I wanted to do something in memory of my friend Dick Ryerson except there were no charities specified in his obituary. I had asked his brother what mission organization he did his work projects for, and the brother didn’t know.
So, in keeping with Friday’s blog on wisdom, I prayed.
Lord, please tell me to whom and how much to give.
A number came into my mind, and I thought at first I would send it to Dick’s church with instructions to use it to help someone go on a mission trip.
Then I remembered that Dick and I had discussed his mission trips way back in 2016 with respect to a friend of mine who was looking for short-term mission opportunities. So I found that email conversation (stored in Evernote) and the name of the organization.
After a brief email exchange with the executive director, I made the contribution, specifying that it be used to help someone who couldn’t afford it take a trip. An hour later the executive director called with this story:
I wanted you to know that we have a trip coming up, and the fellow who was supposed to lead got COVID. So I called someone who said he could go, but he couldn’t afford to pay for it. Just then, your donation came in to cover that replacement’s trip. Thank you. – Ronald Spears, Executive Director, www.cwe-missions.org
I love it when a plan comes together!
If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. (James 1.5, NIV)
5: Waiting – things aren’t all that good now? Wait.
We now look at one of the messages from James 5: Waiting
This is America. We don’t like to wait for anything. Do you remember the days when you ordered something and were told “Allow four weeks for delivery”? Now many times when I order, it arrives the next day. My son in Atlanta sometimes orders in the morning, and it shows up at their house the same day!
We may get our stuff faster than we used to, but important things take a little longer. With respect to some of what we looked at in James, there’s still a lot of partiality out there (James 2.1 – 7). There’s a lot of vitriolic language (James 3). Wars and fighting? Check. (James 4.1 – 4)
To top it off, there is oppression of the poor.
Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you. (James 5.4 – 6, ESV)
The solution? Wait:
Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand…As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful. (James 5.7 – 11, ESV)
Meanwhile, friends, wait patiently for the Master’s Arrival. You see farmers do this all the time, waiting for their valuable crops to mature, patiently letting the rain do its slow but sure work. Be patient like that. Stay steady and strong. The Master could arrive at any time. (James 5.7, 8, MSG)
It’s hard to wait, especially when it looks like things are going to hell in a handbasket, but that’s the word…and the promise. “The Master could arrive at any time.”
But you need to stick it out, staying with God’s plan so you’ll be there for the promised completion. It won’t be long now, he’s on the way; he’ll show up most any minute. (Hebrews 10.36, 37, MSG)
Also at that time, people will say, “Look at what’s happened! This is our God! We waited for him and he showed up and saved us! This GOD, the one we waited for! Let’s celebrate, sing the joys of his salvation. (Isaiah 25.9, MSG)
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21.1 – 4, ESV)
4: Wars – “Where do wars and fights come from among you?”
5: Waiting – things aren’t all that good now? Wait.
We now go into James 4: Wars
Where do wars and fights come from among you? … (James 4.1, NKJV)
We interrupt this verse for one answer to the question. Wars and fights come from not heeding the counsel in the previous verse:
But the wisdom from above is always pure, filled with peace, considerate and teachable. It is filled with love and never displays prejudice or hypocrisy in any form and it always bears the beautiful harvest of righteousness! Good seeds of wisdom’s fruit will be planted with peaceful acts by those who cherish making peace. (James 3.17, 18, TPT)
Much of the time too many of us are not planting good seeds of wisdom’s fruit with peaceful acts. Rather, we’re practicing outrage at every turn and using social media platforms to yell at each other.
I believe that’s a true analysis; however, it’s not what the verse says! Let’s continue:
What is the cause of your conflicts and quarrels with each other? Doesn’t the battle begin inside of you as you fight to have your own way and fulfill your own desires? You jealously want what others have so you begin to see yourself as better than others. You scheme with envy and harm others to selfishly obtain what you crave—that’s why you quarrel and fight. And all the time you don’t obtain what you want because you won’t ask God for it! And if you ask, you won’t receive it for you’re asking with corrupt motives, seeking only to fulfill your own selfish desires. You have become spiritual adulterers who are having an affair, an unholy relationship with the world. Don’t you know that flirting with the world’s values places you at odds with God? Whoever chooses to be the world’s friend makes himself God’s enemy! (James 4.1 – 4, TPT)
Wow. That’s war! War inside each of us, war among ourselves, war between us and God.
