Respect Life

Our two cars have special license plates that say “Respect Life” and have a Columbine flower on the plate. The special license plates came into being after the Columbine High School shooting happened in 1999. Two students came into the school and murdered 12 students and one teacher. Then they killed themselves. There was no respect for life.

Today many of us do not respect human life like we should. Human life is sacred. We all are made in the image of God, so we should treat all people with dignity. Every person is loved by God. And yet today many times we treat people as less than human, and in some cases we kill them. We make enemies out of those who disagree with us, and those we perceive to cause a major “negative” change in our lives. We make them into someone less than human. We rationalize our reasons to disrespect people and make them less than human, but it does not make it right. Human life is precious, and everyone deserves to be treated with respect and dignity.

I believe that “It is wrong to intentionally kill an innocent human being.” Life is precious and I believe that abortion is an intentional act that kills a unique, distinct, and innocent human being. This human being has their own DNA. So it does not matter whether you are a small fertilized egg, an unborn baby, a child, a teen, an adult, or an old person. You are a unique human being. The size or level of development does not change the person. The environment does not matter. Whether the human being is in the womb or not. Whether the person can breathe on their own or not. The person, whether unborn or a 90 year old on oxygen, is still a person. Dependency does not matter. In the womb, the unborn child is dependent on the mother. A new born child is still very dependent on the mother. And an aging person may become very dependent on others. Whether unborn or aged, each person deserves the respect and dignity of the rest of us.

The abortion debate is more complicated than simply the killing of the unborn. We must not leave the mother out of the abortion debate. She too deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. When 75% of the women getting an abortion are poor, it looks like to me that financial concerns are a major factor in abortions. As I see it, tackling poverty will significantly help lower the number of abortions. How can we support the pregnant mother? How can we support mothers in general? Can we remove their financial worries? Can we make adoption a more viable option for them?

Fathers are important too. They also deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. Many times the mother is on her own. Children who have both parents do better. How can we bring the father back into the family and give him a place in caring for the child? How can we build up the family? The abortion debate is a complicated issue that requires that the needs of the father, mother, and the unborn child be taken into account.

Around the country there are many pregnancy centers that can help a mother deal with a pregnancy in a respectful and loving manner. A good one in the Loveland/Longmont area is Life Choices.

Fire, Weather, and Climate

The recent firestorm that hit Colorado on December 30 was a wakeup call. The Marshall Fire shows a new reality of a warm dry Colorado. Right after the fire, we had our first significant snowfall. It was about 2-3 months late. The last 6 months have been very dry and very warm. In fact they were one of the driest and by far warmest 6 months (July through December) on record for the Front Range. The very strong winds with the 100+ mph gusts on rare occasions do happen in the Boulder area, but combined with the very dry conditions it created the ideal conditions for the firestorm that destroyed 1084 homes and damaged another 149 homes.

Drought is not uncommon to Colorado, however in the last 20+ years, we have been in drought most of the time. It seems to be becoming a new normal. And the summers have become increasingly warmer, or should I say just plain hot. When Gail married me and moved to Colorado, I told her that we did not need air conditioning, because the nights cool off and there are not all that many hot days. That was 22 years ago and a few years later we had air conditioning. I have been in Colorado for 35 years and it is getting hotter, especially in the last two decades.

A warmer climate means there is more energy in the system, and more energy available for these extreme events. The warming climate has raised the energy level so the heat dome over the Pacific Northwest this summer, and the very dry conditions with the wind storm were made worse by the warming climate. Some experts say “climate change is a threat multiplier”. I am not certain it is as simple as that, but weather events can be made more severe due to the warming climate. In Colorado, we used to talk about the fire season. It would start in the spring and end in the fall. But for many years now the talk has changed. People now say it is always fire season in Colorado.

The Marshall Fire we had here in Colorado was similar to the Camp Fire in California that burned Paradise, CA to the ground. Both were fueled by strong winds and very dry vegetation. Both grew to a large size, engulfing towns in a matter of hours. Amazingly, only two people will have lost their lives due to the Marshall Fire. That is truly amazing considering how fast the fire moved.

