Mark 1:1-8; John

John sounds like an odd character. I doubt he would have been hired by most churches today. He dressed and ate in an odd manner; surely he stood out among his peers. His ministry is described as one calling out in the desert. It sounds lonely and very unproductive. He did not cry out in the marketplace or busy intersections but rather in the desert. Yet his ministry was used by God and people somehow heard him. His efforts were all directed at preparing people for Jesus. One message was all he had.

And so starts the good news about Jesus. It begins with an odd man, repeating the same message over and over in the desert. Yet somehow, God used him to prepare a society for what was to come.

It makes me ask myself about my life and ministry? Am I comfortable being counter-cultural? Am I content if I am not used in the busy places of life but am placed by God in more desert settings? Am I satisfied with spending my life pointing people to Jesus rather than to self? Am I able to accept John as normative for those who seek God? Could I have accepted the call that God gave to John? Or am I just another cultural Christian who wants what every UnChristian wants, i.e., human acceptance rather than God acceptance?

Philippians 4:10-23; Content

I wonder what impact it would have on the US economy if every Christian learned to be content? Our advertising industry is designed to make us discontent by believing we need more. It soon becomes the air we breath and we think that something new makes us feel better. We actually learn to be discontent in all circumstances. Therefore there is no difference in how Christians and unChristians spend money.

As soon as we buy a coke, we are asked if we are dissatisfied and would rather super size it. As soon as we buy a phone, we are told the upgrade will come out soon. We are taught dissatisfaction. This text calls us to satisfaction; it raises the question of do I really trust God or not?

My closet and my garage, therefore, are a testimony to trust. There is a bumper-sticker that reads, "The one with the most toys wins." Not true.

Proverbs 30:8, ". . . give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread."

Philippians 4:8-9; Positive

Dr B could find something good in every student and every case, no matter how muddled it was. I had blown a diagnosis and I knew it that morning of my last year in Vet School. Dr B was my supervisor and I expected to be not only corrected but belittled; that was the norm. Yet he found a couple of positive aspects, i.e., the way I talked to the client, certain tests I recommended. The impact of that positive response during a moment of complete failure still is fresh on my mind. I want to be like Dr B.

I'm wired, however, for criticism. As a doctor I'm trained to look for what is hurt, broken or abnormal and fix it. It causes me to overlook the person and seek only pathology. Yet God calls us to rewire our outlook in order to find that which is good, honorable and noble. He also calls us to live the same way, not just think it but show it.

Instead of seeing the "glass as half empty" today, I pray that I can see the beauty of the glass and the positive attributes of the one who holds it. Maybe then I can have a little of the impact on others that Dr B or a Jewish carpenter have had on me.

Philippians 4:4-7; Living in the Presence

We are called to be joyful and thankful; we are told that gentleness and peacefulness will be the result. In a society that has a huge industry dedicated to making me feel anxious about not having the best (advertising), it is hard to be thankful. We are bombarded with "you need more" messages, when we really don't. In fact, we probably need much less in order to be truly healthy.

So how do you stay joyful and thankful when daily you are told that you are lacking? I think the answer is the little line "The Lord is near." If I really believe that, then what can a simple electronic device add to my life? If I believe that the Creator of the universe walks with me, is a new manmade anything going to add more joy to my heart? Is there room for anxiety in my heart when I experience the presence of God daily?

Tielhard de Chardin once said "Joy is the most infallible sign of the presence of God." Maybe put another way, it would seem that joy is the meter used to read how filled I am with God. I pray that today I can stay focused upon the simple act of rejoicing in the presence of God.

Philippians 4:1-3; More than Church

Nagging, backbiting and gossip. It is so disheartening to find it in church. How can we claim to be followers of Christ when his body is a bunch of cliques? How will society ever see Jesus if we can't get along? Surely it was never like this back in the day. . . but then again, Euodia and Syntyche apparently were just like that.

Perhaps what is striking is not that they had contention in the church but that Paul says that their names are written in the book of life. Sometimes we tend to think of people as members of a local congregation but maybe not with a claim to heaven. Yet these bickering women were among those that had entry through the pearly gates.

It calls into question my own beliefs. Do I really see the church as belonging to Christ and that he wants to forgive and redeem her? Do I really believe that the church is more than a local group of people but rather is an entity that will last for eternity? Will I let Jesus be the judge and quit evaluating people based upon my own standards? Can I look at those I don't like very much or don't feel try very hard in their faith and see them as "written in the book of life?" Can I see the local congregation with all her faults as the bride of Christ?

Philippians 3:12-21; Hard Work

It seems that we have a view of Christianity as sort of a spiritual club we join. We visit to see if we like it, go through a joining process and then become a member. After that we boil down its significance to avoiding the most atrocious errors, coupling the word spiritual with the word patriotic, and showing our face in a gathering of the other members. I have serious doubts that Paul would consider this behavior as living up to what we have already attained.

The call he gives here is to "press on" and "strive", words that carry a sense of hard work and struggle. Usually we use the word struggle to talk about sin; primarily it means "I keep committing the same mistake and I feel bad about it." Struggle rarely involves the effort to change relationships, schedule and habits. It is even more seldom about proactive growth.

So bluntly speaking, what will I make a pointed effort to change now? Before I quit reading, close the computer and walk away to begin a fast paced day, what will I resolve to "struggle" with today so that I treat someone differently or look more like Christ by day's end? How will I press on today?

Philippians 3:1-11; Sharing Everything

I am egotistical enough that I like to read a passage and check off my own attributes. I like to read and say "yep, I do that" (even when the passage, like this one, is specifically talking about not depending upon one's own abilities, I still find myself responding the same way). Then Paul throws in "share in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death."

Since death is the end of us all, I can mentally defer, be it ever so passive, and say "yep, I'll do that." Yet this "share in his sufferings" is another thing.

I can handle living like Jesus, being a loving person, even changing life goals but to look forward to suffering is a stretch. Paul wanted to go through everything that Jesus did so that he could understand him in every way. So the real question here is not "do I want to share in the sufferings of Jesus" but "how much do I want to get to know him?" How close a relationship do I want to have with Jesus? How much do I value closeness with him?

I hate it when simple questions cut so deep.