For The Birds

 

For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.

Romans 12: 3 NKJV 

I've been amazed lately at the dust up caused by the bans of some top conservatives from certain social media platforms.  Now, were it me I don't think that I would be too outraged as I know the person I am inside.  However, I believe that this goes beyond simple denial of thoughts and speech.  For what we are witnessing now is a generation (s) whose sole social apparatus revolves around their electronic devices.  Believe me, I've known this for awhile.  I see the panic whenever a youngster loses their newest I Phone or somehow forgets their password.  You'd think that the entire world had ended.  Now, I have joined the millions who gather on Facebook as well.  There are times I post my blog page there.  Yet I still have not delved into the Twitter and Instagram world of the internet.  I guess I'm just too old school that way.  Sometimes I wonder, how did we even get to this place?  How did millions of Americans come to the realization that the opinions of so many people who have never met them matter?  I have a co worker whose daughter was somehow deemed not too popular at school and therefore her Facebook page was at  times filled with insults.  Again, how did we get here?  I come from a time where we went out into the world to meet people.  I remember people who gathered at bus stops and checkout lanes would open up in conversation.  Not so much anymore.  With the advent of the coronavirus as a national tragedy, more and more people are turning to the internet for their social needs.  This is wrong in so many ways.  Suddenly we're beset with millions of people online screaming LOOK AT ME!  Like I said, maybe I'm just too old school.  

So He told a parable to those who were invited, when He noted how they chose the best places, saying to them: "When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place, lest one more honorable than you be invited by him; "and he who invited you and him come and say to you, 'give place to this man,' and then you begin with shame to take the lowest place.  "But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes he may say to you, 'Friend, go up higher.'  Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you.  "For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted."

Luke 14: 7 - 11 NKJV 

The other day while at the gym I was surprised to have someone say that they had noticed me coming in quite often and complimented my resolve.  Let me tell you, I value conversations like this more than a like on Facebook.  This is genuine, one on one communication that I feel we are slowly losing in this country.  Yes, I know that there are virus restrictions, I get it.  Yet this shift to a digitized social interaction has been coming for some time now.  Will we finally come to a place where all human social interaction is done over a computer screen?  I fear that day.  Even now, in the midst of nationwide lockdowns, we are hearing stories of the increase in suicide, domestic violence and depression among our population.  The alarm bells are ringing.  Can there be any doubt that people are longing to return once again to conversation and interaction?  Our weekly men's group has now been relegated to some sorry video conference platform.  Where we used to meet every week to catch up with one another, is now simply a video discussion with barely little interaction.  Yeah, that sucks.  Our church services have also been forced to go the online video service route as well.  Which, in my opinion, will lead to a decline in congregation sizes and a rise in more people in need of the Lord.  Indeed, there are plenty of opportunities out there to share the gospel of Christ digitally.  Yet somehow I doubt that this is what Jesus had in mind. 

For do I now persuade men, or God?  Or do I seek to please men?  For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ.

Galatians 1: 10 NKJV 

~Scott~ 

Happiness Is...

 Rejoice in the Lord always.  Again I will say, Rejoice! 

Philippians 4: 4 NKJV

Back in the day some PR genius discovered a swanky new slogan which became a national rage.  He simply attached the words "Happiness is" to things that seemingly made other people happy.  Soon, there were bumper stickers and T shirts everywhere with phrases from Happiness is a warm puppy to Happiness is finally being divorced.  It seems that everyone was interested in letting others know just what made them happy.  I once had a shirt with the phrase "Happiness is playing hockey," it was great.  I was reminded of those times this week when I saw a young lady at the gym sporting a shirt with a smiley face on the front.  Of course, I wasn't sure if she was trying to let everyone know she was happy or that she simply liked smiling faces.  Personally, I would be all for people to once again start wearing shirts that advertised what made them happy.  Then at least we would know.  If we we were to do such a thing, just how many shirts or bumper stickers would you see out there proclaiming "Happiness is knowing Jesus?"  Now, I don't want to generalize, but I've seen some pretty unhappy Christians in my time.  Hell, I've been unhappy many a time as well.  I would say that knowing Christ, or even Christ in us, does not automatically make us the happiest person in the world.  However, it is definitely a good place to begin.  I think that it is a common misconception that once we become a Christian that we somehow began to walk around with a permanent smile on our faces.  Maybe for some people this might work, but not for me.  For even though we may believe and trust in God, we are still subject to the range of human emotions which our heavenly Father saw fit to create us with.  That's right, everything which we are has been lovingly created by God {Genesis 2:7}.  So, can we therefore theorize that whatever it is that makes God happy will make us happy as well?  Possibly.  Do we not seek justice, fairness and love?  My friends, our heavenly Father adores all of these things.  I would say that many of the very same things which make our own hearts glad also are dear to the Father as well.  I say many of the things because there are still those times where we continue to take joy in what is wrong.  Would the Father celebrate our alcoholism or drug addictions?  Probably not.  Then again, do these things truly make us happy?