To give you a flavor of how fast the fire moved, a friend of a friend of mine, who lost his house in the fire, sent out an email describing his experience. The fire started at about 11:00am about 2.85 miles away from his house. At his house he noticed the wind and the increasing smoke. He started packing (around 11:45?) and left his house at 12:10 with his family. By that time the smoke was so thick that he could barely see past the front of his car. The evacuation order came to his phone at 12:15. And it was not easy driving in the very strong wind. At 12:38 his home weather station stopped reporting to the website meaning that his house was on fire and likely had been for awhile. They got out just in time. In the rush they forgot many things, including a packed bag, but they made it out and were safe.

It makes me wonder about how safe my house is. I live about a few blocks from farm land to the north and about half a mile to a mile from the western edge of Loveland and the foothills. (Strong winds usually come from the west.) I believe I am at or near that wildland urban interface. There is a Wildfire Risk Assessment Public Viewer, and just west of my place the fire risk is low (but not the lowest rating) for under high to extreme fire danger conditions. So that is good, though about three miles to the NNW of my place the risk rises to moderate. That brings up a bunch of questions. What steps should I take to better protect my place? Should I have a list of things to pack if needed? Would I be ready to evacuate on a moment’s notice? What preparations would be prudent? These questions I have never considered until now.

Events like this make me pause and realize how short and fragile life is. While writing this post I read this from the prophet Joel, concerning a disaster of a plague of locusts:

“Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster. (Joel 2:12-13)

It is always a good time to stop, evaluate our lives, and return to the Lord God, but disasters can be a clarion call for us to repent and return to God. I am ready. I am not perfect. I need to return and receive God’s love and forgiveness.

Rule of Life and New Year’s Resolutions

I have been thinking about New Year’s resolutions, and I have realized that for me they tend to be reactionary to specific desires and many times what is currently happening. For example, I always want to lose the weight I gained during the holidays and a little bit more. I make a resolution/goal to lose weight and I do usually lose the holiday gain but not more. I found that there is another way that does not need to include resolutions and goals. The Rule of Life is a document of simple statements that create a pattern of life to live by. So a New Year’s resolution concerning weight loss for me would be something like to lose 5 pounds by summer, whereas corresponding life rules would be something like “eat small portions” and “exercise daily”. You can see that resolutions and life rules can go hand-in-hand. The Rule of Life provides an order and a foundation to proceed with the resolution if needed. And if the Rule of Life is working well there is really no need for any resolutions.

So what is the purpose for creating a Rule of Life? For me, it is to better serve God, and that includes keeping myself healthy, having healthy relationships, being available for the opportunities God gives me, and making use of some of the spiritual disciplines. I have not formally set down and created a list of life rules, but informally I have some rules I follow. Some rules, like daily scripture reading, prayer many times a day, and weekly worship with other Christians, I have faithfully followed for most of my life. I do not like the term ‘rules’, I would rather call them habits or guides. Keeping these habits or guides have made my life better, and better prepared me to serve my God. Doing them does not save me or make me better than others, because God has done all the saving. At my church Immanuel we have the “Marks of Discipleship” (scroll down in the link to the marks), which are a somewhat similar concept to the Rule of Life.

About 15 years ago, three words came to me over a period of a year. I believe the Holy Spirit gave me those words. The first word that came to me was “Intentional”. I need to be intentional in what I do. The second word was “Discipline”. It takes discipline to be intentional. And the third word was “Relationships”. “People are important”, said my college pastor to me way back then, but it has taken over 40 years for that to fully sink in. Those three words have helped me in my life to better serve God. Those three words can be made into life rules.

Be intentional in my actions.
Be disciplined with my intentions.
Make my relationships a priority.
Always recognize that “people are important” (to add a fourth one, quoting my college pastor).

