The Richland Church of Christ

Shine a light

There is a phrase forever entrenched in my memory, “Shine the light where I’m working, not in my eyes.” It is almost a rite of passage for a young boy working with his dad. Whether we were in the engine compartment of a car, under a sink, or just fixing something in the dark, this phrase was repeated for every project we worked on together from when I was 4-12 years old. Now that I’m a dad, I feel almost compelled to say it, partly for instruction and partly because it’s good advice that shapes us. I know why it happens. For starters, young people have short attention spans and forget that they are even holding a flashlight. Secondly, it’s dark, so the adult needs only to see where they are working; everything else is irrelevant at that moment. Finally, the adult speaks, and the child wants to see their parent’s face, read their expression, and see the totality of what the father wants to convey. All of this climaxes with the phrase, “Shine the light where I’m working, not in my eyes.” 

This week, in our lesson, we looked at what the lampstand means in the Revelation given to John. We discovered John equates churches to being lampstands. Three passages immediately pop into my memory; two from the Sunday morning lesson and a third from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. 

Exodus 25:37 

 “Then make its seven lamps and set them up on it so that they light the space in front of it.”

Revelation 2:2 

 “I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false.”

Matthew 5:15-16 

 “Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

Being a part of God’s Church, His community of believers, is lived out in actions of hard work and perseverance. When we do these things, it is the equivalent of shining a light where God is working. This is a two-fold process; shining and working combines their efforts in one deliberate action. We become co-workers with God in His endeavors by “work-shining.” This is our responsibility when we are a lampstand. It might be easier to protect the light and put it under a bowl; however, that negates the purpose and function of light. In other words, it doesn’t shine the light where the Father is working. 

Our purpose as lampstands is not to shine the light for God to see; that is seeking glorification for ourselves; remember God sees what we do regardless, “Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you” (Matthew 6:4). Instead, we want to shine a light for God’s work to be done. To be an example to the world of the goodness and glory of God. Shining a light requires us to be attentive to the Father’s plan; if I know what He is doing, I can shine the light more purposefully; I don’t have to second-guess His designs; this frees me to participate in the Divine reality. 

When we act in this manner, the world will recognize this light and be drawn into it, and they will see this goodness and give glory back to God. So then, the only thing left for us to do is “Shine the light where the Father is working.”

Blog 10.18.2021

Blame Game

The other day I asked my oldest son to pick up the toys on the ground in his room, his room was an absolute mess, and there was barely any room to walk around it. He replied, “I didn’t play with those toys.” His statement might have been true (probably wasn’t), but it had nothing to do with my request. I asked him to clean his room, not tell me why he isn’t responsible for the messy room. It is amusing how we excuse ourselves when we feel we are not personally liable for a situation. We justify our actions by placing the responsibility in someone else’s corner. We place the responsibility on the government, corporate structures, and our present culture. More often than not, we like to blame other people or other groups of people. We like to create a group of people with flaws or negative characteristics and vilify them. This concept is not new; it is the shifting of responsibility, and it has been happening from the beginning of humanity. Shifting responsibility is the easier route; you blame someone else and move on with your life. If you want to be truly nasty, you might call them a name or even hate them, but that doesn’t clean up the mess.

2 Corinthians 5:14-17
“[…] Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. ¹⁵ He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them. ¹⁶ So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! ¹⁷ This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”

Following Jesus is a complicated endeavor. This passage presents us with the notion of “dying to self,” putting away our selfish desires and worldly way of thinking. Putting off our selfish ways is complicated because we often don’t realize how our motivations are self-seeking. We want to preserve our lives and comfort at all costs; we contend for prestige, power, and profits. No matter how decent or admired these values are by the world around us, these motivations are selfish and unfruitful. We will follow Jesus as long as it doesn’t upset my current way of life. This mindset is where my son was; he did not want to stop playing and clean up his room, so he deferred to it not being his mess. The challenging route is doing what you can to get into the mess and start cleaning. The easy way is to blame someone else and move on with your current life.

Throughout God’s word, there is the element of personal responsibility, and this is pure wisdom and fundamental to godly living. God is unconcerned with power struggles, political agendas, or whose fault it is; sometimes, it is no one’s fault at all. In our present culture, there is a lot of emphasis on finding out who made the mess or getting the right person to clean up the problem; the mess never gets addressed. Therefore, God wants each one of us to die to ourselves and live for Him individually. Take a look at this passage from Jeremiah:

Jeremiah 10:23-24
“O LORD, I know the way of man is not in himself; It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps. ²⁴ O LORD, correct me, but with justice; Not in Your anger, lest You bring me to nothing.”

