Any Day Is a Good Day to Celebrate

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This is the day the LORD has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24 NLT

Spend two hundred dollars and you forget everything? It sounds like you might have been to a therapy session, but in fact, you were at the Taylor Swift Eras concert. Swift fans, better known as Swifties, have been claiming to suffer from “post-concert amnesia.” After three hours and over 40 songs later, they are getting home and realizing they can’t remember a thing. Music psychologist Dr. Michelle Phillips says the “idea of post-concert amnesia is not as scary as it sounds. It’s simply that they encode some aspects of the event in memory and not others.” She goes on to say, “In fact, it’s likely to be one of the things they remember attending for the rest of their lives.”

So how do we keep from forgetting what is important? We set aside special days to celebrate, we create markers to remind us of what happened, we take pictures and tell stories as well as a host of other things. “Life is a celebration. Consider everything that makes you happy as a gift from God and say, Thank you.” (Francis Lucille) “Every day is a good day. There is something to learn, care and celebrate.” (Amit Ray) “Songs of joy and victory are sung in the camp of the godly. The strong right arm of the LORD has done glorious things!” (Psalm 118:15 NLT)

You remember what you celebrate and celebrate what you remember. Every day gives us moments of celebration since “This is the day the LORD has made,” even June 26! This could be just another day on the calendar or a day you find something to celebrate. You have a smorgasbord of activities and events to celebrate today.

If you love canoeing, today is your day. National Canoe Day began in 2007 and is the highlight of every canoe-loving fan. Canoes have been part of cultures all over the world.  The oldest known canoe is the Pesse Canoe found in the Netherlands dating between 8200 and 7600 BCE. Canoeing has been an Olympic sport since 1924. So, get your canoe out and head for the lake. Sigurd Olson says, “The way of a canoe is the way of the wilderness, and of a freedom almost forgotten. It is an antidote to insecurity, the open door to waterways of ages past, and a way of life with profound and abiding satisfaction.”

I am more inclined to celebrate National Chocolate Pudding Day today. According to Statista Research, 150 million Americans consume chocolate pudding annually. No one is certain who created this wonderful celebration but celebrating is fairly easy, just get yourself a great big bowl of chocolate pudding. This simple but amazing desert has a rich and noble history dating back to 14th century England.  There is hope when even chocolate pudding can have a day.

Today is your day if your temperature hits the triple digits as you celebrate World Refrigeration Day. If you are a multi-tasker, then open the fridge and get your chocolate pudding out to celebrate. World Refrigeration Day was founded by Stephen Gill in conjunction with the World Refrigeration Secretariat. The purpose was to raise awareness and the importance of this technology in our life and modern society.

If the previous events do not meet your need for celebration, then June 26 is also, National Sarah Day, Flag Day of Romania, Forgiveness Day, Madagascar Independence Day, National Barcode Day, National Beautician’s Day, National Report Trade Agreement Act Fraud Day, Please Take My Children to Work Day, International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking and National Zachary Day. Hopefully, you can find something to celebrate or remember today.

Joshua understood the concept of “post-concert amnesia” long before it became part of the academic world. He had watched a previous generation die off because they forgot God. A generation who had experienced Hollywood-like dramatic scenes, watched a mighty river open wide and eat from the generous portion of God’s daily table, yet they forgot. Now a new generation has taken up the mantle to cross into the Promise Land under Joshua, one of only two men who stayed faithful.

Joshua wanted to make sure this generation remembered what happened when they crossed the Jordan River on dry ground. As the people crossed over the Jordan, he ordered 12 men to each pick up a large stone and carry it out of the riverbed. This would be a visible reminder to tell the story of God’s faithfulness to the next generation. The stones were “to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’” (Joshua 4)

Jesus understood the concept of “post-concert amnesia” and knew his followers would need some powerful reminders of God’s redemption and salvation. Jesus took time during his last meal with the disciples to leave “stones” for the next generations to remember. “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” (Luke 22:19) Broken bread and a cup would be the reminders for the next generations of the price paid by Jesus for their spiritual freedom.

God understood how important it would be for us to set aside time to celebrate life. Seven major festivals in the Old Testament served to remind God’s people about His faithfulness and love. God set a rhythm of celebration into our normal week as we observe the Sabbath. What a beautiful time of celebration and renewal as we pull away from life’s responsibilities each week to restore our relationship and celebrate God in worship and rest.