Am I going to make some rules or habits for life? I am thinking about it. Looking at the above two paragraphs you can see I already have several unofficial habits of life that help guide me and make my life more intentional. I see this as a way to counteract some of the bad cultural forces in the world today. I need to be intentional instead of reactive to today’s culture. The goal is to keep my life centered on God. He is my foundation. Note, a Rule of Life is not something one can whip up in an hour or two, rather one should spend some time to prayerfully consider how God has gifted you, what opportunities there are, and how to best grow to become more like Jesus. Take some time to do it right. I am thinking of doing that. Some categories I have decided to look at are

Spiritual, Relationship with God
(Other) Relationships
Healthy Living
Service Opportunities

This list of categories for me is a starting point. Your Rule of Life does not have to be long with many details (e.g. the Rule of St. Benedict), but it can be short and creative (e.g. this and this). I suspect mine will be a page or two.

I think a Rule of Life document should define how you interact with people and what activities you will always engage in. It is a little late to get this done by January 1 because it should take some thought and deliberation, but it is something to consider doing and not something to put it off.

PS I pray during this Christmas season, you remember (and have remembered) that Jesus came to earth and was born so that he could bring us back into relationship with God. Christmas is primarily about Jesus and not about gifts and family though those are nice too.

Santa Claus and Saint Nicholas

In today’s culture, Santa Claus is the main icon of Christmas. Christmas today is a secular holiday whose religious origins are forgotten or ignored by many people. (Even atheist Richard Dawkins celebrates Christmas.) So who is this Santa Claus? Did a bunch of stores create him so that they could sell more toys? Today’s Christmas is definitely very commercialized and the stores do make use of Santa Claus to sell their goods at this time of the year, but no, there is a lot of history and tradition behind Santa Claus. Behind the modern version of Santa Claus are the traditions of the historical figure of Saint Nicholas, the English Father Christmas, and the Dutch Sinterklaas.

Saint Nicholas of Myra was the Christian bishop of Myra (present day Demre, Turkey). He was born on March 15, 270 and died on December 6 in 343. Saint Nicholas was known for his generosity. The most famous Saint Nicholas story is the story where St. Nicholas for three nights dropped a small bag of gold coins each night in an open window so that the three daughters of the house would have a dowry and would not remain single and be forced to become prostitutes. He was known to have made a pilgrimage to Egypt and Palestine. He was also imprisoned during Diocletian’s persecution. And he was likely at the First Council of Nicaea in 325, where some say he slapped (or punched) Arius, the heretic. Though he does not have any writings existing, he has been a very popular saint down through the centuries.

Saint Nicholas Day is December 6. In some parts of the world, people wake up on the morning of December 6 to find sweets in their shoes or in their hanging socks. Folklore has had a large part in determining who the giver of gifts is in the various parts of Europe and from Europe to the rest of the world with Santa Claus being the main figure. The dates when the gifts are given vary from December 6 to January 6, depending on who the giver is. In America, the 1823 poem “Twas the Night before Christmas” influenced how we see the Santa Claus legend, and other 19th century authors and illustrators also influenced our view of Santa Claus.

Though not all that much is known for certain about Saint Nicholas of Myra (there is a tomb and bones that date back to the right time period), I did find one quote, only one quote, attributed to him. And this quote fits the theme of giving.

“The giver of every good and perfect gift has called upon us to mimic His giving, by grace, through faith, and this is not of ourselves.” (Saint Nicholas of Myra)

So let us give, by God’s grace through faith, remembering God who gave his Son that we might have a full life in him. “Every good gift and every perfect gift” is from God (James 1:17).

For God so loved the world,that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

Gratitude

We recently celebrated the Thanksgiving Holiday. Did you have an attitude of gratitude? For many people Thanksgiving is a holiday of family, food, and football with shopping also on their minds. And sometimes there may be some talk about what they are thankful for, but it seems that seldom God enters in the conversation. There is nothing wrong with that, but Thanksgiving was about giving thanks to God in the original 1789 Thanksgiving Proclamation. The proclamation by George Washington at the urging of Congress was to set aside “a day of public thanksgiving and prayer” in response to the many blessings poured out on America by Almighty God, in particular acknowledging God’s hand in the nation’s independence and the peaceful transition to a national government. That gratitude perspective seems to be lacking today.

