Page 7 – The Rev

You Salty?

February 5, 2017December 11, 2017 by The RevNo Comments

It’s funny how language changes over time. Words and phrases come to mean very different things as cultures change and progress. When I was a kid, “bad” meant “good” and “sweet” had nothing to do with flavor. A new phrase that my kids drop is, “you feeling salty?” They use it when a friend is whining or complaining about something. It didn’t always mean that. Back in Jesus’ day salt was important for a couple of reasons. First, it was helpful to store food. The other thing it was useful for was flavoring (funny how some things don’t change after 2,000 or so years). In Matthew 5 Jesus is in the midst of his magisterial Sermon on Mount, and he says, “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. “You are the light of the world....

On Integrity

February 5, 2017December 11, 2017 by The RevNo Comments

A few years ago I was thinking about integrity. Integrity is a concept that people talk much about but don’t really live out. I’m often surprised by the lack of integrity most people have. Some say that integrity is understood to be “what you do when nobody’s looking.” Still others define it as “standing by your word.” I think that both of those ideas are pieces to the puzzle but they aren’t the whole story. I am finding that true integrity is found in people whose lives are not disintegrated. What do I mean by disintegrated? What I mean is that the person with integrity is one who has a life that is consistent across all the spheres within which they live. That is, the Facebook version is the same as the Office version is the same as the Family version is the same as the Church version is the same as the Bar version is the same as the… You get the idea. A...

We Are In This Together

February 4, 2017December 11, 2017 by The RevNo Comments

Photo by Cristian NewmanIf you’re like me you don’t like cognitive dissonance. You try really hard to deal with it and eliminate it. This means that I have this general posture toward creating binary perspectives when reality dictates a nuanced approach. As a pastor I regularly enter into situations where people need help. A conversation that is ongoing withing myself and with my fellow Elders is “How best do we help?” Over the years there is a growing distinction between “blessing” and “helping.” Blessing is paying a bill for someone who needs to keep their light on. Helping is teaching someone how to budget so that they have an understanding of how to have enough money to pay their bills. I was reading in Galatians 6 and this passage about bearing burdens stood out to me. Take a moment, Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest...

Just Say No!

February 3, 2017December 11, 2017 by The RevNo Comments

…or why we shouldn’t get in bed with the government. During his speech at the National Prayer Breakfast President Trump stated that he was going to end the Johnson Amendment. An aspect of this amendment, in a nut shell, prohibits pastors from campaigning from the pulpit and funneling campaign contributions from churches (a term inclusive of houses of worship) to politicians. These prohibitions allow for churches to be tax exempt and allows for religious leaders other tax benefits (minister’s housing allowance, etc…). As a pastor, I am deeply concerned by talk of over-turning this amendment. From the founding of this country, Christians have been deeply concerned for the separation of Church and State. It was the Christians who demanded that this be part of the who we are as a nation. Why? Because the memories of the Crown seeking to control the Church were still all too fresh in the minds of many. The Establishment Clause is critically important to life and well-being...

It’s Just Too Easy

February 3, 2017December 11, 2017 by The RevNo Comments

Photo by Jimi FilipovskiSometimes we think we live a new and unique in human history. It turns out that just isn’t the case. People, it turns out, are people. You, me, and the guy down the street, we are just like the people who have come before us. I know that might be a surprise but it is what it is. Truly, “there is nothing new under the sun.” In Psalm 73 we run across an amazing confession. One that hit home with me. Check this out… A Psalm of Asaph. Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped. For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For they have no pangs until death; their bodies are fat and sleek. They are not in trouble as others are; they are not stricken like the rest of mankind. Therefore pride is their necklace; violence covers them as a garment. Their...

Freedom, Law, Grace, and Love

February 2, 2017December 11, 2017 by The RevNo Comments

Photo by Axel Antas-BergkvistThere are few words that I love more in the Scriptures than “freedom.” I think it is one of those words that really sets Christianity apart from other religions. Many people say that all religion is the same, it’s all about the golden rule, “Do unto others as you’d have them do to you.” But that’s not really the case. The religions of the world are all very different from one another. Each has their beauty, but they are not simply the same. Consider Galatians 5 for a moment, For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you...

If Only…

February 1, 2017December 11, 2017 by The RevNo Comments

Photo by Robert CrawfordI don’t know how many conversations I have had with folks about Jesus. Too many to count, after all, I am a pastor. Many of them with people who don’t follow Jesus say, “If God is real he would just do something miraculous and prove himself. Why doesn’t he just do that?” Even Jesus had to answer this question. In Mark 8 we find this little interaction with the religious leaders of his day: The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him. And he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.” And he left them, got into the boat again, and went to the other side. (Mark 8:11–13, ESV) Can’t you almost picture it? I think Jesus probably does something like this: Now, I know that might feel a little sacrilegious,...

How Do We Change?

January 31, 2017December 11, 2017 by The RevNo Comments

Photo by Nicole MasonMy brother shared a video with me a few weeks ago. It has since disappeared off the internet. But, the gist of it was focused on this one question, “How do people change?” In the video, a police officer told the story of how a man approached him at a restaurant after observing the officer during his meal. The officer, as most officers do, was on high alert while he ate, completely on. The man who observed him shared that he had not always been on the “right side of the law” but that if anything were to have happened in that place he would have had the officer’s back. Both men were changed. I am learning that there is a fundamental way that we as people change. We change through our interactions with other people. This sounds obvious. This seems to be a “duh” kind of concept. Yet, it seems to be a foreign reality to most people. I’m not...

For God Alone My Soul Waits

January 31, 2017December 11, 2017 by The RevNo Comments

…or how to subvert the empire. Photo by Tim MarshallWe so often find ourselves looking for a savior. We want our own personal Jesus Christ. We want someone who will fight for us. We want someone who will stand for us and protect us from all those people who we perceive to be our enemies. This mindset is not something new, we have seen it throughout history. The desire for a strong man drove the people of God to reject God and embrace a king, it has driven countless societies to embrace tyrants. Psalm 62 challenges us to not walk down that path. To the choirmaster: according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David. For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken. How long will all of you attack a man to batter him, like a leaning wall, a tottering fence? They only plan to thrust him down from his high position. They take...

God is For Me

January 30, 2017December 11, 2017 by The RevNo Comments

Photo by Alessandro ViaroSome mornings as I read the Psalms one hits home and speaks to my soul. This is one of those times. As I meditate on these words, I am grateful to be able to say with David, “This I know, that God is for me.” We want to have people in our lives that we can know without question are for us. I love spending time with those people. They encourage me and make me want to be the best version I can. I am able to hear from them rebuke and challenge. Why? Because I know they are for me. As we walk through this life and these days as followers of Jesus we can know one thing for certain, “that God is for [us].” What are marvelously gracious reality. Psalm 56 To the choirmaster: according to The Dove on Far-off Terebinths. A Miktam of David, when the Philistines seized him in Gath. Be gracious to me, O God, for man tramples...