The Blame Game

I’m a big Dallas Cowboy fan. I have been since Eddie LaBaron was quarterback and as a Jr. High football player I could get end zone tickets for 50 cents each at the Cotton Bowl. At halftime we’d move on over to the 30 yard line since Dallas didn’t always draw big crowds in 1960. I was a fan before they became “America’s Team” in 1978. I’m still a fan after the defense blew another one last night against the “Giants”.

Most fans like the game but they know little about the strategy or can look at a game in its entirety to see why a team wins or loses. Unfortunately even “football savvy” analyst who are ex-ballplayers don’t help with their bias commentaries.

Dallas lost the last two weeks with a chance to win or tie on the last play of the game. One, the coach “iced” his own kicker before a crucial field goal. The last one the opposing coach called a timeout that allowed the defense to adjust some things and block a kick. Many “fans” say that lost the game for the Cowboys. But in actuality they were only the last thing that cost the game. A game is 60 minutes long with approximately 30 different activities happening at the same time on the field at the same time; a dropped touchdown pass, overthrowing a receiver, a penalty that negates a long gain or big loss, a missed block that kept a first down from happening. These are all events that can “cost” a team the game, however they are really not noticed much unless they are one of the last events on the field.  

However, the biggest game in the contest is the “Blame Game”. Everyone wants to find someone to blame for the loss; the kicker, the quarterback, the defense, the offensive line, the coach. Coaches who never set foot on the field are fired because the players can’t get it together. Players are criticized by the media, officials are raked over the coals and owners are told what to do by people looking for someone to blame. After all, we have to blame someone when things go wrong, don’t we?!

Unfortunately, Christians and churches are like that. When attendance is down we look for someone to blame. When contributions are low we look for someone to blame for their lack of giving. When things don’t go right we look for someone to blame.

In most cases the thing that we base our blame on is usually the most current event happening. In reality the problems may have been brewing for a long time. They are issues that have built up over time. The last event is the one that just took it over the edge.

So who do we blame when things go wrong? Who do we point fingers at to point out their faults? Who do we put up on the pedestal of shame?

Maybe the answer is not in who we blame but in how we approach things. Jesus once stooped down and wrote in the sand next to a woman who had been brought to him for being an adulteress. He spoke the words, “let he who is without sin be the first to throw a stone.” In another place James asks the question about why should be concerned about the speck in our brothers eye when we have an entire plank in our own.

Everybody has a job to do and sometimes we make mistakes. Some of these mistakes will cost us dearly, while others will be of little consequence. So first if we are involved we should look at ourselves and see what may have done by “me” to contribute to the problem. If we have problems then let’s fix them. Second if we can’t do anything about it fill people with encouragement instead of blame and humiliation.

Most of all let’s just quit looking for a scapegoat and get on with the task at hand not waiting until the final play of the game to try and pull out from all our mistakes. That might just be too late.

God vs. “Dead Dudes in the House”

My brother-in-law and I sat down late one evening and began watching a 90’s horror movie entitled “Dead Dudes in the House”. The basic story is about these kids who come to fix up a house and are killed off one by one. However, they always come back as zombies and have to be killed again. It was so bad that we laughed all the way through it. I noticed it on line and saw where people were giving it an average of 4 ½ stars out of five on some sights! Four and a half!!! I would have had a hard time giving it one, but it was so bad it was funny.

Then I noticed something else. Moves like “Fireproof”, “Courageous” and “Seven Days in Utopia” were struggling to get 3 stars. God was definitely losing out to zombies. Faith and perseverance were fading in the light of blood and creepy killers. “Too much God and religion” was the theme that I was reading over and over. God was definitely fighting a losing battle, especially with the critics. This only confirmed why I pay no attention to the critics when I watch a movie.

It brought back memories of when “Silence of the Lambs” won best picture over “Beauty and the Beast”. I’ve seen “Silence” once. That was enough. “Beauty and the Beast” is in our film library. I never like movies where evil wins out.

I don’t always agree with movies with “religious” themes especially the endings; however it gets to me when I hear people so ready to criticize a movie which promotes good morals and offer complete acceptance to a movie that haunts the mind with terror and misery. Life may not be all that a “God” movie portrays, but neither is it a world full of cannibalistic serial killers. The choice that we can make is with what do we want to fill our hearts and minds?

