love Someone..."

 Good morning and welcome.  My older son recently sent me an email asking me what I thought of a certain video he had come across.  The video had to do with the by now old WWJD…What Would Jesus Do…thing that was going around some years ago and is brought back to life from time to time.

The thought of the video was that many answer that question in ways they think would be the way of Jesus, but in reality is nothing more than a kind of a self feel-good activity…giving a homeless man a couple of dollars…putting a dollar or two into the Salvation Army Christmas bucket, or the proverbial helping the old lady across the street.

Yes, those things are good things to do, but hardly answer the question of what would Jesus do in that circumstance.

In seeing the video and responding to my son, I was brought back to a video that I had seen some time ago.  It was about a woman who befriended and eventually took in a homeless man into her home.  I did a Thursday Thought about that woman, and am repeating it here because I believe it’s worth considering again, especially in this age of self feel-good generosity.

 

Good morning, and welcome to another Thursday Thought.

Ginger Sprouse is a typical suburban woman living with her husband in an upscale neighborhood in the Houston area.  Some years ago, Steve Hartman with CBS News interviewed Ginger and her husband for one of his “On The Road” segments that airs each Friday at the end of the evening newscast.  The reason for the interview?

Well, it seems that Ginger had always had thoughts of the homeless that she saw regularly that were not kind at all, but rather were condescending and critical.  In the interview, she told Steve Hartman that she often would say demeaning things to them.

“I would say, ‘Why don’t you get a job?  Or, what’s your problem?’  It made me very uncomfortable.  I didn’t want to have anything to do with it. I’ve been that way my whole life.”

 Ginger had the same attitude toward the homeless as most of us.  We look on the homeless as somehow less than fully human, less than honorable, less than worthy of the dignity and respect every human is due.

How many of us have said the same thing as Ginger, if not directly to a homeless person, at least we thought that line…”Why don’t you get a job?  What’s your problem?”  It’s so easy for those of us who have managed to stay in the middle class to be critical and condescending toward those who are in poverty or are homeless.  We like to think that we’ve made life good for ourselves, and that anyone else could do the same if they’d only put themselves to the task and work their way out of poverty and off of the street.  We believe that their issue is laziness or a lack of desire to succeed.  We point to all of the social services that are available which our tax dollars pay for, and wonder why they don’t take advantage of them.  We notice their missing teeth, their unkempt appearance and musty body odor and move away from them as much as we can.

 So, why did Hartman interview Ginger Sprouse?  Because she had a change of heart.  She repented of her superior attitude and decided she wanted to do better.  Acting on the decision she made, she befriended a man she had regularly seen on a street corner, first stopping just to talk.  She asked him to tell his story.  His mother, he says, abandoned him when he was yet a child, and he had been in and out of homelessness since that time.  Ginger couldn’t get him out of her mind, and began making regular trips to stop and just visit with him.

 One late fall day when she visited him, she said she decided she couldn’t just leave him there on the street in the cold.  She went home, talked with her husband, went back and invited Victor Hubbard into their home.  And that was the beginning of a new life for Victor.  They helped him get the social services he needed, medical appointments, and all the rest.  Victor now is working two jobs and is a lifelong member of the family.

Ginger’s life, her outlook on life and her perception of people in need changed as well.  In the closing segment of the news piece with Hartman, Ginger says this about her experience.  “Life is messy.  But if you’re going to love other people, you have to be willing to step into their mess.  My whole life I’ve wanted to avoid that, and that’s why I rolled the window up and didn’t look.”

 “If you’re going to love other people, you have to be willing to step into their mess.”  Ginger Sprouse knows what it’s like to step into someone’s mess.  Ginger Sprouse knows what it’s like to get out of her comfort zone.  Ginger Sprouse knows what it’s like to love other people.

We have known for centuries that the God who created us expects us to love others.  The Torah is explicit in the book of Leviticus. 

 You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.

 At least seven more times in the New Testament, Jesus, Paul the Apostle, and James repeat this command to love others.  And Jesus expanded what it meant to love one’s neighbor by telling the story of the Good Samaritan, who saw to the needs of a man he didn’t know and whose nationality should have been reason enough to ignore his plight.  Nevertheless, he cared for the man as best he could and saw to his needs.  The Samaritan stepped into someone’s mess.

 Are you willing to step into someone’s mess?  Are you willing to have a change of heart?  Are you willing to truly love your neighbor?  You don’t have to take in a homeless person in order to love your neighbor unless you know that is your calling.  There are hundreds of ways you can demonstrate and emulate the love of Jesus.  Your neighbor is hurting.  You can help by stepping into his mess.

 

 That was the previous Thursday Thought.  I leave you with the old question What Would Jesus Do?  Would he have given the homeless man a few dollars or some crackers and peanut butter?  Or would he have done as Ginger Sprouse did…take him into his care, see to his needs, and love him unconditionally for the long haul?

 

 Blessings.

Praying Down the Line

 

“Help us to the right use of our minds…”  That sentence, given in a prayer before a meal 80 or more years ago by my Grandfather, and was heard by a six year old boy who was at the table, prompted that boy to become a Psychiatrist at a time when such a vocation was not well-received by his faith tradition.

Vernon, that six year old boy and my first cousin, became a healer of the mind and was well-known in central Kansas during his career at Prairie View in Newton.  His son Jim recently told me the story of a remarkable answer to prayer in the life of his father.

My guess is that Vernon and my grandfather, Sol, didn’t have a psychiatric career in mind for Vernon when he gave that prayer.  I rather believe he was invoking God’s protection from various kinds of dementias and brain disorders, as one of his sons suffered from some kind of neurological disorder and lived a relatively short life.

Nevertheless, the idea that came to Vernon in his young days as a result of those words was just as much an answer to that prayer as was Sol Plank’s long life…his mind ever sharp until his last day.

As a corollary to this story, I have often wondered how many prayers have been given over the decades, and yes, even centuries, by Godly men and women of old in my ancestry who prayed for their descendants…people they would never know.  And I have to think that one of those descendants is me.  The thought of my ancestors praying for my welfare is humbling to say the least, and brings out a kind of guilt in me because I have not done much of that kind of praying for those who will be descended from me in the coming decades and centuries.

