Sometimes we just need to have fun.

June still studies piano and is part of a performance group with her teacher’s other adult students. Once a year they invite their spouses and play Christmas duets. For a number of years, June and her duet partner, Lynn, have closed the program with Leroy Anderson’s Sleigh Ride. This year, for the first time, one of the other student’s husband provided sound effects (except for the last whinny, which was performed by the other student herself). It’s worth a listen at only 3.5 minutes. (I apologize for cutting off the video before the applause and the bows!)

Praise him with the lyre and harp! (Psalm 150.3, ESV)

I’ve been puzzling over Galatians 5.16 – 18 since last June when the Spring Canyon speaker challenged us to memorize verses 16 – 24. I was rocking along with the Holy Spirit versus sinful nature contest just fine until verse 18 dropped the law of Moses into the mix. 

So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses. (Galatians 5.16 – 18, NLT, verse 18 in bold.)

I’ve been asking myself, how did the law get in there, and what does it have to do with anything? I think I’m beginning to see, and it has to do with what I wrote yesterday about “outside the wall” sins and “inside the wall” sins. Verse 18 may be echoing what Paul wrote to the Romans:

For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code. (Romans 7.5, 6, ESV, emphasis mine)

Sinful passions aroused by the law: I’m beginning to understand that the law arouses sinful passions in two ways. First, there is the universal human tendency to do what we’re told not to do. “Do not throw rocks at this window!” “Where is a rock that I can throw!?” Paul speaks to this tendency in the last part of Romans 7.

But there is another way that law arouses sinful passions: I can be so rigidly passionate about the law that I am angry or hostile toward those who don’t keep it. Westboro “Baptist” Church is an extreme example. In other words, law brings out those “inside the wall sins” I wrote about yesterday. Saul’s zeal for the law led to his violence toward Christians. Religious leaders crucified Jesus.

So verse 18 may be saying, when you’re directed by the Spirit and not under obligation to the law of Moses (or any other law), you’re free to love and be kind to others even when you don’t like their behavior. 

You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Galatians 5.13, 14, NIV)

I was reading Galatians 5 recently and noticed again the two kinds of sins identified with “the sinful nature” in Galatians 5.19 – 21? 

When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. (NLT, emphases mine)

I’ve been around church people most of my life, and I can tell you we like to look askance at folks who practice the sins I’ve put in italics above: sexual immorality, lustful pleasures, drunkenness, and wild parties occur (hopefully) outside the church walls and are all on the naughty list! But have you ever been in a church meeting where people are arguing about some fine point of theology or practice or debating about the value of a particular church program or even service times? Hostility? Check. Quarreling? Check. Outbursts of anger? Check. Dissension and division? Check and check. 

Sins in bold are on the naughty list too, and they often occur inside the church walls. 

There are several ways to go off the rails. People given to the outside set of behaviors are ignoring or rebelling against God’s word. Church people given to the inside set are working too hard to enforce some perceived aspect of the law. Both are in error. 

The solution?

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! (Galatians 5.22, 23, NLT)

So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires.. [The “outside sins”] … You used to do these things when your life was still part of this world. But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander,… [The “inside sins”]…You have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us. Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony… (Colossians 3.5 – 14, NLT)

I’ve asked before with respect to race relations, what am I missing? Well, I found out. When the current issue of Clemson World arrived by email, the lead article’s teaser read:

English professor Rhondda Robinson Thomas has committed her professional research to the history of African Americans on Clemson’s campus, much of which has yet to be brought to light.

I thought, no problem! I remember vividly and with pride that Clemson’s president told us that we had the first black freshman in our class and “there will be no problems at Clemson University.” And there weren’t.

But Dr. Thomas’ research has nothing to do with such recent history (1964). She’s writing about six generations of black people at Clemson, beginning with the slaves on the Calhoun and Tillman plantations going back to at least 1831. I like that she seems to be doing her research and telling the stories without bitterness and that she is 12 years into what she thought was a 3-year contract. Dr. Thomas has not only earned tenure at Clemson University: she also has been named the Calhoun Lemon Professor of Literature.

The article, The Power of Calling a Name, is compelling. It reminds us:

The history of Clemson University is inextricably tangled with the triumphs and transgressions of its founders. Thomas Green Clemson was a European-educated engineer who inherited the estate of his wife’s father. Calhoun himself was a prominent planter, a former vice president under John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson, and one of slavery’s most passionate proponents.

I heard nothing of this when I was a student. When I saw the Calhoun mansion, I probably thought, that’s a nice, big house. When Dr. Thomas saw it, she thought, “I cannot believe I am working on a plantation.”

The Bible contains history, and not all of it is pleasant. Everyone matters. People are flawed.

I like to end all blogs with applicable scripture, but I don’t know if these are appropriate or not. Thoughts?

[Jesus] is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. (1 John 2.2, NIV) (Jesus died for the sins of Calhoun and Thomas Clemson as well as for all the slaves they held.)

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. (Luke 1.68…74, 75, ESV) (Israel was an oppressed and enslaved people at the time of Jesus’ birth.)

Then Samson called to the LORD and said, “O Lord GOD, please remember me and please strengthen me only this once, O God, that I may be avenged on the Philistines for my two eyes.” And Samson grasped the two middle pillars on which the house rested, and he leaned his weight against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other. And Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines.” Then he bowed with all his strength, and the house fell upon the lords and upon all the people who were in it. So the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he had killed during his life. (Judges 16.28 – 30, ESV) (God uses flawed people.)

I’ve written before that I enjoy working the Friday meta crossword puzzle in the Wall Street Journal and that sometimes solutions come quicker than others. But what happens when they don’t come? This week’s has been particularly frustrating because I can see all the hidden words I’m supposed to see, but I can’t tease an answer out of them.

