Ask Yourself Again

1 Timothy 2:1-10

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Timothy%202%3A1-10&version=NIV;NLT

  

What would it take to make your head turn at church? Would it be someone walking into church wearing a University of Michigan shirt? Or maybe a stripper from the gentlemen’s club down the street? Or would it be someone who is a known criminal? What would it take?

 

⁸ Therefore I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or disputing. ⁹ I also want the women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, adorning themselves, not with elaborate hairstyles or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, ¹⁰ but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God.         NIV

 

There you have it! When you go to church this week, the men should quit shouting at each other during prayers, and the women should not dress like the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders anymore! I don’t know about you, but neither of those scenarios happen at my church.

 

Something else would seem to be motivating Paul’s instructions about worship. Perhaps something in the culture of the day. However, because verse 8 starts with “therefore”, we only need to look at the previous verses.

 

⁵ For, there is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus. ⁶ He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. This is the message God gave to the world at just the right time. NLT

 

Therefore, when we come together to worship the Living God, He is the focus, not us. It doesn’t matter what team someone cheers for; what a person has done in their past or even the present. Nobody can out sin God’s love, grace and forgiveness. And when you worship, it should be evident in how we treat others.

 

So ask yourself again: What would it take for you to bring God’s message to your world? To show God’s unconditional love, grace and forgiveness to your family, your boss, your neighbor, or the guy who cut you off on the highway? What would it take for you to worship God with holy hands?

 

 

 

 

The Buckeye Faithful

Revelation 7:9-17

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation%207%3A9-17&version=NIV;NLT

 

When we moved to Columbus in 1985, we had no idea how rabid Buckeye fans could be. However, we quickly learned when virtually every time we were introduced as moving from Lansing, Michigan, the response was invariably the same, “Well at least you’re not a Michigan fan!”

 

The center of these comments came from the rivalry between Ohio State and the University of Michigan. It was perpetuated by their coaches in the 70’s – Woody Hayes and Bo Schembechler. However, since the year 2000, U of M has won only three times. This was to be the year when the tide turned, or so they thought.

 

Last Saturday, Ohio Stadium was packed with 106,588 mostly Buckeye fans. It was a sea of red screaming for their team. A friend of mine, who has season tickets, said he had never heard the crowd as loud when during the game Ohio State blocked a punt and ran the ball in for a touchdown.

 

Similar to “The Game” last Saturday, here is a different kind of victorious scene.

 

⁹ After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands. ¹⁰ And they were shouting with a great roar, “Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne and from the Lamb!”            NLT

 

John draws us a picture of believers who surround the throne of God worshipping Him. Because no matter what happens in life; no matter how bad our circumstances are; no matter how painful life is; when all is said and done; God is victorious. And His victory ultimately is ours.

 

The people who John was writing to were suffering great persecution. John himself had been exiled to an island penal colony because of his faith. Through this passage, he was giving them a vision of hope; of purpose; of salvation. He was giving them a reason to not compromise, but to keep putting one foot in front of the other.

 

That reason still exists today for you and for me. We may not experience victory every minute of every day, but it is there waiting for us. That’s a promise made by the Living God who is faithful yesterday, today and forever.

 

Therefore, like the Buckeye faithful, let us “shout with a great roar”, only not for the Scarlett and Gray, but for our victorious Lord.

 

 

 

 

Oh My Papa

A belated Father’s Day memorial.

 

 

 

My Dad was a self-made man. Growing up on a small farm in Iowa in the early 1900’s, his Father died at the age of 36 leaving his widow along with four children under the age of nine. My Dad was the oldest of the four, so he became the man of the house and ran the farm.

 

One of my uncles told me how, as a young boy, Dad hired a grown man to work on the farm. When the man’s work was sub-par, Dad whipped him with a branch. My Dad had to grow up quickly, never having a true childhood.

 

After high school, he went away to Ashland College in Ohio and got his bachelor’s degree. Eventually, he earned his PhD in chemistry from the University of Michigan and started his career in research chemistry. He finished his career as a professor at Morehead State University in Kentucky.

 

It’s pretty amazing all that Dad overcame and accomplished in his life and in the process, he provided for us. I never dealt with the kind of adversity that he did. Although he wasn’t the most affectionate Father, he had a softer side to him.

 

His nickname for my Mom was “Mudge”. I never questioned where the name came from, but it was a term of endearment that he used throughout their marriage. His nickname for me was “Joe Boy”. Who’d a thunk it!

 

As a teenager, when I would ask him to help me with homework, he helped me to work through it so that I did it, not him. Then he would say, “Now you’re cooking with gas”. Whatever that means.

 

He always woke me up in the morning for school by singing “School days, school days, dear old golden rule days. Reading and writing and arithmetic, taught by the rule of the hickory stick”. He couldn’t carry a tune, but it sure got me out of bed.

 

The same was true when singing hymns at church. He belted it out whether it was the right note or not. The Pastor once said that he could tell when the Williams were at church. I think that was a compliment.

 

He most certainly wasn’t a saint, but when I was young I thought he was perfect. I idolized him and wanted to make him proud of me. Any time that he spent with me became a lifetime memory. On the flip side, he could raise his voice in anger, and I’d start crying.

 

When I was little, my sisters had a record by Eddie Fisher called “Oh My Papa”. The words to the song always touched my heart, and can still choke me up.

 

Oh, my pa-pa, to me he was so wonderful
Oh, my pa-pa, to me he was so good

Gone are the days when he could take me on his knee
And with a smile he'd change my tears to laughter

 

Happy belated Father’s Day Dad. I love you.

 

 

 

 

(If God has spoken to you through this blog, please feel free to share it with others.)

http://lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com/

 

 

 

 

 

Who is Jalen Watts-Jackson?

2 Thessalonians 3:1-5

 

If you Google “Jalen Watts-Jackson”, you will find pages upon pages of links. In case you don’t know, he is the Michigan State player who scored the improbable winning touchdown on a blocked punt with ten seconds left in the game against their in-state rival Michigan.

 

Immediately following the game there was a firestorm of social and traditional media activity showing the play. Since then, it has appeared on social media, You Tube, ABC’s Good Morning America, Fox News, local news and too many others to list. Word of this play, and Jalen Watts-Jackson, spread like wildfire.

 

In today’s passage, Paul wrote to the Thessalonians asking them: “Finally, dear brothers, as I come to the end of this letter, I ask you to pray for us. Pray first that the Lord’s message will spread rapidly and triumph wherever it goes, winning converts

everywhere as it did when it came to you.”

 

At the time, things were moving fast for Paul, so he asks the Thessalonians to pray for the rapid spread of the Gospel. Not just the spread of the Gospel, but the “rapid spread”. The same prayer can be requested for us today.

 

Consider Jalen Watts-Jackson for instance. He was injured during that final play last Saturday. He couldn’t even celebrate he was in so much pain. In fact, he both dislocated and broke his hip requiring season ending surgery the next day. His platform is sports and here is what he posted on Instagram following his surgery:

 

 

 

Your platform may not allow you to spread the Gospel nationally, but there are individuals that know you and will listen to you because of who you are; the kind of person you are; how you handle adversity; how you live your life; how you treat others.

 

The question then becomes, how will you handle your platform? Will you pray for the rapid spread of the Gospel and act when opportunity knocks?

 

 

 

 

The choice is yours.