What’s Good With That?!

What’s Wrong Good With That?!

If you’re a parent, you’ve undoubtedly heard a child say, “We’re just watching (doing/listening to/playing) FILL IN THE BLANK! What’s wrong with that?!” What’s wrong with that? That’s a good, legitimate question. But, is it always the only question we should ask? Like it or not, no matter how old or young we are, we live in a world of instant communication, social media, and sometimes overwhelming availability of – just about everything! So, I would propose, as Christians, we had better be asking not just, “What’s wrong with this or that?” but, “What’s good with this or that?” There are many text messages we can send about someone or something which might not necessarily be wrong; but, what’s good with them? There are posts we can put on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram that might not be expressly immoral; but, what’s virtuous about them? There are even things we can “like” or “retweet” that may not be blatantly sinful; but, what’s holy about them? To bolster my point, let me allow my brother Paul to speak. From Romans 14:19: “Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another” (NKJV). And from 1 Cor 10:23: “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify.” What does it mean to “edify”? It means I’m building someone up. Get it – an “edifice” is a building? We should edify – build up – each other. (I know that’s probably poor grammar, but a biblical concept!) So, as Christians, please be those who really think before we hit “send” or “like” or “share” or whatever. Again from Paul: “…whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy – meditate on these things” (Phil 4:8). Let’s make certain we’re not just avoiding what we all know is wrong, but that we’re proclaiming those thoughts and ideas which will provide for real edification!

CELEBRATION GRADUATION!!!!!

Saturday, kids all over the area graduated from high school. I watched my oldest walk across the stage to receive his diploma. What a proud moment! (I’m writing this Wednesday so I’m managing to not tear up.) Finished with high school! Finished with classes, unless you choose to pursue more education! It’s a big event in life. It’s a step into adulthood – a step into making personal decisions. It’s completing one stage of life and moving on to the next. Being a part of this has made me think. From what do we never graduate?

1) We never graduate from God’s love. Our culture seems to think of “religion” as an almost childish thing. It’s a good thing when you need it; but, when you grow up, it’s something to leave behind. But God tells us in Heb 13:5, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (NKJV). God’s love will always be available. We may make mistakes and possibly even wander off, but God’s forgiveness and grace will always be here for us.

2) We never graduate from needing each other. I know when I graduated high school, I lost track of many of my Christian friends. However, I was very blessed to re-connect with a few of them later in life. Now they’re some of the dearest people in the world to me. Eccl 4:12 reminds us, “Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.” We will always need good, faithful friends to help us through tough times and to celebrate good times.

3) We never graduate from the need to assemble with God’s people. “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together…” That’s Heb 10:24-25 – the “you-have-to-go-to-church” verses. But look at the author’s point. It’s about considering one another. We’re reminded to assemble because God knows we need it. I need you. You need me. We need to worship together! And, we never outgrow that.

4) We never graduate from the love of our family. Families can be tough. We can rub each other the wrong way. But, in most situations, there’s a love there which goes beyond any other relationship in life.

So, graduates, graduation is a time of looking ahead…and looking back. But, never let it be a time of moving away from God. Move toward Him as you move into this next phase of life. Likewise, for all of us, may we always be growing in our relationship with each other and with our God.

The Silent Treatment

A man and his wife were having some problems and were giving each other the silent treatment. The husband realized he needed to be awakened early one morning to catch a flight, but he didn't want to be the first to break the silence. So he left a note on his wife’s side of the bed that read, “Please wake me at 5 A.M.” By the time bright sunshine woke him the next morning, it was 9 A.M. Furious, he threw back the covers and shouted to his wife (who was nowhere to be found), “Why didn't you wake me up like I asked you to?” That’s when he saw, stuck to the lamp on his bedside table, a note in her handwriting that read, “It is 5 A.M. Time to wake up.”*

There’s nothing worse than The Silent Treatment. And, as the above illustration shows, it’s also about the most pointless scenario any relationship can experience. Why? It accomplishes nothing! Zero! So, why do we do it? Sadly, the best answer simply is: We just don’t know what else to do. Our feelings have been hurt; we want to not say the wrong thing, so we clam up and deafen the other person with our silence.

Do we do this with God? As we spend this quarter talking about prayer in our “Talking Back to God” class, one thing I’ve read over and over is how proclaimed “Christians” openly admit dissatisfaction with their prayer life. Why? Same answer – we don’t know what to say. Yes, there are some folks who find themselves hurt with life and don’t want to talk to God about it. And yes, there are those who just don’t know God well enough to talk with Him.

But what about us? What about those of us who consider ourselves faithful? Do we ever give God The Silent Treatment? Sure, it can be accidental. We get busy and just forget to pray. Or, it can be a sin problem. We have a sin issue in our lives we know we need to take care of, but just don’t. So we try to avoid talking to God out of shame or flat-out stubbornness.

