The Blue Church

I had been looking forward to my Christmas vacation for several months. Then, on the day it was to start, I went to tie my sneakers and I felt that old familiar ripple. For those of you who don’t have chronic back problems, that old familiar ripple was the muscles in my back going into spasm, signaling the beginning of my latest back episode. Thankfully, I had not had one in a long  time, but the break that I had from such episodes did little to pacify me. Right then and there I said to myself, “What a pain. On my vacation? Really? Why?” I envisioned myself sitting in a chair for days to come, lamenting what I could not do.

Did you hear the recent news story about how Fentanyl was being sold out of a home adorned with Christmas lights? For a moment, the story made me stop and wonder. Did the drug dealers purposefully put up the lights to quell suspicions of illegal activity? Did they “deck the halls” with all things Christmas because in the midst of their drug dealing they still wanted to enjoy the holiday? The interesting thing is that during the years I have worked in Corrections, I have read accounts of crimes that represented both reasons.

I don’t know about you, but it seems so easy to conclude that this world is all there is. It is so familiar. It is all that we have known. It is all that we see. Days can pass quickly because we are so absorbed in the affairs of this world. As believers, I am convinced that unless a Bible verse comes along and thumps us on the head, the affairs of this world could be our primary concern.

The other day someone was sharing with me about the loss of their loved one. They described the merits of their deceased loved one’s life and then commented, “If there is anyone in Heaven, it is him.” Given that this person had shown signs of being a theologically sound believer, I was surprised by their comment. I left the conversation thinking to myself, “She must still think that good deeds determine who is in Heaven.” If indeed that is what she thinks,

¹⁰By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. ¹¹For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. ¹²If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, ¹³their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. ¹⁴If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. ¹⁵If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved-even though only as one escaping through the flames. ¹⁶Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?” – 1 Corinthians 3:10-16

“The purpose of mud flaps and splash guards is to minimize the spray of water, mud, snow and rocks, therefore protecting your paintjob.”   I hope you have been infinitely blessed by that statement. I would love to end my blog right here and leave people guessing as to why I would share about mud-flaps, but of course I won’t.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, 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,² fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³ Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Hebrews 12: 1-3

One of my favorite movies growing up was the original version of “The Wizard of Oz”. I loved the part where “The Great and Powerful Oz” gets exposed as being nothing more than a mere man. One of the most famous lines in the movie comes when the “Great Wizard of Oz” is being visited by some of the main characters and it becomes evident to them that the image of this larger than life, scary wizard is being controlled by a small man behind a curtain. When the man recognizes that he has been exposed, he yells in his authoritative wizard voice, “Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.”

If you have been following the news, you are aware that we had a pipe-bomb scare on Tuesday. The report was that several pipe-bombs were sent to some well know democrats. The morning after the scare, the news captured the opinion of several people as to why this happened. One person shared that such actions are the natural result for a society that is filled with hate and harsh words. Whether people are willing to embrace that explanation or not,