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Lighthouse September 10, 2024
You may not be old enough to remember some people being referred to as that. Thank God some things do change. Now we might say, deaf and mute. Such terms may call some people to think of Helen Keller who was also blind. Can you imagine? I think we grow slowly in our awareness of those with handicaps. We just recently redid the curbs at the church in Van Buren. And here I thought we were already handicap aware. It's just a little normal curb; but it needed to be changed. Can you imagine what it was like in our Lord's day to have any such handicap? This past Sunday we focused on Mark 7:31 “And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment.” 'He put his finger into the man's ears and, spitting, touched his tongue'. First of all we need to understand the deaf man's predicament. It doesn't say whether he was pagan or Jew but Mark clearly describes Jesus as being in pagan territory. In either case, if a person can't hear he never really learns how to speak. That of itself cuts one out of normal social endeavors. If one is a Jew it also means he can't hear the word of God proclaimed and what a loss that is. Then, he cannot only not hear he can't give praise to God, a most basic requirement for a child of God. And then, as with any health problem one is seen as being punished by God for some kind of sin. That too tends to give others an excuse for not dealing with you. And beyond that one might think “If God doesn't want to deal with you why should I?” You and I cannot imagine such total isolation. And, what does Jesus do? He puts His finger in the man's ear and touches his tongue with spit. How gross you might say. But, in biblical language what Mark is saying is that Jesus, the Word of God, entered the man's ear and, in putting spit on his tongue was showing the spirit of God giving him new life. Spit, for the Jew, is liquid breath. That is why some cultures might have people spitting on the bride's gown as she goes by. While some see being spat on as a curse others see it as bestowing a blessing. So, Jesus opens the man's ears and voice to fully be able to give God praise. Our primary privilege in life is to be able to praise God. So, what does this all say to us? At the least, to be a little more aware of impediments others may have keeping them from fitting into society. And then, beyond that to be more aware of the impediments which might keep someone else from that great privilege of giving praise to God with the community. I had a young lady, 72, who I hadn't heard from in 50 years call me this week and tell me how good God is even with her having glaucoma and not being able to drive any more. She also related how she had not been going to church because she thought that those who might take her would be too self conscious of her stumbling with her blindness. All I could say is 'Call them and give them a chance.' Do you know someone with an impediment who may be just dying for someone to invite them?
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Lighthouse September 3, 2024
NO, NO, NO
Isn’t it amazing? It seems to be the first word we all learn. Don’t touch this. Don’t do that. Do any of us really believe our parents didn’t love us by using that word? Do any of us really not love our children when we use the word? Of course we believe it is used out of love. ‘Don’t touch that stove.’ ‘Don’t climb that chair.’ ‘Don’t stay out late.’ We seem, at least in the ears of the listener, to say nothing but ‘no’. ‘That’s all dad ever says.’ We’ve all been there. As we get older and wiser we might start saying ‘Thank you’ to the coach or mentor who has taken the time to show us how to do something better. Sometimes we even feel special when the other person takes that time to help us perfect what we really want to do. Why then, why then is it so difficult to recognize God’s love in giving us His commands? After all, unlike our parents, He didn’t just give us birth; He created us. He is the one who knows how all of nature works. Scripture says Jesus didn’t need anyone to tell him about human nature. God loves us in telling us not to kill. He loves us in telling us not to commit adultery, not to be sexually involved with anyone but one’s own spouse. He loves us in telling us not to covet. He loves us in telling us not to steal. He loves us in telling us not to slander others. He loves us in telling us to honor our parents. He loves us in telling us he is a jealous God and wants us to keep His day holy and take time to worship Him. He loves us in asking us to respect His name. In all these incidences He is showing His love for us. There are natural consequences which will result when we begin to think we can exempt ourselves from any one of His commands. Every once in awhile I will hear someone say: ‘At least I never murdered anyone.’ As if we are the judge of a hierarchy in the commands. ‘Observe them carefully, for thus will you give evidence of your wisdom and intelligence to the nations, who will hear of all these statutes and say, ‘This great nation is truly wise; Or what great nation has statutes and decrees that are as just as this whole law which I am setting before you today?” Deut 4:6-8 From this section of Deuteronomy we can see that the commands are not just for ourselves. They give witness to the world of what a great God we have, what a great life coach. Do we really believe God wants the very best for us? Jesus says ‘if you know how to give good things to your children, how much more does God know to give to us. Are you willing to trust Him?
