Fill in the Blanks

    Well, now we know, Mr. _________ has won the election for president of the United States. This has made many people very sad, many are my friends. This has made just as many happy and these are also my friends. They were friends before the election and I expect them to remain my friends afterwards. The _______ party is celebrating and the ________ party is licking its wounds and beginning to strategize about  the next election. That's a scary thought isn't it?
     Now what, men and women of faith? Do you wallow and whine because ______ didn't win and _______did? Is your response as believers based on _________ being in power or God being in control? What is the Christian response for believers of either party? Is it, should it be different? I don't think so. So what is your mindset and strategy post election? What are you going to do now? I hope the response is similar whether your guy won or lost.
     May I be so bold as to suggest some responses?
     First, discover the source of your confidence or your fears post election. Is your confidence based in ______'s ability to govern? Are your fears fueled because _______ is in power? Believe it or not, this is a theological issue (most are, few know it because we haven't taught our church members to think theologically about issues). Are you, despite ________'s victory confident that God has the ability to run His world and that He sets up the kings and rulers to achieve His ultimate purposes? Yes, some can be bad. Look at Israel's later kings and Judah's kings after Josiah. There were Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians and Chadians, all used by God to His purpose. So government may be good or bad, the ruler righteous or unrighteous or like most of us a combination, but God still has the ability to take history where He wants it to go. Judgement begins with the family of God (I Peter 4:17-19) so we commit ourselves to our faithful Creator and continue to do good.  Do you have confidence in that truth?
     Secondly, (these are all siblings btw) what assurance can _______ give you that _______ couldn't now that he has been elected? Could either assure you of good health? Can ______ assure you the kids will turn out all right? Does ________ get a believer the right job or is God more interested in His children's employment? Does your purpose for life now change since the outcome of the election is known? The song got it right a long time ago: Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine. Our assurance for life and living is not based on the ______ party or the _______ party but on the fact that God is in control. He is in control of your life and  and this nation and His world. Do you have assurance that if He is in control you can rest in His care?
    Thirdly, on whom or what do you depend? Is it possible that God is taking this nation and our lives to a place where we depend on Him and not Wall Street, Pennsylvania Ave, Downing Street, the Las Vegas strip, Sunset Blvd, or Medical Center Ave? Is it possible God so wants us to seek Him and His Kingdom first that He lets everything else crumble a bit until we see and seek Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength? In a world that promotes confidence and autonomy of self how dependent are you upon God for your purpose, joy, direction, and resources for life?
     Fourthly, consider what you and I are called to do before, during, and after each election cycle. We are called to speak truth to power. The church speaks truth about salvation to power and those who hold it. We have many believers on both sides of the aisle. We need more. We look to politicians for laws and money and help in our districts. Can they depend on the churches in their districts to pray for their salvation and if they are believers, to pray for their righteous walk, their families, and God's truth to be revealed mightily to them? We speak truth to power not only about salvation but also about ethics and justice. Is our concern in the church how much money is left in our pockets or how much good it does in the world? Every law has an ethical concern and consequence, do we seek to know it and promote Christian ethics? Speak truth to power. We also speak truth to power in a certain way. Scripture says that we are to speak the truth in love. Not in meanness, not in hatred, not in disrespect but in love recognizing that God loves each person, and that includes politicians.
    Our nation has what I call an infused "lostness." Not only has "lostness" become part and parcel of our national fabric, it is so infused, that like all good infusions, you don't realize it. So what do we believers do? We live our imputed righteousness. We demonstrate the love of Christ, the hope of Christ, and the real difference Christ makes in our outlooks, our treatment of our spouses, our children and our world. That difference may never be so striking as it is now and that difference will lead to many witnessing and mission opportunities. Let our attitudes be the same as Jesus.' (Phil. 2:5)
    Finally, take a page from the the Wednesday night bible study on Psalms. Read Ps. 27, 46, 100, 121, 118, and 145-150. In all sorts of circumstances, the Psalmist voiced his praise, made his petitions, screamed his anger and in the end, trusted the sovereignty of God. I would also direct you to Matt Redman's Youtube video called 10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord) based on Ps. 103. Yes, it is a contemporary Christian song but it's message reminds us that we can have confidence in God's ability to run His world; we have assurance that He is in control and knows what is best; we can learn to be more dependent on His grace and provision;  and we have a great opportunity no matter what to speak the truth in love.
    Elephant, Donkey, or Lamb? How peaceful you are this day shows your choice.

