One the eve of what many among us refer to as Good Friday, I am prompted to write about the response to an event that has happened in the heavens earlier in the week. Perhaps, you have already heard of the Blood Moon and been made aware of its significance to some.
On Monday evenings, I have been attending a GriefShare meeting at a local church and as I had parked my car and headed for the door, I noticed the couple who monitor the class, parked near the entrance and they let me know the doors were locked. We would have to wait for someone to open them. As the man and I were standing outside, he asked me if I had heard of the Blood Moon and I said I had - many times over the years. He was really excited as he and his wife had been watching a well known TV pastor talking of the significance of this phenomenon. Well, I had heard that particular Pastor many times over the years and no longer watch him as most of the predictions he had made in that time had turned out to be figments of his imagination.
Fortunately, they came to open the door so I was not able to continue with my opinion as the two were very serious Christians I had come to love for the experiences they shared with our class. And since I loved them, I was not about to comment on the voice they had been listening to.
I only wished they could have been in church on Wednesday evening as the Pastor assigned to that service went to great lengths to detail the history of "blood" moons over the years. He detailed the history of the Jewish people with reference to this phenomenon, but also pointed out, the rich history of the Jewish religion that focused on signs and moons that govern their rituals. He did a very good job and I pray that those who were listening took that information seriously. After all, the nation of Israel and our own nation are allied together. We are brothers and sisters in our faith in God.
Last evening, I came upon an article in the New York Times on this subject, noting that, in certain circles, this rare appearance was seen as the "Start of Something Big". And that was certainly the impression of the friends I referred to earlier. The article refers to the impression that religious TV is repeating the stories that seem to be rampant in many churches. Stories of "killer" viruses, planetary power failures, nuclear wars and of course, the Rapture.
Shades of the recently departed, Harold Camping. and of Robert Fitzpatrick, the man who wasted away his life's savings on signs posted in the New York City's subway systems, warning of the "greatest ever earthquake" scheduled for a day certain in May.
Why do we seem to delight in repeating these stories? I have an answer and you may not want to hear it, but my trust is not in stories, even those that might make me think twice about the welfare of my family and my children, in particular. The Bible I read states specifically that "This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it." (Psalm 118:24)
To me the whole thing is intriguing, not by the claims, but by our response to them. I am not one of those who goes about quoting scripture - I had to look up the source of the earlier Bible verse, but my life is not based on the teachings, even the warnings of others. Putting your trust in the words of men and women who seem to delight in the warnings they have discovered in the Bible or elsewhere, is very much like the fears that come about when one first hears the roar of an ocean or cowers whenever a bad storm hits the area where they live. Of course, people drown in the ocean and some are blown away in violent storms, but we need to examine the latent power of our belief systems.
It has been centuries since Jesus the man walked on this earth, but He left behind words of comfort in the storms of life and joy in the face of adversity. It took me almost forty-five years to learn that basic truth, but He created in me a faith that endures, regardless of what I might hear from others, even when such words might come from a pulpit. Now as I am approaching my fortieth anniversary of embracing that faith, I rejoice at what I have learned to believe and better yet, the courage to walk in it.
Showing posts with label Jesus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jesus. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
It's Today and a peek at my day
These days, I get out of bed around 7AM and after the typical "chores" most of us are accustomed to, I switch on my TV and normally, I discover my "friends" on NBC are hard at "work". Of course, it's work, it's the routine of their lives. Most of the time, I get a little bored at the chatter and decide there are better things to do and I move on.
This morning, however, I was moved to tears after watching the lives of two young girls in a city I forget, as they dealt with a circumstance involving their individual lives. One has cancer and according to the regimen prescribed by her doctors, her head was shaved. It had to be embarrassing for her, but she was obviously dealing with it and then her best friend realized that others were teasing her, so she decided to have her head shaved as well, hoping to help others understand, they were bff's. "best friends forever".
There was a difference, they went to different schools and the school where the other girl attended chose to enforce their "no head shaving" rule and were about to refuse her admittance, until some of the "wiser" heads prevailed. They chose to suspend this rule in this occasion.
As I reflected on this situation, I could not help but think of articles I received yesterday from those who have chosen to raise their voices in the ongoing debate as to whether Christians are supposed to love those among us who have admitted their sexual preferences are different from others.
One voice, a significant one, as he carries a substantial title as a "leader" of a leading denomination, referred to the "flawed moral vision" of those who those who chose to love others, regardless of their sexual preferences. Of course, he would be referring to the Apostle Paul's words in I Corinthians to the effect that "..do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?" There was more of that verse to follow, but his point is obvious. It must follow that those who disagree with his point of view are lost forever, there is no hope for their salvation.
