Crossroad Online
Come On…Catch Up! – December 8th, 2022
Hi, this is Pastor Ken and these are my thoughts on a Thursday…Come On, Catch Up!
When I was growing up my younger brother Gary was seemingly always waiting for me to catch up with him. It wasn’t that he was bigger or even necessarily faster, but he was always in the lead. Gary did everything fast. If Gary attempted to do something, he did it with abandon. That is just who he was. I, on the other hand am a bit more cautious. Not scared, just aware of the possible dangers. I like to do things with a tad more foresight than my brother cared for. If there was a chance he might get hurt, he would deal with it when it happened. If there was a possibility you might want an exit strategy, in his mind the time for that was when you needed it and not a minute before. Gary simply liked living life on a razor’s thin edge, that’s where he was most comfortable.
I am not comfortable operating on the edge. I am not at all against spontaneity, I just like to look both ways before I run across the street, Gary like to do that after he had crossed…just to see what might have almost hit him! I have nothing against having fun, but I want to know before hand that I’ll still be smiling when it’s over, Gary would rather wait to find out. I even enjoy a small (emphasis on the small part) level of danger, but for Gary…the more the better. So there were lots of times when we were growing up that we would end up racing, climbing, or jumping off of something and Gary would at some point in the adventure turn around and look at me and say “Come on, catch up!”
When I was reading my bible this morning I came across a scripture that immediately reminded me of Gary and the very things I have just shared with you about him. Today I was reading 1 Corinthians 8, it’s a short chapter (only 13 verses) but it has a long reach (by that, I mean it applies to a lot of things). Allow me to read it to you now from the New Living Translation.
Now regarding your question about food that has been offered to idols. Yes, we know that “we all have knowledge” about this issue. But while knowledge makes us feel important, it is love that strengthens the church. 2 Anyone who claims to know all the answers doesn’t really know very much. 3 But the person who loves God is the one whom God recognizes. 4 So, what about eating meat that has been offered to idols? Well, we all know that an idol is not really a god and that there is only one God. 5 There may be so-called gods both in heaven and on earth, and some people actually worship many gods and many lords. 6 But for us,
There is one God, the Father,
by whom all things were created,
and for whom we live.
And there is one Lord, Jesus Christ,
through whom all things were created,
and through whom we live.
7 However, not all believers know this. Some are accustomed to thinking of idols as being real, so when they eat food that has been offered to idols, they think of it as the worship of real gods, and their weak consciences are violated. 8 It’s true that we can’t win God’s approval by what we eat. We don’t lose anything if we don’t eat it, and we don’t gain anything if we do.9 But you must be careful so that your freedom does not cause others with a weaker conscience to stumble. 10 For if others see you—with your “superior knowledge”—eating in the temple of an idol, won’t they be encouraged to violate their conscience by eating food that has been offered to an idol? 11 So because of your superior knowledge, a weak believer for whom Christ died will be destroyed. 12 And when you sin against other believers by encouraging them to do something they believe is wrong, you are sinning against Christ. 13 So if what I eat causes another believer to sin, I will never eat meat again as long as I live—for I don’t want to cause another believer to stumble.
So why does this scripture remind me of my dare-devilish brother? His response of “Come on…Catch up!” when I was surveying the safety concerns of our next “escapade” that was the connection for me. I think that Gary’s attitude toward me was much the same as the attitude we can have toward other Christians if we’re not careful. My brother’s knowledge that something that looked fun to him would turn out just fine was completely and errantly based on the deduction that if he hadn’t been hurt doing it in the past, he couldn’t be hurt doing in the future. His insistence on experiencing whatever “fun” had caught his attention did, however, encourage me to go along and attempt it with him. I bear physical scars to this day that offer testimony that what I am telling you is true.
We don’t think of having idols anymore and for many of us the concept of meat being sacrificed to idols is so foreign, that we might have difficulty even understanding the dilemma of the Corinthian Church. It can be hard for us to understand what the big deal was concerning whether or not the meat that had been sacrificed to idols should be eaten by Christians. However, our lack of contextual understanding doesn’t make this scripture irrelevant…not by any means.
