Solomon tells us that “a happy heart is good medicine and a cheerful mind works healing” (Proverbs 17:22, AMP ). God undoubtedly has a sense of humor; we need only look at some of the animals He created (it’s hard not to smile at the sight of a hippo, a monkey, or a puppy). Or think of some of the married couples you know: don’t you think God was smiling at the wedding as He looked ahead to the interaction of the wildly different personalities that will be living together?archive: quick take
short pieces, usually without commentary
more on North Korean Christians
Voice of the Martyrs sent out an email yesterday entitled “The Spiritual Battle for North Korea”; it’s also available online, and I urge you to read it. The page inclues a video of a public execution in North Korea; truly, its hard to imagine that such things still happen. You’ll also find links to download PDF versions of two articles on North Korea from the VOM Newsletter, including the one I referenced recently.
Rick and Kay Warren: taking on HIV
Last week’s Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly profiled Rick and Kay Warren and their efforts to combat HIV and minister to people impacted by it. A number of things the Warrens said in the interview caught my attention —
On the usefulness of churches in this type of effort, he says:
Nothing comes close to the size of churches — the broadest distribution network, the most volunteers, local credibility — all these different things that make the church poised to deal with these issues of spiritual emptiness and corrupt leadership and poverty and disease and illiteracy, which are problems that affect billions of people, not just millions.
About the size of the goal:
I think we often set our goals too small and try to accomplish them too quickly. This is not something we intend to do in five years or 10 years.
Regarding churches and World AIDS Day, she says,
Do you know how completely out of the ordinary it is for a church to be full on World AIDS Day saying, “We care about people who are HIV positive”? It’s amazing. Amazing.
And on how God spoke to his heart:
So, I wasn’t wasting my life, but God just said, “Rick, you don’t care about the people I care about the most. I care about the poor and the sick, and the needy, and the oppressed.” And I said, “God I’m sorry, and I will use whatever affluence or influence you give me to speak up for those who have neither.”
When I read this interview, my first thought was “Yes! This is exactly what God’s people and churches should be about: using their resources to minister to those most in need.”
are you willing to speak?
Aimee Milburn of Historical Christian writes powerfully about the consequences of silence from those of us who believe:
We usually think of martyrdom as occurring because the martyr refused to renounce faith in Christ, and this has often been the case in history. But St. Bede the Venerable, in this morning’s office of readings, gives a different view, in his commentary on St. John the Baptist: “His persecutor had demanded not that he should deny Christ, but only that he should keep silent about the truth.”
Only that he should keep silent about the truth. Is that not what we are being asked to do today, in the public square? Keep silent?
Silence about the truth is death, spiritual death, the death of the soul, a creeping, invisible death in which those who are living in darkness, in the death of sin, are kept in darkness and sin, and so dead to the truth, dead to Life. And death takes root, and spreads, when truth is silenced.
As I noted recently, it’s time to speak, time to take action. I’ve been thinking alot lately about how far I can go in my classes to speak the truth: I pray for my students, but can I also be more direct? It’s a sticky issue teaching at a public university, but I suspect that I can be more bold, more forthright than I have been in the past. I pray for the Holy Spirit to show me the opportunities and to strengthen my courage to be like John the Baptist.
9/11 made no great changes in our faith
The latest study from The Barna Group “shows that despite an intense surge in religious activity and expression in the weeks immediately following 9/11 the faith of Americans is virtually indistinguishable today compared to pre-attack conditions.” It goes on to say: “five years removed from that fateful day, spiritually speaking, it’s as if nothing significant ever happened. People used faith like a giant band-aid – it helped people deal with the ugliness of the event but it offered little in the way of deep healing and it was discarded after a brief period of use.â€
That doesn’t surprise me. As the study notes, Americans are both resilient and stubborn, and lasting change — transformation — takes time. What I find most interesting in the summary of this study is the point that church leaders need to plan for their response to tragedy and disaster: “Is there a clear strategy for helping people focus their faith questions and explorations — not merely to achieve short-term relief and regain emotional equilibrium — but to point them toward a process of deeper life transformation?… The job of spiritual leaders is not just to help people cope with tragedy but to break through their spiritual hard-headedness and orient them towards God’s deeper purposes for their life.â€
on retreat
I’m going on a mini-retreat Saturday afternoon through Monday afternoon, and so I may not post again till Tuesday morning. My focus, other than just slowing down and being quiet, is to seek direction for the fall: how does God want me to use my time? where should I give my attention and my energy? […]
some thoughts on blogging as a Christian
Adrian Warnock lists some markers of blogging success (hits, visitors, etc.) but ends the list with something I’ve been pondering myself lately:
How much of an impact positively or negatively you have on your readers.
It is that last point that I feel we should most focus on as Christians. You see, we need to be loving towards our readers and leave them with a positive impression… Do we blog in such a way that we follow Lloyd-Jones’ guidelines to “blog the truth in love?”
He goes on to say, “We are blogging ultimately for an audience of One, who reads everything we say and will hold us accountable for every idle word.” And then, “For the Christian, one of the challenges of blogging is how to make sure that our motives are right.”
I’ve wrestled some with motives — successfully, so far (I hope). I’ll hear something at church or read something in a blog and think, “that’s wrong; I should blog about that and show why that’s totally stupid!” But then I think “what would that accomplish?” and “is that life-giving?” That causes me to stop and either figure out an appropriate (loving and life-giving) way to blog about the topic or choose a new topic.
Thanks, Adrian, for a gentle reminder of the true marker of our success.
help with anger
This article is targeted toward mothers, but the tips and perspective it offers work equally well for fathers:
- Be accountable to someone
- Evaluate your parenting goals
- Evaluate your expectations of your child
- Evaluate your expectations of yourself
- Raise your level of resistance
I especially appreciate the author’s focus on prayer and Scripture:
As I continued reaching out to God, he showed me the seriousness of my sin. After confessing it, I began devouring the Scriptures. I clung to God’s promise in Philippians 1:6 that he always works to perfect us. God’s unconditional, gracious love held me up and moved me forward.
I frequently prayed through Psalm 139:23, 24, asking God to show me any “offensive way” in my life. I clung to the promise in Psalm 46:1 that God is ever-present in trouble. I claimed the promise of 1 Corinthians 10:13 that no temptation is too big for me to be victorious over. I saturated my mind with God’s Word. As I read and prayed, God showed me things about myself that needed to change. And he led me to new solutions and steps to take with my child.
Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version ®, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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