June 26 may not be a pivotal day on most people’s calendars but it can be a great day to simply remind you that you can find something to celebrate every day without waiting for those big celebration events. God, for sure does not wait to celebrate you! “The LORD, your God, is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing as on a day of festival.” (Zephaniah 3:17 NRSV)

God is great!

 

 

Will the Real-Life Dad Stand Up

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The LORD your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, and in the wilderness. There you saw how the LORD your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place. Deut 1:30-31

Who’s your favorite TV dad? The more seasoned TV watchers may come up with Jim Anderson of Father Knows Best or Ward Cleaver of Leave it to Beaver. Maybe you prefer the more unconventional dads such as Homer Simpson (The Simpsons), Phil Dunphy (Modern Family), Jack Pearson (This is Us), or Dan Conner (Roseanne and The Conners). Hollywood movies and Broadway plays have had their famous dads but somehow TV allows us to invite those dads into our homes weekly, where we can get to know them intimately. TV dads have been a staple within our homes since 1947 when Mary Kay and Johnny became the first sitcom broadcast in the United States.

TV allows us to sit under the words of wisdom that folksy Sheriff Andy Taylor shares with his son Opie while keeping the city of Mayberry safe, optimistic and fun-loving Herman Munster and his unorthodox family or Howard Cunningham as he deals with the unpredictable but lovable Fonzie. TV dads have been portrayed across a spectrum of personalities, characters, and mannerisms. However, the one thing all TV dads have in common, they are acting. Unfortunately, real-life dads don’t get a script nor are they able to walk off the set at the end of filming.

Father’s Day is a great opportunity to focus on the importance of real-life Fathers. Somewhere along the way, TV dads moved from the steady, even-tempered Jim Anderson of Father Knows Best and the homespun wisdom of Sheriff Andy Taylor in The Andy Griffin Show to the bumbling and inept dads featured in many modern sitcoms. The American Psychological Association in a 2021 study found a marked trend among top-rated, family-centered sitcoms from 1980 to 2017 showing fathers as “humorously foolish, showing poor judgment, being incompetent or acting childishly.”

A U.S. Census Bureau report shows 1 out of 4 children live without a biological, step, or adoptive father in the home. Now not all of those 1 out of 4 dads chose to walk off the “set” but because of death or some other heartbreaking reason, they had to. Some of these homes probably shouldn’t be labeled fatherless since they have a father’s presence just in a different format. Yet for those truly fatherless homes, it has required a lot of brave Moms to start reading two scripts for the sake of their children.

The National Fatherhood Initiative labeled their findings as The Father Absence Crisis in America. Among some of the findings, fatherless homes result in 4x greater risk of poverty, 2x greater risk of infant mortality, 2x more likely to commit crime, 7x more likely to face abuse and neglect, 7x more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol, and 2x more likely to drop out of school. (Father Facts: Eighth Edition.)

Father’s Day is an excellent opportunity to refocus on God’s understanding and not on media entertainment’s portrayal of fathers.  God designed the role of father and mother with great consideration. “As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him.”  Psalm 103:13

God understood the importance of learning. “Listen, my son (daughter), to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.” (Prov 1:8)

God understood the importance of home stability by including “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you,” (EX 20:12) in The Ten Commandments.

God understood how easily tempers could flare by encouraging “Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” (Eph 6:4)

The writers who captured the words in our Bible thankfully didn’t just give us examples of wise, caring, have-it-all-together dads but threw in a good bunch of totally-blew-it dads. However, what the writers captured well was how God took the mistakes and recreated those broken stories into pictures of grace and redemption. God’s punishment was always interwoven with God’s expansive mercy. Father’s Day allows us to reflect on the failed stories, the winning stories, and everything else stories of fatherhood. It is out of God’s grace, they can become stories of forgiveness, redemption, gratitude, and hope.

Jesus gave us a great Father’s Day story. He told the moving story of a father and his two sons. The parable gives hope if you find yourself watching for the son or daughter to return or the determination to keep pursuing and praying for the child who stayed home but out of selfish motives. When the broken and beaten son finally comes home, the father doesn’t meet him at the door with an I-told-you-so attitude “but while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.” (Luke 15) That’s grace and love!

