There was a wonderful tradition in my family as I grew up. Anytime we would buy a swing set, bookshelf, grill, or anything that required assembly, my Dad would be the one to put it all together. However he would refuse the help of the directions. Who needs those? We kids would help. By help I mean be in the way and giggle annoyingly anytime things went wrong. Every 15 minutes, when another frustration arose, my Mother would offer to give him the directions. He would scoff at the idea, with my Mom shaking her head. Read the rest of this entry »

A friend of mine from Brazil and I were going to Wal-Mart. Walking through the parking lot, we came to the section in front of the store with the crossing lines. I confidently strode forward, even though a car was coming. She hesitated, but seeing that the car had indeed stopped, she went ahead and followed my lead. “You Americans are crazy. If you did that in Brazil, you would have died. They don’t slow down,” she said. I quickly replied about having the right of way. “The right of way doesn’t do you much good if they run you over.” Read the rest of this entry »

A two year old had two working parents. While they both went to work, they would leave him with a baby sitter. The poor boy was terrified. He wailed as he recognized the street that led him to the babysitter’s house. He did not want to leave his mommy. As she went to drop him off, he would cry and cry and hold on to her with all of his strength. He was desperately clinging to her, not wanting to be left with anyone else. This is the attitude that Paul was describing when he told us to cling to what is good. Read the rest of this entry »

1 Thessalonians 1:7

so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.

     When a person has a contagious disease, other people have to be careful around them. The want to make sure that what ails the other person does not get passed on to them. That is because diseases can be spread so easily. It can be spread airborne through a sneeze. It can be left through germs on a door handle or a nob. People may not even realize they are spreading the disease, but that does not keep them from infecting others.

      Germs are not the only things that are contagious. A godly and righteous attitude can be contagious as well. When we take our spiritual life seriously, we are not the only ones affected. Those who we come in contact are influenced by our own passion. We can share with them our love for Christ. Sometimes we even pass it on without knowing that we are doing so. People who notice us from a far might be impacted as well. By spreading it to one person, we also pass it on to those who they pass it on to.

      On the other hand, our spiritual indifference can be spread to those around us as well. We can drag others down with us. In fact, often times we can be tempted to do so intentionally because we do not want to have to put the energy into having a godly attitude. So what is it that we are spreading to those we come in contact with? Is it spiritual strength or spiritual weakness? There is no middle ground.

so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.

Psalm 94:19

When my anxious thoughts multiply within me, Your consolations delight my soul.

      The Psalmist here understands both himself and others when it comes to worrying. Anxious thoughts really do multiply in people’s minds. They are worried about death, bills, their children, whether the car will start in the morning, running late and hundreds of other things. Some of them are traumatic life changing events and others are every day occurances. Some days we feel as though we have it under control, while on other days we are ambushed at every turn by anxious thoughts.

     So what is a Christian’s response to such overwhelming thoughts? Some people just say, “Don’t stress about it,” or, ” Don’t worry.” Yet when we try to stop worrying about something, it is as if someone told us not to think about yellow zebras. Now we cannot get the yellow zebras out of our mind. In fact, sometimes we stress about being stressed. How ironic! We need to have a plan of action other than just no longer being anxious.

      Luckily the Psalmist provides us with the cure in the same verse. He tells us how he handles such stress. He remembers the consolations of the Lord. He looks at everything the Lord has done for Him. In doing so, He is reminded that someone much more powerful than He is in charge. Also, He remembers that the Lord has already taken such good care of Him that He knows the Lord is looking out for Him now too. When we think about the blessings God has given us, we can fight the ambusing anxiety back until we again are at peace.

When my anxious thoughts multiply within me, Your consolations delight my soul.

John 15:20

“Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also.

     We all want to be liked. We can think back to times when people rejected us in the past. Perhaps it was our personality or popularity. It could have even been the gospel that drove a wedge between us and someone we cared about. When we look back, that rejection hurts. We do not like how it made us feel and possibly even how it still makes us feel today. Remembering that feeling can be a hinderance to teaching the gospel.

     The word of God is divisive. There are no two ways about it. Jesus even said us much, saying it would divide families. The family bond should be one of the strongest. If something has the power to separate family, it easily has the ability to do the same with friends and acquaintences. We know that when we talk about the word of God, it will cause some people to reject us. This can be scary and sometimes even terrifying.

     Servants of God have to confront this fear. Sometimes people let this fear paralyze them. They lose their ability or desire to teach others about God’s great grace. This is sad, because first of all, we need to recognize that we have a personal relationship with God. No one likes their friends or family to hid them out of shame. God likewise does not appreciate it. Even worse is that we may lose an opportunity to show someone the path to the greatest gift ever know: eternal life and a relationship with their Creator.

