Scripture look

...now browsing by tag

 
Bible/Scripture Choices Christian Living Christmas Church Death Faith/Feelings Forgiveness Friendship Generosity God God's Plan God's Word Grace Humility Jesus Kindness Leadership Lifestyle Love Mercy Ministry Miscellaneous Opinion Parenting Perseverance Prayer Preaching Questions Quiet Time Reflection Resurrection Salvation Scripture look Second Coming Seeking Sin Speech Story Suffering Surrender Thanksgiving Trials Truth Telling Worship
 

September 28

Thursday, September 28th, 2023

IMHO I think one of the hardest things to do is to see that we are all the same. My sin. Your sin. It’s the same in the eyes of God. No matter how you shake it sin still spells S.I.N.

What makes it so hard for us to admit that is that we are really good at comparing. We choose the sin of someone else that-in our eyes-is bigger and worse than ours. When we do that we get a sense of self-satisfaction. We think, “Whew! I’m glad I don’t do THAT!” We develop this air of arrogance.

You know what I have noticed? Two things actually. One, we have a bad tendency to rate or number sin. #1 is the worst sin (in our eyes) and #10 is the least sin. Two, when we compare, we often see the worst in another while our sin falls down lower on the number list. We pat ourselves on the back (if we can get around our big head) because our #8 ranked sin is not as bad as their #2 ranked sin.

There are several fallacies with that type of thinking. One, God never classifies one sin as being worse than another. That is a human invention. My sin of impure thoughts is not worse than your sin of lying. James 4 (which I read this morning) say, “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel.” (verses 1-2 ESV). So sin is in all of us due to the sin nature we all possess. What I want fights with what you want.

Two, James writes just a few verses later: “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” (Verses 6-8 ESV). Then in verse 10 James tells us to “Humble ourselves before the Lord.”

Pride. That is what James is talking about. “I want what you have.” “My sin. Your sin.” “My way. Your way.” Pride. Pride uses fine china and fancy linen. Humility (the way of Jesus) uses a basin and a towel.

“Pride goes before a fall” we are told.  Let’s stop with the “I’m better than/more holy than” and get real to the sin in our own life.

Posted in InTheShadow | 6 Responses »
Tags: , , , , , , , ,

September 25

Monday, September 25th, 2023

Bryan Johnson is sad.

Not sad as in “Boo-hoo” sad. Not the “cry-me-a-river” type of sad.

But sad as in the “clueless” department.

So you might be wondering, “Who in the world is Bryan Johnson?”  (No, I am not talking about the lead singer of AC/DC. Besides, he spells his name with an “i.”)  You can Google his name or you can take my word for it in my short synopsis. Bryan was a tech millionaire who sold his BioHacking company to PayPal for $800million.  Yeah, you read that right. That’s not a bad thing. I don’t begrudge that at all. More power to him.

Here’s what is sad. Bryan Johnson is on a quest for immortality. You read that right: I.M.M.O.R.T.A.L.I.T.Y.  To accomplish that he has some strange habits.  He takes 111 pills a day.  He goes to bed every night at 8:30 and is up by 6:00.  There is nothing in his bedroom besides his bed, except a laser face shield that shoots collagen into his face, and one unmentionable item I’ll let you research. He avoids the sun. He doesn’t go out at night.  He drives 16 mph (He would be one who would put me in an early grave if I was following him). He has multiple other habits.

I’ve seen stickers on trucks that say, “Silly boy.Trucks are for girls!” I want to say to Bryan, “Silly Bryan. Immortality is for One.” He believes at age 46 (which he is as I write this) that he has a heart of a 37 year old and the bones of a 30 year old. His goal is to be 18…and to live forever.

Sadly, he is moving in the area of F.U.T.I.L.I.T.Y. There is only ONE who has conquered death and it isn’t and won’t be Bryan.

I hope Bryan learns soon enough, i.e. sooner than later, that he is wasting his time and $2million/year for nothing. Envious? Not a bit. One half of what he is spending is more than I’ll make my entire lifetime.  Personally, I hope he learns the lesson of the rich man that Jesus taught about in Luke 12. It says the land of the rich man produced plentifully so he thought to himself, “What shall I do? I know. I’ll build bigger barns. You know…eat, drink and be merry.” But that night God said to him, “You fool! This night your soul is required of you.”  What good was his money then?

