Showing posts with label Christian living. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christian living. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

You can TIVO your movies but not your life

If you could Tivo your life, what parts are worth seeing again?

There is a wonderful gadget on my television, it's called a TIVO. It records movies, news and other broadcast to insure that I don't miss them. I can anticipate upcoming broadcasts and often get replays of old broadcasts, all with a touch of the remote.

What if life offered a TIVO experience. It would be interesting to see the replay of all the episodes that happened in my life that I missed while I was doing what I thought was important.

I probably missed a lot.

Fast Forward. There's a life coming up, I don't want to miss any of it. Too bad I can't TIVO it and cut out all of the commercials and obligations: reading, studying, praying, serving, earning a living and all of that mandatory stuff. It would be really neat if I could just get down to the part where I will be blessed. If I fall, I can skip to the part where I get up on the TIVO edition of my life.

That would be cool! Skip what don't like and zero in on the good parts! Is there anybody out there that sells one of these life TIVO's?

Unfortunately TIVO's only work on television sets, not human lives. We have to live one day at a time, commercials and all. We can't skip the tears and go straight to the smiles; neither can we skip the pain and jump to the joy. We must live each day..one day at a time.

There is a bible scripture in Psalm 118:24 that says, "This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it."

Today is the next installment of your lifetime episode...No Tivo!

Your Movie's on!



Monday, June 14, 2010

I lost the watermelon eating contest, but I had fun!

I lost the watermelon eating contest

It was really silly, but it was fun. Several churches in our district participated in a joint Vacation Bible School last week. It ended with a big old school style picnic that featured a watermelon eating contest. The contest was kicked off by the pastors competing. We each received a slice of watermelon and were told to eat it as fast as we could leaving no red on the rhine.

When they said "go" I plunged into my melon. However, years of doing things by a system clicked in. I proceeded to eating my melon as fast as I could but I proceeded left to right making sure that I left an even path. It looked neat but it was slow. You can't win a contest when you insist that your melon be consumed evenly and proportionately across the rhine.

The other pastors knew how to win the contest. They gobbled theirs down quickly leaving me to come in last. One even grabbed handsful of melon with his hands stuffed his mouth. The believers laughed so hard they almost cried. Cell phone cameras were everywhere, pictures were being posted on Youtube and facebook instantly.

One pastor won the bragging rights as the watermelon eating King, the rest of us had watermelon juice all over our faces and drippings all over our shirts.

It was messy, but it was fun.

It was a great day in which everyone enjoyed great fellowship with the youth and some fine foods. It was hot, too but noone seemed to notice.

Those who live the Christian life are a joyous bunch. Without drunkedness, drugs or other articificial means we experience the Joy of the Lord on this side of heaven while preparing for an even greater joy on the other side.

In fact it is this ability to enjoy life in the Lord that makes the Christian life unique. It makes us strong.

Nehemiah 8:10 ".. Do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength."

I lost the watermelon eating contest on this side of heaven, so I better practice my milk and honey skills so I can be ready for the contest on the other side.

Monday, June 07, 2010

He read the bible, they stood up, he read it again but they sat down

If you stand when the text is read, why not when other scriptures are read as well?

I noticed recently that a preacher opened his bible to announce his text and the people immediately stood while the text was read. It was, he said, a show of awe and respect for the sacredness of the word of God. I could receive that, however, I noticed that he read from the bible several times in his sermon but the people did not stand each time. Why were they respectful and awed only the first time the text is read but not thereafter?

I learned that it was a ritual, in a non-denominational church that frowns on rituals and ceremony.

It appears there is a passage in the bible that focuses on a point in Israel's history when the only copy of the word of God had been found after being lost for a generation. Thousands gathered around as an old prophet stood on a platform to read its sacred pages. Excited, the people stood from dawn to noon, six or seven hours, as he read every word.

The passage is this, Nehemiah 8:5 "And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people; (for he was above all the people;) and when he opened it, all the people stood up:"

If this is to be a modern guide, then we should note that the people never sat when the word was read, so each time a preacher reads a passage in his sermon, should the people stand? Or closer to the text, should they stand throughout the whole sermon? If they only stand once, then the first act is only symbolic; it is a ritual.

It is not wrong to stand when the text is read. It is certainly not a sin. Neither is it commanded by God. It is a man made ritual.

It's easy for rituals and new denominational trends to begin anew, even for those who profess a dislike for tradition, rituals and denominations.

Better than ritual, I think it best that I show awe and respect for God by hiding his word in my heart and striving to live by it everyday...even if I do sit down when when I read it from my I-pad.

Monday, May 31, 2010

Why Y'all hatin on me; don't God say judge not?

Why you hatin on me? The bible says judge not.

That's what the young man said when a member of his church mentioned to him in private that the music on his I-pod and his phone ring tones were inconsistent with the testimony he gave in church. Earlier, the same church member had praised him publicly for his service in the church, his volunteerism and apparent desire to live the Christian life. That didn't matter, the young man went off!

"That's what's wrong with people, they always hatin and judging people. Don't the bible say judge not?" The young man said angrily.

In his mind, people should only tell him what he likes to hear; if there is something he doesn't like, they should not think it or speak it to anyone else.

When our weaknesses are pointed out we call that judging or hatin. When our strengths are highlighted, that's not judging.

When the member praised the young man's good points publicly he made a judgment based on what he saw. The young man had no objection because he perceived those statements as being deserved. When the same member made another judgment and spoke to him in private about his inconsistencies, he called that judging him or hatin.

In reality, the bible encourages us to evaluate the actions of those in the church, but to be careful to evaluate the actions by the same standard we would also like to be evaluated by. Evaluations and judgments based on hearsay, assumptions and perceptions may not be accurate or fair. However, if we report an observation of an action that does not call for speculation or assumption and do it in the manner that the word describes, it is not only scriptural but actually required of all believers.

When we see believers doing good things we should praise them. That calls for a judgment.

When we see believers involved in ungodly pursuits that are harmful and inconsistent with the faith, we should tell them privately. That calls for a judgment, too.

There is a phrase that follows, "Judge not..." Look at John 7:24 "Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment."

Then there is this passage that really makes the point, "1 Corinthians 5:12-13 "I'm not responsible for what the outsiders do, but don't we have some responsibility for those within our community of believers? God decides on the outsiders, but we need to decide when our brothers and sisters are out of line and, if necessary, clean house."

The purpose of a destructive criticism is to tear a person down. However, the purpose of a constructive criticism is to help correct and build a person up.

Unfortunately, we call anything we don't like to hear "Hatin."

Monday, March 22, 2010

The free toothpick sample was tasty

I almost filled up on the samples..almost!

After worship yesterday, my wife and I went to Walmart to get a few items. There was an attendant who offered shoppers free samples of a tasty chicken recipe, bathed in a delicious sauce. The sample was on a toothpick. I tasted the sample, walked around and returned for a second sample, then a third. I liked the samples so much I finally bought a box for myself.

I think that was the whole idea of the samples; to get customers to tryout a product with which they are unfamiliar. Hopefully, they would like the sample so much they would buy the product. It worked.

That's the way it is with God and the wonderful joy he brings to our lives. There are many who do not understand the happy life we live as Christians. It's a life that does not need the world's artificial sweeteners such as booze, drugs and loose living. They won't know unless they trust God for themselves. Just one taste and they will never turn back.

There is a bible verse in Psalms 34:8 that says, "O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him."

Just one taste and we will want more of the abundant life he promises.

I have a whole box of those chicken pieces now. Now that I have my own I don't have to walk around in circles and eat from a toothpick!