Acts 5:41

And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.

     It would seem odd that the disciples were flogged and rejoiced about it. After all, I was hardly ever happy when my parents spanked me, and that was a far cry from what actually happened to the disciples. Yet they were happy because they were considered worthy to suffer for the name of Christ. This is more than just rejoicing because it builds character or because they know what God offers them in the future. It goes deeper than that.

     In Matthew 5:12, Jesus tells people they should rejoice because it puts them in the same company as the prophets who came before them. Those who tried to teach God’s word in the Old Testament were often persecuted because they taught an unpopular message. In fact, Jesus Himself was persecuted. This happened because He was the light of the world, and the darkness hates the light. Jesus’ had perfect wisdom, and knew what to say in any situation. Yet He was still hated by the world.

     If we are persecuted for righteousness sake, it is actually a compliment. What the world is saying is that they hate us. Why would they hate us? Because we are of the light. Now of course, this does require that we are persecuted for righteousness sake and not because of our foibles. But if we are persecuted for obeying God and His commands, it means we are in good company. We are following in the footsteps of Jesus, the Apostles, and the Prophets. There is not better group of men to be associated with.

And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.

Revelation 21:4

and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be {any} death; there will no longer be {any} mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”

      The idea of rejoicing in times of trials seems foolish and naive to the world. Yet the Bible tells us to do this repeatedly. One of the reasons for this is that it builds character. It helps us to become stronger. Just like lifting weights, the more resistance you face, the stronger you get. However, there is another reason that Christians can rejoice in suffering. It is because Christians realize that there is something far greater awaiting them.

     The book of Revelation was sent to Christians in a time of persecution. While many people are intimidated by the staggering amount of misinterpretations, the theme of the book is quite simple. Christians who are will be victorious in the end. They will be taken home with their Father in Heaven. This knowledge gives them the ability to rejoice no matter what faces them.

     One of the things that when learn about Heaven in Revelation is that there is no more suffering. There is no more crying. No death or mourning. All those things will have passed away. Sometimes when people are depressed or going through a hard time, one of the hardest parts about it is that it seems as though it will never end. Their suffering will keep going through eternity. Christians do not have to face that fear. They know any suffering,  no matter how bad or even how long it goes, is temporary. One day Jesus will return and all their sufferings will be over and they will be rewarded. By looking at the big picture, they keep any suffering that occurs in perspective.

Romans 1:27

and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.

      In Romans 1, Paul explains the sin of the Gentiles by telling them that they have perverted God’s intended purpose for them. They have dishonored God by disobeying Him and profaning His creation. The staple of Paul’s argument is the act of homosexuality. Notice that Paul says they “abounded the natural function” and committed “indecent acts”. He is making quite clear that this action is unnatural. We can see that just by looking at a man and a woman and their bodies. They were made for one another.

     Homosexuality, then, ignores the fact that God created man and woman a certain way for a certain purpose and uses it any way they want. Yet Paul is not picking on homosexuality. It is just that this particular act so clearly represents the perversion of God’s creation quite vividly. Yet Paul would be equally harsh on those who defile the purpose of marriage through pre-marital and extra-marital affairs. They took the natural function of marriage and defiled it for their own desires. The same could be said for those who took the ability to speak and use it to say harmful or distasteful things.

      We could look at sin after sin and see that they spoil the glory of what God intended with His creation. God created each and every one of us, and He has created us with many gifts, blessings and talents. Some are universal and apply to everyone while others may be specific to us as individuals. Whatever the case may be, God expects us to take what He has given us and use it for His purposes, not our own. When it comes to living our lives, who’s desires are we fulfilling? God’s or our own?

and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.

Romans 4:2

For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.

     Abraham is known as the Father of Faith. He is a very rightoues man who showed his dedication to God time and time again. However, even Abraham was not perfect. We even see that he lies about his wife on occassion. Even as great as Abraham was, He still needed the forgiveness of God. Abraham was not able to go before God and demand entrance into Heaven. Instead he needed God’s grace just as much as anyone, and had to humble himself before the Lord.

     Yet in Romans Paul makes an interesting point. Even if Abraham had led a perfect life, he would not be able to boast before God. He would be able to have a leg up on the rest of mankind. He is a step above all of them. But before God, He would have nothing to boast about. Instead He would just be a servant carrying out what He was created to do. He would have accomplished that which was expected from Him in the beginning.

     Some people feel as though God owes them something. They think that they can stand before God and demand God’s help or forgiveness. They have a sense of entitlement, that God should treat them a certain way. No one has a right to demand anything of God. Even if we were to be perfect, we could not stand up and boast to Him. Considering that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, rather than demand anything from God, we should humbly serve Him with thankfulness and respect.