Category: Uncategorized

“One Teacher”

You and I speak English, read English, and write in English.  Yet we all had different teachers growing up. We each know addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Yet we all had different teachers along the way.  For math and reading, it really doesn’t matter who teaches them.  After all, math has nothing to do with my sixth grade teacher, Mr. Card.   And English doesn’t necessitate knowing my fourth grade teacher Miss. Bonn.  But if you want to know God, and know how to have life and live life then it is of utmost importance that you learn from Jesus. There is just no other way to the Father then through the Son.

Disciples Growing Together

My daughter and I are doing a 500 piece puzzle together. There are 4 pieces that have two straight edges (so far we have found only 3). There are many more that have one straight edge.  The vast majority have no straight edges at all. Every piece requires other pieces and all 500 need the other 499 to reveal the picture promised on the cover of the box. The church is a gathering of many different pieces. As disciples, Christians need each other to see the big picture of what Jesus intends for His Church. Are you in the picture?

Which Christianity?

Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons, in an article posted by CNN on Thursday, January 24, 2019, declared that “Christianity’s future looks more like Lady Gaga than Mike Pence.” At stake, in Graves-Fitzsimmons’ mind, was which Christian self-identity will win out in the end. It is no wonder that, in our current culture, Christianity is not defined by God’s word, but by man’s self-identification and popular opinion. This is not new to those who know a little about the history of Christianity. The massive influence of Christianity on western civilization has led many seeking power or putting forth policies to claim they bear the banner of Christianity in their pursuits. It is the weaponization of the Christian label and it has confused many, disgusted many, and has been wielded by many with disasterous effect. Providence Church is committed to the glory of God and his revelation of himself in his word. We don’t get our understanding of truth from the polls or the loudest voice. We get it from God’s word. The future of religion may be squarely on Lady Gaga’s side, but the future of biblical Christianity is securely on the side of those who believe the Scriptures are God’s inspired, infallible and inerrant word.

Covid-19 and the Reality of Death

We work in science and medicine and encourage some precautions not to cheat death, but to make sure that we respect the life God has given to us and others.

There is no unanimity about how dangerous the Covid-19 is and how to respond to it. 

Is there a conspiracy?  Sinful human nature, with the heavy weight it puts on self-interest, makes some measure of corruption in all of this probable. Is Covid-19 more dangerous than we realize?  Sinful human nature can easily underestimate the danger of this fallen world in order to pursue a casually normal life; “I’m ok and you’re ok. Or at least you should be because I am.”

I do not have certainty concerning all the conspiracies that may be lurking in the hearts of leaders, scientists, doctors, and the press.  Some do not lurk but stand openly.  I do not have certainty about how dangerous the virus is as a percentage of those who actually have it. It is clearly dangerous to those with underlying conditions.

I do know two things for certain, however.

First, death is part of this fallen world.  We should not be offended that it should be packaged in something so small as a virus. Neither should we be so fearful that we cease to live in order to simply keep from dying.  Choosing the misery of separation has never saved anyone from death. It still comes.  Choosing to ignore danger has never derailed death’s timely advance.  It is always right on time. 

We work in science and medicine and encourage some precautions not to cheat death, but to make sure that we respect the life God has given to us and others. Being careless about real danger does not respect life. Being careless about our calling to work and serve does not respect life either.

The second thing about which I am certain is that Jesus is the only one who saves us from the condemnation of death. Christians may disagree about where the conspiracies lie and how far reaching any danger might be.  As Christians, we are not motivated by fear or presumption, but by thanksgiving for God’s grace.

Pig Pile!

As boys, my brothers and I, along with the other boys in the neighborhood, played “pig pile”. The rule of the game was simple: whoever had the ball would get tackled and then everyone else would pile on. The boy at the bottom could not move and breathing was hard. The weight of 3, 4, or 5 others prevented it. Immobility and difficulty breathing were the consequences of being the guy with the ball.

Paul wrote to the Romans (Romans 5:20) that the law came in to “increase the trespass.” The law piles on the sinner increasing the sin and the weight of sin as it exposes every dark aspect of man’s disobedience. The sinner could not move to help himself and it only got harder to breath. There is no way to get out from under the pig pile as commandment 1, 2, 3 . . . 8, 9, 10 all threw their weight on top.

No matter how big the pile, however, God’s grace in Christ is able to topple it over and remove every ounce of sin. “Where sin increased, grace abounded more.” That’s good news.

A Box of Tissues and God Almighty

What if all God had to offer was a box of tissues? You know, like that commercial where the man sits out in the street and people come and bear their soul only to be sent away with a tissue and a hug. That’s not much help is it?

God is much more serious than a box of tissues. He is more than a hug and a wave goodbye. He is the God who can actually do something about our troubled lives. That’s great news, because, the truth be told, we are in more trouble than we think.

God’s word says that there is none righteous, no not one. It also says that we should not fear man who can destroy our body, but God who can destroy both soul and body in hell. That’s a lot of trouble.

Thankfully, His word also says that He so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

And, by the way, He is like a box of tissues in this way: one day He will wipe away all our tears.