Religious Christians and Jews once dreamed of pilgrimages to Jerusalem while Muslims dreamed of Mecca. Many still do. But in America today, people of all faiths dream of going to Disney. It’s the new “holy site” for modern pilgrims on vacation.
Two weeks ago I headed south for a family reunion and a visit to the Mouse’s house.
At Downtown Disney I saw little girls transformed into princesses before my very eyes. No, not by a fairy godmother but by parents with loads of cash! It seems every little girl’s wish is to be one of the many Disney princesses—and wishes come true for those with the money.
Everywhere we went we heard, “When you wish upon a star…your dreams come true.”
The World of Walt delights children of all ages. But I had to wonder if kids today know Walt’s fairy tales better than the Bible stories and lessons my generation learned.
Now hold on just a minute. Please don’t take me wrong! I enjoy a good vacation as much as anyone. And no one does theme parks better than the Mouse. So far I’ve been blessed to visit Disney theme parks in Florida, California and Japan. All were a lot of fun.
It’s just that, as I constantly heard about wishing and dreams, it started to sound hollow and empty. I mean, why would you want your children to believe in dreams based on wishing?
Think about this: Your weakest prayer is more powerful than your strongest wish.
Last time I checked, there’s no evidence that stars grant wishes or dreams come true if you’re sincere or wish hard enough. But there are studies confirming that prayer makes a difference. The reason is because the Awesome God of the Bible is a prayer answering God.
I’m a firm believer in teaching children to dream big. But I tell them to imagine what God could do through them if they will live for him and not for themselves.
Now while fantasy can be harmless, Disney dreams and “magic” seem to take a child in the direction of self-esteem, self-promotion and self-centeredness. Is it possible we have taken the “You are special” emphasis a little too far? To be well adjusted you must value others also.
The Bible teaches that when we become God’s child through faith in Jesus Christ, we are children of the King of Kings (a heavenly prince or princess, if you please!). We learn that God has a purpose for our lives. He gives us talents and gifts—not so that we might be a “star” but so that we can serve him! The Bible says we are “created in Christ Jesus to do good works.”
Serving God is the only way you can make an impact on this world with eternal results.
If you’re taking your family to a Disney vacation destination this year, I hope you will have a wonderful time. But don’t forget to do a “reality check” with your children. And while you’re introducing them to the Mouse and his friends, don’t forget to introduce them to Jesus before they get too old. Make sure they understand the difference between pretend friends and Jesus, the best friend you will ever have. He promises to be with us always.
Vacations and theme parks can distract us for a while from the problems of life. But the relief is just temporary. There’s an old gospel song that reminds us, “Only Jesus can satisfy your soul; only he can change your heart and make you whole. He’ll give you peace you never knew, sweet love and joy and Heaven too—For only Jesus can satisfy your soul.”
Do you need a fresh start in life? A vacation can change your location, but Jesus can change your life. The Bible says, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” When you turn to Jesus, life takes on a whole new meaning.
Listen to the Bible; it’s good for your soul!
Monday, June 25, 2007
Monday, June 18, 2007
Travel Restrictions
“You can’t take it with you” was never truer than today.
Since September 11, 2001, things once considered harmless can no longer go anywhere near a commercial airplane. Anyone flying since that fateful day is very familiar with the new travel restrictions!
It took me a while to get used to the new reality. In November of 2001 I flew to Arizona with my family to spend Thanksgiving with relatives. Going through airport security, I forgot I was carrying a penknife in my pocket. Suddenly that small knife was enough to keep me off the plane. How could I be so dumb? They could have arrested me on the spot!
Thankfully I was allowed to throw it away and board the plane.
One day we all hope to successfully travel to our final destination. Are you aware that God has “travel restrictions” on what you can bring to Heaven?
Well, hold on just a minute! How can there be travel restrictions for Heaven? --Because the Bible tells us God is a holy God and he cannot permit sin in his presence.
“Holy” means God is clean, pure and separated above all other beings and there is no other god like him. It means his character is totally good and entirely without evil.
