freedom

Who is Jesus?

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easter01This is a momentous week in the life of the church.  Because it has been framed by two monumental events of history, it is the week traditionally referred to as “holy week.”

It’s a week that began with Palm Sunday, and it will end this Sunday with the celebration of Easter.  Palm Sunday is associated with the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, and Easter is the joyful recognition of His resurrection.

There’s a three word question that was asked by those who observed Jesus on Palm Sunday. As He rode a white donkey through the narrow and dusty streets of Jerusalem, they asked:  “Who is this?”

The Gospel of John presents a group of witnesses that offer a line of testimony that answers this question:

  • John testifies that Jesus turned water into wine at the marriage supper of Cana.
  • The nobleman gives a detailed account of how Jesus simply spoke and his dying son was healed.
  • The man who had been crippled for 38 years jumps in the air and clicks his heels together to show the miraculous manner in which Jesus healed him.
  • The little boy holds up an empty lunch pail and says: “It had just enough food for my dinner, but Jesus blessed it and there was enough to feed 5,000 people.”
  • The seasoned fishermen relive the moment when they thought their boat was going to sink and they were going to drown: “The Master appeared out of nowhere, walked on the waves, commanded the water to be still, and we were saved.”

After listening to all the testimony, a man rises and says:  “May I speak?  I think my evidence is conclusive.  You see, I was dead, but somehow I heard the clear and loud voice of Jesus:  ‘Lazarus come forth,’ and I shook off the chains of death.  I’m living proof of who Jesus is.”

Who is this?  Jesus is:

  • The Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.
  • The Bread of Life.
  • The Light of the world.
  • The Good Shepherd
  • The Way, the Truth, and the Life.
  • Resurrection and the life

Who is Jesus to you?

Recycling and Refocusing

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recycle_word_peopleIn the Sunday edition of the Washington Post, Chris Mooney wrote:  “We have a problem, people: Even though we’re supposed to put the right stuff in the blue bin, a lot of recyclable material nevertheless winds up crammed into landfills. One of the most noteworthy of these is paper: While 64.6 percent of paper and paperboard got recycled in 2012, that still left 24.26 million tons of the stuff discarded, according to the EPA (Why We Don’t Recycle Crumpled Paper).”

While some things get tossed out simply because people won’t toss them in the recycle bin, research suggests there might be another reason.  The Environment and Behavior journal has reported on research by  Remi Trudel, Jennifer Argo, and Matthew Meng of Boston University and the University of Alberta.

Their research focused on the way your brain categorizes information and then acts on it.  When your brain sees a piece of crumpled paper, it perceives it to be trash and not something to be recycled.

The study found that, “Full sheets of paper were recycled 77.4 percent of the time, whereas crumpled paper was only recycled 7.8 percent of the time.”  The researchers said: “We consistently show that consumers’ decision to recycle the same product depends on whether the product is intact (i.e., whole) or distorted (i.e., crumpled, cut).”

When you meet an individual whose life has been crumpled by the power of sin or the heartache of failure, how do you respond?   Do you see them as trash or someone who can be recycled?

You are probably familiar with the verses that call you to be the “salt of the earth” and the “light of the world,” but how well do you know and put into practice the scriptural admonition to be a recycler?  In Romans 15:1-2, Paul said:

Those of us who are strong and able in the faith need to step in and lend a hand to those who falter, and not just do what is most convenient for us. Strength is for service, not status. Each one of us needs to look after the good of the people around us, asking ourselves, “How can I help?”

What is Christianity to you?  Is it an experience and relationship of convenience or are you willing to “lend a hand” to those in need?

A Joyful Heart

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Beautiful smiling cute babyMy concept of God might be different than yours.  I believe God is loving, caring, and full of joy.  God gave us our sight so we can have the pleasure of seeing rainbows,  butterflies, and majestic mountain ranges.

I thank God that He blessed me with the sense of smell, so I can enjoy the aroma of a freshly baked cake; and I am overjoyed that He created me with taste buds, so I can savor the flavor of apple pie topped off with a big dip of vanilla ice cream.

On my journeys into the wilderness, I’ve enjoyed the solitude of silence that is only interrupted by the chirping of a bird, the whistle of a quail, or the refreshing sound of a flowing river.

I’m glad that God wants His people to experience the wonder of joy and the fruit of happiness.  Solomon wrote of this in the Proverbs: “A joyful heart makes a face cheerful, but a sad heart produces a broken spirit . . . a cheerful heart has a continual feast (15:13, 15).”

A couple of chapters later, Solomon draws a contrast between the joyless and the joy-filled:    “One with a twisted mind will not succeed, and one with deceitful speech will fall into ruin. A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones (17:20, 22).”