Psalm 139:4 tells us, “Before a word is on my tongue, You know all about it, Lord” (HCSB). What do we learn from this? The Silent Treatment is pointless with God! It’s even more pointless than it is between you and your spouse – He already knows what you want to or need to say! So don’t avoid God. Don’t withhold your communication from Him out of embarrassment or pride. If there’s a sin problem, He can help with it! If your relationship with Him needs work, ask Him for help with it. When it comes to our relationship with God, the old adage “silence is golden” is not only wrong, it’s spiritually unhealthy.

* Illustration borrowed from Dennis Rainey

Under the Influence

“Then I pressed further, ‘What you are doing is not right! Should you not walk in the fear of our God in order to avoid being mocked by enemy nations?’” (Neh 5:9 HCSB).

            Sadly, it’s very easy to find lists of celebrities who have been arrested for DUI – driving under the influence – with frazzled hair and bloodshot eyes, yet they remain famous. You’d think they’d fall out of the good graces of popular opinion. But, it’s almost as if these stars have society under their influence.

            The truth is we’re all under the influence. Of something. Or of someone. That’s Nehemiah’s point. He’s telling the people to act like they ought because they’re God’s people. Over whom do we have an influence? Let’s talk about three categories.

            Primarily, parents have their children under their influence. Can we be real frank here? Moms, Dads, if you’re not enthusiastically dedicated to the Lord and His church, please don’t expect your kids to be. According to the Pew Research Center, 32% of America’s young adults (under 30) identify themselves as “religiously unaffiliated.” However, “those who leave faith tend to come from homes where they were not regularly made to attend church as teenagers or Sunday School as children. They were more likely to report not ‘having had a very strong religious faith as a child or teenager’” (pewforum.org/2012/10/09/nones…). Scary. Parents, this is on us. Deut 6:7, though part of the Old Law, speaks volumes to our responsibility, “You shall teach them diligently to your children…” This is a reminder to teach God’s words to our kids. But, we know the old adage, “Actions speak louder than words.” We are the primary influence on our kids’ spiritual lives – and that’s reality.

            Adults in general, we too have the younger generations under our influence. Our kids, from the age they’re aware, pay attention to us. And, by “our kids” I mean the kids in our congregation, the kids in our sphere of influence. When they look around on Sunday night and Wednesday night and don’t see adults they expect to see, they notice. When they hear us speak poorly of fellow Christians or of church activities, they pay attention.

            Finally, Christians, we have the world under our influence. That’s what Nehemiah is saying. The world will look at you to see how Christians are supposed to be. Another adage: “Most people would rather see a sermon than hear one.” That’s our lives! Therefore, we have to watch how we represent Christ in our lives – on Facebook, on Twitter, on Instagram, at the office, wherever we are. When we live as children of God in our daily lives, Paul says in Phil 2:15, we will “shine among them like stars in the sky.” But if we don’t, unlike celebrities, we will fall out of the graces of popular opinion. Let’s make our aim to follow Peter’s encouragement in 1 Pet 2:11-12, “I beg you…having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles…they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.”

Sinners Among the Saints

“‘Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer You? I lay my hand over my mouth’” (Job 40:3-4 NKJV).

            Job describes himself as vile?! Wait, what? Didn’t God Himself describe Job was as “a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil” (Job 1:8)? Yes. But, when Job saw God, he could only say, “I am vile.” Think about Abraham, who is called “the father of all those who believe” (Rom 4:11). When he presumed to talk to God, however, Abraham said, “I who am but dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord” (Gen 18:27). Let’s consider David – the man called “the sweet psalmist of Israel” (2 Sam 23:1) – in 1 Sam 13:14, he’s even called “a man after God’s own heart.” Yet, in Ps 51:3-4, this great man says, “…my sin is always before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned…” What about the “greats” of the New Testament? In Luke 5:8, Peter said, “I am a sinful man, O Lord.” Paul calls himself the chief of sinners (1 Tim 1:15).

            This is not intended to depress you! In fact, this should be encouraging! Often I hear a couple different ideas about our spiritual lives. Some folks think they’ll never be good enough for God. Some others think they want nothing to do with “religion” because, you guessed it, “they’re all a bunch of hypocrites!” So, considering these pillars of the faith just mentioned, let’s deal with those lines of reasoning.  

The closer one becomes to God, the more clearly one sees his own sinfulness. The fact is – we WILL never be good enough for God! God is holy. He is the very standard of holiness! We come to know Him and are accepted by Him through our great Mediator – Jesus Christ, “and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). Secondly, I know I’ve mentioned my friend in Topeka, KS who referred to the congregation there as his “favorite group of sinners.” That is so true. We’re ALL Romans 3:23 people (look it up…). But, that doesn’t make us hypocrites! Surely we all want to walk in the light. But, it’s a challenge. And, the truth is, sometimes we’ll slip up. We try! We do our best! But, even Paul describes, in Romans 7, the struggle of doing what we don’t want to do and vice-versa! So, if you’re walking with Christ, but you see mistakes made in your life on occasion, just remember – you’re in good company. Only our Savior was sinless. And through His sacrifice we can trust God’s promise, seen in Hebrews 8:12: “…their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”

(Idea adapted from icr.org - "Saints and Sinners" - 7/11/13)