![]() A couple of months ago I was in a conversation with a relative in which I shared that there is something in us that draws us to God…that it is because God’s divine spark is in us that we feel compelled to worship God. I noted that this makes us different from any other part of creation. At that point, she claimed there is no difference between humans and animals, based on her belief that because humans are animals, then we are the same as them and they are the same as us—we are nothing special and God is made up (according to her). There are many today who place animals on the same level as humans, seeing nothing special about humanity. I’m not saying that animals are not special (God created them after all), but what makes humans more special than even the animals? In a recent midweek Bible study at the church, our group studied Genesis 1:26-27, which says: “Then God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’ So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” We discussed the fact that, as human beings, we have divine attributes because we are created in God’s image. That’s not to say we have God’s abilities, but we recognize that we do share many of his characteristics. This simple observation has extraordinary implications with regard to how we view every human activity, as well as to how we view each other. Animals, humans, and God all share emotions: joy, affection, sorrow, compassion, etc. Animals and humans share a number of attributes, such as a body that has cravings and the ability to feel shame when not living up to others’ standards. The feeling of guilt, however, is unique to humans. God certainly feels no guilt. Neither do animals since they cannot meditate on the past. Dogs, for example, might feel shame for disappointing their master but not feel guilt for violating their conscience. And there is a range of perceptions that humans share with God but not with animals: honor, time, beauty, language, love, and rule. All of these encompass what it means for humans to be made in God’s image. When it comes to beauty, for instance, this is something that comes from God. From colors to shapes, from sight to taste to sound to smell, we admire beauty as a spiritual experience. We’re the only animals that make art, set a table for dinner, or rearrange the furniture. Even my relative would have to admit that her pets never would find joy in mastering the color combinations and skill she uses in coloring intricate details of coloring pages as she does. In his book Core 52, Mark Moore notes that no other animal sings. Birds and whales call; they don’t create music. Not only do we create beauty, but we also constantly create it. We change styles of hair and dress. We write new songs, create new instruments, and invent novel genres. We don’t just tell stories; we create new mediums for those expressions in books, film, plays, musicals, cartoons, sitcoms, and more. If you look around, unless you’re in the wild, there’s art in some form right now at your fingertips. We can proclaim before God, as David did: “I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well” (Psalm 139:14). Enjoy summer…it’s quickly passing, Tyler
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After arriving at our church as its new minister back in 1992, Ginny Caesar presented me with a beautiful cross-stitch picture she made and framed of an eagle flying through the sky with mountains and trees in the background. Ginny, who passed away three years ago, was one of our dear, faithful Christian women of the church who taught Sunday school, VBS, and was involved in serving in so many ways. If there was a Bible study or worship service, Ginny was there. Her cross-stitch picture was inspired by one of my favorite Bible texts from the prophet Isaiah.
Isaiah 40:28-31 says, “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” God’s refreshment is available to us, and it gives us an inner peace. Knowing that we will rest well at the end of the journey brings us peace in the midst of the journey we’re on. It’s not always comfortable or easy right now. It’s kind of like when you break your leg, and the doctor tells you that you’re going to have to wear a cast. You feel depressed about the thought of having to be on crutches. You don’t like the thought that you’re not going to be able to bend your leg for a while. But then the doctor tells you the cast will come off in six weeks. That gives you something to look forward to. It gives you light at the end of the tunnel. You can focus on the future when the cast will be removed. And, so, when it’s driving you crazy with the weight, and you’re about fed up with the clumsiness of taking a bath or shower and having to keep it dry, and when there’s that itch you can’t scratch and so you straighten out a wire hanger and slide it down between the cast and your leg, you’re remembering that it comes off in six weeks. It doesn’t bother you quite as much, because you know there is an end in sight to all the hassle of having on a cast. That’s kind of how it is when you find your rest in God: you are able to have inner peace because you know your final destination is heaven. What you’re going through right now, if life is tough, isn’t the end of the story. You focus on the hope and promise of your future destination, not just on the tiredness and struggle you’re experiencing right now. Summertime is a great time to rest and be refreshed…just don’t leave God out of the picture. Tyler ![]() In the 1960s-era TV series The Andy Griffith Show, a man tells Andy he should let his son Opie decide how he wants to live. Andy disagrees: “You can’t let a young’un decide for himself. He’ll grab at the first flashy thing with shiny ribbons on it. Then, when he finds out there’s a hook in it, it’s too late. Wrong ideas come packaged with so much glitter that it’s hard to convince them that other things might be better in the long run.” He concludes that it’s important for parents to model right behavior and help “keep temptation away.” In the January 25, 2023 devotion from Our Daily Bread, Alyson Kieda observes how Andy’s words are related to the wisdom found in Proverbs: “Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it” (22:6). Although many may read these words as a promise, they're really a guide. All of us are called to make our own decision to believe in Jesus. But we can help lay a Biblical foundation through our love for God and Scripture. And we can pray that as the little ones under our care mature, they choose to receive Jesus as Savior and walk in His ways and not “in the paths of the wicked” (v. 5). Father’s Day is a special day for