Just Life

I always get a little nervous publically citing something from a movie.  Inevitably, someone gets offended about the rest of the content in the movie and lets me hear about it.  With that said, however, I thought I’d borrow a line from the Touchstone Pictures presentation Tombstone.  In it, Kurt Russell’s Wyatt Earp is having a conversation with Val Kilmer’s Doc Holiday.  Earp says he “just wants a normal life.”  Doc replies, “There is no normal life.  There’s just life.”

Many of us aspire to have some other kind of “life.”  We look around at everyone else and think they have it better.  Television presents us idyllic examples of the way “things ought to be.”  It doesn’t take too long before we begin to think that’s the norm.  We want that life, not the mundane, out-of-the-norm life we have.  While goals and aspirations are great, and we always want to strive to better ourselves, we need to remember this one thing.  There’s just life.  Make the most of the life you have now.  It’s the only one you have this side of eternity.

“Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.  I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.  I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:11-13, ESV, emphasis added).

Timing is Everything

Here we go again.  It seems time after time, the media tries to swat down any potential threats from rising in the Republican primaries.  First it was Herman Cain and an endless series of allegations (whatever happened to those by the way?).  Now, Newt Gingrich’s dirty laundry is getting aired…again.  I’m not promoting or defending either of these men.  What they have or haven’t done is fair game in the world of journalism and politics.  To me, it’s just that the timing always seems to coincide with a spike in the polls.  Why does some scandalous piece of old news always seem to re-emerge just as someone new begins to climb in the polls?  How does breaking news always seem to hit within days or even hours of the polls opening?  What an incredible stroke of luck for both the media and the politicians involved.  Apparently, in journalism and politics, timing is everything.

Where Are We Running?

According to its latest report, Planned Parenthood made 841 referrals for adoption in 2010.  Contrast that with the fact that they performed over 329,000 abortions during the same period of time.  It seems that the eighth-century prophet Isaiah’s words apply to our culture today: “Their feet run to evil, and they are swift to shed innocent blood; their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; desolation and destruction are in their highways” (Isaiah 59:7, ESV, emphasis added).

It is worth noting that the true values of a society are revealed in how they treat the weak, the infirmed, the unborn, and the elderly.  Apparently, we are far from where we need to be.

 

Bible Reading Plans

If you’re interested in reading through the Bible this year, these links provide you a number of great reading plans.  The first takes you to an article written by George Guthrie.  He is the author of Read the Bible for Life.  Our church followed one of these plans in 2011.  He provides a number of great links in print, digital, and audio.  You can read his suggestions here.  The second takes you to the ESV website.  They too offer a wide variety of plans in different formats.  My family and I are using the M’Cheyne one year reading plan this year.  You can find their offerings here.

The Lasting Impact of Our Decisions

I spent part of Monday watching the Gator Bowl.  Actually, as a Buckeye fan, I spent part of Monday wincing through the Gator Bowl.  It was a bad ending to a bad season (Ohio State’s worst season in over 100 years).  The game did serve to remind me of something though.  Our decisions have a lasting impact.

We often think that we can do what we want as long as no one is impacted but ourselves.  The truth of the matter is that all of our decisions matter because all of our decisions impact someone.  A while back, several Ohio State players decided to skirt the rules.  When they were caught, their former coach decided to cover for them.  No harm, no foul.  Not quite.  The students that remained paid the price for those decisions.  Granted, the biggest name of those players was removed from team and the coach was fired.  They both, however, landed quite comfortably in the NFL.  The kids and the coaches that remained took the brunt of the consequences.  They had to answer the unending barrage of questions.  They had to limp through a season filled with scandal, uncertainty, and ultimately penalties for crimes they did not commit.  They were impacted by the bad decisions of former boosters, players, and coaches alike.

The decisions we make impact the people around us too.  We may not think they do, but they do.  Sometimes the impact is instant and dramatic.  Sometimes it is it more subtle and takes longer to develop.  Regardless, our choices impact others.  Our choices impact our spouse, our children, our families, our co-workers, our neighbors, and untold others.  The decisions we make create ripples all around us.  Subsequently, we should make good decisions.  Actually, we should make the best decisions because we know that our lives, and the lives of people around us, will be impacted by them.

Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for God’s glory.  Give no offense to the Jews or the Greeks or the church of God, just as I also try to please all people in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of many, so that they may be saved (1 Corinthians 10:31-33, HCSB).

