The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

II Timothy 4:18 (NIV)

The Golden Gate Bridge began construction in 1933, with an estimated cost of $35 million dollars. In those days, the estimate was that there would be one construction death per one million dollars spent. Therefore, planners assumed that about 35 men would accidentally die during construction of the bridge.

The builder and designer, Joseph Strauss, decided that this project would not cost the lives of 35 men. He decided to install a safety net underneath the bridge to catch any unfortunate construction worker who may fall. Not only was this a great humanitarian concept, it led to greater efficiency. Workers could now concentrate more on the job of welding, riveting, and all the other tasks of building a bridge. The project came in under budget and ahead of schedule. Eleven men did die during construction- ten in one unfortunate situation where an entire platform fell and the net could not hold that weight. Nineteen other men fell into the net and were saved. Overall, the net indeed saved many lives.

I used this analogy with a client the other day about God’s provision for us. He wants us to feel secure in his love because he has paid the price for our salvation. We don’t need to hang onto our relationship with him- He is holding us!

Prayer: Thank you for the plan to hold us, rather than our meager efforts to hang on to you, Amen.

Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.                    Philippians 4:6-7 (The Message)

After all these years as a counselor, I have my own ideas on anxiety. I sometimes give clients my  definition of anxiety- A self-defeating process that travels with us, which often comes up with reasons why things will not work out for us.

Many of my clients are Christians, and some are quick to attribute anxiety to Satan. While I certainly do not doubt the presence of this evil entity, I also do not ascribe most of the ills we fall into as Satan’s work. Frankly, the less I think and talk about Satan, the better. I give the Devil little attention.

I do agree that anxiety is part of all of our lives- an unwanted traveling partner. Some people struggle with it a great deal; others not very much; all of us, however, have some anxiety in our lives. The fact that it is a self-defeating process is baffling, yet we know it is true. Again, we all carry the seeds of our own destruction within us. That is just part of the life cycle.

My point to my clients is this- whatever we feed will get bigger. That does not mean that we simply ignore anxiety. It does mean that we recognize the presence of anxiety in our lives. In some seasons of our life, it is more prevalent than others. Expecting anxiety to “go away” is not realistic. Embrace the fact that anxiety is a traveling partner. Recognize too that we are the ones driving the bus, not the anxiety. We can learn ways to control anxiety, and thereby have the assurance that when anxiety manifests, we have ways that we can stay in that driver’s seat.

Prayer: Lord, we know that anxiety is a part of life, but we also know that we have the means to overcome that self-defeating process, Amen

Marriage is not a place to “stand up for your rights.” Marriage is a decision to serve the other, whether in bed or out.                                                                                                                                                                        I Corinthians 7:5 (The Message)

I had the opportunity recently to share an analogy with some clients who are in a difficult marriage situation. I used the analogy of a yoke of oxen. The oxen are yoked together so that they can share the load and pull in the same direction. If one is pulling sideways, or not pulling at all, the whole operation comes to a grinding halt. They are yoked together to share the burden, but also to lighten the load of the other. The yoke, while confining, also helps to leverage the maximum amount of power from the straining oxen.

This couple needed to be reminded periodically that they are on the same team. They are not trying to out-pull the other, or to try to make the burden harder. They are yoked for a reason. If they can remember to see that as they pull together, the burden gets lighter for both, they will be fine.

They are on the same team.

I find that clients who somehow have the belief that their partner does not have their best interest at stake are often not able to stay together. Even when couples are in disagreements, arguments, or just a strained place in the relationship, if they can deep down know that their partner has their back and wants the best for them, they will probably be OK.

So, even when things get tough, remember that your partner wants the best for you, even if it does not feel that way at the moment. I trust that is the case in the majority of stable relationships. Just remind yourself that you are together in it.

Prayer: Lord, help remind us that we are loved, even in the midst of trials, Amen

“At the heart of racism is the religious assertion that God made a creative mistake when He brought some people into being.”                                                                                                                                                  Friedrich Otto Hertz

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”                                                                                                                                                                              Martin Luther King, Jr.

