One Way or Another, Bluffton Today Article, Sunday January 29, 2023

For some reason I get asked a lot of questions.  Maybe it’s due to the fact that I ask a lot of questions.  Or I talk to a lot of people.  My grandkids asked me why I talk to everybody.  I told them, “Everybody needs encouragement.  Sometimes just recognizing them for what they do, even if it’s a small task, is encouragement.  Saying hello can mean a lot to some people.”  I don’t think they understand yet, but they will one day.  I hope.

After a rousing discussion with a person who does not believe at all in Jesus, he asked me, “Why do you believe in Jesus.”  I was sure he thought he was going to get the typical answers to such a question such as “I just do.”  Instead, I told him, “I took some time and researched Jesus.  There is no doubt that a person with the name of Jesus lived.  The question is was he the Son of God?”  He looked at me with a funny look.

“So what did all your study tell you?” he asked  I told him my conclusion was not based on anything particular in the Bible nor was it anything specific about Jesus.  It was the apostles that caught my attention.  At that point his mouth dropped open a bit.  He continued, “What about them?”

If Jesus was a liar or plumb crazy seeking to be crucified, or at least killed by the religious right, the apostles would have been aware of it.  After Jesus death ,they would have gotten out of town and left their memories far behind, or they would have made up a conspiracy about him.  It would have been the greatest conspiracy of all time.  

In order to keep a conspiracy together, the people involved have to swear by the details and keep somewhat together so the lie does not get out.  Eventually all conspiracies end.  Man just cannot keep his mouth shut.  But the apostles did none of that.

They went their own separate ways.  They did exactly what Jesus told them to do.  They went into all the world baptizing and teaching the things of Jesus.  The theology held together.  They added another to the apostle group by the name of Paul, who was trying to rid this earth of the believers.  So, how does this all happen, I ask?

By the way, all the apostles but one, John, die gruesome deaths for the cause of Christ.  They were not all hunkered down in a building waiting for Roman legions to descend upon them.  They did not gather all the faithful and drink some sort of pink juice.  They did not have a suicide pact.  Each on their own stayed faithful to the calling.  Why?  Why would they die for a lie?  Why would they die for a lunatic?  They were with him for three years.  They would have known.  They were no dummies.  

They went out into the known world.  They baptized others.  They faced unmerciful persecution.  They died horrid deaths, and that is no legend.  They did so because Jesus is the real deal.  He was and is “The Way, The Truth, and The Life.”  He is the Son of God.  Why else would they do what they did?

After my detailed answer to his seemingly simple question, the gentleman looked at me funny.  I asked him if he ever did any study about the truth of Jesus.  He said he has read the Bible multiple times.  I didn’t pick up on that.  He has read the Bible, but has he put any deeper thought into studying it?  I don’t think so.  

I find that few study the truth of Jesus.  I don’t know why.  We both agreed that most people are believers based on their childhood experience.  My early childhood experience had no god in it other than myself.   See, if we don’t believe in God, we make ourselves god since we would be the only one we have to answer to and in control of our lives.  That wouldn’t work for me.  I make too much of a mess of things.  Not only that, but without God then life is based on the cards you were dealt.  I think it takes more faith in being dealt a good hand than actually believing in God.   

Anyway, take the time to ask good questions about Jesus.  Was he a liar?  By the way, if he lied about one thing, it negates everything he ever said.  Was he a lunatic?  Did he have a death wish to be a martyr at the hands of the religious right to prove his points?   Nobody should be following a person with such mental illness.  Or he was and is, Lord.  Yes, it takes faith to believe that.  But it doesn’t have to be blind faith.  

The Bible says “Study to show yourself approved unto God.”  Take the time and ask the deeper questions.  Look into Jesus beyond what you hear on Sunday morning.  Confirm your faith, oneway or another.  

Words Have Power, Bluffton Today Article, January 15, 2023

As we view pictures and videos of hurricanes, the strength of the winds and the power of the water surge are pretty incredible.  It amazes me that buildings disintegrate in the face of such winds.  We build them to withstand the wind, but all it takes is one weak spot for the building to be destroyed, often in minutes.  