I am guilty of treating Thanksgiving only as a time for food and fellowship, and not acknowledging God’s “kind care and protection”, and asking God “to bless them with good government, peace, and concord”, and also asking God to “to pardon our national and other Transgressions” as found in the 1789 Thanksgiving Proclamation. Fortunately, I am in the habit of going to a Thanksgiving church service that covers those things. It is important to me to reset my mind on the goodness and providence of God. Our Heavenly Father is gracious and merciful, providing for all our needs. We need to be reminded that everything is God’s, and we own nothing.

Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it. (Deuteronomy 10:14)

It is all God’s, and even our abilities come from God.

Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth (Deuteronomy 8:17-18a)

In America, we live a luxurious life, and as Americans we want to be self-reliant. God reminds us that reality is different. It is all God’s and we are just managing what we have been given. God asks us to use what he has given us to his glory. We seldom have that stewardship perspective. We are focused on ourselves, and we do not realize that everything we have is really God’s. From the air we breathe to the car we drive, it is all God’s. The good news for us Christians is God has control, and he is working things out for our good (Romans 8:28). Therefore we can

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

If you are going through tough times and are not feeling very thankful because things are not going as desired, turn to God and tell him how you feel, and then look back and remember all God has done and thank him for that. Because knowing all God has done for us, we can look forward with hope. It lifts our spirits and stops our grumbling.

Do you have an attitude of gratitude? It has been shown to be good for your health and your relationships to have that gratitude perspective. By thanking God, you take the focus off yourself, and put it on God and how he has provided for you. Like our Founding Fathers, let us thank God for his gracious provision. It is good to do so.

It is truly meet, right, and salutary, that we should at all times, and in all places, give thanks unto Thee, O Lord, Holy Father, Almighty Everlasting God

The Trinity (Part 2)

In the last post, it was pointed out that the Bible teaches there is only one God, and yet there are three persons in that one God. This post will look at each person of the Trinity, and will take a look at some alternative views and provide some scripture against those views.

God the Father

Jesus referred to the God of the Old Testament as his Father. He had a good reason since he was the Son of God. He also encourages us to call him Father too. (There are also passages in the Old Testament, where God is referred to as Father.) God the Father is considered to be the Creator of the world, but the Son and Holy Spirit also have roles in the creation of the world. It is the Father that sent Jesus to be born as a human. And from the Father (and the Son) proceeds the Holy Spirit. If the word ‘God’ is mentioned, my first assumption is to assume that the passage is referring to God the Father (e.g. 2 Corinthians 13:14). I believe that most of the time that assumption is correct.

Jesus Not Created

Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary, and yet the Bible makes it clear that he existed from eternity. Some claim that Jesus was God’s first creation. They use Colossians 1:15b, “the firstborn of all creation”, as proof of God’s first created being. The word firstborn does not have to refer to being born first. The firstborn son had special privileges and so the word firstborn can also refer to one with the special privileges of a firstborn son without being firstborn. Moses was told to tell Pharaoh that “Thus says the Lord, Israel is my firstborn son” (Exodus 4:22b). That verse as well as the Colossians verse the word ‘firstborn’ can not be taken literally especially if you take the phrase in context. Here is the Colossians passage in context with the paragraph:

¹⁵He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. ¹⁶For byhim all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. ¹⁷And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. ¹⁸And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. ¹⁹For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, ²⁰and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. (Colossians 1:15-20)

In context you can see that the paragraph is about the preeminence of Jesus Christ. In verses 15a and 19b, imply that Jesus is God, not a creature. In verse 18 firstborn is used again in “firstborn from the dead”. I see the word firstborn in this case as Jesus being the source and leader to those who will rise from the dead, and I see it as the same for “firstborn of all creation”. He is the head of all creation. And in verse 16 it says that “byhim all things were created”. If he had a hand in creating “all things” then he could not be created.