The timeless God who already knows those who will come after me, even though they aren’t a gleam in anyone’s eye right now, hears those kinds of prayers and acts upon them in His time and in His way.  We don’t have a clue what the world will be like in a hundred, two hundred, or five hundred years.  Yet we can pray that those who come after us will be seekers of God, followers of Jesus Christ, and indwelt by the Spirit of God.  We can pray that they will be like Jesus and display His love as they navigate whatever the world offers at that time.  We can pray that they understand that the Kingdom of God is not of this world and is to be sought and cherished more than anything the world has to offer.  We can pray that, like Vernon, they will choose a course in life that heals rather than hurts, unites rather than divides, and helps rather than hinders.

I don’t know what your prayer life is like.  But if it’s like mine, you’re probably stuck in the here and now praying about events, situations, and people in the immediate time.  There’s nothing wrong with that, but I encourage you to expand your thoughts about prayer to include those who will follow you…people you will never meet or know.  If nothing else, pray that they will know God, will know Jesus Christ.  As Paul the great apostle said to the Philippians, “I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.”  I want my descendants to also know Christ in this way.

Thanks for listening today.  May your day be filled with blessing.

Mall-Walking

 Good morning !!

 During very hot or very cold weather, in order to get some kind of physical exercise I often will go to the mall that is nearest our house.  It’s also on the way home from work, and I will sometimes stop there in the late afternoon to get my walk in for the day.  The walk around the inside perimeter of the mall is right at a mile.  I only do the circuit once as I can’t go much more than that due to some physical deficits.  But that mile seems to be enough to keep me in some kind of physical condition better than nothing.

Towne West is a mall in decline, as many places like that are.  There are still a couple of anchors there…J C Penney and Dick’s Sporting Goods.  But Dillards has left, as well as Sears.  There are quite a number of empty store spaces in the mall, and during the weekday, there are usually as many or more walkers than there are shoppers in the public areas.

As I make the circuit, I notice when a new business has leased space and is remodeling the area so they can eventually open.  That happens at times, and it’s interesting to see what goes in.  I also notice when a business pulls out and is there no more.  The kiosks in the public areas will sometimes come and go as well.  And the holiday season brings out temporary businesses and kiosks, hoping to capture some of the holiday business.

Some businesses are open only certain days of the week.  Some just certain hours of the day.  No doubt that’s due to the limited customer base during the days and times they aren’t open.  I would think that would be kind of a self-fulfilling thing, however.  If businesses aren’t open, customers won’t come.  If customers won’t come, businesses aren’t open.  Seems to me to be sort of a round-robin type of thing.

Some places, though, seem to do a fairly good business regardless.  There’s a barbershop in the mall that always has customers, it seems, and more than one barber many times.  One of the jewelry stores seems to have customers who are doing more than “just looking” more often than not.  A massage business seems to always have one or more customers receiving what looks to me like very soothing massages.  And there’s an “outlet” type of store which is apparently doing fairly well.

A temporary business has moved in for the Halloween holiday, occupying a lot of space and having a lot…and I mean a lot…of Halloween-type stuff.  There seems to be a steady stream in and out of the store, so I’m thinking that it was something that was probably a good idea, at least for those who opened the business.

OK, so why am I talking about the mall, the businesses in it, and my walking in the mall on a routine basis?  Sometimes, I will start some music on my phone, which is connected via Bluetooth to my hearing aids.  I can hear it, but no one else can.  Most of the time I will either play a classical piece like Canon in D or Bolero, or something from Handel’s Messiah.  Yes, I know.  I’m an old person, and don’t have much appetite for some genres of music that others may like.

I was in the mood yesterday as I was walking for some of that music.  As I listened to the last two arias of The Messiah, I started looking around at the mall, the businesses, the people, and the environment.  There was, it seemed, a great disconnect between what I was hearing in “Worthy” and what I was seeing in the mall.

What was I hearing?  Handel pulled the words to “Worthy” out of Revelation chapter 5.  Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, and hath redeemed us to God by his blood, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. Blessing and honour, glory and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, for ever and ever.

The majesty, glory, and unmatchable power of God in Jesus Christ outshone all that glittered and enticed in the mall at that moment.  A desire for things, a consumer economy, and other temporal things found in a mall setting are no comparison.

Paul the great apostle of the early church, in his letter to the Philippian church, rattled off a list of his accomplishments as a Pharisee and Jewish leader, along with his genealogy, which was of vital importance to the Jewish people.  He then said this about all that he was and all that he accomplished in life.

But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.  What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things.  I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.

There is nothing wrong with shopping at a mall, or a stand-alone store, or on-line.  There is nothing wrong with having money or a comfortable home.  There is nothing wrong with going to a barber or beauty shop.

The problem comes when we place these things front and center in our lives and live for the next consumer “fix.”  We forget that one day we will stand before the God who created us and account for our lives.

OK.  Enough preaching.  I encourage you, though, to be certain your priorities are in the proper order and you understand and embrace what is truly important in life and living.

May you be blessed this week and this weekend as many of us take some time off and stand down for a short while to reflect on the bounty and blessing that is ours.

 

Blessings,

A Biological "Reboot"

 Good morning, and welcome to the Thursday Thought.

 Of course, the big thing we could be talking about this week would be the very hot temperatures that are being recorded in the Great Plains and surrounding area, due, they say, to what they call a “heat high” pressure area that is parked over us.  I don’t know much about meteorology, but I suspect that this phenomenon is one that has been around for many, many years, but has just in the last few decades become a “thing” for forecasters to talk about.

We’ve had very hot temperatures, along with very high humidity, off and on, for as long as we can know.  I think we’re not quite as tough as we used to be, though, years ago.  And I also think we are healthier and live longer because we don’t have to tough it out in the hot weather department as we did years ago.  So there’s a trade-off there…one I’m willing to take.

But let’s go on to another subject, shall we? 

The house we live in is a bi-level.  In order to get anywhere, we have to either go up or go down stairs.  This can be somewhat of a challenge at times, but most of the time the advantages that are built into the house far outweigh our having to climb or descend steps to get somewhere.  The woods of Pawnee Prairie Park are right behind our lot, we have lots of room, the house is well-built and in good condition, and we are really enjoying the neighborhood.  We have no intention of moving until we have to do so for some reason…such as having to make that final move to the funeral home.

A few days ago, we were going down the steps from the upper level to the garage when I froze about half-way down.  I didn’t go down.  I didn’t go up.  After about a second and a half, I began again my descent down the steps.

