When life becomes a chaos of competing demands it helps to have a list of priorities to help sort through the confusion. If you can determine what is most important, you can concentrate your efforts there and fit in the rest as time allows. For people of faith God’s priorities provide the best guide through the confusion.

In the kingdom of heaven, after God and spouse (for those who are married), comes family. Nothing is more important to society and to the church than the welfare of each family unit. It is here that we experience first-hand the living of the principles taught by Jesus—living for others, striving for maturity, loving God and others in word and deed. It is primarily through family that faith is taught and passed on from one generation to the next. In the context of family we encounter most immediately the blessings that the heavenly Father gives us each day.

Jesus gave the broadest definition of his spiritual family: “Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother” (Mk 3:35). The best place to begin the practice of doing God’s will is within the context of family. Then, by extension, we can apply those lessons within the relationships of our spiritual family, the church

Labels: Reflections

When I heard a speaker describe the contents of a book called Habits of the Heart, I got it from the library. It was a sociologist’s analysis of the spiritual state of America. While much of what he wrote was intriguing, I was especially interested in his story of a woman in California named Sheila. Having rejected all established religions, she made up her own. She called it “Sheila-ism,” and she was the only member. How convenient!

Before we laugh too hard at “Sheila,” we should take a long look in the mirror. Every time we ignore God’s will and substitute our own desires, we are just like Sheila. Except that we don’t come right out and admit what we are doing. Even Jesus confronted the devil with the words of Scripture, appealing to their authority for resisting willful actions. A dose of humility before God goes a long way toward giving us peace in this world.

Labels: Reflections

The earliest Christian confession that is recorded in the NT is “Jesus is Lord” (John 13:13; Acts 2:36; Rom 10:9, 12; 1 Co 12:3; Phil 2:11; Col 2:6). But what do those three words mean to the individual who says them? Do they constitute a magical formula that wards off disaster and temptation? Is the phrase a form of identification like a badge? Paul says no one can say it except by the Holy Spirit (1 Co 12). What does he mean?

This confession is supposed to express a truth that is more than superficial. It states a world view, a perspective on life, a principle of truth that is the beginning point for everything in life. Only those who make this confession can go confidently into the world with the knowledge that they belong to an eternal kingdom that reaches beyond what we can see and touch. No one should make such a confession lightly, because it claims a relationship with the Lord and Judge of the universe.

By confessing “Jesus is Lord” a person is claiming a specific orientation to life, death, and eternity. It is a statement of purpose in every activity. We must not claim it without purpose and commitment.

Labels: Reflections

 What is the proper role of personal religious faith in the public arena? We frequently observe athletes thanking God for their success, and some are quick to say such displays do not belong in sports competition. Political candidates may express their convictions of faith, and critics will say such views should be held in private, while others suggest that a person’s religious views give insight into their values and priorities. Our public schools give confusing answers to questions of voluntary prayer and Bible study. “Facts” in much of our culture are confined to the sciences, while faith is relegated to personal opinions of an antiquated minority.

The testimony of human experience is clear and unchanged by the passage of time. We carry within us a deep longing for more than can be supplied by our contact with the physical world. While science and technology continue to provide us with understanding of our world, our hearts cry out for more. The arts and literature are expressions of that longing. The sad truth is that too many people do not know what they are longing for. We do. The author of Ecclesiastes identified it: “He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end” (3:11). Faith and worship are essential to our well-being, plain and simple.

Labels: Reflections

One of the frustrations of beginning a new year is the need to remember to write the new date on everything! But it is a minor inconvenience compared to the sense of having a fresh start on life. New Year’s resolutions embody that sense of renewal and improving the quality of life.

The LOU church has been challenged to read the Bible every day in 2012. By following a varied schedule of readings, we will all be involved in a plan to make us better-acquainted with the contents of God’s word. Sunday morning sermons will be coordinated with the week’s readings, so that one experience should reinforce the other. In this way we can all grow in maturity in our faith.

Join us each week to read, study, and worship in this New Year.