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Lighthouse August 27, 2024
Labor Day
Isn't it ironic: we celebrate Labor Day by making it a day off from work; a day to have the last blast of summer. My dad didn't always see it that way; he thought Labor Day was a good day to labor, a free day to get those things done we hadn't had time to. Although this holiday may have been a gift from the labor parties I don't hear anyone complain about another holiday. In reality, we should celebrate labor. In 2 Thess 3:10 Paul says that 'we commanded you: that if any would not work, neither should he eat.' While this sounds quite harsh whether living in a communal style or individually it says that the church should not support fellow believers who didn't work. That kind of behavior would be a scandal. At the time there was certainly a strong belief that the Lord was coming soon. So, if he's coming soon we may as well just wait for him and use the resources we already have. So for Paul this was also a spiritual lesson. We cannot determine when the Lord will come and so, should always be as the wise virgins, ready for when He comes. Remember, the conscientious virgins worked to keep their lamps lit. Besides, as Christians Paul reminds us that we all have different gifts. If God created each one of us differently; he gave each of us different gifts for the good of the whole. Every individual is a unique, one of a kind, manifestation of God's love and as such has something to contribute for the good of all. The world would be more impoverished if one does not use their gifts because of laziness. The world is also impoverished when individuals are not able to use their gifts because of different restrictions in society. Some can only use their gifts if others, in society, use their gifts to make it possible. We need others who can be mentors, teachers, architects and designers who can help remove the barriers that impede some of our brothers and sisters from using their gifts. We need doctors and, even politicians, who can help guarantee that every human being is able to come to life, and the fullness of life. Whether one be handicapped or unborn, all have something to offer which only they can fulfill. So yes, let us celebrate Labor Day. Let us celebrate and thank God for the gifts of service he has given us and those around us. Let us never hesitate to confirm and thank one another for the contribution of their gifts. Do you ever ask yourself how you can better use your gifts to serve others? Sometimes you may hear someone else say: 'Hey, you're really good at that.' Maybe that's your cue to use that gift.
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Lighthouse August 20, 2024
AGE
What's in an age? Because my birthday is coming up this week I thought I'd share with you personally what it means to me. I seem to get asked a lot: “when are you going to retire?” And I might point up. I get asked: “how old are you” and I might respond: “I'm going on 80.” does it matter? When I look at scripture and see age mentioned it is generally referring to a time when there was little note of time, especially for the average person who didn't have calendars. If someone wanted to say a person was very old they would use a very big number and the bigger the number the more important the person was made out to be. By the time we get to Moses and the Egyptians there seems to have been a closer recognition of the reality of time even though there would still be no birthdays marked down. That was only for the really important, and some you didn't know they were important until later in life. If you wanted to get in the ball park of when one was born you might look at Luke's description of Jesus' birth, which again, was written long after Jesus' death. Then you might look at Moses whom scripture described as reaching 120 years in Deut 34:7. And when you read Acts 7:23 Luke describes Moses as living the royal life until he was 40 then going to the desert until God called him 40 years later and then finally leading the Jewish people for another 40 years in the desert. The first 40 taught him to be a leader; the second 40 taught him to be a shepherd and humble. Numbers: 12:3; then the final 40 was to prepare the people for the promised land. 40 is always preparation. To that extent then, numbers are more a description than calendar event. So, if I'm going on 80 can I say I haven't finished my second stage of preparation? When am I going to retire? It's up to the Lord. What could I do any more fulfilling than what I am doing right now? To me that is the big question. You and I have both seen too many who retired, literally, becoming couch potatoes and dying young. Too many seem to lose their purpose in life. God has a purpose for all of us. Even if there is a point where, for various reasons, one needs to retire from their current employment it does not mean they should retire from life. It's great to be in a financially secure position where there is the freedom to not have to punch the clock but does that mean they should kick back and do only that which is recreational? Like Moses, God has put you in positions to develop the skills He has given you. If one takes their health and other responsibilities into consideration do you still have the capacity of improving the lives of others, even as a volunteer? I can't help but think of all those who help in our Outreach. They find purpose in life knowing they are helping so many others. I think of those who volunteer with the Ministerial Alliance Food program and know they are directly impacting the well-being of others. The great thing about being in what we might call Moses' third phase of life is that, as volunteers, we can more readily determine how and when to use our gifts. If you are thinking about retiring I pray you love yourself enough to not retire from a meaningful way of using all God has given you to make a difference for others.
