"WE ARE NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE"....LIVING IN AN IMPERFECT WORLD

Wouldn't it be loverly (to paraphrase another movie) to live in Utopia. Thanks to Sir Thomas More, we have a dream of a perfect place where the laws are perfect, the government is perfect, and social conditions are perfect.  Wouldn't it be great to live in a place where there is no war, no murder, no theft, no drugs, no abuse, no discrimination, and no disrespect.  It would not matter if our neighbor had African ancestry, Jewish faith, paralyzed, gay, and female.  It would not matter if the people in our land were Conservative or Liberal, Democrat or Republican for labels would be unnecessary.  There would be one faith for all religions would dwell in peace and unite based on common beliefs.  Ahh to have such a place is ideal.  '

Some call this the fulfillment of the book of Revelation in the Christian Bible that describes a religious ruler who implores and leads the world to follow the beast who arises from the sea that has been wounded and is often called the antiChrist.  Yet, we all long for a time when we lay down our weapons and beat them into plowshares as predicted by an Old Testament prophet.  We all want Utopia.  Everyone must follow my views, my beliefs, my way of thinking for that to happen.  This where the problems begin.  Who is right?  Who is wrong?  What is the right thing to do?

We live in an imperfect world not Utopia. We live in a world where there are differences in cultures, language, religions, governments, nations, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation.  We live in a world where politics, religion, and economy control what we think, what we do, and what will happen.  We live in a world where prejudice exists, discrimination happens, murder occurs, violence is tolerated, drugs and alcoholism are major health concerns.  We live in a world of indulgences where people eat too much, spend too much, and drink too much, and marry often in search of Utopia.  

We live in a world of deformities.  Some people are shorter than others, some people are heavier than others.  Some people have better facial features than others.  Some people have physical disabilities or mental disorders.  We have some who are able bodied and can work and be productive while others cannot because of their limitations.  We live in a world where some have more money and possessions than others.  We live in a world of those who have and have not.  We all are well aware of this for we live in this imperfect world.

To deal with this imperfect world, we have created laws that define what is acceptable behavior and what is not.  We have built military power to protect us from those who dislike us or who want what we have or who to control us.  We push for power so we can control the rules and determine what is right and wrong. We get the idea that Utopia is what we believe, what we do, and how we live.  We hold ourselves up to the world as the light, the right way to be and live.  We have the right religion, the right government, and the best economy. Yet, there is something we fail to realize.

We live in a relational Universe. Our universe is based relationships.  Science has proven that when you have substance A and you add substance b, C will occur.  The Universe operates on a proper balance of the relationships between matter, between living things and nonliving things, between plants, animals, and human beings, between human beings.  There are four basic relationships:  Our relationship with the universe (planets, black holes, stars, moons, nature, plants, animals etc), our relationship with self, our relationship with others (human beings) and our relationship or understanding of Divine Power/Belief/God.

We seek to understand what is true and real.  We live in a world of do and don't, a world of right and wrongs, a world of good and evil.  We want to know the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.  We are willing to abuse, harm, and destroy others who get in our way for what we believe to be true.  Wars are fought, votes are given, and debates rage over what is right and wrong.  We often misquote, misconstrue, misled the views and lives of those who oppose us so they will be viewed as villains by those who cast votes or have the power to stop them.  Yet, there is a hunger in all of us to know the truth.

We look to outside sources for truth.  We look at the experiences we have had to determine what is real.  We see these experiences in the light of what we have been taught (tradition), what we see to be rational and logical (reason), and what our religion or no religion teaches us and shows us. (Holy Writings like the Bible).  Yet these sources have a balance.  We explore all four to form our ideals of right and wrong, good and evil, and what is acceptable and what is not. Sometimes, we listen to the voices of others to tell us what is true and what is not.  We follow them blindly believing what they vocalize or write to be truth.

We live in an evolutionary world. Evolution is the correct word for it denotes gradual change. It's use is inflammatory to some for it refers to a scientific process. In this context, it refers to growth and change in understanding of what is true, what is real, and what is good, and what is right.  Religion once demanded that its followers agree that the world is flat not round.  Governments and humans once accepted slavery for various reasons.  Women were equated as property without the right to vote or hold public office.  Having more than one spouse has now become one spouse.  Whether we agree or not, change happens.  Technological advancements, medical advancements,  ideological advancements, and theological advancements have challenged tradition, sacred writings, and experiences.  This is called Progressive revelation.  Often, one who challenges the norm of tradition, sacred writings, and experiences is labeled a traitor, a heretic, a heathen, a reprobate, and other names to vilify them.  

Change happens.  Thus, the call for us all is to listen to those who differ in religious understanding and beliefs, who have different skin color, who have a different nationality, who has a different gender, or a different sexual orientation as we seek to understand, apply, and live in an imperfect world.

