Quick Update

   I have been out of pocket for these past few days without Internet, but have time to give a clue about what I have been doing out on the road.

The top photo is Pike County, GA

The bottom one is Stephens Co, GA

The quiz is (without looking): Who are these named after?

Hot Dog, I Can Be Legal!

   I (and those who may be reading along) have come to these verses in Matthew 5:

“Remember the Scripture that says, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him do it legally, giving her divorce papers and her legal rights’? Too many of you are using that as a cover for selfishness and whim, pretending to be righteous just because you are ‘legal.’ Please, no more pretending. If you divorce your wife, you’re responsible for making her an adulteress (unless she has already made herself that by sexual promiscuity). And if you marry such a divorced adulteress, you’re automatically an adulterer yourself. You can’t use legal cover to mask a moral failure."

   There is so much talk about divorce, both in and out of the Christian setting, so many statistics, so many different situations, that I really do not want to go there.

   But I do see something in these verses that goes right along with what Jesus has been saying about issues of the heart. Look at these words:

"Too many of you are using that as a cover for selfishness and whim, pretending to be righteous just because you are ‘legal.’

   Selfishness, whim, pretending, going to the core of the issue. And summing up in the last line:

" You can’t use legal cover to mask a moral failure."

   Legal cover, the letter of the law, but what about the heart?

   How many times have I heard folks say "Show me where in the Bible I can't do that. Sure I know it says Thou shall not kill, but there are no commands about .........".

   It sure looks like the key word in the above statement is "I", and the other key from the verses above is "selfishness". If I really want to do something, and I can cloak my actions in an absence of Biblical authority, I am OK. I can do this.

   But is it "right". Sure I "can", but "should" I?

   How about those verses that talk about "not causing another to stumble" or even "Present your body as a living sacrifice"?

   I need to be careful in using what the Bible does not say in defense of what I want to do.

   "You can’t use legal cover to mask a moral failure."

Write Your Plans in Pencil

   Several items comprise my thoughts this morning, and they all seem to involve the word "Planning"

   Let's see: There was the movie on Saturday night
                   There was church yesterday
                   There are the things that I plan to do today
                   There is the short trip I am planning for this week, and
                   There is a longer trip at the last of this summer, so how do they all come together, or do they?

   The movie we went to see, Million Dollar Arm, I liked, but the thing that I thought about most, upon reflecting on the story, concerned the change in the lives of the two Indian boys.

   As they lived their lives, ordinary lives, in India, they had no idea of where they would be in a year or so and how that time would impact their lives for the future. They had no clue. They had plans I guess, plans to do what they were doing for a time, plans to work, maybe plans to marry and have families, plans to live a normal (if that is a correct term in this instance) Indian life.

   But then, over in the US, a man concocted a plan that concerned boys in India, baseball, and a way to get his company back in the black. No one knew how all that would work together. No one knew how it would work itself out, much less who would be affected, especially those 2 boys.

   Then in church yesterday, I heard about a couple who belonged to our body, a man and wife living through a hard time. At the end of her pregnancy, as she went to get the final check up before delivery, they learned that there was no heartbeat. The little boy had died in the womb, and she had to deliver a stillborn child into the world. How incredibly hard that must have been for both of them.

   They had plans, I know, and now, what? My heart grieves for them.

   Then there are the puny and insignificant things that I plan for today, and this week, and this year. I know I need to plan ahead, but I don't know the events in the world that will affect any of them.

   God knows, and I have no control.

   I write that, and know that the answer to all that uncertainty I have talked about in the previous paragraphs is right there.

   God knows the past, the present and the future, and He cares.

   I have to plan. I need to have things in place to get things accomplished, but the culmination to those plans are not in my hands. They need to be written on disposable paper, maybe even in invisible ink. Their fruition is not in my control, for today, not for this week, or for farther out there.

   How simple is it to live in the easy and good and be thankful for "Thy will be done"?

   How difficult to live in the hard and wonder about "Thy will be done"?

   The implications of this prayer are huge. I will pray it, but the question is, How will I live it?

   If my plans fly away, will my contentment also?

The President and Me

   After Jesus goes into all that about killing, saying to those gathered around him on that hillside that they (and us) could kill with words and in our hearts, and break that 6th commandment, he continues on to the 7th thusly: (in Matthew 5:27-30 MSG)

“The laws of Moses said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say: Anyone who even looks at a woman with lust in his eye has already committed adultery with her in his heart. So if your eye—even if it is your best eye!—causes you to lust, gouge it out and throw it away. Better for part of you to be destroyed than for all of you to be cast into hell. And if your hand—even your right hand—causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. Better that than find yourself in hell."

   I remember when President Jimmy Carter got himself into a heap of trouble when he talked about lust in his life. People laughed at him, almost as if they were saying that, "that is not such a big deal, everyone does that, it is not so bad, don't worry yourself (and us) about that."

   How about the next commandments, stealing, lying, coveting (being envious)?

   Can I use my dark sunglasses on the beach and not let people know that I am looking at those pretty girls lustfully? Can I use my pious looking demeanor to keep folks from seeing my thoughts of or even actions of stealing, lying or envy?

  How much do I really take these words of Jesus seriously?

   I'm afraid that I break the laws of God each and every day, in many ways.

   People mocked Jesus, they also mocked the President, how much do I mock God himself when I say:

   "Everybody does that, it is not really so bad"

   Is that what Jesus says, or just my excuse?

