"What's it worth to ya?"

  After all the auxiliary family had left the house today, I found a quarter lying in the middle of the floor. At least 15 to 16 people had walked right over it at some point today but they either didn't see it, or didn't regard it as significant. How does that happen? Any other time, folks would be happy to see one quarter of a dollar, but today it was of little value, let alone worth bending over to get. I am reminded of a fellow I knew a few years ago who said that he knew he was getting too heavy when he wouldn't bend over to pick up anything under a fifty cent piece.
  How is it that our valuation of things can vacillate so widely? We know that certain things have an intrinsic worth above what humans can assign. In opposition to this, we understand that many material possessions in the world change value based upon the opinion of certain individuals or groups of people. Millions of dollars of currency change hands every day based on these types of changes. Attention is drawn to one commodity or another based upon swings in this type of valuation. Human thinking is always to put such changes to advantage(think Warren Buffet).
  In the realm of the Spiritual, we know intellectually that this phenomenon does not hold true. The eternal values of God's word don't change, but because of our limited capacity to maintain a set way of thinking, our opinion of these things does change. Different things appear in our mind's eye which distract, blur and deceive us about the eternal values we should constantly be mindful about. Emotions drive the commodity markets, but this should not be the motivator behind our Spiritual decision making about value and worthiness. What else moves human values but shouldn't influence Spiritual values? Time, availability, sudden changes (in any one of multiple factors), and persuasive arguments all can move human ideas of value. This is a clue to how we can be influenced to minimize the eternal because of the screaming immediate.
  So, what is your Christian walk worth to you? Take the necessary steps to insure a "calm market" without spikes of valuation(read that as priority) which cause instability. Ground your thinking in God's word. "Isa. 55:8~11"

Faux; Fake;Phoney;OK?

  I was in a store the other day and saw one of those plastic and metal fireplaces which was labeled "Walnut Fireplace." The irony is found in the fact that I instantly knew that this thing was plastic and not "Walnut" as in wood. How did this transformation take place? How is it that I have come to expect that "Walnut" is a color and not (as it should be) a kind of wood?
  When we allow others to redefine our language without question, should we be surprised that the inherent entropy of the world system has found a home in the Church? What does worship, for example, mean?  Does it mean chanting mindlessly and repetitively a chorus of adjectives "at " God? Or is it merely tradition, and pageantry for the human eye and ear? The Biblical model is very different from the modern one.
  The only way to know what the true meaning of something is to go back to the source of all truth found in the Bible. I don't need the secular world to tell me what Christmas means, I understand the significance of the event, and it has nothing to do with my giving. Exchanges of presents is one way some have tried to redefine Christmas. The crux of the issue is not however in two equals exchanging presents of somewhat equal value. The Christmas story is so different from that as to stagger the imagination. "God sent forth His Son..."we are told. One of the most awkward moments at any Christmas season is to either be given a gift when you didn't expect it and weren't able to reciprocate or to be given a much more valuable gift than the one you provided. So how is our view of gift giving in any perceivable way analogous to the real Christmas story?
  The Grace of a Sovereign God sending help to the helpless is what Christmas is all about. We can't begin to thank Him enough or to pay Him back for God's Grace! So what should we be doing to help redefine what Christmas is all about? How about unashamedly telling those most difficult audiences (our family and friends) what rotten "children" we've all been and yet our heavenly Lord has sent us the door to eternal life! Now that is a present worth opening, and a story worth telling.

So it Begins...

  I've always enjoyed looking familiar scriptures and finding unfamiliar (not necessarily new) things to think about. The title of this Blog is from I Samuel 17. Here David the future king comes to the place of battle and finds something with which we can all identify. In verse 3 the Bible says "And the Philistines stood on a mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side: and there was a valley between them. " That is where David would have to go.
  The valley between them was lonely, the valley between was a spectacle for all to see. That is what the Christian life is like isn't it? So often the trials and challenges we face are like that. We feel that everyone is watching us, and we recoil at the attention our failures could be drawing our way. Even though friends are great to have when we walk this path, there is no one who can be to us what HE can in the valley.
 The valley between was the only way to the throne for David. How could he so confidently stride into this fight? One reason is that he took his previous experiences of defeating animals twice his size with him. He also took the memory of the God who gave the victories with him. His confidence was grounded in the God who delivered him and whose cause was at stake.
  Christian, don't forget, despite those things which frustrate us, those things which sting, and those things which disappoint, the cause of our testimony is at stake. Time and eternity alone will tell the good fruit which will arise out or your valley. Endure with joy, persevere knowing He is with you, and knowing that He will not desert you in the valley between.