Invariably, right before Easter, you will hear a seminary professor on the radio or a Bishop from some church on TV say, “It really doesn’t matter if Jesus rose from the dead, or not. What really matters is the Golden Rule that he taught us – ‘to do unto others as you would have them do to you.’ Or you might hear them say something like, ‘Ultimately, it really doesn’t matter if Jesus rose from the dead, or if his body’s still in the grave. What matters is Jesus’ example of non-violence which is so desperately needed in our war-torn world today’.”
Have you ever tried to argue with someone who was really “dug-in” to a position regarding a controversial issue like abortion or admitting refugees to the United States? As someone who has been committed to a pro-life position for 40 years, I’ve had many conversations with pro-choice people that went something like this:
Do you know people in your life who are stuck going through the motions? Is someone in your family struggling spiritually? Do you have a co-worker who always talks about getting in shape but keeps falling off the wagon? Do you have a neighbor who is lonely and is longing for connection?
We’re going to be engaged in an all-church campaign called “Fully Alive” during the Lenten season, from February 26 through Palm Sunday, April 9. The purpose of the campaign is to bring a laser-like focus to discipleship in our church.
The Bible continually commands us to remember all that God has done in our lives. For example, we read this in Job 36:24: Remember to extol his work, which people have praised in song.
Someone once said that you can tell the size of a boat by the size of the wake it leaves behind. An ocean liner creates a tidal wave in its wake. On the other hand, a small sailboat hardly leaves a ripple.
There are lots of ways one could characterize the time in which we are living. We could call our time the Age of Anxiety as people are fearful of threats posed by terrorism and global unrest. We could call our time the Age of Loneliness, as studies tell us that more and more people have no one in their lives with whom they can completely confide. But certainly, one accurate way to characterize our time would be to call it the Age of Exposure.
You’ve heard the expression “Birds of a feather flock together”. It is designed to communicate the basic truth that people who have similar backgrounds or similar interests will choose to spend time together.
It is so easy for leaders in particular, but Christians in general, to be so busy working for God that we miss God in the work. The great temptation for Christians is to try to do something great for God, and in the process lose our relationship with God. Have you ever experienced that? Have you ever served God in some way, but felt far from God while you were doing it
A few years ago, while riding on a rental car bus at the Dallas airport, I had a five-minute conversation with a woman. The bus was crowded, so as she climbed on the bus I got up to offer her my seat and help her stow her suitcase in the rack. As she took my seat and I stood in the aisle, I casually asked her where she was from and why she was visiting Dallas. She told me she had come from California to visit her 82-year-old father for the first time since she was 9-years-old (she appeared to be in her 50s). We talked about the importance of knowing a father’s love and of seeing something of God’s love in the love of a father. As I listened to her story of nervous reconciliation, I commended her for taking the step to see her father. In response to her question, I told her that I had four children and numerous grandchildren, some of whom lived far away. I shared with her the double blessing of being a father loved by my children and knowing that my whole family felt loved by our heavenly Father. As we got off the bus, I spoke God’s blessing over her week with her father.