Christians today have other “Gray areas”. Should we drink alcohol? Is dancing ok? If so, does it matter what kind of dancing it is? Is all music ok to listen to? If not which is good, and which isn’t? Is it ok to take a vacation to Las Vegas? What if you don’t gamble while you’re there? Should we use debt to buy things we don’t have the money for? Which is the bigger problem, cigarettes, caffeine, or overeating? Have I stepped on any live wires yet?
Paul’s larger point is that our “knowledge” that tells us that we are fine to engage in a particular activity is really ignorance if we are so devoid of love for our fellow brother or sister in Christ that we do not choose to abstain from something that might encourage them to act against their conscience. He tells us that Christ looks at those things as a personal affront to Him. Our attitude might be, “What’s their problem, they should know it’s ok, after all, all things are permissible right?” Paul says, not so fast, all things may be permissible, but all things are not profitable (1 Cor. 6:12 & 1 Cor. 10:23). It is far more important to be humble and loving than to flaunt our quote-unquote “knowledge and understanding”. I think Paul would say that the next time we look back and see our brother or sister obviously considering if something is ok to engage in, we shouldn’t respond with a “Come on…Catch up!”
So now, showing how much you love Christ by preferring your brother’s and sisters’ convictions above your own…Go Be Awesome!
Go Climb A Tree! – December 1, 2022
Hi, this is Pastor Ken and these are my thoughts on a Thursday…Go Climb A Tree!
When I was a young boy the high tech method of illustrating a Sunday School lesson did not involve a HD 4K television screen. We also didn’t have anything called a “Smartboard”. Instead my Sunday School teacher employed the use of something called a “Felt board” For those who do not remember these amazing devices, it was a stiff piece of cardboard covered in a piece of felt cloth. Paper cutouts of the characters involved in the bible story had strips of a slightly different felt on the back of them, which allowed them to adhere to the main felt board kind of like Velcro. I say “kind-of-like” because it was just like Velcro except a slight breeze, say from the teacher walking in front of the board, would “blow” the paper cutouts off the board and onto the floor. Half of the morning’s entertainment was in watching the teacher patiently return the characters of the story to their rightful place on the felt board. Additionally, it was always fun when the class was over, to play with the cutouts ourselves, re-animating the story to include facts found only in our imaginations.
One of my favorite memories of those felt-board lessons was the one depicting the account of Zacchaeus “the wee little man” who not only had a felt board lesson, but a children’s song written about him as well. Recalling it even now, I can see myself sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of the felt-board looking up at Zacchaeus precariously perched on top of the tree, both of them hanging on to the board for dear life with little to no chance they weren’t going to end up on the floor before the lesson was over.
I can certainly remember the story from recall but instead allow me to read it to you now from the New Living Translation. The account is found in Luke 19:1-10 Jesus entered Jericho and made his way through the town. 2 There was a man there named Zacchaeus. He was the chief tax collector in the region, and he had become very rich. 3 He tried to get a look at Jesus, but he was too short to see over the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree beside the road, for Jesus was going to pass that way. 5 When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. “Zacchaeus!” he said. “Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today.” 6 Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy. 7 But the people were displeased. “He has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner,” they grumbled. 8 Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, “I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!” 9 Jesus responded, “Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.”
There are the obvious ever-important lessons to be gleaned from this scriptural account. First and foremost, Jesus came to save those who know they need Him. He desires that everyone be saved, but knows that He can only help those who realize they are hopelessly lost and helpless to save themselves. Second, we can learn that Christ wants to see us make changes in our lives as a result of our relationship with Him that are reflective of His character…like integrity. Zacchaeus illustrated that by proclaiming publicly that He would make amends where his lack of integrity had allowed him to cheat others. Third, we can conclude that faith in and personal relationship with Jesus brings about righteousness in our lives. However, there is another lesson here that I think should not be over looked.
