I like the idea that I can do whatever I please. But I know it isn’t the truth. I know that if I say something hurtful, someone will be hurt. I know that if I eat too much, my health will be harmed. I know I live in a world where there are consequences for what I do. That means I really can’t do what I please, at least not without there being consequences.

The Bible knows that too. In fact, it defines foolishness as thinking we can do what we please without any consequences. Yet the Bible doesn’t say these consequences come about “naturally” in the sense that we today use that word. Rather, it insists the consequences come about because God has established an order to the world and going against that order has consequences. The consequences are what Scripture calls God’s “judgment” upon sin.

Living in harmony with that order also has consequences. The consequences are what Scripture calls the “peace” of God. When we live in harmony with God’s intentions for the world, we experience the abundant life God intended.

Unfortunately, our world bears witness to the fact all too often we don’t live in harmony with God’s intentions for the world. That is why we need the good news of Jesus. Jesus did live in harmony with God’s intentions; and through the gift of his Spirit we too can live in harmony with God’s intentions. 

It isn’t easy, but by the power of the Spirit we are able to live wisely and know the peace God alone gives.

One of the things that has pained my heart over the years is the way we Christians sometimes treat each other. In a world that is increasingly uncivil, we Christians are often not far behind the world (if not sometimes worse!) as we throw condemnations at one another. In saying this, I’m not suggesting that differences don’t matter at all. What I am suggesting is that our mutual belonging to Christ should matter more. I was born a Presbyterian — and I intend to die a Presbyterian. There is much about our tradition I value. Yet I also know that Presbyterianism isn’t the only way of being Christian.

I remember a conversation I had years ago with another pastor with whom I had a disagreement. This person was adamant that our disagreement “proved” I couldn’t possibly be Christian. I asked this sister in Christ what she made of the Scripture that says, “no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says ‘Let Jesus be cursed!’ and no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:3). She immediately responded, “it says, ‘confess with your lips and believe in your heart.’ Just saying ‘Jesus is Lord’ isn’t enough!” My problem with her response is how can I ever really know what is in another’s heart.

As I said, I am a born Presbyterian. That means I prefer our Presbyterian urging to “have a good opinion of everyone” to making judgments I really can’t make. And that means I find myself valuing  our mutual belonging to Christ more than I do a person’s theological stance or opinion.

For many years we Presbyterians (and a lot of other mainline Christians) have more or less assumed that people would just come to church. If we had an attractive program, people would come. If we had a “contemporary” worship service, people would come. If we had _____, people would come.

But the fact is, we don’t live in a world where people just  come to church. We live in a world that, frankly, doesn’t think much about church, much less about attending church. 

That means we need to go where people are. We need to build friendships with neighbors, especially our neighbors who don’t go to any church. We need to move beyond what some have called “our Christian circle.” We need to intentionally include folk who aren’t Christian (or at least aren’t involved in a Christian community) in our circle of friends.

Why do we need to do this? Because it is the only way we are going to be able to share the good news of Jesus with them. Because Jesus told us to “go into the world.” But even more than that simply because we have been called to love — not just our church family but our neighbor, whoever that neighbor may be.

Going out like this isn’t easy. It’s uncomfortable, because it means moving beyond what we’ve always done. But Jesus sends us out into the world. So let’s start thinking and praying about how we can befriend our neighbors — which might eventually enable us to share the good news of Jesus with them.

Let’s face it, sometimes life stinks. Things happen that leave us feeling hopeless and helpless. We feel all alone, with nowhere to turn and no way out of the situation we are facing. The truth is, life is sometimes hard — really, really hard.

What are we to do in such times? When everything and everyone in the world seems against us, when we can’t seem to catch a break no matter what we do, when life is so difficult we are tempted to give up? 

It may be tempting at such times to think that we are all alone — that even God has deserted us. Yet when we look at Jesus we discover the one who has himself experienced all the hardness of life. Jesus knew what it was like to be hated. Jesus knew what it was like to be rejected. Jesus knew what it was like to be betrayed by his friends. Jesus knew what it was like to die — even to die alone. Jesus knew what it was like to feel abandoned by God.

In such times we can turn to Jesus, who knows how we feel. But we turn to Jesus not simply because Jesus knows how we feel, but because the same Jesus lives. The same Jesus reigns in power and prays for us. The same Jesus who cared about the lost, the sick, the lonely, the hurting of his world when he walked on earth continues to care about all the lost, sick, lonely, hurting people of our world. Continues to care about us. 

When life stinks, Jesus cares. At such times we can rely upon Jesus.

I don’t think I know anyone who really likes change. Change disturbs our normal routines, upsets the way we are used to doing things and is, because of those very things, uncomfortable. 

Personally, while I may like the temporary change in routine a vacation brings; I really don’t like having to permanently change my everyday routines and ways of thinking. I’m comfortable the way I am. Besides that, change is scary. There’s no guarantee that any changes I make will be beneficial or “successful.” 

Yet change demands change. The world about us has changed, and that means our old ways no longer work as they once did. New ways of thinking and new behaviors in the world call upon the church to also change our way of thinking and doing.

Now I’m not suggesting we give up the faith that has sustained the church throughout the ages. What I am suggesting is we need to find new ways to speak about our faith — ways that make sense to people today. We need to find new ways to embody our faith, as individuals and churches, that proclaim the good news of God’s redeeming love in a way that matches the needs and challenges people of today face. 