Cos
(save and use this essay in four years)
   

A Prayer for Our Nation

Dear Lord, Our Most Merciful God,
Hear our prayer.............

We need you Lord -- how true that is for all times, yet in these times which try men's souls so many have  forgotten we have them. Another election cycle is upon us and we truly thank-you for the privilege we have to choose. Help us choose wisely. We often choose because of the party, we choose with our pocketbook, we choose according to promises and personalities. Please help us choose according to your criteria as best we can discern them. We know you seek justice and fairness so help us seek justice as we choose. We know your are the Prince of Peace, help us seek peace, your peace, as we choose. We know you seek to bless, help us seek to bless others as we choose. We know you seek our hearts, help us choose men and women whose hearts are truly seeking yours.

Your word has graciously warned us that you are not mocked, whatsoever a man sows that also shall he reap.The one who sows to please his sinful nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. Does this truth hold to nations as well? If so, Father, we are reaping what we have sown. We cry out for blessings yet our greed, injustice, immorality, and unfaithfulness cry out louder, "leave us alone!" and you, always respecting our "no" have done just that. Forgive us of our arrogance and lead us out of our ignorance. It sometimes feels as though you have abandoned us,  but not completely. You call by your Spirit to our spirits.  You have great men and women, great churches-large and small-still praising, seeking, preaching, and reaching out in your name. Help us listen first to your truth and your call on our lives. Help us become a people, a nation that you can bless again.

Help us, Father, after these coming elections to learn to speak with each other again. We have lost the ability to speak with one another across the political aisles respectfully largely because we no longer have respect for fellow human beings. We have forgotten that all are made in your image and have inherent value because you love them regardless of their political party. Help restore nobility and civility in our political discourse. May it begin in our homes and around our dinner tables as we pray for those we elect. May our children and neighbors hears us speak respectfully of elected officials. May the battles over policies and programs be argued vigorously but may respect be given to all men made in God's image. May our chief instrument be prayer rather than tricky and misleading emails. May our prayers outnumber out emails ten to one. Would you call for an electronic fast from time to time to seek your Face and your Will in prayer?

We know that righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people. We have sinned and feel so little disgrace. We have murdered millions in the womb and called it choice. We have decried abortion but too few in your church step up to adopt and care for those who didn't abort and left their care to government  
programs. We have created the ability to create great wealth and kept it for ourselves. We abandoned the sanctity of life and now the sanctity of marriage. We have turned sex, gambling, and entertainment into hundred billion dollar industries and in turn made people a commodity. And then we wonder why our nation and the world is in trouble. We cry out "help!'' and you cry out "repent!" Help us to heed your cry that you may then hear ours.

Thank-you, Father, for your continued presence and guidance. Thank-you that so many people remain faithful to your word and truly seek your will. Thank-you for the opportunities given your church in hard and stressful times to witness to your mercy, care, sovereignty and salvation. Thank-you for your faithful, unending, unlimited, unconditional love. Help us to be faithful in our response to so great a love. And if we will only let you, thank-you for your blessing the United States of America.

