Category Archives: Attitudes & Behavior

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October 3, 2024

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Attitudes & Behavior, Joy, Knowing Him, Thanks & Praise, Today: Make it Count

GRACE NOTES

Let the heavens be glad, and the earth rejoice! Let the sea and everything in it shout his praise! Let the fields and their crops burst out with joy! Let the trees of the forest sing for joy. [Psalm 96:11-12 (NLT)]

clouded sulphur butterfly - asterIn Letters to Malcom, C. S. Lewis wrote, “We, or at least I, shall not be able to adore God on the highest occasions if we have learned no habit of doing so on the lowest. … Any patch of sunlight in a wood will show you something about the sun which you could never get from reading books on astronomy. These pure and spontaneous pleasures are ‘patches of Godlight’ in the woods of our experience.”

What Lewis called “patches of Godlight,” I think of as God’s grace notes. In music, a grace note is played with a light quick motion that immediately leads to the principle and stressed note. Unnecessary for the melody and so brief they don’t alter the tempo, grace notes merely enrich the music by adding a small embellishment. Like the musical grace note and Lewis’s “patches of Godlight,” God’s grace notes aren’t necessary; nevertheless, they enhance our lives. They’re subtle reminders that God is present and loves us enough to embellish the day with a little something extra.

Unlike Kodak moments, Godlight and grace notes are not meant to be saved. They’re rarely repeated and we can’t predict when a “patch of Godlight” will shine into our lives or a grace note will play. While waiting at a red light, I glanced at the grassy median to my left where small yellow flowers appeared to be dancing in the air. Although hundreds of dainty Sulphur butterflies were flitting to and fro just a few inches above the yellow wireweed in the grass, it looked like the flowers’ petals had escaped from their stems and the field was bursting with joy! Did God arrange that revelry in yellow just for me? Probably not, but it felt like He did and my day changed for the better because of it.

After noticing that others at that light seemed oblivious to the butterfly frolic, I wondered how many of God’s grace notes I’ve missed because I wasn’t looking or listening. As the prophet Elijah learned, God doesn’t necessarily reveal Himself in spectacular displays of things like lightning, wind, thunder, and fire. Our infinitely creative God whispers through the ordinary as well—with things as mundane as yellow butterflies, a child’s laughter, the aroma of jasmine, a finch on the windowsill, a song on the radio, seeing a young couple caress or an old couple walk hand in hand, a shooting star, a stranger’s smile, or a patch of sunlight while walking through the woods. Although God personalizes His grace notes for each one of us, we need to slow down and be mindful enough to recognize and appreciate them.

There is an old Hindi poem, translated by Ravindra Kumar Karnani, in which a child asks God to reveal Himself. God responds with a meadowlark’s song, then the roar of thunder, followed by a star, and the birth of a baby. In her ignorance, however, the child doesn’t recognize any of God’s answers. Finally, in desperation, she cries, “Touch me God, and let me know you are here!” But, when God touches the child, she brushes off the butterfly and walks away disappointed. It occurs to me that we are not much different from her. May we never thoughtlessly brush away one of God’s gentle kisses, fail to notice His grace notes, or miss appreciating a small patch of Godlight!

Are we paying attention to the everyday moments of our lives and seeing God in them, or are we living in such a chaotic frenzy that we hope we’ll have time to look for the presence and mystery of God later, when we have more time – say, when the degree is finished, the kids have moved out, this project is completed, or we retire? [Dean Nelson]

For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. [Romans 1:20 (NLT)]

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September 26, 2024

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Attitudes & Behavior, Bible Stories, Church & Worship, Sharing Our Faith

IXTHUS

And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of people.”… “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered fish of every kind.” [Matthew 4:19, 13:47 (NASB)]

Fish play a prominent role in Scripture, especially in the New Testament. Jesus preached from a fishing boat, the first disciples were fishermen, and Jesus called them to be fishers of men. It was at His instruction that Peter found tax money in the mouth of a fish and the disciples netted two miraculous catches of fish. Jesus multiplied a few fish and loaves into food enough to feed thousands not once but twice! He compared the Kingdom of Heaven to a fishing net and, after His resurrection, Jesus even ate fish twice with the disciples. The frequent mention of fish in the New Testament, however, doesn’t fully explain how the fish symbol (ixthus/icthus) came to be one of the most recognized symbols of Christianity today.