I guess that’s why I like the old black and white movies. Sure they are sappy at times and make you shed a tear here and there. The endings usually end up on a bright note even if the real life event didn’t. But the majority of times the good guys won. More often than not the guy in the white hat saved the girl often without killing anyone. Lassie always came home, the Babe always hit the home run and the right guy always got the girl. I can watch them over and over and over because when it’s said and done, I always feel good afterwards.

Paul wrote to the Colossians, “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” I believe he said this because he knew that what is on our minds is also on our hearts. If we fill our hearts and minds with God there is no room for Satan. He later told the church in Philippi, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy -think about such things.”

I’m not sure why I wasted my time with “Dead Dudes in the House”. I guess it was more the fun of my brother-in-law and I having too good a time laughing and joking about it. I know one thing for sure and that is that there was nothing lovely, right, praiseworthy or pure about it.

Halloween: Behind the Masks

When the knock came on the door just as it was getting dark I was taken by surprise when I saw two people about my size staring at me through plastic masks covering their faces. I was around three and it was the first Halloween that I remember.  I remember at that point my mother decorating my face with rouge and lipstick so I would look like a clown; then we went to about a half dozen neighbors for my first “trick or treat” experience.

Nowadays when I open the door there are witches and goblins, ghosts and ghouls, clowns and princesses and stormtroopers and super heroes. Masks cover their faces as they portray some fictional character they have come to know.

I know there are some who don’t like Halloween. I’ve heard preachers preach against dressing up as ghosts, witches and monsters. What effect will this have on our kids! Well, in my opinion, if it means anything, not much. You see I’ve been passing out candy now for close to fifty years, about the time I was too old to go collecting it for myself. I have greeted many a ghost, skeleton, princess, pumpkin, monster and such at the door. Some of them have been scary and ugly while others have been cute or pretty. What I’ve found out that almost without exception, no matter how they looked on the outside every one of them told me “thank you” when I put candy in their bag, even the big ones!

You see who we are is not based on our outward appearance it’s what is in our hearts that counts. Without a mirror I can only see myself from the inside, so I don’t really know what you see when you look at me physically. Maybe you see mustard on my mouth, messed up hair or a scar where I had chickenpox as a child. You can see it, I can’t. But no matter how I look on the outside that doesn’t matter as long as you see the true me when I say “thank you”.

Oh wait! Remember the masks? What bothers me much more than Halloween masks are the masks that people wear on Sunday morning. These are those that have a pretty mask on that makes them look like Jesus for a short period of time. Then on Monday morning the mask is removed and they retreat back to the ways of the world.  The face may look okay but the heart has a long way to go.

The word “hypocrite” actually refers to an actor, one who wears a mask. It is someone who is playing a part by looking and acting differently than they are on the inside.

Jesus confronted the Sadducees and Pharisees and told them, "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. 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 23:25-28)

If I get right to it, I’d rather be told “thank you” by a ghost or kind witch anytime over the other. Mainly because behind the ugly mask usually lies a beautiful heart.

One Hour

Courtesy Clker.com

Cade was born this week. Born with a major birth defect his life on this planet would be short; approximately one hour. But for that one hour Cade knew that he was loved by so many people. In that one hour a family was able to pour out their affection to their little boy.

On December 26^th of this last year I spent an hour with my mother. She didn’t know me but Kathy and I sat by her and my dad as he held her hand, kissed her and sang to her. Before we left I leaned over kissed her on the forehead and said, “I love you mom.” That was the last hour I would ever spend with her.

An hour seems like such a short time, but to some it’s a lifetime. These two events got me to thinking. How do I spend the hours that God has given me?

Phil Ware illustrated in a sermon not long ago how many days we have with our children before they are grown. We can use the same analogy with life. The average lifespan is 78.7 years as of a 2009 study. That gives us a total of 689,412 hours in our life more or less. I’ll be 64 next month so that gives me around 128,772 hours left on the average, Lord willing. Take from that the fact that sleep, getting ready for bed and getting ready when I get up will take about 9 hours a day or 48,290 hours I have 80,482 hours left. I’ve already used up including the future bedtime hours close to 90 percent of the time God has given me.

So the question is how do we plan to use the hours left that God has given us?

Again, what would you do if you knew you only had one hour left?

Watching TV? Arguing over some silly subject? Complaining? Sleeping?

Or…

Is there someone you’d like to call and tell them you love them?