   And I won't even go into the "gouge out your eye or cut off your hand" thing. Now that is serious.

Do It Now, Not Later

   The next verses in our Sermon on the Mount study are in Matthew 5: 23-24. Reading them in the Living Bible:

“So if you are standing before the altar in the Temple, offering a sacrifice to God, and suddenly remember that a friend has something against you, ²⁴ leave your sacrifice there beside the altar and go and apologize and be reconciled to him, and then come and offer your sacrifice to God."

   I searched through a lot of translations to find the one that I thought expressed it the way I was feeling this morning. That is not to say that I wanted to find one that made it easier on me to think about or live out, but one that expressed its truth in my life.

   The gist of the verses seem to be that I need to make things right with anyone that I have wronged, not just anyone that thinks bad thoughts about me. That it is wrong for me to just go blithely on, looking good, making the right advances toward God, being in the right places, smiling and acting if I am the perfect husband, father, co-worker, church member, whatever my role is.

   And I need to make things right in order that my offerings to God of time, talent or money are acceptable to Him.

   All over our island right now, there is campaigning for an election. There are signs urging people to vote for this or that party or person. There are pictures in the paper every day of men and women smiling for the cameras and looking good, so the voters will be impressed enough to vote their way.

   I can act the same way, smiling my way through life without any regard for persons that I have wronged in my life. The verses above show that I am the one that needs to apologize and reconcile for something done to another. It is my responsibility, not to look good, but to be that way.

   The hard part is looking back over the years and remembering those things that need to be apologized for. For too many it is impossible because the wronged parties are no longer here. God can and does forgive, but it's difficult to bring closure to a memory without the forgiveness of the other party.

   So, is there a solution to this problem? Can I change the past? No.

   Can I do something in the present to prevent things from becoming regrets?

   I can keep short accounts with God and with others. I can apologize in the present, not letting years pass and hoping that the wrong action or word will just fade away. I can seek forgiveness from both.

   I can see to it that my offerings to God are acceptable, because I have not shirked my responsibility to my fellow man.

Thoughts and Words

   Matthew 5:21-22 (MSG)

 “You’re familiar with the command to the ancients, ‘Do not murder.’ I’m telling you that anyone who is so much as angry with a brother or sister is guilty of murder. Carelessly call a brother ‘idiot!’ and you just might find yourself hauled into court. Thoughtlessly yell ‘stupid!’ at a sister and you are on the brink of hellfire. The simple moral fact is that words kill."

   And in NKJV

"You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder,^[a] and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ ²² But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause^[b] shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire."

   The letter of the law in Exodus is, of course, Do not commit murder, do not kill", but Jesus takes the commandment and makes it a heart issue also, not just an act of the body.

   Words: We are surrounded by words, spoken, written, tweeted, emailed, yelled and just thought. I hear so many, used in so many different ways, and even talk too much myself sometimes, without realizing the impact. Words crafted to inspire, to degrade, to lift up and to tear down. So many spoken or written without much thought as to their effect.

   But in relation to the thought in the verses above, there are words that kill just like a weapon. Innuendo, character assassination and outright lies. Words that are out there for all to see and hear and tough to take back, even if I wanted to. Words that spew out of our anger, like "idiot", "stupid" or "fool" can kill the spirit and scar a soul.

   Anger gives a hardness to words, and love a softness. How much better a calm response, given in love. How much better to listen to others words instead of talking over them or anxiously waiting to get my thoughts in. How much better to actually care about someone else rather than putting them down or belittling them. How much better to get to know people rather than stereotype them into groups.

   Preach the Gospel always and, if necessary, use words.

   Live out the Gospel every day and watch your words.

   When I do use words, let them be the right ones and delivered in the right way.

"Let the words of my mouth, and the meditations of my heart, be acceptable to Thee"

Seeing From My Point Of View

   Sometimes  sit down to read in the mornings, and I just don't see the application, especially when I have an agenda, a certain passage to read, and a wonderment on what it might mean for me, in the time that I live in, and in the situation of my life.

   Today my assignment was Matthew 5: 19-20. In The Message it reads:

“Trivialize even the smallest item in God’s Law and you will only have trivialized yourself. But take it seriously, show the way for others, and you will find honor in the kingdom. Unless you do far better than the Pharisees in the matters of right living, you won’t know the first thing about entering the kingdom."

   An in the New King James:

"Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. ²⁰ For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousnessof the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven."

   I read, and I wonder "how does that relate to my life?"

   "One of the least of these", even the smallest one is important.

   On my outdoor jaunt this morning I spotted a couple of things: One was a pond turtle on the cart path. I could see where he had come up from his water home, leaving a trail in the dewy grass, and I watched as he went back, slithering down through the cut grass and then the taller stuff beside the water before he glided back in.

   I got to thinking about what he saw from his ground view. His vision was limited for sure, but he made it back to where he came from.

   Then I looked up and caught this in my sight:

   An osprey on the wing, moving somewhere or looking for something. His view was much more expansive than the turtle.

   Wherever God has me at the moment affects my view. Ground level or up above, the surroundings are the same, but the viewpoint is different. I may not be able to change those surroundings, but I can take the time to look.

   And what do I see?

   All of God's Word is important. There is nothing trivial or small in there. I may not understand its relevance for my life on any particular day, but I trust that it is there for me when I need it.

   A big picture view like the osprey, or ground level like the turtle.

   The key is opening the eyes and looking.