Labels: Reflections

When the popular serial movie Lord of the Rings was in theaters you could frequently hear people in conversation about the destructive power of evil in the human experience. These conversations occurred all over and included those of deep faith or no faith at all. It was as if our culture was finally taking seriously the threat of evil all around us. You expect that kind of discussion in church, but when it is stimulated by Hollywood we are truly surprised.

The three-volume book that lies behind the movie was written in the 20^th century. Almost two millennia before that the Bible described the same conflict in terms that relate to our lives every day. When we read those pages we are reading of ourselves, and their struggles are ours. Paul describes our fight against personal evil this way:

I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do…I know That nothing good lives in me…For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing…So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me   (Rom 7:15-21).

Paul found his answer in God, through Jesus Christ our Lord. As this new year begins, let us be renewed in our struggle against evil, knowing that victory does not lie within us alone, but our confidence is in Jesus Christ our Lord.

(A reprint from January 4, 2009)

Labels: Reflections

As Christians gather this Sunday for worship we will have many things on our minds to distract us from the real purpose for our coming together. Family gatherings, gift-giving, and holiday schedules work collectively to keep us from focusing on our God. He accepts worship that is sincere, and that is accompanied by Christ-like attitudes and actions.

The following words come from the introduction to a sermon by Walter Rauschenbusch in 1889, and they seem appropriate just now:

                “We have met together as a band of brothers [and sisters] after a week of toil, weariness, and failing, as an army rallies after one assault to prepare for the next. We have felt weak and starved; we have come to take the bread of life, to have peace and love, and faith, and a brighter hope. It is hope that beckons us on. We have hope. We have eternal life.”

Labels: Reflections

In last Saturday’s Memphis paper a columnist ruined (in my view) an otherwise positive piece on the biblical museum in Collierville. He said the Bible contains “many historical contradictions,” and used the accounts of the birth of Jesus in Matthew and Luke as his illustrations. He then spoke of the high regard many people have for the Bible in spite of these difficulties.

These supposed problems have been accounted for in many sources for generations. The charges don’t add up to anything, except for those who want a reason to be skeptical. Joseph and Mary went to Bethlehem from Nazareth because of the census required by the emperor Augustus. While there Mary gave birth to Jesus and laid him in a feed trough, where they were visited by some local shepherds. Two years later the Magi (wise men) arrived from the East, and enquired of Herod about the new king whose star they had followed. They worshipped Jesus “in the house,” then returned home without telling Herod. He slaughtered all male babies under two years, the family spent some time in Egypt, then returned to live in Nazareth, where Jesus grew up and worked as a carpenter.

The remarkable thing is that, 2,000 years later, we believe the salvation of the world depends on this “gospel” story. It has not diminished in the telling. We must give thanks at this time of year, and continuously, and tell the story.

Labels: Reflections

Right now the world directs our attention to the birth of a baby in a manger. Everybody loves a story that features an innocent baby attended by loving parents and associated friends. Many Christmas carols celebrate the birth of this special baby who brought the promise of peace to the world.

The NT suggests something more sinister is at work in our world. John’s Revelation saw “a great and wondrous sign” when a woman with a newborn son was stalked and attacked by a great red dragon (12:1-5). He calls that sinister creature “that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray” (v. 9). It is this evil one who fights against us, “those who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus” (v. 17). 

There is good news! Jesus as Lord has already defeated this evil dragon-serpent-Satan, assuring his people of ultimate victory over sin and death. He came in order to assure the successful conclusion. This gospel is truly “the greatest story ever told.”

Labels: Reflections

One of the truly significant values in life is that people are more important than things. Secular wisdom and the Bible agree that our treatment of others tells more about us than does our accumulation of objects. Jesus expressed the infinite worth of just one individual when he asked, “What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matt. 16:26). The infinite value that humans have in God’s estimation is shown in the most familiar statement in the New Testament: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son…” (John 3:16).

In the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas we hear many comments about helping those in need, ministering to the poor, and expressing our gratitude for God’s gifts by serving others. While that attitude should be with us throughout the year, it is good to have a time to especially emphasize this important principle. As we show the importance of people through our acts of service we not only demonstrate our faith, but we also have the opportunity to make a meaningful impression on our children. Live your faith this week.

Labels: Reflections