Is there someone you’ve been working with on a problem that you’d like to help one last time?

Is there someone who isn’t a Christian with whom you’d like to share the gospel?

Is there someone with whom you need to make things right?

Would it be to take care of one final need in the church?

Would it be to be around those that we love and know love us; surrounded with God’s affection and the love of our family and friends.

How often do we wish we could go back and change the last hour with someone? To love more? To encourage more? To change what we said or what we did?

One hour.

Sixty minutes.

Thirty-six hundred seconds.

You know what? This could be our last hour. Any hour could be our last one. So we should make the most of it before the next 3600 seconds have passed. I’ve already spent over 1000 of those 3600 writing this. It’s a short time; then again maybe a lifetime.

Make your next hour count.

Tell someone you love them before it’s too late. Tell someone you care for them before the hour is up. Pick up the phone and call them. Go on Facebook and write on their wall. Email them. Go by to see them. Text them.

But do it before your hour is up. You may never get another chance.

The clock is ticking.

Leave Tomorrow 'Til It Comes



Image from New Line Production of The Nativity Story

Several years ago there was a movie produced entitled “The Nativity Story”. As you can tell by the title this is a recounting of the story of the birth of Jesus. There is one scene in particular that has always stood out to me, mainly because I had always looked at the story as an outside observer but never through the eyes of Mary and Joseph. In this one scene Mary and Joseph have stopped for the evening. They are by a lake cooking a fish they had bought for supper and Joseph has just told Mary what the angel had told him about the conception of the child Mary was carrying.  The young couple, scared about what the future may hold, is sitting talking when Mary asks a question.

Mary: “Do you ever wonder when we will know?”

Joseph: “Know? Know what?”

Mary: “When he is more than just a child? Will it be something he says? A look in his eye?”

Joseph: “I wonder if I will even be able to teach him anything.”

Of course we know how the story unfolds, but to this young couple it was something that they could only wonder about.

Life is that way to all of us. We never know what tomorrow may bring. We never know what will unfold as our story continues. Many of us take life with ease and even flow while others struggle and worry about what will happen next.

There have been many nights that I have opened my eyes at 3:00 a.m. and found myself wide awake. It's in those wee hours of the morning that it often creeps in. It takes me by surprise, but when it does I may lie awake for a good while. I hate it when it comes in. I hate it that it lingers around. I hate it that it often returns night after night. I wish it would go away and sometimes it does. I wish it didn't exist, but it pops its head up at these convenient times. It changes shapes. It changes ways in which it attacks. It's hard to shake off. 

What is it?

Worry! 

We all have things that weigh heavy on our hearts. We have issues in our lives that cause us to be anxious and wonder how we're going to get out of the undesirable place in which we find ourselves. 

Long before "The Lord of the Rings" there was another little animated movie based on the Hobbitt. It was called "The Return of the King". It had several songs sung in the background. One of these was a little song that dealt with worry. It's entitled "Leave Tomorrow 'Til It Comes" by Glen Yarbrough. It's a simple song with a message that tells us to sleep easy; Tomorrow may help us look at things much more differently. 

Leave tomorrow till it comes
Sleep will ease your mind.
With the dawn you'll find
Problems realigned a different way
Than yesterday.
Leave tomorrow till it comes
Time is moving fast.
Don't go pushing past
Endings of the day
Till yesterday.

Tangled dreams unfold
And webs may disappear
Stories are retold
And cloudy thoughts will clear.
Leave tomorrow till it comes
Sleep will ease your mind.
With the dawn you'll find
Problems realigned a different way
Than yesterday,

The key to making it through these times is to remember that “The peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard our hearts in Christ Jesus”. If we do this then we will always know how the story will end.

Reminders of the Cross

 

Laminins are major proteins in the basal lamina also called the basement membrane, which is a protein network foundation for most cells and organs. The laminins are an important and biologically active part of the basal lamina, influencing cell differentiation, migration, adhesion as well as phenotype and survival. Without Laminin we could not live.

Far out in the universe there is a spiral galaxy much like the one in which or planet exists.

If you travel to the center of the galaxy you'll find a black hole. In the black hole you'll see this.



Coincidence? Maybe...

By Plan? Again, maybe...

However they got there it's interesting that no matter where you go in the universe, from inside our own bodies to the far corners, you can never get away from the Cross.

It's a message that will be there for generations to come. 