Cos

Yen and Yank

     Last week we looked at how the church can affect and influence our greater culture when our culture in many ways no longer views the church as relevant or having any power to speak to today's people or issues. The theory postulated was that the church still has the same power it always has had: the power of the love of God shown mightily on the cross and demonstrated through the church by the way we love God and each other. This was the first of three A's. The A of adoration. Adore Jesus and when one truly loves someone, it shows. The western world has seen our buildings, heard our preachers, snickered at our squabbles, tasted our programs and turned away. It is high time the lost world sees, hears, tastes, and is touched by the way we love and adore our Savior. This is the power of God whose love turns spiritual rebels into passionate lovers of the King and His Kingdom.
     We now turn our attention to the other two A's. Let's also call them the Yen and Yank. Starting with the yank, this will be the Yank A (sorry 'bout that).  I Thessalonians 5:22 implores us to avoid every kind of evil. There are some things we need to avoid to have the moral standing from which to share Christ. If He creates in us a new heart and if we are indeed new creatures in Christ, it stands to reason that there are unholy, sinful actions and attitudes which must be avoided. We have, in too many cases, stopped talking about sin, maybe as a pendulum swing because there were periods in church history where it seems that's all we talked about. Too many churches and denominations were known for what they were against rather than what they were for. But the truth remains that we are called to a life of holiness and that necessitates a putting off or leaving off of the things connected to the old self, the un-regenerated life. The world is too much with us wrote William Wordsworth and this is true for many in our churches. We have sought the pleasures of the world at the expense of the disciplines needed for righteous living. Developing a group of rules-keeping-modern-day-Pharisees is not the goal. If we move with and toward the first A, adoration, the second A, avoiding, takes its proper place. It is not a strength we lead with but a result of not wanting any thing in our lives that is not consistent with the character of Christ. No casuistry is enlisted. The word of God as applied by the Spirit of Christ to the spirit of believers with an historic perspective of the church will help the saints avoid the dulling effects of sin on their blood-washed lives. The New Testament uses words and phrases like put off, flee, avoid, throw off, and put to death those things that lessen, cheapen, and hinder our growth in maturity and service in the world. ...let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.   Hebrews 12: 1 There are things to be avoided. Yank them out of your life.
        Now the third "A." This is the yen, that for which the believer is to yearn. This is the positive to the "yank's" negative. This is what the church Advocates. So what are believers to be advocating? What is the church known for? Matthew 6:33 reminds us to seek the righteousness of the King and His Kingdom first. What will this look like?  Firstly, it will  look like Christ. The churches and individuals believer's character, perspective and passion will look like Jesus'. Secondly, the church's tone and hue will take on the sounds and life-colors of Christ.The believer will advocate by word and deed everything Jesus was all about. He was all over redemption. He craved justice and executed it. He couldn't help but meets needs everywhere he went. He was always generous. He was forgiving, merciful.  He was pro-life, pro-health, pro-earth, pro-people and mostly pro-His Father in heaven.  If someone were to watch you over a period of weeks and hear your conversations, what would they say were your passions? What do you advocate?
      One of the ways the church can still be the church and have the proper kinds of power is to know and show the three A's of Adoration, Advocacy, and Avoidance.  I remember a scene from when the boys were little and were watching a Winnie the Pooh and Tigger show. Things got bad for the duo and they needed help to get out of a well or hole or something. Pooh lamented that if only he could jump up and get out. Tigger said bouncing is what Tiggers do best and he bounced he and Pooh right out. The church isn't finished or powerless or dead. We just need to remember  what we do best: Adore Jesus; Avoid sin; Advocate for all that is of grace and righteousness and justice. We will bounce back just fine.
        Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.    Eph. 1:3

Still trying to make "A's",
Cos

Winning by Losing

     There is  much lament arising from the anguished soul and psyche of Americans these days, maybe especially those of faith. It seems the lid has blown off any restraint, if there ever was one, on immorality, disrespect, and disregard for the upward call to greater civility, greater achievement, and greater exploration of what humanity can and should achieve in and with faith in a sovereign, loving God. With more and more people claiming no church, synagogue or religious preference it is easy to point fingers, cry Jeremiahan tears, scream out for any proposed solution to fix our problems and return us to the good old days. Yet, were we honest with ourselves some of the simple ideas given to fix us won't really work. We can plaster our post offices and court houses with the ten commandments but if 90% of us don't know what they are and we don't live by them at home, at work, or in our society, they won't do a lot of good. Even if we returned "prayer" to the school who would you get to lead it? Today's school teachers have never been in school where it was done, would they lead it? In our pluralistic society where all faiths are welcomed how would you implement it? Muslim prayer on Monday? Trinitarian on Tuesday? Wicca on Wednesday? The problems are so profound and run so deep it is easy on many days to throw up one's hands and vow to give up and quit caring.
      But you can't, at least not for long. You're not made that way. So you look again. How about this...throw up your hands, throw down your knees (figuratively, if not literally for my aged friends), and pray. As you pray remember this: Jesus said, "In this world you will have tribulation. But take heart! I have overcome the world."  John 16:33
       If this world declares there is no God, therefore we are not made in his image and are further therefore not accountable to him the people of faith in Christ simply remind the world around them that there is, we are, and always will be. Well, how do we do that you ivory-towered preacher in a gated golf community? I propose the same way if I were a mission church pastor on the wrong side of the freeway (been there, too).  We share Christ, show Christ and offer the world an alternative to relativism, license, non-faith, immorality, selfishness, greed, and arrogance. We will show this alternative life-of-faith-in-God by the 3 A's.
        Adoration-- many, in fact, most American still say they believe in God or a "higher" power. Yet, how many truly know Him, love Him.  The church has, and always has had, in wealth or poverty, peace or war, times of spiritual drought or blessing, the call and joy of adoring the living Christ. People say they believe in God, but do they love Him? This was Jesus' question to Peter after the denying debacle at his trial. "Do you love me?" It was also Tevya's question to Golde in Fiddler on the Roof,  after 25 years of routine, struggle, 3 girls and thousands of milkings (dairyman), "do you love me?"  I believe Jesus is still asking we modern day Simon Peter's and Golde's, "do you love me?" Is Jesus so real and so alive to us that he can ask after the routines of living, loving, winning and losing,  "do you love me?" Jesus said if you love me, you will keep my commandments. He also said that the world will know you are my disciples by the way you love one another. We can in the midst of trouble adore Jesus, personally and deeply. We adore him by trusting him with our fears, doubts, and daily needs. We adore him by obeying him. Believers carry his words on our lips,  his mercy in our hearts, and should carry out his commands in our lives. This affects speech, attitudes, spending, giving, and serving.  A heart overflowing with adoration can't help for the most part but do what he wants us to do. And a life that adores Christ with all the heart, soul, mind and strength, will be busy loving those he loves. We adore him in worship on Sunday and we adore him by the way we serve on Monday and every other day.
        It may look like we are losing our place, our prestige, our power as churches in the world. This is probably good. For the church, our place is with the lost and hurting of the world. The only prestige we seek is the glory of our Savior and the only power we are to exert is the power of his redemptive love. It looked like Jesus was losing on good Friday. He was just warming up.
       There is a way to win by losing. It starts with adoration. Do you love him?