The story shifts to the older brother. Instead of joining in the celebration, he angrily refused to come into the house. The father had the right, as a parent, to command him to come into the house but instead of using his father’s card, he got up and went outside to his son, not in anger but in compassion and mercy. “My son, the father said, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.” That’s grace and love!

Economists estimate more than $1 billion is spent each year on Father’s Day gifts. Dads, though you will greatly appreciate and enjoy every gift, make sure you tell your child how much you love him or her. Let’s change how the media views dads, and how society views dads, and maybe together we can change the next Census Bureau report for the next generation! “And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers.” (Malachi 4:6 CSB)

God is great!

 

 

Thank you for taking the time to read my weekly blog, I greatly appreciate you and pray these devotional blogs are an encouragement to you.

 

Planting Seeds of Grace with Our Words

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It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell. James 3:5-6 The Message

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.

Whoever came up with this children’s rhyme in the early 1800s could never have imagined the 2020s when someone using a couple of clicks on their computer could devastate another person.  Iam Tongi experienced toxic hatred after his win on American Idol last month. The OU Sooners softball team experienced it after their win last Thursday night at the Softball World Series game. Regrettably, 46% of American teens have experienced the truth that words do hurt.

The little ditty was never true even in the 1800s and now even less. I am also certain that most of us have been hurt with unintentional and a few intentional negative and hateful words in our lifetime. However, the rise of social media comment toxicity has created a whole new dimension in our digitally connected world. No longer are the words thrown at us from the kids we know on the playground, but, the vast majority of toxic comments come from people who hide behind a hedge of anonymity.

The stranger’s hateful comments hurt, but the ones that carry the most sting are from Christians. Michael Hidalgo wrote an article in Relevant magazine called, “When Did Christians Get So Mean?” James Emery White shared a similar line of thought in his recent podcast called, “On Why Christians Are So Mean.” Hidalgo writes, “Few things embolden us to say unkind things more than a computer keyboard. Many men and women type mean slanderous emails and comments. They come out so fast their finger scan barely keep up with the toxic words that appear before them on the screen.”

The rise of toxicity among those outside the church is alarming but within the church family, I would call it scandalous. White said in his podcast, “A lack of grace is a significant contributor to this problem, which is ironic as grace is what makes the Christian faith so distinct from other world religions.”  Paul, of all people, understood the word, grace. In his letter to the believers in Colossae, he wrote, “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” (Colossians 4:6 NIV)

“If our words are to be filled with grace it demands we give a gift to others every time we speak or write words. And too many of us are not crazy about giving grace to others, because something in each of us knows grace is expensive. If we are to speak words full of grace it costs us something.” (Michael Hidalgo)

Christians are known as passionate people of faith, which is a good thing. However, taken to the extreme, it is easy to take a 15-second video clip out of an hour’s presentation to pounce on another follower of Christ or speak before we have listened or sought to only win an argument. James reminded us and is very relevant in our instantaneous media culture, “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.” (James 1:19-20 NIV)

Long before our digital world, Dietrich Bonhoeffer gave some helpful insight to ponder before we share our opinions or reply in the comment section. “Your life as a Christian should make non-Believers question their disbelief in God.” James somehow knew we would need to be reminded that “With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.” (James 3:9-10) I would be surprised if at some point you haven’t been upset over a story or an event that happened. Did your reply “make non-Believers question their disbelief in God?” Did you extend grace to someone you disagreed with?

Is your goal to win the argument or help plant seeds of truth? Just remember “The wise in heart are called discerning, and gracious words promote instruction.” (Prov 16:21 NIV)

Is your goal to blast the other person’s idea or create dialogue? Just remember “Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.” (Prov 16:24 NIV)

Is your goal to unload anger or recreate the story? Just remember “A word spoken at the right time is like gold apples in silver settings.” (Prov 25:11 CSB)

Dale Carnegie said it well “Perhaps you will forget tomorrow the kind of words you say today, but the recipient may cherish them over a lifetime.” However, I think Paul writing Titus gives us even more insight into using words wisely, “to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone.” (Titus 3:2 NIV)

Unfortunately, you can’t stop the mean-spirited comments on Social Media, blogs, or news stories but as followers of Jesus, hopefully, the unbelieving world will not find us the authors of the comments. Yes, we will passionately share ideas and opinions but we let our words “encourage one another and build each other up.” (I Thess 5:11))

Planting seeds of grace in every conversation!

