Month: February 2019

All scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.          2 Timothy 3:16

I know I have the right to remain silent, but I don’t always have the ability.  copied

During my college years, I took a course entitled Speech 101.  Looking for an easy elective and since I had done declamation in high school, I thought it would be an easy A.  Not so much!  I picked a topic, researched it, wrote it, and prepared to deliver it.  That’s all good, but guess what?  I was unaware that not only must you deliver that speech, but also be prepared to defend what you have said!

Let’s just say it was easy to write a speech, not so bad to deliver it,  but it proved impossible for me to defend it.  I learned a valuable lesson – if you have to defend something, you better know it inside out.  Francis Bacon once said, “Knowledge is power”, and that is so true.

I can’t remember the answers I gave when questions came for which I didn’t have concrete answers, but I do know that it would have been best if I had remained silent.  If you can’t defend something with knowledge, then it’s best to remain silent until you can.

Thankfully, there are people who don’t need to remain silent especially where our faith is concerned because they have that knowledge. It amazes me that some people can quote scripture totally from memory with such confidence and accuracy.  They have studied the Bible, and it just comes naturally to them to pull up a scripture which matches the situation.  They use scripture to defend their faith.

It also amazes me that people can listen to speeches from teachers, politicians, preachers, professors, etc., and they do not ask them to defend their position.  We don’t have to accept things just because someone says it, there should be accountability involved.  We also can’t believe everything we read, and I admire those folks who write rebuttals which hold writers, speakers, media and others accountable.

The thing about the Bible is that it doesn’t seek to prove its validity.  It simply states what is and what is not true according to God.  It provides the facts, and it is up to us to accept it or reject it.  My prayer is we will not remain silent, but that we will seek the knowledge to defend our principles and faith.

But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive in Christ…it is by Grace you have been saved.  Ephesians 2:4-5

On some of our “destination unknown” trips with our grandkids, we have had the occasion to visit the Wild Animal Safari in Pine Mountain.  You can drive your car (I recommend a tank) through the park armed with food for the animals, and they will literally bombard you.  The problem is they want to actually be inside your car rather than outside.

The rules state that sun roofs must be closed, hands and feet inside the vehicle, and do not get out of your car. Never feed the zebra from your hand.  The windows were all down, the sunroof open (of course), and we were all feeding the animals from our hands.  While we were feeding the water buffalo, the zebra, the ostrich from the window, the giraffe shocked us all by sticking his head through the sun roof.  He wanted to be inside the truck, and he found the best way to break through.

It reminded me of how God must feel sometimes. People talk about Jesus walking with them, feeling the Holy Spirit near them, and being in the presence of God, but I think God would rather be on the inside of our hearts and minds rather on the outside looking in.  He wants to be in us rather than just with us.

We are chosen, wanted, and included in God’s family, and He has saved each of us by Grace.  His grace has made us alive to God.  When we let Him inside, we have a reason for hope, strength to endure, the power to serve and help others, and assurance of life after death.  He erased our sins by nailing them to the cross with Him while stamping Paid In Full over each one.

All we have to do is let Him inside, and He will begin his work in us.  I doubt that anyone in heaven has ever said, “Look what Jesus and I did together.”  He did it all.

Being taught to avoid talking about politics and religion has led to a lack of understanding of both.  What we should have been taught was how to have a civil conversation about a difficult topic.                                Celtic Christian Tradition

My sisters and I were fortunate enough to grow up with a set of  grandparents who loved the outdoors and loved to fish.  They had a small cabin on the point of the Chattahoochee River outside my home town, and every afternoon, weather permitting, they’d end their day out on the water fishing in their small boat.

I loved to go with them (in small increments) because PaPa would bait my hook, help me watch the cork, and then take the fish off my hook if I was lucky enough to catch one.  Almost every time I brought one in, he would smile and say, We won’t be throwing that one back, that’s a keeper.   I’m pretty sure we fried up and ate some fish that would not normally be a keeper, but it didn’t diminish my pride and joy.

The word, keeper is defined as someone responsible for guarding or taking care of something.  I like to think of Christians as keepers.  God left his Word, His world, His rules, in a bond or covenant with us.  We made a pact, a pledge, a promise, and a guarantee when we assumed our roles as  Christians that we would do all in our power to uphold His laws and follow His rules for ourselves and generations to come.

There are many “things” I see as keepers, but the right to life of unborn as well as newborn babies is the first thing on my list.  When did we decide to play God?  Life is a gift from God and should be treated with respect.  Politics has overstepped into religious values and basic human rights.

Family is a definite keeper.  One may not always be happy with members of your family, but God placed you together for a reason.  Let’s deal with the issues that divide us and move on in love.

Friends are definite keepers.  How can we survive in this world without the love and support of friends in good times as well as bad.  What would life be without friends with which to share it?

Church, faith and heritage are keepers.  I’m not sure when we as Christians decided that whatever changes in our church, faith and heritage passed down by powers other than God are acceptable.  It is not.  There’s a difference in political correctness and religious values.

Sometimes I feel we are standing at the precipice of a decision for Christ, and we are weighing His word, His laws, His love, His promises, His rules, and trying to decide if these things are keepers.  Should we fight for them, evangelize them, honor them, or should we throw them back as we would a fish which is too small?  Who is society to make these decisions about the things we hold most dear?  Let’s have the discussion!

Brevity  is defined as exact and concise use of words or speech;  shortness. 

Southerners are noted for the way we talk, the way we weave a story, the way we love and hug, our cooking, and our hospitality just to name a few characteristics.  When you are from a small town, you learn to be patient when people stop you on the street just to say a quick “hi” and thirty minutes later you leave.  I’m a talker, so I actually love that about our heritage.  I wish I had a nickel for every time I’ve heard, “to make a long story short” in my life because when people preface the conversation with that, make yourself comfortable.

In today’s world, people don’t have time to stop and visit. They want everything presented to them in the briefest possible way whether it be a story, a presentation, a speech, or a conversation.  Texting has taken the place of an actual phone conversation because one can make it very brief.

There are times where brevity is important.  When you teach kindergarten, you learn that a child’s attention span lies somewhere between that of a gnat and a fly, so you must adapt lessons that include brevity without sacrificing content.

Meetings are another place where brevity is necessary.  I hate the ones that go on and on especially when you are told things over and over that you heard the first time.  Interestingly, studies reveal that the maximum attention span for most of us is no longer than twenty minutes, and that doesn’t take into account the persons affected with ADHD!!  After this point, people zone out and don’t retain much, if any at all, of things they just heard.

I wonder how Jesus would feel about today’s world?  As I recall, He loved to spin parables, visit with the tax collectors in their homes, stop to heal, touch those who needed reassurance, and take time to explain His kingdom.  He would never replace the human connection with other forms of communication.  It can’t be replaced.

Jesus could tell a parable in as many as fifteen verses or as few as one, yet he held His followers spellbound and following him to hear more.  He gave the truth with brevity, packed with a lesson, while delivering it in a warm, compassionate way.

Most of us Southerners have the gift of listening, asking pertinent questions while showing love and concern during a conversation.  I think Jesus loves the way we focus on building others up, trying to leave people better than when we met, and doing the right thing even when no one is looking.  Brevity has its place, but so do people who are the hands, feet, ears, lips, and voice of Christ.

What is the Kingdom of God like?  To what shall I compare it?  It is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took and planted in his own garden.  It grew and became a large tree, and the birds of the sky lodged in its branches.                   Luke 13:18-19