Christian Living Archives - Page 10 of 21

The Butterfly Effect – Everyone, Everything’s Connected

November 29, 2015 by EnnisP Leave a Comment

Ring around the rosy A pocket full of posies Ashes, Ashes We all fall down

Ring Around The Rosy is one of the best known and time enduring nursery rhymes. Ever! It may be the first.

It is widely known throughout the English speaking world and versions are also found in German, Dutch and Italian. Even more noteworthy is the fact that it dates back to the Great London Plague – mid 1600’s – or possibly earlier.

We don’t know exactly when it was first written or popularized but that’s not the important question.

The important question is how did such a short and apparently meaningless nursery rhyme become so popular?

What influential person wrote it?

How was it popularized without a major publisher?

We don’t have answers to these questions but we do know what inspired it. This little ditty was motivated by a flea. Not a great person. Not a great publisher, but a flea.

One small flea made this happen. [Read more…] about The Butterfly Effect – Everyone, Everything’s Connected

3 Reasons Christian Living Is Not Ideal

September 30, 2015 by EnnisP Leave a Comment

Consequences For Christians Are Opportunities To Grow

Let’s start with a question. What do Christians talk about most, when they discuss their spiritual lives?

It’s a good question, and I have no hard evidence to prove my answer, but the conversations I’ve witnessed firsthand are a bit introspective, revolving mostly around personal issues like:

Am I a Christian?
How can I know I really did what is necessary to become a Christian?
How can I be sure that I’m still a Christian now?

And so on.

The focus is inward, not outward or onward. It’s the proverbial all-about-me, in-the-moment mindset.

The Philippian jailer expressed it well:

What must I do to be saved (become a Christian)? (Acts 16:30)

He, of course, had a very good reason for asking the question. But as far as we know, he never asked again. He didn’t repeatedly harangue Paul for reassurance.

Today things are different. People often ask over and over and over again, “how can I be saved” or “Am I really saved” or “How can I really be sure?” The question is overworked. [Read more…] about 3 Reasons Christian Living Is Not Ideal

4 Reasons I Won’t Vote For Ben Carson And You Shouldn’t Either

September 16, 2015 by EnnisP Leave a Comment

Grey Is In Polarized Thinking Is Out

First, a disclaimer. I respect Ben Carson. How could I not? He is remarkably accomplished and his success inspires us all.

I learned about Dr. Carson many years ago from a Reader’s Digest article. I cried when I read it but not because of Ben. It was his Mom, Sonya, that made me emotional.

I’ve always believed parents were a big factor in whether or not kids have a chance at success, and his mother’s actions confirmed that belief. She single-handedly put her two boys on a track for success in spite of her disadvantages.

She dropped out of school in the third grade, was married at 13, raised her children alone and worked multiple jobs regularly. She maintained her family on secondhand clothing and homemade preserves, but none of these limitations prevented her from instilling discipline in her kids.

How did she do it? Easy! She restricted TV watching to only a few selected programs a week and required the boys to read and write reports on two books every week. To maintain accountability, she made a show of inspecting the reports even though she couldn’t read.

Her boys were reading and writing while their friends were playing.

The boys weren’t agreeable at first but they eventually cottoned on to the idea. But forget the kids. Many parents viewed this as torture and warned her against it. To her credit, she didn’t flinch.

Before setting the rules, her kids were failing. Obviously, the strategy worked.

Makes me think of Moses’ mother, Jochebed. She didn’t go along with the crowd either.

By the way, her case suggests that ending a marriage is sometimes better for the kids. She instituted the TV/book report rules at about the same time she sent her bigamist husband packing. If she focused more on saving the marriage, instead of managing the boys, her sons might be leading gangs today instead of public opinion.

As a result of her actions, Ben developed a taste for learning – and hard work – that catapulted him to great heights. He’s performed miracles medically, written several books, received an encyclopedic list of awards and was featured in a movie.

There’s a lot to like about Ben but, unfortunately, that doesn’t make him the next Mandela. Impressive, yes, but for several reasons, I’m not convinced he’s presidential. [Read more…] about 4 Reasons I Won’t Vote For Ben Carson And You Shouldn’t Either

7 Thoughts On Preaching May Surprise You

March 20, 2015 by EnnisP Leave a Comment

Primitive Methods Don’t Suit Today’s Technologically Rich Enviroment

Today, reading and writing are common. Letter writing happens daily and book publishing isn’t far behind.

