Love One Another

I can show the world that I am a disciple of Christ by keeping my hair short, carrying a KJV Bible tucked neatly under my arm, wearing a blue blazer and khaki's, not smoking, not drinking and not swearing... right?


My Bible tells me something entirely different.  I show the world that I am disciple of Christ a much different way...  in John chapter 13, Jesus states,  "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."


So, you mean I can wear my jeans??

It's Easy to be Pro-Choice

I am not much of a bumper sticker person, but I saw a great one the other day.   It said, "It's easy to be pro-choice when you're not the one being killed".  Interestingly, at about the same time I heard one of my favorite conservative talk show hosts saying that he believes that abortion is wrong, except for incest, rape, and the life of the mother in jeopardy.  

I wondered at that point the following: Why are we pro-life anyway?  Is it that we are against the murder of innocent babies?  That sounds like too easy of an answer.   So, are we against SOME of the murders of the pre-born, or are we against ALL of them.   Are we FOR these unborn children, or aren't we?  Yes, we grieve over rape and incest... and yes, we struggle over the life issues with the mother...  but how convenient for us to to say that these children are more expendable than other children.  That makes us sound like we're... uuhhh... pro-choice, doesn't it.    It's easy to be pro-choice... when you're not the one being killed.

Trust in the Lord with All Your Heart

A very common passage in Proverbs - quoted very often - is Proverbs 3:5-6.  Say it with me class: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight".   Most Christians know it.  Most Christians have it memorized.  Most of us can say it without thinking.  But maybe that is a problem - saying it without thinking.   I was convicted pretty harshly when I read what Charles Bridges had to say about this passage.

Listen to what this great man of God says:  "It is nothing less than self-idolatry to conceive that we can carry on even the most ordinary matters of the day without [God's] counsel.  He loves to be consulted.  Therefore take all thy difficulties to be resolved by Him.  Be in the habit of going to Him in the first place - before self-will, self-pleasing, self-wisdom, human friends, convenience, expediency.  Before any of these have been consulted, go to God at once.  Consider no circumstance to clear to need His direction".    Wow.   That gives a fresh new meaning to 'in all your ways acknowledge Him'.

Is Wisdom Obtainable?

"A penny saved is a penny earned".   Now there's some wisdom we can all live by, especially in these rough economic days.   I am studying the book of Proverbs, and the writer of the book has some other bits of wisdom we could certainly use, whether the economy is booming or not.   Wisdom for young people, wisdom for 'seasoned' people.   Wisdom for decisions in money, relationships and parenting.  But how do we obtain this wisdom?

1).   Seek wisdom.    Proverbs 2:3 tells us to seek after wisdom as we would seek after silver and hidden treasures.  If I had a valuable coin and I lost it, I would look high and low for it. I would be on a non-stop mission to find it.  I wouldn't stop until it was found.  So should we search for wisdom.   Asking God for wisdom (James 1:5) is part of that seeking.
2).  Give attention to wisdom.   Proverbs 2:2 and 4:1 indicates that we need to 'make our ears attentive' and 'give attention to' the words of wisdom.  That means listening, hearing, understanding, watching.
3).  Love wisdom.  Proverbs 4:6.  Would we give attention to wisdom... would we seek wisdom... if we did not develop and cultivate a love for it?  It makes sense if we love wisdom, we will pursue hard after it.
4).  Prize wisdom.  Treasure it.  Proverbs 4:8. Similar to loving wisdom, those who highly esteem wisdom will most certainly obtain it.  

The God of wisdom is ready and willing to grant wisdom to those who incline their ears to understanding, to those who are diligent in their seeking, to those who love, prize and treasure this unspeakable gift.

My Country 'Tis of Thee

One of the first patriotic songs I ever learned was this one. It was in first grade, and we always sang the first verse after we had pledged our allegiance to the flag. Now my sons have learned this song and sing it in their elementary school. Many thanks to the veterans and uncounted soldiers who gave me and my sons the right to stand in those classroom and sing this song.

My country, 'tis of thee,

Sweet land of liberty,

Of thee I sing;

Land where my fathers died,

Land of the pilgrims' pride,

From every mountainside

Let freedom ring!