Cos
(ok, ok, I didn't forget, just thought it was getting long. The next two A's next week......)

You Can't Go Home Again

     You can't go home again. Thomas Wolfe's character said that in the novel by the same name seventy plus years ago. George Webber, the character in the novel laments that "you can't go back to your family, back home to your childhood...back home to a young man's dreams of fame and of glory...back home to the old forms and systems of things which once seemed everlasting but which are changing all the time--back home to the escapes of time and memory."
     Maybe he was right, but sometimes we try. I went home again last Friday.
     The occasion was a homecoming football game. I'd seen the mighty Bulldogs play a few times in the playoffs in the 39 years since I'd graduated. But I had not been to a football game in Milford since the fall of 1973. Otis Carter, my friend and classmate now coaches the Bulldogs and sent me an invite. Ann, our associate pastor, also from Milford sent me a schedule.
     So I went home, again, for the first time.
     In many ways Wolfe was right. It was the same Horton Field, named after the first coach Milford had after it decided football was back to stay. He died from a rattlesnake bite the spring after his first year at Milford. He didn't let the Bulldogs compete for the district crown that year as he thought they wouldn't be ready. They won every game. I wonder if many know that story? The streets were the same but the businesses were different. No bank, no grocery store, feed store, two pharmacies, two cafes and five gas stations. No, I can't go home to that hometown again. It was the same streets, and even if the businesses hadn't changed, I had. I see them through eyes that have traveled many years, and that in itself changes how I look at things.
     But I didn't go home to see streets, businesses, and football fields, I went to see people. I found some. They were the same people, with the same names I knew back when, but all had new faces. Oh, the old faces were still there, but they were new faces nonetheless. The stylus of time etches into all our faces the lines of joy and sadness; dreams faded and dreams realized; companionship enjoyed and lonliness endured. Grief and tragedy had painted some faces with their harsh hues. Grace and peace had brightened others. Most of the faces, by this age, had been etched and painted by all of these at one time or another and in varying degrees. So the faces were new, but not completely...........
      I recognized them, mostly. They recognized me, mostly. We helped each other when the name didn't come. We talked of families and grandkids (Janie and Karen have ten grandkids each). I saw the first woman I married. She still had long black hair and I mistook her daughter for her at first. Her husband, the first man I married, hadn't changed much. David and Penny have been married nearly 40 years now. I chuckled that my first wedding, when I knew nothing about what I was doing has lasted the longest. Larry was still funny. Otis is the coach he always was, pouring his life into kids. Karen is still kind. Ken is still a  lanky cowboy. Pinky still has faith and hope. I reminisced with black friends and white friends. We laughed a bit. Then it got quiet. Not much to talk about except the past and that past that was a long time ago.
     In many ways Wolfe was wrong. You can go home again, especially if you are at home with change. Who changed more? Me or Otis? Me or Janie? Me or David or Larry or Karen? How do you measure a life of changes? You can't, you just live them and accept them as a price of living. For the Christian being at home is about change. Christ has changed our destinies. Christ has changed guilt to freedom. Jesus changes fear to hope. He will one day change the pain to joy and in His grace...oh His grace, we can even get a taste of it now and can only imagine what our homecoming will be one day.
      In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye...we shall be changed. (I Cor. 15:51-52 kjv)
     And then, we shall all go home, again.