Did you know that most people who die in these storms drown in the storm surge?  The numbers are astonishing.  88% of deaths are attributed to the storm surge.  The water and the wind cannot be stopped.  They are too powerful.

It’s not only hurricanes that show incredible strength.  Years ago, I witnessed a tornado first hand as it whirled in front of our car.  We were sitting under a bridge.  We saw it coming, and all we could do was sit there and watch.  It was fast.  Very fast.  Faster than I ever imagined.  Once it went past, the debris began to fall out of the sky.  Roof shingles were raining down; insulation was floating back to earth.  Such power is hard to describe. 

On a different level, I think modern day football players are pretty powerful.  The average Joe would not stand a chance on the football field with these incredible athletes.  How they take the hits they do and get back up amazes me.  If it was me, I would stay down for the count, collect my paycheck, and then say goodbye to the game forever.  Sometimes, such power and strength are not worth the beating.  These athletes may be the most powerful we will ever see.  They have strength and speed.  That is a deadly combination.

I heard a preacher once say that words have great power.  They can bring extreme feelings of joy and love and then smash such enjoyment to the ground with poison that we never imagined.  

I’ve been reading some books that a relative asked me to read.  One was Secrets Revealed, and the other one I’m reading right now is Even In Our Darkness.  These are books about  the extreme emotional hurt that often words can bring.  I think he is sending me a message.  In both books there is tragedy, but its not so much the tragic event that has brought hurt but the words connected to it. 

There was a mother who could not handle the death of her husband.  The power of her words was not so much in what she said but what she would not say.  Her husband’s name was banished from the family.  

The biting between a husband and a wife can bring immense damage to the heart of a child who may not be in the room but can hear clearly behind closed doors.  The words that destroy the heart of love are just as devastating as the winds of a hurricane. 

We all have an idea of who we are, and yet, when someone who does not know us issues opinions wrapped in misinformation and lies, it can devastate the heart of even a mature man or woman.  

Words can cripple.  Words can bring death.  The current rally against bullying, especially cyber bullying, should gain our attention.  Seldom is anyone beat up by fists.  Their inner being is beaten down by words that bite, cut, and destroy.   The emotional damage has lea some to end their own life.  This is the power of words.  

This is nothing new.  James, the half-brother of Jesus wrote in his epistle about words.  He described it as “the tongue.”  He said our words can start a forest fire just like a single match in an arid area.  He described our tongue as one that is capable of influencing  big things just like a rudder turns a huge ship.  Our words need to be tamed just like a horse needs to be controlled by a bit put in its mouth.  

I have ridden a few horses.  They are powerful indeed.  My son and son-in-law refuse to get on one.  They say they are too big and strong for them to mess with.  This is the power of our words.  James had it dead on.  

Words come from the heart.   They show who we are.  A wise teacher once told me to pay attention to what a drunk says.  I was surprised.  Most drunks don’t want to be held to their words.  “No,” he said, “when drunk their inhibitions are down.  What you hear is what is really there.”  We like to think we are in control of our words.  But are we really?

All it takes is some anxiety, stress, physical pain, a journey into our past, or some words that  hurt toreveal our hearts.  Seldom do we utter uplifting encouraging words when stress is building, problems are stacking, and our own pain, imagined or real, is erupting.  We want to deflect, defend, and deny.  The best way is to go on the attack.  

Jesus, on other hand, displayed his heart on the cross when he was full of anxiety, in massive pain ,and facing the ultimate rejection of man and God.  Instead of biting and snarling at others, he asked his Father to forgive those who were engaged in destroying him.   He offered paradise to a repentant thief.  He looked out for his mom who herself was in great grief.  How did he do this?  It was his heart.   It was and is who he really is.  

Our hope to control our words from destroying others is not discipline or just shutting up.  Our hope is to give the burden of our words to the one who understands our burden:  Jesus.  Our hearts must become ones that are driven by the love of God not the bitterness of man.  For when we understand the power of the word ,we can look into the eyes of others and offer the peace that passes all understanding by choosing to love like Christ did for us.  It is a choice.  It’s a choice to love our neighbor.  Jesus showed the way in his death.  Our words need to die and rise again renewed by such love.  