Zacchaeus was an interesting character. However, prior to meeting Jesus he was not thought of highly at all. (Pun totally intended) The scriptures describe him in a way that might suggest that in all likelihood he suffered from a condition known in our society as ‘Short-man-syndrome’. Luke speaks directly to the fact that physically Zacchaeus was a short man. The indicators of his ‘short-man-syndrome’ don’t end there though. It was also important to Zacchaeus to be seen as successful. We know that due to the fact that his employment had made him very rich! Add to that the fact that He was the supervisor at the office, and the probability dramatically increases that professionally he was an overachiever. What career had he profited so well from? Zacchaeus was a tax collector, a turncoat, a traitor. His job was to collect taxes for the Roman empire from His fellow Jewish citizens. He and his colleagues were totally hated by their own people for doing such a job, as well as completely distrusted by the Romans for being willing to do so. These men often overcharged the taxes levied on the Jews so they could line their own pockets, a self-justified reward for the lack of respect they encountered from both sides. Zacchaeus was not a man known for action worth emulating.
On the day that is described in this passage, Zacchaeus did something we should not only take note of, but something we should ask ourselves if we are doing each and every day. I know the obvious answer here might be ‘Go climb a tree’, and although it might make a cool tee-shirt or bumper sticker, that’s not the answer. Zacchaeus did climb a tree, but it was his motive and the circumstances that made the action so noteworthy.
Zacchaeus’ motive was that he wanted to see Jesus. We don’t know exactly why he wanted to do that. He may have just been curious. I think however that Jesus, who knows the condition of the heart responded to Zacchaeus as He did because He saw in him a genuineness that was much deeper than simple idle curiosity. I believe that…because of the risks Zacchaeus was taking. He was exposing himself to ridicule simply by climbing the tree. By doing so he was pointing out his own deficiencies, he was too short to look over the crowd and too despised to be permitted to push his way to the front of it. But regardless of the ridicule he might endure, Zacchaeus climbed up in that tree and positioned himself for an encounter with Christ.
Had Zacchaeus not been up in the tree Jesus would likely not have singled him out to ask him if they could have dinner together at his house. Zacchaeus would also likely have missed out on a life altering experience that day. It is obvious by his response to the Lord that meeting Jesus changed his life dramatically, but none of that would have happened had he not positioned himself to have an encounter with Christ.
The obvious lessons I pointed out a few moments ago are indeed important, but I think we need to be asking ourselves an equally important question this account raises. Are we positioning ourselves for an encounter with Jesus today? Are we doing the things necessary to make it possible for Him to speak to us. Have we spent time in His word today? Have we spent time talking to Him in prayer? Have we been meditating on the things of Him? Are we telling other people about how amazing Jesus is, and how good He is to us? All too often I have heard people complain…”Why doesn’t Jesus speak to me?”…but we don’t expend the effort to have an encounter with Him, and then we wonder why we aren’t hearing clearly from Him.
At great personal cost Jesus already did the incredibly difficult work so we could have a growing, living relationship with Him, now He is waiting to see…will we take hold of it. Will we position ourselves as Zacchaeus did so that we might have that personal encounter with him on this day? He desires daily to walk with us and talk to us, so what are we waiting for…let’s go climb a tree!
So now, Being willing to do whatever necessary to have that all important encounter with Jesus today, just do it…and go be awesome!
Good, Better, and Best – November 28, 2022
Hi, this is Pastor Ken and I want to welcome you to the Monday Marriage Message…Good, Better, and Best.
We have all seen these words used to describe things. Being a tool guy, I notice them most often when looking at new tools I would like to buy. There are the “Good” ones that will work as advertised and accomplish the task. There are the “Better” ones, usually made of a slightly higher quality material or with a few more features, and at a higher cost than the base model. Finally, there is the “Best”. This tool will generally be made of the highest quality materials available to the manufacturer. It may also be designed with even more features than the “Good” or “Better” models offered, and it will most certainly be the most expensive of the three. When it comes to how we maneuver through life, there are also three choices. Good, Better and Best.
