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May

11

A Mother’s Memory

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Mother’s Day , the day we commemorate our mothers, is celebrated in May and is coming up this weekend, May 14th. The day to honor motherhood and the maternal bonds is celebrated the world over.

Proverbs 31 depicts a wise mother…“Strength and dignity are her clothing and she laughs at the time to come. She opens her mouth with wisdom and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call her blessed…”

On this special day, we give honor to them as they’ve been the backbone of our society through their role as a homemaker, teacher, provider, protector, and sometimes, best friend.

My mother was all of the above, and I thank God for the mother I was given.

Apr

28

Speaking of Art

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The Arts are essential.

An education in the Arts is necessary to the fundamental growth of human beings and the human spirit. Encouraging children and students to participate in the Arts fosters an appreciation for humanity, our place in the world, and our culture.

It’s been documented that students who are involved in the Arts in school become more well-rounded individuals. The Arts engage and expand a child’s mind, allowing for an open and expanded outlook on life and one’s relationship to others and the world. Without the Arts, life wouldn’t be what it is today.

While the Arts are important on several levels, it’s not necessarily something in which the US government needs to have a hand. In the past, the government has funded much of the Arts; however, with our new leadership, there are programs that will need to be eliminated in an effort to reign in spending. Our federal deficit is astronomical and there’s going to be some pain involved when the coffers shrink. The Arts is one of those programs.

While no one wants to see the Arts go by the wayside in schools, it’s time to re-think how the funding is to be supplied in an effort to continue the benefits to future generations. Perhaps those who benefit the most from the Arts; i.e., Hollywood and others, could help sustain this vital discipline through their own contributions instead of having the government supply our every need.

The government has been Mommy for too long.

Image result for pictures showing the Arts

Apr

24

Gift of Light

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Gift of Light

 

     “The earth is the Lord’s

     and the fullness thereof.”

Morning opens

in glory each dawn

when ribbons of gold

untie the shadows.

Dew glistens the dales

where silver waters stream

at the foot of mountains

rising in the blush of day.

Joy lends to the offering

through the laughter of lilies…

the embrace of wisteria…

snow dressed pines frolicking on the hills.

Each season, a blessing

to the delights of His presence

born on a brilliance

forever packaged in love.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Apr

15

He is Alive!

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Today is the anniversary of a very bittersweet day. The  day our Lord and Savior was nailed to a Roman cross to bear the sins of all mankind. It was there that two other sinful men were being hung in the same manner as our Lord. That same day, one of those men defended Jesus to the other.

When Jesus finally died, He was placed in a tomb and remained there for three days. Then a miraculous thing happened. He rose!

It didn’t take long for the sacrificial lamb of God to shed the bondage of death. By so doing, he paid the price for your sins and mine to be forever pardoned. The only requirement is to accept and believe the gift that’s been offered.

One of the men who hung on a cross alongside of Jesus believed, and he is with the Lord even now. So it’s never too late to accept the gift of salvation that Jesus bore for all of us.

Remember, on Easter Sunday, we celebrate a RISEN Savior! We can rest assured that we will see Him again when He comes out of the clouds in His glory!

Do you believe?

Apr

06

Hosanna in the Highest

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 This Sunday is Palm Sunday. The day when Christ made his triumphant entry into Jerusalem on a colt where the multitudes laid palm branches and declared, “Hosanna in the Highest!” (Matthew 21:1-11) just as O.T. scripture prophesied. The people buzzed with excitement at what Jesus would do regarding Rome’s tyranny and welcomed  him taking the throne. Only that didn’t happen. Jesus did not come to lead a revolution against oppressors—at least, not yet.  While the people wanted one thing, they received something else. Jesus was about to change things but it would encompass a broader schematic than merely for the then and now. The changes He made allowed a way for everything to be made right—a redemption and liberation exceeding our expectations.

Today, we have that same mindset as those at the original Palm Sunday in that sometimes we want God to act in a way contrary to His will. It is at these times when we should move beyond the here and now and set our sights in line with His perspective and not our own. When God does act, it’s always a far greater movement than what we can expect or even imagine.

 

Mar

27

The mighty oak

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 The God of all creation spoke to Abram (later Abraham)  here at the tree of Moreh in a little place called Shechem back in the day. The take home message of this relationship for me is that when God made a covenant with him (that he would one day be a father to all nations–Father Abraham–and that through his seed, many nations would be blessed), he had all of humanity in mind.

The journey began when Abram, at God’s leading and with a few historic sidesteps, ended up settling his tent in the land of Canaan between a city called Bethel (“house of God”) and the city of  Ai (“ruin”).

I see this journey as a prototype of a believer’s time here on the earth. Today, like Abraham, we are also journeying. Our world is the new Canaan and our walk with God finds us traveling here until the day the Lord returns or takes us to our real home. As sojourners, the Lord instructs in his word through the Apostle Paul, that we shouldn’t become too comfortable here in the new Canaan, because it’s really not our permanent home. Although, we do have a clear purpose:  to preach in love that God is real and to make Him known.

Along Abraham’s journey, we are reminded that he, like us, was not a perfect man. He made mistakes along the way that served him more trouble than necessary. However, the Lord used even those mistakes to bring about his purposes. Though there is plenty that Abraham did that showed his dependence and faithfulness to God and his journey allowed the Lord to bring him to this place, it was not an overnight experience. Neither is ours. It will take not only a lifetime but most likely an eternity to even mine the depths of all that the Lord has planned for those who love him.

