Dash of Salt

In 2 Timothy, chapter 3, Paul writes this instruction to his young protege, "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work." Do you believe that? I say I do, but often times I find myself skimming through certain obscure passages missing what God has recorded for us. I just get lazy not wanting to mine the truths that are found in the genealogies, salutations and conclusions. And yet, this is God's word, and in the Greek the word "ALL" does mean "ALL." Well, God recently caught my attention with one of those obscure passages as I was finishing a quick reading through Paul's letter to the Colossian church.

In Colossians 4:7-18, Paul writes a handful of parting comments. I found myself zeroing in on the names and ways that Paul described these people. We really know very little about these people beyond what Paul wrote, but I found myself asking, when I am gone, will my life make such an impact that someone would say something like this of me. Here are just a couple of the things written about these "Nobodies":

1. Tychicus was a "beloved brother," a "faithful servant" and a "fellow bond-servant in the Lord"

2. Epaphras was a "bondslave of Jesus Christ" who had a reputation for "laboring earnestly" for others in prayer.

I was convicted deeply. Were these traits that would be said of me when I am gone in the pages of time? I think more than anything I want to be remembered as one who drew others to Christ. Someone once observed, while reading tombstones, that many focus on the start and end dates but we forget it's the dash in between that represents our life. I want to be a dash of salt.

I Am Married to the Underwear Fairy!

Until recently, my home has been shrouded in mystery for quite some time. Every time I went to get underwear out of my dresser drawer there was always clean underwear! I thought it was magic! But when I went home for lunch, I caught her! I caught the fairy that was replacing them... it was my wife! She has been the guilty party.

All kidding aside, I just wanted to say I am blessed with a wife that faithfully keeps our home running all week. She tirelessly (at least seemingly) works behind the scenes making sure we all have clean clothes to wear and the a tidy home to relax and play together in. It is a lot of hard work that too often goes with out thanks. Thank you, Jill. I love you and don't deserve you!

"I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just." -- Thomas Jefferson

Who's Fault is It?

Decisions have been made, and along with much of the same pattern of past elections, blame goes back and forth as to how this could happen. Along with it comes the racial slurs and off color jokes. We have a new President-elect. I really don't care about their color, I care about their character-- their skin color has nothing to do with that. I am more sadden that our country has morally decayed to the point where wrong seems right. That speaks more of the lack of influence the Body of Christ has had on the society. I have said it before, I will say it again-- we have failed to be "salt and light."

The testimony of Scripture clearly shows that when evil leaders come to power it has more to say about God's judgment and cleansing of His people. As long as we continue to live in the mind set of "Heaven on earth" rather than "thy kingdom come," we will fail to be effective as a people of God. As long as we fail to do that which God has told us to do, and as long as the body of Christ looks exactly like those who are not indwelt by the Holy Spirit, the result will be God's judgment.

Thus begins the spiral. I told Jill this morning, now more than ever, we must not waver to instill in our children the knowledge of God's word and the perseverance of the saints. Their generation will see persecution, of this I am confident. I am, however, encouraged to know that God is still sovereign and in control, regardless of my comfort level. It is times like this we should be very familiar with the writings of Daniel and Ezekiel. In particular, how God's people should behave under evil leadership.

Regardless of who is in the White House, God is on the throne. So, if our nation goes to hell in a hand basket, whose fault is it? It's my fault.

This Little Light of Mine...

This weekend, we went shopping in Arlington with our exchange student. I prefer to avoid malls on the weekend as I tend to be a introvert and avoid large crowds. This weekend was no different, and yet for some reason, I had my discernment turned way up. When I am in large gatherings, I like to watch people. I look at the way folks are dressed, what they do in groups, what they do by themselves, the language they use, etc. I was just overcome with the lost-ness and emptiness I saw in their eyes. It has been said by someone that the eyes are the window to the soul. I guess I saw this this weekend. My heart was broken over the despair that I saw.

It reminded me of when Christ had the same experience in Matthew 9:35-36. "Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness. Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd."

At the same time, I felt overwhelmed by the vastness of the need. I mean, what can I do? Sometimes we just need to be reminded that there are masses of folks that are just trying to survive wandering in darkness. We are the light of the world. Even the smallest light can make a difference. Let your light shine!