With the exception of Eve, all of us enter the world single. As I have explained in previous episodes of the Monday Marriage Message, Eve was created in a “One Flesh” condition with Adam. Setting her aside however as the anomaly, the rest of us come into this world single. In the context of this edition, we are born in the “Good” category. We are quite capable of singularly walking through life, some people are intentional about doing this. Scripturally speaking, there is much that ought to be considered before such a choice is made if it is to be decided with one’s eyes wide open.
The first of these is that God determined that “It is not good (interpreted to mean it is incomplete) that man should be alone. Therefore, I will make him a helper comparable to him” (Genesis 2:18) In the theology of marriage it is understood that God was not saying a person should never live singly. He was only noting that a man is incapable alone of emulating the totality of God’s image and likeness. As a result, God made woman to be “one flesh” with man thereby completing the process of creating humankind reflective of their Creator. With this in mind, if we choose to remain single we are accepting that we will be less capable of reflecting the image and likeness of God than we could if we marry. This does not mean we cannot speak or act in Christ like ways. It simply means our capacity for reflecting God’s attributes is diminished because we cannot personally possess all of them. Some of His characteristics were reserved for our opposite. Some attributes of God are found only in men, while others are found solely in women, and others still are not possible without the inclusion of both.
Paul made the argument that for the purposes of serving God without hindrance, he concluded that remaining single as He was would offer a person the most opportunity for uninterrupted service to God. He wrote in 1 Corinthians 7:7-8, 32-35) But I wish everyone were single, just as I am. Yet each person has a special gift from God, of one kind or another. So I say to those who aren’t married and to widows—it’s better to stay unmarried, just as I am…I want you to be free from the concerns of this life. An unmarried man can spend his time doing the Lord’s work and thinking how to please him. But a married man has to think about his earthly responsibilities and how to please his wife. His interests are divided. In the same way, a woman who is no longer married or has never been married can be devoted to the Lord and holy in body and in spirit. But a married woman has to think about her earthly responsibilities and how to please her husband. I am saying this for your benefit, not to place restrictions on you. I want you to do whatever will help you serve the Lord best, with as few distractions as possible.
Certainly, Paul understood the virtue and purpose behind marriage. I don’t think for a minute that He was arguing that no one should marry, that would have been absurd and obviously brought humanity to extinction. I think He simply knew that for himself, considering the challenges of his work for God in the furtherance of the gospel message, He was better suited for that particular task as a single person. I think he was also saying that others who undertook a similar ministry might also be better able to do so in a singular fashion.
If remaining single is good, what is better? The obvious answer is that it is better to marry. Marriage has been the plan from the beginning. As I mentioned above, Genesis chapter 1 and 2 leave little question as to the plan of God in this respect. He created the very first couple married. They were created “One flesh” with great purpose and intent. If God would have created Eve by the same process He created Adam, it would have been successful to the extent that as He breathed the breath of life into her nostrils she would have become a living being, just as Adam had. However, God did not duplicate human life in that way. Instead, by Adam’s declaration, He took Eve out of Adam, thereby creating them in a “One flesh” condition. God was not simply showing off, and illustrating that there were multiple ways He could accomplish the same thing. He was not simply creating a female form of a human being. He was instituting the marriage of a man and a woman. If God had simply created Eve by the same process He had Adam, He would have built a weakness into their union. Either of them could have at some place in their roughly 900 year existence decided they were displeased with the other and asked God to make them a “new mate”. This was not possible however because they were more than mates, they were in fact “One flesh”. Adam could never be separated from Eve except by death, she would always be one flesh with him. This is why Jesus told the Pharisees in Matthew 19:8 “Moses because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted (or suffered) you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so”.