What happened?  Well, nothing to be alarmed about, really.  Sometimes my arms or legs don’t always do what I’d like for them to do and I have to do a kind of reset…start over…a reboot, if you will.  Usually, the reluctance of my limbs to comply with my wishes has something to do with my safety in some way.  And that’s what happened then.  I became just a little unsure of my footing, which, by the way, is not unusual for older folks, and my feet, and I suppose also my brain got together and said, whoa…we’re going to just stop everything until we get things straightened out.  It just took literally a second or so to reset everything, and I proceeded down the steps with the wife coming along with me.  On the rest of the way down, she asked me what happened, and I told her.  We saw the humor in what happened, and went on our way.

Now, I could have bemoaned our advancing age and the fact that 20 or 30 years ago this would never have happened.  I could have been upset with myself that my body failed…even for a second...to do what I asked it to do.  I have learned, though, that when things like this happen, usually it’s for a good reason…one that has to do with my well-being and general health.  I’ve come to realize that something inside of me is trying to help me rather than hinder me.  And I’m fine with that.

There are also other things in life now that are different from what they were some time ago.  I used to be an active volunteer in Emergency Medical Services, and was often “on call…” that is, I went about my usual daily activities, but wore a pager or radio that would tell me when someone needed an ambulance.  I had to be within 5 minutes of the EMS garage at all times while on call, and responded as quickly as possible.

The “on call” time also included nights.  I laid out my clothes when on call so I could quickly get into them and out to my vehicle for the trip to the garage.  I prided myself in being able to hear the page, get up, dressed, out the door and into my vehicle in less than a minute.  The garage was about two minutes away if I punched it.  Local law enforcement knew who we were and why we were speeding through town in the middle of the night, and didn’t bother us, so we made it out of the garage with the ambulance in good time.

Contrast that with today.  I rouse up out of sleep, sit on the side of the bed for about a minute getting my bearings, take off my CPAP, and trundle awkwardly to the bathroom, sometimes hitting the door frame of the bathroom as I tumble through it.  Things gradually get better from there, and I’m becoming more ready for the day as the minutes tick away.  But it takes about an hour in the morning for me to be anywhere close to “normal,” anymore.  And I certainly wouldn’t be able to be up, dressed, and out to my vehicle in under a minute anymore.

But, I’m good with that.  While I sometimes still miss EMS, I don’t miss having to get up in the middle of the night to go to a call.  I’m good with the time it takes me in the mornings to do my daily bathroom business.  That business includes getting the morning pills out of their bottles.  I call them my “stay alive” pills, because without them, I may well not be around.  Our family has a history of relatively early demise due to cardiac issues, and I believe these medications are helping me to be relatively healthy, at least in a cardiac sense.  Some of them also make life easier in general by keeping arthritic pain at bay and helping me breathe in spite of my allergies.

Older age can be a time of melancholy, thinking of our past and wishing we were still 30 years old.  Or it can be a time of gratefulness and thanksgiving because we have the blessings of longer life and a better quality of living than many had in those past times.  I choose, although some days it’s more difficult to make this choice than on other days, to be grateful.  I hope you do the same, regardless of your age.

 

Blessings.

A Daily Day

 Good afternoon.  Welcome to Thursday Thought.

 Working in a downtown church such as RiverWalk has, as most vocations do, it’s ups and downs.  The work is interesting, at times demanding, and often makes necessary a sudden shift in priorities as the day unfolds.

As I entered the building this morning, I thought of things that needed to be done or checked on.  One of those things was the re-arranging of tables and chairs to accommodate the weekly Thursday morning Bible class that began at 10:30 today.  That class uses a room that is also used by several other groups during the week, and needs to be reset for the class.  Most of the people who attend the class are older, and many are no longer able to move the tables and chairs into place as needed, so staff tries to get that done for them.  I decided to check on that a little later, and went to open up the office.

As I entered my office, I noticed the notes and papers from last evening’s Missions committee meeting, which reminded me that I needed to do a couple of things regarding decisions made in committee.  I’m a member of the committee, and was here last evening for the meeting.  I determined to handle those items a bit later, and logged in to my laptop to check email.

There was nothing of great magnitude in the email.  However, I replied to a couple of them and cleaned up my inbox.  Linda, our office manager, came into the office about that time.  I was happy to see her as she is the first contact for phone calls and people at the door.  I knew I no longer had to watch those two items and could get some other work done.

As I was going to rearrange the chairs and tables for the Bible study, I ran into CJ, our youth minister.  He was coming from the classroom area where the Bible class meets, so I asked him about arranging the chairs.  He said he had already done that, so that was taken care of.  I went back to the office.

Shortly after I came back, I was told that the ice maker in the kitchen was not working.  We’ve had it serviced several times in the last few months, and I no longer am sure what to do with it.  I haven’t called the repairman yet, but will probably do so later.  There was enough ice in the machine for the lunch that was going to be served at noon today.

One of the people who comes to the Bible class on Thursday mornings came to my office and said the lights were too bright in the class room.  We had recently replaced the old fluorescent lighting with the new LED panel lighting, which is indeed brighter.  She said the lights were dimmable and wanted to know where the dimmer was.  We did not install dimming capabilities for those new fixtures, so I told her that they were what they were.  We had received no other complaints on the brightness of the new fixtures, so I am presuming that it was just her preference to not have them so bright.

I completed the tasks given me by the Missions committee by writing a check to send to someone we support in missions, and sending an email to another ministry we support asking for some information the committee wants.  That didn’t take long, but did take a little bookkeeping for the check.

By this time, the Bible class was ready to begin.  My wife and I had invited a friend who normally doesn’t attend our church to the Thursday morning Bible class a few weeks ago, and she came last week and promised to come again this week.  I went into the classroom to see if she was there yet.  She was, and I made it a point to greet her.

I took some time to visit with Linda about a couple of things that needed discussion.  I filed some paperwork on the fire sprinkler system inspection we recently had completed.  I checked email again and answered a couple more of them, made two appointments for this afternoon, and got some water to bring to my desk. 