Shortly after Jesus’ resurrection, the Roman senate declared that following Christ to be an “illegal superstition.” But, because Christianity was viewed as an inconsequential sect and a passing trend, its prohibition wasn’t fully enforced. After Rome burned in 64 AD, however, Christ’s followers were mercilessly persecuted throughout the empire. Depending on the emperor, for the next 250 years, they either were barely tolerated or viciously persecuted! Fearing mass arrests, trials, and brutal executions, Christians lived in fear and didn’t worship openly. The fish symbol, consisting of two interwoven crescent moons, became a secret way they could identify other believers and meeting places.

Aside from its tie-in with Scripture, why the fish? The fish symbol had been used by Greeks, Romans, and other pagans to represent fertility long before Christ, so it wouldn’t attract undue attention (as would a cross or a loaf and cup). The innocuous fish painted or etched on the outside of a house let other Christians know they would be safe and welcome inside. The walls of the ancient catacombs in Rome are filled with images of fish painted or carved there by Christians hiding from persecution. The ixthus also has been found on ancient seals, jewelry, urns, and tombs.

The fish symbol also may have been a way to distinguish friends from foes. According to an ancient story passed down through the centuries, when Christians met a stranger, they would draw an arc in the dirt with their feet. If the stranger completed the fish with a second arc, they knew they were in the company of another believer. If there was no response, the arc was easily erased by stepping on it.

The fish also symbolized the early Christian creed. The Greek word for fish is ichthys (ΙΧΘΥΣ) and when early Christians turned its letters (iota, chi, theta, upsilon, and sigma) into an acrostic, it became Iesous Christos Theou Yios Soter, which translates as a confession of faith with the words “Jesus Christ, God’s Son, Savior.”

It wasn’t until 313 AD, when Constantine legalized Christianity and promoted religious tolerance, that Christians could worship openly and no longer needed a secret symbol to identify themselves or their places of worship. Nevertheless, we see the ixthus on everything from pendants, earrings, and Christmas ornaments to car emblems, lapel pins, and key rings. Jesus’ harsh words about those who practiced their “righteousness” before men when God wasn’t in their hearts tell me that He’s no more impressed by an ixthus on our business cards or tee shirts than He was by the show of extra-wide prayer boxes, extra-long tassels, and extra-loud public prayers of 1st century Judah.

Following Christ is a great deal more than sporting an ixthus on a car bumper or having it tattooed on an arm. Jesus’ concern is our inward experience of the Holy Spirit’s presence and power rather than any outward shows of religion. Before displaying an ixthus or any other Christian symbol, we better know the risen Jesus Christ, obey Him as the Son of God, and trust Him as our Savior. Otherwise, we’re nothing more than “whitewashed tombs”—looking good on the outside but dead on the inside!

It is not the being seen of men that is wrong, but doing these things for the purpose of being seen of men. The problem with the hypocrite is his motivation. He does not want to be holy; he only wants to seem to be holy. He is more concerned with his reputation for righteousness than about actually becoming righteous. The approbation of men matters more to him than the approval of God. [Augustine]

And they do all their deeds to be noticed by other people; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments. … Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. So you too, outwardly appear righteous to people, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. [Matthew 23:5,27-28 (NASB)]

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September 19, 2024

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Attitudes & Behavior, Bible Stories, Family, Friends & Fellowship, God's Grace & Love, Nature

WEED OR FLOWER?

The land produced vegetation—all sorts of seed-bearing plants, and trees with seed-bearing fruit. Their seeds produced plants and trees of the same kind. And God saw that it was good. [Genesis 1:12 (NLT)]

Egyptian crowfoot grassWhen I saw a wildflower that looked like a helicopter’s rotors, I showed it to the park’s naturalist for identification. Not as impressive as Scarlet Hibiscus or as colorful as Butterfly Weed, she found the plant unworthy of name or notice and wrote it off as “just a weed!” What some people call “weeds,” I think of as wildflowers and a little research told me it was the floret of Egyptian Crowfoot Grass (Dactyloctenium aegyptium). Native to Africa and widely distributed throughout the tropics and subtropics, it is one of the most drought-resistant of grasses.