Come On In, BlufftonTodayArticle, Sunday, January 8, 2023

What do you think of the gospel?  It’s what we go to church for.  It’s the glue that hold the Christian faith together.  Take out the gospel, and we are in big trouble.  But what is it and what does it look like?  

I have found that one of the biggest issues with Christianity is the verbiage that is seldom defined.  The “gospel” is one of those words that covers a large amount of ground.  Some declare it good news, all without saying what the good news is.  Yes, salvation can be found in the gospel.  But what are we saved from?  Do I have your mind swimming as much as mine does yet?

Jesus defined it often and from many different angles.  He also took the time to tell us what it looked like.  He talked about ground that was fertile and that which is rocky and that which is in between. We have the classic John chapter 3 gospel about being born again.  He told us about lost sheep, lost coins, and a rebellious son that was welcomed back into family with no questions asked.  He told us he wanted those who believe to be known by our love.  He displayed what that love was by laying his life down.  He told us what true believers do and how they function in Matthew 25.  If you don’t know what it says, do look it up.  You might be surprised.  

All this is true.  All this is the gospel.   Yes, we are saved from eternal damnation, and we are now able to have a relationship with the living God.  But we haven’t talked about the greatest element.  It’s often overlooked.  If we think about it, we will understand the greatness of the good news that really makes it great news.

Recently, I have a relative that recently made a mess of things.  Just like David, Moses, Abraham, Peter, and others, he erred and erred big.  I would love to say his friends and family in the faith ran to him, only that would be a lie.  They shut him out.  Even the church locked the doors to him.  You would think he had spiritual leprosy.  If we were observers, we might think he was one of the thieves on the cross at the crucifixion.  

Even people of the faith don’t tend to run to those suffering from their decisions.  We tend to isolate and incriminate.  Then we wonder why those who are on the outside don’t want to come in.  And yet, that is the greatest element of the gospel as far as I am concerned.  The gospel makes it possible for those who are on the outside to come in.  

No one can out sin the grace provided by Jesus.  I’ve heard many say they have sinned too much.  The Bible says that.  It says, “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.”  All means everybody.  So, what is the hope if we have all fallen short and thus not allowed in.  

Some say we have to become good people.  I don’t buy that one.  The Bible lists no standard to fill in order to be declared righteous by our works.  That would be a cruel God to have a certain list of behaviors and not share it, leaving everyone guessing.  

The Father, Son and Holy Spirit had an answer.  God was going to have to provide a way for man to be allowed in the kingdom of heaven.  So, the Son of God obeyed his Father and came to earth to rescue us from our sin.  There was only one way.  The one who was righteous had to die.  Die he did.  It was possibly the cruelest death ever recorded.  He was our sacrifice and took our sin on himself.  Even the Father forsook Him in the final hour.  He opened the door.  Jesus made it possible for those on the outside to come in and eat with him.  Eat.  Not just talk.  Not just have a gaze.  Eat.  Sit down and let’s eat.  “Behold I stand at the door and knock.  Answer and I will come in and eat with you.”  Revelation 3.  It’s always about what Jesus has done and will do.

All we have to do is believe and follow.  That’s it.  He knows we will still not get it right.  He knows there will be times we deserve to be on the outside looking in.  But, and it’s a big but, he keeps the door open.  Come on in.  Sit down.  Let’s eat.  

Jesus told us he wants us to do the same as him.  He wants us to be known by our love, not our critique.  He wants us to eat with sinners.  He wants us to invite the outsider in.  Why?  We were once outsiders.  We were enemies of ourGod.  But (there is the best word in the Bible once again), He promised we would never be on the outside again.

Church, open the doors.  Figure out how to love with the love of Christ.  Give water to those who are thirsty.  Provide food for those who are hungry.  Get clothes on the naked.  Sick, take care of ‘em.  Strangers, open the door for them.  Those imprisoned, visit them; they need to not just hear about Jesus but see him as well.  These Jesus described as the “least of these.”  Why?  They are on the outside looking in.  It’s time to come in.  Jesus opened the door.  It’s the gospel.  It’s good news.  No, it’s great news.