Finally, an older gentleman came to the door and asked to speak to a pastor or assistant pastor.  Since I was the only one in the office, it came to me to visit with him.  He wanted to know if all Churches of Christ were the same, and what our general tenants were.  He didn’t ask those questions specifically, but that was the information he was desiring.  I visited with him and answered his questions as best I could off the cuff.  He was satisfied with the responses and asked about our worship services.  I told him about that, and he departed.

In between these things, I managed to check my email, take a quick tour of the building interior just to be sure things looked OK, answer my cell phone a couple of times, get some refreshment, and take care of some additional paperwork.  I also started on this Thursday Thought.  It is now after lunch and I haven’t yet had the time to open a book to read, to study for an upcoming class I’ll be teaching, or engage in deliberate prayer.  Hopefully, some of that will come this afternoon as I await a 3:30pm appointment.

I tell you all of this to say that this kind of a day isn’t at all unusual for me.  What may be a little unusual about the day is that I haven’t yet seen anyone who has a benevolence need.  There aren’t many days pass that don’t have at least one benevolence need that comes our way.  However, the day isn’t over yet.  I trust your day is a good one…one in which you walk with God, whatever your vocation…whatever your circumstance or situation in life.  Sandi Patty wrote a song some time ago called “The Stage is Bare,” which speaks of daily life and living when there are no crowds, no one to sing to or for.  Speaking to God in the song, one of the lyric lines reads, “Tomorrow's such a daily day; And I so need to feel you then Holding my hand.”

Most days are “daily days” for most of us.  May your daily days be filled with the presence and love of God.

 

Blessings,

Sorting Things Out

 I began this Thursday Thought video series over three years ago after COVID hit the world in an effort to maintain some form of communication with you, since it would have been difficult or impossible at that time to engage in more personal forms of communication.  Over that time, I’ve talked about many different topics and have offered, admittedly unsolicited, my opinions on various issues of the day.  I don’t have many followers…in the single digits is the norm…but I don’t do this so much for them as I do for myself.

Writing the script enables me to put my thoughts together into a more cohesive form than they otherwise might be.  I can look at what I’ve written.  I can re-write it.  I can change the wording.  I can eliminate it entirely.  I can do that before anyone else ever sees my thoughts and opinions.  I want to be certain that what I am saying is what I intend to say, rather than having to clean up some mess that I’ve made by saying something I might later regret.

And, when I read from a script, I don’t go off on some kind of improvisional tangent, saying something that doesn’t fit with the rest of what I’m saying, or which in some way is not appropriate.  I tend to stay on track a little better than I normally would otherwise.

I recognize that not everyone benefits by writing like I do.  People have many and varied ways of formulating and organizing their thoughts.  Some like to talk it out with someone else they trust.  Others may go to a quiet place and meditate on their thoughts for a time.  Some may want to be busy with a hobby or some other distraction while their thoughts gel into something useful.  Still others may want to literally sleep on it, as that seems to be helpful at  times.  There are many ways to “gather one’s thoughts,” so to speak.

My own thoughts have been a kind of a mess recently.  That may be one reason why I’m speaking in this post about putting thoughts together rather than on some other topic of the day.  Everything from the troubles of the world to who to vote for in the Wichita mayoral race this fall are part of my thought process today.  And included in that process are issues such as the state of public transportation in Wichita, the schools starting up for the 2023-2024 school year, the ever-increasing prices of necessary food and commodities, natural disasters such as the fires in Hawaii and flooding in other parts of the nation, the future of the church in this culture, those of our church family who are battling chronic illness, the specter of ignorance and want (think Dicken’s A Christmas Carol) growing in our society, the hijacking and politicizing of the Christian Evangelical movement, and a host of other topics.

Living in this culture, with instant access to the world through the Internet and social media has it’s upsides, but it also has its issues and problems.  The sheer number of things instant knowledge tells us that we are supposed to be concerned about as good citizens of the human race overwhelms us as we struggle sometimes to just put food on the table and get the kids to school on time.  Our normal methods of sorting out those things we need to be concerned about and leaving for others those things we can’t address quickly become overwhelmed and virtually non-functional.  We begin to see the world with a doom and gloom lens and believe there’s no way out of the despair.  Mental and physical health suffer.  Relationships suffer.  Individuals suffer.

It need not be this way.  We can find ways to remodel, so to speak, our issue filters and methods of sorting out those issues.  We can look for things in this life that can help bring us calm and peace even as the world around us seems to become more chaotic and disorganized.

Look for the beauty and incredibly intricate design in the universe.  Look for, as Mr. Rogers famously said, “the helpers” when bad things happen…those who rush in to mitigate the bad things.  Create new relationships with others and enjoy their company.  Take advantage of healthy habits and activities of both body and mind.  Stop, and, to use a well-worn phrase, “Smell the roses.”

Above all, seek relationship with the God who created you, loves you, and desires the best for you.  Rest in His love, grace, justice, and forgiveness.

I’m reminded of the words of an old Christian hymn by Fanny J Crosby…they go like this:

 

He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock that shadows a dry, thirsty land.
He hideth my life in the depths of his love, and covers me there with his hand,

This Man...THIS MAN

 One of my social media friends, a Christian, posted something recently about religion and what immaturity in one’s spiritual life can do.  I believe he quoted someone else, but didn’t give credit for the quote in a way that I could understand.  Here’s part of that post.

When religion remains at an immature level, it tends to create very violent people who ensconce themselves on the side of the good, the worthy, the pure, the saved. They project all their evil somewhere else and attack it over there.

Something has to be sacrificed. Blood has to be shed. Someone has to be blamed, attacked, tortured, imprisoned, or killed. Sacrificial systems create religions and governments of exclusion and violence. Yet Jesus taught and modeled inclusivity and forgiveness!

I think you get the idea.  Religious immaturity, it is said, leads to division, taking sides, and violence in the name of what is perceived as being right and pure.  Religious maturity, however, according to the one saying this, is known by its inclusivity and forgiveness.

When I read that quote the first time, my eyes zeroed in on that last statement…Jesus taught and modeled inclusivity and forgiveness…  That statement is often said by those who want to justify their support for many of the societal issues of the day…abortion, gay rights, immigration, and other issues of the day.  Those issues are sometimes argued in terms of what Jesus did some two thousand years ago in modeling how mankind should live, and emphasizing the idea that Jesus modeled inclusivity and forgiveness and asks us to do the same.

