Finger on the Pulse of Humanity
What a glorious October day, Father! We are in the last week of the month, and it is a bright and sunny 70° day°! It’s not the norm for central Ohio, but we’ll accept the unexpected blessing with smiles on our faces!
Romans 3:5-8 (<<click here to read the passage)
Anyone who knows me knows that I am a bi-vocational pastor. Even a half-dozen years ago, it was still in my head that I would like to be a full-time pastor, working a single job, instead of being a part-time pastor along with a full-time job outside the church. At this point, I really feel that I am filling a much-needed niche. I unashamedly serve on both fronts. For sixteen years I worked in retail and for the last four, I’ve driven a school bus.
Full-time pastors are very important and accomplish a lot in churches around the world, being able to focus their all on what God wants them to achieve. Most do a phenomenal job.
I can’t focus all on my churches, but I can focus more intently on those with whom I work. One thing, my walk is going to speak much louder than my talk. They’ve seen me throughout the course of everyday life, all the in and outs, highs and lows. They’ve seen when that one customer (or manager!) has jumped up and down on the one nerve I have left and witnessed how I responded.
Then on the flip side, I see them as well as they see me. In living technicolor, our lives are played out – all the pain, all the joy, the losses, and the celebrations. It’s all out there for all to see. It’s real. There is no pretense. In those kinds of environments, there’s no hiding. There are no masks…at least none that can stay in place in every circumstance.
A phrase I’ve used repeatedly throughout the years is that my finger is on the pulse of humanity. I can feel their beating hearts. And truth be told, they can readily feel mine, as well.
Reading today’s passage from Romans 3, anyone who has experienced any life under these circumstances realizes that these words glaringly stand out…
“…our sinfulness serves a good purpose, for it helps people see how righteous God is. Isn’t it unfair, then, for him to punish us?” v5
“…how can God condemn me as a sinner if my dishonesty highlights his truthfulness and brings him more glory?” v7
“The more we sin, the better it is!” v8
Honestly, if people see us living no different than the rest of the world, will they think more highly of God? Do those types of actions on our part help people see how righteous God is? Will our dishonesty highlight His truthfulness, bringing Him more glory?
Paul’s retort? “Of course not!” v6a NLT
The reality of our relationship with Jesus will show through it all. We probably won’t be able to live a perfect life before others, but when we do stumble and we take responsibility for and admit our need for forgiveness, from whoever has witnessed our fall, and from God Himself – when we do all within our power to make things right, that is when they will see what kind of God we serve. May it be so.
Oct 24th, 2022, Mon, 1:11 pm
Remember
Father, as I come to you tonight, I like to think that I am sliding up beside You. Your arm pulls me close, and I sit in the comfort and warmth of Your presence. Peace and assurance I find here, and I am content.
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Yesterday I took our band to a competition that was a little over an hour away. These thoughts came to mind a few weeks ago, on my return trip from taking the band on a similar trip. Driving to the venues there’s plenty to see – the beauty of nature, homes, towns, and traffic of course. Coming home is another matter. Last night, we pulled into our high school just before midnight. So, our trip home both times was way after sunset. Driving at that point, I only see what lies within the reach of my headlights, including occasional streetlights and the headlights of oncoming traffic.
Along with concentrating on what lies before me, my mind cannot help but dwell on what lies behind me. There are at least 35 or 40 students who ride the “quiet” bus. I know a handful personally in that they’ve been on routes I’ve driven. But most, including the adults, I don’t know. So, as I am trucking down the road, all of those souls are in my hands. One vehicle crossing left of center, a tree falling suddenly across my path, one misjudgment on my part, a big buck crossing out of nowhere in front of me – any of those and a thousand things more, could lead to catastrophic consequences.
Some don’t think a whole lot about bus drivers, but that is a huge amount of responsibility!
I’m not looking for a pat on the back, but when my mind goes down that path, I cannot help but think back to when I was the student being transported, by a committed soul behind the wheel of a school bus. …and I can only remember the name of one bus driver throughout the entirety of my school years.
