Tag: christian

Phases and Transitions 2024

       We’ve all gone through numerous phases and transitions in life. Graduating high school, workforce, college, grad school, first professional job, marriage, kids, divorce, world travel surprises. Then there our successes, disappointments, failures, grand triumphs, learning new things. They all play a part in shaping who we are, who we become, throughout our lives.

       One of the most difficult transitions I’ve ever had to face is the one between purpose and retirement. I’ve moved from having great influence in peoples’ lives, with the commensurate travel, to one of silent bewilderment.

       Who am I now? What was I before? What are my definers in this new phase of life? What is, or should, be important to me now?

       Ever been there? This is my first time retiring. And it’s not an easy place to be.

       I used to be good at this stuff— defining the attributes of a phase, understanding the lack of definers when we’re in a transition, etc. And it really is true that we cannot go back to the previous phase. That part of our life is gone. We must move forward.

       But what if you don’t know what forward looks like? Hummm. Impasse? Tough one.

       Is that the time when we should gather a cadre of friends around us, who know us well, and get their input, their take on the conundrum? I think probably yes.

       Still, especially in these days, I fall back on Psalm 42 for its wisdom and admonition.

Why art thou cast down, o my soul?

And why art thou disquieted within me?

Hope thou in God,

For I shall yet praise him,

Who is the health of my countenence,

And my God.

       Our God can sustain me and my confusion through these transitional times without answers, and lead me out the other side.

Find hope my friend, in the God Who knows you,

Gary

…staying the course

       There has been a lot written about staying the course. Very Definitely in the military; even more in the projections in the business & financial communities. Even within the Christian community we are called to stay the course, to persevere, to overcome trials, persecutions, and rejections.

       But this is easier said than done. I know Christians in this world who go through unspeakable persecution, loss of hope, and depths of despair; some even loss of family and life.

       So what about you, or me? Have we experienced persecution? Have we felt the pain of rejection from our community, our family…, our church? There is so much rejection and separation in our world, and in our Christian communities, that there are few of us who have not experienced some form of isolation from those who surround us.

       Keep in mind the admonition of the apostle Paul to his young mentee, Timothy— Suffer hardship with us, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. [2 Timothy 2:3] How will we suffer hardship? Where will it come from?

       FROM ANYWHERE! EVERYWHERE!

       Still, we are admonished throughout Scripture, through the Old Testament and the New, that we are different than the world in which we live. I like the t-shirt from THE CHOSEN docuseries—

Get used to different.

       Many disciples before us have suffered persecutions unimaginable just because they are different. Christians in the West have known little of what those before us, and around this world today, have been subjected to.

       To stay the course, in our era we would do well to heed the words of Paul—

       Therefore I endure

for the sake of the elect,

that they too may obtain the salvation

that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.

       Here is a trustworthy saying:

If we died with Him,

we will also live with Him.

       So, how are you doing? Staying the course? Or, are you too easily going off the mark?

Gary

NEXT–Course correction guide.

Afterthoughts – The Tyranny of the Urgent

       Early in 1974, a friend of mine, one Charles E. Hummel, released a small book titled—  The Tyranny of the Urgent. It created significant repercussions throughout the Christian community across America. Charlie challenged our persistent need to be constantly busy. He admitted to me that he had struggled with this for most of his life. [I never admitted to anything.]

       Here we are, some 50 years later, still cramming our schedules so full that we barely have time to breathe. We don’t even have time to read a book on time management—  let alone take a course on setting priorities!

       The ramifications of that are inconceivable. Western cultures have become obsessed with filling every little crack in our schedules with…, something.

       To be honest, I used to be this way. Kind of a busy-ness is next to godliness mentality. And I was blind to what I was doing.

         Somewhere along the line I developed one of my not-so-famous axioms. STOP! Give God some room to work. Why is it we always want to run ahead of Him to do OUR work?

         Then we complain we do not have enough time to get everything done. Maybe we need to take a step back and have a good look at how we are filling our time. I don’t believe God needs us to do anything. He does grant us the privilege of serving those around us in His name. Or do we do that in our name but say it is in His?

         As I asserted in the last EMPulse, I was rather arrogant in my younger days. Now, not so much. But what about you? What does your schedule look like? Packed to the gills? No space between appointments?

         Why?

         Do you think you can do more in your lifetime than Christ did in three years?

