A Christian Worldview from Silicon Valley

When Keith and I were first married, I read several books on what it would take to make our marriage strong and resilient. One of the comments that struck me was along the lines of “Love keeps no record of wrongs” (1 Corinthians 13:5), the idea to not hold grudges, to let bygones be bygones. Our code phrase for this kind of negative memory was “file cabinets.” For the most part, Keith and I have done pretty well at not dredging up old history in order to shore up today’s arguments.

Recently I was reading a book that took this concept to new heights, under the heading, “Don’t Let Yesterday Hijack Your Attention.”

A retentive memory may be a good thing, but the ability to forget is the true token of greatness. Successful people forget. They know the past is irrevocable. They’re running a race. They can’t afford to look behind. Their eye is on the finish line. Magnanimous people forget. They’re too big to let little things disturb them. They forget easily. If anyone does them wrong, they consider the source and keep cool. It’s only the small people who cherish revenge. Be a good forgetter. Business dictates it, and success demands it. (Elbert Hubbard, as quoted in John Maxwell’s Talent is Never Enough workbook, p. 46.)

It takes energy to nurture memories of the past, especially painful memories. Besides distracting from what you would prefer to focus on, those kinds of thoughts can also cause a reluctance to try certain actions again. “Once bitten, twice shy” refers to a learned distrust of people, but will it benefit you more in the long run to “forgive and forget”?

History is a powerful teacher, sometimes too powerful. When is it best to remember, and when is it best to forget?

I think a lot about thinking. Or at least I think I do, although in thinking about that I know that my perspective may be just a little bit skewed. Part of the reason I think about thinking is that God has blessed me with a good mind, and on the journey of life I have discovered that having a good mind can overcome many other weaknesses — with which I have also been blessed.

I suppose that most any strength can do the same, so I don’t mean to elevate one gift over another, but I do want to share some things about thinking that may surprise you.

Many of us have heard stories of people with cancer, or some other potentially terminal illness, who “thought themselves well.” While such instances are rare, they have been documented. The “thinking healing” that always amazed me, though, was not life threatening at all — it was a cavity. The professional volleyball player who had the cavity was so shocked that she told her dentist he must be wrong. He responded by showing her the X-ray. She came back a week later to have the cavity repaired, but it was already gone. A new X-ray showed no signs of decay.

Athletes, actors, extraordinary business leaders, great wives (great husbands, too), and the very best Christians I know all practice the principles of positive thinking.

Conversely, the very reason many people don’t succeed in Christianity, in marriage, in sports, in business, and in life in general is that they think primarily in negative terms — what could go wrong?, who could be hurt?, how could I fail?, I’ll never be that good.

This is not some psycho-babble or pop-psychology, it is how we are made. The Bible says (Proverbs 23.7, KJV) “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.” That is true for individuals, and it is also true for a church.

I’m positive.

P.S. The Bible also says, “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind…” (Romans 12.2). Imagine all of us doing that together!

I’m having one of those rare weekends alone. My daughter is making new friends at a camp for happy teenagers, while my husband and son are scout camping at a black sand beach in Northern California. I enjoy these moments almost too much, burrowing into my home and tuning out the world with loud music and escapist fiction.

Email is one channel that breaks through my isolation. After following the stories on Sarah Palin, John McCain’s VP candidate, I was intrigued by a forwarded email: “25 things you might not know about McCain.” Written by the Associated Press, it was published in multiple news outlets August 28ff, 2008. Most of the insights are silly trivia, but one line grabbed me: “10. He talks to fellow prisoners of war, those with whom he shared a cell in Vietnam, almost daily.”

I like to stay in touch with friends and family, but the number of people I deliberately interact with daily is quite small. What would make a man chat with his cellmates at this frequency, so many years after they were all released? I found some clues in McCain’s 1973 description of the POW years and in this interview of McCain’s cellmate, George “Bud” Day. (more…)

I received an e-mail this afternoon from a group called the 168 Hour Film Project. I’ve written some things about them before, but this was not about them. This was a call for prayers for a fellow who is a friend of 168, whose voice you have all heard, whose face you may have seen, who is the king of the voice-over artists, a man named Don LaFontaine.