The Bible says, “Without holiness, no one will see the Lord.” Do you meet the standard? Like the penknife I carry, we’re so used to our sins we forget they’re in our spiritual “pockets.” And even “small” sins will keep us from holiness and Heaven. --Now that’s a travel restriction!
Many people believe the way to get to Heaven is by doing more good things than bad in this life. And when they meet God, they hope the good deeds will outweigh the bad.
But there’s a big problem with that view. The Bible says that all of our good works are like filthy rags in God’s sight. Nothing we do even comes close to his standard. Only perfection makes it into Heaven. And perfection is humanly impossible. You know it and so do I.
Thankfully God is not only holy but he is also a God of love.
Because of his great love for us, the Bible says that God sent his only son, Jesus, to solve our sin problem. Jesus made a way for us to have fellowship with God now and then live with him forever. His perfect life on earth and his death in our place on the cross makes it possible for God to forgive us. The resurrection proved his power to conquer sin’s eternal death penalty.
Before Jesus came, sin was enough to keep us out of Heaven and God’s presence. But since Jesus’ death paid for our sin, the only thing standing between God and us is Jesus Christ.
The Bible says God forgives the sin of whoever accepts Jesus as their personal Savior. They share in his holiness. However, the Bible is just as clear that those who will not believe in Christ still stand condemned because of their unbelief. Their sin is not forgiven.
It’s sad to think that many people will miss Heaven by five letters:
J-E-S-U-S.
For some reason they just can’t bring themselves to accept the Jesus of the Bible. They won’t trust him.
With the summer vacation season upon us, airline travelers need to be aware of travel restrictions before flying. But since any day could be the day of your trip to eternity, think about God’s travel restrictions (and Jesus’ solution) before it’s too late.
Remember--someone tougher than the TSA (Transportation Security Administration) will be doing the pre-flight inspection of your “baggage” before you’re cleared for Heaven. The Bible says that Jesus Christ is The Judge of the living and the dead. He is also our Savior.
Listen to the Bible; it’s good for your soul!
Since September 11, 2001, things once considered harmless can no longer go anywhere near a commercial airplane. Anyone flying since that fateful day is very familiar with the new travel restrictions!
It took me a while to get used to the new reality. In November of 2001 I flew to Arizona with my family to spend Thanksgiving with relatives. Going through airport security, I forgot I was carrying a penknife in my pocket. Suddenly that small knife was enough to keep me off the plane. How could I be so dumb? They could have arrested me on the spot!
Thankfully I was allowed to throw it away and board the plane.
One day we all hope to successfully travel to our final destination. Are you aware that God has “travel restrictions” on what you can bring to Heaven?
Well, hold on just a minute! How can there be travel restrictions for Heaven? --Because the Bible tells us God is a holy God and he cannot permit sin in his presence.
“Holy” means God is clean, pure and separated above all other beings and there is no other god like him. It means his character is totally good and entirely without evil.
The Bible says, “Without holiness, no one will see the Lord.” Do you meet the standard? Like the penknife I carry, we’re so used to our sins we forget they’re in our spiritual “pockets.” And even “small” sins will keep us from holiness and Heaven. --Now that’s a travel restriction!
Many people believe the way to get to Heaven is by doing more good things than bad in this life. And when they meet God, they hope the good deeds will outweigh the bad.
But there’s a big problem with that view. The Bible says that all of our good works are like filthy rags in God’s sight. Nothing we do even comes close to his standard. Only perfection makes it into Heaven. And perfection is humanly impossible. You know it and so do I.
Thankfully God is not only holy but he is also a God of love.
Because of his great love for us, the Bible says that God sent his only son, Jesus, to solve our sin problem. Jesus made a way for us to have fellowship with God now and then live with him forever. His perfect life on earth and his death in our place on the cross makes it possible for God to forgive us. The resurrection proved his power to conquer sin’s eternal death penalty.
Before Jesus came, sin was enough to keep us out of Heaven and God’s presence. But since Jesus’ death paid for our sin, the only thing standing between God and us is Jesus Christ.