"As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.  "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love.  "These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.  "This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.  "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends.  "You are my friends if you do whatever I command you.  "No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you."

John 15: 9 - 15 NKJV 

I can recall more than a few bad behaviors that I've indulged in.  None of them I'm sure made my heavenly Father happy.  But I'm pretty sure I know what it is that makes the Father glad.  Jesus shared this truth with us more than a few times.  We're told that if we keep the commandments of Jesus that we will abide in His love {John 15:9}.  I think we can pretty much guarantee that if we know and follow Christ that God will indeed be happy.  I wouldn't put it past God, were He into such things, to sport a T shirt claiming "Happiness is he who knows my Son".  I was thinking this week of something along those lines.  What is it that makes me happy?  I mean, REALLY makes me happy.  Well, I'm usually happy at my happy place a the local gym.  Writing makes me happy, as if that was not already obvious.  Yet, one thing that makes me happy beyond measure is that I am no longer beholden to those things I dabbled in the past which I thought made me happy.  Many things with which I passed my time which had no benefit to my well being.  I cannot ever get those moments back, but I can realize that God brought me to that place for a reason, and that reason was to show me that those things were not in my best interests.  These days, I can honestly say that Happiness is being Jesus.  The apostle Paul could, and did, proclaim the very same thing {Galatians 2:20}.  Think to yourself that you have a new bright yellow T shirt.  On the front of the shirt is a short phrase that only you can complete.  Happiness is....

Delight yourself in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

Psalm 37: 4 NKJV 

~Scott~ 

Time Sucks

 

Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit;" Whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow.  For what is your life?  It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.

James 4: 13 -14 NKJV 

I learned a new saying which I have applied to my own life some time back.  I'm not sure if the guy invented it, as it seems like a common knowledge thing.  Anyway, a fitness guy I follow mentioned the term "time sucks."  Time sucks?  Whoever heard of such a thing?  Well, it turns out that when you learn his definition of what he was referencing then you might just be familiar with a few time sucks in your own life.  See, time sucks are those things in life which occupy our time and keep us from the things that are important.  For me, my time sucks were pornography and surfing the internet...for pornography.  I have a coworker who spends a good deal of his time online with sports betting and fantasy football...time suck.  I've been there, we find that place where we feel comfortable and it becomes our go to comfort zone.  I get it.  When we're in our own time suck, the cares of life are of little or no consequence.  That in no way means that they go away, just that our attention is elsewhere.  It might be something as harmless as watching a tv show at night, reading a good magazine or going out for a few drinks.  It's wherever we find the comfort to spend our time.  The larger question is, what are our time sucks keeping us from?  Family time?  Quiet time with the Lord?  Time spent of important projects?  It could be any number of things.  Now, I've heard more than a few people over the years make reference to the phrase "idol worship" when describing these behaviors.  Well, if you can define a idol as anything that keeps our attention away from God then that may be true.  I believe that in our hearts we know what the right things are to engage with our time.  Which is how I overcame a major time suck I had been facing for years.  Read on.  

"I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."

