Do most Christians Deserve a Golden Globe?

“You might regulate your outward habit to the last button of what you were expected to wear; you might conceal the tiny flaws and shuffle over the big improprieties in your home life, which were likely to damage your value in the eyes of your companions; you might, in brief, march in the strictest order along the narrow road laid down for you by these young lawgivers, keeping perfect step and time with them: yet of what use were all your pains, if you could not marshal your thoughts and feelings—the very realest part of you—in rank and file as well?…if these persisted in escaping control?” ~~ from The Getting of Wisdom, H.H. Richardson **

click pic for source

I watched part of the Golden Globes the other night.  Glittering actors and actresses presented awards to their fellow actors and actresses in the glitter-filled theater.

Oftentimes, I deserve a Golden Globe.  My happy face,  kind voice, and patient demeanor are sometimes award-worthy performances.

Sigh.

And we know Jesus didn’t care much for acting.  Look what he said to best of the best in his day:

”Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!  You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside, but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean.

In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.”  ~~ Matthew 23:27-28

Nope, no Golden Globes handed out to them!

So, Father, I don’t want to be an actor.  I want the “very realest part of me” (from quote above) to BE loving, kind, and patient.  I want to be just like You, Jesus, ’cause You are love! (1 John 4:8)

Love is patient.  Love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrong…1 Corinthians 13

If it’s true that we become like the ones we hang with,

I want to hang with Jesus, so I can be more like Him, on the inside, where it counts.

**Quote above from this blog: Rough Draft

Lessons from the World Cup: “…please, do not blow your vuvuzelas.”

(source)

BZZZZZZZZ! BZZZZZZZZZ! BZZZZZZZZZZ! BZZZZZZZZZ! BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!!

What was that annoying, please-swat-me, buzzing sound emanating from my TV when I tuned into the World Cup?!

Can you say, “vuvuzela”?  (voo voo ZAY luh)

What in the world cup is a vuvuzela?!  Watch and learn:

Forgive me for tooting my own horn here, but when we “have not love”, I think we’re being “vuvuzela Christians”.

See? –

“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.“  1 Corinthians 13:1

It’s all about love…

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

source

Let’s pray:

Oh, Father, you ARE love, the Bible says. (1 John 4:8b)

I want to be like you, so I’m trading in my clanging horn of selfishness for your  patience, kindness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22)

May my life be a “sweet, sweet sound in Your ears” (from song below).

In Jesus name, Amen!

Springing Ahead, A whizbang excuse for being late…while it lasts.

“Oh, sorry I’m late! I forgot to spring ahead this morning.” *sheepish grin*

Great excuse for being late for church while it lasts.  But it only gets you by for so long before the excuse police start to intervene.  They can’t wait to point out the obvious, “It’s July!”  Partypoopers!

Heard on the radio that one clever church waits till after the service to spring ahead. Keeps their members from being an hour late once a year.

Anyone who forgets and springs ahead eats bagels and drinks coffee ’til the rest of the church shows up.  Hmmmph…no excuse at that church — “Sorry, I’m late, I forgot to spring ahe….never mind.”

In other Springing Ahead news, I heard on TV that doctors are blaming the loss of an hour’s sleep with increased heart attacks and strokes this time of year.  Hmmm…”Sorry, I’m late, I’m protecting my heart…”  It’s got possibilities….

Well, there’s one thing we don’t want to sleep through, no matter what day of the week or time of the year , and that is the fact that GOD LOVES US!  I don’t know why, but He does.  That’s the way He rolls.

And, in case you doubt that,  here’s some verses you can “fall back” on  for proof. (I know. It’s clever.  Hold back your applause):

“May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.” 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

“This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another… And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.”  1 John 4:10-11, 16

You know God calls his church,  his beloved, his bride.  Not his wife, mind you, but his bride.  Significant, maybe, because there’s A LOT of passion/ joy/love a groom has for his bride that might cool down years later when she’s “just” his wife.

