“We had people like you in mind when we designed this church,” reads a brochure our preacher has for a certain church. It speaks of a church that is built around the idea of appealing to a given market. You can even go to various websites to get feedback on what religion fits you best. The idea here is that what counts for a church is the programs. “What’s in it for me? What do I get out of this place?”
In the name of religion, many find clubs instead of spiritual food. The aim becomes about social support rather than salvation. Churches become inspected like restaurants. Whose menu do we like best? Instead of me fitting into religion, I try to make religion fit me. More than searching for the church of my choice, I should be interested in finding the church of God’s choice.
Leviticus 19:23-25 is one of those Old Testament passages that seems to have little application to New Testament Christians. As the children of Israel enter the land of Canaan, God tells them that their crops for three years. Then, on the fourth year, all fruit of the land is to be given unto Jehovah. The fifth year marks the first time the Israelites would be able to eat of these crops.
Being a farmer takes a certain amount of vision, knowing where to plant. Labor is involved, and this profession takes serious commitment. It is not an easy profession in modern times, and it was that much more difficult in ancient times. It was not something easily entered into, but it was not something from which to just walk away. Being a Christian is very similar.
But I might go see the new Star Trek movie when it hits theaters.
As far as I'm concerned, Generations (aka Star Trek 7) was the final nail in the coffin for the movies*, but the new trailer on the tubes has my geek-senses all a-twitter.
I think it's the retro vibe that's doing it for me.
*Star Treks IV & V were several coffin nails themselves. I can't comment on the Next Generation films. I didn't see them.
My students had no clue who Pee Wee was, but I brought in one of his movies (Big Adventure), and they are crazy about it...my aide and I cannot stop using Pee Wee-isms every time we get the chance...infinity!!
Jonah is a Biblical character who is familiar to most of us. Many of us, in fact, have known this individual from childhood, but there is one element of the story we seldom give much consideration. That is the vine or gourd the Lord grows to shade Jonah. The book is set around 775 B.C. in the kingdom of Assyria. This was a nation whose leaders were focused on conquest, and their military was reputed to be extremely cruel and efficient.
In Jonah 1, God tells His prophet to go and tell the Assyrians to repent, but Jonah is more concerned with his own ideology and agenda than God’s plan. He goes down to Joppa, down into a ship, and finally down into the sea. Jonah seems to have the concept that Jehovah is his God and his alone. God belongs to Israel and no one else. He thinks politically, carrying an us-versus-them mentality that prevents him from sharing God’s grace with the Assyrians.
It doesn’t catch any of us by surprise anymore to be confronted with dire circumstances. Over 250,000 Americans lost their jobs in October. Unemployment is at 6.5%, and this doesn’t count the number of people who have given up looking for work. Our politicians and media have gone from terming our economic situation as a recession to a depression. We might look around and ask ourselves, “Does God know? Does God care?”
Habakkuk was living in a period of terrible unrest for God’s people. In Habakkuk 1:2-4, the prophet asks, “How long shall I cry, oh Lord, and You do not hear?” He describes the terrible morality of the nation around him, the wicked prevailing at the cost of the righteous. Psalm 73:1-8 speaks of the goodness of God, but the psalmist acknowledges the challenges he himself has in keeping faith in that goodness. The psalmist sees righteousness suffering and wickedness prospering.
Note: I made some alterations to the specific list of personal annoyances in the second-to-last paragraph of Jonah's Gourd. Tim referenced some items very specific to our congregation, and I felt it appropriate to alter the list for a broader audience.
