RUMINATIONS OF A REVEREND

 How can you make this New Year more than just another year?   New Year’s Eve fosters fond memories for me every year. Growing up, my family would gather friends that had three sons of their own to ring in the New Year together. We alternated which house would host the event and all five of us boys would have blast. I remember eagerly waiting for my turn to play pong on the computer. Odd as it may seem, being able to control a digital line on a screen with a paddle controller mesmerized me. We would play on the Macintosh computer, outside in the snow, and games like operation. Then we snuck into the mysterious a crawl space where we would go and play. It was only four feet high but there were a couple of lights and some toys. The perfect kids’ hang out—parents wouldn’t easily fit!   Not a New Year’s Eve goes by without me reflecting on those childhood memories. Yet with all the hoopla and expectation that went into celebrating the New Year, there never seemed much new...

You’ve asked that question countless times, I’m sure. You’re in the store and can’t find your spouse, child, or friend so you call out, “Where are you?” You’re getting picked up by someone who’s fifteen minutes late so you call and ask “Where are you?” You get a call from a friend and the background noise nearly drowns out their voice and you ask, “Where are you?”   You and I have asked that question numerous times over the years. It reveals our limited knowledge. We don’t know where someone is and want to find out for whatever reason. The question makes perfect sense coming from the mouth of humans such as ourselves. But in Genesis 3:9 it comes from the mouth of an all-knowing God and seems quite strange.   The setting is the Garden of Eden after Adam and Eve sinned by eating fruit from the tree that God had told them not to eat. They succumbed to the serpent’s temptation, rebelling against God’s authority. They knew it was wrong because the moment they heard God walking ...

 This past summer I bought a new car. I’ve always enjoyed shopping for a new vehicle. In college, a friend and I would go around test driving vehicles just for the fun of it. I enjoy viewing the styling of different vehicles, driving and experiencing the performance, and I don’t even mind visiting with sales people either. I can find out a lot of interesting insights about people and sometimes the small talk can lead into spiritual conversations. I know it's not for everyone, but I enjoy car shopping.  And w hen I find a car salesman who owns the brand he's selling, my confidence in the brand is bolstered. It’s one thing for the sales person to say a vehicle is great and a whole other level of sincerity if he personally owns that brand. I went to a Honda dealership and visited with one of the sales reps there about a Honda Civic. Unfortunately, they didn’t have any on the lot, but the salesman showed me his personal Civic that he had bought recently. That told me a lot about...

TWO TRAGEDIES Last week I read a tragic story of two family pets (pit bulls) that turned on the children (a 2 year old and a 5 month old) and killed them. The mother frantically tried to protect her children but was mauled in process. She survived the horrific attack but will likely be scarred for life, suffering bite marks all over her body. It is unknown what precipitated the attack. The dogs were euthanized after the attack.   I can’t even begin to imagine the grief and emotions flooding the hearts of this couple. As I shared the story with my wife, I said it almost seems demonic. Please don’t misunderstand me here. In no way am I making any kind of assessment about the spiritual state of that family. All I mean is that such a horrible attack on these two children and their mother seems like something Satan and the demonic realm would delight in and instigate.    And then I read other stories like the slaughter of 37 people, 23 of which were children, by a madman w...

SITCOMS AND SEX I rarely watch television these days except for some sporting events, but once in a while I enjoy a good comedy, whether that might be a movie or a sitcom. Unfortunately, in our culture today, the phrase “good comedy” is an oxymoron. Trying to find a good, clean comedy feels as probable as winning the lottery. An article in the Gainesville Sun noted that the top four sitcoms on CBS had 53 sex jokes between them. Let’s break that down a bit. A half hour sitcom is actually about 22 minutes long minus the commercials. That means on average these sitcoms had a sex joke every minute and 40 seconds. Now here’s the kicker—this article is from 2012! I couldn’t even find data from the past few years. I wonder if sex jokes and sitcoms are so synonymous today that no one bothers counting. It would by like counting how many news stories are in a newscast. But so what? Does it matter that sex has been denigrated to sitcom humor? DOES GOD ENJOY A GOOD JOKE?   First let’s consid...

 At times, I’ll read a verse that I memorized when I was younger and ignore the context. It’s not that I’m trying to do that or that I’m unaware of contextual importance. “Context is king” has been beaten into my brain since I was a youth. I get that and embrace that truth. Yet, when I have an isolated verse memorized, I can easily default into focusing just on that verse and missing the surrounding context. This morning in my bible app, such a verse popped up. It’s a wonderful verse with a powerful truth in and of itself. Philippians 4:9, “ What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. ” You don’t necessarily need much context to understand the truth of that verse. It’s a basic verse on discipleship. Paul challenged the believers in Philippi to put into practice the lessons he taught and the lessons he lived by example. We get that.   But having recently read through Philippians, I was famili...

 You’ve heard of Christmas in July, but have you heard of Thanksgiving in July? Well, if you haven’t, now you have. It’s sad to think that we need to be reminded to give thanks with a holiday in November; yet, we do. Our human tendency likes to focus on our problems and what we don’t have rather than give thanks for what we do have. One blogger suggested that tendency comes from our ancestors who were in simple survival mode, constantly on the lookout for dangers and their next meal. Whether that is the case or not, we do tend to focus on the negative. There aren’t many news outlets that make money simply sharing good news. They focus on stories to worry or disturb you, which does nothing to foster gratitude.   Over 100 references to thanksgiving You’ll find over one hundred references to giving thanks in the Bible. Many references are direct commands to give thanks. God, our Creator, understands the importance of gratitude for thriving so He repeatedly emphasized this vir...