While Crowfoot Grass may be a weed to some people, it is relished by ruminants like sheep, cattle, deer, and their relatives. Suitable for silage, it makes valuable pasture, excellent hay, and its seeds are fed to poultry. The plant material is used for making paper and weaving mats and baskets. In traditional African and Asian folk medicine, decoctions of its seeds have diuretic, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antipyretic, and antibacterial effects. Its highly nutritious seeds make it a “famine food” and, when food is scarce, those seeds are used to make porridge and cakes that can sustain people’s lives in times of need.

Ralph Waldo Emerson described a weed as “a plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered,” and the naturalist’s quick dismissal of the Crowfoot Grass was because she didn’t appreciate its unseen qualities. Nevertheless, some of God’s best work is evident in His unusual and underrated “weeds” and the same might be said about their human equivalents. Like the unimpressive and humble Crowfoot Grass, God’s prophets were out of the ordinary, overlooked, unappreciated, and rebuffed by many. Nevertheless, even though they were disregarded and disparaged as if they were weeds in a rose garden, they continued in faithful obedience to God.

Like Crowfoot Grass, Jesus didn’t meet people’s expectations or conform to the norm. To Pilate, Herod, Judah’s religious leaders, Rome, and many others in 1st century Palestine, Jesus was little more than a troublesome weed that needed to be eradicated. Appearances, however, are deceiving—that unpretentious weed was the Son of God, the Prince of Peace, and (like Crowfoot Grass) the Bread of Life!

Crowfoot Grass doesn’t look like much but appearances are deceiving. Just as the naturalist dismissed it as “just a weed,” I wonder if I ever do the same with people! Judging by appearance, do I fail to take the time to discover their hidden virtues? After all, a weed is simply a flower in disguise! Let’s never make the error of failing to look beneath the surface to appreciate the value and beauty of both the plants and people we encounter in God’s garden.

There is not a flower that opens, not a seed that falls into the ground, and not an ear of wheat that nods on the end of its stalk in the wind that does not preach and proclaim the greatness and the mercy of God to the whole world. [Thomas Merton]

O Lord, what a variety of things you have made! In wisdom you have made them all. The earth is full of your creatures. [Psalm 104:24 (NLT)]

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September 12, 2024

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Attitudes & Behavior, Bible Stories, Challenges & Difficulty, Faith & Hope, Fear & Doubt, Obedience, Sharing Our Faith, Today: Make it Count

OUTSIDE THE LINES

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. [Romans 12:2 (NLT)]

Several years ago, I purchased a beautifully drawn coloring book featuring scenes from the Colorado mountain town that had been part of our lives for thirty-five years. Since it was a gift for one of my grands, I asked the artist to sign the book. She added these words to her signature: “Don’t be afraid to color outside the lines!” Was the artist’s advice limited to her book or was it about something more?

“Coloring inside the lines” has come to mean thinking or acting within the generally accepted guidelines. It’s staying within your comfort zone by doing what’s safe—the way it’s always been done. Creating a new and better picture, however, requires coloring outside the lines! Although it can get a little messy, coloring outside the lines means thinking outside the box, seeing new possibilities, stepping out of the norm, using different colors, and drawing new lines. It must be willing to get uncomfortable. Doing God’s work often requires coloring or living outside the lines draw by society!

The unconventional John the Baptist lived outside the lines. A Nazarite from birth, he was an ascetic who practiced self-denial, wore a rough robe of camel’s hair with a leather belt, and ate locusts and honey. Not one to play it safe, he called the Pharisees and Sadducees a “brood of snakes!” and dared to call King Herod and his wife adulterers! Nevertheless, it was by coloring outside the lines that the Baptizer fulfilled God’s purpose to be the voice in the wilderness that prepared the way for Jesus.

Elisha lived outside the lines when he left his prosperous farm and team of oxen to become Elijah’s successor—an odd choice his family and neighbors probably didn’t understand. The young shepherd boy David stepped outside the lines when he dared to take on Goliath—something none of Saul’s seasoned soldiers had attempted. Abigail went outside the lines when she kept David from taking vengeance on her foolish husband as did Rahab when she helped the Israelites. Joseph colored outside the lines when he remained with the pregnant Mary rather than breaking their engagement. Mary of Bethany went outside the lines when she sat with the men rather than help in the kitchen and again when she anointed Jesus with expensive perfume. Peter colored outside the lines when he stepped out of the Jewish code of ritual purity and ate with the Gentile Cornelius as did Paul when he insisted Gentiles didn’t need to become circumcised.