 In Christ’s family there can be no division into Jew and non-Jew, slave and free, male and female. Among us you are all equal. That is, we are all in a common relationship with Jesus Christ. Also, since you are Christ’s family, then you are Abraham’s famous “descendant,” heirs according to the covenant promises                                                                                                                                                       Galatians 3:28-29 (The Message)

On this Martin Luther King weekend, it seems appropriate to re-run a blog I did last year. Unfortunately, the topic is relevant, and needs to be regularly examined to try to reduce the sickness that is racist thinking. Here is the blog…

The evil that is racism has existed as long as sin has existed in the world. The pervasive nature of racism looks a little different in each generation and in each country of the world, but rest assured, it has been with us as long as we have lived as the human race.

Indeed, there were times when it looked very different and was called different things. You know, lots of “isms”, but it comes down as people somehow discerning that one type of people is better than another. This is perpetuated by spurious social, economic, and even religious arguments and assertions. But it is the quote by Friedrich Hertz that, to me, seems to cut through the noise- “At the heart of racism is the religious assertion that God made a creative mistake when He brought some people into being”          

Of course, Hertz was exiled from Nazi Germany in 1933 for his thinking and writing. The “isms” can’t stand it when truth gets in the way of a convenient theory.

Martin Luther King offered a cure for racism- only love can drive out hate; only light can overcome darkness. So, as we are in the midst of this weekend that honors the work of Dr. King, let’s also remember that there is a cure for racism.                

 “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”          

Prayer: Lord, you have shown us that love triumphs over hate. Thank you for that marvelous plan, Amen                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

Now I want to ask a favor of you. I could demand it of you in the name of Christ because it is the right thing for you to do, but I love you and prefer just to ask you—I, Paul, an old man now, here in jail for the sake of Jesus Christ. My plea is that you show kindness to my child Onesimus, whom I won to the Lord while here in my chains. Onesimus (whose name means “Useful”) hasn’t been of much use to you in the past, but now he is going to be of real use to both of us. I am sending him back to you, and with him comes my own heart.                                                                                                                          Philemon 1:8-12

We have all had the experience of asking people to be references for us when we apply for a new job. As an employer, I had to call these references to inquire about the prospective employee. Often, if I knew the person who was the reference, I would not even need to make the call. If the prospective employee was vouched for by an individual whom I knew, and that person was a person of integrity, that would be good enough. That prospective employee already had a foot in the door because I was leaning on the credibility of their reference.

There are two instances in the Bible where I saw that process at work. One was in the book of Acts, when Paul (formerly Saul, the Christian killer) had been vouched for by Ananias. Ananias had been given a vision by God that he was to heal Paul from temporary blindness, and then introduce him to the community whom he had been persecuting. Because people trusted Ananias, they trusted Paul. That was a leap of faith!

Then years later, Paul returned the favor by taking in Onesimus, a runaway slave, and then asking Philemon, for whom Onesimus was a slave, to take Onesimus back- not as a slave, but as a brother in Christ. Paul was deft and convincing in his arguments to Philemon, and Onesimus went on to become a leader in the young Christian Church years later.

We give our credibility to causes and people that we care about. As people trust us, they trust our friends and our causes. So, it is a high calling to be a follower of Jesus. As our reputation goes with people, so goes the reputation of Jesus to people who may know of him only through our behavior.

Prayer: Thank you Father for the plan of letting us be the ambassadors for you on earth, Amen

Therefore, put away all wickedness, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking. As newborn babies, desire the pure milk of the word, that by it you may grow, if it is true that you have experienced that the Lord is good                                                                                                                                                                                           I Peter 2:1-3

In thinking about the Bible as a source of truth and wisdom, I have stated in past blogs that the Bible was never intended to be an explanation of the universe or a science book. It deals with human nature, relationships, moral codes, the virtue of laws, and it serves as a regulator of socially responsible behavior. It deals with all the things common to people, including our selfish nature, and the transformative power of a relationship with a loving God – about sin and redemption, and about hope.