Change invites us to look at what we have — our faith, our Christian qualities, our possessions — and ask how they can show God’s love to our world of today. Change invites us to faith in Jesus Christ, who is able to more than meet the challenges of yesterday, today and tomorrow.

In the midst of what can often be a uncertain and confusing world, we tend to want certainty. We want to be sure. We want  assurance we are right in what we think and do. This is a normal, human response to the uncertainty that is so much a part of life. Often today, people find this longed for certainty in “doing what seems right for me.” Others find the certainty they long for by simply following along with the crowd.

Yet the Bible invites us to a different kind of response to the uncertainty of our world. It invites us to make a response of faith. The Bible invites us to “walk by faith, not by sight.”

It can be hard to live in a world that seems so uncertain; where we never seem to know what is going to happen next. Yet there is a type of certainty we have by faith. By faith, we have the certainty of God’s presence. By faith, we have the certainty of God’s love revealed in Jesus Christ. By faith, we have the certainty of God’s grace and mercy offered to us through Christ. 

It isn’t the kind of certainty the world seeks. But it is the certainty we can have as Christians. And it is a certainty in which we can live — truly live. It is a certainty that allows us to live in a new and different way — the way God’s Spirit leads us to live.

Walking by faith isn’t an easy way to live in our world. Yet it is the only way in which we really can live with the uncertainty that fills our lives. Only as we trust in Christ can we know the certainty — the assurance — faith gives in the midst of uncertainty. 

Mass shootings, terrorist attacks, violent crimes — the realities of our modern world spark all kinds of responses in us. One response can be that of fear, especially when any of these happen where it begins to feel “close to home.” We feel helpless to stop what is going on around us. Such a response is, in many ways, a natural response; and I certainly don’t want to suggest that there aren’t frightening things happening in our world — and even close to our own homes. 

Another response can be confusion. We find ourselves wondering how in the world can such things be happening? We ask, “How could anyone do such a thing?” We feel like what is happening is so “foreign” — so unlike the world we believe we know.

The truth is, there is real evil in the world; and evil can happen right close up and personal. There is no guarantee that any of us — or anyplace in the world — is exempt for the reality of evil. 

Yet as Christians the other truth we know is Jesus has overcome evil. In Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension God has created a new thing. In Christ and through the Holy Spirit, God is at work redeeming the world. No matter how bleak the world may seem at this moment, we can always cling to the promise that God’s kingdom WILL come and God’s will WILL be done. For that promise we thank God!

I’m sure most of us don’t consider ourselves rich. That’s why one of the things that strikes me about the Christians in the New Testament is the fact they considered themselves rich. Certainly, most of them had much less than we do. In fact, many of them probably had very few possessions.

Yet they considered themselves rich! They were rich for one simple reason — they had the gospel. In their eyes, nothing was of more value than knowing Jesus Christ. Nothing was more important than what God had done in Christ.

Living in a world where where we have so much and so many opportunities clamor for our time and attention, I wonder if we aren’t really poorer than those early Christians. Have we forgotten the absolute wonder that God would act to save through the death and resurrection of Jesus? Have we lost the amazement that God’s kingdom is among us right now? Have we lost the sense of the importance — the immeasurable value — of the gospel? 

Those early Christians considered it a privilege to share the gospel. They considered it a privilege to suffer for the gospel. They considered the gospel the most valuable thing in their lives. They were eager to share the gospel riches.

 What about us? How much value do we put on knowing and sharing the gospel?

Are Christians different than other people around us? Should we be different? If so, how?

Scripture indicates some really surprising ways in which we should be different than the world around us. One of those differences is we shouldn’t be afraid. “Don’t be afraid” is one of the most common commands in Scripture. The command to not fear is usually given when we are confronted with God’s presence. That may be a hard thing for us to understand these days with our tendency toward a casual familiarity with God. Yet the truth is God is holy and majestic; a God of glory. That should inspire what Scripture calls a holy fear (awe) in us.

Yet I think there are a number of other ways in which we as Christians should differ from the world about us in not fearing. Trusting in God to care for us, we shouldn’t fear the future. Trusting in God’s love and grace, we shouldn’t fear judgment. Trusting in God claiming us a God’s own children, we shouldn’t fear what others think of us. Trusting in God’s love and grace, we shouldn’t fear being a grace-filled, loving people ourselves. Trusting in the resurrection, we shouldn’t fear death.

How wonderful it is to hear God’s words, “Don’t be afraid.” How freeing it is — opening us up to living and life. Opening us up to God!

We are stewards -- managers — of all God has given us. Not least among those gifts is money. In fact, in the Gospels, Jesus speaks more about how we use our wealth than he does about any other topic. Clearly, how we use what we have is very important in Jesus’ eyes!

As I’ve been considering (again) what it means for us to be good Christian stewards, I found myself thinking about what it means for someone to be a “good steward” (fiscally responsible) of whatever money I am setting aside for retirement. In today’s world, we’ve all had to more or less get used to having fees attached to the management of our investment accounts. As we consider who to have as our investment counselor or what fund to invest in, we are urged to consider the percentage of such fees.

That got me to wondering. What if instead of looking at how much we give back to God we looked at what we kept — what we might think of as our investment fees. Suddenly, the Biblical suggestion of a tithe (1/10) doesn’t seem so much. After all, we’re getting to keep 90% of the funds invested for ourselves! That’s quite a fee!

Whether you give a tithe or some other amount, I encourage you to think seriously about how you use the money you have and how you can be a good steward of God’s gift.