My native country, thee,

Land of the noble free,

Thy name I love;

I love thy rocks and rills,

Thy woods and templed hills;

My heart with rapture thrills,

Like that above.

Let music swell the breeze,

And ring from all the trees

Sweet freedom's song;

Let mortal tongues awake;

Let all that breathe partake;

Let rocks their silence break,

The sound prolong.

Our father's God to Thee,

Author of liberty,

To Thee we sing.

Long may our land be bright,

With freedom's holy light,

Protect us by Thy might,

Great God our King.

No, Mr. President...

Taking Care of Business

Finding time to write on the blog has become increasingly difficult these days. On top of my work schedule, kids baseball practices, Bible study and home maintenance, I have become involved in a very time-consuming endeavor. I am in the midst of developing an official website for my photography business that I do on the side. It all began a few years ago when people asked me to take pictures at their weddings. And now with several weddings per year and a few senior pictures scheduled and some other fun events, it appears that I might actually be able to make some extra money doing something that I absolutely love doing. And so in the progression of things, the timing seemed right to create a website that showcases my work. I hope to unveil the site sometime in mid-May. I hope to continue writing here, but it will be limited... once or twice a week as time permits.

Mark

Moral Compass

The president said the other day that 'we had lost our moral compass', referring to how the Americans had allegedly tortured captured enemy combatants. May I dare to ask how anyone who advocates the slaughter of 4,000 babies per day has the audacity to say those responsible for the treatment of those prisoners had lost their moral compass??? How would he know? That's like saying that Adolf Hitler was a mean guy because he punched the bully from down the street. Do you think his comments about our fellow Americans are a little misdirected?

The Body of Christ In Action

Not too long ago some friends of ours found out their oldest son has muscular dystrophy. What heartbreaking news to be laid on a parent. This young boy is the same age as our oldest boy. We felt helpless... what could we do? They have another son who is the same age as our youngest son. Lightning doesn't strike twice does it? Could it?

A short time after this news hit their family, they had their second son tested and he also was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy. I couldn't sleep. It bothered me real bad. I had breakfast with their dad to see how things were going and I was real encouraged with his attitude. He didn't want people to feel sorry for them. He only wanted people to pray and to be there as friends. After the shock of it all, he said he was trying to come to terms with it... and he knows that he and his family is in the hand of a sovereign God, even when its time to get wheel chairs and ramps.

The boys are still able to walk and run although with some difficulty at times. But as the disease begins to do more damage they will likely deteriorate in the coming months and years. It's sad to think about. It makes you know how helpless you really are.

A group of people from our church who are close friends of theirs hatched a plan. One thing we can do as friends is support and encourage them. Unknown to this struggling family, a collection was taken up to send them to Disney World while the boys are still mobile. In just over a month, they had enough money to purchase full accommodations, food, transportation and Disney tickets. And not only that, the money collected amounted to more than double what it cost for the trip, which means they will have some left over to buy medicine and other supplies that they will need. They were presented this gift on Sunday at church. It was a very touching and emotional scene. The response of the people was overwhelming. When Christ is at the 'head' of the church, there is no 'dystrophy' in the body. This is the body of Christ in action.

The Exaltation of Christ

We're studying the book of Philippians in Sunday School. We have been on that wonderful, theologically rich passage in chapter two that details the humiliation of Christ and then His subsequent exaltation by God. I looked up some cross referencing passages that I'll list below. They are by no means an exhaustive list of passages that show God's exaltation of His one and only Son, but these are worthy of long reflection. The cumulative effect they have when taken together are staggering.

Philippians 2:9-11 - For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Isaiah 45:23 - I have sworn by Myself,
The word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness
And will not turn back,
That to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance.

Matthew 28:18 – And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.

Ephesians 1:18-22 - I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church

Colossians 2:9-10 - For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority;

Daniel 7:13-14 – “I kept looking in the night visions,
And behold, with the clouds of heaven
One like a Son of Man was coming,
And He came up to the Ancient of Days
And was presented before Him.
“And to Him was given dominion,
Glory and a kingdom,
That all the peoples, nations and men of every language
Might serve Him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
Which will not pass away;
And His kingdom is one
Which will not be destroyed.

John 3:35 - The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand

Revelation 5:12 - “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.”