God had created Adam and Eve by differing methods so that their “One flesh” condition would be permanent until death. God knew that what He had done was good, in fact in Genesis 1:31 He declared it was “Very good”. God found the marriage of Adam and Eve to be so preferable to the single Adam, that He declared that He would recreate their “One flesh” condition in every married couple going forward. Genesis 2:24 records God’s own words to that effect, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife and they shall become one flesh”.
If marriage is good, or in God’s assessment, “Very good”, what could be better? In Ephesians 5:21-33 the Apostle Paul answers that question. Submitting to one another in the fear of God. Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
What is best? According to this scripture, it is best to be “One flesh” with your spouse and “One flesh” with Christ. As Christ followers and as married people, we have more to consider than ourselves…even more than just our spouse. As a married man I am one with my wife who is also one with Christ. How I interact with Her is how I am interacting with Him. The same is true for her. When we keep this truth in mind and act accordingly, our marriage is almost seamless. In those times, we are each as perfect a spouse as our humanity allows. When this incredible truth is considered, as it should be at all times, our marriage is the best reflection of the image and likeness of God that it ever is. When we do not selflessly respond to one another in this way…well, let’s just say our marital mirror gets dirty and clouded. In those moments, God can’t see Himself as clearly as He would like and our marriage is not producing the effect He was hoping for when He made us “One flesh”. Best is when we let God have his way. Best is when we allow our marriage to meet its full potential and fulfill its God’s given purpose. Best is when we allow our marriage to be what it was created to be and together we reflect the image and likeness of our Creator.
Questions to answer:
- What are your thoughts about marriage in terms of Good, Better and Best?
- How well are you doing as a couple at going from Better to Best?
Actions to take:
- Discuss how the two of you could move your marriage into Best status and together be more reflective of your Creator.
- Ask God to unleash His Holy Spirit to convict you of times you are not being a good representation of His image and likeness and to suggest to you corrective measures.
So now, if you are married, you have moved from Good, to Better. Go for Best and allow your marital mirror to reflect God’s fullness…and go be Awesome!
Give Thanks – November 24th, 2022
Hi, this is Pastor Ken and these are my thoughts on a Thanksgiving Thursday…Give Thanks
Today is reserved for Thanksgiving. Times for observance of thanksgiving have been around for centuries. Throughout history there have been many times when people have taken time to give thanks for various reasons. Here in the United States, many of us learned in grade school of the supposed first Thanksgiving Day feast in 1621 shared by the puritan settlers and the indigenous Wampanoag tribe who helped the pilgrims survive their first winter in the “New World”. In 1789 our first President, George Washington declared that November 26th would be a day of celebration and thanksgiving when all Americans were encouraged to take time to thank God for His graciousness toward us as a nation. Abraham Lincoln declared the final Thursday of November a national day of Thanksgiving in 1863, and it remained so until Franklin Delano Roosevelt changed it to the next to the last Thursday in November in 1939. He was offering merchants another full week to boost Christmas sales in an attempt to positively influence the economy. The new date being so close to the previously determined one caused much confusion and in jest, some people even dubbed it “Franksgiving Day”. Two years later, FDR made a change once again, signing into law that Thanksgiving would be celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November where it remains to this day.
As I mentioned, there have been various reasons stated for pausing to give thanks. King David and Asaph a Levite who served in David’s courts suggested in several of their Psalms that the people of Israel ought to give thanks for God’s hand of protection over them during their exodus from Egypt. Prior to that, Joshua had insisted that the people be thankful for their victorious entrance into the Promised land. The pilgrims to North America gave thanks for their survival and the help of their newfound neighbors. Interestingly from the time of our founding fathers until President Lincoln Thanksgiving Day was coincidentally held at the same time as Evacuation day a lost holiday commemorating the English vacating North America after the Revolutionary War. Likewise, President Lincoln felt our Thanksgiving should be offered for a unified even if not yet at that time a reconciled United States.