Don has a blood clot lodged in his lung, something that happened the day after he had been taken to the hospital for shortness of breath. Apparently he is making some progress, but he is far from out of the woods, according to the note, so use your breath to say a little prayer for Don.

Interestingly, many people have said that Don’s voice is “the voice of God.” Some have even gone so far as to say that God would *like* to have a voice as rich as Don’s, though I’m guessing God doesn’t have to worry about that. But here is a man now who is using whatever voice he has, audible or not, to cry out to God for mercy and healing. And here is a man who is not straining his voice to speak, but is straining his ears to hear the real voice of God.

How will he know when he hears it? Will it be the canyon-like depths of the tone? Will it be the amazing resonance? Will it be the precise expression and inflection? Elijah may have thought so at first, but he taught us that those qualities may not indicate God is speaking. The quality that will be present, however, whether the voice is like thunder or like a soft breeze, is authority.

There is a certainty in God’s voice, a knowing, a truth, a beauty not based on sound, but based on the source. When you hear that voice, you will know it is the voice of God.

May your ears, and heart, be open to it.

I sat in on a conversation between two men a while back .

One fellow was absolutely convinced that he was following God’s will. God had made it clear to him through his own convictions that what he was doing was God’s plan. To top it off, everywhere he turned he saw ‘green lights.’ People agreed with him, ideas fell into place. Yea!

However, on the other side of the table sat another man who had equally strong convictions that what he was doing was also God’s will. He’d prayed hard and long about it and also found reassurance from other Godly men and women.

Problem - the two men did not only not see eye to eye, their paths were divergent and affected one another. If each man were to look objectively at the other man’s proposal both would have to admit to a flashing red light, or at least a yellow caution light.

What’s up with that? Why can’t God make up His mind?

I talked with another man today who was convinced that God wanted him to start a project some two years ago. Today, the project just isn’t flying. He tried to convince me that God might have different plans other than the original ones.

What’s up with that? Why can’t God make up His mind?

I want to know…why can’t God make up His mind? Or is it people that can’t make up theirs?

 1. One of the preachers on your team returns home having been beaten.

2. Someone asks if they can borrow a room in your home to have a Bible study.

3. A village nearby doesn’t have any water and there is a breakout of severe diarrhea among the children.

4. You get word that another village has sold 20 of their children to a couple of men who say they can give the kids a better life.

5. You have a committee meeting to decide on the order of worship.

6. A baby gets dropped off at your doorstep.

7. A small group of ‘rookie’ preachers asks you to help them prepare for an upcoming sermon.

8. You have a lunch appointment to encourage a friend who is having trouble deciding what to do with his business.

9. You hear of a village where the children are going blind for lack of Vitamin A.

10. The church needs new carpet.

Which one will you do first? Why? Seriously…give it a try. I’ll tell you my answer if you tell me yours.

It is entirely possible to build a house on a foundation that seems solid, that will hold in most circumstances, and in fact may hold the house for decades. Likewise, it is possible to build a life on a foundation that has some good properties, but isn’t sufficient for the trials of life. Jesus knew both of those truths, and he combined them in one of the most famous illustrations of all time: building a house on rock, or building a house on sand.

That story is found in both Matthew 7 and Luke 6. The Bible in Basic English translates the Matthew passage this way:

Everyone, then, to whom my words come and who does them, will be like a wise man who made his house on a rock; and the rain came down and there was a rush of waters and the winds were driving against that house, but it was not moved; because it was based on the rock. And everyone to whom my words come and who does them not, will be like a foolish man who made his house on sand; and the rain came down and there was a rush of waters and the winds were driving against that house; and it came down and great was its fall.” (Matthew 7:24-27)

What does a life built on sand look like? In the world, it looks like relying on natural talent without adding hard work. As a former tennis professional, and even as someone who has a bit of natural talent, I know something about that. Natural talent — some people might call it a gift — is great fun at first. People praise you, you win quickly, and the sky seems to be the limit. But the missing link, the failure to work, keeps many naturals on the ground.