That statement is indeed true.  Jesus DID model inclusivity and forgiveness.  He did befriend the friendless.  He did give dignity to the downtrodden.  He did forgive those who many in the society of that day would have written off as incorrigible.  He indeed included everyone…and I mean everyone…in His call to follow him and his example.

So, what’s the problem?  Why am I even talking about this?  Because when we zero in on just this aspect of the life of Jesus, we get a warped picture of the Son of God.  In this scenario, we tend to see Jesus as a meek and mild itinerant preacher walking down a dusty trail with a rag-tag group of followers on to the next village so he can speak his message of inclusivity and forgiveness there.  And that’s the ONLY picture we get of him.  But there’s so, so much more to the Son of God than just the itinerant preacher picture.

Jesus never encountered an unrepentant sinner and said anything to the effect of, “Aww…it’s OK.  Don’t worry about it.  All is forgiven and forgotten.”  Jesus never told Zacchaeus the tax collector that he could continue to fleece the populace and all would be OK.  He never told the woman caught in adultery that she could go back to the adulterous relationship.  No, Jesus insisted on some kind of heart change…some kind of change in thought and action.

We need to have a more full picture of this person Jesus…the Son of God…the second person of the Trinity.  We need to understand that the Son was present at the creation of the cosmos.  “Let US make man in our image…Genesis says.”  And that to this day the Son continues to uphold the creation he fashioned by his powerful word, according to the writer of the book of Hebrews in the New Testament.

We need to get the picture when we hear Isaiah talk of Jesus as the “Wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace.”

We need to understand what was happening when Jesus made a whip and drove the merchants out of the Temple, calling the Temple "My Father’s House.”

And what about when Paul the Apostle says in his letter to the Phillippians:  Have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature of God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!  Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Or what about the Jesus who John said he saw in Revelation chapter 1, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest.  The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire.  His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters.  In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.  No wonder John says he fell to the ground as if he were a dead man when he saw Jesus.

And lastly, what about the Jesus who is recorded as saying, I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.  I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.”

We dare not place Jesus into what for us is a comfortable box that allows him to only be “inclusive and forgiving.”  The Jesus who indeed is those things is also the Alpha and Omega.  He is the one clothed in a brilliance that will make us fall down as if we were dead.  He is also the one to whom every knee will bow and every tongue confess Him as Lord.  He is the Mighty God…the Everlasting Father.  And He…He is the one who upholds all of creation simply by His powerful word.

And if that isn’t enough, listen to what John says toward the end of his apocalypse  regarding Jesus. 

I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war.  His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns.  He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God.  Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations.  “He will rule them with an iron scepter.”  He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty.  On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:  King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

This man…this man is the Jesus Christ of the Bible.  May we always confess Him as such.

 

Blessings.

Appreciate Life and Living

 Some mornings when I have nothing else on my agenda and the weather is pleasant, I like to step out onto the back patio and just sit for awhile.  Such was the case last Saturday before it got so hot.  There was a very gentle breeze...just a mile or two an hour...the temperature was just right, and there wasn't much in the way of loud sounds except for an occasional private airplane somewhere or the noise of the neighbor's outside air conditioner unit which cycled from time to time.

I went out shortly after getting up for the day, so was still in a kind of wake up mode.  It takes awhile, as one gets older, to get the blood flowing and the brain engaged.  That was me that morning as I went out on the back patio.  For awhile, I just sat in a lawn chair on the brick patio, looking around.  Occasionally, someone would walk, jog, or bicycle on the path in the park which is right behind us.  And at times I could hear the conversations of those in the park as they walked together.  But otherwise, the morning seemed dull and lifeless...just an ordinary day.  However, I was mistaken, as you will shortly hear.

A man went by on an electric bicycle.  Another man was walking, carrying what seemed to me to be a huge backpack...the kind one might see being carried on a hike into the wilderness.  A few women jogged by.  And there were a couple of young girls about age 5 or 6 who would find something of interest to look at, stop, and chatter about their find.  It was a kind of normal mix of folks using the park path that morning before it got hot later on.

Other than the park people, I didn't notice much of anything happening around me until I happened to see a seed from a cottonwood tree gently move in the breeze over the fish pond, then slowly drift into the water.  For some reason, that prompted me to engage my senses a little better.  When I did, I noticed several things going on that I otherwise would have missed.  What follows are just some of those things.

The neighbor's air conditioner unit was not running at the time, so I was able to hear a dove calling in the distance.  A house sparrow soon followed, along with a tufted titmouse.  A little later a blue jay began a raucous call that alerted other jays in the neighborhood to also begin to chatter.  And, of course, there are always cardinals, it seems, either where we can see them or hear them.  That didn't happen this morning, though, which was quite unusual.  There was, however, a squirrel somewhere in the woods who was chattering about something or other...possibly a missus scolding her mate for something he either was or wasn't doing.

I noticed a dragonfly sweeping back and forth over the fish pond.  They do that regularly, and I enjoy watching them dart about as they do so.  I have wondered why they had such a fascination for the fish pond until I read an article about them.  They are, it seems, voracious predators and love to fly over ponds and areas of lush growth to capture mosquitos on the fly.  That would explain their occasional deviation from a normal flight pattern as they maneuver themselves to capture a mosquito in flight.

Dragonflies are a fascinating creature.  Many have a double set of wings that can flap independently of each other in order to give them maximum maneuverability.  They can fly in any direction and almost instantly change course.  They have been recorded as generating as much as 9 G forces in sharp turns and can fly upwards of 30 miles an hour.  Their eyes are better than ours, being able to process about 200 images per second.  They can see 360 degrees around themselves.  About 80 percent of their brain is devoted to sight.

And then there were the butterflies that seem to be constantly fluttering around.  We are, for some reason it seems, a sort of haven for a medium size white, or rather almost white, butterfly that likes to flit around and land on an assortment of plants we have in the yard.  Not just one or two butterflies, and not just for a day or two.  These things have been around for a couple of months now.  I'll see half a dozen or more at any given time.  We occasionally have other assorted butterflies, but these white ones are the most prominent.

I planted some parsley in a front yard flowerbed this year hoping to attract swallowtail butterflies.  It seems to have worked because there are at least three caterpillars on the plants, munching away.  I also have milkweed for monarchs, but have seen a precipitous drop off in the number of monarchs coming through, and as far as I know I have not hosted any monarch eggs or caterpillars as of yet.  There's still time, but it is growing short.