Then, there was another point of view, this from a mere Professor of the Old Testament, at a renowned seminary, and an ordained minister in another Denomination. She refers us to the gospel of Matthew, chapter 23, wherein Jesus condemns "leaders" who ...."tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others, but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them."
Her point moved me as almost from the beginning of my own church life. Over my many, many years I have known of people with "deviant" sexual preferences and have been known to be fellow members, but there was little of the antagonism that ought to be recognized in the previous leader's condemnation.
The other "voice" that I heard through my e-mails belonged to widely known - in this area, a religious teacher who refers to the constantly decreasing numbers of American Protestants. In the '60s, they made up two thirds of the population, but today, they make up less than half.
There has to be a significant reason for this trend and I believe the answer does not come from the pulpit, but from the pew. After a half century of serious church attendance, my response has to be centered on a simple verse that has been the back bone of Christian thought down through the centuries.
Jesus teaches in John, chapter 13, verses 34-35: "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. But this all will know you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."
We must always remember, there were no "churches" then as we know them. There were synagogues for those of the Jewish faith, but the Christian faith was developed in the hearts of those we know a the disciples and carried from home to home in all of "Judea and Samaria and even to the remotest part of the earth" as was the Lord's commandment in Acts 1:8.
Those who came before us appear to have been more interested in the economies involved by calling people to the church - typically the denomination, rather than to the message of the One whose name we bear.
And proof of this takes me back to the relationship developed in the hearts of the two little girls I cited in beginning this blog. It doesn't require a church, nor the leaders of the church, to extend the kingdom on earth of which Jesus spoke. It merely requires that we hear of the love between the two mentioned earlier and extend that same kind of love to all others.
This morning, however, I was moved to tears after watching the lives of two young girls in a city I forget, as they dealt with a circumstance involving their individual lives. One has cancer and according to the regimen prescribed by her doctors, her head was shaved. It had to be embarrassing for her, but she was obviously dealing with it and then her best friend realized that others were teasing her, so she decided to have her head shaved as well, hoping to help others understand, they were bff's. "best friends forever".
There was a difference, they went to different schools and the school where the other girl attended chose to enforce their "no head shaving" rule and were about to refuse her admittance, until some of the "wiser" heads prevailed. They chose to suspend this rule in this occasion.
As I reflected on this situation, I could not help but think of articles I received yesterday from those who have chosen to raise their voices in the ongoing debate as to whether Christians are supposed to love those among us who have admitted their sexual preferences are different from others.
One voice, a significant one, as he carries a substantial title as a "leader" of a leading denomination, referred to the "flawed moral vision" of those who those who chose to love others, regardless of their sexual preferences. Of course, he would be referring to the Apostle Paul's words in I Corinthians to the effect that "..do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?" There was more of that verse to follow, but his point is obvious. It must follow that those who disagree with his point of view are lost forever, there is no hope for their salvation.
Then, there was another point of view, this from a mere Professor of the Old Testament, at a renowned seminary, and an ordained minister in another Denomination. She refers us to the gospel of Matthew, chapter 23, wherein Jesus condemns "leaders" who ...."tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others, but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them."
Her point moved me as almost from the beginning of my own church life. Over my many, many years I have known of people with "deviant" sexual preferences and have been known to be fellow members, but there was little of the antagonism that ought to be recognized in the previous leader's condemnation.
The other "voice" that I heard through my e-mails belonged to widely known - in this area, a religious teacher who refers to the constantly decreasing numbers of American Protestants. In the '60s, they made up two thirds of the population, but today, they make up less than half.
There has to be a significant reason for this trend and I believe the answer does not come from the pulpit, but from the pew. After a half century of serious church attendance, my response has to be centered on a simple verse that has been the back bone of Christian thought down through the centuries.
Jesus teaches in John, chapter 13, verses 34-35: "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. But this all will know you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."
We must always remember, there were no "churches" then as we know them. There were synagogues for those of the Jewish faith, but the Christian faith was developed in the hearts of those we know a the disciples and carried from home to home in all of "Judea and Samaria and even to the remotest part of the earth" as was the Lord's commandment in Acts 1:8.
Those who came before us appear to have been more interested in the economies involved by calling people to the church - typically the denomination, rather than to the message of the One whose name we bear.
And proof of this takes me back to the relationship developed in the hearts of the two little girls I cited in beginning this blog. It doesn't require a church, nor the leaders of the church, to extend the kingdom on earth of which Jesus spoke. It merely requires that we hear of the love between the two mentioned earlier and extend that same kind of love to all others.
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