honoring those who are Dads to us. Dads are dads because of the way they nurture us, mentor us, and are present in our life. Some are fathers as a result of being a blended family or through adoption, or because we married their child and now they are our father-in-law. Some are like dads to us because they are our neighbor, or they are our best friend even though they are older. There are current dads, grandfathers and great grandfathers. Some fathers have lost a child, others are in the full swing of dad-hood and always feeling tired; yet other dads have adult children who are no longer living under their roof. No dad is perfect, but even imperfect dads are doing the best they can. You can be a dad if you are willing to serve others in some way, whether by taking someone under your wing and mentoring them, or by being willing to love them through spending time together, or by encouraging someone with your love and compassion. Men, you are loved by Jesus, and you are loved by this church. We are so happy to know you and to minister not only to you, but with you in whatever capacity you are able to serve in the name of Jesus. May God bless you at whatever stage of life you are in so that you will live faithfully as his disciple…as a confident, grace-filled follower of the One who gave his life for us that we may live in his presence now and forever. Go hug a dad sometime today, even if it’s the one who’s like a dad to you. Tyler ![]() One of the most popular American comic strips was “Calvin and Hobbes,” created by cartoonist Bill Watterson. It was syndicated from 1985 to 1995, running daily in newspapers, and it was commonly described as "the last great newspaper comic" because of its humorous and philosophical way of relating insights about life. One comic strip depicts Calvin and Hobbes marching into the living room early one morning. Calvin’s mother is seated there in her favorite chair, sipping her morning coffee. She looks up at young Calvin. She is amused and amazed at how he is dressed. Calvin's head is encased in a large space helmet. A cape is draped around his neck, across his shoulders, down his back and is dragging on the floor. One hand is holding a flashlight and the other a baseball bat. His mom asks, "What's up today?" and Calvin answers, "Nothing, so far." Mom questions, "So far?" to which Calvin says, "Well, you never know. Something could happen today." Then Calvin marches off, and as he’s walking away, he says, "And if anything does, by golly, I'm going to be ready for it!" Calvin's mom looks out at the reading audience and she says, "I need a suit like that!" Perhaps we all feel that way from time to time as we watch the news and deal with life. Sometimes this world seems a mess, quite violent, and people seem to be at each other's throats. A suit like that would help us to say along with Calvin, "Whatever may come my way, I'm going to be ready for it! Bring it on!" Unfortunately, there is no suit of protection like that to wrap around ourselves, however, there is the Holy Spirit within those whose allegiance is to God, and he can give confidence and peace in the midst of the turmoil. Jesus once said, “The Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:26-27). What might the Holy Spirit remind us of that can help us be strong when there is turmoil in our family, or in our government, at our work, on a college campus, or around the world? Perhaps the Holy Spirit would remind us that we need to see the world from a Biblical perspective, so that we can apply godly principles to our daily living (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Perhaps he would remind us to live at peace with everyone if it is possible, as far as it depends on us (Romans 12:18). Perhaps the Holy Spirit will remind us of Jesus’ words in John 16:33 when he says, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” Jesus gives peace that surpasses all understanding, Tyler ![]() The resurrection of Jesus is the foundation of Christianity. The Apostle Paul writes in I Corinthians 15:17, “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.” Many attempts have been made to reject the resurrection of Jesus and the empty tomb. One attempt to discredit the resurrection is presented in Matthew 28:11-15, where we read of the payoff of the Roman guards by the Jewish authorities to say that Jesus’ disciples came to the tomb at night and stole his body. Many theories have been proposed over the years attempting to embroil Jesus’ disciples in some sort of coverup that they supposedly promoted and lied about, but one by one those proposals fall apart. Charles Colson, the former counsel of President Nixon and convicted conspirator in the Watergate scandal, writes that the attempt to cover up Watergate convinced him that Jesus was raised from the dead. He said, “There were only 8 or 10 of us in the inner circle around the President who really knew what was going on. All we had to do was stonewall for a couple of months and the Watergate scandal would be over. We had all the power and prestige of the presidency at our fingertips, and if the truth broke, there would be embarrassment and perhaps a prison sentence. There was no grave danger. Our lives were not threatened, but we could not hold the conspiracy together for more than two weeks. We could not contain the lie. Once prosecution was possible, the natural instincts of self-preservation was so overwhelming that the conspirators one-by-one deserted their leaders. They caved in and they stood in line at the prosecutor’s office to escape jail.” Colson concludes: “I know that the disciples could not perpetuate a lie like the resurrection, because it was not just their reputations that were at stake. Their lives were in danger. They had no clout. They had nothing to gain by the lie and yet every one of them stood fast in the conviction that Jesus is alive. Take it from one who saw firsthand how vulnerable a coverup is: nothing less than a witness as awesome as the resurrected Christ could have caused those men to maintain to their dying whispers that Jesus is alive and he is Lord!” Think about it: Every apostle, except for John, died a martyr’s death for maintaining the claim that Jesus is the Son of God who forgives the sins of the world, that he resurrected from the dead and now reigns as King of kings. Many people will die for what they believe in (as do Muslim terrorists today), but no one dies for what they know is a lie. The disciples knew whether or not Jesus was dead or alive; they died for him because he lives for them—and they knew the truth. He lives! Tyler |
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