Author: LAH

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Rules, or Relationship

I love this quote from a book I once read: “Those who walk the narrow path are more likely to fall off the edge!” It popped back into my head last week as I was rereading Paul’s letter to the Colossians.

In Colossians 2:16-23, Paul discusses the spiritual futility of rigidly following human rules, such avoiding certain foods, or celebrating special religious holidays—not that we can or cannot do these things (I avoid sugar, for example), but that we can’t earn our way to heaven, or even become more holy, by doing them. He ends his comments with this surprising conclusion:

Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.

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Cell Phone Study Scare

This week I have a guest post from my wonderful husband, Pete. Not only did I start a new job last week (and was thus rather distracted), we had a house guest arrive mid-week. So much for my good intentions. Besides, Pete is very good at researching matters of science, so you will benefit!In this case, a headline in our news feed caught our attention:

“Cellphone radiation linked to tumors in male rats”

Really? If so, this is a matter of grave concern. We all use cell phones! But as we read further, something didn’t seem quite right. I’ll let Pete take it from here.

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Guilty

Here’s a little quiz for you. When a Christian is caught doing something wrong, we should:

  1. Post it on Facebook
  2. Gloat
  3. Alert the press
  4. Talk to them gently, one on one

I wish the church was full of perfect people. I wish none of us ever did anything wrong—that no Christian ever had an affair, or watched pornography. Never cheated on their taxes or fiddled with the accounting. Never hated, or was slef-righteous, or ignored a person in need.

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Cool Christianity, Part 2

As I mentioned last week, I recently read an article titled “Meet the Woke Young People Trying to Make Christianity Cool Again.” (I’m a bit confused by the “woke” in there, but whatever.) The article bemoaned the gap between public opinion and the opinions of evangelical Christians. To quote: “It doesn’t help that Christian communities can be out of step with the rest of the country when it comes to certain issues.” Furthermore, the authors insist that it’s the Christians who need to change.

Last week I visited the article’s first premise—that Christianity is supposed to be cool. Today I want to consider the notion that Christians should align themselves with our culture’s values. Continue reading →

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Cool Christianity

I recently read an article titled “Meet the Woke Young People Trying to Make Christianity Cool Again.” (I’m a bit confused by the “woke” in there, but whatever.) The article bemoaned the gap between public opinion and the opinions of evangelical Christians. To quote: “It doesn’t help that Christian communities can be out of step with the rest of the country when it comes to certain issues.” This assumes that being cool is a good thing.

Furthermore, the authors insist that Christians are the ones who need to change. In other words, we need to bring the ignorant, regressive Christians into line with the majority of Americans. In our efforts to be cool, we should embrace the world’s values. That would make Christianity “cool.” Continue reading →

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Thoughts on “Between 65 and death…”

A list providing advice for aging has been circulating online. It starts out.: “Many of us are between 65 and death….” Perhaps you’ve seen it too. If not, I included it at the end of this post. The list is attributed to Alan S Bame. I have no idea who that is, but I want to give credit where credit is due.

I’m not quite in the targeted age group—not for a few more years and why rush things—but I’m close enough that I clicked to read both more of the article along with the comments.  The general consensus is that it’s good advice, something we should take to heart. And yes, there are many items which are obviously worthwhile. Keep love alive. Do your part to stay healthy. Get out. Listen to others, including those younger than you. Don’t worry. Laugh. Forgive.

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I Think You Should Resolve to…

What if someone else made your New Year’s resolutions?

That was the question our pastor posed to us. It got an embarrassed twitter of laughter. Seems we all have something that needs changing, but we don’t want to admit it. Or maybe we do admit it—but we aren’t willing to put out the effort to deal with it. We laugh, but the question obviously hits home.

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Being a Blessing

If it’s Biblical, it must be true. As believers, we base our lives on this concept. But just because it’s in the Bible doesn’t always mean that it applies now, in our current situation, in the way we think it does. Reread the account of Jesus being tempted in the wilderness. Even Satan quotes Scripture. He just twists it, quoting passages out of context, misapplying it, and ignoring other passages.

This is particularly deceitful because there is truth in what we’re hearing. After all, the best lies are mostly true. A nugget of deception is hidden among words that we recognize as coming from God. And so we are misled.

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Remember When… ?

LAH_1716Christmas is drawing near and there’s still that hard-to-buy-for person on your list. They certainly don’t need more stuff, yet you want to gift them with something special, something that shows how much you appreciate them. Don’t give up. You don’t need to buy that fruit cake or “tower of chocolates.” Invest in a memory instead!

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Preach the Gospel

St_John_from_an_Armenian_Gospel_Manuscript_Wellcome_L0016377What is the gospel? I’ve been pondering this question for a while now. Is it the fact that God loves everybody? Is it loving our neighbor—being the good Samaritan? Is it the message of salvation that Jesus died on the cross for our sins? And where does repentance fit in?

While Merriam-Webster defines “gospel” as “the message concerning Christ, the kingdom of God, and salvation,” there is no single Biblical passage that clearly defines the word. However, bits and pieces appear throughout Scripture. Continue reading →