One thing of particular note that speaks to me is that Abraham stopped at the oak tree of Moreh in Shechem.  It is at Moreh (meaning “teacher”) where God first appeared to Abraham and gave him the declaration of His promises. His oracles. Abraham lingered there and fellowshipped with God and erected the first of many alters to him.

The significance for this believer is that when Abraham stopped at the oak tree and rested is where God chose to reveal himself to Abraham. It is only by stopping and lingering with the Lord that we, too, will be able to abide in His grace.

May we not hasten past the oak tree of Moreh in our journey while here on earth so that we may hear His voice.

Mar

18

Explain thyself…

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A recent online conversation with someone who doesn’t believe in God led to an amicable debate. The lady who says she doesn’t need a savior and is willing to stand or fall on her own saddens me. The reply she elicited from me was the following: To not acknowledge God and your place in the world by virtue of his creating you and to assume that you can do things without him is the epitome of self-righteous. You claim to be able to help people around you. How do you assume you are helping them? By what standard are you basing your goodness? If the answer is YOU, then I see that as being self-righteous.

When I acknowledge God, I use his standards, not mine. There is no putting down of other people.  We are ALL under God. We are ALL sinners. If you don’t think you are a sinner or one who needs God, it is you who is putting yourself ABOVE others… not to mention ignoring why Jesus came to earth in the first place. You’re calling him frivolous, unnecessary, just like the Pharisees did.

I’m sorry that people haven’t put their faith in the Messiah. He can run our lives “exceedingly above all that we can ask or think.” Praise God!

Mar

03

Immigrants

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There have been Facebook memes going around every once in a while whose purpose is to point a finger at Christians for not having more compassion for the foreigners who wish to come to America.

While U.S. president after president has imposed limits on the import of immigrants for whatever plans and purposes he wishes, the quotas set forth lately have been met with opposition.

Some would cry, racist, bigot, hater… Really? Is this the motivation for the U.S. government… to be racist? I don’t think so.

These same individuals who have nothing better to do with their time than to denounce presidential mandates are the same ones who take a quote out of scripture and use it as a cudgel to beat Christians over the head (Leviticus 19:33-34). In this verse, Moses says to Israel that as they were once immigrants to a foreign land, in the same way, they are to love them and not mistreat them.

But some would use this one verse, taken out of context, to judge Christians. These no-pretext-no-context-loving gospel spewers think they can have an “ah hah” moment by the means of calling out Christians as being hypocritical.

What these people don’t take into account is that the foreigners Moses was referring to in Leviticus had to acquiesce to rules for being a part of the society and culture of the land into which they were going. They were made to conform to these as mandated and thus made to assimilate into the Jewish culture.

Ask Dearborn, Michigan how that assimilation is going here in America after the city has been mandated to import thousands of Muslims who adhere to Sharia law.

As a Christian, I am absolutely obliged to kindly treat ALL people with compassion. This has little or nothing to do with immigration and speaks to a bigger political picture where scripture is being used as a weapon to meet a cultural end.

 

Feb

24

Devil in the Details

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Some kind gentlemen knocked on our door today.  I recognized them as Jehovah’s Witnesses. These people are some of the sweetest people you’ll ever meet. They offered me some literature as they are encouraged to do by their works-based doctrine. While some who peddle religion are often met with a quick slam of the door in their face, at our house, we look forward to sharing our beliefs with ANYONE, even those who claim to know Jesus. With a smile, I told them I’m a born again Christian and together we proceeded to converse on the world situation as it relates to the Bible.

Although we all knew Jesus, the difference is that the JW’s do not claim Jesus to be God. At least, he wasn’t “born” that way, they say. I believe Jesus to be God himself, incarnate. I supported this with scripture, pointing out the book of John in the first chapter where it says, “In the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God and the Word was God.”

The Word is Jesus. They weren’t buying it.

Without believing in the deity of Jesus, I told them, then who was it that sacrificed himself for my sins? There is no man on earth who could satisfy God the father’s wrath other than God, the son, himself.

To believe that Jesus was a perfect man (which he was) and compare him to the first man, Adam, is to me a grave injustice bordering on heresy. To believe as the JW’s believe would appear to give false grandeur where it ought not to be. It’s like man has become elevated in their minds to become like God. This mindset leads to a false view of both man and God. I told them that NO man could ever satisfy the wrath of God with regard to my sins. Only God can fulfill that requirement.

What we did agree on was that God is a marvelous mystery. After they left, I prayed that God would reveal the truth to them and that this one pesky detail in their belief structure would go away and that they would give homage to Jesus as the one true God.

 

Feb

14

Valentine’s Day

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So how did Valentine’s day originate?

With any celebratory tradition, the historicity is sometimes muddled but most would agree the day originated romantically with 14th century poet Geoffrey Chaucer when the tradition of courtly love flourished.

Some would claim Valentine’s day originated as a  Christian liturgical feast day that honored one or more early martyred saints, St. Valentine of Rome included.  The popular story recounts that he was imprisoned for performing weddings for soldiers who were forbidden to marry and for ministering to Christians, who were persecuted under the Roman Empire. According to the legend, St. Valentine healed the daughter of his jailer, Asterius, and before his execution, he wrote her a letter signed, “Your Valentine” as a farewell.

In 18th-century England, the day evolved into an occasion in which lovers  expressed their love for each other through flowers, candy, and greeting cards aptly known as “valentines.”

However you celebrate, may the love of our Lord be your source of joy today and whose valentine took the form of a cross. He signed it with his own shed blood. Now that’s love.