“Nevertheless, each person should live as a believer in whatever situation the Lord has assigned to them, just as God has called them. This is the rule I lay down in all the churches.”

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭7‬:‭17‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The “situation” Paul speaks of in the preceding verses is that little box we call marital status. 

I’ve been divorced over 25 years. It’s so long ago I now just check single. 

Celibate the last 15 of those years, it too is rarely a consideration anymore. 

Both of these “situations” are what I believe I’ve been assigned and called to. 

“Living as a believer” is Paul’s lesson here.  For me, that means not pining for a partner nor struggling with sexuality. 

Without those distractions, I’ve discovered an entire menu of faith expressions wide open for me to explore that more than trying to fill those voids of intimacy. 

Living as a believer within whatever your circumstance should be no special revelation to any of us. It’s as basic a call as the first day you came to know Jesus. 

The unique difference lies not simply in believing in your call, but in your decision to behave upon it. 

Single and celibate for me has come at a high price few desire to pay with so many years still ahead of them. 

But now, with those years behind me, I can attest the sacrifices are entirely worth it. 

Intimacy as a Christian is so much more than partners and pleasures.

So Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herders and mine, for we are close relatives. Is not the whole land before you? Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭13‬:‭8‬-‭9‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Thanksgiving.
Where family gathers around the table for a lovely meal and an argument.

The holidays reconnect us with friends and relatives of all persuasions.
While we are different, we share an inescapable bond of blood and treasured experiences you can never unfriend even if you try.

Not every different choice, perspective or point of view is worthy of a fight.
You’re better than that.

Give thanks for the table set before you and for the provision of people around it you can call family and friends in a world where so many are alone and without.

We are all invited guests at the Lord’s feast.
Be exceedingly grateful for what you share, not disturbed with what you don’t.

Anger and argument can’t peacefully coexist within hearts that are truly thankful.

Christmas scares me.

Not the holiday itself but that with each successive year, despite its ever earlier encroachment, it takes me progressively greater effort to summon the holiday spirit or conjure up a bright seasonal emotion which for decades seemed effortless.

Before Halloween has always been unreasonably out of the question, but before Thanksgiving they say, is now expected if you’re to enjoy the full magical value of the season even though half the country is still well over 75 degrees.

It’s a little scary when it takes this much work to be merry.

So I went to WalMart.

If anything says Christmas three months in advance, it’s WalMart, where eventually I found myself shopping retail for the best buy on holiday goods soon to be marked down.

Then I turned on the radio station.

As if I wasn’t snapping into the season quick enough, 24/7 carols sang their tunes, but then I questioned whether a song alone could or even should make such an instrumental shift in my attitude.

Over time, I tried several other near misses, disappointing myself at every turn. Baking, decorating, bad sweaters, none were capable of the transitional trick.

I once talked with my Mom about it and she shared with me some memories of earlier Christmastimes when the magic didn’t seem so difficult to come by.

I called my kids and chatted about it some and we laughed a little at remembering their first Santa Claus moments. But if I recall, it wasn’t until my son who was away at school at the time, said he was coming home for the holidays.

That was when I felt the change, much like that Grinch moment where in a heartbeat, he had encountered an obvious truth.
Christmas isn’t created by things and stuff and trappings. It’s inside people.

It’s our special stories, our humored histories and the secret gift searches we Google in talks with one another as the weather begins to change to hot chocolate and we all grow just a little bit closer.

Then suddenly one morning, that little something tips the scales just enough to conjure up the Spirit we sought all along.

And for the first time of the season, and certainly not the last, we utter our very first “Merry Christmas” to a stranger, and indeed, it had arrived.

Our church isn’t in the best of neighborhoods by a long shot.

Lots of families without transportation leave home early to walk in from all directions hoping to make it on time. Some of us with cars have made pickup arrangements with them and drop them back home after service.

It’s an urban church.

Usually though, they choose to stay for another service or to serve others attending. Oftentimes, it’s their only excursion by car and their only anticipated social event for the week.

Upon closer inspection, we find many are families and seniors living on razor’s edge with little food or hygiene products, few changes of clothes, decade old shoes, and yet no mind to complain.

Their clothes are clean, their kids are well-mannered, and they rarely ask for any help unless you dig a little deeper and make an offer.

It’s their passion to worship, to connect, and to find contentment within their own situation that remains Sunday to Sunday as a lesson to those of us blessed with so much more.

It’s a great blend of people and a vibrant, active community with our core belief “come as you are” as the common multicultural thread.

Sunday services are 930am and 11am.

