Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Flashlights for Christians

I was researching the writers market, looking for a publisher for my children’s stories. While reading the submissions guidelines, I was taken back by some who stated, “not interested in the current contemporary Christian market”. I have been thinking about why?
What turns people off about “contemporary” Christians? Contemporary can be defined as “belonging to the present time”. And maybe that’s it. Do Christians “belong” to the present time? The words of God can be applied to the present time, but they are omnipresent.
I am a Christian, and I have watched the current Christian mindset develop from the “Jesus movement”. There are been a lot of changes, but the most disturbing to me in the idea that Christians are somehow “above” the current culture and social norms. We don’t belong in the churches, building ourselves up and selectively helping those “in need”. I have witnessed a situation that, to me, exemplifies the disparities. There was a married couple in the church, attending each Sunday. The man regularly sexually abused his daughters, and was receiving “counseling”. There was a woman with small children abandoned by her husband. She was struggling to make ends meet. She met a man who liked her and was willing to help her in her life. She had a relationship with him, and was disbarred from the church because she was “in sin”. This made no sense to me. The actions reflected that attitude of that particular church.
For a short time, I was a member of the “helps” ministry. We went to the home of a single woman suffering from breast cancer and did her yard work. There was a lot of grumbling about how people wished they could get help with their yards. The “helps” ministry only lasted about two months. Almost everyone dropped out, because they had “too much to do”.
Now, this may sound like I am bashing Christians, but I am not. I am saying that we need to take a look at how we think about the current state of things. And we need to look at Jesus, and follow his examples. When he came to Peter and the others while they were fishing, he didn’t say “Don’t drink, don’t smoke, don’t swear, and you can be with me.” He walked up to them and said “come, and I will make you fishers of men”.
As I read the New Testament, I find that Jesus was very positive when he spoke to the crowds. Mostly, he was only negative when he was addressing the attitudes and actions of the “contemporary” church. Just some food for thought.
If the world is crumbling in morality and attitude, we have culpability. If we, as Christians, are doing what we are suppose to be doing, instead of raising voices about the decline and decay, we would be leading the way with really bright flashlights.

Sunday, January 13, 2008

How to rest, and make the most of it

Sunday morning. A day of rest? Right now, there is no such thing. I am committed on all fronts. Working all week, sitting at a desk, fighting fires and listening to problems and issues. And crunching numbers. Mentally, it’s exhausting. But I try to mix in a lot of smiles and humor. At work, they think my sense of humor is “sick”, or “dark”, and they are correct. Like the other day, I had listened to and solved about a hundred problems, the phone was ringing, the computer was slow, and I felt frustration creeping up my back. I asked one of the ladies to go down the hall and close the door at the end of the hall. I told her I was going to run as fast as I could down the hall and knock myself silly, because I would get fired if I shot Tequila. Seemed like a plan to me.

God’s rest is not like my idea of rest. Rest to me is mindless TV watching, or sitting outside staring at the sky. God’s rest is trusting Him that everything is going to be all right. There is an internal battle for God’s rest. How am I going to get it all done? How am I going to pay that bill, or find time to read or exercise? How am I……? But, the truth is stepping back and waiting. Get enough sleep, pray, and do what I can. God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above that which I ask or expect.

So I rest in the promise. Sure, I still work, I clean my house, I walk the dog, I pay the bills, I watch TV, I pray, I read. I keep moving forward. But when worry scratches at the door, with those chalkboard nails, I hum a tune. Or sometimes I sing out loud, or dance with the dog. I change the course of the thought. And I remember that God is good, all the time.

Tuesday, January 1, 2008

Facing the Challenges of Life

I have challenges in my life, times of trouble, sometimes I am afraid. I believe God is good, all the time. So I choose to hope, I choose to believe. Sometimes I have to laugh at myself, I am no one really, another soul.

I am misled by my own passions, deceived by my desires, and I am inpatient. A Bozo, really. But isn't that why Jesus died?




Not so that I could be "holy" and walk around in a cloud. Not so I could sit around with others and talk about the decline of the world. But that I could bring hope. I know that we are bad and good, we do the best we can.
Hope never fails.

I hear the Lord, He calls to me,
"Believe Me one more day,
I'm on your side,
I'm in your heart,
I won't turn you away.
Pick up the laughter,
hold the joy,
Embrace the dream, and stay.
Grab hold the hope,
Protect your thoughts,
For now I make the way.
Like streams
Where none have been before,
Where desert roses bloom,
I am Creator, pure and good.
The way will be clear soon."