In asking around what some of my friends think about in the shower I often receive I usually just listen to music & sing along. Hummm. Hadn’t quite thought of that one. Probably should consider it. John Denver? Karen Carpenter? Taylor Swift? If anything, I play Classical. Soothing as I think.

       Still, my singing does sound better in the shower. I think everybody’s does. Oh…, you’ve never tried it?

       For most of us “the shower” is a place of escape. A time to separate from our world of work; or a place to prepare for it, to organize our thoughts and approach to the day: to clear our minds of extraneous clutter. And so we smell better. I prefer to start my day with a mind clearing shower, one where I can lay the gridwork for things accomplished. My wife, on the other hand, likes to end her day with a soothing shower, drawing a close to the work of the day.

       Neither of us are right or wrong. It’s just a life pattern we have developed over the years.

       Whether you begin your day with an invigorating shower or end it with a soothing one, you need to establish a pattern that works for you. Consistency is the point. Eliminate one more thing you have to think about so you can get the important stuff done.

       When I was an undergrad I remember a chapel speaker saying There is enough time in each day for you to accomplish all of God’s will. He challenged us to examine our days to see how we were doing with that.

       The idea had never occurred to me that I had been called to participate in something much greater, much more majestic than my own picayunish plans for my day. Let alone for my life. I had to change the ways I viewed myself, my plans, and those around me.

       It wasn’t all about me.

       I still need to be reminded of that. Each day. Every day. Some days I fail miserably to make a difference. I fritter my time away with superfluous stuff.

       But there’s always tomorrow. And tonight’s shower. Or tomorrow mornings. So sing!

       And plan on!

Loving God; loving people… and bringing the two together! ^©

Gary

NEXT— The Shower— How do you decide what is important?

 As I wander through the lives of my friends it no longer surprises me that they have no need of religion, let alone Jesus Christ. Their lives are engulfed in work, families, extra-curricular activities, sports, etc. They have no time to consider that there might be a God in the heavens who wants to give them everything He has. All they have to say, “Huh!”

     Ah! But there are “hoops”  to jump through! Membership in the Christian Club costs, right. They’ve come to believe that our faith is all about bondage, rules, and limitations on their lives. And they want none of it.

  All people see is subservience to a holy God who wants to subjugate them even more to His laws and limits.

     This comes after years of viewing the Church as a symbol of authority rather than a gateway to freedom from everything that binds people. If it is true that the Gospel points out sin, then it is equally true that Jesus Christ sets us free from our bondage to sin. Stating the obvious? Yes. But we rarely live as if we are free.

     So also do normal people look at our message and see, not freedom & forgiveness, but “Christian” rules and regulations to bind them. How then does that draw them to our gospel of life? Have you ever been hurt? Who hasn’t. How about doubts about whether this whole Christian thing is true? An accurate interpretation of reality? Many of us have.

     What about being betrayed of judged by another Christian? Yeah. Right. People who do not follow Christ’s way of life see it all. And they are skeptical about our claims of the “abundant life,” of the unity of our faith, and the freedom we know in Christ.

     How did we get here? Short of a lesson in church history, we have forgotten our first love. We have traded Christian love and community for positions of power and authority. One-upmanship.

     If ever our world is to see the love and salvation we share in our faith, then we have got to stop dividing against one another. We need to come together on critical issues of faith and practice. It is our hearts of compassion and forgiveness that our secular friends want…, & need.

“By this will everyone know that you are my disciples; that you love one-another.” [John 13:35]

     Years ago, a young college girl from Nigeria asked Starr and me how she could become a Christian. I replied “Why do you want to become a Christian?” Her response took us by surprise. “Because of the way I see you two love each other.” That hasn’t changed.

Loving God; loving people… and bringing the two together! ^©
Gary

       Another issue normal people face when considering our Christian faith is the disgust they have with the uncovered activities of many Christian leaders and the practices of too many Christian organizations. We are not a church without spot or blemish.

       People expect more from a group that claims to know the God of the universe in a pure and personal way. They expect more from Christian leaders who cut corners, who play the edges of the gospel, and live lives that are less than reputable.

       No wonder people are skeptical of the veracity and practice of our faith. What we confess that Jesus is the way, the Truth, and the life, but that doesn’t match the way we live. So we come across as duplicitous to too many people. I’ve been guilty of this myself— this conflicting nature. For that, I am truly sorry. I apologize. Please forgive me.