Think about it.

I remember visiting Mom’s place.

Some things were always certain.

The bedsheets were always fresh and crisp and smelled like a warm dryer.

The Kleenex was the really good kind.

Moms always have extra sets of batteries and she always put a couple in your bag just in case.

If you need a spoon, it’s always in the drawer clean and you’ll never find a rogue chunk on the handle the dishwasher missed. Because she WAS the dishwasher.

There’s no dust.
Anywhere.

Somehow, she always had ice cream. Always.

And blanket fairies visited when you fell asleep on the sofa.

The clothes you wore last night were somehow folded in the middle of the night. Sometimes washed and folded if necessary.

And if you had to, you could eat off the toilet seat. And if you tried, she’d bring you a plate.

Moms are really great.
Enjoy yours while she’s still here.

“Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God.”

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭4‬:‭5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

He’s a liar. 

She’s corrupt. 

A whole swath of people are twisting the truth. 

People know they’re doing the wrong thing but still do it. 

Maybe they’re well meaning or just misinformed. 

Or maybe I’m completely missing their backstory.

We’re so quick to pronounce judgment on people when it’s not ours to pronounce. 

Let he who is without sin cast the first stone. 

Humans are complicated and God is working on or with each of us on different levels and different issues at different times in different ways.

Most times, we just need to pray for them and chill. 

He’s not done with us yet. 

Any of us. 

When Jared had lived 162 years, he became the father of Enoch. After he became the father of Enoch, Jared lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Jared lived a total of 962 years, and then he died.”
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭5‬:‭18‬-‭20‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Imagine lasting nearly a thousand years.

Within an unpolluted environment, living an active healthy lifestyle, and eating fruit loops free of red dye #40 it was easy.

Most people wish for long and prosperous lives in bodies resistant to the decay we see today as early as 50.

A new heaven and earth promises us that and more.
Effortlessly and without leg days.

God calls us to join him in eternal life. The only catch is being willing to be caught.

Floating along in today’s world without a safety net is a certain fatality around the bend just waiting to happen.

A real relationship with the one living God ensures your place in a new beginning where this one ends.

Be willing to be caught by Jesus today and you will live forever with a forever friend.

Isaiah 46:4

Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you,”

Life is all about gains and losses. 

Entering our senior years ignites so many new joys, but also extinguishes joys of health and independence. 

Good and bad is a reality present at all stages of life. 

There are always things to eagerly look forward to and things to look back upon with mixed emotions. 

The elderly know this better than anyone. 

But the acknowledgment and promises of God are comforting that he is our sustenance, our bridge, and our salvation, (sustain, carry, rescue) despite our accruing frailties. 

Passing into our final season of life gives us more time for travels, loved ones, giving back, and eagerly awaiting the new bodies we are promised. 

Let’s enjoy our old age, our gray hair, and all the blessings of being alive. 

“However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”— the things God has prepared for those who love him—”

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭2‬:‭9‬ ‭NIV‬‬

We all have tried at one time or another to imagine heaven. 

TV and movies add incredible beauty and spectacle to the idea of heaven, but still, no mind has ever conceived it. 

And even with all the imagining, few ever talk about the price of admission. 

Because understanding it’s free is so unbelievable, they try to be as good as possible in hopes that will suffice. 

To actually gain entrance, belief in Jesus’ resurrection after crucifixion for our sin is the free admission but it comes at a transformative price few want to pay. 

Transformation is not being more good. 

Transformation is being entirely sold out to Jesus and obvious about it. 

Not performative, but genuinely changed from old to new in all you are and all you do because of who Jesus is, and rarely with an eye on what is in store. 

The heart and mind and spirit packaged as a grateful thank you gift we are willing to die to deliver. 

I imagine that’s as close we can ever come to knowing what heaven is like while still here on earth. 

Most times, in matters of greatest importance, God makes crystal clear his will for us. 

“Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭13‬:‭8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

As a matter of our placement upon this earth, one outlier of indebtedness will always remain. 

Granted forgiveness of all your sins and owning the clearest of consciences will always and still leave a debt of responsibility which can never really be fully repaid or satisfied. 

“Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭13‬:‭10‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Love one another is so basic a tenet of the Christian faith it’s found in countless variations throughout the Bible. 

Unfortunately, society often corrupts that tenet for purposes of validating, accepting and condoning certain explicitly forbidden behaviors of some subcultures.

Loving all people is still attainable without validating what they do. Love the sinner, hate the sin. 

And remember, this applies back to you as much as you may apply it to others.