Our adult Sunday School class is having a great study on the person of the Holy Spirit.  Doris Rodriguez is leading a study written by Charles Stanley on the topic, but really everyone is joining in and sharing.  I would encourage you do get up on Sunday mornings and be at the church around 9:45, it is well worth it.
   One of the ideas that comes up over and over is how we see the Holy Spirit and how he fits into our life as a Christian.  Many of us grew up at a time when we really didn’t talk about him (often he was just an it).  We kind of ran away from him, which is hard to do since he is the part of God that lives within us as Christians.  We saw him as more of an intruder instead of an indweller.  But the Holy Spirit is a central part of God’s promise to us.  In baptism we receive forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38).  He is a guarantee to us of our future inheritance, a deposit or down payment from God to us (Ephesians 1:13,14).  He is our comforter, our guide, our source of strength and ability.  He is our intimate connection to God (Romans 8:26,27).  So to diminish his place in our lives is to diminish God’s role in our lives and to rob us of all the blessings that God wants us to have.
   When I realize that God is present with me each and every moment, not only is that a comfort it is also a challenge.  It’s harder to willfully sin when you feel that presence right there with you.  When you were growing up did you cuss in front of mom and dad, or did you find yourself much more aware of how you were acting and talking?  That presence should be felt at all times, both as an encouragement and as a reminder.  We need to see the Spirit as a part of our life in Christ.  We need to be aware that wherever we are he is in our presence.  We simply need to SEE the Holy Spirit, because he is right here, right now.
   I hope to SEE you in Sunday School this coming Sunday.
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               Don
 

The older I get the more nostalgic I become. It's easy to think about the "good ol' days" with a wistful smile.  Much of the world today still looks like it did fifty years ago, and then again so much looks so so different. I see a lot of this looking back, longing for the good ol' days, on the faces of so many today. But would we really go back if we could, and would things really be as great as they are in our memory? When I watch reruns of the shows that were must see back then I find them silly (and not always in a good way) and wonder why I thought they were so great.  
 
Some things though still hold true. The feel of a warm Spring Day still feels as great to me now as it did back then. A good hamburger still makes my mouth water. I still believe that character matters more in a person than how much money or power they have. And my need for Jesus and what he did for me on the cross is even more precious. The cross of Christ and its importance has not dimmed in all the centuries since then. If we want to go back, we need to go back to the cross, hopefully we never left it. If you want to make America great, or our own lives or our family for that matter, we need to go back to the cross.
 
Easter is still relevant; it is still the most significant fact in history. There are not many things you can say that about that are centuries old. Not only has the message of the cross not lost its meaning if anything it is more needed today. What the 21st century tells me is that our wants may look a little different, but our needs have never changed. So this Easter take a step back and look at the cross all over again.  It may be the old old story, but it has never been truer and more needed than it is today.
 
Don
 

​   I often look for humor in life and usually find it in the strangest places and not always where others may find it.  Lately, we’ve all been getting a lot of political ads and flyers (glad the primaries are almost over) and one message on many of them is a statement to the effect “I will fight for conservative values.”  Or “I will stand up for traditional values”.  Now most of you right now are saying, “And what’s funny about that?”  To me that statement is like a Dallas Cowboys’ fan saying “I’m gonna yell as loud as I can for the Cowboys and I don’t care who hears me.” while standing on the 50 yard line in Cowboy stadium surrounded by 100,000 fans.  It’s easy to make those claims when in the company of like-minded folks, it’s another thing to do that when it really matters.
   Well now that I’ve offended politicians and Cowboy fans alike let me get to the real point of all this.  As Christians we are often making the same mistake.  We praise God on Sunday and declare our love for him and then the rest of the week we are as quiet as little church mice.  I remember growing up and going to church camp in the summers.  It was so easy for that week to walk the walk and talk the talk.  Actually, to do otherwise would have been a lot harder, to curse God or act like you didn’t care about him or church.  But once the week was over and everyone went home for most of us it was back to the Sunday Christian act and the rest of the week we were just our normal selves.  Church is not where we live out our Christian values and then pack them away the rest of the week.  Church is where we go to encourage one another so that we can then get back out and live our testimony.  If we only speak up for Jesus when everyone else around us is doing so, what’s the big deal? 
   Everyday evangelism isn’t going door-to-door and hitting people over the head with your Bible.  It shouldn’t be something forced.  It is being ready and willing to share why you believe in Jesus when the opportunity comes up.  It is your testimony about what Jesus has done in your life.  These opportunities come because our life is different from the ones around us.  During stressful times, hard times, times of loss and uncertainty we are living differently than those without Jesus and it shows.  If the only time we live our faith is when surrounded by others who feel the same it really doesn’t mean much.  It’s like turning on a light in board daylight, it doesn’t make a difference.  But turn on that same light in the middle of the night and it shines out bright and strong, and others will notice.  So don’t be that guy who tells you how strong he is from the comfort of an easy chair, be the one in the middle of doubters willing to say “I believe”.
 
