Trophies

I enjoy fooling around with online auctions.  Doing this you can, from time to time, find great deals, find hard to get items, and learn some life lessons.  I happened across a life lesson this morning.  It came in an estate auction.  Typically an estate auction is where someone has passed away and those who are responsible have to deal with all their stuff. In this specific auction there was a lot of hunting and fishing gear.  I mean a lot.  I am attracted to hunting and fishing gear in auctions.  So I began to look and discovered whoever this was they were really into fishing and hunting.  There were about 140 lots in this auction dedicated to fishing, hunting, and related activities.  Some lots contained a bundle of rods, a number of bait buckets, some rare guns, a boat, a motor and on and on.

One of the lots struck me in a different way.  It was a large box of trophies in the form of wall plaques.  These commemorated fishing tournament victories, some dating back nearly 40 years.  It was a lifetime of work and effort and time put into the science and art of catching fish.  No telling how many trophies were in the box.  One has to wonder how many events this person fished and didn't bring home the hardware.  I can tell you with a high degree of confidence there was a massive commitment in terms of time, money, effort and skill to accumulate this much stuff and all these trophies.  I can also tell you 9 days into the auction and no one cares about their success, as evidenced by the fact no one has bid on the trophies yet.  Currently you can place a bid for $3 and very likely win the lot.  A lifetime of commitment and adulation isn't worth three bucks.  

Sportsmen are not the only ones who do this.  I had a friend who, from the 1960's to the 1980's, raced motorcycles.  He was good.  His shop was full of trophies and framed copies of bike magazines with his picture on the cover. The investment again was massive.  Bowlers, bicyclist, marshal artist, musicians are other folks I have known who do the same thing. Not all trophies represent our hobbies and recreations.  Some trophies to success are made of brick and mortar, some have wheels and nice leather.  People talk about a trophy wife, husband or kids which can also be a testimony to success in a given endeavor.  Even working for a good reputation among our peers is a trophy of sorts.  We all have trophies we want or at least consider desirable.  

As I thought about this auction and this box of trophies a couple of thoughts came to mind.  First we always put the trophies in a box and get rid of them, even if that box is called a coffin. My second thought was "What trophies am I trying to collect?"  I also thought of paraphrasing a passage from Jesus' sermon on the Mount:  

“Do not collect for yourselves trophies to hang on the wall, but will some day be put in a box and sold at auction cut rate to a stranger. But collect for yourselves trophies in heaven, where you can enjoy them forever and ever."

New Year and a New Blog

 To whom it may concern.

Each morning I am posting a devotional taken from a passage of the Gospels.  Over the course of the year we will cover the four Gospels with 300 hundred individual devotions.  May I suggest that you subscribe to One year with Jesus.

Charlie's Challenge 11.26.23

  Charlie’s Challenges: Extras for the sermon 

Learning Exercise: Trigger Warning you may not like Rev 17-19

Who is the richest person you have ever met?  

Have you ever met a rich person who treated the people around hIm/her well?  What happened?

Have you ever met a rich person who treated the people around hIm/her badly?  What happened?

What is your favorite story about a hero coming to the rescue?

Who was the most beautiful bride (husbands include the line ‘besides your wife’) you have ever seen?  What made her beautiful? 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_cVXdr8mVs

https://youtu.be/K-1kPgVowZI?si=Fs00T2ybE8QvaX6M

Charlie's Challenge: 11/19/2023

Charlie’s Challenges: Extras for the sermon 

Learning Exercise: Fun Facts about the Rapture 

In this learning exercise we will learn things about “Rapture Theology” you may not have known. This is not a test but a fun way to learn.  Working with the people nearest you select what you believe is the ‘best answer’.  

In which century did the doctrine of the “Pre-tribulation Rapture” of the church develop?  

1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th

Who was the source of a ‘pre-tribulation rapture of the church’ understanding of Revelation?

A) Jesus, B) Pope Vennerus IV, C) Paul the Apostle, D) Martin Luther, E) John the Apostle, F) John Calvin, G) Margaret McDonald, H) John Darby

In what translation of the Bible do we first find the term ‘Rapture’?

