Friday, February 5, 2016
Close Friends...a Facebook commentary
So, I log into Facebook to message a friend and, while there, I notice a link. 'Close Friends'. Now, I have many friends...fewer than many of you...more than some. And I love them all. But, admittedly, some I would consider closer. Close Friends. So I click on it and begin looking around. A check mark here...a check mark there...and voila! I now have thirty-seven 'close friends'. I close Facebook and move on to more important things. Golf on TV. Suddenly it begins. Pop...ding...pop...ding. My phone on the table is doing it. My tablet on the counter is doing it! What is this thing?? I'm an inquisitive person. I pick up the tablet. Notifications. Facebook, Facebook, Facebook...on and on. A long list. So-and-so has shared a link. So-and-so has updated their status. So-and-so has posted a picture. I look at the names. Hmmmm. Close Friends. I get it now. So I pick one at random and click on it. A picture. A sandwich. A picture of a sandwich. Aha! I'm thinking this must be one of those pareidolia things. I stare at the sandwich. Maybe I'll see Peyton Manning. Nothing. It's just a sandwich...albeit a seemingly competent sandwich. Looks like multi-grain bread. I see something green and what appears to be lunch meat peeking out from between the slices. And something yellow. Yes...no doubt about it...it's a ham and cheese sandwich. With lettuce. Seriously? A sandwich? Now I'm wondering about my close friend. If I visit their house will I see, hanging in the dining room above the buffet, custom framed by Michael's, a picture of this sandwich? Or...if they whip out their wallet, will I see, nestled among the wife, kids and Patches the cat, a wallet-size picture of this sandwich? I move on. So-and-so has posted a picture. I'm hesitant...but I have to do it. I'm an inquisitive person. I click. It's a picture of what appears to be a car...totally covered in snow. This looks eerily familiar. I run to my window and there it is...sitting my driveway...covered in snow. My car! Wait...no footprints. How can this be? Ah, I get it. Mine is not the only car covered in snow. There are others! I head back to Facebook. Some of these Close Friends (I love you...I really do) are getting un-checked. Some of them are over-posting. Some of them are over-sharing. A couple of them, quite frankly, seriously need to get a life. Now, before you all get 'up-in-your-cups' at me...I admit that I am outnumbered. I know I am probably the exception and not the rule. The snow-covered car got 192 'likes'. The sandwich? Don't even ask...
Monday, February 9, 2009
For the joy that is set before me...
"Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross." Hebrews 12:2
I was listening to an interview on NPR of 34-year-old Samantha Davies who was completing a long and arduous race around the world (the Vendee Globe) aboard her sailboat, the Roxy. It's a notoriously treacherous sail, from the south of France, around the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn, and all the way back. The winning boat had already reached the finish line, but she was expressing extreme satisfaction at the prospect of finishing soon herself. She described some of the hardships she had endured over the course of the race; high seas, storms, equipment malfunctions, cold, wet, exhaustion and flying fish. The interviewer asked her what she was most looking forward to upon finishing the race. "A cold beer and a hot shower," she answered.
In Hebrews 12:2, Paul talks about Jesus facing the most difficult situation in which a person could find themselves - crucifixion. Yet He endured it for the 'joy that was set before him'.
That, of course, is the extreme. But all of us have had to endure hardship, difficulty, perils. Yet, if you think about it, there is always joy of one sort or another ahead. The ultimate joy, obviously, is meeting the Father face-to-face. But there are other joys that are given to us - simple joys - temporal joys. I can relate to Samantha Davies. I'm sure she meant that statement. I don't for a minute believe that she was just being glib.
I was working at an outside job site recently. It was cold. It was wet. I was working in a strange mixture of ice and mud. I was miserable. All things being equal, I would have chosen to be elsewhere. But I believe that whatever we are called to do, do it as unto the Lord without griping or complaining. This is the work that God called me to and obedience IS greater than sacrifice. As I worked away, cold and wet, I thought about Hebrews 12. Oh, sure...I could look forward to the invoice that I would send, the check I would receive, the bills I would pay. But, what really helped me to get to the end of that job was knowing that, in just a few hours, I would be home, in a warm house, with a hot meal, a hot shower and a comfortable chair. Simple joys.
