Friday, February 27, 2009

A big family
















I'm preparing a series of lessons on what it means to be a Christian. Last week was based around the phrase in 1 John "born of God". Used only in this short book it appears 6 times, each time in a context that highlights one aspect of being a Christian. This week will be about what it means to be in the "family of God".
As I was preparing the powerpoint I was thinking about our very large family, spread all over the world. Above are two photos of small parts of our family after they have worshipped--two small churches from two different islands, with two different cultures, that use two different languages, etc. Now multiply that by the thousands of congregations throughout the world and you begin to see what a big family it really is.
There are 4 sound churches here in Puerto Rico, all with about 15-20 in attendance. One worships in English, so you can imagine how isolated they sometimes feel. Yes, they share a building with a Spanish speaking group, but they meet at different times and hardly see one another. But even though they are so few here they, like all of us, are part of the family of God.
Please pray for your family throughout the earth. Some suffer persecution (China, Nigeria, etc.), some are starving (Zimbabwe, The Phillipines), some are almost totally ignored (Western Europe), while others are working in areas where people are more receptive to the Gospel, but they all need your prayers.
Tol

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Everybody has the answer

My wife Dana suffers from asthma. Her attacks are not frequent, but they are severe when she has one and it usually takes several months for her to recuperate. She was diagnosed about 10 years ago, but hers doesn't seem to be "normal" asthma. Ever since she started having problems everyone has an answer for her problem. Here in the Caribbean it is even worse, as everyone has an answer and is dying to share it with here. It is so bad that the preacher in Moca, the first time she was there and was coughing advised the brethren that she had had this problem for 10 years and had already heard more remedies than a person could "test" in a lifetime. Even so she received one more that afternoon.

Depending on the culture the remedies range from vitamins, herbs, bee propolis to pine bark and even lizard soup (don't know if that's the anole lizard, the iguana, or the ground lizard--didn't inquire that far). But in our desire to help, or just be busybodies, we all "want" to share our answer for Dana's problem. She's tried some of them and they haven't worked for her, but we get new ones frequently--everybody has the answer.

It seems that advice in the spiritual realm is much the same--everybody has the answer! If you don't believe it, just listen to the TV & radio talk shows. One "expert" assures us "gay is good" while another decries it. One tells us "divorce is victimless" while another says "divorce only affects the couple" and still another admits "divorce affects everyone, including grandparents". The tragic thing is that while men are busy "thinking" and then spewing their "answers", the real answers can be found in the Bible. Oh, I know, the Bible is seen by many to be "antiquated" and "out of date", but the longer we try "our answers" the more we realize that God's answers were always the best. Why does God hate divorce? Could it be because He wants the best for us and knows that divorce affects everyone involved, no matter how far away they seem to be for the worse.

The book of Judges describes a tumultuous time in the nation of Israel. It can best be characterized by a phrase that appears at least 3 times within it--"In those days there was no king in Israel. Every man did what was right in his own eyes." When every man seeks his own answers there is chaos and problems. When a society seeks, and follows, God's answers there is peace, tranquility, and prosperity.

Tol

Friday, February 20, 2009

Environmental damage

To the right is one of our "neighbors"--he used to come up in the backyard often, but the dogs seem to have changed his feeding patterns. The iguanas in the trees behind our house are a constant attraction to those who visit us, but not everyone here is so excited by them. Seems they are damaging "bird habitat" along one of the shipping canals. Funny how "the environment" can affect the "environment", isn't it?

This discussion is kind of like weeds--they always seem to be hardier than the "good" plants, so if left alone will choke the good ones out.

Which brings me to the spiritual application. Our environment has a profound effect on our spirituality. If we are surrounded by people who have no interest in God and spiritual things, it WILL rub off on us. To be sure, we may not forget God completely, but He will not be as important to us as He used to be. If we are surrounded by immoral people, their values and even actions could become part of our lives. If all our friends are religious people, but not Christians, that will affect our spirituality as well. Obviously then, it is important who are close friends are, and even who we spend a lot of time with.

On the other hand, if our close friends are other Christians they too will affect us--for the good. If you want to get stronger spiritually you need to spend more time with people who are spiritually strong.

Our environment affects us too; for good or for evil. Which will you choose?

Tol