Church Life
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Satan Loves Our Fear
“I’m just scared…” How many sentences have you heard over the last few weeks and months that start with that phrase, or something very similar? “I’m scared about what will happen if Biden gets elected.”“I’m scared about what will happen if Trump gets reelected.”“I’m scared about what this virus is doing to our country.”“I’m scared that some people will never come back to church, even when the coronavirus has a vaccine.”“I’m worried about kids not having a regular school year again.” Certainly, we could go on, but are these–and many, many other similar sentiments–commonly heard and shared with the world right now? And I want to suggest that our enemy,…
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Children of God…Online, Too
It may seem to be a little (or a lot) disingenuous to see a post on social media from somebody who has fairly recently limited his exposure to social media, but that is what is going on here. Sometime in the distant past I signed up for an Instagram account and a Twitter account. I have no idea why I did that because I may check Twitter once every month or so and cannot remember the last time I “just browsed through” Instagram. About the only social media platform I still use on a somewhat regular basis is Facebook. Not long ago, I made a significant change in how I use it. I made…
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What to Bring to Bible Class
At Central, we are blessed to have restarted Bible classes this month. It has been an exciting time, and our congregation has handled things very well. Though we have had to change things a little (only one adult class, some children meeting in different–larger–rooms, masks required), it is such a blessing to be able to learn in these environments again. I am also excited to see other congregations restarting classes, or showing that they are headed that direction in the near future. For some, there have been no classes since March or April, meaning that students have not been in age-appropriate classes for half a year or more. However, with…
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“Give Attention to Reading”
I cannot do it! I think that almost every other member of my family can do it, but I can’t. I cannot read something (even a newspaper or magazine) while something else is going on. There is no such thing as something “playing in the background” for me. Before I realize it, whatever I’ve been reading is on the back burner and my attention is focused on the tube, the music, or whatever. I cannot even concentrate on what I’m trying to read if a conversation is going on in the same room in which I find myself. However, I have made an amazing discovery. Most of the things that can distract me from reading…
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Hate
Isn’t it a terrible word?!?! I have probably heard the words “hate” and “hatred” used more in the last few months than I have in most of the rest of my life. Sometimes it is used casually. We talk about things we hate: our weight, our hair, liver and onions, our job, Covid-19, and any number of other things which affect our lives. More seriously, it might even be someone’s behavior or attitude that we think we hate. However, there are other times we come in contact with hate or hatred and they are so recognizable that it is hard to miss. It could be something we feel, or something said or…
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Am I Trying for Even One?
It isn’t yet official, but it looks as if a fairly amazing Guinness World Record was broken last week. A professional fisherman broke his own record by catching an astonishing 2645 fish…in just twenty-four hours! (His old record was 2172 fish, so he didn’t just break the record, he shattered it.) [Source] I have to admit, I am not a fisherman. I have gone a handful of times, but I just do not enjoy it. And that is despite the fact that I have caught a few fish. Fishing is one of those activities that I can see why people enjoy it; it just does not appeal to me. But…
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For Shame
Many of us are familiar with the discussions we have from time to time about the little word “for.” Some people believe that “for” in Acts 2:38 means “because of” and that we are baptized because we are already saved. However, “for” can mean “in order to.” We need to understand that the same word (in Greek and English) is found in Matthew 26:28. It is very clear in that passage that Jesus’s blood was not shed because sins were already forgiven, but that His blood was shed in order that this might be the case. Lost in this discussion is the fact that “for” can have another meaning. When somebody says that he…
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Lessons from T-Shirts
There is a great T-shirt shop here in Cookeville that has gained pretty wide recognition. They are known for super soft tops with fun, local, positive, moral, or scriptural sayings. They have a “shirt of the week” to get people in the door and advertise it on local billboards for a discounted price for that week only. Recently, there was a shirt that I couldn’t totally read on the billboard but a coworker had it on not long after. It reads “You are Enough.” By the time I got myself there, it was no longer the shirt “of the week” and I wouldn’t pay the higher price … at least…
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How Close Are You?
How often have you heard a statement that “stopped you in your tracks” and really caused you to think? Please allow me to share with you one such statement that had that impact on me. The statement was only one sentence in a sermon delivered by a preacher, but the impact was so strong that I still remember it years after I heard it. It was also strong enough to make me forget everything else that was said during that sermon. Here, in its entirety is that statement: “You, at this very moment, are as close to God as you have chosen to be.” Could that possibly be true? Is it not…
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Have You Planted Any Seeds Lately?
I love Spring! It is full of new life that begins to pop out everywhere. If you’re a gardener, you love Springtime because it’s time to till up that ground and plan where you will plant those seeds you bought so they can grow and produce a crop. But wait — it’s not Spring. It’s almost Autumn. So why would I be asking you if you’ve planted any seeds lately? Because the kind of seeds I’m talking about are not the kind you plant in the ground. They are the kind you plant in hearts. It takes the same kind of conscious effort to plant seeds in a heart that it does to plant…
