The Richland Church of Christ

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.

Richland Blog 6.28.2021

Not Lacking Anything

I don’t know how anyone does it. I can imagine there is a false assumption that anyone can live life alone. I’ll admit that when I was about 12 years old, I thought life would be simpler spent living as a hermit in the Colorado mountains. In those unrealistic moments, I imagined that all people create problems and that if you eliminate “people” from the equation, life will become less complicated. That is an entirely naïve and crude way to look at life and people. As I have grown older and hopefully wiser, I have realized that people are the only things that benefit our lives. A lot of this wisdom comes from the fact that I now understand Jesus’ sacrifice more fully. Jesus was crucified for people, not a place or an idea; He offered himself up for people. More specifically, He offered up His life for the church.

(Ephesians 5:23-26 ESV)

“For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. ²⁴ Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. ²⁵ Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, ²⁶ that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,”

Numerous passages point out why the church is important; namely, it is the manifestation of Christ’s body. In this passage, Paul quickly points out that Jesus is the Savior of His body, the church, and that He “gave Himself up for her” wash and cleanse His people. This passage alone should make us reflect on the importance of those who are members of His body. It should help us realize that we are unique and that Christ’s sacrifice was purposed.

(Romans 12:4-8 ESV)

“For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, ⁵ so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. ⁶ Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; ⁷ if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; ⁸ the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.”

Each one of us fulfills these different roles within our community of the called out. We have been built and fitted together to give glory to God and take care of each other. Each of these roles is designed to lead us closer to God and Christ and take care of our physical needs.

All of these thoughts take me back to the first sentence, “I don’t know how anyone else does it.” I need the church, the collection of God’s people, working together in unison and carrying each other’s burdens. I have lost track of the kindness that has been given to my family since we moved to the Tri-Cities. People have given us: furniture, meals, helped us move the donated furniture, gifted us lawn equipment, given toys to our boys, invited us over for meals, watched our boys, painted walls, installed flooring, donated tools… and the list goes on and on. And most importantly, people have prayed for us and have cared for us in ways we can’t even begin to be thankful for or mention.

This is the church. I have benefited so greatly from being a part of God’s family; I can’t imagine living any other way.   Life is too hard to try to accomplish it solo, we need a family, and I am thankful that I have God’s family surrounding me. Thank you to everyone who has made our lives better and helped us out during a stressful but blessed transition.