   Don
 

   The hymn, “Whiter than Snow” begins with the line “Lord Jesus I long to be perfectly whole”.  That is true for many of us, a desire to have it all together, to have perfect lives, to be whiter than snow.  We generally connect being whole with being sinless, with being perfect by overcoming all our shortcomings and sins.  But let’s consider something else.  I was listening to a podcast this week and the speaker talked about wholeness not from the point of denying and getting rid of all our shortcomings, but in coming to terms with the whole of who we are.  Yes, I make mistakes, yes, I come up short all too often.  But those things are also a part of my story, those sins and shortcomings have helped to shape me.  If I deny those parts of me, I’m not stronger or smarter.  If I own my mistakes and even learn from them that’s when I grow.  The person who insists they have no sin, never makes a mistake, never let’s God, others or even themselves down first of all is a liar according to 1 John 1:8.  Even more to the point they are a fool, a fool being someone who thinks one thing is true when in reality the truth is far from them.
   Being able to own my past, my shortcomings, my sin doesn’t make me less than others, it puts me in a position to grow and learn.  Think of someone you think is not only a truly great person, but a good person.  Are they boastful, arrogant, or are they open to accepting criticism?  Can they accept that there are areas they still need to grow in?  Do they accept the wholeness of their life?  John goes on to say that those who do admit their sin then find forgiveness from God.  When I deny a part of my life how can I be whole before God?  It is in admitting and claiming my imperfections that God can work in me. 
   It may also be true that what I see as a shortcoming God sees as a strength and blessing.  The Apostle Paul thought his thorn in the flesh was a hinderance in his life and for the gospel.  He prayed fervently for God to remove it.  God’s answer was that what Paul saw as a hinderance was an important lesson for Paul.  We could add that countless people have found strength in reading about Paul’s struggle and God’s answer to trust in him more.  And so, we like Paul can say that it is in our weakness that God is strong.  The person who denies or hides his or her shortcomings not only is lying to God and themselves, but they are also missing out on being a testimony to others.
   So, if we are to be perfectly whole we can’t leave parts of ourselves just laying around.  We need to bring the whole of who we are to God and let him make of us what he would, messes, mistakes, shortcomings and all.
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                                               Don
 

​       “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.”  Micah 5:2
       Mary is pregnant, not just a little pregnant but it-could-happen-at-any-moment pregnant.  She and Joseph are living in Nazareth, but scripture says the Messiah is to be born in Bethlehem some 70 miles away.  For us that doesn’t sound like a difficult trip, even if we had to walk it.  But remember the roads were not paved and not altogether safe.  They had to travel through Samaria which meant they may or may not find housing for the evening since Jews and Samaritans didn’t get along.  And yes, Mary is great with child.  Would Joseph just on a whim pack his pregnant wife up and hike 70 miles to Bethlehem just for a holiday?  Probably not. 
         But as the old saying (not scripture) says “God moves in mysterious ways.”  Caesar Augustus had called a census, and the workers don’t come to you, you must go to your hometown.  So Joseph heads to his hometown.  If you have looked at Jesus’ genealogy you know that he was a descendent of David, and so was Mary.  So off to David’s hometown they go, Bethlehem.  I’m sure Caesar wasn’t thinking about helping God fulfill prophesy, but he wasn’t the one in charge.  God has a plan and purpose for us, and while we may not recognize how the events of our lives are in his control, God is.  In the birth of Jesus, we see God moving to carry out his will, that is just one of the lessons that the Christmas has to teach us.  