Then there are the assorted bees that like some of the plants we have in our yard.  I'm guessing that they mostly come from the park behind us because the rest of our neighborhood is, for the most part, well-tended yards and lawns.  Smallish bees, honeybees, and even bumblebees like the pretty much constant flowering of the catmint and other flowering plants.  They're gentle, and don't seem to mind my looking at them rather close-up.  Some have obvious pollen pouches on their legs.  It's a good reminder of the variety of animal and plant life in this creation.

It was beginning to get warm, so I got up to go back inside.  As I did so, I saw a small garden snail about one half inch in diameter trudging toward me on his one foot on the brick patio.  What he was doing half-way to the house on the brick, I haven't a clue.  He was going away from anything resembling his normal habitat, and probably to certain death.  I carefully picked him up and took him to some foliage around the fish pond.  Dropping him into the dense growth, I hoped he found a good place to munch away on whatever may be in that undergrowth.

Although I didn't see any today, once in awhile I see a bull snake or garter snake either sunning himself or sauntering casually into or out of the undergrowth.  We'll see deer by our back fence, as well as raccoons, possums, and once in a while a wild turkey.  We'll smell the unmistakable odor of a skunk sometimes, and hear owls and coyotes in the late evening.  Frogs will begin their choruses around nightfall...some at our fish pond and others at the water retention pond not far from us in the park. 

So, in retrospect, the morning that at first began with nothing special going on, quickly turned into a morning of discovery, pleasantness, and appreciation for even what wildlife and nature that can be found in a well-kept yard.  So, open your eyes and ears to what's around you.  Notice the small things.  Care for those...such as the snail...who cannot care for themselves.  I think you'll appreciate life and living much more.

 

Blessings.

Some mornings when I have nothing else on my agenda and the weather is pleasant, I like to step out onto the back patio and just sit for awhile.  Such was the case last Saturday before it got so hot.  There was a very gentle breeze...just a mile or two an hour...the temperature was just right, and there wasn't much in the way of loud sounds except for an occasional private airplane somewhere or the noise of the neighbor's outside air conditioner unit which cycled from time to time.

I went out shortly after getting up for the day, so was still in a kind of wake up mode.  It takes awhile, as one gets older, to get the blood flowing and the brain engaged.  That was me that morning as I went out on the back patio.  For awhile, I just sat in a lawn chair on the brick patio, looking around.  Occasionally, someone would walk, jog, or bicycle on the path in the park which is right behind us.  And at times I could hear the conversations of those in the park as they walked together.  But otherwise, the morning seemed dull and lifeless...just an ordinary day.  However, I was mistaken, as you will shortly hear.

A man went by on an electric bicycle.  Another man was walking, carrying what seemed to me to be a huge backpack...the kind one might see being carried on a hike into the wilderness.  A few women jogged by.  And there were a couple of young girls about age 5 or 6 who would find something of interest to look at, stop, and chatter about their find.  It was a kind of normal mix of folks using the park path that morning before it got hot later on.

Other than the park people, I didn't notice much of anything happening around me until I happened to see a seed from a cottonwood tree gently move in the breeze over the fish pond, then slowly drift into the water.  For some reason, that prompted me to engage my senses a little better.  When I did, I noticed several things going on that I otherwise would have missed.  What follows are just some of those things.

The neighbor's air conditioner unit was not running at the time, so I was able to hear a dove calling in the distance.  A house sparrow soon followed, along with a tufted titmouse.  A little later a blue jay began a raucous call that alerted other jays in the neighborhood to also begin to chatter.  And, of course, there are always cardinals, it seems, either where we can see them or hear them.  That didn't happen this morning, though, which was quite unusual.  There was, however, a squirrel somewhere in the woods who was chattering about something or other...possibly a missus scolding her mate for something he either was or wasn't doing.

I noticed a dragonfly sweeping back and forth over the fish pond.  They do that regularly, and I enjoy watching them dart about as they do so.  I have wondered why they had such a fascination for the fish pond until I read an article about them.  They are, it seems, voracious predators and love to fly over ponds and areas of lush growth to capture mosquitos on the fly.  That would explain their occasional deviation from a normal flight pattern as they maneuver themselves to capture a mosquito in flight.

Dragonflies are a fascinating creature.  Many have a double set of wings that can flap independently of each other in order to give them maximum maneuverability.  They can fly in any direction and almost instantly change course.  They have been recorded as generating as much as 9 G forces in sharp turns and can fly upwards of 30 miles an hour.  Their eyes are better than ours, being able to process about 200 images per second.  They can see 360 degrees around themselves.  About 80 percent of their brain is devoted to sight.

And then there were the butterflies that seem to be constantly fluttering around.  We are, for some reason it seems, a sort of haven for a medium size white, or rather almost white, butterfly that likes to flit around and land on an assortment of plants we have in the yard.  Not just one or two butterflies, and not just for a day or two.  These things have been around for a couple of months now.  I'll see half a dozen or more at any given time.  We occasionally have other assorted butterflies, but these white ones are the most prominent.

I planted some parsley in a front yard flowerbed this year hoping to attract swallowtail butterflies.  It seems to have worked because there are at least three caterpillars on the plants, munching away.  I also have milkweed for monarchs, but have seen a precipitous drop off in the number of monarchs coming through, and as far as I know I have not hosted any monarch eggs or caterpillars as of yet.  There's still time, but it is growing short.

Then there are the assorted bees that like some of the plants we have in our yard.  I'm guessing that they mostly come from the park behind us because the rest of our neighborhood is, for the most part, well-tended yards and lawns.  Smallish bees, honeybees, and even bumblebees like the pretty much constant flowering of the catmint and other flowering plants.  They're gentle, and don't seem to mind my looking at them rather close-up.  Some have obvious pollen pouches on their legs.  It's a good reminder of the variety of animal and plant life in this creation.

It was beginning to get warm, so I got up to go back inside.  As I did so, I saw a small garden snail about one half inch in diameter trudging toward me on his one foot on the brick patio.  What he was doing half-way to the house on the brick, I haven't a clue.  He was going away from anything resembling his normal habitat, and probably to certain death.  I carefully picked him up and took him to some foliage around the fish pond.  Dropping him into the dense growth, I hoped he found a good place to munch away on whatever may be in that undergrowth.