Gary

NEXT— EMPulse 15 – a confession

Afterthoughts – Faith Shapes

   Ever since the ascension of Jesus Christ the forms and shapes of our faith have been affected by the surrounding culture, individuals within that culture, the extent of our knowledge of Scripture, how that knowledge was used to build theology, and even our geography. (Think John Knox in Edinburgh in the sixteenth century.) Our expressions of the faith have varied from culture to culture, continent to continent, and been refined by individual Christian leaders in each setting.

   Even today there are so many expressions of faith it is almost impossible to keep track of them all. The diversity of Christian expressions and shapes is immeasurable. The greatest diversity would probably be the Western Church expressions and the Orthodox (Eastern) expressions. (there are also numerous expressions across the South Sea Islands and Africa.) Historically, these two Eurasian forms were even at war with one another for dominance. Then there are at least 127 Protestant denominations (Europe, North/South America, Iceland, and numerous African expressions), the Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox expressions; and 64 Baptist denominations. I think.

   The point is that the Christian faith comes in a myriad of expressions; and even they have evolved over 2000 years of Christian history.

   Many Protestants follow the Book of Common Prayer for a structure for their faith. Catholics use the Lectio Divina. Those we used to classify as Pentecostals are now Charismatics. And the Charismatics have been absorbed as today’s common expression of Protestant Christianity.

   So what’s next?

   Before we judge various expressions of our faith we should be planted squarely in one where God has placed us. Withhold judgement on others. Give the Holy Spirit of God time to test our spirits.

   That brings us to a question we all must ask. What shape of faith is our Lord calling you to follow? A lot of the answer may be tied to the personality He has given you. Trust that God has designed you to worship and express your faith in ways appropriate to the times, your personality, your geography, and Scripture.

   We are not all the same. We define our faith in different ways given our experiences, our relationships, our personalities, and the age in which our Lord has placed us. But we are never to express our faith in a way that is incommunicable to others.

Gary

NEXT— The Shower— rekindling the fire

After Thoughts – Where do you feel safe?

For most of my adult life I have maintained that everyone needs a safe place, a safe activity, and a safe person as a basis for their lives. But there exceptions. Prison changes people; so does war.

       When we were children it was much simpler. We had our parents, or at least one of them, grandma, or our “Teddy.” For the most part our world was a safe place to live, learn, and be loved.

       As we grew into our teenage years it wasn’t quite the same. “Love” sometimes meant being hurt, disappointed, or betrayed. Decisions were more complicated. We didn’t have the experience to make them all that well. We made mistakes. We learned. Hopefully.

       In later years we learned we shouldn’t trust all people as naïvely or innocently as when we were younger. If there were any proof for evil in this world this is it— the loss of innocence.

       For Christians, this comes as a shock. Too often, those we looked up to, those we trusted, those we admired, turned out to be not quite as “safe” as we once thought. Betrayal in the Christian world seems far more venomous than in our secular relationships.

       It should not be this way.

       I know I’ve addressed this issue before but given the increasing violence in our culture it is time to take another look. So allow me to wrap back to our beginning.

·       Where is your safe place?

·       What is your safe activity?

·       Who is your safe person?

For a long time, my safe places have been the Galbraith lakehouse and these Colorado mountains. Both have provided a real solace for my soul. My safe activities have been working on my Volvos, and now, getting high into these beautiful mountains. I love living here. Other than my wife, Starr, I am not sure I have a safe person at the moment. Well, no. For 20 years now it would have to be my assistant Melanie. As I’ve often commented, my biggest fear in life is when Starr & Mel get together to discuss “me.”

       Jesus once said 28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” [Matthew 11:28-29, NASB]

       Can any of us find anymore safety than can be found in Him? ©

Gary

NEXT— The Shower— Who am I supposed to be at this phase in my life?

Afterthoughts- My Best Ideas Come to me in the Shower

       All of the books I write end with a chapter titled— My best ideas come to me in the shower. Obviously, this is not completely true. I get them driving across the beautiful Colorado Rockies, falling asleep at night (I have a pen and pad of paper on my nightstand), and in conversation with other people.

       The point is that these seemingly random thoughts eventually begin to weave a tapestry of life-reflections.

       Hewlett-Packard ran a TV ad series that imaged people driving, or sitting in a conference room, with the musing — What if…?