God is great!

 

Not Applicable Today

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Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation. Joel 1:3

His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. Luke 1:50

Time apparently stands still, especially regarding an overdue library book. Anyway, that was the case at St. Helena, California public library when Benson Lossing’s 754-page “A History of the United States” was finally returned, 96 years overdue. Whoever checked the book out originally forgot to return on Feb. 21, 1927, the due date. Library Director Chris Kreiden said, “A man returned the book to the front desk but didn’t leave his name.” Kreiden said the staff would love to know the back story of how he came into possession of the book. The library did go fine free in 2019 so the over-due fee was forgiven!

As I read the story the thought occurred, what if this was the original borrower? He would certainly have discovered Ponce de Leon’s fountain of youth by keeping over-due library books! Life is filled with time limits – some we create, and others are created for us. I am sure you have thrown away a few items in the pantry or refrigerator that had expired dates on the packaging. Some people see an expiration date as a legal requirement, others the date is only a suggestion.  When we were living in South Africa I watched as some airport employees placed a sticker over the due date of some expired food items. The sticker read, “Not applicable in RSA.”

Last week during a men’s meeting, we watched the movie “Jesus Revolution.” It is a movie reflecting a unique movement of God in the 60s and 70s which many historians consider as one of the largest spiritual awakenings in American history. The closing tagline of the movie read, “Beginning in California, the Jesus Movement spread across the country, culminating in 1972.”

Is there an expiration date on spiritual movements? After the movie, we discussed and shared our thoughts. Several shared the impact of that particular movement on their spiritual walk and how they made commitments to follow Jesus. These men have now walked faithfully with Jesus and remained strong in their commitment for over five decades. This made me consider the closing tagline “Culminating in 1972.”  The movement as portrayed may have ended, but not the fruit of that movement. Already two generations have been impacted because they were faithful to “tell the next generation.” (Ps 78) I am not so sure if the expiry date is applicable.

Is there an expiration date on spiritual movements? “74 years ago, in the Outer Hebrides off the Scottish coast, an awakening began that impacted many. During a prayer meeting a young man stood and read Psalm 24. As he shut his Bible he said, “It seems to me just so much sentimental humbug to be praying as we are praying, to be waiting as we are waiting here, if we ourselves are not rightly related to God.” Then, leading by example, he began repenting of his sin, before falling to the ground, overwhelmed by the Spirit. This vulnerable and humble act of repentance helped spark a move of God in which thousands gave their lives to Christ. “(Carla Harding, Lectio365)

Is there an expiration date on spiritual movements? Not if you consider the impact of five college students in 1806 who had begun to pray twice a week to see a movement of God. This simple prayer meeting became known as the Haystack Prayer Meeting. “Many historians would tell you that all mission organizations in the U.S. trace their history back to the Haystack Prayer Meeting in some way.” (Ronnie Floyd)

Is there an expiration date on spiritual movements? Augustine once wrote, “Without God, we cannot; without us, God will not.”  Dr. Andrew Taylor writes, “Transformation and salvation in the nation always begins with personal consecration.” There is no expiration date on what God can do and will do.

Pentecost Sunday is the powerful event that forever pulled off the expiration date of spiritual renewal. The same power that came upon this small group of believers has not lost any momentum through the generations. A popular quote of unknown origin and variations is “Anyone can count the seeds in an apple, but only God can count the number of apples in a seed.”

The Jesus Movement may have culminated in specific ways on a certain date but it has morphed into the continuing movement of God through the lives of those impacted. The First and Second Great Awakenings are considered historical but if I had the time to research, I am certain that even today there will be those who could trace their spiritual heritage to the movements. The Asbury Awakening, earlier this year, lasted for 16 days on campus but the impact continues to be felt across college campuses and the world.

Is there an expiration date? “So, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the wilderness, where your ancestors tested and tried me, though for forty years they saw what I did. That is why I was angry with that generation; I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known my ways.’ So, I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’” (Hebrews 3:7-11)

Together as we continue in faithful prayer, life choices, and witnessing, we can place a sticker over the due date, “not applicable in God’s Kingdom.”

God is great and applicable through all generations!