Galatians 2: 20 NKJV 

Like I said, for years I had faced my own time suck of dealing with pornography issues.  Much of my time was spent in videos, magazines and online images.  To give you an idea of how far back this went, most of my dabbling into porn was done with videos and magazines as Al Gores internet had not yet been developed!  That was back in the day.  However, slowly I began to see the emergence of God into my life.  Don't get me wrong, I was still into porn, but God was certainly knocking at my door.  I hate to say that my own physical condition had a hand in my emergence from a pornography addiction, but that's exactly what happened.  A pastor friend of mine one day introduced me to a Christian brother who was pretty much into hardcore fitness and activity.  That was HIS time suck so it seems.  Like I said, we all have our own places where we spend our free time.  What my friend showed me was that I was able to do the activities I long ago thought I couldn't.  What was stopping me was...me.  Thus began the slow process of transforming one of my major time sucks from destructive...to constructive.  After all, that is what's all about, right?  Another huge realization came when I discovered the truth of who I was as a man.  I wasn't the out of shape, porn browsing junkie that I for so long thought I was.  For lack of a better explanation...I am Jesus.  The apostle Paul assures us of this reality in Galatians {Galatians 2:20}.  These days my time sucks consists of trips to the local gym at least 4 times a week.  These days my time sucks consist of finding new and healthier ways to nourish myself.  Through it all, Christ Jesus is in me.

~Scott~ 

More Than Words

 

For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.

Romans 15: 4 NKJV 

If anyone has read my page for more than in passing, you would notice that I often quote my scriptures from the New King James version of the bible.  It's not really a coincidence, for at my desk is a copy of a Charles Stanley study bible in the NKJV translation.  Yes, I was a big Charles Stanley fan back in the day.  So, why does all of this matter in the big scheme of Christianity?  Well, it seems that sooner or later the question will pop up in Christian circles over which bible translation is the "most" accurate or holds better to the original text.  Honestly, I have no idea.  The reason that I use the NKJV in my study is that it sounds more...lifelike.  I tried working with the King James version, but there were far too many thee's and thou's for me to deal with.  That was just the language of the day.  So, again, why does all of this chatter matter?  Is it really that important to the Lord which translation we get His word from?  I think not.  A good friend of mine who shall remain nameless and continues the frustrating practice of answering questions with even more questions (despite my own tendency to do the same) has taken to using the Concordant version of scripture in the vain hopes that this version would somehow give us a glimpse into the meaning of scripture.  I remain unconvinced.  We're told that ALL scripture is of benefit to us {2 Timothy 3:16}.  I take that to mean my NKJV, the concordant and, yes, even that silly Hawaii bible from a few years back.  So, if all scripture is used for basically the same benefit, why our struggle to get the most accurate true to the gospel version?  Well, we naturally want to know what the writers of the scripts intended when they wrote the scriptures.  So, we created for ourselves concordances for the scriptures.  Now, it seems to me that what we've been seeking all along with all of these different translations is clarification.  What did the writers mean to say?  That can be a sticky topic when you get into different languages such as Hebrew, Greek and other dialects.  Remember this, however, it is not the scriptures which have changed, we've changed the scriptures to suit our own thoughts.

For prophesy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

2 Peter 1: 21 NKJV

I've often wondered what portions of my go to text of the NKJV are simply added to suit the thoughts of the day.  That is, the attitudes of those who transcribed it.  It's no secret that our own thoughts, feelings and beliefs can and do influence how we ultimately see things.  Some call this our "filter."  I have a filter, and most assuredly the translators of the scriptures had their own filters as well.  Do these filters change at all the meaning of scripture?  I would say no.  Like a political spin doctor, there have been those who have added their own spin to the texts we often read.  How many of you grew up reading the old testament and coming away with the idea that God was angry and vengeful?  This God who provided for the birth of Christ Jesus and the washing of my sins was vengeful?  Yet we see this attitude added to many a Sunday sermon.  The scriptures didn't change...we changed.  I'm of the belief that if we are seeking the meaning of scripture we should go to the author Himself.  Think about it, who would know more about scripture than God?  I truly believe that through His revelation that He will open our understanding to whatever passages we are wondering about.  Now, will God use different translations of scripture to reveal Himself?  Absolutely!  I recall reading the words of the apostle Paul as the reality of Christ Jesus was revealed by the Lord in me {Galatians 2:20}.  Could the Lord have chosen a different translation to reveal this truth?  Yes, but He chose to use that which I had on hand.  It was through these words of Paul that I came to the realization of Christ in me.  The importance is not on which translation He used, but on the result He achieved in me.  It is through scripture that He will be revealed.  

"You search the scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of me.  "But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life."

John 5: 39 - 40 NKJV 

~Scott~ 

Why I Believe

 When Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said to him, "Do you believe in the Son of God?"  He answered and said, "Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?"  And Jesus said to him, "You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you."  Then he said, "Lord, I believe!"  And he worshipped Him.