Cos

Weird Values

                                                Weird Values


 I ended last week's article with a set of weird values. I didn't know I would be out weirded. I should have guessed. Some of the weirdness was sick and tragic. Some weirdness was greatly anticipated and seen as newsworthy. Some of the weirdness was comical.

This time last week I didn't know a new species of monkey would be found in the Congo. It totally surprised the researchers. Apparently, the monkey was also surprised to know he hadn't existed before. I also didn't know about a South Korean rapper named Gangman who has launched a dance video that has gotten 20 million YouTube hits in less than a month. It's a cheesy bit that is somewhat reminiscent, they say, of riding a horse. If you ride a horse like that in Texas you could be shot. I also didn't know the new iphone 5 was coming out. It made headlines and has every morning news show giving it time and discussing it's new features. People hadn't figured out iphone 4 yet have they? The greatest feature for Apple is it costs more. A monkey? A horsey video? A phone? It is weird how we react to these "news" items. Much hoopla, much TV time, and a lot of buzz on the internet. The monkey will keep being the monkey he has always been. The horsey dance video will fade when something goofier comes out. The new phone will be the greatest thing since, since the last one came out and until the iphone 6 makes its debut. What do these occurrences say about our values?

On the tragic and sick side of weird is the reaction to a poorly made, poor quality film deriding Mohammad that was made in the US but shown on YouTube in the Middle East. It has caused riots in three countries and apparently caused Al Qaeda to seize the opportunity ( maybe they orchestrated it) and invade a diplomatic outpost in Libya and kill four Americans. Is their god so slight, so vindictive, so sensitive that he would allow his followers to break several commandments to defend his honor from idiots not even present in the places they rioted?  Is there a point where the Majesty, Truth, and Holiness of a god is so high above the idiocy of man that their insults can't reach him? Is he not capable in the last days to bring vengeance to those who actually insult him without harming the innocent?  In Islam, apparently not.

All these news items from the goofy to the heartbreaking say something about the values behind their creation and the values behind the reactions to them. The values in these episodes show fear, anger, vindictiveness, trivia, boredom, arrogance and self-serving pleasure. I've been guilty of all these at one point or another in my life. Which brings me to my ideal list.

The list from last week was : eating; stretching; forgetting; resting; investing. Yes, at first glace that is a weird set of values. Let me explain..........

Eating: Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.  Psalm 34:8
           How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Psalm 119:103
            Take and eat; this is my body.... Matthew 26:26
           Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise his up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink....he remains in me and I in him.   John 6:54-56

Stretching:  Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already become perfect, but I press on the take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining forward (stretching) to what is ahead. Ephesians 3: 12-14
Forgetting: For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more. Hebrews 8:12 and Jeremiah 31: 31-34.    (also see above Eph. 3:12-14)
Resting: Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you  rest. Matthew 11:28
               A faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time....Titus 1:2
                This is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts and he knows everything.  I John 3:19ff
Also Hebrews 4
Investing: Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.  Matthew 6:33-34
                  Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured in your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.   Luke 6: 37-38.
                  God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown his people and continue to help them.  Hebrews 6:11

If I wasn't weird, my list of values would contain words like honor, respect, integrity, passion, commitment, truthfulness, kindness, contentment, joy, trust, justice, mercy, and generosity. I can fit each of these into the five categories of values I have chosen. The point is to think, consider, ponder, play with and ultimately assemble your own list and then live the list. I would imagine a great number of people actually live out some great values that they never put into words. Unfortunately, our present coming generations not only need to have the values lived before them, they need to know the words and concepts of what values actually are and from where these values have arisen. Homes, marriages, businesses, governments, and lives are floundering from a lack of values worth living. Rise up o church of God and shine the light of  God's truth on the world around you. Maybe then many will quick living for the next gadget, fad, or worldly promise that comes along and pick the pearl of great value.

