WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?

 Philippians 4:8

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.

         When you have done something unwise or dumb, you may hear the retort, “What were you thinking?” I have often said that to myself, after I have made an unwise choice.

                We don’t often acknowledge the reality that the things that occupy our thoughts also shape our lives. Our thought life and our external actions are intricately linked. This usually manifests itself in negative ways, unfortunately. We think that someone is being rude to us, so we act rude to them. We think that we are being treated unfairly, so we complain and make a scene. We think we are not being valued, so we sulk. We think we are unloved, so we have a hard time loving others. Our thoughts have a profound impact on our actions.

                But this can work the other way as well. When I think that I am loved and valued, I can better love and value others. When I see the worth in others, I am able to encourage and bless them. When I think about God’s grace and mercy shown toward me, I am better able to extend grace and mercy to those around me.

                What we focus on in our mind manifests itself in our lives. Jesus made this very clear. You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. (Matthew 12:34-35)

                We live in a world that focuses on the negative. Constantly, day by day, we are bombarded with negative thoughts. Most of what we see on the evening news or read on the internet is negative. Because we are constantly exposed to this, we begin to internalize it. We begin to see the world through a negative filter. Our thoughts become dark and disturbing. This is exactly what Satan wants to accomplish. By focusing on the negative, he can keep us off balance and unfocused. We are tossed here and there by the latest controversy or tragedy.

                There is a better way. It is a two-step process. First, we need to intentionally, actively dispense with the negative. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. (Ephesians 4:31) We cannot be passive about this. It takes effort to banish the negativity that permeates our society. We can do this by eliminating, or at least limiting, the negative voices that fill our minds with negative thoughts. We have to stop feeding the negative.

                Second, we need to intentionally replace the negative with the positive. Just eliminating negative input is not enough. It leaves a vacuum that will suck the negative right back. Jesus addressed this in Matthew 12:43-45. "When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, 'I will return to the house I left.' When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation."  Our negative thinking must be actively replaced with positive thinking. So Paul instructs us to reorient our thoughts and our actions.

    Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me--put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. (Philippians 4:8-9)

    Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. (Ephesians 4:32)

                We are all in control of what shapes our thinking and our actions. We are our own gatekeepers; only letting in what we want to come in. If we leave the gate open to the prevailing thinking of the world, we will plunge into a negative mindset. But if we guard the gate well, and focus on what God wants us to focus on, our lives and our actions will be transformed in a positive way. So, what are you thinking today?

Proverbs 4:23

Above all else, guard your heart,

for it is the wellspring of life.

 

ARE FAITH AND SCIENCE INCOMPATIBLE?

 Psalm 19:1-6

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

 The heavens declare the glory of God;

the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Day after day they pour forth speech;

night after night they display knowledge.

There is no speech or language

where their voice is not heard.

Their voice goes out into all the earth,

their words to the ends of the world.

In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun,

which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion,

like a champion rejoicing to run his course.

It rises at one end of the heavens

and makes its circuit to the other;

nothing is hidden from its heat.

                It was dark as I sat down to do my devotions this morning. I opened my Bible and read the Psalm for this week, Psalm 19. The opening line of that Psalm is, “The heavens declare the glory of God.” As I looked out the window, I could see the first rays of the sun shining on the underside of the clouds, casting a red glow in the sky. The words of the Psalmist were being displayed in vivid color before my eyes.

                I have always liked science. From the time I was a young boy, I have been fascinated by exploring the world around us. I remember my excitement when I got my first microscope and was able to look at things in depth. Our drug store at the time had a science section and I would periodically by prepared slides to look at under my microscope. I also accumulated a few “science articles” in hopes of doing my own experiments. This fascination with science eventually led me to get a degree in biology.

                It was in high school that I first encountered the idea that faith and science were mutually exclusive. I could never embrace that notion. It was my faith in God that motivated my interest in learning more about our world. When I was in college, I was introduced to the concept that all truth is God’s truth. No matter what the temporal source, if something is really true, then it comes ultimately from God. Therefore, the study of science is just one more way to explore the wonder and greatness of God.

                As a part of my devotions, I have been reading John Ortberg’s book, “Who Is This Man?” Today I came across the following passage, which I want to pass on.

                “The worldview of Jesus is part of how science came about in our world. In our day, many people think that science and faith are enemies. But Princeton professor Diogenes Allen writes, ‘We have begun to realize from its very birth, science owed a great deal to Christianity.’

                According the Allen, there are attitudes Christianity has that were indispensable for science to be able to arise. Christians, unlike Plato, believe that matter is good, since God created it. So to study it would be good. The world was created by an orderly and rational God, and therefore there is reason to expect not chaos, but order and reason, law, regularity in creation, in nature. On the other hand, since God is free and omniscient, we could never predict ahead of time what it is that he would do, so we will have to investigate. We’ll have to experiment to find out.” (Who Is This Man? Page 68)

                Rather than stifling science, faith in God has been the catalyst for exploration at every level. The prevailing view today that life on planet earth is random and undesigned leaves no foundation upon which to build. Only when we recognize that God created a world of order and design can we truly understand what we are discovering.