Jesus Equal to the Father

Is Jesus equal to the Father? Jesus said “ the Father is greater than I” (John 14:28). He said that because during his time here on earth Jesus “for a little while was made lower than the angels” (Hebrews 2:9). Jesus is equal to the Father. He put aside that equality to become human so that he could save us on the cross (Philippians 2:6-8).

Holy Spirit is a Person

The Holy Spirit is the least known of the three persons of the Trinity. Many people consider the Spirit to be a force and not a person. I think they say that because the Holy Spirit empowers us. Jesus clearly refers to the Holy Spirit as a person in John 14-16. Here is a sample

“But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.” (John 15:26)

The Holy Spirit is not a force. He is a person. He gives witness to Jesus in the above passage. He teaches (John 14:26) and speaks (Acts 8:29). He also can be grieved (Ephesians 4:30), lied to (Acts 5:3-4) and become outraged (Hebrews 10:29). That sounds like a person, not a force.

Roles in the Trinity

There also tends to be some confusion over what the roles of each person of the Trinity. We want to assign specific roles, like the Father is the Creator, the Son is the Redeemer, and the Holy Spirit is the Sanctifier. Doing so is not wrong, but these roles are not exclusive either. We find out that the Father created the world through the Son, and the Spirit had a role too. And it is the same with the Son and the Spirit. The Bible points out that all persons of the Trinity are at work in all external actions that affect us. Note this does not make the three persons of the Trinity uniform. Each person of the Trinity has his own personality, so the actions of each person might not be the same. Norman Geisler describes the “roles” of each person of the Trinity this way:

In brief, the Father is the Planner, the Son is the Accomplisher, and the Holy Spirit is the Applier of salvation to believers. The Father is the Source, the Son is the Means, and the Holy Spirit is the Effector of salvation—it is He who convicts, convinces, and converts.

Again I do not want to make the “roles” exclusive. The Trinity is a mystery that we can not fully comprehend. Let us look at a couple cases.

Creation: Father (1 Corinthians 8:6), Son (Hebrews 1:2), and Spirit (Genesis 1:2)
Salvation: Father (John 3:16), Son (Romans 3:24), and Spirit (Romans 8:9)
Resurrection: Father (Galatians 1:1), Son (John 10:18), and Spirit (Romans 8:11)

Though some people have differing views on the Trinity, this doctrine of the Trinity is of critical importance. There is a reason that this doctrine has been central to church teaching for over 1500 years. It is important to know who God is. There is only one God and yet there are three persons to that one God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. On that belief the Christian faith stands.

[T]he God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him (Ephesians 1:17)

The Trinity (Part 1)

Today, it seems many Christians do not understand the Trinity, that is the Triune God. It is something that the Christian Church has believed and taught for centuries, and I believe from the beginning. The Trinity is not directly mentioned in the Bible, but it is something that is strongly implied in the Bible. When you put together all the Bible passages on God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, you find that everything makes sense with the concept of the Trinity. The Athanasian Creed lays out the doctrine of the Trinity with an emphasis on Jesus Christ in the latter half.

The Christian faith teaches that there is only one God with three persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) to that one God. There are not three Gods under a Godhead council but only one God with one undivided essence/substance. Jesus is not a third of God but he is fully God, just as the Father and the Spirit are fully God. Each person of the Trinity is equal to one another. There are many analogies for the Trinity, but they all fall short in some way or another. It is a mystery that does not completely make sense to our limited minds, but the doctrine is derived from the Bible.

An example from nature of something that does not make sense is the facts about light. Light is a particle (a photon), and light is an electromagnetic wave. It should be one or the other. We have instruments that measure light as a particle and other instruments that measure light as a wave. The Trinity is like that. We know it to be true but it does not make complete sense.

