Month: August 2023

Three of my closest Christian friends are in the hospital. I have no central air conditioning and on the hottest day of the year so far, my ice maker ran out of ice. Then, my computer was hacked by ransomware while I was on Facebook. The enemy is on full attack.

With much prayer today, my computer is unlocked and working again. My ice maker is working and, best of all, the heat wave has ended. The life of a Christian is filled with peaks and valleys,  but our God is with us through it all. He is our tech support, our refrigeration expert, and He can even control the weather – something man cannot do.

I remind myself of the words of one of my favorite songs when going through changes and especially rough times.  “The God on the mountain is still God in the valley; when things go wrong, He’ll make them right. God of the good times is still God in the bad times. God of the day is still God in the night.”

 

 

 

 

I ran across a post on social media today that read, “Judging a person does not define who they are, it defines who you are,” When I was a boy, I was told that when you point a finger at someone there are three fingers pointing back at you. Does that mean we are never to point out when someone is wrong?

Every non-believer, including atheists, know two words of scripture, “judge not”. Every time a
Christian disagrees with their actions or lifestyle they beat them over the head with those two words of scripture. There is a cartoon showing a transexual pointing at someone and saying, “Who are you to judge me?” The other person replies “You identify as a woman and I identify as a judge.” Getting even more complicated isn’t it?

Let’s simplify things a little. Read the entire seventh chapter of Matthew. Jesus tells us not to judge others unless we are willing to be judged by the same standard. Jesus also tells us to identify good people from bad people by their actions (fruit) not by their words. Whatever we do we must do it with love.

I have used this example before but it is applicable here. You are in a burning building with a crowd of people. You know the only safe exit but everyone else is trying to find an exit toward the fire. Is it judging them to point out their error and show them the safe way out of the building? Of course not. It is an act of love. If you think it is loving to accept their wrong actions, you could be loving them all the way into the fires of hell.

I just found this message on social media. “God’s presence can lift you from the depth of despair to the mountaintop of hope and joy.
All it takes is one hymn or worship song; one verse of scripture; or a quiet prayer.” I would add to that an hour of fellowship with other Christians.

God’s presence is no longer only found on a mountain; in a burning bush; or in a special room of a tabernacle, temple or church, where only priests can approach Him. Through faith in Jesus Christ, His Holy Spirit is present within us. All we have to do is activate the connection between his Spirit and ours. As Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well, God is spirit and the location we approach Him no longer matters because we can enter His presence in spirit and in truth wherever we are. God doesn’t dwell in church waiting for us to join Him. He is transported to church every Sunday in the hearts of every true believer and follower of Christ and as Jesus promised us where two or more are gathered in his name, He will be there with us and we can feel His presence. I have probably mentioned before that i have felt God’s presence at the table with my brothers in Christ at a restaurant sharing breakfast and fellowship. That weekly event and my private prayer and Bible study got me through when the churches closed during the Covid epidemic. i have felt God’s presence even when I am not physically with a brother or sister in Christ. I will receive a phone call from one of them saying, “Just a quick call to see how you are doing”. An hour or two later we are still trying to say goodbye and I know the call is being monitored by God for “accuracy and training purposes”.

Let us never take this easy access to God’s presence for granted. Jesus died on a cross to make it possible.

The dictionary defines love as a strong feeling or emotion. Feelings and emotions change from day to day; sometimes from hour to hour. So how can a bride and groom vow to love each other ‘until death do us part”?

Here is the answer found in chapter 13 of First Corinthians NLT. “If I could speak all of the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I possessed the gift of prophecy and if I knew all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith to move mountains, but didn’t love others, i would be nothing. if i gave everything i have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it, but if i didn’t love others i would have gained nothing. Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. it is not irritable and it keeps no record of being wronged. Love does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever truth wins out. Love never gives up,never loses faith, is always hopeful and endures through every circumstance…Three things will last forever – faith, hope and love – and the greatest of these is love.”

We should read that entire chapter often to remind us of God’s definition of love. It is the way God loved us before we were lovable. It is a choice, not an emotion. When we continue to choose it, it becomes a habit and then a lifestyle. As a Christian, I have experienced God’s love for 69 years and I cannot help but share that love with others. I have been lifted my entire life by God’s love,the love of my soul mate for over 50 years and the love of my brothers and sisters in Christ.

One last thing about that part of the wedding vows about until death parting us. Don’t believe it. i still wear my wedding band and I will until I am with her again in heaven.
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