Month: September 2024

Today is September, Friday the 13th, 2024.

Superstition abounds. Eyebrows usually rise when someone plans an auspicious event on this day. I have known some people who will not even venture outside their homes. The origins of this phobia are varied, some are rooted in ancient Norse legends, some in Christianity, and some are even attributed to popular literature.

Since birth, I have experienced 106 of these, and one more, December 13th, 2024, is coming up. The vast majority of these days were like any other. However, some significant negative occurrences which could be labeled as bad luck, occurred on two prior Fridays the 13th. What does it mean? Nothing, except that I remember the event because it happened on Friday the 13th, not the other way around. Looking at it in another way, if something bad happened on Christmas Day or Valentine’s Day, we would also be more inclined to remember it, only because of the day it occurred. What about the other days of the year? Good and bad things happen and we usually do not recall them. 

Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. 

1 Timothy 4:7-8 (ESV)

Myths and superstitions have always been with us. Thousands of years ago, the Apostle Paul gave this advice to his protege, Timothy, the young Pastor in the church at Ephesus. He encouraged Timothy to focus on God, filling his mind by thinking about God rather than useless man-made tales. We should do the same. It prepares us to live a godly present life and an eternal life with God in Heaven.

Amen!

Love and trust in the Lord; seek His will in your life.

The Pastor ascended the podium, passing and acknowledging the photograph of the smiling man, so familiar to everyone there. It was my father’s memorial service. My father did not attend church or profess any serious religious affiliation. However, before he passed, to my surprise, he asked this Pastor to officiate at his memorial service. My father’s passing was due to a sudden heart attack and he was in relatively good health so there were no warning signs or preparation.

The Pastor greeted the gathering. “I would like to read his favorite Bible passage, which is familiar to many of us. Psalm 23.”

​The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Psalms 23 (ESV)

The Pastor preached his sermon and shared his remembrances of my father. He then invited several family members and friends to speak. It was a beautiful service and I was pleased to see many of my family and old friends of my father in attendance. Nearly ten years later, as I re-read this Psalm, something about the service bothered me. The Pastor was a former dentist who once worked for my father. When did my father speak to this Pastor and share with him his love of this Psalm? Why did he request this? How many times did he speak with him? Did he ever profess a believing faith in God? 

So many unanswered questions that will only be answered on the day I pass into the presence of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Will I see my father there? There is nothing I would like more than to know my father found peace in the last years of his life and accepted Jesus Christ. Scottish theologian, P.T. Forsyth, wrote, “The purpose of life is not to find your freedom, but to find your master.”

I pray that my father did find his master. 

Love and trust in the Lord; seek His will in your life.

I have used several online job recruiting services to hire several recent employees. A former hire, on her exit interview, stated that it would be better if I did not reveal the name of our company when I posted the job offer. This made no sense. After all, if one is applying for a job, wouldn’t more information about the company allow one to make a better decision? I quickly surveyed my current employees and they unanimously agreed that if they encountered such a job posting, they would bypass it. “What was the company attempting to hide?” “Were they engaged in illegal activity?” They agreed with me, the more information they had about the company before they applied, the better. 

What about our spiritual lives? Shouldn’t we know about the God we are choosing to follow? Or, like some job applicants, would it be preferable to not know the name of the God to whom we will pledge our faith? Perhaps the answer to this question for both job hunters and seekers of God is, “How serious are you about this decision?” If one does not care, it would follow that it does not matter what the name of the company is or which god you are seeking to follow.

The more information one has about the company you are seeking employment with, the better. The same is true with God. It is inadequate to know that we celebrate Christmas because it is the birthday of Jesus Christ. One must ask why much of the world celebrates the birth of the son of a carpenter, born over two thousand years ago in Bethlehem? What possible relevance would this have for a person living in Samoa, Tanzania, or North Korea?

I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me.

Proverbs 8:17 (ESV)

God always answers the prayers of those who are truly seeking Him. He is not some nameless, unknowable being who is uncaring and indifferent to our concerns. He is the Creator of the universe and knows the very hairs on your head as well as every living creature that has ever lived or ever will live. If you do not know who God is, all you have do to is ask Him to reveal Himself to you. He will always answer this prayer to all who seek him in faith and truth.

Amen! 

Love and trust in the Lord; seek His will in your life.

Everyone is familiar with the services that a pharmacy offers. However, if one is not involved in health care, the concept of a compounding pharmacy may be foreign. Not all pharmacies offer this service. A compounding pharmacy, at the direction of a physician, will create medicines customized to the patient, derived from FDA approved products. The issue is that compounding has not been FDA approved but do follow general guidelines as outlined by the FDA. Nonetheless, these compounds have not been rigorously tested in controlled trials like other FDA approved products. Is there a potential for harm or abuse? Many of these compounding agents may eventually become FDA approved, however, like any drug, the risks are always present and the patient must critically question and vet the compounding substance they are asked to use, even it means consulting with another physician. 