One of my professors in Bible College was asked one day in class, "why are there so many translations of the Bible"  His reply, "to keep the word of God pure".   The point is our differences challenge us to find the truth and nothing but the truth.  None of us have it alone!

Think about it!

MAKE UP YOUR MIND...STAND FOR SOMETHING

The Bible contains some challenging words for all of us.  Sometimes there seems to conflicts between what is said and what we do.  When one does not "practice what he preaches", he or she is labeled a hypocrite.  A hypocrite pretends to be something they are really not.  As one old evangelist use to say, "Plastic flowers may look like the real thing, but they are not.  They are hypocrites." (By the way the next night of the Revival, real flowers were on the table in front of the pulpit). 

James 1:5-8 gives a challenge to us,

5 If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. 6 But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. 7 Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.

Wisdom, the ability to look at tradition, experience, intelligence (reason), and Scripture, challenges us to make choices with prudence and circumspection.  This means wisdom thinks before it leaps.  With caution, wisdom calls for looking at the bigger picture before taking a risk.  Wisdom does not mean we never change or stop growing or stand for what is right.  Yet when confronted with a challenge, wisdom makes changes when common sense is applied to situations.  Common sense is not something learned in a textbook.  Common sense is gained through the school of hard knocks (experience), the application of reason (logical thought), tradition (what we have been taught or practiced) and Sacred Writings.  

In a world of paradoxes filled with clashes of ideals, we find ourselves at a stalemate between the forces of ideology.  We have those who call for religious control of political power to the extent that those who disagree or have a different belief are killed.  We have those who label those who differ with them as "left-wing" or "liberal" or "right-wing" or Conservative.  This is currently the case in the United States.  

If one supports gay rights, Obama care, granting status to illegal aliens and changing the name of the Washington Redskins, they are "liberal", socialists, communists.  If one supports strong military, deportation of  illegal immigration, no rights for gays, and cannot see why anyone should be upset by the name of the Washington Redskins, they are "right wing conservatives", tea party members, who seek to impede and stop anything that the other group wants including shutting down the government.

What a mess!  Who is right and who is wrong?  What should we do?  It is time for wisdom to prevail.  We need to evaluate our ethics or those moral principles that guide us whether they be based on religion or not.  We need to lay down the name calling and the character assassinations and look to our moral principles.

This is what wisdom calls us to do.  What moral principles guide us?  That is really a good question, isn't it?  Think about it.

Roy

ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER DOLLAR

Tennessee Ernie Ford sang, "You load sixteen tons and what do you get, another day older and deeper in debt."  Another old saying I have heard so often, "Another day, another dollar."  Such statements speak of a resignation that life is futile.  No matter how we may work, the result is the same.  The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.  Now wait, before you go off the deep end!  This is not a rant.  This is an observation about attitude and seeing life.

It is easy to fall into the trap of looking at life through the lenses of the traditions or teachings that have been passed on to us and the experiences we have had along of life journey.  These lenses can be saddles with blinders that can prevent us from something bigger than the road we travel so the load we carry gets heavier and the pace slows.  We feel trapped.  We stop trying and settle for the way things are rather than what they could be.

We do what is expected us and what we are taught are the keys to success and we find the struggle is not what we expected.  We feel like failures because we have not measure the level of "success" that a sibling has or a friend has.  We work hard, we get a college degree, we are faithful, loyal, and productive employees.  Prices continue to rise and our incomes stay almost the same as we may or may not get a raise.  We feel the discontent of others so we become the follower.  We swallow the political party line or the attitudes of those we call family and friends for we want to be accepted.

When we dare to break the grind and drudgery of the way things are, we often stand alone.  It is so much easier to follow the crowd whether they are right or wrong.  We allow things we know that are wrong because we fear for our lives or we fear rejection and being ostracized.

How do we break the hold that tradition has on us?  How do we overcome the "mob mentality" of being a follower and agreeing to actions and words that we know are wrong?

The United States has long declared itself to the the "melting pot" of the world.  We are witnessing the clash of cultures, the deadlock of political power, and the fallout of being the world's biggest hypocrite.  We don't practice what we preach.  Is this really new?  No, sad to say, it is not new.  We are like so many generations before us.  We have ideals and mores that guide us.  We have religions that show us the better way, yet it all boils down to choice.

Those who lead us choose a path.  The opposition chooses a path.  We would like for them to do what is in the best interest of the country.  Yet, they are thrown into the opinions of those who yell the loudest.  As individuals, we often seek meekly by hoping it will all go away for we are busy dealing with our own situation wearing the blinders that only allow us to the see the clay dirt road in front of us with deep ruts.  Filled with fear we might veer to far to the right or left or even worse bog down in road, we push on oblivious to the world around us.