I sincerely hope Bryan learns sooner than later that one thing is certain: we all die.  He won’t cheat that. His money will not get him out of the one date we all will keep. No concoction will save him. There will come a day when Bryan will go the way of all of us. I just hope he finds out before it is too late.

To die in his lost condition? Now that would be sad.

Posted in InTheShadow | 8 Responses »
Tags: , , , , , , , ,

September 21

Thursday, September 21st, 2023

One of the knocks against the Bible is that it is so hard to understand. “I tried reading the Bible once. What’s with all the begots and begats? I mean, like who in today’s world uses those words or talks like that that?”

Or here’s another: “I tried reading the Bible once. Who in the world can understand words like justification, sanctification, propitiation, and redemption?”

Granted, sometimes there are some places where the begats and begots get tiring (such is the way of a lineage). And it is true there are some big words used that we don’t understand or use very often (if at all) in 2023.

{Side note: Choose a more modern translation to use like the ESV (English Standard Version), the NIV (New International Version), the NLT (New Living Translation), or the NASB2020 (New American Standard Version 2020) and move away from the KJV (King James Version) with its more archaic language. Just a personal opinion}

But sometimes the Bible is very plain. John 3:16 is one of those verses. “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son” doesn’t get much plainer.   My favorite chapter in the Bible is Psalm 37. Four words stand out at the beginning and they are as plain as the nose on your face:

  • Trust (v.3)- Have faith
  • Delight (v.4)- Find joy
  • Commit (v.5)- Practice surrender (Lay it down)
  • Be still (v.7)- Be quiet (Learn patience)

There is more in that chapter! I’d encourage you to dig deeper.  Check out, for example, the first three words of verse 8. Or the reality of verse 16. See the refreshing encouragement of verses 23-24. Not only those, but you will find so much more in that chapter.

It is true that there are places the Bible is a bit difficult to understand or to grasp. Archaic words and language are tough to wade through. But the “dig” is worth it. There are so many riches to mine. Start digging!

And by the way: what did you learn from Psalm 37?

Posted in InTheShadow | 8 Responses »
Tags: , , , , , ,

September 13

Wednesday, September 13th, 2023

I read this morning that as thousands of Ukrainian women and children arrived at Berlin’s railway station fleeing war, they were met with a surprise-German families holding homemade signs offering refuge in their homes. “Can host two people!” one sign read. “Big room [available],” read another. Asked why she offered such hospitality to fleeing strangers, one woman said her mother had needed refuge while fleeing the Nazis and she wanted to help others in such need. (Source: Our Daily Bread-9/13-Sheldon Voysey author)

The word refuge stood out to me as I read that story. I think of a refuge as a place to hunker down during a storm. There have been times I have been out riding my bike when a storm has hit unexpectedly (and I was trying hard to beat it). Out of necessity I have ridden in a misty rain or a steady rain (Getting from Point A to Point B), all the while looking for a place to get out of the rain. But a storm? I look for the first porch, first barn, first roof, first covered inset of a building to (hopefully) wait out the storm.

Multiple times in the book of Psalms we read the word refuge. Here are a few:

Psalm 2:12- “Kiss the Son…Blessed are all who take refuge in Him.”

Psalm 5:11- “Let all who take refuge in you rejoice…”

Psalm 7:1- “O Lord my God, in you I take refuge…”

Psalm 11:1- “In the Lord I take refuge…”

Psalm 16:1- “Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge…”

Psalm 46:1- “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”  (It is reported H.G. Wells once said, “God is an ever absent help in time of trouble.”)

As you can see the verses speaking of God as a refuge are many, and those are just a small handful of verses from Psalms.

Storms come. They know no discrimination. They know no boundaries. We will all experience storms. Some catastrophic; some light. Some inexplicable; some easy to read. What makes a difference is to WHOM we run. In WHOM will we seek refuge? David, the author of most of the Psalms, found his refuge in God.

What about you? Where will you find your refuge?

Posted in InTheShadow | 8 Responses »
Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

September 7

Thursday, September 7th, 2023

I was thinking this morning about the seeming coldness of so many people. Even those who are so-called “social justice warriors” are, when you come right down to it, often in it for themselves. They have a social agenda they want to accomplish-whether it be racial, environmental, lifestyle, or even religious. Instead of truly caring for people, many “front” their agenda with fake concern, fake activism. Whether it be for money, fame, a name, or an agenda, they truly don’t care for others.