I have attended many churches that are willing to embrace unconventional means of reaching new members. They do so by tweaking conventional worship and teachings and create a hybrid that they believe will be more appealing. In some instances, I applaud these approaches. One church utilized dance, such as hula, to communicate the message of the Gospel. Another church utilized a cooking ministry to not only reach people who may not necessarily come to church, but also to provide food for those in the church who were struggling. This is spiritual compounding that works. The dark side is combining worldly values with the Gospel, attempting to reach a broader audience while diluting the Gospel Truth. This type of spiritual compounding only serves the egos of the church leaders who implement it and honors Satan and blasphemes God. During the Medieval ages, the church sold indulgences. These were actions that a person who sinned could absolve themself of the sin. Some of these indulgences took the form of prayers, pilgrimages, or good works. Over time, it evolved to payments to the church, not only to absolve current confessions of sins but also future sins. It was one of the major grievances that Martin Luther and other Protestant reformers accused the church of deviating from the true Word of God, leading to the Protestant Reformation. 

You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.

Matthew 7:13-14 NLT)

Today, there are some churches that still seek to do spiritual compounding with worldly values. Like a compounding pharmacy, we must all be wary when we hear of such teachings and programs and test these against God’s Word as revealed in the Bible. Only then will we be able to truly discern what may be beneficial and what may lead to the path to destruction.

Love and trust in the Lord; seek His will in your life.

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“I know all about wines! Trust me!”

I was intrigued by this statement. I was a medical resident and recently acquired an interest in wine. A complete novice, I needed clarification on the many labels, varietals, and price points. I didn’t even know how to taste wine. This woman, a co-resident, spoke confidently and was a former model so I presumed she must have imbibed her fair share of wines. “So what is this wine?”

“The only wine you have to drink is Merlot!”

“That’s it? What winery?”

“Doesn’t matter! Just Merlot.”

I knew enough about wine to understand that Merlot is a grape varietal, popular in many wine-growing regions worldwide. However, it oversimplifies a complex subject. It was her taste preference and ignored the hundreds of other varietals, loved by many. She ignored the winemakers who transformed the Merlot grape into wine. I enjoy a good Merlot but the quality depends on the region, winemaker, and the harvest year.

Some people have a similar view about religion. We have all heard statements like, “All you have to do is love everyone as yourself.” or “Just follow the Ten Commandments.” or “I live by the Sermon on the Mount.” These are important Truths but, like merlot and wine, it is not the only Truth. 

The Truth is no one can live by these commonly quoted statements. Try as we may, we will always fail. Why? We are sinners, born into our condition, separated from God by our choices in life. God gave us the Ten Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount to show us that by our own efforts, it is impossible to live a perfect and godly life. We need more than our own will and good intentions. We need a supernatural intervention. We need a Savior. 

My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die.

Galatians 2:20-21 (NLT)

The Apostle Paul knew the futility of attempting to live a perfect life, obedient to the law and the commandments. When he accepted Jesus Christ as His Lord and Savior, he understood that it was only through the power of the Resurrected Jesus Christ in His life, would he be able to life the life he desired. Jesus died so that he could live.

Some people believe they can simplify religion as easily as it is to simplify wine. The Truth is simpler! All one needs to do is confess and repent of one’s sins and accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. By placing one’s faith in Jesus, salvation and eternal life are yours. God, the Holy Spirit, will immediately indwell within you. He will guide and help you to understand the challenges of living the Christian life, learning that is no longer you who lives, but Christ who lives in you.

Amen!

Love and trust in the Lord; seek His will in your life.

It was unprecedented, so much so, that the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown requested the original scorecard. For the first time in American Major League Baseball, a baseball player played for both teams in the same game. How did this occur? Danny Jansen played for the Toronto Blue Jays on June 26th, 2024, he was at bat and hit a foul ball off the Boston Red Sox pitcher. Then, the rain came and the game was halted in the second inning. The game was rescheduled to be played at a later date. However, on July 27th, Jansen was traded to the Boston Red Sox. The game resumed on August 26th, 2024. The Red Sox manager, aware of the historical significance, put Jansen in the lineup and proceeded to finish the game, the Blue Jays eventually winning, 65 days after the initial postponement. Quite a story!

Source: AP News.

In life, we are sometimes asked to side with the opposition. It may be as innocent as a baseball game or as serious as being forced to work for an opposing company because there are no other options. What about our spiritual lives? If we are Christians, we are commanded to love all people as ourselves. While Christians worship the one True God, we respect the beliefs of others who follow other religions, always mindful that God has placed us here to be salt and light to a lost world, respectfully and lovingly sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ. Is there ever a situation when we should worship another religion? Is there ever a situation when it is acceptable to take both sides?

When the Apostle Paul first visited Athens, he was confronted with religious idols and philosophers eager to discuss new ideas. Did Paul criticize the Athenians for their beliefs? Did Paul compromise His beliefs and adopt a hybrid religion? Did Paul switch loyalties and worship another god?

So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ​‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for “‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, “‘For we are indeed his offspring.’ Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”

Acts 17:22-31 (ESV)

In this stirring sermon, the Holy Spirit guided Paul to present a sensitive and balanced discussion of the Gospel. He acknowledged the sincerity of worship of the Athenians and their gods and even quoted one of their poets. He did not dilute the Gospel message nor did he switch religions. Instead, he presented the Gospel of Jesus Christ without comprising his values or the Truth of God’s Word. 

May we all be encouraged by the Apostle Paul’s sermon to the Athenians. It would have been simple to compromise his message or even join the other side but Paul was faithful to the calling of His Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 

Amen!

Love and trust in the Lord; seek His will in your life.