I find it interesting that we feel the need to identify a reason for giving thanks. Later today I will as will many of you, raise my voice in thanksgiving as I ask the blessing at our family feast. I will thank God for many things. I will thank Him for our family, I will thank Him for our freedom to praise Him. I will thank Him for the food. My voice will undoubtedly crack as it almost always does as I thank Him for what we should all thank Him for…His goodness. As Christians, we say it often, for some it has become a statement with nearly automatic response. God is good, all the time…and all the time, God is good.
Though this mantra is unequivocally true’ I wonder sometimes if we really understand what we are saying. God is good, His word says that it is so. Psalm 145 says so, and I will read that to you as I close my thoughts today. When we think of someone being good, so often we think about the fact that they do good things, and that is evidence we use to endorse that they are good. When we acknowledge that God is good however, we should do our best to understand the depth of what we are saying. God is holy. That means that He is 100% full of integrity. He is forever unchanging. His word says that He is merciful, therefore always merciful. It says that He is loving, Therefore always loving. It describes Him as faithful…so therefore always faithful. So when His word indicates that the Lord is good…then He is in fact always good. He is never not good. He is always being so very, very good to us! Every day…all the time…in all circumstances and every situation…God is being so, so, very good to you. Even in the difficulties He allows to touch our lives, He has every intention of using each one of them for our good as through them He gives us opportunities to become more and more like Christ…in spite of the adversity. Romans 8:28 and 29 says, And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Because God is good we can count on Him to be looking out for our good…no matter what!
So yes, God is good. Everything He does is good. We can be grateful for it all. We don’t need to define a special reason. We don’t need to be financially blessed to say that God is good. We don’t need to have food to be grateful for, God is good. We don’t need to have family present and accounted for, God is good. We don’t need to know peace in the land to proclaim God is good. We don’t need freedom for God to be good. We can proclaim God is good in the depths of our emotional valleys and on the mountain tops. God is Good…God is Good….God is good…..All the time and all the time God is indeed good!
So join me today. As you thank God around your thanksgiving table, go ahead, make note of the things you are thankful for…there is nothing wrong with that. But PLEASE…don’t close your time of thanksgiving without being grateful for the simplistic and yet unfathomable complexity of God’s goodness. Take time to contemplate and revel in the undoubtable fact that He is always being so, so very good to you, and that your reasons to be thankful are eternal.
Psalm 145 (NCV)
I praise your greatness, my God the King;
I will praise you forever and ever.
2 I will praise you every day;
I will praise you forever and ever.
3 The Lord is great and worthy of our praise;
no one can understand how great he is.
4 Parents will tell their children what you have done.
They will retell your mighty acts,
5 wonderful majesty, and glory.
And I will think about your miracles.
6 They will tell about the amazing things you do,
and I will tell how great you are.
7 They will remember your great goodness
and will sing about your fairness.
8 The Lord is kind and shows mercy.
He does not become angry quickly but is full of love.
9 The Lord is good to everyone;
he is merciful to all he has made.
10 Lord, everything you have made will praise you;
those who belong to you will bless you.
11 They will tell about the glory of your kingdom
and will speak about your power.
12 Then everyone will know the mighty things you do
and the glory and majesty of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom will go on and on,
and you will rule forever.
The Lord will keep all his promises;
he is loyal to all he has made.
14 The Lord helps those who have been defeated
and takes care of those who are in trouble.
15 All living things look to you for food,
and you give it to them at the right time.
16 You open your hand,
and you satisfy all living things.
17 Everything the Lord does is right.
He is loyal to all he has made.
18 The Lord is close to everyone who prays to him,
to all who truly pray to him.
19 He gives those who respect him what they want.
He listens when they cry, and he saves them.
20 The Lord protects everyone who loves him,
but he will destroy the wicked.
21 I will praise the Lord.
Let everyone praise his holy name forever.
So now, with a truly grateful heart, full of thanksgiving and praise for your good, good Heavenly Father…Take time today to thank Him for how Awesome He is.