How different from what the Bible says is true caring. Just a couple of Scriptures show that. Before I do though, let me add this: there is a big-no make that gigantic-difference between sympathy and empathy. Sympathy says, “I’m sorry” but does nothing. It reminds me of that annoying boy in Polar Express who says, “I’m sorry. I really am” but you get the feeling of “not really.” Empathy, on the other hand, truly feels sorrow but then does two things: 1) puts oneself in their place; and 2) does something about it.

Now for the Scripture…and trust me when I say no commentary will be needed. In I Corinthians 12, after speaking about how each member of the body-hand, foot, ear, eye, nose-need each other, Paul concludes with these words: “If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.” (verse 26 in ESV).

The other Scripture is found in James 2. James discusses favoritism (rich vs poor) in the church assembly by giving favored seats; partiality in morality (overlooking one sin for another sin); and then he hits my point: “If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” (Verses 15-17 in ESV)

No racial, environmental, or social agenda. Just a faith agenda: one where feet are put to our faith. Empathy, not just sympathy, is the calling card of a life of faith.

Posted in InTheShadow | 6 Responses »
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

September 6

Wednesday, September 6th, 2023

In any church, job, team, or group, there are (generally) two kinds of people: those who are productive and you want to be around, and those who are destructive and you should avoid being around.  Let’s take each group and give a scenario.

The church world. There are the productive-those who have bought into the mission and vision of the church and work toward helping it be fulfilled. They serve willingly, encourage frequently, and love always.  Those who are destructive undermine the mission and vision, harp constantly, gossip and spread harsh words indiscriminately.

The job world. Those who do their job, often going above and beyond. They encourage others and do their job with a solid desire to do their best in all things. The destructive counterpart sows discord, does only what is expected (and nothing more but often less), and refuses to help another.

The team world. There are those teammates whose sole goal is to boost the team, to see the team succeed, not caring who gets the credit or the points or the accolades. They might be a regular starter or the 6th man off the bench (Celtic player and Hall of Famer John Havlicek comes to mind).  There are, of course, those who are glory-hounds. They love and seek the applause, the approval, and the accolades. Oh yeah, the points also. They act as though they are a one-man team (no such animal).

The group world. There are those who encourage others, discussion, and hearing multiple viewpoints, keeping an open mind to the suggestions of others. There also those “group killers.” They want it quick, no discussion, often because their point of view is the only one worth considering.

There are more ways to “flesh out” the above four groups in this discussion. But I’ll let you do that.

My thoughts this morning were prompted by Paul’s words to Titus: “But avoid foolish controversies. genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the Law, for they are unprofitable and worthless. As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him, knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.” (3:9-10) (ESV)  Sounds harsh but Paul knew what we know: “One bad apple spoils the whole bunch.”  Church. Job. Team. Group.

The questions comes down to this: which one are you? The one people enjoy having around or the one whom they wish would take their shtick somewhere else.

 

Posted in InTheShadow | 10 Responses »
Tags: , , , , , ,

September 5

Tuesday, September 5th, 2023

There is one word-in leadership and in life-that never has and never will go out of style.

That one word? I.N.T.E.G.R.I.T.Y.

Integrity has been defined as “who you are when no one’s looking.” That is a pretty spot on definition but in some ways it is almost incomplete.  I get what the definition is saying. Many people are one way in public and another in private. The “up front” persona picture people see is no where near the “in secret” persona. I’ll let you pursue that thought on your own.

But I also think that saying might be a tad bit short on meaning. Being who we are behind the scenes as we are up front is vital. But…what do people see up front? It is someone worth emulating? Is it someone worth following?

I was reminded of that this morning as I read Titus 2:7-8- “Show yourself in all respects  to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us.” Do you see the word “model?” Do you see the words “integrity, dignity, and sound speech?” Those are some serious words! And they come with some meaning and challenge. My translation of that verse is “Live in such a way that when someone says something bad about you people will know they are lying.”

I thought of the Apostle Peter’s words in I Peter 3:16-17- “Having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.”

Integrity means being who we say we are-in private and in public.

Posted in InTheShadow | 8 Responses »
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

August 31

Thursday, August 31st, 2023

I could say or write on word and it would stir different thoughts. Depending on your circumstances past and present, your mind will form a picture.

The word? IDOLATRY.

For some that will lead you to think of a statue, something made with hands. Some will be astute enough to think of people or places.

If someone were to ask me what my definition of an idol is I would give them a very short statement as an answer: something that captures your heart.

That opens the page to a number of examples. The aforementioned image of wood or stone, which was very common in biblical times and in some religions, even today, comes to mind. Another broader example might be my job, my hobby, my spouse, my children, my possessions, etc.

