Spiritual Carnage

I have often heard people say that only Jesus walked on water. How ever according to Matthew 14:29 “Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus.”

At that moment Peter completely trusted in Jesus and walked on the water. That was faith at work but then Peter took his eyes off of Jesus and noticed the storm around him and lost his faith. When ever we give ourselves to God and really trust then we can also do amazing things.

Keeping our faith focused seems to be a common human failing. We start out like Peter full of confidence in the power of God in our lives and then allow the storms of life to distract us. Living by faith successfully is a lot like driving a car you have to stay focused on the road ahead. Taking your eyes off of Jesus is like texting while driving and can lead to spiritual carnage.

Remember the lesson of Peter getting out of the boat. Peter proved that he could walk on water just like Jesus. We today often prove that we can live by faith and do powerful things. So keep your eyes of Jesus and keep the faith.

Not For Sissies!

Over forty years ago I was pastor of a church in a small Texas town. A retired minister in his eighties lived there. I often visited with him and he served as an informal mentor. One of his often stated sayings was, “Getting old is not for sissies.”

Over the years I have used that quote many times. These days the cold hard truth of it is becoming clearer. It seems that every time I go to the doctor she tells me that I must stop doing something I like, stop eating things I love and start doing things I hate to do.

Gone are the days when I can follow an impulse and eat what ever is set before me. Any thing with sugar is poison. I need to check the carb count and look for seeds that might later create havoc. Calories I have consumed are no longer burned off so quickly as before, they now require extra exercise.

I now know for real that the old pastor was right, growing old is not for sissies.

Generational Guilt

There is a guilt that seems to transcend generations in such a way that one people blames another for sins committed by their ancestors. Sometimes that guilt is accepted and we pay penance for something we did not do. There are Germans who feel the guilt of Hitler’s sin even though they personally had nothing to do with it.

Another past sin is that of slavery where one color of people holds another responsible for it. While the sin was real for the time of commitment it is not real for generations later. Yet the power of these generational guilt trips is still gripping people’s souls. There is no forgiveness and no release. How do we heal the pain that is passed down through the years?

I was amazed when South Africa suddenly changed governments and an unexpected thing happened. Largely due to Nelson Mandela’s leadership the whole country worked through the hate and distrust on both sides. The past was past and they needed to overcome centuries of conflict. Truth and Reconciliation commissions faced the truth head on, admitted it and forgave it.  What a concept! It sounds a lot like the message that which Jesus preached.

Some how we all need to take this message to heart.

Criticizing

Friedrich Nietzeche wrote, “Let us stop thinking so much about punishing, criticizing, and improving others. Instead, let us rather raise ourselves that much higher. Let us color our own example with ever more vividness.”

For the next six months we are in for a lot of political punishing criticizing from both Republicans and Democrats. Both sides will spend millions on ads telling us how bad the other side will be if elected. It really won’t make any difference as both parties are so corrupt that they are bought and paid for and often by the same people.

Where are the statesmen who can lead by positive example and provide our country with vision and pride? All we seem to have now are politicians who seek only reelection term after term. I think it is our own fault as we keep reelecting them to office all the while wondering why the other states keep voting for their crooked politicians.

I am praying for America.

He made his Bible an Idol

I was talking with a man about the Bible and about the process for choosing which books went into the Bible we have now.  He almost put his fingers in his ears! He actually said to me; “God gave us the Bible exactly as it is in the King James Authorized Bible. How can you preach the Word of God if you don’t believe that?” It had been so long since I heard some one say that. I was stunned for a moment.

He did not want to hear anything else. His faith is so weak that a change in his preconceptions would shatter it. He had made an idol out of his King James translation of the bible. Every dot and word had to be perfect and with out error of his faith in God was gone.

It is scandalous for Christians if we remain contented about our own ignorance and understanding of the Bible. This includes the history of how the Bible came to us and the movement of people in the Holy Land. The more I learn and understand about the scriptures the more powerful they become for me. This even includes all the human frailties that produced it. We must understand that God did not dictate word for word the Bible we have today. It was written by men and women who had a powerful personal relationship with God and passed it on to us in their own words.

To accept what that man believes about the Bible is to make an idol out of the book.

Emotional Gifts

All of our emotions are a gift of God. Sometimes you're going to feel angry. Other times you will feel sad or grief. There will be times when you feel lonely, or any of the wide array of natural human emotions which are nowhere near being happy. You're a human being; you're supposed to feel those things when life takes a wrong turn.




In fact, the desire to be happy all the time, to avoid feeling those "unpleasant" or "unwanted" emotions, is what leads many people to use drugs to change how they feel. As a healthy human being, you know that it is okay to not feel happy sometimes. These feelings help you examine the circumstances you are in so that your can work out a new plan of action and make a change. You do not need to change how you feel at that particular moment your feelings will change as your circumstances change.




In fact when you feel unhappy, accept how you feel, make your peace with it, and know that this too shall pass. Your unhappy state of mind is neither your identity nor your permanent state of being. This is simply how you feel in this moment and you know that brighter feelings will come eventually.




Use your gift of the natural medicine of humor to ease your way through the rough moments in your life. You'll be amazed when you go back to review your journal to see that it all starts with a simple smile of knowing that the sun will return to light your life and bring joy.

Sanitized Death

 We have sanitized death to the point that people now die out of sight in hospitals or hospices. Sometimes family members are there but often it happens alone in the night. Then we quickly ship them off to the funeral home where when we next see them they have been cleaned, dressed and made to look as if they are but sleeping. In some cases their bodies are simply and quickly cremated and the ashes packaged for presentation.

Life is a process of dying from the moment we are conceived and we need to be aware of and honor that process. Most of us know that we are mortal but think of that in the far distant future. Perhaps we try not to think of it at all. If we live to our seventh decade the future is all to clear and we can get a better feeling for the concept of our own death. Notice I said “If” and that if is a big one as accident or illness can take us quickly long before we are ready.

Being ready is a key element at any point in our lives. It is not just our own morality but also of those around us who may die with out warning. I am always aware of our gift of life and how precious it truly is. Make each day a blessing and make it count.