The kids on my trips have been super nice, and most express gratitude for me driving, and it’s nice to hear, even though they’ve been encouraged by the adult leadership to do so. It’s even more gratifying to hear my name from the handful who know me personally.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that we should be better about remembering those who’ve impacted us in some way over the years.
My wife, Karen, is in her twenty-first year of teaching – mostly in the 1st grade. One thing that touches her is when students remember her. There’s a handful who, while still in elementary, will stop by regularly, at the beginning and end of each day, to hug her. A few years ago, a graduating senior invited her to his graduation party. She had impacted him, and all those years later he had not forgotten.
It’s important to remember. I wish there was some way for me to go back and acknowledge people who impacted me along my life’s journey, for I’m sure that I did that far less than I should have. Unfortunately, for many, it is no longer possible.
Although Karen and I are followers of Christ, and the culture in which we live causes us to hold back on what we can say in that regard, nothing can stop us from living out our relationship with Him before their eyes.
Remember your leaders who taught you the word of God. Think of all the good that has come from their lives, and follow the example of their faith. Hebrews 13:7 NLT
Oct 23rd, 2022, Sun, 8:01 pm
The Eyes Have It!
Father, You know that at times there are things beyond our control. It is much easier said than done but help us to give those things over to You and to trust You with them all. Amen.
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I had an eye appointment today. The picture you see above, those are retinal scans of my eyes – the inside of my eyes! As my optometrist was going over what it showed him, I was in awe! In awe over the picture itself (Isn’t it amazing? That is just one example of our Creator’s intricate awesomeness!) and in awe over all the things it communicates – that one picture – to someone who is well versed in interpreting such things.
I’m a diabetic, and there are minute red dots that tell my doctor things about that. We are keeping a “close eye” on those.
The veins and arteries coming out, potentially tell him about cholesterol issues. (I’m on cholesterol medication, prescribed by my primary physician. I don’t have high cholesterol but am taking a small dosage to help prevent other issues with my diabetes and mild high blood pressure.)
There are other things my optometrist could see in those pictures that would point to any number of issues with my heart or lungs or kidneys even! How could I not be in awe?
(A little side note: Please, get your eyes checked regularly! There’s a lot more involved than correcting your vision. Other health issues can be detected – it may save your life!)
My optometrist can see and understand a lot from eye scans. But from a spiritual perspective, Jesus spoke of what eyes show us. He said in Luke 11:34-36,
“Your eye is like a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is filled with light. But when it is unhealthy, your body is filled with darkness. Make sure that the light you think you have is not actually darkness. If you are filled with light, with no dark corners, then your whole life will be radiant, as though a floodlight were filling you with light.” NLT
Spiritually speaking all that we see impacts who and what we are spiritually. If we have healthy eyes, we see clearly (the Amplified Bible stresses that that means that we are spiritually perceptive and focused on God) and being filled with light allows us to benefit from God’s precepts.
But, if our eyes are unhealthy [spiritually blind], there is no light – only darkness [devoid of God’s word].
In John 8:12 Jesus proclaimed, “I am the Light of the world.”
Earlier, in John 3:19-21 He said,
“This is the judgment [that is, the cause for indictment, the test by which people are judged, the basis for the sentence]: the Light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For every wrongdoer hates the Light, and does not come to the Light [but shrinks from it] for fear that his [sinful, worthless] activities will be exposed and condemned. But whoever practices truth [and does what is right – morally, ethically, spiritually] comes to the Light, so that his works may be plainly shown to be what they are – accomplished in God [divinely prompted, done with God’s help, in dependence on Him].”
What we see, “opens our eyes” to who and what we are. May we run to the light, not shrink from it!
Oct 20th, 2022, Thurs, 12:32 pm
Dumping Sand in the Sea
A beautiful crisp day, Father. Thank you for the infinite diversity of Your creation! Oh, the wonder of it all!
Romans 3:1-4 (<<click here to read the passage)
Dumping sand in the sea doesn’t really accomplish anything. A handful or a bucketful or a wheelbarrow full or a dump truck full – none of those would make a dent in “filling” the sea up. Even a thousand or a million times any or all of those would make a bit of difference. The seas and oceans of our world are not infinite, but they are most certainly vast! All told they are more than any of us – even all of us together – can conquer!
