"Connections That Count"

Well there it is, my flip phone just chirped in a most annoying way to tell me that it was now out of power and going to shut down, go to sleep, stop performing its functions.

What can be the problem?

The phone shows some wear (don' we all) but overall it works.  It contains contact numbers, calendar information, Push To Talk contact data, and the list goes on.  Certainly that information should be enough to keep the phone going but it is not!

Ever notice how people have come to believe that if they just know enough, have enough connections, etc. they can overcome any and all situations?  Still my phone just does not work.

The last time the phone was charged, it accepted the charge until the battery was full.  Certainly that battery should be enough to keep the phone going but it is not!

How about people seeking to have some internal power based upon some inherent element of their lives and/or personalities?  Still life just does not work for them.  Something must be different but what?  No matter the personality and uniqueness of my phone it just does not want to work.

The transformer and power cord function just fine.  In fact there are two power cords, one for the car and the other that came with the phone.  Both are fine and are capable of charging the phone's battery.  Not too long ago they did so.  Yet, there is a problem--no power and thus no phone.

Ever notice how people have come to believe that if they attend church an hour a week and read their Bible once in a while, and maybe say grace at a meal now and then that their faith works for them.  Yet it does not because there is a faulty connection!  Then something goes wrong and they question, "God where are You?" or "Where did You go?"

You see that is the problem with the phone.  It is not the phone itself, nor is it the source of power.  Both are fine!  It is just that the connection does not work very well and so getting the power into the phone thus to recharge the battery just does not happen.  There is a connection problem or we might say problem connection.

So too with God.  He is there, all powerful, ever present, all knowing, and very interested in a solid relationship with each of us (that would be a solid connection).  Here we are with our bumps and blemishes and imperfections, but even at our lowest ebb, with enough capacity to establish and enjoy that connection.  The problem is in our side of the connection for we seek to dictate the terms thereof.

So it is with the phone.  If I am willing to hold the phone and the power cord in just the right attitude to one another it will take a charge.  There is a problem with the phone's side of the connection.  So too there is a problem with our connecting with God but it is not on His side, it is on ours. 

The connection between God and man and man and God is decided and designed by God.  If we are ever going to experience that connection to its fullness, then we are going to have to come on God's terms and in His ways not our own good ideas. Just because we have a good idea about this connection does not mean that it is reality.

So why doesn't faith work for me?  --It is a connection problem.
So why can't I feel God's love?  --It is a connection problem.
So why does this bad habit hang on to my life?  --It is a connection problem.
So why can't I feel God's presence? --It is a connection problem.
So why doesn't my prayer work?  --It is a connection problem.
So why can't I feel connected to other people?  --It is a connection problem.
So why doesn't the Bible make sense to me?  --It is a connection problem.
So why doesn't __________ work for me?  --It is a connection problem.

The reality is that the beginning place is the Lord, Jesus Christ and a relationship with Him.  It is from that initial start that one can have an unshakeable relationship (connection) with the Divine.  It is in that initial connection and as we grow in that relationship that we find power to do not just the day to day of life but even in those times when we are called upon to do the impossible.

"Responding to The Intolerance of the Tolerant"

THE CHALLENGE OF GRACIOUSNESS:  May we who have standards and convictions not be intolerant of the intolerant!  What a curious situation the public debate this week as those who accept almost everything reject Chic-Fil-A based upon a thought expressed by its founder.

The owner of Chic-Fil-A simply gave his position on the matter of marriage being as the Bible describes it, between one man and one woman.  Someone said that God established marriage between Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve and certainly he would agree with that idea.  Whether one agrees with it or not is not the issue.  How we disagree is in fact the concern.  Not so long ago the right was challenged with its need for graciousness in difference, now the left progressives need to hear the same admonition.

THE CHALLENGE OF BELIEFS EXPRESSED:  At question is that matter of one's right even responsibility to set forth his beliefs.  Certainly no one seems to object with those on the progressive side of the argument impose their notions but let the other side say something as benign as was said and there is an outcry but it does not end there.  Notice that there was to be a "kiss-in" as same sex couples demonstrate their "love" at Chic-Fil-A locations.

Chic-Fil-A being a privately owned company have not great responsibility to allow this sort of thing to go on however, since they seem to be gracious about this whole discourse I suspect that they will not take action.

THE CHALLENGE OF CONVICTIONS:  Such being so there are some things that we need to think about!  We who take a conservative view of the Scriptures must allow nothing to dissuade us from the position we take of the Scriptures.  The more that we are surrounded by the permissive message, the more those of us who hold to the Bible are placed in difficult even untenable positions.  Such is not so in reality only in perception.

The reality is that the same God who designed each of us in our uniqueness, also moved on righteous men of old to author the Bible.  Personally I do not find anywhere that I or anyone else is exempted from any of the Scriptures.  

There are those who would argue that the Christian's shortcomings are license for others to live outside the guidance of the Bible.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  Certainly we all make mistakes but that in no way obviates others from their responsibilities.  In fact that is the value of being in a Christian community for in failure there we find support and care.  Then too there is the support to be found in prayer as we pray the Scriptures. 

THE CHALLENGE OF/TO THE CULTURE:  As alluded to earlier, there is a problem.  It is that we are so surrounded by the messages of the media and academia that we either consciously and rationally or without giving it much thought have come to embrace things that are not acceptable to God.  The drift from what is right and correct is so gradual that it is imperceptible.   However, think back a few years to what was acceptable and what was not.  

Of course the Bible is the same as it always has been.  It did not change but we did and in that course of that change we have reinterpreted the Bible to be what we want it to be. The outcome is as one post-modernist writer put it, “…we see the demise of personal definition, reason, authority. . . All intrinsic properties of the human being, along with moral worth and personal commitment, are lost from view...” (Kenneth Gergen, The Saturated Self)

Is it any wonder that people live largely insecure lives, without a sense of direction, a certain fatalism, and an inadequacy in and of themselves.  Perhaps that is why those who have followed along with culture are so threatened by those with conviction.

THE CHALLENGE OF GRACIOUSNESS:  As the business owner who made the statement regarding the family, let us take our stand wherever we are located but let us do so in wisdom.

Let us do so relationally and not with criticism and rejection

Let us do so graciously not returning evil and insult for evil and insult

Let us do so welcoming the person while disallowing the sin

Let us do so with understanding not condemning for that it is God’s to do.

Remember Jude’s command, “save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear…”  In other words, some we confront others we persuade over time but to all we in some form witness.  (Jude 23).