     Don
 

   Well November is here which means Turkey Day isn’t far off.  That was my way of referring to Thanksgiving when I was much younger and to be honest that was a big part of the meaning of Thanksgiving.  I loved the excitement and getting together with family, but I really loved the food.  I knew we were to be thankful for everything, but turkey stood out most in my mind.  I guess my reasons for giving thanks were limited to the events of the day.  As I’ve gotten older my reasons for being thankful have grown along with my waistline.   Don’t get me wrong, I’m still grateful for turkey but family and friends are even more exciting.  The blessings I count go beyond one day and there are many reasons to give thanks.
   One of my favorite images from scripture is found in the first few verses of Philippians:  “I thank my God every time I remember you.  In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”- Philippians 1:3-6
   I love the image of the Apostle Paul, sitting in house arrest with guards stationed around him and yet there is a smile on his face as he begins to write a letter to the church in Philippi.  The memories of his time and ministry with them was sweet and for a moment his current situation was of no great concern to him.  He had a reason to be thankful and a reason for joy and even a reason to hope.  It wasn’t just the memory of his time in Philippi which was a mixed bag of wonderful memories and some pretty harsh ones (being beaten and thrown in jail).  His reason for thanks was their partnership in the gospel, these folks were held in his heart.  You might say that Paul was counting his blessings.
   Too often we give a wink and a nod to Thanksgiving.  We know we should be thankful and we are but don’t ask us for much in the way of details.  We are blessed and have so much, but maybe not as much as we would like, and not anywhere near as much as our neighbor down the street.  We hurry through the thanks part so we can get into the turkey and on to the football game.  So I’m suggesting we give a “reasoned thanks” this year.  Slow down for a few minutes, think for a few minutes and come up with some reasons for your thankfulness.  After that you can devour the turkey and fixin’s, then on to the game and the food induced coma we call a nap.
By the way, I’m thankful for ya’ll and our partnership in Carthage.  Happy Thanksgiving!
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   Don
 

            No matter your political views, your view of the pandemic or climate change, one thing is for sure Bob Dylan was right, “The times they are a changing.”  Dylan wrote that song in 1963, and those were times when it seemed life as it had been being turned upside down.  And today we find a lot of truth and anxiety in the repeat of history.  But there has always been times of great upheaval and life taking off in different directions.  Our parents and grandparents felt that a hundred years ago.  Our society went from being mainly rural to a great flight of folks moving to cities.  War seemed around every corner with the feeling that life as we knew it could soon be over.  Yet out of those times came the greatest growth our country has seen. 
   The disciples themselves faced uncertainty and change.  One of the greatest challenges they faced was seeing Jesus, their Lord, crucified.  They believed that he would be here, if not forever, at least for a long time.  They believed he would lead a great revolt against Rome and restore the greatness of Israel.  Yet here he was hanging on a cross, dying.  The evening before, in the upper room, Jesus had shared with them all of this and his plan for getting them through.  They would receive another helper, the Holy Spirit, and he would be with them and guide them through all of this.  At the time they didn’t understand and the next day I’m sure his words never crossed their minds.  But over the next few weeks, as he appeared to them and reminded them, the message began to sink in.  On the day of Pentecost they stood before the very people who had yelled “Crucify him” and proclaimed the gospel message.   They then went on to preach their message across the known world.
   Things may feel out of control these days, but don’t fear, God is still in control.  His Spirit is still active today, leading us and strengthening us even in days of uncertainty.
Don
 