Value Added,
Cos

What Would You Take With You?

                                           What Would You Take With You?


The recent and annual seasons of natural disasters got me to thinking about it. What would I take with me if the authorities told me I had thirty minutes to gather some belongings and evacuate before disaster hit? I suppose I'd gather some important documents like the will, insurance policies, and recipes for home made ice cream and cobbler. Some clothes would be on the list, especially clean underwear (something my mother told me). I'd gather the dogs up and stick them in the back seat. I likely grab the plastic box of family pictures and albums of grandkids pictures. I also make room for the wife and hope her list was shorter, but I doubt it would be. There would always be regrets but I'd be thankful for what I could get and the thirty minutes warning, many never get even that.

The hurricanes, tornadoes, mud slides, earthquakes, and floods can significantly reduce or destroy our valuables in a matter of minutes. But here is a wonderful truth: Nothing can reduce or destroy our values. The values of who we are, what kind of human beings we are stay with us like breath. There become a part of us, recognized by our loved ones and close friends just like they would our face. Values seemed to be under valued these days compared with valuables, the stuff we like a lot. That is a shame. We have increasingly become a people known more for what we have than who we are. That is a shame. One of the reasons that is a shame is that it is a sham. Any hurricane or tornado can take away those things which are not lasting but who and what you are in character lasts and goes with you.

Back in my younger days when I worked with more young people I'd initiate conversations about values. When meeting with younger staff members I'd work it in. In doing pre-marital counseling I'd be direct. In occasionally addressing youth groups or young adults, values where always included somewhere in the teaching, preaching, and discussion. I'd ask questions like what values are sacred to you? I'd ask what values modeled by parents, relatives, teachers, coaches and friends shaped you? In your marriage, at your work, in your home, what values will you share? I'd ask new parents what are the top five values you hope to instill in your children? I got a lot of blank stares, kinda like the looks I get when I preach.

Our nation, our youth, our marriages are starving for an infusion of values. I categorized for my own amusement three areas that are valued by too many segments of our society. We value belonging, bling, and bargains. We want to feel a part of something important, powerful, safe, fun, edgy, or meaningful. People fill this need by joining health clubs, service groups, gangs, shopping networks, and signing up for facebook and twitter. We add houses, jewelry, ithis or ithat, gadgets, trips, clothes, and a dozen other good things. We then value and seek the bargains for the stuff that will make us feel better and help us fit and function in our group better.  But what values do the groups themselves espouse or share? What values are sacred to that group? In too many cases the belonging, the bling, and the bargains propagates self, materialism, and making the group bigger. In the end many people feel more isolated, poor, confused, disillusioned, angry, fearful and cynical about the world and its people. Life can be a vicious circle unless there are lasting, solid values shaping, guiding, guarding and enhancing our lives.

Jesus offered all the belonging, bling, and bargains we will ever need but they are based on true values--the value based on His character, His power, His will, and His kingdom's life. He promised in John 1:12 that as many as received Him, he gave them the right, the power, to become children of God. That's a good family to belong to. In Ephesians 1: 3 Paul declared that Jesus has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. Wow, talk about bling! And bargains? Look at Ephesians 2:8-9: For it is by grace that you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God---not by works, so that no one can boast. Try and beat that price.

So what values would you take with you if disaster stuck? Since disasters don't happen to us everyday, thankfully, here is a better question:  what values do you hold sacred, allow to shape you, and which ones do you seek to share every day as life strikes? List five or ten for yourself. Write them down and stick them in your Bible. Read them often. Need some help? Look at the ten commandment in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5  as a source. The Beatitudes in Matthew 5 are a huge source. Paul has lists of vices and virtues in nearly every letter he wrote to churches in the New Testament. Take a look at Galatians 5:22, Eph. 6, Philippians 3-4 has some great values listed. Colossians 3 has both positive and negative lists. Take a look at these and others you discover and form your own list. Then you will know what you will take with you when disaster or every day life strikes.

My top five values are as follows: Eating; Stretching; Forgetting; Resting; Investing. Oh, you think I need to explain how those are good values? Oops. Out of space for today........

Value Added,
Cos