The Bible says God forgives the sin of whoever accepts Jesus as their personal Savior. They share in his holiness. However, the Bible is just as clear that those who will not believe in Christ still stand condemned because of their unbelief. Their sin is not forgiven.
It’s sad to think that many people will miss Heaven by five letters:
J-E-S-U-S.
For some reason they just can’t bring themselves to accept the Jesus of the Bible. They won’t trust him.
With the summer vacation season upon us, airline travelers need to be aware of travel restrictions before flying. But since any day could be the day of your trip to eternity, think about God’s travel restrictions (and Jesus’ solution) before it’s too late.
Remember--someone tougher than the TSA (Transportation Security Administration) will be doing the pre-flight inspection of your “baggage” before you’re cleared for Heaven. The Bible says that Jesus Christ is The Judge of the living and the dead. He is also our Savior.
Listen to the Bible; it’s good for your soul!
Monday, June 11, 2007
Who’s Your Daddy?
Do you know your real father?
On a recent morning at Camp Victory in Baghdad, Master Sgt. William McGraw approached 21-year-old Pfc. Logan McGraw, tapped him on the shoulder and said, “Logan, I am your father.” It was the first time they had seen each other in 12 years. If his dad hadn’t tapped him on the shoulder, Logan wouldn’t have known who he was.
Our hearts go out to a young man who didn’t know his dad for so many years. But is his experience all that different from ours?
How many people today don’t know who their real father is? And I’m not just talking biological. According to the Bible, you and I have a spiritual father, as well.
Maybe you’ve heard it said, “We’re all God’s children.” But if that were true then everyone should be full of love, life and truth because children are like their fathers. Instead we look at our world and see people full of hate, murder and deceit.
Well, hold on just a minute! What’s up with that?
Just this: Not everyone who claims God is their father is talking about the same god.
Some very religious people of Jesus’ day claimed to be God’s spiritual children. Jesus shocked them when he said they were of their father, the devil! He said that if they were truly God’s children, they would love him because he came from God and God was his father.
But they wanted to kill Jesus. That revealed the devil was their father because “he was a murderer from the beginning.” (So that’s who motivated Cain to kill Abel in Genesis 4!)
As children we must obey our fathers. When we mature, most of us try to please them. We want them to be proud of us. On top of that we often see a bit of our fathers reflected in the way we speak or work. “Like father, like son.” Some sons even work for their dads.
In the late 1970’s Bob Dylan wrote a song called, “Gotta Serve Somebody.” He observed, “It may be the devil or it may be the Lord, but you're gonna have to serve somebody.”
Who do you listen to? Who do you please? Who do you serve? Who’s your daddy?
It was Jesus who first said that God wants to be our Father. Up until then people feared God but didn’t know how much he loved them. The Bible says, “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and send his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”
Here’s how the Bible says you become a child of God: “Yet to all who received him [Jesus], to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” Jesus added, “Whoever comes to me I will never drive away.”
The message of the New Testament is clear: God wants to be your father and for you to be his child. He is a loving, forgiving father waiting for his errant children to return to him. No matter who you are or what you have done--if you repent you will find forgiveness.
This Sunday is going to be a tough Father’s Day for many. It’s been seven years since my dad died. I know he’s in Heaven but I still miss him and would love to hear his voice one more time. Maybe you feel the same about your dad.
Will you let God fill up that empty place in your heart? He can and he will. He loves you and promises to never leave you. And he has never made a promise he didn’t keep.
Jesus said that his followers would hear his voice and know him. Have you heard God’s voice? He is saying, “I love you. Come to me. Rest in me.”
Listen to the Bible; it’s good for your soul!
On a recent morning at Camp Victory in Baghdad, Master Sgt. William McGraw approached 21-year-old Pfc. Logan McGraw, tapped him on the shoulder and said, “Logan, I am your father.” It was the first time they had seen each other in 12 years. If his dad hadn’t tapped him on the shoulder, Logan wouldn’t have known who he was.