Here’s the deal though: God is very plain and to the point when He says, “You shall have no other gods before Me.” The main concern when He spoke those words was immediately followed up with “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness…You shall not bow down to them or serve them…” (Ex.20:3-5)  God would not be replaced by something stupid, something that could not respond. In fact, the Apostle Paul wrote about that in Romans 1:22-23-“Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.”

But truthfully, idolatry doesn’t have to refer to an image. Anything that captures our hearts, demands our attention, takes our affections away from love for the Father is an idol. Not that those things are wrong in and of themselves, but when they take over or take precedence, then they have approached idol territory. If we find ourselves with something or someone besides Jesus Christ taking first place in our heart, we can be pretty sure idolatry has occurred.

And that is a dangerous state to find yourself in.

Posted in InTheShadow | 10 Responses »
Tags: , , , , , , , ,

August 30

Wednesday, August 30th, 2023

When Benjamin Franklin wrote Poor Richard’s Almanac he passed along some very wise thoughts. One of them I thought of today was “People who are wrapped up in themselves make small packages.”

What does that mean? Actually, it isn’t hard to figure out. People who are very self-absorbed, and perhaps even narcissistic, really do not have much to offer others. They may think they do (thus the nature of their disease), but they fail.  Contrast that to someone who is focused and concerned about others, who take an interest in people and life beyond themselves.

I think we all know self-absorbed people. You walk away from them feeling invisible. They didn’t care how much you were hurting, seeking a friend to listen, or just to be “there.” Nope. It was all about them. Self-centered people are just that: SELF. CENTERED.

I thought of that this morning (and hence the Franklin quote) as I read Proverbs 30. The chapter is filled with one or two verses (sometimes more) of pithy sayings, often bound together. For example, verses 12-13 say, “There is a kind who is pure in his own eyes, yet is not washed from his filthiness. There is a kind-oh how lofty are his eyes! And his eyelids are raised in arrogance.” (NASB2020) What an ugly picture that gives us. This is a picture of a self-absorbed person! They can’t see themselves for what and who they are. They can’t even see beyond their own nose.

That is just one of the reasons “Follow your heart” is not a good philosophy to live by. Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful about all things, and desperately sick (wicked); who can understand it?” (ESV)  I’ll let that stand on it own merit.

Focusing inward makes for a very small package. Thank you Benjamin Franklin. It makes for a very myopic view.  Thank you writer of Proverbs 30. So…stop gazing at your navel and start seeing others.

Posted in InTheShadow | 10 Responses »
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

August 29

Tuesday, August 29th, 2023

When you hear the word “spiritual” what comes to your mind? Our culture likes to throw that word around. “He is a spiritual person.” Or worse: “I am into spirituality.” Say what? What in the world does that mean?

I Googled the question, “What does it mean to be spiritual?” and the word spirituality showed up. So I said, “Okay, let’s take the bait.” Here is what it said: “Spirituality involves the recognition of a feeling or sense or belief that there is something greater than myself, something more to being human than sensory experience, and that the greater whole of which we are part is cosmic or divine in nature.” Yeah, that clears it all up.

One article said, “When people call themselves spiritual they are basically signaling three things: first, they believe there is more to the world than meets the eye. Second, they try to attend to their inner life…in the hopes of gaining a certain kind of self-knowledge. Third, they value being compassionate, empathetic, and open-hearted.” (The Conversation dated 11/16/17. Some editing done by me)

Yeah. Again that clears it right up. But here’s the thing: there is one factor missing in both thoughts. Let me rephrase that: there is one Person missing. That would be Jesus.

Simple truth: Anyone can be “spiritual.” Not everyone can be or is a follower of Jesus. Seeking a Higher Power, the Great Architect, the yin yang, the Grand Poo-Paw, or whomever, may be spiritual, but it certainly is not being a follower of Jesus.

In I Timothy 6:20-21 the Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy: “Guard the deposit entrusted to you. Avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called ‘knowledge;’ for by professing it some have swerved from the faith.” (ESV)

Even with all the “spirituality” we hear about, we can still miss what is true and truth: “Jesus Christ came to save sinners, of whom I am chief.” (Paul’s words to Timothy in I Tim. 1:15)

Don’t pursue spirituality. Pursue God who revealed Himself through His Son, Jesus.

Posted in InTheShadow | 12 Responses »
Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

« Older Entries