This verse addresses that it does not lead to godliness if we make our own course. Our methods are self-seeking and selfish; Jeremiah says we should allow God to look at our steps with justice and correct our actions to bring our efforts in alignment with His steps. This direction is the only way we can truly clean up the messes around us. Left to our own devices, we will make excuses and blame someone else. We will blame the system, blame the government, blame agendas; however, Jesus lived in a place and time that was entirely hostile for his teachings in every facet. Yet, he was able to cut through that social, religious, and governmental disorder and heal the sick, blind, poor, and lame. He did this by accepting personal responsibility for a problem he did not create and carrying the cross. Let us not live for ourselves but live for Christ. 

Blog 10.4.2021

Think about it.

Navigating the world is complicated. We gain many things in life through experience alone. We might not always know why we do something, but we probably learned that this was the best choice given all options available. Take Theo, for instance; the seasons have changed, we know the cold weather dictates what clothing is best for the situation. Amanda and I like to give him options for the clothes he might want to wear for the day. We’ll ask him, “Do you want a long sleeve shirt, or a short sleeve shirt and a jacket?” He replies that he wants to wear his swim shirt and swim trunks. We informed him that it is too cold for that, and we only use those items when we are playing in the water, which is also too cold to do. He insists because he wants to go swimming and believes it is almost guaranteed to happen if he puts on swimming clothes. He does not have the experience to know that running around in the cool weather in swimming clothes will be uncomfortable and miserable. It might be fun for a little bit, but it will be worse in the long term. As we grow older, we realize that to make some choices, we have to know the entire situation and consider if we can endure it for the whole day or longer.

Sometimes in my studies, all of the various study preparations perfectly coincide and dovetail. I like to call it my serendipitous moment. There are moments when I could force it, but there are times when it does all come together nicely, and I gain a glimpse of the network of truth laid out in scripture. A few weeks ago, my preparation brought me to this fantastic conglomeration of scriptures.

Healing at the Pool of Bethesda

Although Jesus has a large crowd following him, he does not want the casual follower to remain uninformed. Being his disciple or follower will be challenging, and there is a specific cost that we all must consider. He does not want anyone to enter into Christianity, unaware that there will be times when the price will be more than some can bear. Each of us has to reason within ourselves, I cannot choose others, and they cannot make a choice for me. When presented with the tough choice, they will walk away sorrowfully like the “Rich Young Ruler” found in Luke 18:18. Others will be commended for being a “good and faithful servant”, emphasizing the word faithful.

Buried within these passages is a challenge and compliment for each one of us. Jesus challenges us to count the cost and estimate if we can endure until the end. If we are presented with shortcomings, we heed the advice of others and change our ways. It is also a commendation to know that we have endured so far. Jesus gave us the option to be made whole, and we said, “Yes!” We have counted the cost, accepted the terms, and are the salt of the world. We have reasoned that following Christ is the best option, it might not be like running around in swim clothes, but it will be better for us in the long run. This week reevaluate the cost, genuinely think about it, count yourself blessed that you have been made whole, and endure to the end. 

Blog 9.27.2021

A Worthy Life.

The other day I was scrolling through my browser’s newsfeed, and I came across this article, “You Are Worthy of Living Your Best Life.” These internet essays have two primary purposes: to make us feel warm and fuzzy inside and empower us to achieve more personal happiness. This kind of writing causes me to bristle and reject it from the inside out. First of all, it is entirely subjective; what does it mean to “live your best life?” What if your best life is stealing from other people? Does this make it a good life, or one that someone should be worthy of living? What if your best life hurts people; is that something that we should celebrate? Slipped into this line of reasoning is that personal happiness should be everyone’s end goal. Although this may make some people feel better, it does not benefit everyone and can cause some extreme pain, disappointment, and disillusionment with the world around us. Because if things don’t go my way, and I end up unhappy at some point, then I must not be worthy.

Understanding worthiness begs the question, “What does it mean to be worthy?” Am I worth someone’s time, energy, resources? Does my life have any worth, meaning, or purpose? If these questions go unanswered or unfulfilled, it has damaging effects on our outlook on life. Consolidating our lives to whether or not we are happy and worthy is a dangerous mental trap, a tragic situation where only a few people can be happy and worthy.

Thankfully, this is not the message relayed in the Bible. Take a look at a passage we read on Sunday:

Ephesians 4:1-6 

 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 

This passage comes after Ephesians 3:14-21, which is a great prayer that I encourage you to read later. This prayer highlights just how amazing the love of Christ is and how this unites us under God the Father. After this prayer, Paul instructs the church in Ephesus to “live a life worthy” of their calling. This phrase denotes a few things, 1.) they have already been deemed worthy and now 2.) live like they are worthy. This clarification removes the questions we posed earlier, am I worth someone’s time, energy, resources? Yes! You are worthy; God has given us time, life, and His own Son to demonstrate our worthiness. How do we live a worthy life? We live it contrary to the ways of the world. We become completely humble and gentle, we are patient with each other, we bear with one another in love, and we make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit. Living like this is in direct opposition to pursuing our happiness or our best life; this is putting other’s needs above my own. Living in this manner puts Jesus’ calling above my fulfillment.