John 9: 35 - 38 NKJV 

The story of the blind man healed by Jesus we find in John 9 is a interesting contrast to the beliefs of that  day.  On the one hand, we have the man who was healed by Jesus because he had been blind from birth {John 9:1}.  Immediately, the disciples of Jesus ask Him THE question.  "Who has sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" {John 9:2}  What was Jesus' answer?  Neither the man nor his parents sinned.  I find this passage interesting because all too often when we hear of someone in distress or dire circumstances, our immediate thought turns to what sin they could have possibly done to anger God enough that He would afflict them.  I often encountered this while I was in church as well.  Many a Sunday I heard more than a few friends would ask me what part of my life God was upset with.  Is this how we should react whenever hardships come?  I guess the better question would be, are those hardships in our lives a matter of Gods punishment upon us?  Well, if you hold to the concept of a angry, vengeful God then your beliefs might just fall in line with this mindset.  I don't see things in that way.  My own view of God is one of who He truly is.  Of the very nature of God.  The apostle John assures us that instead of anger, the Lords true nature is love {1 John 4:8}.  Are we to believe that a loving God continually finds ways to punish those who fall out of line?  Did Jesus look upon the blind man as having sinned and therefore deserving of punishment?  No, His first thought was of restoring his sight.  From the scriptures we can see plainly that it was not Jesus who condemned, but the Pharisees of the day {John 9:16}.  In the end, it was the question of Jesus that changed the mans life forever...Do you believe?

That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.  For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Romans 10: 9 - 10 NKJV 

I have run across some pretty interesting takes on Christianity in my lifetime.  However, I can still confidently say that I believe in Jesus.  I have seen the Lord work in ways only He understands, yet I still believe.  Some call this blind faith, I prefer to think of it as knowing the truth of who I really am.  There are a few simple facts which support my beliefs.  I was created in Gods own image {Genesis 1:26}.  Not only that, but it was God who breathed into me the breath of life {Genesis 2:7}.  From the very start God has been a intimate part of who I am.  But that was back in the days of creation, right?  Ok, I get that.  Yet the apostle Paul assures us of our identity as well.  It is Paul who introduces us to Christ in us {Galatians 2:20}.  Believe me, there are plenty of haters running around in the world who will try to have you believe that Jesus could never be one with a sinner.  Well, that might have been true in the days before Jesus, but not now.  For Jesus defeated sin once and for all {Romans 6:6-11}.  Could you stand behind a belief that claimed that your sins were forgiven by the death of Jesus on the cross and yet still cling to the belief that you are a sinner?  Yeah, me neither.  Yet this is the message of more than a few modern church leaders.  I prefer to see the Lord for who He truly is.  That through His love for me He formed me in His image.  That in His love He provided for my life in Him.  That is why I believe. 

If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? 

1 John 4: 20 NKJV 

~Scott~ 

Learning To Let Go

 

And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.

Galatians 6: 9 NKJV 

There is a common phrase out there that I was reminded of this week.  In fact, it is one my mother used to remind me of every so often when my own impatience would overtake me.  Let go and let God.  Yes, let go and let God do the effort.  Sounds simple right?  Yet there are far too many occasions where I (and more than a few others I'm assuming) continue to work in the arena which the Lord is more suited for.  I get it.  My mother would tell me a story every so often of when I was young and would be working on one model airplane project or another.  There were times when I would get frustrated at the parts not fitting together that I would lose whatever patience I had.  She would then suggest that I take a break from what I was doing.  No!  Not until the project is finished.  See, I wanted to fix it.  I wanted to make right what I saw as a bad situation.  In my older years, I've often seen the very same behavior in more than a few situations I get involved in.  Situations which have one clear cut answer.  Let go and let God.  For one thing, it sure as heck would spare me a lot of stress and turmoil.  But why stress out over something which is better left to the Lord to manage?  Because I want to fix it that's why.  In some ways I'm still that little kid struggling with that model airplane.  So where is the line drawn in those situations where we are better off allowing God to do what He does best?  Perhaps to better understand this is to understand the words of the apostle Paul in his description of the truth of Christ Jesus.  See, Paul believed that it was Jesus who was living through him {Galatians 2:20}.  Paul understood that it was ultimately Jesus who did the heavy lifting in his life.  Whatever it is that we are dealing with.  Whatever situation has us flustered.  It is Jesus who is there to work on our behalf if we allow Him to.  Let go and let God.  