Since a joyful heart is good medicine, here’s a medicine chest full of quotes:

  • The art of being happy lies in the power of extracting happiness from common things. ~ Henry Ward Beecher
  • I think I began learning long ago that those who are happiest are those who do the most for others. ~ Booker T. Washington
  • If we try hard to bring happiness to others, we cannot stop it from coming to us also. To get joy, we must give it, and to keep joy, we must scatter it. ~John Templeton
  • You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; this is why God, Your God has anointed you with the oil of joy. ~Hebrews 1:9
  • I have spoken these things to you so that My joy may be in you and your joy may be complete. This is My command: Love one another as I have loved you. ~John 15:11-12

The key to living a life of joy is found in the words of the Psalmist:  “You reveal the path of life to me; in Your presence is abundant joy; in Your right hand are eternal pleasures.” ~Psalm 16:11

Three questions come to mind when I think of the verse above:

  • Since God reveals the path of life to you, why take a detour?
  • If abundant joy is found in His presence, what do you have when you refuse it?
  • If eternal pleasures are in God’s right hand, what is left? Temporary and unfulfilling worthless worries?

I’ll close with the words of Paul:  “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” ~Philippians 4:4

Ogres of The Mind

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Some people fail to distinguish the difference between their wants and needs.  The difference between the two can determine whether you live a hapless life or a happy life.Ea - ogre 1 textures post version

What are your real needs?  A person needs food to eat, water to drink, and air to breathe—these are the bare necessities of life.  You could also list shelter from the elements, clothes to wear and such items as being needs; however, when you start to classify your wants as needs, you run the danger of compromising your health and your wealth.

This can happen when your brain morphs into a nasty ogre and starts to play mind games with you.  Your brain may lie to you and try to convince you that you need some “thing” to make you happy.  It may create a craving for some substance that is harmful to your health or it may tell you that you have little self-worth.

You may not recognize this Ogre, so let me describe him for you:

  • Overthinking problems that are out of your control
  • Getting stuck or panicked by unfounded fear
  • Repeating past patterns of behavior that are unhealthy
  • Emotional reactivity

The more you allow the Ogre to run wild, the greater the likelihood that unhealthy habits will develop.  Through the process of repetition, habits become engrained in the neural pathways of the mind.  This is true whether the habit is beneficial or destructive.

T0 tame the Ogre you need to reclaim your thoughts.  Either you control your thoughts or they control you.  Paul said you are to “take every thought captive (2 Corinthians 10:5).”

This Ogre carefully cloaks himself in the secrecy your thoughts.  To be more specific, it is what I call your “self-talk.”  It is those little mental messages that flash rapidly through your mind, so lightening quick, you are almost unaware of their presence.

Here are a couple of tips on how you can tame the Ogre and take your thoughts captive:

  • Respond to the presence of these thoughts. When you become aware of the “self-talk,” write it down.  Journal your thoughts.
  • Re-evaluate what you have written down. Validate the messages that attack your self-worth.  Beware of catastrophic thinking that is seen in words like “always” and “never.”
  • Refocus your attention toward healthy thought and behavior. Purge the urge!  You cannot think positive and negative thoughts at the same time.  If necessary change your location or environment to one that is more wholesome and beneficial.

I have found that reading or quoting Scripture is a great way to overcome the Ogre, and to regain control of my thoughts.  A favorite passage of mine that speaks of the power of Scripture is Psalm 119:9-11:  “How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word. With all my heart I have sought You; Do not let me wander from Your commandments. Your word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against You.”

I’ll leave you with this thought:  When you emphasize the positive (Scripture) you paralyze the negative (Ogre).

Out-Rage-Us: Purveyors of Religious Intolerance

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When some people see it, thy see more than one—they see two.  What do you see when you see the word “outrage?”  Do you see “out” and “rage?”

Some people try to understand the etymology of outrage by defining it in the context of “out” and “rage.”  To do so is to misunderstand the origins of the word.  Early usage of the word is traced from the Middle English sense of a “lack of moderation” back to its Latin roots of “ultra” or “beyond,” and it has little to do with “out” and “rage.”

Even though I understand the meaning and the roots of outrage, to simply say that the religiously intolerant exhibit a “lack of moderation” seems grossly inadequate.  It seems there is a radical element that has little more than an elementary understanding of their religion.  To espouse the idea of peace and love and then kill in the name of religion is outrageous.

Two recent incidents serve as an example:

  • The terrorist activity in France and the cold-blooded attack on Charlie Hebdo and the team of cartoonists who focused on satire.
  • The massacre of innocents by Boko Haram which, according to Amnesty International, has resulted in the death of some 2,000 people in Nigeria.

As I said late last week:

It seems unreasonable that someone can be offended by cartoons, but at the same time promote rape, beheadings, hostage taking, forced marriages, genital mutilation, and suicide bombings

What happened to a simple life based on the Golden Rule? Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

The Abu Dawud offers the Golden rule in these words:  “Do unto all men as you would wish to have done unto you; and reject for others what you would reject for yourselves.”