Each of us goes through similar times...different, yet, the same. Sometimes, the joy is imminent. Sometimes not. But there is always a joy that is set before us. Think about it. Even as one lay on his death bed, there is a joy ahead. Unless...that one has no hope. For having no hope is 'as though a man escapes the jaws of a lion only to run into the arms of a bear or as though he went into the house, leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him!' (Amos 5:19) And our hope is in Him (Psalm 39:7).
No matter where you are and no matter what you may be struggling with, as long as there is hope, there is joy before you. Whether it is release from prison, recovery from surgery or just a hot shower at the end of a long, cold day...as long as there is hope, there is a joy set before you.
I was listening to an interview on NPR of 34-year-old Samantha Davies who was completing a long and arduous race around the world (the Vendee Globe) aboard her sailboat, the Roxy. It's a notoriously treacherous sail, from the south of France, around the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn, and all the way back. The winning boat had already reached the finish line, but she was expressing extreme satisfaction at the prospect of finishing soon herself. She described some of the hardships she had endured over the course of the race; high seas, storms, equipment malfunctions, cold, wet, exhaustion and flying fish. The interviewer asked her what she was most looking forward to upon finishing the race. "A cold beer and a hot shower," she answered.
In Hebrews 12:2, Paul talks about Jesus facing the most difficult situation in which a person could find themselves - crucifixion. Yet He endured it for the 'joy that was set before him'.
That, of course, is the extreme. But all of us have had to endure hardship, difficulty, perils. Yet, if you think about it, there is always joy of one sort or another ahead. The ultimate joy, obviously, is meeting the Father face-to-face. But there are other joys that are given to us - simple joys - temporal joys. I can relate to Samantha Davies. I'm sure she meant that statement. I don't for a minute believe that she was just being glib.
I was working at an outside job site recently. It was cold. It was wet. I was working in a strange mixture of ice and mud. I was miserable. All things being equal, I would have chosen to be elsewhere. But I believe that whatever we are called to do, do it as unto the Lord without griping or complaining. This is the work that God called me to and obedience IS greater than sacrifice. As I worked away, cold and wet, I thought about Hebrews 12. Oh, sure...I could look forward to the invoice that I would send, the check I would receive, the bills I would pay. But, what really helped me to get to the end of that job was knowing that, in just a few hours, I would be home, in a warm house, with a hot meal, a hot shower and a comfortable chair. Simple joys.
Each of us goes through similar times...different, yet, the same. Sometimes, the joy is imminent. Sometimes not. But there is always a joy that is set before us. Think about it. Even as one lay on his death bed, there is a joy ahead. Unless...that one has no hope. For having no hope is 'as though a man escapes the jaws of a lion only to run into the arms of a bear or as though he went into the house, leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him!' (Amos 5:19) And our hope is in Him (Psalm 39:7).
No matter where you are and no matter what you may be struggling with, as long as there is hope, there is joy before you. Whether it is release from prison, recovery from surgery or just a hot shower at the end of a long, cold day...as long as there is hope, there is a joy set before you.
Friday, January 9, 2009
What's Puzzling You?
"But He said to them, 'Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?' Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm." Matthew 8:26
Not being a fisherman or a sailor, winds or waves are probably not going to be my major source of fears. Or are they? In the same way that motes and beams (Mt. 7:4) are figurative elements by which we learn a spiritual truth, 'winds and the sea' can also be figurative elements. My winds and waves may not be literal, but they may come in the form of illness, financial woes, relationships, temptations, addictions, behaviors, appetites, etc. Jesus didn't calm the winds and the waves. He REBUKED THEM, and then 'there was a great calm'. In Him, we have the ability to rebuke our own winds and waves. Didn't he say, "I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do..."? (John 14:12). As Christians we know that the things that trouble, confound and confuse us are not rooted in the temporal. They are rooted in the spiritual. And the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty in God. (2 Corinthians 10:4). I don't think I have ever quoted Mick Jagger in a contemplation of spiritual truth, but in "Sympathy For the Devil", he penned a great truth: "...hope you guessed my name (Lucifer)...whats confusing (puzzling) you is just the nature of my game." The promise that I am standing on today is, "He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world." (1 John 4:4). Boldly rebuke your winds and waves today and experience a great calm.
