God-talk and God-acts

My Bible history class watched The Passion of the Christ this week for Passion Week. I am so blessed that I can present the Gospel in the classroom. I read them a passage from The Message. I normally do not like The Message because it is not a verse by verse translation, but rather a paraphrase. I did, however, like the way it phrased James 2:17 "Isn't it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous."

I challenged my eighth graders this week to not only talk about what they saw in The Passion, but to also show that love they saw through their acts. James wrote in the same chapter that if we walk by a hungry friend and say "Be filled with the Holy Spirit" yet we do not provide for their physical hunger, what good have we done?

My challenge was simple. Tell others about Christ, yes. But do not just tell them about His love for us. Show them.

Don't Judge a Book by Its Movie

I teach a group of seniors for Calculus just before lunch and let them eat in my classroom rather than going to the overcrowded lunch room. Yesterday, we started discussing a few books that have recently come out as movies. Have you ever noticed the minute details of a book and just wonder how in the world they are going to fit everything into a two hour film? The answer is simple - they don't. Understandably, some aspects of a book have to be cut for time reasons. Why then, have movies begun to alter endings of books we have come to cherish?

We discussed a few books, including Dear John, The Timetraveler's wife, and My Sister's Keeper. I will try to explain without giving away too much of the endings. In My Sister's Keeper, the book is so much better in the movie. They change too much of the ending and it alters the message of the storyline itself. In Dear John, I actually prefer the movie ending to the book. Although I enjoyed the insight into John's character and thoughts, I threw the book across the room after the final chapter. My small group that I assist in at church went to see the movie opening day. I accompinied them with full intension that I would also hate the movie. In this case, I was very happy with the ending.

My conclusion is this, don't judge a book by its movie or vice versa. You may find yourself surprised at the difference.

Not a Feel-Good Jesus

I have been reading After I Believe: Experiencing Authentic Christian Living by Mark D. Roberts. It was a book I received in college, yet never read. In the first chapter, Roberts describes the four basic ideas about the Christian life. My favorite of these sections is "Idea #2: The Christian Life is Feeling Joy and Peace in the Lord."

Roberts talks about the "initial blush of emoition" a new Christian sometimes feels. Jesus promises us joy. 1 Thessalonians 5:16 says "Be happy and rejoice and be glad-hearted continually." The is an emotional side of Christianity, but Roberts warns that "we must beware of the tendancy to reduce Christianity to feelings alone."

When we reduce Christianity to emotions, we are left with a feel-good Jesus who makes us happy and rich. Many churches have fallen into the feel-good Jesus theology and forgotten about the Jesus who died and suffered for our sins.

As God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
— Colossians 3:12 (NIV)



The definition of compassion is "a deep awareness of and sympathy for another's suffering." How aware are we of the people around us? Do we notice when they are in pain? Do we notice when they need someone to talk to?

The definition of kindness is "the quality of being warmhearted and considerate and humane and sympathetic." Are you a kind person? When someone you do not particularly like comes around, are you kind to them? Do you treat them with consideration or do you just hope they leave as soon as they can.

The definition of gentleness is "politeness of the heart." The definition of patience is "good-natured tolerance of delay or incompetence." If you struggle with patience, be careful with asking God for more patience. The saying "Be careful what you wish for" applies here. Recently, I prayed for God to help me with my patience. His response has been to make me wait, to give me a week of subing my most challenging class for another teacher, and, most recently, giving me the nasty stomach bug that has come around.

What We Learn from Barabbas...

What can we learn from this bandit? I know what you are thinking. He's a robber! He's a criminal! What you do not understand is that we have a lot in common with this rogue.

For those of you who do not recognize the name, Barabbas was the criminal who the crowd demanded to be set free. You see, it was a tradition during the Passover festival that Pilot release one prisoner. He gave them a choice to set Jesus free, but the crowd cried out that they wanted Barabbas. You see, if Barabbas had not been set free, he would have died on the cross. Pilot found that Jesus had done no wrong. Barabbas was a convicted felon.

I don’t know what happened to Barabbas. But I know something: the next time that I will read the crucifixion passages or see them played, I will know that I was like him, dead in trespasses and sins, destined for the cross, and exactly as him I was released and set free by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ who took not only Barabbas’ place in the cross but also ours.

On the Waiting Road

Recently, Ryan and I have learned the hard way what it means to wait. Waiting on God is becoming easier and easier. I have to admit, I feel like a child. Wanting something so bad it is all I focus on. I can't eat, sleep, or do any other thing without thinking about what I want.

I am reminded of the commercial on TV for J. G. Wentworth. "It's my money and I need it now!" It seems that society today is teaching us that it is our right to get what we want and when we want it. That we are entitled to it. This is so directly against what God's Word teaches.

My new verse that I have stuck on my mirror in the bathroom is Psalm 27:14 "Wait for the Lord; Be strong, and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord." How hard waiting seems to be for us, specifically my generation and younger.

Waiting... it is the most challenging command to follow. Love your enemies is nothing compared to the waiting.

Blessings from the Wrights as we are currently in a wait and see period in our lives...