May 2022
Each morning Finley, my grand-dog, and I take a walk. We head east for a little over a mile circling the neighborhood, checking out houses, remarking on landscaping (or lack of), and greeting other early risers. Most mornings we see the sun come up, listen to chirping birds and get free strokes (Finley, not me) from the elementary children as they go to school.
In the afternoon we head westward, doing the same loop in the opposite direction. The sounds, views, and kids are less exciting, although Finley enjoys terrorizing the ducks.
Last week Finley and I overheard one side of a very interesting exchange. We came upon a woman engrossed in a loud and intense conversation, “You are mature enough to make a decision about this.” And then she said it again with more force, “YOU are mature enough to make a decision about this.” Then she said. . . “NO! NO! LEAVE CHRISTIANITY OUT OF IT! You are mature enough to make this decision!!”
Well, with that cliffhanger, I did not want to miss the rest of this dialog. What could possibly be going on? Who was she talking to? And most importantly how can you leave Christianity out of anything?????
Unfortunately, this person was not okay with me tagging along and listening. So, grudgingly Finley and I continued. We had a whole lot to think and pray about.
As we meandered, I began to think maybe she was talking about bad Christianity. You know – the televangelists, false leaders, and even churches that are compromising the Gospel and God’s truth. Perhaps this woman had a bad church experience and/or maybe she’s been around so-called Christians who are acting in ways that are less than appealing and spreading false doctrine.
I don’t know.
What I do know is there is at least one person (and I suspect many more) who holds a negative view of Christianity and very likely does not know the transforming power of the Gospel. My friends, I am sad to say that our reputation as Christians is tarnished. Plain and simple, we’ve got issues. I think, and I am generalizing here, so cut me some slack, we are doing a lousy job of making the invisible God visible and we may or may not be speaking HIS truth boldly. The bottom line, we are not conducting ourselves in a manner that looks much different than the rest of this broken world. As believers, we are called to live lives that are holy and set apart, to follow Jesus, and to reflect His love to the world around us.
What I also know – and this is the key to it all - is that everything and I mean everything – every decision, every action, every thought, EVERYTHING we have or want or need or aspire to is important to God. God is the creator of the universe, He is the Alpha and Omega, and God is our number one priority. Period. Every decision we make should begin and end with God and His truth.
Thankfully, God gave us the Holy Spirit and His Word so that we do not have to figure things out on our own. As Tom frequently taught from 2 Tim 3:16-17, all scripture is inspired by God and is inerrant and infallible. The bible, God’s Word, tells us:
what is right – teaching,
what is not right – reproof,
how to get right – correction,
and, how to stay right – training and righteousness.
Here’s a link to Tom’s series “How to Find Meaning in a Collapsing World,” and his lesson from 2 Timothy 3:8-17 https://www.prioritylivingaz.org/audio-archives/2014/6/19/2-timothy-38-17
My friends, as we enter Spring and Summer, how about getting back to reading His Word – not just reading our favorite Christian authors, but opening up scripture and reading God’s Word? And, if you are still “attending” church online, I hope you will physically get back to church, surrounding yourself with Godly men and women.
It’s time to get back to Him and show the world that “Jesus is the way, the truth, the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)
Let’s not leave Him out of anything.