Choosing the road less traveled calls for choices that often bring change and challenges from the majority.  Jesus once asked the question, "Who will give his soul in exchange for the world?"  This question is deeper than most think.  It is call to action that involves challenges to the way things are.

Think about it.

Roy

THE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN, FOOTBALL, AND OTHER NEWS

BREAKING NEWS!  BREAKING NEWS!

Mixed emotions is how I feel at this moment as we wait for the clock to strike midnight as our divided Congress and our President cannot agree on a budget, continuing resolution, or a debt ceiling.  Sides have been chosen and a great divide exists.  Reminds me of the words of  Jesus in Matthew 12, "A house divided against itself cannot stand."

There is enough written and vocalized about this in the printed media and in the broadcast media so this is not about who it at fault.  My desire is not to express support of any particular point of view or endorse any political party.  My concern is the media and its influence on what we think and how that leads to the divisions we have.  My concern is the lack of  truth that often circulates in a situation like this.  It has been said that if you repeat a lie often enough, it becomes real to you.  We deceive ourselves if we think that any one group completely understands the issues of what is happening now.  Most of us have never read or know what is in the Affordable Care Act.  So often, we become involved in a cause that is hot and we often choose the most popular side.  We live in a republic not a democracy.  A republic is a representative form of government.  We elect Senators and Representatives to make decisions about issues that influence our economy and our culture.  Many voices clamour to be heard and to control how government rules and finances its programs.

We seek to influence our Congress though emails, telephone calls, tweets, and any other methods we can find.  Our Congressman are concerned about reelection so they can continue in office.  Some of us feel that the federal government has become too strong and is usurping the authority reserved to the states and local governments.  Some believe that the federal government is not doing enough.  Somehow, I see our present condition like those days in High School when the jocks, the cheerleaders, and those who had the most were often the most popular.  Yet in the background, there were those who didn't have much, were not jocks, and were often bullied by the most popular into a non existence.  There is a form of bullying now in our adult lives.  We seek to control others through words and actions that tell those who are without and who are in the shadows they don't matter.

No doubt there is abuse and misuse of government and no doubt the pendulum is going to far in one direction so the chaos erupts where we draw lines in the sand that create the stalemate we now have that appears more like two rival gangs fighting over turf.  This warfare causes the decline of neighborhoods as residents fear the gangs.  Our country is in decline as the gangs of politicians continue to fight over control.  We the people have created this.  We elected these men and women to serve us and direct our country.

We encourage the "gang war", the "bullying", and the division because we are so easily influenced to join the gang to which we feel represents our views.  Yet, we don't take the time to see the problems and search for solutions on which we can agree.  There are 50 million people in this country who do not have insurance or 15% of the population.  Our unemployment rate is still above 7%.  Poverty in this country is anyone who makes less than $11,000 per year.  Yes, there are abuses of our government programs and yes we should find ways to prevent fraud while at the same time find ways to help those who need help.

To those who favor the government shutdown, please look at who will this effect and how much this will cost.  You will be paying the bill.  This will add to the national debt.  To those who do not want a government shutdown and are in favor of Obamacare, is there a way to change the law so average people will not penalized if they do not buy insurance?  To those who want to repeal Obamacare, what are you suggestions on making insurance more affordable?  The solution to this problem is stop the grandstanding, the rhetoric, and stop running for office and communicate with each other.  Have a conversation without shouting at each other.  We can do this and when we do, we will find solutions that will continue to show us the way to justice, showing mercy, and walking humbly before our God.

Think about it?

P. S.  We have too many football blowouts and too much entertainment news and too many news shows.  That is my complaint and I am sticking with it.

WHICH WAY SHOULD WE GO?

Ever go on a trip and get lost?  I have.  Especially when I move to a new community as a pastor.  The directions given to a person's house was confusing.  Some can't be found on a GPS.  I have go around in circles looking but I did discovered new roads and new ways to get around.

Listening to the news lately, I am lost again.  The President wants to attack Syria because Syrian Regime have used gas against the Rebel Forces.  Yet, we have not been attacked and really have no part in the civil war.  We have heard this before.  There was absolute proof that Saddam Hussein had chemical weapon stockpiles in Iraq.  We didn't find any but we lost many American lives discovering that fact.  Did Hussein ship these to Syria before our attack?  Did Assad really gas his people?  Or did the rebels or a fraction of rebels attack another fraction with chemical weapons to draw us into the conflict?  What we will we do after the "shot over the bow"?  What if we are attacked by Syria or Russia?  No other nations seems to be ready to fight with us on this issue.

We have a huge debt problem in our country that is continuing to grow.  We have Affordable Health Care Act that begins implementation October 1, 2013 and the law takes effect January 1, 2014.  What will this do to our economy?  Will we have a government shutdown if Congress cannot agree on increasing the debt limit?

What is the right thing to do?  As a Christian, what should or could I do?