Paul informs us in Philippians 2 that a life like this will make his “joy complete”, and I believe this joy can be ours as well if we live this worthy life. We can either live in such a way that only takes care of our happiness, which is a dangerous gamble, because we might never achieve our ideal level of happiness, or because happiness is fleeting. Or we can discover complete joy by looking out for the needs of those around us. So, my challenge for you this week is not to try to strive for an unattainable “best life” but to instead let us all “Live a Worthy Life.”

Hungry?

It is different for both of my older boys, although they both do it. They both love a type of food, yet it never seems to fill them. For Theo, it is any bread, rolls, muffins, donuts, etc. This last weekend Amanda went to Bunko with the other women at church, and I got the boys the special treat, pizza. That night I witnessed it for Cooper; he ate all by himself close to three slices of pizza. That is a lot for anyone, but for a tiny little boy, it was impressive. I kept cutting it up, and he kept eating; I eventually just had to put a stop to the consumption. We live in a time and place where the question of food is not “If?” but “How much?” Our current food situation is a rare time in the world and history where food is so accessible that we don’t wonder where our next meal will come from, but what will it consist of, and will I enjoy it? We wonder, “Will it satisfy me?”

I noticed a common Biblical theme lately. Jesus references it often, and I encountered it in two separate and unrelated studies. It pertains to food and satisfaction. Here are the unrelated yet incredibly related verses.  

“Meanwhile, his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.” 32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.” 33 Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?” 34 “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work” (John 4:31-34).

 “For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes.” (Luke 12:23)

Whenever we read the words of Jesus, we have to ask ourselves this question, “Is Jesus the exception or the rule? If he is the exception, then I can dismiss it as impossible, but if he is the example, I must believe and commit to his way of living. According to 1 Corinthians 11:1, we are to use Christ as our example; so, Jesus is never the exception; his life and conduct will always be the rule.

Jesus states that his food is doing what God sent him to do and to complete that work. Doing what pleases God is what fills and sustains Jesus. The thing that provides life and energy for Jesus is not consuming food but committing our lives to God. So many people live from meal to meal, hobby to hobby, and purchase to purchase. I think we know that simply consuming anything does not bring about happiness, contentment, and it will not sustain you. I believe that when Jesus mentions that he has food that the disciples don’t know about, he is referencing Deuteronomy 8.

(Deuteronomy 8:1-3) 
“Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land the LORD promised on oath to your ancestors. 2 Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. 3 He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.”

Moses relays this concept well; if you want to live and increase (thrive), do God’s will. The time of wandering in the desert wasn’t strictly a punishment, and it wasn’t because Moses was lost; it was because the Israelites needed to understand what it means to rely upon and trust in God. Don’t be upset with the Israelites, because for many, it takes more than 40 years to trust in God completely. Forty years to know that God fulfills and sustains, not the Egyptians or their own hands; it is God that provides and satiates.

Our hearts are always in the “wilderness,” we should constantly assess whether or not we will keep God’s commands. Will we cling to God’s word as they contain the essence and gift of life?

Like the Israelites in the desert, God provides us with food from above. We can either say that God sustains us or that we have provided sustenance for ourselves. The areas of your life where you determine that God can’t satisfy you; you will attempt to gratify yourself, and you will discover that these things can never fulfill you. Like my boys that seem never to be full of bread or pizza, the world will never be enough for anyone, and it will only leave each one of us hungry for more. Yet, there is a food that the world knows nothing about, and it is a food that fully satisfies. Food that the world doesn’t know about is that when we trust and rely on God, we will be satisfied indeed.

Blog 9.13.21

Excited!

Every day without exception, I receive the most glorious welcome home party when I walk through my front door. No, it’s not from Amanda. No, it’s not even from my boys. Without fail, as soon as I walk in the front door, my two dogs, Oaklee and Hattie, literally fall all over themselves to get to me. There’s licking and jumping; it is rambunctious chaos of affection and love for a few moments. We have all seen the videos of dogs separated from their owners and how happy they are when reunited. The purity and wholesomeness of these moments brings a tear of happiness to our eyes because we know that feeling. It is pure delight and, for lack of a better term, rejoicing. It is a sight to behold.  

In the Sunday morning young adult class, we have been looking at the Gospel of John, and we arrived at the narrative of John 4, the Samaritan Woman at the well. During this conversation, Jesus informs the Woman that, “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks” (John 4:23). Let’s first recognize that Jesus is pointing out that worshipers often lean toward one direction, either worshiping in Spirit or truth. Both are required and sadly, I believe, we do both consistently poorly.