There are a couple of interesting passages that suggest the Trinity. The Great Commision says

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them inthe name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19)

Note that “name” is singular, but it points to three names, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And from the Old Testament the Great Shema which starts with

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. (Deuteronomy 6:4)

The word “God” in Hebrew is Elohim and it is actually plural, not singular as the passage or the corresponding verb would indicate. These two passages suggest that there may be something to this Trinity idea. (Note I may be stretching the context too much for Elohim to be a reference to the Trinity. The word, Elohim, occurs more than 2500 times in the Old Testament, mostly in reference to the one true God. The plural is also there to emphasize the awesome majesty of God, and maybe that is the only purpose of the plural.)

There are many passages (e.g. Isaiah 46:9, Romans 3:30a) that state that there is only one God. This meant the many New Testament passages that claim that Jesus is also God (e.g. John 1:1,14, Titus 2:13) had to be resolved with the doctrine of the Trinity. Similarly for the Holy Spirit there are passages that equate the Holy Spirit with God (e.g. Acts 5:3-4, 2 Corinthians 3:17-18) that need to be resolved. Scripture also records that Jesus and the Holy Spirit have the same attributes as God the Father. This makes the doctrine of the Trinity necessary and true.

Another concept that makes the Trinity necessary is the fact that one of the major defining attributes of God is love. God needs someone to love. Because our one God consists of 3 persons he can have that attribute of love. He did not wait to create us to learn about love, rather love was known because each person of the Trinity is fully loved by the other persons of the Trinity.

Part 2 will take a look at each person of the Trinity, and will take a look at some alternative views and proofs against those views.

Casual Christian?

Who are you? Are you a Christian in name only? Or are you a casual Christian? Or are you a disciple of Jesus Christ? What determines your Christian identity?

A Christian in name only tends to know very little of the Christian faith. They most likely will say they are a ‘good person’ and that makes them Christian. Unfortunately for them, they are wrong. Heaven is not for ‘good’ people. Heaven is for those who recognize they are bad, sinners in need of a savior. Christians have received forgiveness and salvation because of what Jesus Christ did on the cross. He died for each one of us and rose again that we might have life in him. A Christian has this relationship with the Triune God that was given to them.

A casual Christian is one who does ‘Christian things’ now and then or even weekly. They most likely have that relationship with God, but they are casual about their faith. They are Christian infants that still need milk instead of advancing to solid food (1 Corinthians 3:1-3). They have not grown in their faith because they are casual about it. They seem to be missing the desire or the discipline to grow in their faith.

In response to one’s salvation, a disciple or follower of Jesus Christ should have that desire to follow Jesus, to love him, and to learn of him. A disciple wants to become like Jesus, to imitate him (Ephesians 5:1-2). There are many Bible passages that can help us. I will bring up only the one that has been recently on my mind. In the Gospel of John Jesus says four times, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15,21,23,24). That is a hard saying and he says it four times in just a few verses. The commandments can be summed up with ‘love God and love people’ (Matthew 22:36-40). And that love is defined as acting out of the commitment to put the other person’s best interests ahead of your own. Many times, I have trouble loving. Many times, judgemental thoughts pop into my head, or I do not want to deal with these strange and different people. Those times I am being self-centered. And yet Jesus calls us to reach out to them and to love them, not just some of them but all of them. Jesus has given us the Great Commission to go and make disciples (Matthew 28:19-20). That means we get to walk with them in life, love them, and share the good news of God’s love for them.

Fortunately, God does not leave us alone to become a disciple and to love. The Holy Spirit comes to be our Helper, Comforter, Advocate, and Councillor. In that very same passage, where Jesus tells his disciples four times to “keep my commandments”, he also promises the Holy Spirit (John 14:15-27). The Holy Spirit is there to assist and empower our Christian life. We are not alone in our journey. Moreover, Jesus helps us understand our dependence on him. Jesus describes himself as the vine and we are the branches. That power to love flows from him to us, and by abiding in him we bear that fruit of love (John 15:1-17). Without Jesus, we wither and die. With God’s help, we are able to succeed. But God provides even more help for us.