                The heavens declare the glory of God! If we will open our eyes and really look at the world around us, we can see the fingerprints of God everywhere. If we take God out of the equation, we are only left with non-descript smudges that lead us to a dead end.

Psalm 24:1-2

Of David. A psalm.

The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it,

the world, and all who live in it;

for he founded it upon the seas

and established it upon the waters.

 

WALKING WITH JESUS

 Matthew 28:20b

    “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

                How would your life be different today if Jesus was physically with you wherever you went? It is a question that needs to be explored. Jesus promised His disciples, and us, that He would be with them always. They lived their lives in that reality. Most often we do not. We tend to live as if Jesus is not with us in any tangible way. Instead, we see Him as being just off stage, waiting for us to invite Him into our lives when we need Him.

                In Acts 1:8 Jesus told His disciples that they would be His witnesses throughout the world. We have deemed this passage the second great commission. It is most often couched in terms of evangelism. But what if there was more to it than that. What if the way that we lived our daily lives was our witness for Christ?

                In reality, our greatest witness for Christ is how we live our daily lives. By our actions and our words, we are either affirming or denying our commitment to Jesus. In fact, the way we live speaks much louder than what we say. Therefore, Paul challenges us to live lives worthy of our calling in Christ.

                One of my many favorite passages of scripture is Colossians 3:17. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. It reminds me that may actions are an act of worship. They are also an act of witness. I demonstrate the reality of my faith by the things I say and do; not just when I am at church, but in my every day encounters.

                This morning, during my devotions, I was reminded that God is omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent. He is everywhere present, all knowing, and all powerful. There is nowhere that I can go where God is not. There is no thought or word that I can hide from God. There is nothing outside of God’s ability to accomplish. This is a reality that I want to live in, yet I so easily forget it in the routine of my everyday life. Although Jesus is not physically present with me as I go through my day, He is spiritually present with me.

                So how will I live my life differently today because of that reality?

Ephesians 4:1-2

    As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

CHANGE IS CHALLENGING

 Acts 15:1-2

Some men came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the brothers: "Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved." This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question.

                We all find change challenging. Change disrupts our normal routine. It disorients us by altering the established patterns in our life. Whether we resist change or embrace change, it always comes with some uncomfortable aspects. Letting go of the familiar is painful. Embracing the unfamiliar can be unsettling and difficult. The old phrase, “Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t”, comes into play. Most of us are hesitant to give up the comfortable and the familiar. This is nothing new.

                In the early days of the Church, the issue of significant change raised its head. All of the first believers in Christ were Jews. They were steeped in the laws and traditions of Judaism. They assumed that moving forward all of the established rules would still apply. Then something unexpected happened; Gentiles started becoming followers of Jesus. The Church was faced with the challenge of deciding how these non-Jews could be incorporated into the fellowship. The easy answer (for the Jewish believers) was for these Gentiles to become Jews. That did not sit very well with the Gentiles and with Paul and Barnabas, who were spearheading this new missionary movement. This conflict forced the Church to rethink their approach. In the end they chose significant change over hanging onto the old ways.

                Throughout the history of the church, we have struggled with this issue time and again. Historically, many missionaries assumed that when a person from another culture became a Christian, they would adopt Western ways. When people like Hudson Taylor embraced Chinese culture in order to reach the Chinese people for Christ, he faced stiff resistance. This resistance to change continues to this very day.

                Every church today has had to struggle with the challenges of change. Should we hang onto traditional hymns or embrace the new choruses? Should we insist that people dress up to come to church or can they come in jeans and t-shirts? Should we limit the use of food in church to scheduled meal events or can we offer coffee and donuts between services every Sunday? Should we hold onto the pews that have been in our building for 100 years or opt to replace them with padded chairs? These questions may sound trivial, but they have caused quite a stir within the Church. Bottomline, we tend to hang onto what we know and are comfortable with over what is new and uncomfortable, at least at first.

                We are living in a time of unprecedented change in our society and within the church. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused great disturbance within the Church. We have divided over masks, vaccines, social distancing, meeting in-person or meeting on-line. All of these things have distracted with the purpose of the Church; to bring people to faith in Jesus Christ.

                We need to realize that change is inevitable. If we are going to be able to reach this generation and the next, we will have to adapt the way we do things. Our message must remain consistent and the same, but our methods must always be changing. If we refuse to change and adapt, we will effectively marginalize ourselves and become ineffective in reaching our world for Christ.

                All of us need to take a lesson from the missionaries that we send out to other countries. Before they can effectively reach the people to whom they have been sent, they have to learn their language and culture. They cannot expect those people to adapt to the culture from which the missionary is coming. Instead, the missionary needs to adjust their approach and methods to be relevant to the culture in which they have been transplanted. We, in the Church in America, need to learn to be students of the culture around us. Without compromising the Gospel, we need to adapt our language and our methods.

                Change is always challenging and often uncomfortable. But change is a necessary part of life. Without change, we become stagnant and ineffective. The Church cannot use Morse Code to communicate the message of the Gospel when the world around us is zipping along at light speed on the internet.

                When Jesus came into the world, He brought significant change. He redefined the old traditions and instituted new ways of living. He literally turned the world upside down. Change is challenging, but it is the path that Jesus took. Shouldn’t we follow His lead?

1 Corinthians 9:19-23

Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.