Here’s a wedding video that I hope brings a smile to your face and maybe might “wake you up” to how much GOD REALLY LOVES US!!!!!  The Bible says he dances over us with great joy!!!

“He who has the bride is the bridegroom…” John 3:29

Do you know the One who IS love? (1John 4:8) There’s no time to waste!  Click on the pic below to be introduced:

Grrrrr-ammar Lessons: Verbs

My daughter, Liz, yesterday, when she was little. Today she's 18 and off off to live on her own.

In honor of my daughter, Liz, the English major (whose pet-peeve is bad grammar) I’m composing a week of lessons for the grammatically-challenged, but otherwise lovable, among us.

Today we learn about ACTION, class!  Behold, the VERB….

A VERB is a word that describes action in a sentence.  As in, “You WILL READ Gloriadelia.” Did you notice the action — “read“, had a little helper word in front of it to make it sound right? –”will“.  That’s called a helping verb.

Aaand, we all need a little help to get into action now and then don’t we? To act the way we should when we should to the people we should?

And what’s the main thing we oughtta (sorry, Liz) be doing as Christians, Christian? LOVE!

“Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue [in other words, just talk about loving], but in deed and truth [DO IT!].”  1 John 3:18

And, who are the hardest people to love?!

The pastor? Hardly.

Your friends? popsicle sticks!

Your family? Bingo!!

That’s where the rubber meets the road

and sometimes goes BOING!!

Sooo…

sometimes we need a little help TO BE patient, kind…

tolerant.

And whose our Helper? Our helping verb, so to speak? The one who’ll come alongside and make our life sentence flow more smoothly?  (meant as a grammatical metaphor, not a depressing commentary.  Although, depending on who you live with, it can feel like a life sentence. )

The Holy Spirit! He’s the one who will help change out negatives verbs, like anger, grumpiness, and hate, with positive ones, like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22)  [My daughter informed me that anger, grumpiness, and hate are, in fact, nouns,  NOT verbs.  Picky, picky, picky…)

Here’s a bunch of verses about the Holy Spirit. I hope they leave you in a blessed state of being.  (It’s grammar!  get it?  state of being?…… google it.)

~~~”You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you.” (Acts 1:8)

~~”Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Acts 2:38

~~”…God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.” Romans 5:5

~~”May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13

~~”May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” 2 Corinthians 13:14

The Verb Prayer (or, Love is Action):

“Father, You are all about action!  And You are Love, the Bible says (1 John 4:8).  Thank you for giving me the Holy Spirit to help me to act the way I should, when I should, to the people I should.  I want to love my family!  Really love them, not just talk about it (1 John 3:18).  Fill me with your Spirit today, please, so I can DO IT!  In Jesus’ name, amen!”

Do you know Him, class?  Click on the chalkboard to meet The Teacher…

Duct Tape Faith

My son, Andy, loves the old TV show, MacGyver.  He’s taking advantage of summer and working his way through all the seasons.  In fact, many of my posts have been written listening to MacGyver action in the background.

One thing I’ve noticed about the wiry, wily, interesting-haired crime-solver is that he uses a lot of the “handyman’s secret weapon”– duct tape.  Here’s an example of MacGyver in action with the sticky stuff getting out of a sticky situation:

Duct tape binds anything together — wires, wood, plastic and even people (bad guys).

And speaking of binding people together, we have a secret weapon for that, too, Christian –Love.

“Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.  From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” Ephesians 4:15-16

“Bind us together Lord,
Bind us together,
With cords that cannot be broken.
Bind us together Lord, Bind us together Lord,
Bind us together with love…” hymn, “Bind us Together, Lord”

“This is my command: Love each other.”  John 15:17

The commandments, “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.”  Romans 13: 9-10

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  Love never fails… And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”  1Corinthians 13:4-8, 13

God IS love, the Bible says. (1 John 4:8b)  Do you know Him? Click here for a short introduction.  Warning: His love is binding!