            The onus remains on us to live lives that lift up our Lord Jesus. But our people are not yet fully redeemed. We are an imperfect people, struggling to be transformed by the indwelling Christ. Regrettably, too many of us have been poor representatives of the God we serve. And people outside our faith stand ready to point that out and condemn our failures.

       We need to ask ourselves— What do we need to change in our behavior so people will be less disgusted with us and our faith in Christ?

1.      For one, we need to live reputable lives— not lives that bend the rules or distract from the purity of life that our Lord has obtained for us.

2.      Then…̶̶  we need to strive to live lives of sacrifice. For example, most of us give to causes we believe in within the scope of our budget. But should we not also set aside some money for emergency giving? People often have special needs that arise unexpectedly. What if we could have a Special Needs Fund (SNF) ready to give to people on the spot?

3.      I know I’ve said this before but I believe it so important to learn to love people as the foundation of the Gospel. All the outlines or presentations we design are nothing without a context of love. So the question we must answer is— Can we love people the way our Lord loved them, with no condemnation?! This implies that we put aside our own peculiar prejudices and attitudes about them. They are not a perfect group of people: neither are we.

4.      We need to take down our own masks that hide the work of Christ within. We tend to put on a good face for people who don’t understand our faith. On the contrary we need to display out real selves, as Christians, with all our warts and failings. Why are we so afraid to be more transparent in our faith?

5.      We need to learn to lead lives that are covered with prayer; not prayer as a passing fancy, but prayer that is a passion. Western Christians are not very passionate about much anymore. We must develop passionate lives that exude the praise to our Lord. Sedate, moderate Christianity will accomplish little in a volatile society.

       If people are disgusted with us, even fearful, we need to change the ways we live to reflect more goodness toward life, and love for those around us.

Loving God; loving people… and bringing the two together! ^©

Gary

NEXT— foreign concepts

       One of the saddest commentaries on Christians in this era is that too many of us have lost any expectation that God still works. His days of making a difference in our world are past.

       We certainly don’t expect Him to drop any of His miracles on us. Not today. We may admit to anomalies in science and medicine on occasion, but it is certainly not the norm to attribute any of these to divine intervention.

       ALL can be explained.

       Since I’ve been in junior high school medical and scientific professionals have been dismissing miracles with the trite We’ll find an explanation someday. For this is one of those things we leave to the work of God. Even when they may not believe in God? [Robert Wright, The Evolution of Religion; “Religious responses to reality are generally explained by game theory and evolutionary psychology.”]

       Christians in the West generally do not believe in miracles. Why is that? Many who are on the more Calvinistic side believe the miraculous gifts ceased with the closing of the writing of the Canon. This position, to this writer, seems to be a quite arbitrary conjecture. The church throughout history has seen the workings of the Spirit of God across both cultures and geographies that have no connection.

       Yes, God works His miracles. Everywhere.

       Why, in our present world, do we believe we need to have a rational or scientific explanation to dismiss any work of God?!? Simply, we do not believe our Lord is still at work in this postModern world. A completely irrational postulation!

       If you’ve traveled our world to any degree, you will hear of and observe God’s work. It is accepted as normative in just about every society…, except in the West. We rule out miracles a priori.

       By example, on a mission in Mexico, an American pastor was asked to pray for healing for a 14 year old boy whose leg was 8” to short and club footed. With great embarrassment our pastor friend placed one hand on the boy’s shoulder and his other hand on his twisted leg. As he began to pray the boy’s leg grew to full length and straightened.

       Our minister friend was dumbfounded. He had just been part of a miracle…, that wasn’t supposed to happen in our day.

       Throughout our lives, personally. my wife and I have been involved in miracles. We’ll never get used to it.

       So when next you find yourself involved in one of God’s miracles that are no longer supposed to exist…, don’t be surprised. God is most definitely still at work in ways we surely do not understand.

       DO NOT try to confine the God of the universe to our limited, puny perspectives.

Loving God; loving people… and bringing the two together! ^©

Gary

NEXT— NEW SECTION Challenges normal people face

    It is hard to imagine that over 2,000 years Christians have perfected the art of avoiding other people, normal people, “non-Christians,” like the plague. During the early phases of our faith we were actually at war with other people; Christians killing Jews, Jews killing Christians, Christians killing Romans. Romans definitely killing Christians. What a great beginning.

