I recall a conversation I had with my father about war. I was around 12 years of age when I began to realize that war was more than playing with my green army men in the back yard sandbox. We had stayed up late one night to watch the 1955 classic, “To Hell and Back,” starring Audie Murphy, playing himself in the title role, as the most decorated Army soldier during WWII.
The Book of Job is a Christian favorite. For millenia, the faithful have opened up Job to encounter someone experiencing serious suffering, struggling with a mixture of faith and doubt. Most of us know the happy ending when Job gets double all he lost (one chapter), most of us know the strange beginning when God challenges Satan over Job (two chapters), but the real core of the book is the muddy middle. For 39 chapters, neither God nor Satan speak. Job and his three friends have to try and comprehend God in the wake of suffering.
Have you ever noticed that stories about people doing good or being kind are usually saved for the very end of most evening newscasts? You know the kind of stories I am talking about, like when a community helps out a family in need or a serviceman or woman returns from overseas to be reunited with the family. On the other hand, what leads off the news each evening isn’t that uplifting. Stories about murder, terrorism, vandalism, fires, political drama and other not so nice news starts off the evening news. We live in a pretty rough world. And that may be why the news ends with a positive story to make us all smile.
Much of Jesus’ New Testament teaching points toward humility. An admirable quality then and now. Of course we know that Jesus came from humble beginnings. Born in a lowly stable in Bethlehem, raised in a backwater town called Nazareth. Jesus was humble and lowly.
How many times have we heard a person on the news say something like, “Our thoughts and prayers are with them.” Are they really? I mean, are they really praying? It sounds nice to say, and it is a wonderful sentiment. It feels good to say those words of comfort. Yet, how often do we follow through and actually pray?
2 Timothy 1:5-6 “I recall your sincere faith that first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and now, I am convinced, is in you also. 6 Therefore, I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is in you through the laying on of my hands.”
If you read the Gospels carefully, you’ll notice that no one enjoyed Easter morning. The greatest day in human history, when the sun rose upon a tomb opened and empty, wasn’t met with a joyful “Alleluia” or shouts of praise. The women at the tomb instead struggled with a mess of emotions. Each evangelist tells the details a little differently, but all of them show that instead of finding answers at the tomb, the women found only questions.
Growing up in Central Illinois I became part of a feud that is prevalent here. I am not talking about the Hatfield’s and McCoy’s, although maybe there are feuds between families in this part of the world. I am talking about the Cubs verses the Cardinals. Baseball season is upon us and the rivalry is out there in full force. I happen to be a Cub fan, which does not necessarily have the biggest fan base around here. With St. Louis being closer than Chicago, the Cardinals manage to gain the most support amongst my fellow Central Illinoisans. But I grew up a Cub fan with my Grandmother and Dad watching the Cubs faithfully.
The mark of a true disciple of Christ is a changed life. If we truly are committed to following Christ and patterning our lives after Him, we will be changed.
A week ago was Good Friday, and then comes Easter. Good Friday is a difficult day for those who love the Lord. It is a day of remembering the great and awful sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross on our behalf. The bible teaches that Jesus died on the cross to pay the price for our sin and that if we put our faith and trust in Him, we will have eternal life. That is the message of John 3: 16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life.”
I met a friend in college who was ahead of the curve, he already had two sons. Two-year-old twin boys, who were a handful to say the least. Unfortunately, shortly after meeting this friend, he was divorced. His wife maintained custody, but he had the boys every other weekend.