Church Life
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And the Winner Is…
“March Madness” is almost over. By the time some of you read this, the field will be down to two teams. The championship game is tonight. For those who follow college basketball closely, this is an exciting time of the year. After a long season, and an exciting tournament, one team will hold the trophy high for all to see, cut down the nets, and bask in the glow of being the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball National Champions. At that (to borrow a phrase) “one shining moment” in their young lives nothing could be better than that experience. Nothing could be more important than the title they worked…
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The Flip Side of the Ants
You know all those memes around this time of year that say “Check on your teacher friends … they are not ok!” Those are true! Not only has spring fever hit, but it is also testing season, allergy season, and wait-I-have-too-much-to-still-teach season. I say all of that to let you know, I have not totally lost my mind with this week’s article title. Some of you may remember that a couple of weeks ago, I wrote about the dedication and teamwork we can see in the ants as they forage for food. I mentioned that I had seen ants seeking out new “fields” for harvest, even in the master shower…
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Kicked Out of Church
Have you ever gotten your feelings hurt at church? I know that we are the church and that church is not some place we go, but for the purpose of this discussion I am asking the question. I’m going to go ahead and answer the question for you because we both know the answer is yes. The only possibility for you to say no would be if you were so infrequent to the assemblies that church really has become for you a place you go and not who you are. If that is the case you really don’t have a relationship with other Christians in the family of God, and…
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And You Didn’t Even Know I Liked Poetry!
One of the most popular ideas today is that sincerity trumps truth. Over and over again, we hear the following statement (or something very close to it): “It doesn’t matter what one believes as long as he or she is sincere.” Gospel preachers, elders, Bible class teachers, and a host of other members of the body of Christ have tried to help people to see the fallacy in that type of thinking. Because of their concern for the souls of those who are religious, but wrong, they have employed a variety of methods, lines of reasoning, etc. to help people to see… that there is such a thing as absolute…
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There Will Be No Cover
A middle-aged man in South Carolina was recently pulled over after he exhibited driving behavior that appeared to show he was intoxicated. He was, to say the least, as police found 10 partially-drunk cans of beer in his car, including one between his legs. But the 49-year-old man tried to figure out a quick way to make it look as if he was not intoxicated before the officers approached his car. His solution? He sprayed Axe body spray… …in his mouth. When I came across that story, I smiled a little bit and I shook my head. How could anyone be so dumb as to think that spraying body spray,…
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The Consequences of Just One Decision
I was recently explaining to my children that years ago my grandfather told my dad (when he was a single teenager) that he should ask my mom (when she was a single teenager) out on a date. We have said over the years that this nudging set into motion a multitude of events that resulted in my parents’ marriage and subsequently the existence of all of their children and grandchildren. If my papa hadn’t nudged my dad, then it is likely that I would have never been born. One decision can really have an impact that is more far-reaching than any of us can ever imagine. Which brings to mind…
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A Big Deal
When the phone rang, Donna immediately recognized the name. The caller and her family used to worship with our family years ago. Neither family lives in that location now. Both families moved over thirty years ago. As a result, we don’t see each other as often as we used to. Our friendship seems to be one of those unaffected by time and/or geography. The caller and her husband are the kind of people with whom we can sort of “pick up where we left off” on those occasions when we do have the opportunity to be together. When we did worship together, our children were just that – children. Obviously,…
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The Ants Go Marching…
If you are like me, when you think of ants, one of the things that pops into your head is the song referenced in the title of this article. You’re welcome for getting it stuck in your head, too! Another thing that immediately comes to mind is the well-known lesson that the grasshopper learned in Aesop’s famous fable … that was already referenced in Proverbs. Proverbs 6:6 tells us, “Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise.” Again, in Proverbs 30:25 we can read, “The ants are a people not strong, Yet they prepare their food in the summer.’ Ants are often admired for their strength…
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The Badge of Busyness
I am busy. You are busy. We live in a busy culture. So, this article is pretty much for everyone. For most of us, from morning until night, we have to-do lists (yes, I’m one of those nerds that makes one for every day) and we fill them with so many things that we scramble our minds trying to get it all done. However, I will make a confession. Too often, I wear my busyness as a badge of honor. Leah and I talked about this (among other things) on last week’s podcast, and I’ve tried to take some time to reflect on that since. (But, of course, I’ve been…
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Is There a Cross in Your Dumpster?
When Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, what did Lazarus contribute? I would suggest that he contributed nothing. Lazarus was dead. He was entombed. He was useless, worthless and hopeless. It was only because of the love of Christ and the grace of God that Lazarus lived again after dying. I imagine that is what Paul meant in a spiritual sense in 1 Corinthians 15:10 when he said, “By the grace of God I am what I am.” Paul also wrote of Christians once being dead in trespasses and sins but being made alive and saved by grace through faith (Eph. 2:5-8). He was merely pointing out that without the…