Coloring outside the lines is what we do when we allow God to take control of our lives; it’s leaving your livelihood and tax booth as did Matthew or stepping out of the boat onto the water as did Peter. Staying inside the lines is failing to trust God enough to answer His call and follow His lead. Staying inside the lines is what the Pharisees did. It’s being more concerned about what others think than what God says; it’s being more concerned about how we appear than who we really are.

Coloring outside the lines is refusing to compromise our faith; it is obeying God before man. The artist’s advice to my grand applies to us all: “Don’t be afraid to color outside the lines!” Let’s not be afraid to live outside the lines—honestly, boldly, creatively, faithfully, and joyfully—fulfilling God’s purpose and trusting in His promises.

For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.” So we can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?” [Hebrews 13:5b-6 (NLT)]

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September 5, 2024

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Attitudes & Behavior, Bible Stories, Church & Worship, Family, Friends & Fellowship, Fruit of the Spirit, Money & Wealth, Temptation & Sin

MODESTY

Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or expensive apparel, but rather by means of good works, as is proper for women making a claim to godliness. [1 Timothy 2:9-10 (NASB)]

peacockDo these verses mean I can’t wear my pearl earrings, diamond wedding ring, or gold cross to church? Do I have to say “farewell” to Nordstrom’s and start shopping solely at outlets and discount stores? Although my hair is short, it’s hard to believe my grand’s lovely French braids are inappropriate at church or anywhere else. What did Paul and Peter mean with their admonitions about women’s attire and modesty?

Let’s put the Apostles’ words into cultural context. The early church was a mix of Jew, Gentile, men, women, free, slave, wealthy, and poor. In the Roman Empire, jewelry and expensive clothing of linen, silk, and embroidered fabric were valued as much for the status they gave the owner as for their beauty. Behaving like a peacock by showing off one’s extravagant jewelry and lavish apparel was the ancient way of openly boasting about one’s position, bank balance, and investment portfolio. While it was as crass and insensitive in the 1st century as it is today, some members of the early church were doing just that!

More valuable than diamonds at the time, pearls represented both wealth and power. Rich women often embellished their clothing with pearls; the more pearls a woman wore, the richer and more esteemed she (and her spouse) were. Because only people of great wealth or high status wore them, pearls set the wearer apart from the rest of the public.

As for braids—when wealthy women plaited their hair during the Roman period, they’d entwine strands of gold, precious stones, and pearls into the braid. The Apostles’ issue with plaited hair wasn’t the braid; it was with the showy embellishments in the braid! Like lavish clothing, pearls, and excessive jewelry, such braids implied a sort of social “pecking order” or class system that was unacceptable in a community where all are to be one in Jesus Christ!

While we think of immodest dress as attire that leaves little or nothing to the imagination, neither Paul nor Peter were referring to things like cleavage, bare midriffs, miniskirts, or “booty” shorts; those things were not an issue in the 1st century. A woman’s lack of coverage wasn’t what concerned the Apostles nor were they establishing a “modesty patrol.” Nevertheless, taking these verses out of context, some denominations have established rules regarding women’s attire requiring things like hemlines below the knee and sleeves that extend to the elbow while prohibiting things like make-up, jewelry beyond a wedding ring and watch, and women’s slacks because “they immodestly reveal the feminine contours of upper leg, thigh, and hip.”

It wasn’t excess skin that concerned Paul and Peter; it was an excess in attire that demonstrated pride, self-importance, and arrogance! The modesty about which the Apostles were speaking was economic and social rather than sexual in nature. Addressing those who were flaunting their wealth and social status, the Apostles took issue with the ostentatious displays of opulence that threatened a sense of kinship and unity within the early church.