When it comes to war, Satan is the expert. A former pastor used to say, “The devil’s Spanish name, Diablo, means ‘the splitter.'” If there’s splitting going on, there’s a good chance the devil is involved. He wants to divide:
within ourselves (“doesn’t the battle begin inside you?“)
among ourselves (” You scheme with envy and harm others to selfishly obtain what you crave“), and
between us and God (“Whoever chooses to be the world’s friend makes himself God’s enemy!“).
The cure is spelled out in chapter 4 as well, bulleted for easier reading:
Submit to God.
Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.
Cleanse your hands, you sinners.
Purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Lament and mourn and weep!
Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.
Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up. (James 4.7 – 10, NKJV)
Submit and draw near to God, resist the devil, repent. That’s all! But the promise is that if we resist the devil, he will flee. If we draw near to God, He will draw near to us. Good news. And at least part of the process is simple: draw near to God through our daily time in the Word. Resist the devil through prayer.
Oh, the joys of those who do not follow evil men’s advice, who do not hang around with sinners, scoffing at the things of God. But they delight in doing everything God wants them to, and day and night are always meditating on his laws and thinking about ways to follow him more closely. (Psalm 1.1, 2, Living Bible)
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might… praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints. Ephesians 6.10, 18, ESV)
4: Wars – “Where do wars and fights come from among you?”
5: Waiting – things aren’t all that good now? Wait.
We now go into James 3: Words – what we say matters!
James devotes nearly a whole chapter to it. Here are snippets of James 3:
1 My dear brothers and sisters, don’t be so eager to become a teacher in the church since you know that we who teach are held to a higher standard of judgment. 2 We all fail in many areas, but especially with our words…3 Horses have bits and bridles in their mouths so that we can control and guide their large body. 4 And the same with mighty ships, though they are massive and driven by fierce winds, yet they are steered by a tiny rudder at the direction of the person at the helm. 5 And so the tongue is a small part of the body yet it carries great power! Just think of how a small flame can set a huge forest ablaze.
6 And the tongue is a fire! It can be compared to the sum total of wickedness and is the most dangerous part of our human body. It corrupts the entire body and is a hellish flame! It releases a fire that can burn throughout the course of human existence… 8 but the tongue is not able to be tamed. It’s a fickle, unrestrained evil that spews out words full of toxic poison! 9 We use our tongue to praise God our Father and then turn around and curse a person who was made in his very image! 10 Out of the same mouth we pour out words of praise one minute and curses the next. My brothers and sister, this should never be! (Parts of James 3.1 – 10, TPT)
Jeremiah warned about the danger of pretending to speak God’s words:
Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream, but let him who has my word speak my word faithfully. What has straw in common with wheat? declares the LORD. Is not my word like fire, declares the LORD, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces? Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, declares the LORD, who steal my words from one another. Behold, I am against the prophets, declares the LORD, who use their tongues and declare, ‘declares the LORD.’ Behold, I am against those who prophesy lying dreams, declares the LORD, and who tell them and lead my people astray by their lies and their recklessness, when I did not send them or charge them. So they do not profit this people at all, declares the LORD. (Jeremiah 23.28 – 32, ESV)
There are prophets (preachers and many other public personalities, Christian and not) whose words “do not profit this people at all.” There are people in all walks of life who stir up all manner of division within their spheres of influence.
Words matter! Ask Jon Gruden, who just resigned as coach of NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders for attitudes exposed in emails dating to 2011 but continuing through at least 2017 and 2018.
From ESPN:
Jon Gruden has resigned as head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders following reports that emails he wrote over a 10-year period included racist, misogynistic and anti-gay language.
…
The resignation came shortly after The New York Times reported that Gruden used misogynistic and anti-gay language in numerous emails during a seven-year period. That report came days after 10-year-old emails from Gruden surfaced that included a racist comment about NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith as well as a vulgar criticism of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.
It appears that Jesus’ take on what our words reflect is a stance taken by many. Jon Gruden is being punished both for what he said AND for what his words say about his character.
For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” (Matthew 12.33 – 37, ESV)
Paul leaves us with positive guidance:
Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. (Ephesians 4.29, ESV)
Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. (Colossians 4.6, ESV)
James closes chapter 3 by tying together wisdom (from chapter 1) with how we talk and act:
But the wisdom from above is always pure, filled with peace, considerate and teachable. It is filled with love and never displays prejudice or hypocrisy in any form and it always bears the beautiful harvest of righteousness! Good seeds of wisdom’s fruit will be planted with peaceful acts by those who cherish making peace. (James 3.17, 18, TPT)
4: Wars – “Where do wars and fights come from among you?”