A) Vulgate A.D. 382, B) Textus Receptus A.D. 1516 C) King James Bible A.D. 1611, 

D) Scofield Reference Bible A.D. 1909 E) New International Version A.D. 1978

Dispensational pre-tribulation rapture of the church was the result of the study of:

A) Hebrew O.T.  Scriptures, B) Greek N.T. Scriptures, C) Hebrew and Greek Scriptures, D) Latin translations of Scriptures, E) English translations of Scriptures

The dispensational pre-tribulation rapture of the church is the majority opinion of: 

All Christians today

The Roman Catholic Church

The Orthodox Church

Protestant churches

Evangelical churches

None of the above.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_cVXdr8mVs

https://youtu.be/K-1kPgVowZI?si=Fs00T2ybE8QvaX6M

If there is no punishment can there be justice?  Why do you believe that to be the case?

What effect would Revelation 15-16  have/had on Christians under intense persecution?   

Charlie's Challenge 10.22.23

  Charlie’s Challenges: Extras from the sermon 

Spiritual Battles: The Enemy's Strategies

Key verse:  

I looked and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one like “a son of man” with a gold crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand. 

Revelation 14:14

Questions to ponder for Chapter 12

What kind of monster is most terrifying to you?

While promising much and delivering little the enemy of our souls offers a smorgasbord of sin. Where have you seen the greatest contrast between the promises made by Satan and sin and the actual results?

Why do you believe Satan has such a powerful enemy in our own hearts when all that he offers is painful and death dealing?

Questions to ponder for Chapter 13

Where in the world and history have we seen the Aggressive Monster at work? 

Who are some of the agents of the Seducing Monster in our world? 

Can you think of the Aggressive and Seducing Monsters might work in concert to attack the Disciples of Christ?

Questions to ponder for Chapter 14

Of the three messages by the three angels which do you think would strengthen you most in times of persecution? 

Can you identify places where the world’s system of self, pleasure and rebellion is failing and self-defeating? 

Do you belong to any elite group or organization? 

How does it feel to be part of a select few to which others cannot gain admittance?

Charlie's Challenge 10.15.23

  Charlie’s Challenges: Extras from the sermon 

The Church and the World in conflict: Remain Faithful

Key verse:  

Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail. Revelation 11:19

Questions to ponder chapter 8

It has been said that prayer is the most difficult discipline to develop in the Christian life.  Do you agree or disagree?  Why?

We have heard the cliché that Prayer Changes Things. Do we really believe that?  Our prayer life reflects our conviction about the power and effectiveness of Prayer. So what does your prayer life say about your conviction that prayer is profoundly powerful?

Questions to ponder chapter 9

How amazing is God's love that even those men who are in deep darkness are called to repentance by the self-inflicted misery of the darkness they have chosen? Where do you see examples of self-inflicted Darkness making people miserable but they are still unwilling to repent?

When we dabble with the demonic and the powers of Darkness God honors our choice. Where do you see our society dabbling with the powers of Darkness? Where is the church dabbling with the powers of the flesh? Is there any place where you are as an individual flirting with the power of evil?

Questions to ponder chapter 10

How comfortable are you with knowing there are some things about your life, future, and world you are never meant to know?  We say we can accept them in faith, but how do you feel knowing that unknown experiences of bitter suffering maybe part of God’s plan for you?

How would the full disclosure of the cost of being a follower of Christ before we became a Christian make us better more fully committed disciples?  Do you believe that the promise of a better like now results in followers of Christ lacking commitment to Him when times or tough?  Why or why not?

Questions to ponder chapter 11

No culture is static; they are all in change.  Do you believe that our culture is becoming more hostile or more accepting toward the Word of God and the Church? 

With prison and death a prospect that we as American Christians will not likely face soon, what forms of persecution are we most likely to face? 

What is the best way to respond to that attacks of our society on the Church and the Word of God? 

What practical steps can you take now to prepare for growing persecution?

Israel, Hamas and the Lord’s return (or not)

Every time there is a war in the Middle East there is an explosion of predictions that this is the end of time and that Jesus is about to return.  Since 1948 there have been six (1948–49, 1956, 1967, 1973, 1982, and 2006) and now seven conflicts between Israel and nearby Arab states (If you count Hamas as a state).  Not to mention countless minor conflicts both within and outside of Israel.  The response of many in the US has been to announce that this conflict is in one way or another the fulfillment of Biblical prophecy and that Jesus’ return is just around the corner.  In case you didn’t know we are living in the last days, and have been since the day of Pentecost and the establishment of the church as recorded in Acts 2.

