Won't You Be My Neighbor

Luke 10:25-37

There has been a lot of discussion lately on race relations in the United States. Many discussions have been unhelpful. There are those who would seek to divide and provoke rather than seek unity and healing.

In Luke 10:25-29, there is an interesting exchange between Jesus and a young lawyer. In response to the lawyers question, Jesus told a parable (Luke 10:30-35).

In His parable, Jesus chose a Samaritan as the hero. That was an interesting choice. Jews and Samaritans hated each other. They had been at odds since around 930 BC when Israel split into two kingdoms (1 Kings 12:1-19), Israel to the north and Judah to the south. Jerusalem was the capital of Judah and Samaria was the capital of Israel.

As followers of Christ Jesus, I am persuaded that we should love one another and submit to one another just like Jesus and the Apostles teach (1 Peter 5:5).

It is my firm belief that racism is a lie straight from Satan himself. The thought that anyone is better or different or superior in any way because of what color they are is ridiculous. What can divide people and make them ineffective faster than hate? What can steal the joy of your salvation and kill your focus faster than hate? In Christ, there is no black or white (Galatians 3:27-29).

We are one in Christ Jesus. We are the bearers of His light, pointing to the hope He holds out to us. Let us remain focused on that.

Our enemy is smart. He can wrap a lie up in a beautiful package (1 Peter 5:8). Our wise Father has given us His word and His Holy Spirit to help us recognize the dangers. He has given us everything we need to protect ourselves from the attacks of Satan (Ephesians 6:10-18).

We are brothers and sisters in Christ. Period.

God is AWESOME!

Knowing My Place

Romans 1 and 2

There is this saying: "Some of the meanest people you will ever meet are Christians".

It is sad but true. Many of us forget our place as Christians. It is our job to shine the light on the hope that Christ Jesus holds out. Not to sit in judgment over people. As the Apostle Paul points out in Romans 2, the ones who appoint themselves as judge are just as guilty as those whom they are judging.

So many of us brag about how much we love God and how unashamed we are of Him, but then treat people with such contempt. Our actions and our words, all too often, don't match up (Isaiah 29:13).

As Christians, we will be the only Jesus some people ever see. We have to be careful with our words and actions. We are to love our neighbors as ourselves (Luke 10:25-37).

Just because someone is living a lifestyle that you don't agree with, doesn't mean you have to be confrontational with them. We should love them anyway (Romans 12:18), and demonstrate the love of Christ Jesus in our actions and attitudes and words. If you read the gospels, you will notice that the only people Jesus was confrontational with were the religious leaders. He spent His time with tax collectors and prostitutes. He loved the weirdoes.

Let's be the reason someone comes to Christ. Not the people Paul talked about in Romans 2:24.

Second Wind

Genesis 2:7

I heard a song today that made me think of what happens when God breathes.

In Genesis, God breathed out the universe when He spoke it into existence. He used His own hands to form a man with dust, then, held him close, and breathed. (Genesis 2:7)

The man was alive. Not just an animated figure, but a living creature. How awesome is that?

God told the man how to stay alive (Genesis 2:15-17).

It was not long before the man disobeyed. Adam and Eve did something that had catastrophic consequences. As they desperately tried to find somewhere to hide, their eyes spilled tears for the first time, and their souls began to die. The life that God had breathed into them was slipping away. They were separated from their creator. The tragedy. The horror. The profound sadness.

The Earth was covered with the living dead. The Breath was gone. God was sorry that He had created all that He had said was good in the beginning. (Genesis 6:5-6)

Miraculously, inexplicably, God still loved us. He so wanted that relationship back that He had in the garden (Luke 19:2-10, John 3:16).

God made a way for that to happen. Christ Jesus came and permanently bridged the gap (Colossians 3:2-4) that had separated God from His beloved creation. He once again came close...and breathed. (John 20:19-22)

God is AWESOME!

Gravity (A Heavy Lesson)

James 2:8-10

Science is a wonderful tool for further understanding who God is. Our ability to study the creatures and the elements in our world and observe the universe has taken giant leaps and bounds in recent years. For those of us who are believers, these advances have left us even more in awe of our God and what He has done. (Colossians 1:15-17).

Many great men have studied our world with an understanding that is astounding. Sir Isaac Newton studied gravity and motion. I don't know that science has gotten a firm grip on exactly how gravity works yet, but a lot has been learned about gravity.

Galileo asserted that objects, regardless of mass, would fall at the same rate. The only problem in proving his assertion was the atmosphere. His famous hammer and feather experiment comes to mind. In 1971, astronaut David Scott was able to confirm Galileo's assertion. He dropped a hammer and a feather on the surface of the moon at the same time and they fell at the same rate because the moon has no atmosphere.

I believe God built in the curiosity that is in us, the thirst for knowledge, and the ability to learn and understand so that we could draw closer to Him and bask in His glory (Jude 1:24; Matthew 11:29).

The lesson I see in gravity, and what we understand of it is that no one of us is better than any other. We are all flawed, clumsy beasts groping in the darkness. (Romans 3:22-24; Psalm 73:21-22; Isaiah 59:9-10)

Without the light of Christ Jesus, we are like feathers without an atmosphere to make us float. We would continue to fall like hammers.

God is AWESOME!