Rather than turn legalistic with an external set of rules regarding proper attire, Paul and Peter set a much higher standard for us all—that of godliness. Qualities like respect, humility, love, trust, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, self-control, and reverence are conditions of the heart—not an issue of clothing. The way we present ourselves to others isn’t supposed to point to us; it should point to Jesus. No matter how we’re attired, if we haven’t put on Christ, we’re not dressed properly!

Many come to bring their clothes to church rather than themselves. [Thomas Fuller]

Your adornment must not be merely the external—braiding the hair, wearing gold jewelry, or putting on apparel; but it should be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God. … clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God is opposed to the proud, but He gives grace to the humble. [1 Peter 3:3-4,5:5 (NASB)]

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September 2, 2024

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Attitudes & Behavior, Bible Stories, Church & Worship, Family, Friends & Fellowship

HATS OR NOT

A man dishonors his head if he covers his head while praying or prophesying. But a woman dishonors her head if she prays or prophesies without a covering on her head, for this is the same as shaving her head. Yes, if she refuses to wear a head covering, she should cut off all her hair! But since it is shameful for a woman to have her hair cut or her head shaved, she should wear a covering. [1 Corinthians 11:4-6 (NLT)]

I grew up attending the Episcopal Church at a time when women covered their heads during worship and the men worshipped bare-headed. While not a hard and fast rule in the denomination, it was a time-honored tradition. Women wearing head coverings in Episcopal and Catholic churches began to wane in the 70s and, by 1983, the Roman Catholic church no longer had rules regarding headwear for men or women. The last time I attended an Episcopal or Catholic church, the women were hatless and some of the men wore baseball caps! Although culture plays an important role in the way we dress and behave in church, how do we interpret Paul’s words today? Should I dig out my mantilla and must our pastor toss out his ball cap?

Kephalé, translated as “head,” meant both the body part on top of the neck as well as the master or person in charge and Paul used it in both senses in his letter. That is one of the reasons many scholars find this passage in 1 Corinthians 11 one of the most difficult in the New Testament to understand thoroughly. Leaving the semantics to the scholars, let’s look at Paul’s words about head coverings in their cultural context. 1st century Corinth was a cosmopolitan and prosperous city notorious for its corruption, idolatry, and immortality. The Corinthian church, a mix of men, women, rich, poor, slave, free, Gentile, and Jew, was jeopardized by various factions and spiritual immaturity. After attending to three specific problems within that church, the Apostle tried to unify this diverse community of new believers by addressing topics such as food sacrificed to idols, abuses at the Lord’s Supper, the Spirit’s gifts, the resurrection of believers, and proper conduct in worship.

Paul’s directive that men worship with bare heads and women with covered is better understood when we know that male officiants in pagan Roman rituals covered their heads with a fold of their togas when praying, sacrificing, offering drinks, and practicing divination. On the other hand, Gentile women participated in some cultic rituals with their heads uncovered and their hair unbound. With a large Gentile membership, such practices may have found their way into the new church. Worshipping Jesus in the same manner they’d worshipped gods like Apollo and Dionysus put Him in the same category as Rome’s idols and Paul disapproved of dishonoring Christ that way!

Paul’s main concern about women wearing head coverings probably had to do with propriety and respect. Although many upper-class Gentile Corinthian women found it socially acceptable to appear bare-headed in public, it was unseemly for Jewish married women to venture outside their homes without covering their heads. A woman’s covered head was a sign of modesty and regard for her husband and a wife who exposed her hair to the public dishonored her spouse. While an uncovered head was a sign of progressive freedom to a Gentile, it was a sign of impropriety and promiscuity to a Jew. Paul’s reference to the shame of a shaved head was because the Torah’s punishment for an adulterous wife was a shaved head.

In the Corinthian church, the issues of head coverings for both men and women caused discord between people of different backgrounds, social status, and spiritual maturity. Paul’s instructions were meant to ease those tensions and unify the church. Today, however, head coverings don’t carry the same meaning as they did in the 1st century Roman Empire. They’re little more than a fashion statement or a way to protect us from the sun. For today’s believer, Paul’s words aren’t as much about covered or uncovered heads at church as they are about dressing in a culturally appropriate way so that both our attire and demeanor in worship honor God, our spouse, and our fellow believers.

I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose. [1 Corinthians 1:10 (NLT)]

Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. [Colossians 3:14 (NLT)]

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