The world will be a better place when we stop out-raging people and begin out-loving them.

Freedom: The Significance of 2194

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9888473-largeThey’re just four numbers: 2-1-9-4. They aren’t even in sequence. If a childish voice read them aloud, you might think a preschooler was attempting to count to 10.

If you work for the IRS, you know 2194 is the number of the Disaster Resource Guide for Individuals and Businesses. If you served in the Air Force or are a pilot, you might associate 2194 with a record setting speed. If you live in Kansas, and participate in KPERS, 2194 is a piece of legislation that focuses on employee and employer contribution rates to your retirement account.

The real significance of 2194 is its association with Veterans Day. 2194 is the number of days between the start of World War II that began with the German invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939, and ended with the Japanese surrender on September 2, 1945.

The first 828 days of the 2194 saw the involvement of the United States limited to military aid to the Allied Forces through the lend-lease program, but this would change on December 7, 1941. The bombing of Pearl Harbor fully engaged the United States, and it proved to be the fulcrum of World War II.

Somewhere around 418,000 Americans gave their lives in sacrifice to a cause that was much greater than they were as individuals. There are 9,387 of them who lie in rest on the 172.5 acres of the Normandy American Cemetery, and they testify to the significance of 2194. Among the 9,387, there are 307 unknowns, three that were awarded the Medal of Honor, 4 are women, and there are 33 pairs of brothers buried side by side.

Tomorrow is Veterans Day. When you go to bed tonight, write 2194 on a piece of paper, so it will remind you of the significance of tomorrow—a day that far too many take for granted. Perhaps that piece of paper with 2194 written on it will remind you that freedom is not free.

2194 is a number full of sorrow, death, separation, pain, and unfulfilled dreams. It also includes many acts of heroism by those we now call veterans. Tomorrow is their Day, so take the time to thank a vet for the freedom you enjoy.

Do You Do Your To Do?

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NeglectWhen I examine the landscape of Christianity, I think our practical theology is so skewed that it’s more twisted than a Kansas twister. The focus of the church today seems to be more on a person’s bank account than on the salvation of no-account sinners.

Contrast this to Luke 4:18: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and the regaining of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

This To Do List of Jesus should be the lens through which we view the mission of the church, and the rhythmic cadence that calls us to march in step with His command to:
• Proclaim the good news of the gospel to the poor
• Proclaim freedom to the enslaved
• Open the eyes of the blind
• Open our arms to the oppressed

Which of the items above is on your To Do List? How do you view the poor and needy? There has been a tendency throughout the history of the church to overlook the “least of these” instead of looking out for them.

This was the case in Acts 6: “Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution.”

“Neglect” and “daily” are the key words in the Scripture above. “Neglect” refers to a side by side comparison for the purpose of value, and “daily” refers to the frequency of the distribution.

What does your daily distribution consist of and who do you neglect? Are your prayers reserved for just your family and friends or do they include the poor, needy, and the misfits of society?

Are you so focused on getting more and achieving personal happiness that you forget the enslaved, the blind, and the oppressed? If so, you’ll find happiness fleeting and never discover true contentment.

The Apostle Paul said: “I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me (Philippians 4).”

Paul experienced many “have” and “have not” moments in his life, and he knew that to “have not” Christ was to not have contentment. From the moment he met Jesus, Paul focused his life on the To Do List of his Lord. It became his mission and goal, and it is the secret to living a life of contentment.

When Freedom Gets Personal

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To some freedom is thought of in terms of the number 07-04 or a specific date on the calendar—July 4th.  There are politicians who try to balance the wishes of their constituents and measure freedom in dollar$, but the cost of freedom cannot be measured in terms of military budgets, tanks, jets, or ships.  The true cost of freedom must consider the human spirit and the willingness to sacrifice.

The hidden costs of freedom are outside of the awareness of the public in general because they have never lived the military life.  When their children were born, the father was not fighting terrorists in Iraq or Afghanistan.  For most families, parents are present to join in the celebration of the major life cycle events such as birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, and marriages.  This is not the case for military families when one or both parents are deployed.  Then, there is the ultimate cost of freedom that is seen in the flag-draped caskets of heroes that return home to be met by their heart-broken family.

As I write this column, my heart goes out to the family of Hal Neukirch, Jr.  Young Hal was serving in Afghanistan when he was stricken by a deadly enemy in a form of brain cancer known as Glioblastoma Multiforme.  The request of Hal Jr. is to leave his hospital bed in Texas, and to come back to El Dorado to spend his last days in the place he has called home.

I ask you to join me in helping the Neukirch’s bring their son back to Kansas.  Due to Hal’s condition, an air ambulance must be used at a cost of $15,000.  An account has been set up at Intrust Bank, 100 S. Main, El Dorado, KS 67042. If each of us will give a little, we can make a big difference in the life of this wonderful family.  Please make your check payable to the Hal Neukirch Jr. Benefit Fund.