Life, Liberty and Pursuit

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness…”

These words for the Deceleration of Independence are often quoted on the fourth of July and should be. They are declared to be our God given rights for all humans even though the “men” who wrote them thought of them as rights for only men and at that did not cover their slaves. Still it was a beginning for the idea of God given rights of individual people.

LIFE: We have the right to be born and live out our lives with out threat from the government. Life itself is sacred and should be protected. There are times when governments do take lives when a jury of our peers convicts someone of murder or other capitol crimes and inflicts the death penalty.

LIBERTY: We have the right to move about at our own discretion with out hindrance of our government and to do as we please unless it interferes with the rights of other citizens. That right can be curtailed by the courts if we violate the law and are convicted of it.

PURSUIT: We have the right to pursuit of happiness but that does not mean we have to find happiness. We can look for it in what ever way we choose as long as we do not violate the law or the rights of others in the process.

All of our God given rights are precious but come with responsibility for our actions in exercising them in a civilized society. Lives were given in the past for the support of these rights and are being given even now. Let us dedicate our selves on the forth of July to preserve them for ourselves and our fellow citizens now and in the future.

A Long Church Fight

In 1054 AD The two main parts of the Christian Church had been squabbling for years and then the fight began. The Greek speaking Greek Orthodox and the Latin speaking Roman churches could not settle their differences and excommunicated each other. The each declared that they were the only true church. It was not the first church fight nor was it the last.

The fight lasted for almost a thousand years when Patriarch Athenagoras and Pope Paul VI met in Jerusalem and thawed things a little. In May Patriarch Bartholomew and Pope Francis also met in Jerusalem fifty years later and settled the fight. They removed the excommunications and lifted the Anathemas directed at each other and made peace.

Perhaps if these ancient theological enemies can love each other so can some of the newer splits in the church. The United Methodist have started their fight and may split so we can pray that they will heal the wounds. Many other church groups have split over the years over truly tiny differences of opinion like having musical instruments in the worship service or not.

I pray for the unity of the church every day! Will you join me?

Living in Grace

When Paul wrote to the Church in Corinth, in second Corinthians Chapter eight verse 1-7, he spoke to them about the Generosity of the Christian Churches in Macedonia. It seems that the First Christian Church in Jerusalem was in trouble and needed help. Now the Christian churches in Macedonia were made up of mostly poor people with big hearts and they lived Gracefully.

But they had a generous spirit for they were rich in love. They gave Paul money to take to Jerusalem to help them in their time of need. They understood the stewardship of graceful living. This may be the first evidence of Christian outreach. Paul encouraged the wealthier First Christian Church of Corinth to be as generous. The told them of the First Christian Church of Macedonia, "... Begging us earnestly for the privilege of sharing in the ministry to the saints.

And not merely as we expected; they gave themselves first.” Our stewardship is one of first giving ourselves whole heartily to Serving Jesus the Christ. Gracefull living in God’s presence. The second is to accept our personal ministry as part of our gift and take action on it as a high priority to notice Lazarus.

People need to beware of worshipping Jesus as the professing of your faith in Him as Savior of the World and then on the other hand blaspheme Him by the actions and evidence of your daily life with poor stewardship. Witness with Grace FULL living in the presence of others.

For the Love Of

I heard it once again when a man in a group of people I was standing near said: “The bible say that money is the root of all evil.”

How often do people mis-quote the bible with great self assurance. He likely had heard one of his parent say the same thing and never bothered to look it up. I told him and the group, “That is not exactly how the bible states it.” I Timothy 6:10, “For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.”

Paul never condemned money itself rather the love of money or greed for riches leads people down the path of evil. Some people will do anything for money. The other side of that coin is that the proper use of money can provide all kinds of blessings. Paul goes on to tell Timothy to be rich in good works and to be generous with God's gifts. It is really the focus of our lives that matters most and it is always a choice between doing good and doing evil. One can make a good deal of money and be OK if there is a love of God as the life focus and then the money is a blessing used for blessing others.

If your life focus is on acquiring money for the sake of having lots of money then you are tempted to do anything necessary to build up your supply of wealth. At that point you are driven to destruction of your soul. Meditated on the sixth chapter of first Timothy and seek the things that are good and pure.