Although I didn't see any today, once in awhile I see a bull snake or garter snake either sunning himself or sauntering casually into or out of the undergrowth.  We'll see deer by our back fence, as well as raccoons, possums, and once in a while a wild turkey.  We'll smell the unmistakable odor of a skunk sometimes, and hear owls and coyotes in the late evening.  Frogs will begin their choruses around nightfall...some at our fish pond and others at the water retention pond not far from us in the park. 

So, in retrospect, the morning that at first began with nothing special going on, quickly turned into a morning of discovery, pleasantness, and appreciation for even what wildlife and nature that can be found in a well-kept yard.  So, open your eyes and ears to what's around you.  Notice the small things.  Care for those...such as the snail...who cannot care for themselves.  I think you'll appreciate life and living much more.

 

Blessings.

General Conversation

 Good afternoon.  Today, the topic of conversation for this Thursday Thought could easily be the weather…hot, sticky, and sometimes borderline oppressive weather has hit this part of the state.  But we’re not as hot as farther south and west where the thermometer easily tops 110 degrees most days.  I’m guessing it’s more of a dry heat, however, in Arizona and southern California, so I don’t have a lot of sympathy for those folks who live and work there.

And besides, we ourselves have gone through that kind of weather in recent memory…2011, I believe.  That year, Wichita had 53 days of 100 degree plus temperatures, lasting well into September.  The average high temperature for the month of July that year was 102 degrees, a full 10 degrees more than the normal.  And the average low temperature for that month was 77 degrees…7 degrees warmer than the normal for the month.

I well remember the evening when a cool front finally came through, breaking the hold that the heat had on us.  I stood outside in our driveway waiting for it…and felt the first few tentative breezes of cooler air from the north, then a more substantial breeze that followed.  I knew that the days of 100 degrees, at least for that year, were thankfully over.

Or, continuing in a weather-related subject, the topic could be the ongoing drought in this part of the country.  We’ve been in drought conditions before…some much worse than this one.  But we are indeed feeling the pinch.  Certainly, we’ve had some good rains over the past several weeks, but we’ve been so far behind in moisture that it will take a good amount in the future to just break even.

Or maybe instead of the weather, we could talk about how short the summer seems to be and that school will be starting in about three weeks.  There’s lots to do in this short time that’s left, for those of us who have kids in school or work for a school.  We’re not sure we have the time to do it all and wonder where the endlessly long summers of our childhood days have gone.

Of course, back then…before the earth got cool…school started after Labor Day and was dismissed in mid-May.  We didn’t have all of the breaks kids have now.  No teacher work days.  No inservice days.  Sometimes the stretch between holidays and days off seemed to be rather long, but we enjoyed well over three months of summer vacation as opposed to about 2 ½ months now.

And school started at 9am and got out at 4pm.  None of this 7am school-starting business back then.  We had time to get up, get a good breakfast, and get to school unhurried.  When 4 o-clock came, we had time to get home and do a few things outside if the weather was relatively nice.  I don’t miss all of the “old days,” but there are some parts of them I’d gladly bring back if I could.

Or perhaps we could discuss the current political situation, both locally and nationally.  Or maybe the international situation…North Korea, Iran, Afghanistan, Ukraine, Africa, Russia, or one of any number of other hot button points on the globe.  Things seem to be spinning out of control faster than we can put things back together.  We seem to have several places in the world that are run by crazy, deranged people.  We seem to have some of those same folks in the halls of Congress and hanging out in Topeka as well as the local courthouse and city hall.

Of course, those who we believe are deranged may well be the heroes for many others.  It all depends, I suppose, on one’s perspective…one’s world view if you will.  And when it comes down to it, no one has quite the same world view as we do.  Everyone sees the world through a slightly different lens…a lens that colors and biases one’s opinions and thoughts.

Or, we could address hot button issues of the day…the “WOKE” agenda, the “Critical Race Theory” agenda, the abortion issue, the book banning controversy, the LGBTQ agenda, or one of any number of other issues whose supporters try to keep in the news and in front of the general populace as much and as often as possible, so as to garner as much support and money to “fight the enemy,” so to speak, as possible.

The problem with this is that I steer away from these kinds of issues in this venue, preferring instead to deal with things that would NOT tend to further divide us, but rather would bring us more together as a society.

These issues aren’t going to go away any time soon.  They and others will remain as issues, in large part because there are many who gain their wealth and livelihood by keeping these issues as issues instead of solving them and going on.  Think for a moment.  If the WOKE agenda issue would be suddenly solved today, how many people would be out of work with nothing to do?  How many grass-roots groups, community organizers, executive directors, national organizations, politicians, and others would suddenly have nothing to complain about and no cause to raise money for…which, by the way…goes to pay the salaries of those who are employed by those groups and organizations.

Well, I was going to talk about something other than all of these, but my time is about up…so I’ll have to close out this week’s post with a couple of quotes I borrowed from my Facebook Friend Beth’s timeline.  The quotes aren’t related, but are well worth the consideration.

“Sometimes, all it takes is one prayer to change everything.”  And the second quote?  “Integrity is doing the right thing when no one is watching.”

Blessings.

This Jesus

 Good morning!

 

I read an article on social media that talked of Jesus, the one Christians believe is God incarnate, as he lived his life on earth some 2,000 years ago.  The article emphasized the life of Jesus being one of love, inclusion, and forgiveness.

I see this a lot now in various posts, articles, and memes.  The statement is indeed true.  Jesus did model love, inclusion, and forgiveness.  We must, if we are to be followers of Jesus, emulate that as best we can.

However, I am concerned that when we begin to see Jesus ONLY in this light, we miss some things very important in our understanding of who God Incarnate really is.  We have to understand that we are not dealing with a god who is indifferent to sin or ignores our shortcomings.  We are not dealing with a god who let’s us go our merry way doing and engaging in whatever thing or activity we want, and then says, “Awww, it’s OK.”  We’re not dealing with a god who pretends that our shortcomings and sins don’t really exist or don’t matter, and we can all be one happy family.

We are dealing with a God who has been working ever since Adam and Eve to redeem the creation and create a way for his fallen, sinful humans to be accounted as righteous in His sight so that we can be in His presence, and He in ours…consistent with His immutable attributes of love, justice, mercy, judgment, grace, and yes, wrath.

