Pumpkins

This was found in the Bible of my wife's grandmother. There is no indication as to the source of the material.

"From one pumpkin to another."
"A woman was asked by a coworker, "What is it like to be a Christian?"
The coworker replied, "It is like being a pumpkin. God picks you from the patch, brings you in, and washes all the dirt off of you. Then He cuts off the top and scoops out all the yucky stuff. He removes the seeds of doubt, hate, and greed. Then He carves you a new smiling face and puts His light inside you for all the world to see."

"This was passed on to me by another pumpkin. Now it's your turn to pass it on to other pumpkins. I liked this enough to send it to all the pumpkins in my patch."

Spam Phone Calls

I received a phone call from Woonsocket, Rhode Island (USA) and totally ignored it. In fact I deleted it. I do not know anyone in Woonsocket or the entire state of Rhode Island. The call was either a wrong number or what is called "spam." (The derisive word "SPAM" comes from a canned spiced ham product which many people consider to be awful but which many others enjoy. It has a reputation similar to that of the also unfairly maligned fruit cake.)

Spam phone calls are a particular problem in the United States. Massive numbers of automated phone calls are sent by businesses trying to increase their profits or are sent to deliver a particular message (often political) to as many people as possible.  This type of Spam is merely a nuisance. In 2017, the United States Federal Trade Commission received 7,157,370 complaints about spam calls. The problem is escalating. There were 4.5 billion reported spam phone calls in the United States in June of 2018. These spam phone calls are essentially total garbage.

A second type of spam calls is is intended to be hostile and is criminal. One form of these aggressive attacks is intended to completely clog up phone lines and render them useless. This is a form of denial of service attack.

An even more criminal type of spam attempts to deceive or trick as many people as possible to respond to the call and to voluntarily give out their personal information such as bank account numbers, credit card numbers, computer sign-on passwords, etc. The motive here is to steal money.

In today's world  everyone is constantly surrounded by what is essentially SPAM; totally worthless garbage. Messages flood at us from television, movies, radio, music, books, news organizations, junk mail, flyers, and other people. The vast majority of it is secular or explicitly non-Christian. Some of it is malignantly anti-Christian.

There is an old saying in the Southern United States about a person so holy and high-minded that he or she is of no use in the real world. This is not what God wants. He wants us to let Him use us for His purposes here in the real world. We are told to he holy (separated) because God is holy, but we are also told to be "in the world but not of the world." Essentially, do not be useless.

Ignoring the vast majority of the garbage swilling around us does not mean that we must have no interest in culture, or learning. or books, or music, or sports, or fashion, or outdoor activities, or politics, or any other thing. It does, however, require us not to chase after every wind (especially those which we know stink). It also requires us to learn to recognize "the stink" even when a little perfume has been added.

Leviticus 11:44,45; 19:2; 20:7, 1 Peter 1:16, John 15:19; 17: 14-16, Ephesians 4:14, Ecclesiastes 6:9

2624 Year Old Tree

In the State of North Carolina in the United States, scientists studying a very ancient stand of trees have discovered one tree (designated as BLK227) which they can accurately date as 2624 years old.  This means 505 BC.

The date was established by taking tiny non-damaging core samples. Many of the other trees in the forest are at least 2000 years old. These 110 Bald Cypress trees are located along the Black River and predate the reign of Alexander the Great (356 - 323BC). These trees were over 500 years old when Jesus was born.

Things Which Repel Visitors to Our Churches

My 87 year old mother recently had to have a total knee replacement because her knee joint had degenerated to the point where the meniscus and cartilage were both totally worn out  resulting in bone on bone movement within the joint. Now her knee is a nice metal contraption.

After joint surgeries several weeks and sometimes months of physical therapy are required yo regain full functionality of the joint. My mother was assigned to a local physical therapy center which is housed in a very impressive multistory brick office building.

The problem: the front of the office building has a set of seven steps leading up to the front door. Inside, the elevator is at the back of the building at the end of a long hall. The physical therapy practice is located on the third floor. WRONG! For a person who has difficulty walking and who needs a walker or a cane to get about, access to their therapy would seem to need to be made easier rather than more difficult.

For many people, going in to a new place or situation can be intimidating. Walking into a church may seem to be totally foreign to them. Our churches need to be welcoming but many churches, intentionally or unintentionally, put up obstacles to non-members. Following is a short list of attitudes and factors which may prevent people from encountering the Gospel in a church. Is your church guilty of any of them?

1. Some churches may be victims of their own "success". Their church is intimidating by being enormous with massive crowds of people. Many people are uncomfortable in large crowds.

2. Some churches unfortunately have a history of hostility to people of other races or nationalities.

3. Some churches have such an emphasis on their senior pastor that they develop a "cult of personality" with a very passive congregation.

4. Some churches fall into the Prosperity Gospel heresy and dilute and trivialize the Gospel by attempting to please everyone.

5. Some churches become very insular and appear to be hostile to outsiders.

6. When someone asks a visitor to move out of "their seat" this sends a very unwelcoming message. Some churches even practice pew rental. The seats in the church belong to the Lord and not to any individual person.