Even the blind and deaf have the means and skills to write out their thoughts, and technology makes it possible for them to communicate those ideas easily.

For most of human history that wasn’t true.

Writing has been around for a long time but the earliest format, engraving on stone, was restrictive to say the least. Just ten commandments required two stone tablets. Tom Clancy’s latest book would require a mountain of rock.

Even when lighter materials like papyrus became popular, copies could only be reproduced by hand making it very difficult to circulate documents widely.

If you are of the opinion that following the old paths means eschewing technology, you’ll need a truck to carry your Bible to church each Sunday. You’ll struggle to flip to the book of Psalms too.

Not to worry, though. Since reading wasn’t as widespread in the Old and New Testaments as it is now, reproduction and circulation weren’t issues.

But, these facts do raise an obvious question. If written documents couldn’t be shared easily, and many couldn’t read or write anyway, how were community-relevant ideas communicated.

The answer to that question is quite primitive. The most popular form of communication throughout most of human history was the spoken word and the best way to spread important news quickly and widely was through public proclamations.

These proclamations were made by specially designated people in high-traffic locations like the city gates or the courthouse steps. The people appointed for the task were known as the Town or Public Criers and they were clad in special clothing to single them out. It was all very official.

Even as far back as the time of Esther (5th century BC) the King’s official proclamations were communicated to 127 provinces by couriers and criers. It took several months to get the message out but considering the geographical constraints and the lack of technology, that’s not bad.

Criers were the interface between governments and the communities they governed. When information needed sharing, criers would ring a loud bell and cry “hear ye, hear ye” – or something similar. Once they had everyone’s attention the crier would then state or read the announcement.

Those who heard the announcement would pass it along mouth to ear, mouth to ear, mouth to ear and so on, but it all started with a public proclamation.

Education, democracy and technology have made criers obsolete. Education makes reading, writing and thinking skills common. Democracy encourages the sharing of ideas publicly. Technology makes it possible for those ideas to spread quickly.

There’s really no comparison between the media of the New Testament and the media of today. Resonant penetrating criers of yesteryear are easily drowned out by today’s most mild mannered tweets.

This brings me to the topic of this post: Preaching. [Read more…] about 7 Thoughts On Preaching May Surprise You

6 Truths About Your Devotional Life

March 18, 2015 by EnnisP Leave a Comment

Dogma Has A Short Shelf Life

In the movie, Hoffa, starring Jack Nicholson, Danny DeVito and more, one of the opening scenes has Nicholson and Robert Prosky firebombing a laundry in retaliation to the owner’s refusal to join the union.

Unfortunately, the bombing goes badly wrong and Prosky’s character, Billy Flynn, is caught in the flames. Dying in the hospital, Billy is coaxed to confess by the attending priest. That could be tricky for two reasons.

Billy is convinced he was acting justly, which doesn’t require confession, and more importantly a confession might possibly lead to the conviction of Hoffa and his new sidekick played by DeVito.

Billy’s response is surprising and unexpected.

He looks at the priest, breaths an expletive and then makes an unforgettable quote.

Never let down. Never let up. Never forget.

I don’t know if that really happened but I don’t doubt people have expressed that kind of devotion in the face of life and death situations. I also don’t doubt that Hoffa was able to elicit that kind of devotion.

But here is the point. Devotion is not always what you think.

[do_widget id=media_image-4]

Generally, we view devotion as an honorable thing and devoted people as committed, reliable and good. In fact, devotion is a popular topic in religious circles and the truly devoted are among the best religion has to offer.

But is that completely accurate? According to Hoffa, devotion can apply to less principled types.

Devotion has a moral sense that doesn’t fall within the boundaries of traditional thinking. People frequently commit themselves to causes, groups and ideologies that are questionable at best. It happens all the time.

And once established, devotional connections are difficult to dislodge, regardless how right or wrong they may be. According to a Michigan study, devotion becomes more resolute in response to challenging facts. The followers of Hoffa didn’t let the law get in the way.

In reality, devotion is just devotion. It’s neither good nor bad, and it has many dimensions to consider. You find it everywhere, even among the unsavory.

Based on that thought we could make some interesting observations about devotion. [Read more…] about 6 Truths About Your Devotional Life

« Previous Page