The problem then is that I devote too much time to it. As I write this Saturday morning, I’ve been messing with the puzzle since Thursday afternoon. Too much. And it interferes with other things I should be doing. So I’m taking another sabbatical from these things. I’ve done it before. I just don’t look at them for weeks or months. Sometimes moderation isn’t possible. I just have to quit.

For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. (Galatians 5.13, NLT)

You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. And even though “I am allowed to do anything,” I must not become a slave to anything. (1 Corinthians 6.12, NLT)

Back in May 2017, June woke up in the middle of the night with what turned out to be a bowel obstruction. It was a long 10 days before it was completely diagnosed and resolved, and we’ve not had that happen since. Reading these verses in Psalm 116 reminded me:

The snares of death encompassed me; the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me; I suffered distress and anguish. Then I called on the name of the Lord: “O Lord, I pray, deliver my soul!” (Psalm 116.3, 4, ESV)

The rest of the Psalm reminds us that every day is a gift from our gracious God:

For you have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling; I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living…What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord, I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people. (Psalm 116.8, 9, 12 – 14, ESV)

A friend of mine shared a notice said to be posted on the walls of many churches in France. Here is the translation:

It is possible that on entering this church, you may hear the Call of God.  On the other hand, it is not likely that he will contact you by phone. Thank you for turning off your phone.  If you would like to talk to God, come in, choose a quiet place, and talk to him.  If you would like to see him, send him a text while driving.

It’s clever, nicely telling people to turn off their cell phones and reminding them not to text while driving. And I like the encouragement to come into the church, choose a quiet place, and talk to God. Of course, we don’t need to go to a church to find a quiet place for talking to God although if you work in a city, and there’s a church nearby, that’s not a bad use of lunch hour time!

The point here is: find that quiet place. Another friend of mine says, “You need to interrupt life to have your time with God.”

I was talking with another friend recently and asked about his time with God. He told me is faithful to spend time with God while he’s driving to work! While reviewing a verse while driving is better, perhaps, than listening to mindless radio, I don’t think that’s the optimal way to spend time with God. (And my friend can drive to work in about 10 minutes, so it’s not even very long.)

I suggested that he intentionally carve out a few minutes at home before going to work. Shortly thereafter, I received this email:

Hey Bob, I used your weekly journal for my time with God today.  I think its a good tool and I’ll look forward to sharing it with you.

We haven’t met since then, but it’s clear that his time with God was more meaningful with a few minutes of focused attention at home than while driving.

In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly. (Psalm 5.3, NIV)

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. (Mark 1.35, NIV)

There were some men on our street yesterday and today, and I couldn’t tell from the signs on their trucks what they were doing, so I asked. Turns out they were hired by our community to use a special process to rinse the sewer lines and then inspect the lines with a video camera to be sure all is well.

I made a point of thanking them for their work. I told them, “I’ve been to countries where there is no waste disposal of any kind. What you do might not be glamorous, but it is very important, and I appreciate it!” They seemed encouraged that I thanked them for their work. I don’t know how often that happens for them–they are probably “unsung heroes.”

If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as a Michaelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, “Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.” -Martin Luther King, Jr.

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation…The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. (Genesis 2.1 – 3, 15, ESV, emphasis mine)

The tongue has the power of life and death… (Proverbs 18.21, NIV, emphasis mine)

As Advent begins I was reading the opening of Luke 1 which is addressed to “Theophilus,” as is the opening of Acts.

It seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught. (Luke 1.3, 4, ESV, emphasis mine)

Since there’s no mention of this “Theophilus,” which in Greek means “lover of God” anywhere else, we really don’t know if this is someone’s nickname, his actual name, or a generic name that could apply to anyone.

The Passion Translation takes the position that “Theophilus” is not a person but could refer to anyone who loves God. Here’s the footnote:

The Greek text can be translated “most excellent Theophilus.” The name Theophilus means “friend of God” or “lover of God.” The Greek word [for excellent] means “most honorable” or “mightiest.” Some scholars believe there was no individual named Theophilus mentioned in Luke’s writings. This becomes instead a greeting to all the lovers of God.

Luke’s opening becomes:

I am writing for you, mighty lover of God, an orderly account of what Jesus, the Anointed One, accomplished and fulfilled among us. (from Luke 1.1 – 4, Passion Translation)

I like that. It reminds me of the angel’s greeting to Gideon:

The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor! (Judges 6.12, ESV)

God called Gideon a mighty man of valor before he was one, and he calls us “mighty lovers of God,” whether we feel that’s true of us or not.

…God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did. (Romans 4.17, NKV)

After another “It’s not who I am, and it’s not who we are” response to a really stupid action, this time by an Ole Miss player (look it up), finally a coach takes responsibility.

University of Georgia receiver George Pickens was ejected for fighting during Georgia’s rout of Georgia Tech Saturday. Here’s some of what Georgia Head Coach Kirby Smart said about the incident and the player:

Just disappointed, that’s the biggest thing. We don’t want to reflect ourselves that way. He would be the first one to tell you that he lost his composure… Unfortunately, [Pickens] got an undisciplined penalty, and when you make undisciplined decisions, regardless of what’s done first, you pay a penalty for that…We’re going to help George. We’re going to help him grow up. We’re going to help him make better decisions so he can help our team…I mean, don’t be stupid…It’s just silly, it’s selfish, it’s undisciplined…But you live and you grow up and you love them.

In this case, to love the player involves helping him be more disciplined. Coach Smart recognizes that Pickens’ decisions and actions do reflect who he is, and Coach wants to help him change that. 

For the Spirit God gave us…gives us power, love and self-discipline. (2 Timothy 1.7, NIV)

But the fruit of the Spirit is…self-control. (Galatians 5.22, 23, NIV)

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1.8, 9, ESV)