A HEALTHY HEART; A HEALTHY SPIRIT

“Examine me, O LORD, and try me; Test my mind and my heart.” (Psalm 26:2)

Today is my birthday.  It comes each year, every 365 days.  Steady.  No surprises.  The beat goes on.

In concert with my birthday, I annually have a medical examination.  Lately, every checkup has offered a surprise.  Unexpected ailments.  Heart issues, prostate issues, restless leg syndrome.  My doctors keep a close eye on me.  Anything undetected could cause serious problems with my complicated medical condition.  They treat, but they can’t prevent.

My doctors are good at their work, and I appreciate them greatly.  However, I need more.  I need not only physical diagnosis, remediation, and prevention, but also I need those elements spiritually.  God provides that care.  He loves me, body and soul, 24/7, and He loves and cares for me unconditionally.  There are no surprises with God.  More steady than my heartbeat, He knows me inside and out.  He knows my condition.  If I listen to God carefully, He will diagnose every issue, every situation.  Through His grace, He returns me to spiritual health.  My healthy spirit and closeness to Him prevent spiritual disease from attacking.   However, to remain healthy, I need to consult Him daily.  No appointment necessary.

I might experience nervousness in visiting my physicians, but I have no anxiety about visiting God and asking Him to examine me.  I cringe when given a diagnosis, and I have a distaste for the medicines of repentance and obedience.  But I know they are good for me, and they will return me to spiritual health.

In understanding God’s diagnosis and swallowing my medicine, I am returned to the vigor and joy of serving Him.  I can enjoy the sunshine of His wisdom.  I can run and seek and enjoy the freedom of fulfillment and happiness.  I am healthy.

As I continue to grow under His care, I visit Him each day, 365 days per year.  Steady.  No surprises.  No appointments necessary.

Merry Christmas

“Here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus right down Santa Claus Lane, Donner and Blitzen and all the reindeer pulling on the reins…”

“Rockin’ around the Christmas tree at the Christmas party hop, Mistletoe hung where you can see, every couple tries to stop…”

“Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer had a very shiny nose, and if you ever saw him you would even say it glows…”

“All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth, my two front teeth…”

Newspaper headline: “NORAD helps children track Santa via iphone or ipod touch”

“We will deliver on Christmas Day,” states a furniture store ad.

“Happy Holidays.”

So, I’m depicting the spirit of Christmas – right? Wrong! I’m depicting what Christmas has become. We’re into giving and receiving. “ What am I going to get, (fill in the blank) __________ for Christmas?” “What do I want for Christmas? Oh, not much. A new iphone tablet, a GPS. How about a fifty-inch high def tv for the home theatre?”

Where is Christ in all of this? Obviously, He’s not anywhere to be seen. We have allowed His birth and its infinite meaning for each of us to be obliterated beyond recognition. The way of the world? Yes. But more importantly, the way of so many Christians today.

“Merry Xmas,” says it all. We have literally taken Christ out of Christmas. There are no more manger scenes on the commons of small New England towns. Snowmen abide. Many New England churches no longer offer Christmas Eve services citing a lack of attendance – or even a list of dwindling church members.

In a country founded on a belief in God but emphasizing a freedom of religion, so much so that this freedom was depicted in the very first amendment to our constitution:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Our government, “…of the people, by the people, for the people…” has violated its own dictate by embarking upon a crusade to rid itself of participation in religion. It does not remain neutral in things religious. It zealously disallows, “…the free exercise thereof…” based upon the 1963 Supreme Court decision upholding atheist Madeline Murray O’Hare’s argument that prayer in any manner or form should be excluded from America’s schools.

Since that original ruling, the Judeo-Christian concept has been forbidden far beyond prayer. The Ten Commandments, the Bible, not even God’s or Jesus’ name, especially Jesus’ name, can be mentioned in any governmental context.

We can trace the expanding lethargy, even animosity, towards the true meaning of Christmas to that Supreme Court decision. Since then Jesus, his birth, death, and resurrection have lost their meaning to more and more people across the decades. Christmas is now a time for giving and receiving gifts. Why? To so many the real reason for Christmas giving is lost. It is now largely a secular holiday. Santa Claus and reindeer and snowmen have become paramount. The birth of Jesus has become a quaint story.

Merry Christmas!

A FALL FROM GRACE

Tiger Woods. A fall from grace. Perhaps the greatest golfer of all time, we had him in a place where his level of perfection on the golf course and off was unparalleled. We had placed Tiger in a virtual pantheon of athletic gods where he could survey all from on high and could do no wrong. If there were a brief display of temper or crudeness, we looked away. So what if he didn’t embrace social causes and didn’t give back to those less fortunate? In retrospect, however, those seemingly small cracks in the public persona were indicative of a large moral decay within.

In our lifetimes how many others have we witnessed falling from grace? Choose your time frame; choose your field of endeavor: Alex Rodriguez, William Holden, Pete Rose, Woody Allen, Ingrid Bergman, Bernie Madoff, David Letterman, the Black Sox, Winona Ryder, Richard Nixon. On and on.

Like Tiger, each sought and accepted the public’s adoration. We gave it gladly. Like Tiger, each portrayed an impeccable public persona. We accepted it without question. Like Tiger, each fell from grace with a resounding thud. We enjoyed it, or we elevated ourselves above them. Personal tragedy. Public execution. We elevate them; we drag them down. In our society celebrity adoration and assassination seem a sport. It’s inexpensive and easy to play. We participate actively for a short time and then move on. Next victim.

“How you are fallen from heaven, O shining star, son of the morning!” (Isaiah 14:12). Is Tiger worse than we? The other fallen? I think not.

As Christians we need to offer grace and forgiveness to those who hurt or disappoint us. We must recall the Lord’s mercy towards us, and remember that His mercy flows to others as well. While not necessarily easy, forgiveness of others is necessary. Offering forgiveness allows us to avoid cynicism or bitterness or anger: elements that can easily consume us and negatively affect our thinking and actions.

We must encourage those we hold in high esteem: Pastors, Spiritual Leaders, Bible Teachers, public figures. Every one of us has human frailties, and, at times, we don’t do as we should either. We are called to minister to our brothers and sisters, “So encourage each other and build each other up…” (1 Thess. 5:11).

The Holy Spirit will never fail to help us forgive. He will fill our hearts with mercy. “And when you stand praying, and you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” (Mark 11:25)

We are no better than our beleagured brother. Tiger needs our forgiveness and our prayers for him to seek the Lord’s forgiveness.