We also have the help of local Christians who walk alongside us to help enable us to love God and love people more. God did not plan for any ‘Lone Ranger Christians’, rather throughout the Bible you find God’s people always gather together in community. It is through Christian community that spiritual growth happens (Ephesians 4:11-16). It is in the body of Christ that discipleship happens, and I have found that happens more in small group settings than not, so connect up with a small group at your local church and learn of Jesus. Our local congregations should be where we teach, learn and put into action the love of Jesus.

This post was inspired by a short book by Mike Falkenstine called “Being and Making Disciples in the Western Church”. Here are his five focus areas for local church leaders on making disciples.

A High View of Scripture
A Steely-Eyed Commitment to Making Disciples that Make Disciples
A Determination to Equip All Your People
A Confident Expectation in the Power of the Gospel
An Awareness that Spiritual Growth Happens Primarily through Community

So are we being too casual, individually and/or corporately, with our Christian Faith?

God Awareness

As I go about my daily tasks do I remember that God is right there with me and in me? Or do I do my daily tasks and leave God to help me with the big problems? Am I more secular than Christian? I do not want that to be me. I want a close intimate relationship with my God, and he desires it too. So how do I work on improving that relationship? What tools can I use?

The first step is to daily read the Bible. Think of reading the Bible as God talking to you in the context of him sharing timeless truths about himself from years ago. The entire Bible points to Jesus, so look for him. Remember the Bible is a library of “books” so one does not have to read straight through. Start with one of the four Gospels. Learn of Jesus. (If you are inexperienced in Bible reading, then get a study Bible with comments. It helped me.) And take time to stop and ponder what God is trying to tell you in the scripture passage.

Along with reading the Bible take time to pray. Prayer is simply talking to God. Praise him for being a great and wonderful God. Thank him for the little and big things in your life. And share with him the things that are on your heart. Since God is always with you, he is always there to listen to you. You can talk to him anytime and all the time. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says to “pray without ceasing”. God wants our continual prayers. He wants that intimate relationship.

Way back in the 1600’s, Nicholas Herman became a monk. He became known as Brother Lawrence and he worked in the kitchen at the monastery. So why do we know of him? Because he strove to walk in the presence of God in all his tasks, big and small. In order to do that he nurtured the practice of being in a continual conversation with God. Word got around what he was doing and many letters were written. After he died, 15 of his letters and 4 conversations were compiled into a small book, called “The Practice of the Presence of God”.

This is something I am trying to work on. I am taking small steps toward a continual conversation with God and to recognize that God is always with me. That awareness that God is always with me is a good feeling. When a person pops into my mind, I try to say a short prayer for them, right then and there. Also in the small daily things that happen in my life, I thank God for them. Why, because God is here to hear me and to help me build that intimate relationship.

There is an ancient short prayer, called the Jesus Prayer, that people use to nurture that connection with God. The prayer is “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner”. People for centuries have said this prayer over and over again during the day. It is a good prayer to remind us who we are. I have two short prayers that I say many times during the day. One is “Thank you Jesus”, which may be thanking him for something that just happened, or it may be thanking him for dying on the cross to save me. My other short prayer is “I am yours”, in which I acknowledge God is my master and I am his. It is a happy surrender.

Another way that I have seeked to grow closer to God was, when I was still working I would right after my devotion time hop in the car and head to work. I would first spend time praying, imagining Jesus was right in front of me on the hood of my car. (Imagining Jesus sitting next to me took my eyes off the road too much.) I would talk to him and share my concerns on the way to work. I would then pop in a Christian tape (it was an old car) and sing praises to God the rest of the way to work. The point I want to make is you can transform some of these mundane activities, like driving to work, to ways that connect you with God.

Sometimes it is good to set an “reminder”. I have a 1:00 PM appointment every Monday to pray for my local church. My cell phone reminds me every Monday to pray for Immanuel. That way when my cell phone “beeps” at me at 1:00 PM on Monday, I know it is time to stop what I am doing and to take a minute to pray for my church.

