The Blessed Life in Psalm 84

...I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness." Psalm 84:10b

Some think that the best job in church is the pastor. He gets to preach. He gets to make decisions. He sits in the seat of honor every service. But the writer of this psalm would disagree with that. And so would I. I think that the best job in church is to be an usher. To watch the door for visitors and to greet the regulars. To take up the offering and to count attendance. I am content to be an usher or a doorkeeper rather than the pastor.

"As they pass through the valley of Baca, they make it a spring; the rain also covers it with pools." Psalm 84:6

The valley of Baca was the valley of tears. It was a place of weeping over mistakes made and over sins committed. But as people traversing this valley shed tears it turned the desert into a spring of water. There were pools to drink and to wash in. God can turn sorrow into joy and that joy is a blessing to those who come after you.

"Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young." Psalm 84:3

The sparrow is a small, insignificant bird. It is not strong or noble. It was the bird that it is said two of them were sold for a penny. And yet God cares for the small and the insignificant. And these lowly sparrows have something we do not have. When we go home, the sparrows remain in God's house.

"Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they will still be praising you." Psalm 84:4

The lowly sparrow, the weeping pilgrim, and the humble doorkeeper all have this in common. They are blessed because they trust in God.

"O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man who trusts in You." Psalm 84:12 

Captain Obvious On Offerings

Captain Obvious here with a thought on taking the offering at conference. Every pastor, as part of his job, needs to take offerings. He has to be able to inspire his people to give and to support the vision. He must be wise, he must be generous in his personal life, he must be a good steward of money that God brings in through the offerings.

Conference offerings are regular offerings on steroids. Now you are seeking to inspire a whole different level of saints to give. But one thing is the same. You are seeking to raise miracle money from unexpected sources.

To take the offering at conference you have to be able to generate large money in your ministry. It's not enough to be smart or clever or funny. The bottom line is can you raise larger than normal amounts of money for the work of God? 

See, offerings at their core are fund raising exercises. You need to inspire giving that is above and beyond the normal levels of support. You have to get money from a grouch and make him happy that he gave. You have to inspire trust that it is for the work, and not for the man. And finally, talk about money and miracles when you take the offering. Not evangelism and witnessing or discipleship.

This is Captain Obvious signing off. 

The World our Enemy

As followers of Jesus Christ we fight three main enemies. The world, the flesh, and the devil. Spiritual warfare usually involves conflict in one of these areas. We are familiar with the flesh. It is our fallen human nature. We are familiar with the devil. We have followed his evil footprints throughout the pages of the Bible unto this present day. But what is the world? Why is the world our enemy?

The word "world" is the Greek word kosmos. It can be used as terra firma. But in 1John 2:16 it speaks of another definition. Basically it is human systems formed and established in opposition to God.  Kosmos has to do with the organized world standing opposed to God. It could be the social norms, or the political climate, or education, or economics, or it could involve popular culture and cultural trends.  I could have mentioned social media and been close to the truth.

The tower of Babel is how the world plays out in real life. God came down, saw what they were doing, and interrupted it. People will always find a way to do things and to build things and to organize life without God. You can be legal and be sinful. You can be popular and be lost.

"For all that is in the world-the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life-is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever." 1John 2:16-17

" Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him." 1John 2:15

Spiritual warfare is often about who you love. Do you love God above all others or do you love something or someone else?

Anthropomorphism is not Science

 By saying that animals show human emotions are we not really saying that humans are just animals, no better or more important?

When the donkey spoke to Balaam it was more miracle of God than it was a donkey speaking. When the ravens fed Elijah it was more miracle of God than birds acting human.

God named the man. Man named his wife and man named the animals. Animals did not contribute anything to man except for food and for offerings to God.

Animals can be tamed by man. Man is not changed and certainly not tamed by being around pets.

Anthropomorphism is the act of making animals seem human. It is not scientific. It is more Disney than science.

The Old testament gives instructions on the humane care of livestock. The new testament has nothing to say about pets.

People have pets for the pleasure they get from them. Pets do not have humans to do anything except feed them and take care of them. Pets do not have people for pleasure.

All dog lovers say that dogs have human emotions. All humanists believe that wild animals have real emotions.

Jesus said that people are worth more than sparrows. We are more valuable.

I could go on, but the more that I study this the less I believe that animals have human emotions. Christ died for the sins of people, not for animals. There will be no dogs in Heaven.

One more thought. When God created life on earth He said it was good. When God created man He said it was very good. Only man is created in the image of God. Only man is a living soul.

Who Is Richer?

 The longer that I live, one thing becomes clearer as the years roll on. Both of my children are both better off than my wife and I ever were. My son and my son in law are both successful in their corporate careers. My daughter is a school principal's secretary. My daughter in law is an occupational therapist. They have nice houses and nice cars. And maybe they might stay married as long as my wife and I did. We were married for 40 years when she died.

My parents were better off than either of my children though. I grew up in an average middle class home with a nuclear family and a stay at home mom. Neither of my children could live on one income. I grew up with neighborhood friends. My children do not know their neighbors. I graduated with a high school diploma that is worth more than some bachelor degrees today. My parents were good people until their marriage and my world fell apart.

We have to make the best of the hand we are dealt in life. We cannot spend our days wishing it was different or wishing life wasn't so hard.

BTW, both of my children are married and have children. I have four grandchildren.  Only one of my grandchildren is engaged to be married. None of my grandchildren are married and have children yet. 

Who is richer, me or them?

Two Lessons Learned

 I learned two interesting things today. One thing I learned at church, the other thing I learned from a friend. 

The first thing that I learned about were what someone calls corporate nuns. These are women who have decided not to marry or have children and instead they devote themselves to their corporate careers. They are as devoted to their companies and to their calling as nuns are to their orders. They have decided that succeeding in the corporate world is a prize worth pursuing. And they pursue it with their whole heart.

The other thing that I learned comes from my corporate friend. In his years as a professional airline pilot he interacted with flight attendants on a daily basis. And he tells me that over and over again he heard from these professional women the voice of regret. These successful women wished that they had decided to get married and have children instead of having a career. Being successful left them longing for something better that was now lost to them.

Unfortunately, we make decisions in life that we do not see the consequences of until much later in life. You can still get married later in life, but you lose the years of growing up together with someone who you are learning to love. And for women, your child bearing years do not last forever.

It's never to late to change your mind, even if it is too late to change the outcome of your life choices.

A Change Of Mind

 I used to think that animals did not have human like emotions. They are animals, not people. And as I looked into this I realized that I was wrong. I used to think that domesticated animals and pets exhibited human like attributes because they lived around people. And as I looked int this I realized that I was wrong about that too.

I do not understand this at all. Animals run on instincts, not reason. Animals seek food and water not friendship or satisfaction. And yet I cannot deny that animals do show human like behavior.

Will there be animals in Heaven? I don't think so. But I could be wrong. Pets are a part of this life, and eye has not seen what the next life will be like. I do not read about pets in the Bible.

See, you can teach this old dog some new tricks. But I still do not want the responsibility of owning a pet and loving a pet and having it die.