If you think that idolatry is the worship of sticks or Asherah poles, or something unique to those folks living in the Old Testament, then you might we surprised that we all might have our own idols.  Likewise, if you think idolatry is reserved for things like sex, drugs, and always seeking happiness, you and I will be blinded to the hidden idols within our own heart. 

What is idolatry? 

I enjoyed reading articles from the late Dr Tim Keller, who wrote in “Counterfeit Gods” .  He has given one of the better definitions of idolatry. Here is how Keller defines it: 

“What is an idol? It is anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, anything you seek to give you what only God can give … An idol is whatever you look at and say, in your heart of hearts, If I have that, then I’ll feel my life has meaning, then I’ll know I have value, then I’ll feel significant and secure.’ There are many ways to describe that kind of relationship to something, but perhaps the best one is worship.”

Using Keller’s definition helps us to see that really anything can become an idol.

I love my clothes catalogues.  I spend more time looking at them than reading the scripture.  I have come to realize that perhaps loving clothes and looking through those catalogues is taking me away from what truly matters.

I also know that God isn’t an old spoil sport!  He wants us to have good things in our life.  We enjoy our homes; our kids; our friends; good food: etc. But we must be aware that none of these lovelies can take the place of gratitude. 

Your heart and mine can easily be drawn away from the Lord. Idolatry is real.  It is also very subtle.  We want to be good disciples but being part of this world it’s so easy to be drawn into the beguiling charms that take our focus away from what truly matters in life.   

  Search your own heart. Do you have an idol lurking somewhere? 

When you think about biblical history, do you give any thought to food?

Not many of us do. It’s easy to study Jesus’ first miracle or the Last Supper without actually wondering why these important events took place at meals. And it’s hard to picture the Last Supper in your mind as anything but the seated feast depicted in Leonardo’s masterpiece.

It’s no coincidence that pivotal events and conversations in the life of Jesus and his earliest followers take place over the dinner table. Throughout the Greco-Roman world, meals were a means of creating and solidifying social bonds.

Greco-Roman meals were never taken sitting up—unless you were a respectable woman, in which case you’d rarely be invited to the meal anyway—but rather reclining, as all of the biblical and archaeological evidence proves that most meals were taken Roman style.        Reclining.

 Many descriptions of the dining rooms, the arrangement of couches, the arrangement of diners and the importance of conversation we can gain a new, more intimate image of Jesus, reclining with a favored disciple who is also reclining, literally at Jesus’ breast. 

How much more intimate and focused these meals seem when you read about them with such images in mind!

 The textual evidence from the 1st century C.E. and later, it becomes clear how Paul’s work in establishing the new assemblies was made smoother by dining customs of the day.

                                  Invite a friend for lunch.  Its good theology

I was going through some books I had saved, to read to the grandkids and came across Alice in Wonderland.  I picked up the book and randomly read through a few pages and was struck with the character of Alice herself.  Are we like Alice?

The Mad Hatter told her, “You’ve lost your muchness”.  Throughout the book there is a play on words which could refer to her size, which changes.  Entering Wonderland, being small not only makes her vulnerable but also reveals something about her character. She has been hemmed in by others’ expectations in life and is now further constrained by the belief that she is the wrong Alice.

Only by embracing a grandness of spirit, or muchness, is she able to courageously cut her own path. She embraces her identity as Alice, not as others expect, but as she really is. And that changes things not only for the strange world she landed in, but her own world as well. She finally has the courage to embrace her identity and live by it, including doing the seemingly impossible.

Like Alice, we may feel boxed in due to the circumstances beyond our own control.  Yet grandness of soul, or muchness, comes when we develop eyes to notice the abundance that God has given each of us.  This is not because we have material riches or everything works in our favor. Rather, we can be content by recognizing that our muchness actually are gifts from our Creator. We are strengthened to face our circumstances.

Of course, we all have often misused the promise in Scripture that we can do everything in Christ, tacking it onto whatever goal or act we desire. and win the game.: “I can do all things through Christ,” and watch the monster fall dead at your feet. But that is not how the Apostle Paul used this promise, as if it were a magical mantra.

As Believers, we all have needs and wants but we also trust that our Lord will provide strength for what we face in life.  That does not mean we are invincible or immune to pain. Instead, we have courage in the knowledge God always loves us. 
                                        Therefore, like Alice, we  each have our own Muchness!

Kindness is part of human nature. Scientists have found that children as young as 18 months are willing to help others.

I found this article so interesting I wanted to share it with you.  I have edited parts of the article and included some of my own thoughts.

 When we feel compassion for the suffering of others, our brain’s “empathy circuit” lights up.