5: Waiting – things aren’t all that good now? Wait.
We now go into James 2: Works – what we do matters.
There is often confusion on this simple concept. After all, “We’re saved by grace, right?” A friend of mine’s extended family members are hard over on this. Anything somebody suggests something they might want to DO as believers is rejected out of hand as “works righteousness.” Martin Luther himself was confused about the book of James because of its emphasis on works.
It is well known that Luther deemed it impossible to harmonize the two apostles…and characterized the Epistle of James as an “epistle of straw,” because it had no evangelical character (“keine evangelische Art”).
But James is clear: “Show me your faith without your works, and I’ll show you my faith BY my works.” Grace and faith motivate the works. Contrary to what Martin Luther saw, the Apostle Paul said the same thing:
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2.8 – 10, ESV, emphasis mine)
That said, what is James asking us to do in chapter 2? Here’s a start: don’t favor one group over another:
My dear brothers and sisters, fellow believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ—how could we say that we have faith in him and yet we favor one group of people above another? Suppose an influential man comes into your worship meeting wearing gold rings and expensive clothing, and also a homeless man in shabby clothes comes in. If you show special attention to the rich man in expensive clothes and say, “Here’s a seat of honor for you right up front!” but you turn and say to the poor beggar dressed in rags, “You can stand over here,” or “Sit over there on the floor in the back,” then you’ve demonstrated gross prejudice among yourselves and used evil standards of judgment! ( James 2.1 – 4, TPT)
How could we miss this? When I was growing up, we wouldn’t even let the homeless man in shabby clothes in, especially if he was black! Not everyone missed it. Less than 20 years after Kate Smith wrote “That’s what darkies are for,” affirming racism, Rogers and Hammerstein wrote South Pacific, including the song “You’ve got to be carefully taught,” decrying racism. (The state of Georgia banned South Pacific as subversive.)
James is clear: what we do matters. How can we have “faith” and not respect everyone?
James is also clear that warm feelings toward the poor aren’t enough:
For example, if a brother or sister in the faith is poorly clothed and hungry and you leave them saying, “Good-bye. I hope you stay warm and have plenty to eat,” but you don’t provide them with a coat or even a cup of soup, what good is your faith? So then faith that doesn’t involve action is phony. (James 2.15 – 17, TPT)
Jesus said the same thing. Works – what we do – matters!
You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 5.13 – 16, ESV, emphasis mine)
But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! (James 2.18, 19, ESV)
We began a series yesterday on life lessons from James. We will continue exploring Wisdom today and then get into the others:
1: Wisdom – ask God!
2: Works – what we do matters!
3: Words – what we say matters!
4: Wars – “Where do wars and fights come from among you?”
5: Waiting – things aren’t all that good now? Wait.
Let’s continue:
If anyone longs to be wise, ask God for wisdom and he will give it! (James 1.5, TPT)
You want wisdom?
Step One: Ask God!
Step Two: Fear God!
Step Three: Subtract!
To gain knowledge, you must add one new thing every day. To gain wisdom, you must subtract one thing every day. – Lao Tzu
(This quote is on the calendar that one of my neighbors created for 2021. It’s also cited by Greg McKeown in Essentialism and espoused by Marie Kondo the tidying guru.)
I love what happens when I get started writing blogs. I thought I wouldn’t even use this one except as a contrast to what James said. But the more I think about it, Subtraction is an important, Biblical concept. For example:
And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. (Luke 9.23, 24, ESV)
Sounds like subtraction to me!
If you don’t think subtraction is important, consider the story posted on our NextDoor site recently. A neighbor in a nearby town had a bear break into her car overnight because it was parked in the driveway with one door unlocked.
A bear visited a Lexus in Larkspur, Colorado, recently.
Among all the comments of sympathy and caution about leaving food in your car or leaving a door unlocked, no one asked the obvious question:
What is so important in your garage that you have to park your Lexus outside?
And that’s a trivial example compared with a large church whose story I read recently. There is unrest in the congregation partly because there are some who don’t think the church is doing enough to attract minority members. The sentence that struck me was something like: “We are trying to reach minorities. In fact, it’s one of our 14 priorities!”
Seriously. By definition, how can you have 14 “first things,” the real definition of “priority”?