Our hearts go out to a young man who didn’t know his dad for so many years. But is his experience all that different from ours?
How many people today don’t know who their real father is? And I’m not just talking biological. According to the Bible, you and I have a spiritual father, as well.
Maybe you’ve heard it said, “We’re all God’s children.” But if that were true then everyone should be full of love, life and truth because children are like their fathers. Instead we look at our world and see people full of hate, murder and deceit.
Well, hold on just a minute! What’s up with that?
Just this: Not everyone who claims God is their father is talking about the same god.
Some very religious people of Jesus’ day claimed to be God’s spiritual children. Jesus shocked them when he said they were of their father, the devil! He said that if they were truly God’s children, they would love him because he came from God and God was his father.
But they wanted to kill Jesus. That revealed the devil was their father because “he was a murderer from the beginning.” (So that’s who motivated Cain to kill Abel in Genesis 4!)
As children we must obey our fathers. When we mature, most of us try to please them. We want them to be proud of us. On top of that we often see a bit of our fathers reflected in the way we speak or work. “Like father, like son.” Some sons even work for their dads.
In the late 1970’s Bob Dylan wrote a song called, “Gotta Serve Somebody.” He observed, “It may be the devil or it may be the Lord, but you're gonna have to serve somebody.”
Who do you listen to? Who do you please? Who do you serve? Who’s your daddy?
It was Jesus who first said that God wants to be our Father. Up until then people feared God but didn’t know how much he loved them. The Bible says, “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and send his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”
Here’s how the Bible says you become a child of God: “Yet to all who received him [Jesus], to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” Jesus added, “Whoever comes to me I will never drive away.”
The message of the New Testament is clear: God wants to be your father and for you to be his child. He is a loving, forgiving father waiting for his errant children to return to him. No matter who you are or what you have done--if you repent you will find forgiveness.
This Sunday is going to be a tough Father’s Day for many. It’s been seven years since my dad died. I know he’s in Heaven but I still miss him and would love to hear his voice one more time. Maybe you feel the same about your dad.
Will you let God fill up that empty place in your heart? He can and he will. He loves you and promises to never leave you. And he has never made a promise he didn’t keep.
Jesus said that his followers would hear his voice and know him. Have you heard God’s voice? He is saying, “I love you. Come to me. Rest in me.”
Listen to the Bible; it’s good for your soul!
Monday, June 4, 2007
People Problems
Are you a “People Person?”
Of course it helps to like people. In one of my favorite “Peanuts” comic strips, Linus wants to be a doctor. His sister Lucy ridicules him, “How can you be a doctor? You have to love mankind.” Linus replies: “I love mankind--it's people I can't stand!"
Let’s face it--our biggest problems in life are people problems. There’s a little bit of Linus in us all.
People problems begin when we’re born. Then it goes downhill from there. We discover early on that others won’t always do what we want. So life becomes a quest to discover how to manipulate them so they will. But they’re trying to do the same to us. At some point our frustration kicks in and an emotional meltdown follows (also known as a “temper tantrum”).
The sad part is that we all have the condition and few know the solution. We’re experts at conflict (“He sure knows how to push my buttons.” “Look at what you made me do!” “She makes me so angry!”). Unfortunately human nature doesn’t come with a peacemaking program.
The result for many is a 3-D nightmare: Disappointment, Despair and Depression.
Some, like Seung-Hui Cho at Virginia Tech, turn violent. Others end up like James Thurber’s Walter Mitty: outwardly meek but living an inner life of fantasy adventures. But most become part of the “mass of men” who Henry David Thoreau said “lead lives of quiet desperation.” Thoreau observed, “What is called resignation is confirmed desperation.”
There are some bright spots. Babies are wonderful. But they turn into two-year-olds and then teenagers--and the disappointments begin all over. Even romance fades with time.
Whoa! Hold it right there for just a minute. Can I change the channel, please?
Actually, that’s a good idea. As long as we stay stuck on channel WMEE (all me all the time), things won’t change much. But be careful which channel you pick. Like they say, “Garbage in; garbage out.”