7. Some churches are intentionally located on campuses far from urban population centers to reduce the numbers of undesirable people who may attempt to attend their services.

8. Intense micromanagement of the church by a pastor or the deacons and/or elders can give the church a repressive atmosphere.

9. Visitors may be officially allowed but not really noticed or actively greeted. This gives off the smell of "You can come if you want to."

10. The church wants to grow for questionable reasons such as the pastor's ego or for an ever increasing need for more revenue. These churches are impressed with themselves. Visitors are not stupid and they can feel this.

11. In some churches, visitors can feel the hidden hostilities which the church members have brewing with each other. The church members are unpleasant and phony. Hypocrisy is one of the worst smells.

12. Some churches are stuck in the past.  All the members are elderly, with no young families or children. These churches are dying.

13.  Some churches talk all the time but do nothing. No one wants to be associated with this.

14. People hate social cliques, and especially when they are present in a church.

15. Many people are made uncomfortable by church members who obviously use excessive "holy" terminology with no attempt to use plain language to express the same ideas. This smacks of an "insider" mentality. Even worse is the use of archaic English. God does not care which language you use, He understands them all.

16. One of the quickest turnoffs to a visitor is for them to see someone being a "respecter of persons."
The poorly dressed repentant prostitute drug-user is just as important in the eyes of God as is the rich man or a celebrity.

17. It says something extremely negative to a visitor when the church sanctuary is empty five minutes after the church service ends.

18. Weird, lustful, or disapproving glances aimed at them are noticed by visitors.

19. Many people are uncomfortable when public attention is drawn to them. "Stand up if you are a visitor." "Hold up your hand."

20. Many churches expect the unchurched to act and speak like Christians. We have to speak to them as they currently are without giving the impression that we are in any way approving of their totally messed up situations. The place for the sick should be a place of healing.

21. Lack of accessible entry to the church. For a person who has difficulty walking and who needs a walker or a cane to get about, access to the worship area and classrooms needs to be made easier rather than more difficult. Wheelchair ramps and/or elevators can be very welcoming. 

22. Lack of accommodation for physical limitations. One church I once attended had plug-in access to earphones for the hearing impaired. These earphones were linked to the microphones on the podium and amplified the sound of the choir and the pastor. 

23. Lack of translation services. Sign-language services for the deaf and translators of the most commonly spoken languages in the area show a welcoming environment.

Our churches should be welcoming places, This does not mean we should not uphold biblical standards. There must never be any compromises of the Gospel message. It means we should be like God. God is the real point of the Parable of the Prodigal Son. This is really the Parable of the Joyous Father.

 

UN4GIVN

A post from this blog's past: https://saintsontheloose.blogspot.com/2015/06/car-tags.html  was about licensed "vanity"car tags with unusual readings which the driver may use for an extra fee above the required standard registration fee.

In the parking deck where I work, I recently saw a new tag which intrigued me: UN4GIVN. Using the English language letters and numbers this would transliterate as "unforgiven." What in the world could this mean?

After considering multiple possibilities, including a reference to a movie title or that the driver was a defiantly unrepentant philanderer, I decided that the most likely meaning was as a sarcastic insult to Christians, who often describe themselves as forgiven sinners.

Children's Easter Egg Hunt

Today is Easter!  He is Risen!

This week, on our block, there was a children's Easter Egg Hunt party.  The flier which was sent out to announce the party had, in large bold letters, "BYOB!" Then the anagram was explained: "Bring your own basket." Then, in parentheses: (Adults, bring your own bottle if you wish.)

Some Christians believe that the current observance of Easter in the West is totally pagan. What do bunny rabbits, baby chickens, and Easter Eggs have to do with the celebration of the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus from the dead? Others believe that the secular trappings of Easter are harmless and a fun time for children. Regardless of what you think about the current Western observance of Easter, why would adults feel that they must bring alcoholic beverages to every gathering? Even to a children's party?

Now We See Darkly

Cataract surgery replaces a damaged, thickened, and discolored lens with a new perfectly functional replacement.  I carry cards in my wallet with the details of the prescriptions of each of my replacements lenses and have been delighted with the restoration of my proper visual abilities. Once I had the first surgery I was impatient to have the second surgery and complete the process.

The opthalmic surgeon performs the surgeries one eye at a time. This produces an odd situation. After my first surgery, my post-operative eye saw bright new intense colors with ultra-sharp delineation between white and black.  Not so with the pre-operative eye. What I saw was yellowed, dull, and faded, with incorrect color perceptions. I saw a green shirt as grey and could not distinguish some blues from some greens.  The scientific term for this phenomenon would be that the cataract had produced an acquired tritanopia.

Most people are spiritually asleep or, at best, walking around with a thick film over their eyes. When converted to Christianity, they suddenly see what has really been around them the entire time. Reality can be very shocking.  They become eager to complete the process.

Conversion changes your mind and your perception of the nature of reality. You have received the Holy Spirit and now are indwelled by the Mind of Christ. This enables you to see things as Jesus sees them.  You see things which once you could not see or understand. This is the beginning of the process of sanctification.