I think of the Bible as like an owner’s manual. When we get a car, we also get an owner’s manual. Yes, I know, nobody reads the owner’s manual, but it is a pretty good idea to do it, because it really helps in determining how to extend the life of the car with proper maintenance, practical tips on how to do some simple fixes, and explaining what the proper measures are for tire pressure, the type and amount of oil to use, grade of gasoline, etc. It does not explain how the car was made, and indeed, I do not need to know how it was made. I just need to know that it was made, and that I am driving it, and how to maximize its life.

So it is with the Bible. It gives us very practical advice about relationships, how to treat other people, how to stay healthy in all ways, and how to find and maintain the most important relationship we will ever have- the one with our Creator.

The Bible gives us wisdom- if we read it. Remember the owner’s manual thing?

Yeah, like that.  

Prayer: Thank you Lord for your words to us- the words of life and health, Amen.

Christ is the exact likeness of the unseen God. He existed before God made anything at all, and, in fact, Christ himself is the Creator who made everything in heaven and earth, the things we can see and the things we can’t; the spirit world with its kings and kingdoms, its rulers and authorities; all were made by Christ for his own use and glory.  He was before all else began and it is his power that holds everything together. 

Colossians 1:15-17 (Living Bible)

I have been fascinated by this passage for many years now. I think that this is not merely metaphorical language to describe Jesus as the Son of God and creator of the universe. I truly think that the Physics of this passage is amazing.

What do I mean by that? Well, my regular readers know of my fascination with science and Physics in particular. This despite the fact that I am only an admirer of such subjects, and not a scientist. I think that allows me to speculate on things without having to come up with a scientific basis. I just have the curiosity and joy of expounding my own ideas. How fun! So, here goes, given that caveat…

This passage states that everything is held together by Jesus. He is the First Cause of creation, and he is also the power that holds life together. Take the equation E = mc²                                                                     

We are familiar with this equation of Albert Einstein because it explains the amazing notion that energy and matter are interchangeable. Matter can be turned into energy, and energy can be turned into matter. We understand that fission and fusion, which are ways of changing the matter and structure of atomic particles, release tremendous amounts of energy when that change takes place. Similarly, in order for energy to be turned into matter, it takes an enormous input of energy to do that.

But what if Jesus, the Light of the World, indeed the author of light (energy) caused the making of all matter by that incredible Big Bang of creation? That energy still exists today because there is no new energy being produced or destroyed. That is the Law of the Conservation of Energy. The same energy that Jesus used in creation is now preserving that creation today. The very atoms of the universe are his energy in play still at this time.

So, Jesus rules the universe he created, and he maintains it literally in his presence in everything.

Yes, I can hear you now saying that this sounds like some weird heresy. It is a little different slant on how the universe is maintained, and it is just my ideation gone wild.

But I think it is fun, and I wanted to share my understanding of this amazing passage. Hope it gets you thinking! Thanks for indulging me!

Prayer: Lord, you are Creator and maintainer of this marvelous universe. You are the Lord of Creation! Amen

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!                                                                                                                                                                      II Corinthians 5:17

Yesterday I talked about the role of guilt and remorse as we become more aware of how we are affected by our actions which may have perhaps hurt others, or even ourselves. Guilt is the response of conscience, but it can also be a response of anxiety. Often, anxiety will exaggerate the consequences of actions we have done into an unrealistic burden on us. Revisiting past actions that are long resolved can make us feel the emotion of guilt, when in reality, the feeling is cause by anxiety- not a responsive conscience.

Shame, on the other hand, is the residual of chronic guilt. It is guilt, perhaps unexplored by a mind that is convinced that we are not worthy of the love of others, or even ourselves.

Shame makes us direct our focus inward, and view our entire self in a negative light. Feelings of guilt, in contrast, result from a concrete action for which we accept responsibility. Guilt causes us to focus our attention on the feelings of others. (Quote from Scientific American article 8/9/2019) We see that shame becomes a self-defining aspect which causes harm.