       Then came the Muslims and our Crusades to reclaim the Holy Land. Again, not the best witness in our history.

       Then followed the 15th century Inquisition, and 17th and 18th century denominational wars; Christians killing each other. No comment.

       Today, in 2022, the evangelical fear of other people is excessive. We don’t even know how to talk to normal people except for trying to convert them This is NOT how Jesus taught us to relate.

       When we do talk about our faith it is with words that are foreign to both their vocabulary and their thinking. Words have referents. The words we presently use to communicate our faith are out of sync with the increasing biblical illiteracy of this generation; not just those under 30, but even with those over 50.

       “Houston, we have a problem.” Serious problems.

       The distance between us is not that great. But we further separate from one another other by “cocooning” (Faith Popcorn) within our own circles of safety, our communities of faith, and constructing strawmen of what each other are like. This is nuts.

       Find common ground with other people, whether it be at our kids baseball games, our graduate schools, our work, or neighborhood gatherings. Isolation is no longer an option.

       Sadly, I have too often found that I enjoy being with my normal friends and neighbors more than I enjoy being with my fellow Christ followers. It should not be this way.

       In John 17:15 our Lord asks the Father, My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.  We walk through evil days, as throughout all history. Yet we are still called to walk among wonderful, angry, broken, lost, vicious people as images of Christ.

       Why? Jesus did.
 
Loving God; loving people…, and bringing the two together!

Gary

NEXT— The Christian Gospel Re-Imagined: Resident Aliens

One of the most incredible surprises of God is his gift of common grace. Basically, common grace is a blanket of protection that—

·       Keeps God from destroying us all for our constant rebellion and stupidity before Him.

·       Extends to us His blessing so we don’t kill each other but instead live in as much peace and cooperation as possible.

·       It is also a vessel holding Truth and favor for all peoples.

       Normal people have no sense that this is holding them together, and back from being their worst. People simply move along with their lives with little concern for the turmoil and conflicts all around us. The recent COVID19 pandemic put a crinkle in our style, but hardly a dent in the overall functioning of our society or the world.

       In the same ways that our world recovered from two major wars in the last century, we will, we must, recover and press forward to a healthier and more peaceful common good. If we do not… !

       Our world’s peoples rarely consider God’s restraint in all this. He is simply not a factor to consider. The Christian belief that He has His hand on/in everything is a non sequitur. He is simply not there.

       But what if they are wrong? Small miracles throw us off. Bigger miracles are harder to explain. We fight attributing them to any Supreme Being.

       Divine Intervention is definitively discarded.

       I must object Not so fast. Because we cannot empirically verify an event or act does not mean there was not a cause beyond our abilities to KNOW. Oh, we’ll find a scientific explanation for this later. Maybe.  

       Albert Einstein, quoting Bruce Cameron, observed Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts. Things that cannot be counted does not mean they are not there and have an influence on our everyday life.

       This is God’s Grace underpinning and infiltrating of everything we know; or…, don’t know. Just because we cannot see it or sense it does not mean we can discount it and it’s effect upon us. Grace permeates every aspect of our lives. Sometimes we become aware of it.

       So when those little miracles or Big Miracles enter our realms of existence, maybe we should not be so swift to write them off.

       On a personal note, I have been the recipient of many expressions of grace. As I often say God is full of surprises…, don’t trust Him. For is you trust Him, He will surprise you even more. In His grace.

Loving God; loving people…, & bringing the two together!

Gary

NEXT— The Distance Between Us  

Road Map Here  

   When sitting under the teaching of Dr. Cornelius VanTil I learned that there was no point of contact between the Christian mind and the secular mind. Philosophically this is most probably true. But on a more practical, human experience level, this couldn’t be further from the Truth.

       We are all created in the Image of God. We reflect His character and His appearance. Not exactly sure how that works with the diversity of peoples and races and faces. But we “look like” our Creator: all of us.

       Then, there is something called common grace that extends to all of His creation. It’s what keeps God from destroying us in an angstrom of a second. Our rejection of his mark upon us has dire consequences. We do not do well when we deny or reject it.

       We put our lives at risk when we go beyond his perimeters of protection for our us.

       We may have no point-of-contact with the secular mind but most certainly do have common experiences with the men and women around us.

       Have children? Then you cannot believe that humanity was created basically good. Cute, maybe; but good?!? Not a chance.

       Have teenagers? End of argument. Married? ‘Nough said.