What we need is something proven to work with people problems. Something effective. And since you can’t change others, there’s only one solution: A New You. I’m not talking about turning over a “New Leaf” but getting a new heart. Lasting change happens from the inside out.
God diagnosed our problem a long time ago. When people kept disappointing him, he said through his prophet, Ezekiel, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you.”
But good advice (even God’s) only works if you follow it. And the Bible is full of good advice about life. For instance it says, “Don’t show favoritism” to others. In other words, get rid of your prejudices. Now that’s easier said than done. What you need is a heart to obey.
That’s why Christians talk about being “Born Again.” When a person comes to Jesus Christ and accepts him as their Lord and Savior, a change happens. God forgives their sin and gives them a new “heart”—a new mind. It’s a new way of looking at life. For the first time, they are at peace with God and actually want to obey him.
After receiving unconditional forgiveness in our lives, we become peacemakers by offering that same forgiveness to others. That has helped solve people problems for 2,000 years.
The path to inner peace and peace with others goes past the foot of Jesus’ cross and his empty tomb. Faith in the Christ who died for our sins and rose from the dead is the only way to a new heart and new relationships with other people.
Listen to the Bible; it’s good for your soul!
Of course it helps to like people. In one of my favorite “Peanuts” comic strips, Linus wants to be a doctor. His sister Lucy ridicules him, “How can you be a doctor? You have to love mankind.” Linus replies: “I love mankind--it's people I can't stand!"
Let’s face it--our biggest problems in life are people problems. There’s a little bit of Linus in us all.
People problems begin when we’re born. Then it goes downhill from there. We discover early on that others won’t always do what we want. So life becomes a quest to discover how to manipulate them so they will. But they’re trying to do the same to us. At some point our frustration kicks in and an emotional meltdown follows (also known as a “temper tantrum”).
The sad part is that we all have the condition and few know the solution. We’re experts at conflict (“He sure knows how to push my buttons.” “Look at what you made me do!” “She makes me so angry!”). Unfortunately human nature doesn’t come with a peacemaking program.
The result for many is a 3-D nightmare: Disappointment, Despair and Depression.
Some, like Seung-Hui Cho at Virginia Tech, turn violent. Others end up like James Thurber’s Walter Mitty: outwardly meek but living an inner life of fantasy adventures. But most become part of the “mass of men” who Henry David Thoreau said “lead lives of quiet desperation.” Thoreau observed, “What is called resignation is confirmed desperation.”
There are some bright spots. Babies are wonderful. But they turn into two-year-olds and then teenagers--and the disappointments begin all over. Even romance fades with time.
Whoa! Hold it right there for just a minute. Can I change the channel, please?
Actually, that’s a good idea. As long as we stay stuck on channel WMEE (all me all the time), things won’t change much. But be careful which channel you pick. Like they say, “Garbage in; garbage out.”
What we need is something proven to work with people problems. Something effective. And since you can’t change others, there’s only one solution: A New You. I’m not talking about turning over a “New Leaf” but getting a new heart. Lasting change happens from the inside out.
God diagnosed our problem a long time ago. When people kept disappointing him, he said through his prophet, Ezekiel, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you.”
But good advice (even God’s) only works if you follow it. And the Bible is full of good advice about life. For instance it says, “Don’t show favoritism” to others. In other words, get rid of your prejudices. Now that’s easier said than done. What you need is a heart to obey.
That’s why Christians talk about being “Born Again.” When a person comes to Jesus Christ and accepts him as their Lord and Savior, a change happens. God forgives their sin and gives them a new “heart”—a new mind. It’s a new way of looking at life. For the first time, they are at peace with God and actually want to obey him.
After receiving unconditional forgiveness in our lives, we become peacemakers by offering that same forgiveness to others. That has helped solve people problems for 2,000 years.
The path to inner peace and peace with others goes past the foot of Jesus’ cross and his empty tomb. Faith in the Christ who died for our sins and rose from the dead is the only way to a new heart and new relationships with other people.
Listen to the Bible; it’s good for your soul!
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