A Quick Thought on the Federal Budget Showdown

Here’s a thought.  Every incumbent member of congress should have their pay and benefits stopped immediately for dereliction of duty.  They failed to pass a budget last year out of election-year fears.  Since they refused to do what they were elected to do, all of the perks and benefits of their position are immediately frozen.  What a remarkable combination of ineptitude, arrogance, and political grandstanding.

And, on a related note, shame on the contemporary media for refusing to point out that it was the last congress that refused to put together a budget.  That point is remarkably absent from their coverage of this issue.

Book Review: Slave

Thanks to the folks at Thomas Nelson for their review copy of Slave: The Hidden Truth About Your Identity in Christ, by John MacArthur.

John MacArthur has been clearly teaching Biblical truth for decades.  His new book Slave is another example of what he does best.  He takes a biblical concept and presents it in a clear and insightful way.  MacArthur’s whole premise is that virtually every English translation of the Bible has mishandled the Greek word doulos.  The word literally means “slave.”  Almost every English translation uses the word “servant” instead.  MacArthur not only traces the rationale for this, but also demonstrates how this mistranslation has damaged our understanding of Christianity.  MacArthur contends that as slaves, we are obligated to our Lord Jesus Christ.  We are to be completely surrendered to Him.  Servants can come and go.  Slaves, however, are completely submissive to their masters.

MacArthur fleshes out what it means to be a slave for Christ.  He gives a historical background to the concept, and then helps the reader apply the concepts to her Christian walk.  He then moves on to the biblical truth that we are more than slaves.  We are also sons.  We are adopted members of the family of God who are completely surrendered to our Lord and master.  What a great concept, so deep on one hand and yet so simple on the other. And, Dr. MacArthur does a great job of mining it.  His book is worth your time.  Grab a copy and explore what it really means to be a slave of Christ.

Some Loses Are Worse Than Others

None of us our perfect.  I’m not, nor are any of the people around me.  As I write this, I’m keenly aware of my own shortcomings.  With that said, however, one of the things I always try to remember in my own life and try to instil in my kids is the value of honesty and integrity.  We talk all the time about how it’s easy to make mistakes and do things we shouldn’t do.  When that happens, we need to own up to our failures and accept whatever comes our way.  I can’t begin to count all the times I’ve said something like, “I may be disappointed in your choices or your behavior, but it will always go worse if you lie about it.  It’s important to be a person of integrity.”

I think that’s what bothers me the most about the mess coming out of Columbus these days.  If you are a sports fan and a Buckeye fan (and I’m guilty on both counts), it’s hard to imagine that you haven’t heard about the emerging scandal concerning Jim Tressel.  While I don’t pretend to have all the facts (and I want to be careful not to throw stones), the one thing that seems pretty obvious is that there’s been a lot of lying over the last few months.  Tragically, with all the accusations, investigations, and penalties comes something else – a loss of integrity.  And, in life (unlike football), that’s a loss that is hard to overcome.

Don’t Be Shocked

Every day, we flip on the television or jump online and see what’s happening in the world.  Many times, we find ourselves dismayed over what we see or hear.  Just this morning, I read a headline that shocked me at first.  Then I stopped and remembered these words:

“But know this: Difficult times will come in the last days.  For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, without love for what is good, traitors, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to the form of godliness but denying its power.  Avoid these people” (2 Timothy 3:1-5, HCSB)!

The words of the Apostle Paul remind us that this world will become more and more corrupt as time goes by.  This ongoing corruption is not something that should surprise us.  Instead, we need to be careful not to be swept up in it.  In addition, we need to be committed to prayer and to the sharing of the gospel of Christ.  Finally, we need to be comforted by the fact that God is still in control.

About Time for Some Good News

Part of my morning routine is to fire up the ol’ iPhone and hit some news apps for the day’s headlines.  As I did so today, this is a sample of what I see:  the ratification of a bad arms deal with Russia; South Korea training for conflict with North Korea; a state of emergency in California; the fallout of the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell; the FCC’s “net neutrality” decision; and a story about a guy who wrote a book for pedophiles.  I close my news apps with disappointment and disgust.

Having enough of the day’s headlines, I get in my car and begin my morning commute.  On the way, I hear a story on the local news about sex offenders working as security screeners for the TSA.  More good news.  As I exit the interstate headed to my office, there’s a  giant sign reminding me that gasoline has now eclipsed the three dollar a gallon mark.  Ho, ho, ho.  What a day.

Aren’t you tired of all the bad news?  Wouldn’t it be great to receive some good news for a change?  Well, I began thinking about some good news delivered long ago, and it seemed more than appropriate to share it today:

“And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.  And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” – Luke 2:10-14, ESV

Finally, some good news.