Real kindness goes beyond the desire to free people from suffering but also includes an intention to improve their well-being without expecting anything in return.

Yet when you and I give with purpose, something in our helpfulness engenders beauty in our own inner world.  Nothing we do for ourselves can compete with the warm afterglow we experienced through engaging in acts of kindness.

Naturally, kindness cultivates happiness.  An article published in The Journal of Social Psychology, researchers found that people who performed kind acts every day for seven days experienced a significant increase in happiness. Interestingly, whether people were kind to their family or to strangers, the kinder deeds they did or observed, the happier they were.

Furthermore, kindness affects more than emotions—it influences one’s DNA—shaping how the immune system works.

Good Deeds Change Your DNA

A group of scientists from the University of California set out to discover whether being kind to others changes our bodies at the genetic level.

At the beginning and end of this experiment participants gave blood samples. The scientists looked for changes in a set of genes linked to inflammation and stress. Genes that, when overactive, are associated with a higher risk for diseases such as heart problems, gastric upset etc.

But when the participants simply incorporated small acts of kindness toward others into daily routines it proved to be sufficient to alter leukocyte gene regulation!  That’s our DNA

Therefore, our acts of kindness not only benefit those we serve but gives our DNA an extra boost.

                        Kindness is indeed good for us!

As we celebrate the 250^th anniversary of our country we also celebrate the brave men and women who pledged themselves to the founding of a new nation and who demonstrated their faith, trust and courage.

  We too must have faith, trust and courage. Unfortunately, a few loud voices are hoping to make us believe that the principles of our founding fathers should be questioned.

We don’t take our faith or trust lightly.  We ourselves must be trustworthy and trust takes courage.  Are we willing to take a stand on our beliefs? On our faith?

Faith and trust demand courage. The basic tenets of our faith are being challenged on a baily basis.  Our churches are failing us. Not wanting to take a stand on moral issues that we face.   No wonder church attendance is down.  So, what’s new that we can’t get from social media? 

As Believers we base our faith on trust.  We accept the Bible as God’s word to us.  We believe in the death and resurrection of our Messiah.  We believe in our mission of making disciples.  We can’t guarantee the desired outcome but we have a slow and steady faith with God that says: “Keep walking.  You’re not alone.” 

We all search for meaning in our lives.  We often draw on those, we trust, to help and encourage us.  It takes courage to admit we have doubts, fears and uncertainties.  It’s OK to complain to God.  Just read the Psalms. Christians seem afraid to question.  It takes courage to say. “I don’t know!”

Fatih, trust and courage are one and the same.  It isn’t about knowing the ending; it’s about moving toward the One who Knows, even when our next step is still uncertain.

                                                 That’s Faith, Trust and Courage

A lesson from Noah!

After months of waiting in the ark, after the rain stopped and the waters receded, after the dove returned with an olive leaf, Noah finally stepped out and viewed the world around him..  Breathing fresh air and gazing out at the new landscape devoid of people!

Noah and his crew were in that large smelly zoo for 40 days and nights.  They must have questioned God in all of this.  Why destroy everything? Weren’t’ there others that He could have saved?  However, Noah obeyed.  He and his sons worked for many years on that boat.  Others saw and laughed.  But He obeyed.  He waited.

Who is this God that Noah worships? Why not build an idol instead of a boat?

We live in a culture that celebrates urgency. We are trained to move quickly, act decisively, and seize the moment. But Scripture consistently shows us a different rhythm. God’s timing is not slow. It is purposeful. And learning to wait well, to trust Him while His timing is still unfolding, is one of the most formative disciplines of faith. It’s not easy to wait.

 It means His timing includes preparation we can’t yet see.

Noah’s obedience came after a long season of trusting God. He built an ark when there was no rain. He gathered animals when there was no flood. He entered the ark and closed the door when God said to. He waited through the storm.

As I write this there are many friends who are waiting!  Waiting for Drs to help them heal; deaths of loved ones missing from their lives; sadness from natural disasters,

We want answers from God. We wait.  We question.  Noah waited and questioned. But he obeyed.  He was safe in the ark. He could not see a new world outside. He trusted God’s timing.   Just as we wait for our New Heavens and New Earth. We must trust God’s timing.

  It’s our waiting time.  He is coming!!  

“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” appears not only in the Bible, but in cultures around the world. That adage, which has become something of a cliché, lies at the heart of all real etiquette. Once put into practice, it leads us into another realm—that of kindness.