"I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."

Galatians 2: 20 NKJV 

I can honestly say that I don't believe that it is the desire of Jesus that we attempt to handle each and every situation alone.  It is Jesus who instructs us not to worry over such things {Matthew 6:25}.  I feel that a big reason that many try to work in situations best suited for God is the mistaken belief that we are alone.  If I don't do something then who will?  Well, we're not alone.  We never have been.  It is Christ Jesus who shares in each and every thing which we do.  Therefore, when we reach that point where things may seem a bit overwhelming, it is Jesus who is there with us.  For those who have realized the truth of Christ in us, letting go and letting God is as simple as allowing Christ to work through us.  Why should we stress when we have Jesus working with us?  Maybe that's why He didn't want us to worry.  Because when we worry, we tend to try to fix things ourselves.  What good is it for me to get frustrated when Jesus is there to tell me, "I got this."  To live as one with Jesus is to know that there will never be any part of our life that He is not intimately involved in.  Once we understand this, the daily struggles of life don't seem so hard anymore.  Let go and let God.

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your cares upon Him, for He cares for you.

1 Peter 5: 6 - 7 NKJV 

~Scott~ 

Scrooged

 

We are of God.  He who knows God hears us; he who is  not of God does not hears us.  By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

1 John 4: 6 NKJV 

One of my favorite movies of all time is the film A Christmas Carrol with George C Scott as the venerable Scrooge.  It is Dicken's tale of redemption during the holidays.  I was pondering this film the other day as I thought about how we ourselves lose sight of our own identity at times.  It happens more than we'd like it to I'm sure.  Those moments where our flesh takes over and we lash out at others or treat someone wrongly.  We've been Scrooged.  Of course, all of this boils down to our own identity and being that person who we know that we are.  Was Scrooge really that selfish Ogre the first part of the movie showed him to be?  Or, as with many a Christian, had he simply forgotten who it is that he was inside.  I suggest that he had merely forgotten himself, only because I have been Scrooged more than a few times in my own life.  That's right, I have forgotten who it is that I am on more than a few occasions.  This begs the question, who are we?  Who am I?  Who is this man that I so easily forget and allow someone else to take over?  Well, perhaps the apostle Paul explains it best when he speaks to Christ Jesus living in us {Galatians 2:20}.  Did Paul, who went by Saul back in the day, know who he was as he persecuted the early church?  I think not.  He was unaware of his true identity.  However, he soon came to his own realization on a road to Damascus.  It was here where, as Paul tells it, that God chose to "Reveal His Son in me" {Galatians 1:15-16}.  That always seemed strange to me, that God would allow the man Saul to persecute His church so viciously before finally revealing to him who he really was.  Keep in mind that this had less to do with the church and more to do with Saul.  At the end of the day, Paul became one of the greatest defenders of Christ we have ever known.  Many have seen the love of the Father who revealed Himself in one had been so despised as Saul was.  

"I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."

Galatians 2: 20 NKJV 

I believe that this realization of Christ Jesus in us to be one of the most difficult concepts to understand.  Paul, in fact, referred to it as the "Mystery among the gentiles" {Colossians 1:27}.  I came to the realization of Christ in me a few years ago, and have struggled with many questions ever since.  We can read it through the scriptures.  We can claim to understand.  However, there are times when all it takes is a trigger and we suddenly forget who it is that we are.  That trigger may be a life event or someone provoking us to anger, yet if we fail to stop and realize who we are we will be caught up in something we will soon regret.  I, for one, do not want to be known as one who dwells in the behaviors of the world.  That's not who I really am.  Each and every time I have fallen into such behaviors I have regretted my decision to do so.  It may sound silly, but as we are faced with different situations, we do well to stop and take stock of what we are facing.  Knee jerk reactions do not do well here.  Then, as we contemplate our actions we ask ourselves the question, "Is this who I really am?"  Believe me, it does work eventually.  Eventually we will become so in tune with our knowledge of our own identity that we will instantly know Christ who is in us.  We will know in an instant whether our actions will glorify Christ in us...or reveal our flesh side once again.

To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

~Scott~