Rather than argue the various theories and interpretations of the Revelation I want to ask why we are so trigger happy to announce that every skirmish, large or small, is a harbinger of the “End”? So, rather than point to some esoteric interpretation of Scripture let’s look into our own hearts, souls, and minds.  Perhaps we will find a better way of thinking about what is going on around us and more importantly a better way to live in moments like these.  So, without any specific order of importance here are some of the reasons we are easily carried away by the hype.

We only have one lifetime of experience to draw upon and so it is hard for us to have perspective.  The battle with Hamas is presented to us in dramatic and vivid terms and it seems unprecedented.  But can you, without doing research, give a comparison to the Six-Day War or the Yom-Kipper war?  For the most part we only know of the Six-Day and Yom-Kippur Wars as history which seems less dramatic than what we can see happening now via You-Tube.  Just because it happens in our lifetime doesn’t make it more important.  Here is an exercise in perspective.  How catastrophic was the Battle of Cannae?  Have you ever heard of the Battle of Cannae?  During 8 years of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam police action (it wasn’t really war) the U.S. suffered just over 58,000 casualties.  In the Battle of Cannae the Romans lost between 65,000 and 80,000 casualties in one battle.  Our lack of knowledge and experience tends to make us think those things happening near us are more important than they may actually be.  Perhaps we ought to study history a little more.

Related to the first issue is our inflated sense of importance.  As a result of the fall, we all have to battle pride and our ego often makes us think we're closer to the center of the universe than we are.  We would never say it so bluntly but the statement, “Of course Jesus will come back in my lifetime because I am so important” is often our subconscious mindset.    The great Christopher Columbus was convinced that Jesus was about to return, after all, the world was undergoing dramatic changes.  Clearly he was wrong, but he was a bigger deal than you or I and the events of his day were more dramatic than ours.  

This runaway sense of importance is fueled by the popular and social media.  Narcissism is nothing new but social media has given it a steady dose of steroids.  All media outlets work hard at drawing us in and making us feel that we are more than observers; we are participants.  These organizations employ specialists to get us hooked on their feeds by convincing us we are a part of the narrative.  People are more skeptical, generally, than past generations except in the area of their own perceived competencies and abilities.  Not only do we need to be skeptical about what we see and hear, we also need to be sure that we are not pulled into an echo chamber for the purpose of reaffirming our convictions.  We need to learn to think Biblically rather than contemporarily.

We need to feed our skepticism about what we are invited to consume in the media because even in times of crisis money is a powerful motivation.  One Youtuber I watch from time to time has a near weekly posting.  While she addresses different subjects, the theme is always the same and the solution is almost unchanging.  Whether the subject is big pharma, the medical industry, banks, real estate, agra-food industrial complex, or the price of goat's milk in Siberia (okay I made that one up) the theme is always the same “We are facing a disaster and you better start preparing now, it is almost too late.”  She offers solutions, her online classes, in- person classes, publications, products or giving donations to keep her work going.  I am not saying she is wrong, but I am saying sometimes money is a strong motive.  In the days ahead, don’t be surprised if you receive solutions from people who will explain, for a fee, how this latest conflict is the expression of the end of times about to happen.  

Finally, focusing on apocalyptic scenarios is a powerful way to avoid uncomfortable and needed spiritual change.  Never underestimate the power of distraction and deflection.  In one church I served there was a lady who was a prophecy conference fanatic.  She knew all the latest theories, star-powered speakers and implications of the news.  Her marriage was a farce, her kids were distant from the faith and godly living, and her service in the local church was zero.  But it was a lot easier to contemplate the prophetic meaning of the water depth in the Euphrates river than to live life daily in a holy way.  If focusing on prophecy causes us to not live holy then we don’t properly understand prophecy.  

Is Jesus about to return?   For selfish reasons I certainly hope so.  But whether now, later or much later I have to live a holy life.  In fact, that is the only thing which I can do to prepare for that certain-to-come day.