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Lighthouse August 13, 2024
Which Calendar?
I’m sure most of us tend to think in terms of the school calendar, whether we’re going to
school, baby sitting for those who are, or even our church calendars. In any case
school has started. It even affects where i take my morning walk. So we will
begin looking at out church events, picnics, religion classes, adult study groups. In
many ways it is good as we tend to like order in our lives and that gives us a big chunk
of time to evaluate everything by. Who’s not affected by all the ball games? The
important thing I want to draw our attention to right now though is, even though this is
good we have to remember that as human beings we are body, soul, and spirit. It is
good to realize that we need to keep developing our minds; and that goes for us adults
as well. Our intellectual development should not have ended when we graduated. That
is one of the wonderful things my father did for me. Throughout my life he was always
studying advancements in whatever field he was pursuing, whether it was farming, electronics,
roofing. There was always something more to learn. And, of course, athletics is good,
manual labor is good. If we don’t develop good muscle tone early in life we are not quite
as likely to do so later. I know I couldn’t begin to pitch melons or hay now like I used to.
So, it doesn’t hurt for us to have study habits and physical development habits; what
about the other element of our lives. Because we are corporeal spirits we need to
constantly ‘stir up that flame of faith’ that is within us. If you found yourself slacking off
during the summer now is the time to really recommit to regular worship and perhaps
participate in an adult study. How about leading one at your own house during the
week? There are so many possibilities. And one thing we all know about ourselves, if
we don’t schedule it, it won’t happen. How many times have we said ‘I need to do such
and such.’ Most of the time that sentiment has no bite in it. Maybe we are waiting for
someone to invite us. How about us doing the inviting though? You can do it. 2Tim 1:6
Have a blessed, faith-filled school year.
Lighthouse August 6, 2024
LAST SUPPER or DIONYSIUS in the Olympics?
While there is no question that the opening pageantry of the Olympics was a scene meant to mock Christians I don't want to focus on such. Christians should never be surprised when they are made fun of or profaned. After all Jesus said that what was done to Him would be done to us. Let us continue to pray for all those who would blaspheme against religion or seek to destroy the beautiful creation of marriage and the complementarity of sexes. While the years of work for the equality of sexes is now backfiring even in the Olympic games with a male being able to quickly crush a female boxer, you and I need to be able to do all in our power to support sex as God created it and promote the dignity of this complimentary creation. God knew what He was doing. I would though like to focus on something the Olympics has to teach us. St. Paul pointed it out when he talked about the work people put in to winning the race. How many hours a day do most Olympic athletes spend getting to the very peak of their performance, whether it's swimming, racing, pair figure skating? Most of them perform to such a level that our jaws just drop when we witness it. We ask ourselves how humans can possibly achieve what they do. There is another race in which we are all called to participate. It is a race towards the ultimate goal of our existence, to realize we are here for only one reason, to get there and be with God for eternity. Here, let's see if we can say with Paul “I am already on the point of being sacrificed; the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. From now on there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.” 2Tim. 4:6ff I like what Paul says in 2Tim 2:4 “No soldier on service gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to satisfy the one who enlisted him. An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.” What does that say about us? If athletes know how to spend hours each day towards the pursuit of an earthly honor; if soldiers know how to stay focused on their call and responsibility, how much more should those who call themselves Christian stay focused on what the Lord has called them to? Is it enough to just be a good person? I hear that so much at funerals. Is it enough to have not committed any great sin? Better to have sinned greatly and been forgiven rather than be luke-warm as Jesus would say. No! Do we take time to study His word on a regular basis and discover more and more what He is calling us to? Do we take time to worship Him as well as praying for our needs and those of others? Do we really live out an on-going relationship with Him to the point He knows He is the most significant being in our lives? Let us thank God for the Olympics. But let us not lose sight of the one goal which is most important, our salvation.
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