Humanity is inherently wicked. We are evil. We are steeped in sin from birth. And we, in and of ourselves, cannot do one thing about it! …but God can!
One thing I hear from people is that they are too far gone for God to ever forgive the egregious sin in their lives. They believe they are too bad to love. But let me tell you, with the greatest of certainty that absolutely nothing could be further from the truth!
In verse 3 Paul is speaking to the Jews but again it applies to all of us. He says,
“If some did not believe or were unfaithful [to God], their lack of belief will not nullify and make invalid the faithfulness of God and His word, will it?” AMP
Your individual sin is at the least a handful in the infinite holiness of God. It has no impact on Him whatsoever! Even if you think your sin is equal to a dump truck or a million dump trucks, it is the same! Your sin has never and will never change God!
God is God! He and His word are faithful, and we cannot undo it! As the Amplified Bible puts it, we cannot nullify or make invalid His faithfulness.
Paul answers his own question, “…does that mean God will be unfaithful? Of course not! Even if everyone else is a liar, God is true.” V3b-4 NLT
So let nothing that you have done – or anyone you know who holds on to that lie – hold you back from reaching out and accepting what God offers us. And just as a reminder, He offers us pardon and forgiveness. The debt that we owe, He has paid! Jesus allowed Himself to be sacrificed on our behalf. There was no other solution. That was the only option! It cost Him everything, but He willingly gave it all up so that we could be redeemed…so that we could be welcomed back into the family with arms opened wide!
Thank You, Lord Jesus!
Oct 19th, 2022, Wed, 4:47 pm
The Way
Father, as I have sat down today in preparation for Sunday, I give You praise for pulling together things together to where they are at this point. You always know best, and your timing is always perfect.
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A few days ago I used the phrase “the Way” when referring to Christianity. I’m leaning a bit more into the concept of that phrase for a couple of reasons. One is the fact that being affiliated with the term Christian is looked upon with more and more disdain in today’s world. Merriam-Webster defines disdain as open dislike for someone or something considered unworthy of one’s concern or respect.
The thing is, if Jesus’ followers were truly following Him – loving Him with all of their heart, soul, mind, and strength, and loving others as they loved themselves – then we could stalwartly bear the disdain. (Though in all honesty, if we truly lived that way, unbelievers would be hard-pressed to feel that way about us!)
But the thing is, many who claim to be Christians are not living as we have been called to live…grieving our Lord Jesus.
Secondly, I’ve started following a gentleman named Chad Bird on TikTok. He has served as pastor, professor, and guest lecturer in Old Testament and Hebrew. He will often speak about a certain Hebrew word and then expound upon it, in a short but pithy exchange.
A few days ago, he shared the name by which the followers of Christ were first called, the Way. (It is used several times in the book of Acts.) The word in Hebrew is derekh (it’s pronounced pretty much how it is spelled). So, in the Old Testament, a derekh is a way or a road, but it’s also a custom or a journey, or a behavior.
He stated that it really sums up Christianity because it’s a holistic word encompassing deeds and creeds, faith and love, believing and doing.
I wholeheartedly agree that being a follower of Christ is rich and deep. We are who we are as believers – as followers of the Derekh – because of who Jesus is…not because of who we are or who we make Him out to be. So, when you follow Christ, you follow Him on the derekh, on the Way.
Psalm 25 is a perfect expression of this…you could call it the Derekh Psalm because the word…occurs several times in various forms. Verse 9 begins with the verb “he leads” and ends with the noun “the way” – both words are forms of the word derekh.
“He leads the humble in justice,
And He teaches the humble His way.” NASB
So, now take that and think about who Christ is.
In John 14:5-6 one of Jesus’ disciples said to Him,
“Lord, we do not know where You are going; so how can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the [only] Way [to God] and the [real] Truth and the [real] Life…” AMP
Christ is the Way to the Father, he is our Derekh that leads us into the arms of our heavenly Father. and so, we follow Him on the way because He is the Way.
And I, for one, want to be part of the Way!
Oct 18th, 2022, Tues, 12:58 pm