1. Seek God.  The conditions are laid down for us in II Chronicles 7:14, "Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land."   This is the time to seek God realizing that God is great, glorious, gracious, and good for when we bow before God knowing that we have not lived the way we should, God will give us the answers.
2. Trust in God.  Proverbs 3:5,6 states "Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do,and he will show you which path to take"  We need a national day of prayer.  Our President and our congress should call for a national day of prayer as we seek God's guidance for the direction of our country.
3. Do the Right Thing.  Micah 6:8 states "No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good,
   and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy,and to walk humbly with your God.  When God shows us the right way, we should do it!
4.  Pray for our leaders.  Paul instructed Timothy to pray for those who rule over us so that we might live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity.

WARNING:
Proverbs 28:2
"When there is moral rot within a nation, its government topples easily. But wise and knowledgeable leaders bring stability."

THIS IS WHAT WE SHOULD AND CAN DO!

GOOD NEWS ON A BAD NEWS DAY

Ever read the paper, then watch the local news, and the national news back to back?  There are the local robberies, stabbings, shootings, and political wrangling.  Then we hear about gas prices rising and falling like a yo yo.  The national news is full of international crisis like the U. S. planning an attack on Syria or the bombings and deaths in Iraq.  Then we hear about shark attacks, wildfires burning, and murder trials.  Today, we heard about Ariel Castro, the man who kidnapped three women in Ohio, hanged himself in jail.  We are faced with all of this based on the public's right to know and freedom of the press.  Freedom of the press is a sacred and civil right.  Yet, all of the information about "scandals" in the government over the years leads us to believe that we don't know the truth and nothing but the truth about what happens in our government.  All of this cynicism we have developed gives us a deaf ear when it comes to news or it raises our blood pressure.

In the midst of all the bad news, we need some good news.  One would think that capturing the largest alligator of 727 pounds in Mississippi is good news so it was plastered on the local news and national news on television and in our local paper.  Then there is Diane Nyad who tried five times to swim from Cuba to Key West, FL and her fifth time was the charm.  She started when she was 28 and now at 64, she made it.  Way to go Diane!

This month we are bombarded with advertisements for the new fall television season as popular old shows return and new shows begin.  What we really should be concerned about is the number of commercials we have to endure to see 15 minutes of a program.  Oh well, there is always Netflix that seldom adds new movies and what they do add seems to be B and C grade movies.  Yes, you guessed it, I am cynical.  Is it to much to ask for a television show that makes me feel good when I am finished watching it?

Well, as old men go, I have decided that good news is all around us even on the days when bad news fills the printed page, the local news broadcast, and the national news broadcast.  Turn off the television.  Walk outside.  Feel the warmth of the sun and the breeze blowing in the early morning.  It is the beginning of a new day.  This is a day the Lord has made and I will rejoice and be glad in it.  Instead of letting the bad news fill your mind, turn on some music.  Listen to the sounds of God's gift to those who compose and those who play the music that speaks to the soul.  Read the Bible and allow God's Spirit to speak.  Worship the Lord God who is good, glorious, gracious, and great for God's unfailing love.  The time you spend doing this will fill you spirit with good news.

Think about it.

Roy

IT's BEEN 8 YEARS SINCE HURRICANE KATRINA

Eight years ago, Sunday started out as a normal Sunday in Laurel, MS where I was serving as a pastor.  The sun's rays filled the morning as we prepared to worship, but we were told to get ready for the huge Hurricane headed our way.  Even though, we were 90 miles from the coast, this storm looked as though it could bring destruction our way.  Sunday afternoon the sky turned dark as the clouds ushered in rain and wind.  Throughout the night and the next day, it rained and the wind blew.  We had 130 MPH winds.  Trees popped and fell across roads, on houses, and in yards as our area also had 25 tornadoes touch down.  15 people were killed in our area.

When the storm stopped, we had destruction all around us.  Crews from Georgia Power came through clearing our streets.  There was no power, no electricity, and no phone service.  By Wednesday, I was able to get to the church.  I discovered that we had electricity, phones, and air conditioning.  Immediately, I called our conference office to relay the destruction information.  Soon, people started coming to the church.  We sat up an emergency center for food, water, and other help.  Volunteers from all the country came.  God is great, glorious, good, and gracious.  God supplied our every need as we sought to help our communities recover.

I have been through many natural disasters but none of them was as bad as Hurricane Katrina in my opinion.  Yet, in the midst of all of this, I saw and experienced God.  I saw God in the lives of the members of the West Laurel United Methodist Church who opened the doors of the church and who volunteered to help the community.  I saw God in the faces and lives of Churches all over the country who sent volunteers who spent weeks helping us.  To God be the Glory.

As I think about it all, I am reminded of the promise Jesus made, "I am with you always".  God never promised us a life free from storms and struggles.  God did promise to be with us and God does keep God's word.