In the scriptural story of the Good Samaritan, we find another example of the goodness that results from a combination of manners, friendliness, and generosity. The Samaritan comes across a stranger lying by the roadside, beaten half to death by robbers. Like the travelers preceding him, the Samaritan might have crossed the road and continued on his way, but instead he binds up the man’s wounds, takes him to an inn, and pays for his room and board until the man recovered.  This unnamed Samaritan received joy from helping this stranger.  When Jesus told this story he knew that the Samaritans and the Jews never got along.  They each resented the other.  Each claiming to be God’s chosen.

In “A Christmas Carol.” By Charles Dickins, a renewed Ebenezer Scrooge, now very much aware of his rude and mean-spirited treatment of others, delights in his spiritual makeover: “I am as light as a feather, I am as happy as an angel, I am as merry as a schoolboy.”  He was expressing his joy at helping others.

 I just read of a woman who received great joy from her work.  In her words she said. “I view this job as a ministry to help people at one of their lowest points that we all will face. It’s a hard job and challenging, but there is joy that comes from knowing you helped someone as much as possible through a hard time.”  

 Respect for others, kindness, and service: These are components in that invisible force we call joy.

Anyone can test and confirm that service to others brings joy.  Although we are unable to change the circumstances of others, we receive joy for ourselves in knowing perhaps that we have shared a bit of ourselves in their life.
                                         That brings us joy!

Its spring-cleaning time!  I remember growing up how my mother took this time of year to clean closets; shake rugs; wash drapes and get rid of an accumulation of odds and ends acquired during the year. Sometimes our houses, drawers, closets and vehicles are so crowded that we simply shut the door and hopefully the” cleanout” fairy will work a miracle!

As I was looking through my accumulation of stuff, I sat down with a cup of coffee and pondered, if once each year we could unload everything that clutters our lives, –not just our homes.

Worry, Its not always a bad thing!  Worry can spark action if you worry and recognize that a plan of action is necessary, and you can act.  But worry can also fill your imagination with every manner of fearful possibilities. 

Thankfully most worries never happen!  That means that we are better off getting rid of harmful worries as a way to clear our minds and souls.  In the same way that getting rid of stuff we never use clears our homes.

Yearning.  We live in a gotta have it now society.  Instant gratification.  Focusing on what we lack steals contentment because our heart and mind are stuck in the future, always trying to get whatever we want, thinking it will make us happy.
If we are so focused by wanting what we do not have, we are sacrificing joy in the present.  Let’s declutter that part of our life. 

Approval The desire to do well and receive approval from other people is not a bad thing. But when our life becomes based on the expectations of others it might be messing up our life.  Our best approval comes from what God expects of us.  His approval is the best one we need.

There is no better time than now to declutter your life.  There’s no better time than today to pack it up, haul it out, and get rid of it once and for all. Throw out the clutter but add things that matter.                                             

Time to Declutter!

I am currently reading a great book.  “Things that Matter” by Joshua Becker. 

The actual subtitle of the book is “Overcoming Distaction to Pursue a More Meaningful Life.” The author takes readers on a journey of self-examination, aimed at cutting the dead weight in life that hinders all of us from reaching our full potential.  

He explores eight different types of distractions that frequently afflict people: “fear, past mistakes, happiness (in a shallow sense, money, possessions, fame, human respect.  recreation and technology. “  So, if we strip ourselves of all these things from life, what’s left?   

Here is his answer. “A streamlined life that’s genuinely aligned with your values, passions, and purpose, a life lived with a higher cause in mind.”

This book is about so much more than how you feel. “There may be no greater pursuit for yourself and others than choosing to live a meaningful life focused on the things that matter.”   Isn’t that the message of that Jesus taught? 

Becker answers the question convincingly that true happiness and meaning is on “servant – mindedness”, generosity and focusing on what you have to offer to others and the world in general.  He argues that we should not think of work or any work we do, as mere drudgery. Instead, we should see it as a meaningful expression of how we respond to what needs to be accomplished.  It might be just doing a good turn for someone, our family or someone we don’t even know.  In other words, to make our world a better place.  I hope that washing dishes is included!!

Many of you reading this might be retired, living alone or perhaps unable to be active in your community.  If so, you can still find a way to be a servant to others.  That will be a sense of fulfillment in your life. 

Frequently, Becker drawers the readers with thoughts toward the end of life and what it would feel like to look back on the way we have lived.  Will we be filled with regrets about a sense of wasted time, or will we rest knowing that we lived with purpose and passion?  We must be aware of the truly important things that matter and how to cut free of the stuff that doesn’t. 

It’s time to not only declutter our closets but declutter our lives. Living a life with meaning.  Our self-fulfillment will be influenced by how we have influenced others.

                                        Not that’s what really matters!