I recently finished a free online course from Dallas Theological Seminary taught by Dr. Stanley Toussaint. His application from the Parable of the Good Samaritan was simple and positively convicting. ”You can tell how a person loves God by how they love people.” Ouch. My defensive response included an excuse about how difficult it is to love some people. Come on Lord. You know them better than I do! Later that day I cued a Spotify country song list and up popped a tune by bluegrass singer Rhonda Vincent. God has a sense of humor. The song is called “You Don’t Love God If You Don’t Love Your Neighbor” and the lyrics begin like this. There are many peoplewho will say they’re Christiansand they live like Christians on the Sabbath day But come Monday morning, til the coming SundayThey will fight their neighbor all along the way. {chorus}Oh you don’t love God, if you don’t love your neighborif you gossip about
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I used to get nervous around Biblical scholars. They would start talking about the text in the original languages and I realized the only Greek I understood was yogurt. To be honest, it seemed like some theologians were to joy in Christ what nutritionists were to enjoying cheesecake. They took something potentially full of delight and made you feel guilty about your lack of discipline. Yet something changed in my life. I saw the need for a solid theological basis for what I believe. All of this came to mind when Sam Cooke’s classic Wonderful World popped up on my playlist. You know the one where Sam builds a strong case for academic slacking actually being a strength. Don’t know much about historyDon’t know much biologyDon’t know much about a science bookDon’t know much about the french I took But I do know that I love youAnd I know that if you love me tooWhat a wonderful world this would be I modified
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Regular consumers of my humble ramblings (bless your hearts) know that I often find spiritual application from song lyrics both secular and sacred. Blame it on faulty brain wiring at the factory. This week I heard a snippet from Carly Simon’s haunting ballad “That’s The Way I’ve Always Heard It Should Be” that triggered today’s musing. The song talks about the ideal of marriage. Her partner wants to marry and is convinced their union will make their relationship different. The lyrical response hit my heart. You say we can keep our love aliveBabe – all I know is what I see – She had seen too many marriages start with fairy tale dreams and end in sorrow. That sad topic is another blog. What hit me on this day was how that principle of believing only what you see is how we, as followers of Jesus, can impact non-believers. We tell people we have good news. We tell people we have an
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Recently I had the opportunity to see Willie Nelson performing at the age of 90. I had forgotten that my music list had a thought provoking song from Willie called “I’m Tired”. Hearing the lyrics of “I’m Tired” again caused a lot of reflection, a bit of sadness, and prayer. The narrative tells about the life of a factory worker who is, sadly, merely going through the motions of life. Married Rebecca back in seventy-sevenI still love her and I guess she loves me tooWe go to church on Sundays `cause we want to go to heavenMe and my family, ain`t that how you`re supposed to do That describes so many people that I know. Tired of their job. Treading water in their relationship. Going to church because they don’t know what else to do. It is particularly sad that so many Christians settle for a faith that leaves them discouraged and prone to sing the chorus of this song. But
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Thomas Jefferson is an enigma for many. Political enemies in his day accused him of being an atheist yet he started the statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom with the phrase, “Almighty God hath created the mind free.” He certainly would not have been invited to speak at an evangelical conference to share his view that most clergymen are “soothsayers and necromancers.” You likely have a bigger brain than I do but I will confess that I had to look up necromancers. It literally means one who interrogates the dead. Okay. Not sure what church Jefferson was frequenting. Jefferson believed that Bible needed to be fixed. He took out his scissors and cut out the parts of the Bible that he didn’t believe. He excised the virgin birth, all of the miracles and the Resurrection. He cobbled together a book he titled “The Philosophy of Jesus of Nazareth”. His clippers removed every miracle while leaving teachings about helping the needy
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Watching the news on television is devastatingly depressing. I prefer to spend my leisure moments reading, listening to music, and walking with canine friend Maggie. On today’s walk I pondered whether this culture can be redeemed while Maggie sniffed and checked p-mail. So many smart, and I pray, well intentioned people think our society can be changed through programs and education. Before you hit cancel I am open to all helpful options. While it is possible we have a head problem Jesus said the real problem comes from the heart. “But the words you speak come from the heart—that’s what defiles you. For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander.”(Matthew 15:18-19, NLT) Change happens from the inside out. I wrote about the culture war in my book “When Bad Christians Happen to Good People”. Here is an excerpt from that discussion. If I were to ask the average Christian what victory in the culture
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The movie Risen offers a unique look at the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. How did a worldwide movement arise after the ignominious death of their leader? It all hinged on one question. Did Jesus rise from the dead? I wrote the following about the improbable rise of these early Jesus followers in my book “When Bad Christians Happen to Good People” a few years ago. History records that several alleged messianic figures were running around during the time of Christ. It is possible that some of them had followers as impressive as the twelve selected by Jesus. Jesus took twelve guys of questionable attributes and built the largest faith in the world. Not one of the other would-be messiahs’ influence made it into the second century, let alone the twenty-first. So our calendar is dated by the birth of Christ. Does it not pique your curiosity that such a band of men could have such a global impact? No
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