Not being a fisherman or a sailor, winds or waves are probably not going to be my major source of fears. Or are they? In the same way that motes and beams (Mt. 7:4) are figurative elements by which we learn a spiritual truth, 'winds and the sea' can also be figurative elements. My winds and waves may not be literal, but they may come in the form of illness, financial woes, relationships, temptations, addictions, behaviors, appetites, etc. Jesus didn't calm the winds and the waves. He REBUKED THEM, and then 'there was a great calm'. In Him, we have the ability to rebuke our own winds and waves. Didn't he say, "I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do..."? (John 14:12). As Christians we know that the things that trouble, confound and confuse us are not rooted in the temporal. They are rooted in the spiritual. And the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty in God. (2 Corinthians 10:4). I don't think I have ever quoted Mick Jagger in a contemplation of spiritual truth, but in "Sympathy For the Devil", he penned a great truth: "...hope you guessed my name (Lucifer)...whats confusing (puzzling) you is just the nature of my game." The promise that I am standing on today is, "He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world." (1 John 4:4). Boldly rebuke your winds and waves today and experience a great calm.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Keep Your Eyes on the Road!
Anyone who has been driving for any length of time has had it happen. You're driving along and you take your eyes off the road for just a second...maybe to adjust the volume on the radio or the snag a piece of gum - or you reach to get your coffee out of the cup holder. You look up and the car in front of you has stopped! Maybe you swerved just in time or maybe you were going slow enough and were able to stop. Maybe they got out of your way just in time. Or maybe, as happened to me once (remember my '90 Crown Vic?), you sailed helplessly into their trunk and wound up dazed, amazed and smelling air bag smoke. Some things happen very quickly. Now imagine that there are people out there that drive along watching in their rear-view mirror, waiting for the driver behind them to take his eyes off the road and as soon he does, they slam on their brakes! That would be awful! But do you realize that your enemy, the devil...Satan...old Slew Foot does exactly that? Oh, he really does. The day you accepted Jesus Christ into your heart, several things happened. First, you were changed in the twinkling of an eye...forgiven, redeemed, made clean. The old is gone and the new has come (2 Corinthians 5:17). Then, the angels in heaven rejoiced (Luke 15:10) as your name was written into the Lamb's Book of Life (Revelation 21:27). And...the enemy took note. And why wouldn't he? In essence, you just thumbed your nose at him. You rejected him. Now, as you rest in the shadow of His wings, you are 'safe and secure from all alarm' and your enemy will just write you off and move on, right? Wrong. My Bible tells me that he (the enemy) prowls like a lion seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). My Bible also tells me to watch and be sober (1 Thessalonians 5:6)...vigilant. We aren't merely encouraged to stay strong. We are TOLD to stay strong. Why does the Bible tell us to 'not forsake the fellowship of the brethren'? Why does Paul tell us to train as an athlete trains (1 Corinthians 9:25-27) and to remain steadfast in His Word (Hebrews 2:1-3)? Why are we instructed to 'pray without ceasing' (1 Thessalonians 5:17)? Because that's how we stay strong. That's how we deflect the 'fiery darts' that are sure to come (Ephesians 6:16). So many of us slack off. Slowly the fire ebbs. We become haphazard in church attendance. "I can worship and read my bible at home," we say. "I watch the 700 Club so I'm okay." We don't realize that, slowly but surely, we are getting weak. And then, when you least expect it...brake lights! "But I just took my eyes off the road for a second." Believe me...sometimes that's all it takes.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