Why do this? I believe it builds good habits, it strengthens that God relationship, and it is one way to rewire your brain to be more focused on God. One needs to be intentional and it does take discipline. I have failed many times in my attempts. But I have learned to not think of the failure as a test that you have failed, but rather remind yourself that you are in training while God is doing that brain rewiring. Your failing is motivation to improve and do better next time. Remember God is at work, changing you to be more like him.

PS This post was inspired by chapter 5 in Ken Boa’s book, “Life in the Presence of God”.

COVID Thoughts

What is next with the COVID-19 story? Most of the world is still unvaccinated, but progress is being made. 41% of the world has received at least one dose, but only 1.9% of people in low-income countries have received at least one dose. It is in unvaccinated regions where the variants to the virus develop, whether it be Tanzania, Columbia, or Northern Idaho. Will a virus that is immune to the vaccines and deliver a deadly dose develop? It is possible. That is why, I believe getting the vaccine to everyone as quickly as possible is very important. We need to stop this virus before it mutates into something worse. (The delta variant is already worse than the original virus. What is next?)

Right now the COVID’s fourth wave has hit America hard, but things are different for this wave because many of us are vaccinated and that is making a difference. However the difference is not big enough because we do not have enough vaccinated people for herd immunity. The risk is lower for me since I have been vaccinated. The people I hang around with are vaccinated too, but we still need to be careful not to spread it. Unfortunately, the unvaccinated are catching the COVID virus and hospitals are filling up. What does America need to do? Is mask wearing needed? Is a lockdown needed? Mandatory vaccinations? Right now it is mostly up to the individual, to companies, or to the local governments. I do not have the answers.

People have different comfort levels. Some feel the need to wear face masks and others don’t. (And there are a few, mostly elderly, where a face mask makes it more difficult for them to breathe.) I am comfortable without a mask, but I respect those who differ and I am willing to wear a mask if it makes the individual comfortable. I am also willing to wear masks if the store or the local government requires it. It is a small price to pay to keep the peace and maintain relationships. And I believe that masks do make a difference. There are many studies that show face masks do help reduce the risk of infection.

There are conspiracy theories out there that are convincing people that the vaccines are bad for them. Yes, I consider these stories to be conspiracy theories. The evidence is missing, and the story requires large numbers of knowledgeable people to be lying. I cannot believe that a falsehood requiring so many knowledgeable people to lie can continue without being fully exposed. Here is an article debunking many of the myths. I ask you to look around and ask yourself, “How many people who I know have had lasting ill effects from the vaccine?” For me it is zero. The vaccine does not harm people. It is a very rare case when it causes problems.

The vaccine is effective at protecting you from the virus. If you are vaccinated there is a one in 5,000 chance per day of becoming infected, and it may actually be a one in 10,000 chance per day. Unvaccinated people are about five times more likely to become infected with the delta variant of the COVID virus than vaccinated people. They are now ten times more likely to be hospitalized, and 11 times more likely to die of COVID than those vaccinated. The vaccine works. One alternative treatment touted by conspiracy theories is a potential antiviral drug, ivermectin. Current results from the studies show that ivermectin is not effective against COVID-19. (There are some more studies in progress.) Those considering ivermectin should be very careful, because ivermectin is dangerous to take, especially in large doses.

Should we be getting a third shot, a “booster shot”, when many in the rest of the world do not have their first shot? The head of the World Health Organization says, we should wait, and there appears to be a question of whether the third dose is really needed. The rich countries have promised 1 billion doses to the poor countries, but only 15% of the promised amount has been delivered. Should we focus on helping poor countries get vaccinated? It would help prevent new strains of the virus from developing. Or should we first protect America’s vulnerable with a third shot? I am not certain if it is an “either/or” question. I think both can happen. I believe that we need to get the world vaccinated, the faster the better. The vaccines need to get to poor countries quickly, but only if the logistics are in place to get the people vaccinated. Logistics can be a problem. And I think third shots can happen too, but they should be the extra doses that are not going to be used by those getting their first and second doses.

With all that is happening, as Christians, we can be rest assured that our God is good and loving and in control. We need not fear. In the end, heaven awaits, where everything will be made right for us.