"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." 1 Corinthians 1:18

Collision Course

I believe it was Marshall Keeble who used to tell the story about an air traffic controller. It went something like:

Atlanta Pilot: Houston, this is flight 115 coming in from Atlanta, requesting permission to land.

Houston: Yes Sir. Flight 123, you’re clear to land going west there on runway 29.

Atlanta Pilot: Roger that.

L.A. Pilot: Houston, this is flight 97 coming in from L.A., requesting permission to land.

Houston: Yes Sir. Flight 97, you’re clear to land going east there on runway 29.

L.A. Pilot: Houston, didn’t I hear you just tell flight 115 to land west on that same runway?

Houston: I guess I did, flight 97.

Pause

Houston: Ya’ll be careful, hear!

Life is like that. We never know when we may be on a collision course with some unexpected event. Most of these instances can be avoided, but there are instances when we have no control over what occurs. 

People react in all sorts of ways when the unexpected occurs. Some get angry, others confused, some fall into depression and still others may just ignore it and go on. So how should we react?

How should I face the brick walls that seem so great I can’t get over or around them? What do I do when I come to the edge of a river that seems too wide to cross? These walls and rivers may be financial problems; they may be a devastating illness; they may be a family crisis; they may be a death.

The first thing we have to keep in mind is that we are never alone. Jesus promised “I am with you always”.  We may feel abandoned at times. We may feel that God doesn’t care. We may feel alone. But in reality God is always there beside us ready to comfort us and help us safely land if we will only let Him. It is difficult to trust in someone we cannot see or hear, but he’s there just the same.

In the movie “Spirit of St. Louis” Jimmy Stewart is portraying Charles Lindbergh. As he struggles to land his plane in Paris, he becomes confused and disoriented. Fighting the lack of sleep, glaring lights and fatigue he finally blurts out in despair “Oh Lord, help me.”

So, when we are in situations that seem to be impossible to overcome we can call upon our Lord for strength and as Paul promised “The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Timmy's Valetines...Love is Not Self Seeking

When I was growing up one of our favorite times in school was Valentines Day. I remember my mom helping me decorate an old shoe box with crepe' paper and then we'd go out and buy a package of Valentines for me to give away. I had to be careful who I gave them to since you sure didn't want to give a girl in the second grade some mushy card. The exciting thing was to bring your box home and look at all the cards you received from your classmates.

I read a story of a little boy, Timmy we'll call him, who was not very popular in school. In fact he was made fun of and often left out of games and kids parties. When Valentines Day rolled around he couldn't wait to get his box and Valentines together. He took a long tedious time picking out the right Valentine for each classmate.

As he left for school the next morning he took care in packing the Valentines and carrying his box out the door and to the bus. His mother knew Timmy was not very popular and as he left she couldn't help but have a heavy heart knowing that he would probably get few Valentines from the other children. She decided that he would need some extra love when he came home so she spent the afternoon making cookies and waiting for Timmy to return home on the afternoon bus.

Finally the bus drove up and Timmy stepped off the bus with head bowed and shaking it back and forth. As he approached his mother she heard him mumble "not a one". At this her heart sank and tears began to well up in her eyes with concern for her disappointed child. As he approached her, he looked up smiled and said, "Not a one, I didn't forget a single one."

Love is not self-seeking. When we love the way the Jesus wants us to love it means that we want the best for others. It means that we are just as concerned about others feelings, others needs, others wants and others welfare just as we are ours.

When we think of others we hurt when they hurt, we rejoice when they are happy, we weep with them, laugh with them and truly want the best for them. Love that is not self seeking has no room for jealousy. It has no room for harboring ill will. It puts others ahead of ourselves. As a result it makes us a better and happier person.

A man once died and was given a tour of Hell. When he walked into the room he saw a long table with everyone sitting around it. The table was full of the most delicious food imaginable. The problem was that each person had one arm tied behind their back and a three foot spoon tied to the other hand. They were crying and angry because even with all the food it was out of their reach.

The man was depressed with the scene so he asked to see Heaven. When he walked into the room he saw the same scene, table, food, spoon and hand behind back. But they were all laughing and having a great time. The difference was that they were feeding each other.

Love that is not self seeking is love that feeds each other.