Jesus was a master at recognizing the negative effects of shame, and giving new definition to us that does not give shame a foothold. His responses to Matthew and Zacchaeus, to a Roman centurion, Saul of Tarsus, Peter, and so many others was essentially this- “I know who you are. You are not what you did, you are who you are becoming”  

Shame reminds us of a person that is broken. It does not allow for healing and forward movement. Recovery and grace look for the future. They do not deny the past. The past has its place. However, the past sins of our lives do not define us as we take the road to healing that Jesus freely offers.

Jesus offers a new creation- one that takes shame out of the equation.

Prayer: Lord, we know that you would have us live in the dignity of grace rather than the bondage of shame, Amen

In their hearts, humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps                                               Proverbs 16:19

I’m not sure what made me think of this today. Maybe it is the fact that I am just drifting in thought back to the “old days”. It brings me back perhaps 60 + years ago to a much simpler time. Cue the harp player and the wavy lines that indicate a dreamy flashback- yes, that is an old school reference as well 😊…

I was sitting under a tree across the street from my house on Mayfair Ave. in Cincinnati. Our gang of friends was gathered, because that morning had been the last day of school. It was an early June morning, and we had just come home from St. Martin School. We were very excited to be out of school, and this was the official beginning of summer vacation in the neighborhood. We had the whole summer to ourselves, free to do whatever we wanted! That oppressive school year had just ended, and the nuns no longer controlled us until the day after Labor Day some 3 months hence. What a joy!

We pondered what to do. Should we play war? Always a good option for the guys. Should we plan another neighborhood show to fundraise for Muscular Dystrophy? We had done that last summer to dismal financial success, but we sure had a grand time putting on a show with our chemistry sets for the neighbors. Should we ride bikes? Maybe strap on the roller skates?

After just a little deliberation, we all decided on what would be really fun. We would play school! Yes, just hours after leaving the “jailhouse” of school, we would play school! Why did we think that this would be a good idea? Because WE were in charge of the school. We made up the rules. We decided how things would be in our little schoolhouse.

I think there is a lesson here (OK, pardon the pun). When we are in charge of things, we are fine with it. However, if we need to submit to the authority of others, the venture loses something. We are not in control anymore.

Human nature at work. I am much more apt to do something if it is my idea, and under my control, rather than something that might be imposed upon me. Just an interesting observation about us. Funny how we like things our way right?

Prayer: Lord, you give us free will, and I think you have joy in giving that to us. Help us to use it wisely, Amen

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.  The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Genesis 1:1-2

As my regular readers know, I am fascinated by science, and its beautiful interplay with faith. I was recently watching a show on Nova (a PBS science show) about the Milky Way, our home galaxy. The Milky Way is just one of hundreds of billions of galaxies in the universe. We also understand that the universe is continuing to expand. Can you imagine that? I doubt it. Neither can I. I know it boggles my mind to even consider things like eternity and infinity.

As a limited, finite person, I cannot have any real grasp of infinity or eternity. Yet our God, the Creator of it all, has planned and executed the most marvelous things we can (or cannot) imagine.

People may get a bit hung up on the Genesis version of creation, but I think there is no need to. Ancient writers simply wrote a basic truth- God was the Creator. There was no need to explain how God did it, just that he did.

Interestingly enough, the words used by these unscientific writers may have been concepts far beyond anyone’s expectation. When they wrote that the earth was without form and void, and that there was darkness on the face of the deep, they were using language to describe “nothingness”. Yet we now know that there are things called “dark matter” and “dark energy” that might have been the description of the state that they were trying to explain.

All of that to say, we still do not have a good concept of dark matter and dark energy. Yet we do know that a Creator planned and put forth a marvelous creation that he breathed life into. We don’t really need to know how God did it, and maybe we will never know.

All we need to know is that God created the heavens and the earth, and he did it because he loves his creation and all in it.  

Prayer: Lord, when I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,
 What is man that You are mindful of him, (from Psalm 8)