As I was studying, I drilled down into the word worship. The Greek word is προσκυνέω – proskyneō (pros-koo-neh’-o)- which translates to our word worship. On the surface, this seems like a cut-and-dry translation. However, as I dug deeper, it appears that this word is a combination of two other Greek words, pros meaning “with regards to” and kyon meaning “dog”; signifying worship means to act like a dog. This is also where we get the word prostrate- to bow low; submission. Some may be offended by this proposal for the word’s translation, but I think it to be quite endearing. I think we can agree that worship at the very least means prostrating oneself and becoming lower, whether in posture or attitude. And then I picture my dogs and how much they are crazy about me when I come home. And then I think, “Why don’t I act the same way when I get to come into God’s presence?”

Now let me tug at your heartstrings as you imagine this scene unfolding for the first time.

“When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the LORD God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the LORD God among the trees. ⁹ Then the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?” ¹⁰ He replied, “I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked” (Genesis 3:8-10).

One day as God entered into the garden, there was no excited greeting. No one was eager to meet Him. The customary joyful reception was missing. Man and Woman were there, but they were hiding. Man and Woman were ashamed and fearful, so they chose to hide and failed to worship God in Spirit and truth.

Thankfully, in our present redeemed state, shame and fear are cast out by love. There are now no barriers, and we can now excitedly worship God. As the writer of Hebrews states, “… let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water” (Hebrews 10:22).

Let us not hold back our love and adoration for God. Instead, let us worship Him, as only He deserves.

Blog 8.30.2021

God’s Gifts

“Depression And Anxiety Doubled in Youth, Compared to Pre-Pandemic”

“Mental Health Cases Continue to Increase”

“Mental Health Crises in Developed Countries”

These headlines are so commonplace in our culture today. Few people even bat an eye on the decline of the mental state of our society. It is almost as if this is normal for most of our population; everyone should be battling anxiety and depression. It breaks my heart to think that people silently engage in so many false assumptions that it eventually pulls them into such a dark space that they struggle to see the good in life.

As I was preparing for my lesson this week, I stumbled on a theme that I had not thoroughly investigated before. Finding joy in life was highlighted in four passages within the sermon communicated by the “Preacher,” known as the book of Ecclesiastes. While this book espouses a fatalist view of life, the Preacher wrote some truth within these passages. The book’s writer seems to be fighting their confrontation with depression, and interestingly enough, a common theme emerges throughout the book. Here is the tidbit that I discovered.

Ecclesiastes 2:24 “A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God,”

Ecclesiastes 3:13 “That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil–this is the gift of God.”

Ecclesiastes 5:18 “This is what I have observed to be good: that it is appropriate for a person to eat, to drink and to find satisfaction in their toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given them–for this is their lot.”

Ecclesiastes 8:15 “So I commend the enjoyment of life, because there is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany them in their toil all the days of the life God has given them under the sun.”

If you follow the thread found in this passage, there is a joy to be found in the everyday occurrences of life. However, these passages are not the “cure” for mental health issues. Think of this more as a foray into the cognitive-behavioral exercise of addressing false thinking. There are three things I think we need to consider as we read this passage.

Each aspect of these verses is a gift from God. Every day is a gift from God. Including the food and beverages, we consume. I pause and reflect on how often I take these sources of life for granted. If I become upset because I miss a meal or squabble about where I should eat, doesn’t this reflect a sense of entitlement about the source of my daily sustenance? Have I not appropriated this gift as a ‘right’ and not as a gracious blessing? Instead, let us enjoy every bite and sip as a benevolent offering from a God who loves us dearly.

Find satisfaction in our toil. We have an incredibly skewed concept of work. We view work as drudgery and obligation. When we have such a negative view of work, the work can never appreciate it. The capitalist says, “I work to provide for my way of living.” The socialist comments, “I work to better society.” The Theist states, “I work because it is a gift from God.” If you fall under the two former lines of thinking, you will never have joy, the capitalist will never have enough, and the socialist can never better society by their efforts. Regardless of what you do, from surgeon to sanitation, frame it with this thought, “it is a gift to work,” then you will have satisfaction in your efforts.

My final thought is that if you find yourself “out of sorts,” it is probable that you are out of alignment with one of these areas. For example, perhaps you have become a slave to your stomach (either too much or too little). Your obsession with drink is unhealthy and damaging spiritually. Your work consumes everything about your life (time, energy, thinking). If you find this true in your own life, find the balance and make a change.

If you lack joy in your life, start in these areas and appreciate the gifts from God. Simply reframing how you look at the world can have a tremendous effect on your stress and anxiety levels, and to think the fatalist writer of Ecclesiastes had the answers all along.