Tabloid Society

December 20, 2011     “Our Tabloid Society”

O.K.  So I suppose I will need to stop watching television, reading the newspaper, accessing news sites on my computers, etc.  Why?  In 1 Timothy 5:13 Paul says that “younger widows” and perhaps retired guys that have too much time on their hands “learn to be idle, as they go around from house to house; and not merely idle, but also gossips and busybodies, talking about things not proper to mention” (NASB).  Does it strike anybody but me that the selection of stories to include in the above media abound more and more with the “things not proper to mention”?

Perhaps there is a dearth of real news stories.  Maybe there is nothing happening in the rest of the world that may affect us.  Perhaps it is too depressing to focus on the economy for a while, or the lack of real leadership in the political arena, or good news that happens when ordinary people like us take responsibility for feeding the hungry and taking care of the homeless.  Perhaps no teachers or school administrators do anything to make life better for “at-risk” kids.  I suppose it is too much to ask to focus on Christian churches that influence quality of life issues for the many.  It is just easier to look at the dark side of things.

And I must admit that the media do focus on the things that most people want to see and to hear about.  It just makes us feel better about ourselves to know that we are a step above the rapists, murderers, child molesters, and politicians that fill the news programs.  Of course, if we really cared, we could do some-thing about those things.  Write letters, make phone calls, send e-mails, form neighborhood watch groups, get involved in our schools, etc.  It is just far easier to say how the world is going to hell than to try to make any difference.  What can one person do?

It might just surprise us.  One thing we could do is to contact the sponsors of the news programs we watch to let them know we will not be watching them anymore, nor purchasing their products if they continue to support the choices of stories broadcast.  In these days of twitter and e-mail and facebook it is much easier to do than in previous times. 

Perhaps one person can make a difference.

Christmas, 2011

Things I Like about Christmas 2011

I have had a more relaxed Advent season than I used to have.  I have even had time to pray and think about how we celebrated the birth of Jesus.  His incarnation as Immanuel, God with us, has given us any number of blessings for which to be thankful. 

Because of Him

n      we have the possibility of eternal life by knowing the Father and Jesus whom He has sent to give Life to the full.

n      we have the joy of delighting in the Holy Spirit’s Presence in our lives, experiencing the gifts and graces the Father has always planned to people to enjoy.

n      we have the joy of two kinds of family – the natural-born family through which we get to hear the laughter of children to the second and third generations and the Spirit-born family which is sometimes even closer and more joyous.

n      we have the privilege of celebrating the most meaningful events in human life, even physical death of a loved one, with the joy of knowing that everything points beyond to the life we have in Christ for eternity.

n      we have the awesome understanding that we are created with the purpose of being God-centered in all of life, the good and the bad, because He is in control and He chooses to live within us.

n      we have the gracious example of Jesus Christ, who taught us how to really love, and the power of the Holy Spirit within us to enable us to really love.

n      we have the written Word of God to give us Light, the Living Word of God to give us Life, and the Present Word of God, the Holy Spirit, to make it all reality in us.

There is more that can be said, and probably should be.  Feel free to add what you think of and perceive about the blessings of Christmas.  But please remember that the greatest Gift of all time came to us in the form of a Baby, that we can relate to Him, His life, and His will.  That is worth more than all the silver and gold and “stuff” in the world.

Joyous Christmas! 

From Rev. Moose

The Kind of God we Serve -- I

The Kind of God We Serve – 1 – 2 Chronicles 16:9 (NASB)                                   September 30, 2010

“For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.”

NKJV – “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.”

            The questions that come to me out of this verse are how much we selfishly want to control God’s power so that we get credit for being stronger than we are and what does loyalty of heart (“whose heart is completely His”) mean for our generation.

            The question of who gets credit for accomplishments is one that needs revisiting in every culture and generation.  It is very easy to say, “Look what I did!” when, in fact, some good has come about through the participation and cooperation of several people with whom we are associated, not least that of God Himself.  In 1 Corinthians 4:7 Paul wrote, “And what do you have that you did not receive?”  The implication is that all we enjoy is a gift from God, not something about which we can boast as if we got it by our own hands.  In that regard, Moses away back in Deuteronomy 8 told the Israelites to be careful to remember the giving God.  “Otherwise, you may say in your heart, ‘My power and the strength of my hand made me this wealth.’  But you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth, that He may confirm His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.”

            Human pride continually rears its ugly head, trying to take glory away from God, as if we were in His league in any way.  If we truly thought of ourselves in any right way, we would have to humble ourselves and admit that we don’t have it in us to accomplish what He can.  We would give Him the credit He so richly deserves.

            That, of course, means that we would have to examine what it means to have hearts that are “completely His.” 

            To me it means that we no longer have divided loyalties, that our hearts (that which is most truly ourselves) would be united about who is really in charge and in control of our daily living.  Who is it going to be, our own deceitful selves or God?  We cannot really have it both ways.  At some point we must give over the right to make decisions to the only One who can see the future rightly.  We can’t.  The devil can’t.  Human society can’t.  The government can’t.  That leaves only One.  God.  When we choose Him as the One who decides for us, we release Him to become to us what He promises to be.

            He will be the One who shows “Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.”  In every situation we face, we will find Him giving guidance and strength to us.  When we are severely outnumbered by the forces of warped humanity, we find that He is more than adequate to over-power those who think themselves dominant.  When we are challenged by those who consider themselves smarter than God, we will find that His ways of thinking are higher than the best thoughts of worldly (devilish)  philosophers. 

            When we are loyal to Him, we find He is fully faithful to us.

            This is the kind of God we serve.  If we so choose.