Let’s ASK God for the wisdom to know what to subtract.
One thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3.13, 14, ESV)
I’ve just finished reading James and, as always, it’s chock full of nuggets. I’d like to explore an alliterative collection of important lessons with you over the next few days:
1: Wisdom – ask God!
2: Works – what we do matters!
3: Words – what we say matters!
4: Wars – “Where do wars and fights come from among you?”
5: Waiting – things aren’t all that good now? Wait.
Let’s get started:
If anyone longs to be wise, ask God for wisdom and he will give it! (James 1.5, TPT)
That’s clear. Step one: pray! ASK!
ASK stands for Ask, Seek, Knock from Matthew 7.7. Elsewhere, James is clear:
Yet you do not have because you do not ask. (James 4.2, NKJV)
Step two: fear God
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise. (Psalm 111.10, NIV)
Proverbs 2 combines these two concepts: ASK God; fear God:
1 My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, 2 making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; 3 yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, 4 if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, 5 then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. 6 For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; 7 he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity, 8 guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way of his saints. 9 Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path; 10 for wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. (Proverbs 2.1 – 10, ESV)
It’s hard to improve on God’s words so let’s just meditate on these. Tomorrow I want to add one more step: subtract. Subtract? Yes, subtract. More tomorrow.
20 Wisdom cries aloud in the street, in the markets she raises her voice; 21 at the head of the noisy streets she cries out; at the entrance of the city gates she speaks: 22 “How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge? 23 If you turn at my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit to you; I will make my words known to you. (Proverbs 1.20 – 23, ESV)
It’s been a weird college football season so far, and among the surprises was Alabama losing to Texas A&M last Saturday. Although A&M dominated for much of the game, Alabama came on strong and was actually up 38 – 31 before the Aggies tied it at 38. Alabama was forced to punt on its final possession, and the Aggies came back, kicking a field goal as time expired.
There are a few lessons:
As always, the past doesn’t determine the future. Alabama hadn’t lost to an unranked team in 100 games. Alabama coach Nick Sabin had never lost to a head coach who was a former assistant.
There will always be adversity. The question is, how do we respond to it? Here’s what A&M coach Jimbo Fisher said, as reported by ESPN, emphasis mine:
The Aggies entered the season ranked sixth and gunning for Alabama after the Crimson Tide handed them their only loss last season. But by last week it looked as if this would be a lost season for the Aggies after consecutive defeats by Arkansas and Mississippi State sent them tumbling out of the Top 25.
But instead of falling into a bigger hole this week, the Aggies pulled off the upset to snap an eight-game skid against Alabama. It’s their first win in the series since Johnny Manziel’s spectacular performance led them to a 29-24 win in 2012 on the road when the Crimson Tide was also ranked first.
“We had a couple of tough weeks … (but) you’re defined by how you respond to adversity,” Fisher said.“
Sometimes God answers prayers positively and on the spot! Have you seen this marvelous 25-second video of the kicker’s family during the winning field goal? The kicker’s wife is the young lady toward the right of the screen. The kicker’s mother is toward the left of the picture…in prayer. (And rightly so. Did you see how many field goals were missed in the NFL over the weekend? Five potentially game winning field goals were missed in the closing minutes and overtime of the Green Bay / Cincinnati game Sunday. The Colts’ kicker missed a game-winning field goal Monday night.)
There are surely more important things to pray for than the outcome of a football game, but you have to admire this lady’s fervency.
But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3.13, 14, ESV)
The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops. (James 5.16 – 18, NIV)
Dick Ryerson and I went to the same Christian high school, graduating in 1964. We reconnected at our 40th reunion in 2004 and have stayed in touch since. He loved to go on construction mission trips, especially after retiring from a career as a CPA. His most recent trip was to Alaska two months ago. He wrote,
Bob, the trip to Alaska went well even with uncooperative weather. Tried to get the missionary’s house and water system ready for 40 below winter and also various village projects. We hope to have a trip to Honduras after the 1st of the year after missing for the first time in 20 years last year due to COVID. Pray with us it will happen. The foundations for two churches are ready and we hope to complete both with 6 teams. IN Christ, Dick R.
Dick was 75 years old, and he was planning another trip! Unfortunately, a week after he sent that email on September 8, he was in the hospital with COVID. A week later, he went on a ventilator, and two weeks after that, he passed away, October 7, 2021. (FYI, he had been vaccinated.)