    “I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.  I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds.”  Psalm 77:11,12
   “Everyone meditates.  Really?  Yes.  Our minds are constantly dwelling on something.  Sadly, many of us allow our minds to wander dangerously into the realm of alluring thoughts, discouraging thoughts, distracting thoughts, worrying thoughts, etc.  What we really need is biblical meditation whereby we fix our restless minds on God’s Word so that it governs our lives.”  Stephen Yuille, Vice President of Academics at Heritage College & Seminary, Cambridge, Ontario and Associate Professor of Biblical Spirituality at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
   Bro. Yuille goes on to say, “Biblical meditation isn’t merely reading or studying God’s Word but musing and mulling over God’s Word whereby it grips our heart.  In other words, its goal isn’t to fill the head but improve the heart.”
   Musing and mulling?  Too often we come to reading the Bible as either a chore or a sprint.  We mindlessly plod through as many verses as we can make ourselves do, without much thought.  Or we read through several verses quickly barely paying attention to the words we are reading, let alone the meaning.  So, to muse and to mull may sound strange but it simply means thinking about what we are reading and then thinking about how it applies to our lives.  Psalms has several references to doing just that, to really thinking about God and all that he has done for us.  In reading the Psalms, most of which were written by David, we see the words and thoughts of a man who spent a great deal of time considering life, God, and our whole relationship to him. 
   We often look on meditation with suspicion but in reality, it is simply a tool.  To hear God, we need to quiet all the noise in our own heads.  If you’ve ever talked to someone who wouldn’t stop talking so you could get a word in edgewise you may know a little bit of what God feels trying to talk to most of us.  We go on and on about our thoughts, say Amen and then we’re done.  God is saying “Wait a minute, don’t you want to hear what I have to say?”  One of the sure ways to let God speak is to meditate on the Bible.  As we read a passage its O.K. to ask ourselves, “What do I think this means?”, but I also need to say a prayer and then be quiet and let God bring to mind thoughts and ideas on His Word.
   So, meditation is a tool to quiet our minds and let God have a word in edgewise.  Basic practice is very simple.  We need to get into a comfortable position, take some deep breaths and focus on a single thought.  To meditate on Jesus is to take some teaching or example from Jesus and to muse and mull over it, to quiet our mind of other thoughts and let God speak to us.  I will be posting to our Facebook page a recorded lesson on this, and hopefully follow up each week with a new meditation on Jesus.  So be looking for that and give it a try even if you don’t think meditation, is your thing.

​       Don
 

 

   We touched on this idea Sunday, July 25th, that our faith should inform our culture, but in reality our culture often shapes our faith.  Our culture is the environment we are raised in from the food we eat to the music we listen to.  It encompasses our values and how we think things should be done.  And the way that we are raised to us seems to be the right way to go about living life.   So, our faith in Jesus, his culture and ideas, should shape how we live here in East Texas in 2021, but in reality the way we understand what Jesus said some 2,000 years ago is seen through the lens of our culture today.
   I was listening to a podcast and the host was telling about a time he went to hear John Kiper speak.  Mr. Kiper is a leading speaker in Christianity today.  The person introducing Mr. Kiper said that one of the things he admired most about him was that he didn’t let culture or current events cloud his understanding of the scripture.  A friend of the host who was attending the meeting with him leaned over and made the comment, “So is John Kiper going to speak to us in Greek?”  To truly be free of the effect of culture he would have to use the same language as the writers, and in the case of the New Testament that would be Greek.  Well of course Mr. Kiper spoke English and read from an English Bible, after all that is his language, his culture.  Even in the words we use and the way we speak is a product of our culture and shapes how we think and understand what we are reading.
    We are all products of when and where we live.  For us more mature (I won’t use the word old) folks this causes us concern when attending a contemporary service.  Our culture favors hymns and reading from the King James Bible, anything else just seems wrong.  For younger folks they just laugh at us for being afraid to use debit cards or thinking that a suit and tie is the only way to dress for church (we have successfully gotten past that).  The issues that we think are most important from the Bible usually have as much or more to do with what is going on around us in our culture than with how much the Bible talks about it.  In the early 1900’s prohibition was a central theme of many preachers and movements within the church.  Today not too many advocate for total removal of alcohol but we still have our favorite themes and this is often reflected in what the church is focused on.  And it’s not that we are wrong, but often it leads to an overemphasis on one area to the exclusion of something that is as important or even more important. 
   Jesus pointed this out to the Pharisees in Matthew 23: 23- “You give a tenth of your spices – mint, dill and cummin.  But you have neglected the more important matters of the law – justice, mercy and faithfulness.  You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.” 
   In the culture of the Pharisees strict adherence to the letter of the law was very important.  The problem was they were often blind to greater matters.  
   We can’t help but be products of our culture, how we are raised.  I still put an “R” in wash, evidently that is a common pronunciation mistake for the area I was raised in, so warsh just comes out of my mouth.  Part of understanding Jesus and scripture isn’t to eliminate culture, but to see how the culture of his day influenced both him and his followers.  We need to understand scripture in light of its environment.  Next, we need to understand how we can take the principles of Jesus and live them in our culture today.  Most of us are happy not to run around in togas and live as they did in Jesus’ culture.
  However, the way Jesus looked at people, the way he treated people is still valid today, just as it was in his time.  The truths that he taught us about justice, mercy and faithfulness have never gone out of style.  Our culture needs Jesus just as much as the first century and so we need to be Jesus today.  We may not look like he did, speak the language he did or eat the foods he did, but we need to love the way he did.  We need to preach the good news that he brought.  We need to heal the sick, feed the hungry and minister to our culture the way he did to his. 
​
   Don
 