       We have innumerable things in common with common man. So how can anyone say we have no point-of-contact with normal people?!?  [Sorry Dr. VanTil.]

       Spiritually, in beliefs, in our life’s goals…, absolutely; there is no point-of-contact. But when we move outside of Life’s Ultimate Questions, we have so much in common. So much.

       As Followers of Christ we have a foundation to deal with all the insanities and intricacies of life. They are just as hard to face for Christians as other people would face. Coming alongside each other in life’s messes forms a bond that lasts a lifetime.

       If there were any place in reality where genuine Christians are needed it is in the anguish, the tragedy, the helplessness of other people’s lives. So let’s not be isolated Christians, insulated from those around us. We need to be genuine points-of-contact between our Lord and the world of diverse peoples around us, and around the world.

       ‘Nough said.

Loving God; loving people…, & bringing the two together!

Gary

NEXT— Common Grace  

Road Map Here

       As we begin our journey thru the twists and turns of today’s complex cultures, we do need some directions about how to proceed. Knowing what normal people think of us is an absolutely crucial starting point.

       This begs the question— So, how can we learn what normal people think of us and our faith?

       If I might be obviously crass, simply ask them. Why have we not thought of this before? We make so many assumptions about them, you might think they do the same about us. Well, not so much. Normal people rarely think about us or our beliefs. And why should they?

       Our perspectives on reality, relationships, and daily life events are different. Don’t misread me here. We love, we laugh, we hurt, we enjoy sports, or reading, or solving the impossible problems of some people. We have many similarities in our lifestyle and interests.

       But when it comes to beliefs, we part company. Most people do not develop a framework through which to filter life. They just live. And enjoy living! There’s nothing like a good cold beer, friends, and a baseball game at the end of the week.

       Christians always seem to have an agenda when we talk with people. Like we need to drive home a point about our faith or get you to sign on the dotted line. What we really need to do is spend more time in prayer for people. Talk is fine, but prayer gets things done.

       Yet when I spend time with people they are perplexed about Christians’ intensity, our drive, our desire to draw them to agree with us. Do we trust God for their lives? It doesn’t seem so.

       What they need to see more than anything else is our love, our caring, our sacrifices, and our willingness to accept them for who they are right now, at this moment. When Jesus walked our roads He was known as a safe person to be around— mostly. We need to become safe people for those around us.

       In many ways, safety is one of the basic foundations of our message. We want to make it safe for people to be around God. (more on this later). During the Middle Ages Christians would build structures (monasteries, convents) where people could come for protection, food, prayer and shelter.

       Is our time any different? The context for our message in our time is a safe place, a safe person, and a safe activity. People understand less about our faith now than at any other time in history. We truly need to show them our Lord in everything we do.

Loving God; loving people…, & bringing the two together!

Gary

NEXT— No Point of Contact

       We now come to the the final ingredient of why Christians exist in this mostly hostile modern postModern environment— bringing God and people together. Throughout history people have sought to find God and discover who we should be to Him.

       UNTIL these postmodern times.

       People, do not seek to find Him. They are not even sure He exists. Our search for meaningful relationships has shifted primarily to human relationships; especially sexual relationships.

       SEX seems to have replaced God as the primary foundation of all human interaction. Unbelievable!

              Of course, in mature relationships it takes its proper place alongside other concerns and values— mutual caring, sacrifice, functional practical realistic partnering. These aspects of relationship, and more, must retain a balance that always puts the OTHER first.

       It’s the same in our coming together with God. As human beings, we are designed to be in constant open relationship with the people around us: we are also designed to be in constant open relationship with the God who created us. If you don’t see this you need to go back to the drawing boards and your Bibles.

       More than that, you must believe that God, our Creator, put us here as part of His redemptive forerunners to bring this human race, these human societies & cultures to an understanding of the God who made them and gave His life for their salvation.

       THIS is the Christian Mission on earth. Nothing else.

       Our calling is to love God, to love people, and to bring the two together. It’s that simple.

       There is no need to memorize a gospel outline. Just walk into people’s lives and love Christ into them. When they are ready, they will ask about the hope that is in you. Or, more likely, “How do you deal with all the chaos and catastrophe around you?”

       They may not comprehend your answer; but you can clarify the work of Christ within you and watch Him work His miracles of redemption right before your eyes. God IS full of surprises.

Loving God; loving people…, & bringing the two together!

Gary

Web: www.cluelessChristianity.org