Soul Pollution

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

                                                                     --James 1:27

When I lived in Pennsylvania my dad used to take my brother and I down to the river to fish. I can remember those days very vividly. It was there I learned to throw my line in way upstream and let the current carry it past me from left to right. The Susquehanna gathers volume as it passes through our little town of Wyoming, and it carries a lot of debris as well. On good days we avoided snagging old tires or bedsprings hidden beneath the surface. As for the fish, whenever we caught one we generally threw it back because we didn't want strange contaminants infecting us. The fish weren't glowing or anything, they just weren't useful as healthy food.  

I think James is referring to something like this when he warns us to "keep oneself from being polluted by the world." If we allow ourselves to become contaminated we will become useless, much like the fish in the Susquehanna. The fish can't do much to avoid the contamination of their surroundings, but we have a supernatural agent in the Holy Spirit that works within us (Gal. 5:16) to avoid the filth of the world. But, beware, lest you rest easy and find yourself drifting downstream and sickly. The Christian life is a fight upstream that requires constant effort and vigilance. The best way I know how to overcome the pollution and current is to be frequent with prayers and devotions. Stay close also to friends that can strengthen your resolve and prick your conscience when they see contamination in you.   

Picture from: 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fly_fishing

Respecting God's Name

I’ve got an example of how you can break the third commandment that you probably weren’t taught in elementary Sunday School. If you remember, the third commandment reads thus: “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.” (Exodus 20:7)

Before I give the example, I need to ask you what it means to take his name in vain. What do you think? The NIV’s translation is helpful here. It says, “You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God.” I submit there are many ways to misuse the LORD’s name.

Whatever else this commandment teaches us, it should be very evident that God is very protective of his name. In Exodus 3 we read the story of the burning bush and notice that God reveals his holy name to Moses. This is a BIG deal. Think of it—God trusting his holy name to a corrupted race of people knowing full well that they would drag it through the mud and profane it among the nations.

This in fact did happen and we can read about it in Ezekiel 36. Here God says of Israel, “And whenever they went among the nations they profaned my holy name, for it was said of them, ‘These are the LORD’s people, and yet they had to leave his land.’ I had concern for my holy name, which the house of Israel profaned among the nations where they had gone…I will show the holiness of my great name…then the nations will know that I am the LORD.” (vs 20-23)

This example shows us the anger of the LORD at the actions of Israel because his name was losing respect among the nations. As Christians we should pay attention. We often do the same.

Here is my example: I was at a traffic light the other evening with my family in the car. From the left a minivan made a swerving left hand turn nearly hitting the curb before the light changed. We then followed this erratic driver to the next light at which we noticed him roll down his window to toss a smoldering cigarette out onto the pavement. My annoyance turned to anger when my eyes caught the Jesus fish on the back of the vehicle. God’s name was profaned by that man in that moment. And he never said a word. Where’s the respect?

We must guard our words and actions carefully. The name of the LORD is not to be trifled with. And, with all he has done for us shouldn’t we long to see it lifted high?

CF: Phil. 2:9-11

Disqualified

The NFL star, Reggie Bush, had to give up the most prized trophy in college football two weeks ago because he took illegal money at USC. He will now be linked with names like Ben Johnson, Marion Jones, and Floyd Landis. I know that his offenses were off the field and probably didn't affect his playing ability at all, but as I see it, cheating is cheating, no matter what form it comes in. He was rightly disqualified.

When this happened I was reminded that there will be a future award ceremony for Christians. I don't know if it will be in public or private, but there awaits a crown of righteousness for the faithful. And, since you can't take little statues of football players into eternity I think God's award ceremony is a superior prize.

Paul wrote about the subject of eternal rewards using a sporting analogy. He said, "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown (or Heisman Trophy) that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize." (italics mine)

Clearly we who are true Christians need not fear losing our salvation.* But we can certainly lose rewards. How about you? Do you take seriously the possibility of disqualification? If not, then take the apostle's advice and sign up for the strict training he referred to. Pursue your relationship with Christ as a matter of discipline. Keep the goal in mind. If you fall, the Lord will pick you up. Pursue the prize!

*Romans 8:38, Ephesians 1:13-14
Picture found at: http://allsports.blogsome.com/2006/12/10/troy-smith-brings-home-the-heisman-trophy

Summer Windows

Ephesians 5:15-16  

Be very careful, then, how you live--not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because they days are evil.

In an offbeat random sort of way I was thinking about the summer today. I wondered almost aloud if I would be trying to make this summer count if I were still a student.  I remember the summers of my high school days--they were filled with work and dates. I would spend my working hours at a poor wage rate making money to go out and spend it on things and people that are not a part of my life any more. The cycle would repeat itself ad nauseum and it's a miracle I had anything to show for it when school started in the fall.

I wondered if I would have gone on a Youth Group trip if the opportunity presented itself. Our youth group didn't really do much in the summer and I generally took spiritual nosedives. The current irony is that I spend my days trying to plan summer experiences for students and then convince them they would benefit from going.

I think that if my high school group had gone places I would have stayed home and worked for two reasons. Firstly, I thought I needed the money, which is quite funny really. Yes, I thought all those movies and dinners and clothes were needs. Secondly (and most significantly), I did not have the perspective I have now. I would have failed to see a very important truth about life that is all too real for me now. Life is a series of open windows of opportunity. We fool ourselves into thinking they'll never shut, but oh how quickly and suddenly this can happen!

I think people don't really think about this seriously until their first really difficult window closes. When I say difficult I mean those windows we didn't want to let close, but they closed anyway. When a child gives up his tricycle for a bicycle a window has closed, but there was no great desire to stay in the tricycle stage anyway so there is no felt loss. The same is not true of a man who picks up a scrapbook of his son and realizes his wife took all the pictures at baseball games because he wasn't there. Or, what about the student who wakes up the morning after her graduation and realizes that she never did try out for the softball team? Slam goes the window.

Maybe you are in high school still, or maybe those days are a distant memory. Either way, we all have windows of opportunity. What are you doing with yours? Are you passing up opportunities thinking they will be there forever? Let us wake up from any silly illusions of permanent openings and seize the adventures we still have the ability to choose!