       My best ideas come to me in the shower will be a compilation of the various What ifs? I’ve experienced throughout my life. From the earliest years of gusto & immaturity through more seasoned times of reflection, following great successes and atrocious failures.

       Let’s start with a basic one. When do you think about YOU? Where you are in the process of becoming who you are today? Unless you’re 14 you are already on the journey that counts your contributions to life. Or, you’re not one given to personal philanthropy; more often that not, it’s what you can get out of life that is most important to you. And that’s not de facto wrong. But if it’s exclusively your goal in life…, well, you might want to consider that.

       In my cozy widdle shower, I’ve often wondered if my life has made a difference. In giving to others I have received so much back. God has truly honored me so many times. Monetarily? Not so much. But we’ve always had food on the table (great food), gas in our car, and a bed to lay our head on.

       Back to our basic question, What makes you, you?

       To answer this question you might best think through the different phases of your life and the characteristics of each. This will create the essential brushstrokes that describe you in the various changes you experience in your journey.

       I’ve gone through so many phases that I have imagined a maxim —

God is full of surprises! Don’t trust Him.

Of course, that is said tongue-in-cheek. The point being that in investigating who you ARE, God will surprise you with who He is.

       So take a risk! Start to explore YOU. Great amazements await.

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

Gary

The Whiskey Chronicles 26 – I’m OK…, you’re out of your mind

   In my conversations with the normal people of this world [the Christian faith is no longer the norm] I find that many of them simply respond to the assertions about my faith, I’m OK— you’re out of your mind. They truly believe that all this mumbo-jumbo about faith in Jesus is just plane NUTS.

    Christ’s claims about who He was and what He came to do for this world were just the ravings of a madman who was disconnected from reality. And that makes His followers equally disillusioned.

    They are not going to question their own sanity. They’re just fine. We’re the nut-jobs.

     And that should draw us to question some presumptions about our own faith. Are we crazy to blindly accept the principles and precepts of our own faith with little investigation or examination? Christian faith is NOT just a assemblage of declarations about what we think is true and accurate. It comes down to two enquiries — 1. Can history be verified? and, 2. Is faith a viable surety?

     Before you dismiss these questions as extraneous to our faith, consider that it is worth reexamining the foundations of our faith. Considering the proposition that history cannot be verified [Did George Washington, Lenin, or Julius Caeser ever exist?] then we must question all OR, in faith, believe the reports about them are true. Considering the validity of faith on an individual level, there is a history of people who believe in things which postModern, postChristian people believe that they can be only scientifically verified.

     Then, really, are historical/faith questions all that matter?

     What about intuition? What about ESP? What about that special sense that lodges itself just below your consciousness?

     There are more ways than scientific confidence to give veracity to a belief. History itself is a matter of faith— Well supported faith, but faith, nonetheless.

     When believing followers of Christ are challenged that we are out of our mind, we must remember that our beliefs have a great deal of certitude surrounding them. We are not an ignorant people.

     Too many assertions in the Bible have later been proven accurate. And far too often have the lives of true Christians saved the civilizations of this world.

     So, when our world accuses us of being out of our mind our response should be twofold.

1.   Look at the corroboration of history. There’s just too much to support our faith.

2.   Simply love those who accuse.

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

Gary

NEXT— Afterthoughts…, my best ideas come to me in the shower

New Years 2023

New Years Eve by the Fire

       It’s late. I’m sitting by the fire next to our Christmas Tree remembering so much of the good, the bad, and the ugly of this past year.

       I entered 2022 with a final radiation treatment for cancer. A year later, it seems that I’ve beat it. Praise God!

       In many ways I have new eyes to see. Not just new lenses in my eyes, but personal/spiritual eyes as well.

       Our Lord has been honing and refining me through extended times with Him. A lot of my arrogance-of-accomplishment has been ripped away; polishing continues. My personality has also been tempered to become more like Christ’s. We extroverts have a tough time with that.

       One thing that has helped with that is Christmas. Every year, especially in these recent years, the miracle of Christmas— that the God of the Universe would take the form of a helpless baby to be born to a 16 year old out-of-wedlock Jewish girl, in a backwater town in an insignificant Roman province in an era with little considerable technology, is still a miracle to me.

       I had become a Christian after trying to live various philosophies of life when I was in college. To say I was a basket case would have been obvious. For two years I struggled to find any other explanation of life, save the Christian one. But the only belief system, the only existential, reasonable I constantly returned to was Christianity. Thus, 60 years later, it is the only adequate faith I have found that fits reality best. Wow!