Deep Roots

There is a tree that grows well in the arid lad of west Texas where I grew up called the Mesquite tree. It is a very hardy tree that can live a long time with out rain because of its interesting root system. The tree has two sets of roots that provides it with water. There is a shallow set of roots that spread out around the tree and soaks up any recent rain fall. Other plants around the tree have little chance of using rain water because the tree is so good at soaking up the water. The Mesquite has a back up root system for times of no rain and that is a tap root that can grow up to almost two hundred feet deep. This tap root reaches down into the water table and can sustain the tree through the worst drought.

We need a Mesquite like faith with roots that soak up spiritual blessings when times are good and a tap root that finds blessing when times are tough. It is easy to be a Christian when life is rolling along with no worries but it takes a deep faith to over come the trials that life can throw our way. The parable of Job reminds me that my faith in God can over come any adversity and that when trouble comes to me I need deep rooted faith.

Many of Job's so called friends encouraged him to give it up and his wife told him to just curse God and die. Many people are nominal members of the church in good times but fad away in times of adversity. Some change their religions as easily as they change their hats. Shallow roots will do in easy times but it take a deep tap root to go through the hard times. Send your faith roots both far out and way deep like the Mesquite.

Comfort Zone

Today we are faced with sever divisions in our country where people on the extremes of both political and religious arguments hate those who disagree. The idea of meet me in the middle is abhorrent and leaves no room for dialogue. Sometimes we are conflicted within ourselves. There are some areas of my thinking that are very conservative and other areas where I am very liberal. That confuses people who think I should be one way or another across the board. Some of them call me not so pleasant names.

Being hated or labeled for my beliefs is uncomfortable at best but is it not surprising in today’s world. The question to ask myself is, “What do I do with that discomfort?” I can hate them right back but that only makes me like them and I do not want that for my self. It is fortunate that my discomfort helps me examine my convictions and develop a positive response. As a Christian pastor I look to the scriptures for my guide and discover that Jesus faced the same kind of challenges both religious and political.

First I need to check my attitude. Paul said in Romans 12:2, “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Good idea! Renew my mind by reviewing facts from all directions. If I watch only Fox or only MSNBC I get distorted views. By watching both and PBS Newshour I can sort out what is and is not. If I read only conservative religious commentary or only liberal commentary I am short on facts. Renewing my mind and seeking what is pleasing to God is a good starting place.

Second I need to accept the fact that what ever my beliefs are they will be ridiculed by someone somewhere. By accepting that concept and renewing my mind about my convictions I can live in peace with God and the people around me.

Third I need to check my actions by the teachings of Jesus who said to love your enemies and do good to those who curse you and pray for those who mistreat you. Love is the real key to both my faith and all my other relationships.

Children and Guns

It seems like every time I turn on the news there is another insident of school children shooting other children. We are also faced with siblings playing with guns in their homes and killing a brother or sister with it.

I was saddened when I read of a five year old boy who shot his two year old sister. He will carry that pain with him for the rest of his life. The real shock came when I read that he shot her with his own gun, a 22 made for a five year old and painted blue. They make a pink one for girls. What is wrong here?

Right away the pro gun people were posting that it was just a tragic accident that could happen to anyone. In a sense it was a tragic accident from the point of view of the five year old who did not mean to kill his little sister. Many times my brother and I played cowboys with our cap pistols aiming and shooting at each other. They were toys and did not damage. A five year old has no comprehension of lethal weapons; he was playing with a new toy.

The anti gun group began a rant about firearms companies that produce lethal weapons made for such young children. There is also some truth to their concerns but that is not the real problem. Children shoot other children with guns left available by parents. In this case a gun made available as a gift by a parent.

My problem is with the parents who are guilty of negligent homicide by providing a loaded weapon to a child with out supervision. If you have guns in the house with children the said children need to be trained to know that guns can kill and assume that a gun is always loaded. It is OK to train a child to shoot on a target range and respect a gun but not to be left alone with the gun. In a home with a child all weapons need to be unloaded, the trigger locked and the gun locked up.

Where was the adult supervision in that home?