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God spoke the physical universe into existence, and in so doing, he also established the way it would work.  In the final stages of his creation, he made man and woman to help with the execution of the plan.  He gave them the skills to cultivate plants and raise livestock.  He gave them a brain to think and to know, and a heart to feel and to love.  He made them in his own image - with one exception - He did not give them the power to determine right and wrong.  But He did give them the power to choose right and wrong.  And regrettably, choosing wrong seemed to be much easier than doing what was right.  The mistakes compounded for centuries until God's plan proceeded into its most important phase.  God allowed his only son to be born into the world so that He could demonstrate to us what God intended.  Jesus showed us how to love by serving others, not by making ourselves our own idols.  God then allowed his son to die a brutal death on the cross, and in so doing, bear the cost of all of our past sins and all of our sins to come. I want to be God's image more clearly today.

My words today were inspired by a short video that a good friend shared with me.   Take a look and let me know your thoughts. 

A Peculiar Sort

I have been fortunate most of my life not to be aware of many of my enemies.  I say "not aware", because I am quite sure that there are plenty of people who don't like me - I just don't know who they are.  Similarly, there are people that I don't care to spend time with.  I wouldn't really call them enemies, more just annoying.   Said another way, they don't do anything for me.  As I have gotten older, I find it easier to be "nice" to them when I am around them.  I can pretend that they aren't annoying for a bit.  I believe pretending to be nice is better than being mean.  But then, when I am outside their presence, they are the butt of my conversation with those inside my comfy little circle.  My true feelings show.

In Matthew 5, Jesus says: “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor[i] and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?   

Loving those that love me is nothing special.  Anyone can do that.  The Greek word "periousios" is best translated as "peculiar", and that is one of the ways the Bible describes how Christians should be.  Someone looking in from the outside might think, "Why is he behaving that way?  He seems to be treating others so kindly even in the face of ridicule.  He seems so peculiar."  I want to try to be more peculiar today.

My thoughts today are inspired by Chapter 12 of "The Cost of Discipleship".

Sibling Revelry

One of the classic books on Christian discipleship is Dietrich Bonhoeffer's "The Cost of Discipleship".  I read it several years ago, but I am reading it again now.  Chapter 9 is entitled "Brother".  I have two brothers, and many of us have at least one, so it should be relevant to a lot of us, right?  But I was a little taken aback when the first verse of the bible reference was talking about how we shouldn't murder people.   When I was younger, I may have thought I was mad enough to murder one of my brothers, but never seriously considered it.  In Matthew 5:21, Jesus says, "You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgement."   Of all of the laws and social issues that are debated every day online and around the water cooler (do those even still exist?), I believe "not murdering" is considered by all, except the deranged, to be a good idea.  But verse 22 continues, "But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgement."  So Jesus is taking the Old Testament commandment, "do not murder", and extending it to "do not be angry".   While we may agree that anger is also something to avoid, unlike murder, most of us feel some level of anger almost every day.  OK, that gives me something to work on that I should be able to manage.  Try not to be angry with my two brothers.  I talk to them and see them regularly, but certainly not every day, so I should be able to handle that most days.  But it is somewhat unsettling that Jesus is not just talking about not being angry with our siblings.  We are all God's children, and we are invited to be the adopted brothers and sisters of Jesus.  If we choose that, we must also choose to try to follow him and his teaching.  Think of who makes you angry.  Remember that they are a child of God.  Try not to be angry with them today.  I will try, too.

Tom Cruising

The bad news: Caroline and I are not great about planning vacations. The good news: We have amazing friends that are - and sometimes they include us. A couple of months ago, one of my best friends from college and his wife invited us to join them on a Caribbean cruise. We thought about it for about 13 seconds and then accepted.  We embark on Friday and return the following Saturday.  We have had a busy start to the year with the sale of our house in Braselton, so we are looking forward to some down time.  More than that, we are looking forward to spending extended time with our friends reminiscing about old times and talking about what's in store for us next. I look forward to giving you an update when I return. I encourage you to prioritize time with the most important people in your life, and I commit to doing a better job of initiating opportunities to do that with our friends in the future.

What goes around...

We raised our kids in South Gwinnett, and they attended the Shiloh school district.  Our church home was Annistown Road Baptist Church.  My wife, Caroline, helped with Vacation Bible School, and one of her most energetic students was Brandt.  We got to know Brandt and his family well over the 2 decades that we attended there.  We are now living full time at Lake Hartwell and visited Lavonia First Baptist Church last Sunday.   Who was delivering the message from the stage? You guessed it - Brandt Akin.  Brandt is now married to Morgan and has grown from a mischievous boy into a seasoned speaker who you can tell loves the Lord.  We were also delighted that Morgan was also on the stage leading worship.  We were so excited to be able to see familiar faces and to hear what Jesus had laid on Brandt's heart.  If you are in the Lavonia area on a Sunday, please feel free to stop in for worship.

Love Is In The Air

 

As most of us were finalizing plans for Valentine's Day celebrations with our significant others last week, some students at the University of Kentucky had something else in mind.  A group of students working in conjunction with UniteUS, hosted an event at the Rupp Arena that attracted over 7000 students.  They came not to celebrate flowers, candy and Cupid, but to worship Jesus.  2000 of the 7000 students attending came to the altar to either accept Jesus for the first time, or to make a new commitment to following Him.  UniteUS started at the Auburn University campus and is currently scheduled to be at 5 more campuses.  Praise God for UniteUS and for the students who had the faith to invite their friends to hear about Jesus for the first time.  For more information on the UK event click here. 

Careful Consideration

 

Last week I posted about us selling our house in Braselton and moving to Lake Hartwell full time.  I mentioned that I had broken my arm and was minimal help with packing and moving boxes. Caroline picked up my slack, but I am fully aware that my injury was not my main disability.  My main disability is that I am such a routine person, that doing anything outside of the normal routine is emotionally draining.  Caroline, knowing this, graciously executed the move.  She didn't just throw stuff in boxes.  She went through boxes that hadn't been opened since we moved to this house 18 years ago, and sorted things into trash, goodwill items and keepers, and then repacked the keepers.  But that is kind of how our relationship goes.  I do routine things quickly, and she does everything correctly with care.  Quickly isn't always bad, but correctly with care is almost always better.  I could try to make a case that you need both types to make a relationship work, but I would just be posturing.  Our relationship works because Caroline takes care with our things, our friends, our family and me.  I love her so much and can't imagine life without her.  Happy Valentine's Day, Caroline.