       So as you and yours enter 2023, inspect your faith. Does it answer life’s most difficult questions? Does assist you in making daily decisions? Does it provide you with a basic rubric for living? Is it still reasonable? Reliable? Realistic?

       Have you updated your faith to meet the challenges our culture today? Or are you still in the same ‘ol, same ol’ format of faith formed for the late 1940s and early 1950s?

       These are the meanderings of my mind as I welcome in 2023. What a fantastic way to start a new year! Do with them what you will. I’m going to bed.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2023!

Gary & Starr

 www.cluelessChristianity.org

Image Credit-  Gary Davis

Growing Moldy

   Being molded by God is not the most pleasant thing in the world; though it is necessary if we are ever to be useful to the God Who made us. Our Lord is shaping us for…, whatever.

     Often I ask people, Christian and otherwise, “What is God designing you for in the next phase of your life?” Some people don’t think God has anything to do with their life. I tell them “I hope you’re right.” And I walk away bewildered at their blindness. There’s just too much evidence that God is molding us, whether we acknowledge it or not.

     If our Christian life will become what we want it to be; we will not grow into what our Lord wants us to be. And…, we will become moldy, yucky Christians— not molded by our Lord. Just moldy.

     Moldy Christians do little more than turn a whole Body into a festering infection on their surrounding church of believers. Yuck!

     And they are not easy to identify or get rid of. You can identify them as they talk a good talk but do little to bolster and build up those around them. Avoid them.

     Mold. Wrong kind.

     Make sure you are the kind of Christian who builds up others, who brings peace and forgiveness wherever you go. Someone who comforts and cares for those who mourn. Especially those who do not know Him.

     What our world needs, desperately, are people who bring the arms of Jesus to wrap around those in pain.

     What our world needs are genuine followers of Christ that embody kindness, love, acceptance, and honesty.

     Moldy Christians do not feel like Jesus. We feel like inconsequential Christians. All of us Need to be a little more like Jesus…, a little less like me. [Thank you Zach Williams.] Yes, even within our own quirky personalities.

     Finally, please, do NOT turn into one of those finger pointing, judgemental Christians we all hear about. We are being shaped to be healers, comforters, mourners, partiers, and worshipers. Servants.

     Please, become who God is forming you to be…,  not some pathetic little mass of pity and complaint who no one wants to be around. Moldy Christians are neither attractive, or life-giving.

Loving God. loving people. & bringing the two together,

Gary

Dr. Gary Davis, President

NEXT— Ukraine

Being a Christian in a postChristian context

If you do not know that we are in a postChristian world, please crawl out from under your rock. Even Pauxatawney Phil crawled out a couple days ago and supposedly saw his shadow, [I, for one, do not believe he could have clawed his way through 3’ of ice hard snow to see anything. Except more snow.]

 First we doubt God exists. Then we question whether Jesus is actually, or fully, God. Then we believe ALL religion is a fabricated fantasy of human. So, what are we left with? We proclaim that we, mankind, are the creator and ruller of all the universe.

 But, seriously, when we remove God, especially a God-Creator, from the equation, what else, beside aliens, is left but…— us?!?

 Very few people have any sense of a need for forgiveness, restoration, new life, or vibrant living. Some, just want to get by. Others, want to stay below the radar. But there are those who strive for success, only to find it somewhat satisfying. They are all, or some, of the finest people in the world. But they are lost within themselves, with no safety hook to give them an anchor.

 How much they need genuine, loving, transparent Christians in their lives is incomprehensible. Jesus said we are the light of the world. If ever there were a time when we who follow our Lord need to come alongside of successful/silent people in this world, it is Now.

 Do we merely need to express our faith in an updated flavor past the 1950s one-size-fits-all? Again, move the Groundhog aside and crawl out of your cave. It’s 2022. NOT 1922, or 1970. How do people hear the Christian message today? And, do you really know what “the Gospel” actually is?!? Tell me. Tell me so a truly clueless postChristian can understand it in their context.

 Better yet, ask a genuine “normal” person what they think Christianity is all about. You will be unpleasantly surprised. FYI, most of us never bother to ask. We just start in with our speil.

Gary

Dr. Gary Davis, President

NEXT— Being alone