 

      When we think of freedom what comes to mind?  For a child it might mean not having to eat their green beans and being able to eat all the ice cream they want.   As we get older being able to drive a car or set our own curfew sounds like freedom.  Over the past year many claimed that they didn’t have to follow guidelines by the CDC or the government because they were free from such regulations.  Our definition of freedom all too often is a rather selfish definition, “I should get to do what I want to do and you can’t tell me otherwise.”  We even see this attitude in the church.   Christ has set us free by his grace therefore you can’t tell me what to do.  It was both amusing and alarming to see many folks state they didn’t have to follow guidelines because that was infringing on their religious freedom, and Jesus said they didn’t have to follow the rules.  Generally the ones making this claim were also the ones looking for any excuse to just do what they wanted in the first place.
   Is such a claim credible for a Christian to make?  Are we in fact being more faithful when we take such a viewpoint?  Let’s consider some verses on freedom:
   John 8:31-32 “to the Jews who had believed him Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.  Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”  After some objected that they have never been slaves to anyone, Jesus adds “Everyone who sins is a slave to sin. . . if the Son sets you free you are free indeed.”  What does Jesus free us from?  He frees us from our sin.  He frees us from ourselves.  The person outside of Christ is focused on their own needs and wants.  The person set free by Christ is now free from worrying about their own needs and can focus on Christ and serving others.
   I Peter 2:16-17  “Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God.  Show proper respect to everyone:  Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.”  Peter addresses the problem of selfishness.   Too often our claim of freedom is just so we can find an excuse for sinful behavior.  I am free, but l am free to choose to live as a servant, to put others first.  Can we really say that much of our selfish use of freedom brings honor to God?
   Galatians 5:13-14 “You, my brothers, were called to be free.  But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.   The entire law is summed up in a single command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.”  The goal of being free is to serve and put others first.  That doesn’t sound free does it, but it shouldn’t surprise us that God takes our wisdom and turns it on its head.  The person who thinks only of himself is actually a prisoner in a very small prison.   In faith we trust that God really is going to take care of us.  He has freed us from the consequences of sin, not so we can sin more, but so we are free to look beyond ourselves. 
   When we use our “freedom” to ignore the needs of others that does not reflect a Christian viewpoint.  When we invoke the name of Jesus to justify our sinful attitudes and actions that does not bring honor and glory to him.  Yes, we are free.  In America we are even more free than most other countries.  Jesus, Peter and Paul would ask us, “How are you using all of this freedom for Christ?”

    Don