Dick Ryerson, 1946 – 2021, Lexington, SC
Dick just wanted to serve even if he was going through hard times of his own. Here’s what he wrote before the Alaska trip:
I have an opportunity to go on a mission construction trip in August to a remote Alaskan village reachable only by air. Pray that this will be a successful and safe trip. The missionary and his family have sacrificed much for this ministry and the renovations we propose doing are much needed! I also need prayer personally as I seem overwhelmed with duties and responsibilities at this time.
Did I say hard times? Dick responded to my May 2018 ministry update with word that his youngest brother, Tim, had passed away while Dick and his wife, Barbara, were in Bolivia on a mission trip. When I asked, he responded:
Tim had been in declining health since the twin losses of his wife and son, but had rallied from his latest episode, gained back most of his weight, and started back to work. We are leaving tomorrow morning for the approx. 12hr. drive so keep us in your prayers. Seems like we just walked in the door from Bolivia!
That was 2018. In early 2020, Barbara contracted a rare cancer. While still undergoing treatment, Barbara’s oncologist recommended Dick go ahead and take the mission trip to Paraguay he had been planning because “You need a break.” Can you say 2020? Here’s the story:
We almost got trapped there. Fight after flight was canceled, until the last plane out was one chartered by the US State Dept. to evacuate Embassy personnel and Peace Corps volunteers. They had sixteen seats left and there were sixteen on or team. I know we are taught to have faith, but I must admit in times like that it is easy to doubt! They closed the airport and all borders as soon as we left! In Christ, Dick R.
Barbara passed on August 7, 2020. The same day Dick’s step-sister Cassie died of COVID.
So a year after his wife and sister passed away, Dick was still at it, completing one trip, planning another. I wrote to his pastor, John Reeves, who happens to be the son of friends of June and mine from high school days. John responded:
Thanks for the note. “Faithful Man” is a great description of Mr. Dick. He has been a servant at one of our church plants for the last 10 years. He and Barbara despite being significantly older than everyone there have produced much fruit. – John Reeves, lead pastor, Radius Church
Dick and Barb left behind two adult children, their spouses, and six grandchildren. I know the family will appreciate your prayer.
12 The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. 13 They are planted in the house of the LORD; they flourish in the courts of our God. 14 They still bear fruit in old age… (Psalm 92.12 – 14, ESV)
Well done, good and faithful servant…Enter into the joy of your master.’ (Matthew 25.21, ESV)
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. (2 Timothy 4.7, ESV)
We’ve spent a few days thinking about “church” with thoughts triggered by a piece by Kevin DeYoung of Christ Covenant Church (PCA) in Matthews, N.C., and associate professor of systematic theology at Reformed Theological Seminary (Charlotte). Here’s part of his close, including a few sentences I didn’t quote the other day:
Are you wondering what you can do to make a difference in the world? Go to church. Give to the church. Pray for your church. Correct the church when she errs and encourage those serving the church whenever you can. Things are probably not as bad as you think, and even if they are, the gospel is better still. The grass withers, the flowers fade, but the word of our God will stand forever (Isaiah 40:8). Invest your life where that word is taught and cherished. That’s the Jesus way. – Kevin DeYoung, The Bride of Christ and the Hope of the World: Why Christians Must Love the Church.
There are good sentiments there, and we should all be part of a good church. However, I believe even his description of where one should go to church narrows rather than broadens the scope of “church.” “Invest your life where that word is taught and cherished” presupposes a particular model of Sunday morning, one in which Bible-teaching predominates. There are other viewpoints:
There are churches that cherish the word and teach the Bible, but teach it differently than this brother’s tradition.
There are those who would say “Go where the Eucharist is honored and offered with passion.”
Our charismatic friends want to “Go where you can worship God enthusiastically.”
Maybe some churches are saying, “Go where you can be inspired and challenged to work for good in society.”
Our black friends might say, “Go where you can feel the Spirit over a 2-3-hour service.”
I’d like to see us go where we can be equipped to live life the other 6 days of the week. A place to learn how to be the “scattered church” effectively. I don’t care as much about Sunday morning format.
My point is that as soon as we zero in on the institutional church, we tend to magnify differences. I go back to yesterday’s challenge: love the church – the whole church – all the people who are following Jesus.
“Teacher,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.” “Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “For no one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, for whoever is not against us is for us. (Mark 9.38 – 40, NIV)
Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel. (Philippians 1.27, ESV)