How Ruuuuude

One afternoon I called the phone company to check on an issue with my bill. It was about a quarter before 5:00 when I called and was put on hold by their computer. The wait was to be several minutes and intertwined with the music was an occasional, " We're sorry for your wait. Someone will be with you shortly." This went on for fifteen minutes then at 5:00 the recording came on, but this time it was different, "Thank you for calling. Our office hours are Monday through Friday 8 to 5. Please call back during our normal business hours. I thought, "How Rude". I had patiently waited to talk to someone then was abruptly dismissed by an insensitive computer.

I genuinely despise rude acting people. I really feel sorry for restaurant waiters, clerks at return desks, customer service representatives and just about anyone who has to spend their day dealing with people on a personal basis. People can be rude at times, sometimes on purpose and other times out of frustrations. Of course the people behind the counter can also be just as rude to their customers.

I've been to restaurants where people complained about the prices, berated the waiter for slow service or because something wasn't cooked right. One time I was with a preacher at a breakfast and he was so rude that I almost changed tables rather than be seen with him.

I read the story of a man who went into the athletic store to buy a baseball bat for his son. He spoke rather rudely to the clerk and then realizing what he had done apologized to her. "I've been at the Department of Motor Vehicles all morning dealing with a rude lady over my auto registration and I'm sorry I've taken it out on you." The clerk looked at him holding the bat and smiled "Do you want this gift wrapped or are you going back there this afternoon?"

Love means that we treat people like we want to be treated. Waiters don't cook the food, clerks don't set the return policies and customer service reps don't make the products that are giving you problems. They are there just doing their job in spite of how they may be treated.

Unfortunately in today's society rudeness appears to be on the rise. People are impolite to each other. We make degrading remarks about people. We talked down to those that serve us. We're quick to tell people exactly what we think without giving their feelings any thought. We ridicule, cut down, demean and often have a "better than you" attitude. We are impolite, have bad manners, bad attitudes, yelling, screaming, griping complaining and display snobbish noses.

Love is not rude. In other words love treats people like people and not things. It approaches people with the feeling "I care about you". Love listens. Love opens doors. Love says thank you and you're welcome. Love shows appreciation. Love makes people glad they passed out way. Love is not rude.

Remember Rudy on "The Cosby Show"? When her friend would treat her wrongly she'd always say, "How ruuuuuuude." Just maybe if we started telling ourselves this every time we stepped out of line it would help us to make everyone else's world a better place to live.

As the old saying goes, "You can catch more flies with honey than vinegar." So trying being nice to each person you meet and see how it changes people's lives.

Do You Know Who "I" AM?

In  All the President’s Wit by Gerald Gardner he relates a story of a visit of Ronald Reagan to Mexico City. On one occasion President Reagan stood before a large crowd and gave a speech, which on conclusion he sat down to a rather unenthusiastic applause. The next speaker approached the podium and began receiving enthusiastic applause after just about every paragraph. Reagan, not knowing Spanish did not understand what was being said but joined the crowd in applause. After a bit to show his enthusiasm he began to applaud even before the crowd would start. At one point our ambassador leaned over to Reagan and said “I wouldn’t do that. He’s interpreting your speech.”

Pride is like that. Without meaning to we get caught up in ourselves; what we have; who we are; how important “I” am. It becomes all about us.

Years ago my wife, Kathy, worked for Public Relations at a Christian College. On one occasion she was in charge of booking people into motels and hotels for a lecture series that brought in thousands of people. All the nicer places had been booked when one prominent preacher called in late and asked for a room. She assigned him one that was available in what might be considered a 1 or 2 star motel nowadays. When he saw where he was placed he became angry and approached her saying “Do you know who I am?”

Bell Telephone performed a survey years ago to see what people talked about over the phone. It was discovered that the most used word in phone calls was the word “I”.

Love is not proud. This follows “Love does not boast”. Love doesn’t continually point to “me”. It doesn’t set “me” on a pedestal. It doesn’t make “me” the center of attention. It is less concerned about “me” and more concerned about “you”.

The second greatest commandment is to “Love your neighbor as yourself”. To do this we take pride out of the picture. Our focus changes to others instead of self.

I like the old saying “Be kind to people on your way up, because you’ll meet the same people on your way down.” When our lives are filled with pride and arrogance we cut relationships. It turns people away. The “better than you” attitude severs ties with those around us and basically asks people “Do you know who I am?”

Solomon wrote, “A man's pride brings him low, but a man of lowly spirit gains honor.”

In other words the only way to really love “me” is to love “you” more.