This Jesus, who we often place in an exclusively love and inclusion box…by the way, that’s often the most comfortable for us…for Jesus to be in that box…this Jesus is that God.  This Jesus, who we see as the kindly man going about loving and forgiving, is the God who paid the ultimate price, the only price that was sufficient, for our shortcomings and sin.  This Jesus is the one who

   Is the creator of all that was, is, or ever will be.

·         Is the "Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

·         Told the woman who was about to be stoned because of he sin to, "Go, and sin no more."

·         Is the Angry Son who drove out the money-changers from His Father’s temple and who lit into the Pharisees and Scribes for their hypocrisy.

·         Wept over Jerusalem because of its collective unbelief just before His crucifixion.

·         Emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and was obedient to the Father by dying on a Roman cross.

·         Is the Angry Son who drove out the money-changers and who lit into the Pharisees and Scribes for their hypocrisy.

·         Is the One described by John in Revelation 1...this is the vision John saw of Jesus…the hair on his head white like wool, as white as snow, his eyes like blazing fire; his feet like bronze glowing in a furnace and his voice like the sound of rushing waters:  his face shining like the sun in all its brilliance…and coming from his mouth was a two-edged sword.

·         Said that the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur.

 He…this Jesus…is the one who said, according to the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 13…The Son of man will send out His angels and they will gather out of His kingdom all those people who cause others to fall away [from God] and those who [continue to] sin.  He will throw these people into the fiery furnace where there will be crying and excruciating pain.  Then the people who did what was right will shine out like the sun in their Father's kingdom.  The person who has ears [to hear with] ought to listen [to this] carefully.

 And he, this Jesus, is the one who said, "Come unto me, all you who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest."

 So, why am I telling you all of this?  In order to say this:  Jesus is way more than the itinerant preacher...way more than the One who includes, forgives, and loves, although He is indeed the perfect example of those things.

The questions are, should we emulate the earthly life of Jesus as best we can?  Certainly.  Do we refrain from casting the first stone because we ourselves are not without sin?  Yes.  Do we do our best to value all people, cultures, races, etc. as children of God and our neighbor?  Of course.

We are in no position to be the arbiters and enforcers of what we perceive as the good and the right.  God is perfectly capable of running the world without our help, of with our help, if He so chooses.  Besides, when we insert ourselves into judgment-making without authority from God, we only mess up things with our biases and warped world views.  Every.  Single.  Person.  Has a biased and warped world view.  Every one.

Maybe we need to experience God in a new way.  I’m wondering if that "new way" may very well be having a much more complete picture and concept of Jesus as presented in all of Scripture.  Friend of sinners?  Yes.  One who forgives?  Certainly.  Compassionate on the outcast and lower classes of society?  For sure.  Almighty God who judges rightly and promises that we will reap what we sow?  We’d better believe it.

Thanks, and may God continue to bless you.

Find Joy

 Good morning and welcome.

 This past week, as it usually always is for us all, was a mixed bag at least insofar as the various events and happenings which came into our sphere of life and living.  On the one side, we’ve endured yet more mass shootings, including one here in Wichita.  We also continue to receive various communications from politicians and others either praising their ideology or condemning the ideas and actions of the other side.  And we are seeing, still, an economy that isn’t what it should be…inflation that is too high…families not able to pay bills and the squeeze in the family budget…painful discrimination…and the shunting aside of the poor, the infirm, and the minority into the societal dustbin.

On the other hand, we’ve celebrated yet another Independence Day with the requisite cookouts, featuring burgers, brats, potato salad, baked beans and dessert…and of course the fireworks displays, both commercial as well as the neighborhood displays.  We’ve heard many people talking about, and desiring to come together as a society in thoughtful dialog and discourse, working to resolve some of the issues facing us today.  We see kind words being spoken, and compassion being manifested in good deeds toward others.

I don’t know about you, but I often allow the negative things of life to sort of take over…putting me in a sort of constant state of sadness…a funk…and even despair at times.  And it doesn’t take much of the negative to outweigh a lot of the positive, either, at least for me.  I’m not sure why that is so, but I’m guessing it’s true for you, too.  It seems we humans like, for some unearthly reason, to wallow in the negative and fixate on those things which cause us angst and turmoil.  As is sometimes said in the workplace, “One negative can cancel out a whole bunch of atta-boys (or atta-girls if you prefer).

I thought about this today as I was doing some reading.  My mind wandered a bit as it sometimes does during these times of reading and I thought of my friend Kendra up in Wisconsin.  She’s a writer, mom, and wife.  She’s in the middle of raising a family, keeping house, writing a book, and being a wife to husband Collin.  She’s a natural introvert who, along with her husband, made a conscious decision to live in the heart of a neighborhood of great need.  We became friends through a chain of events that I’ll not repeat here, but suffice it to say that it began with my reading one of her books.

I hadn’t heard from her in awhile, and it has been awhile since I wrote her, so I messaged her briefly this morning, letting her know we were fine here, and ending the brief post with this:  “Find joy in life today, Kendra.  Whatever happens, find joy.  Blessings.”

OK, here’s the thought for today.  The Christian can experience joy in life even in the face of sad and despairing life events, and when being insulted or demeaned because of one’s faith.  In fact, in Christian scriptures we are told to find joy even in the face of trials.  James, in his short letter, puts it this way:  “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.”

Jesus himself said during his sermon we call the Sermon on the Mount,  “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.  Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven.”

I know that I struggle with the idea that joy and happiness don’t necessarily equate.  That I can be a person of joy even when faced with the most unpleasant and unhappy life events and experiences.  But I think the idea of joy in the face of trial has something to do with our inner make-up…what happens inside of us when we experience something negative.  Yes, our unhappiness may show.  We may display one or more emotions having to do with that unhappiness.  But on the inside…deep within our souls…there should be, shall we say, a fountain of joy that continues to flow, bathing our inner being with a peace and contentment that weathers the storms coming at us on the outside.  We WILL get through this.  We WILL come out on the other side.  We WILL again see happiness.

I think that may be a good way for me, at least, to think of the ideas of joy, contentment, happiness, and the trials in life that will always come my way.  And it may be a good way for  you to think of such things as well.

So, as I told my friend Kendra, “Find joy in life today.  Whatever happens, find joy.  Blessings.”