The corollary in Christianity is the one who has been in the church for a long time, for whom Christianity is “natural,” but who fails to work at following the teachings of Christ. As a minister — and a long time Christian myself — I know something about that, too. Jesus can be part of your life, you can be a declared Christian, and you may be able to quote a lot of the Bible. But the missing link is that you don’t consciously work at applying the teachings of Jesus in your daily life, because your “natural” Christianity already makes you better than most, and that is good enough for you.

If that sound like you, here’s the good news: the link doesn’t have to stay missing. Find it and you can be part of a modern day miracle — the miracle of turning sand into rock.

Praying that you do…

Ron Poncy sent me this. But, since he doesn’t read blogs, he won’t know it appeared here. My recommendation to those who do read this, tell Ron ‘thanks for the laugh’ but don’t tell him why, where or how you know.

He sent me a story of a woman who was saved because she knew Acts 2:38.

——

An elderly woman had just returned to her home from an evening of church services, (another good reason to go to church) when she was startled by an intruder.

She caught the man in the act of robbing her of her valuables and yelled:

‘Stop! Acts 2:38!‘,

The burglar was stunned and immediately stopped. The woman then calmly called the police and explained to them what had been going on and what she had done.

As the officer handcuffed the dude to take him in, he asked the knucklehead: ‘Why did you just stand there? All the old lady did was yell a Bible verse at to you.’

‘Bible verse?’ replied the burglar. ‘I thought she said she had an ax and two 38s!’

Acts 2:38 saved this woman. It could save you, too.

Did you ever have one of those days when you felt like Satan was getting through your e-mail spam filters, causing static on your phone calls, and stopping the mail man to hand him a few extra bills for the day’s delivery?

I had a day kind of like that today, and I thought all that was a bit ironic given that yesterday’s sermon was about the causes and cures for anxiety. “Oh yeah, Greer? Let’s see how you like a little bit of this.” Well, I don’t like it. Satan is craftier and stronger than I am, and he has a lot of resources he can draw on to remind me of all that, which he did today with, I suppose, great delight.

To be fair to the spiritual warfare going on in this part of Palo Alto today, God’s warriors got in some pretty good shots as well. I got a video mail message from our great-nieces that was delightful (I’ve watched it at least seven times already), I had a great conversation about church and church related things with a good friend and was able (I hope) to help him with some challenges that he is dealing with, and I got to fix and mail a card to some dear friends who are about to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary.

Does the day balance out? No, God wins. Even when it doesn’t look like it, God wins. But I recognize that I have a part in the battle, too, and not just as a punching bag, but also as a fighter. I have to leave it up to the Holy Spirit and God’s angels to be the real fighters, but one thing I can fight i the anxiety that is so easily created in my life. I’m not going to do that, because I’m choosing the best portion (fellowship with Jesus), the best conversation (talking with God), and the best priority (seeking first God’s kingdom and his righteousness).

My goal is not just to preach God’s way of fighting anxiety, but to practice it, and I’m thankful that I’m getting this chance. Not that I’m asking for more chances, mind you.

Under the mercy…

We are discussing hot topics for the church in one of the Sunday morning classes. Homosexuals in the church, Christian views on sex, masturbation, cohabitation, pre-, extra-, cyber-sex, war, preemptive strikes, pacifism, so far. Yeah, and it gets a bit heated, too. But, not always because of the topic at hand.

I generally begin my class with a list of “Things I think I think.” I didn’t do it last week, but should have. That point is beyond the scope of this post.

Here again are the things I think I think for newcomers to the class and for those who might like to discuss them without taking up class time.

1. There are answers to any and all problems. I believe Jesus is the answer, not mostly the answer. I believe the Bible has answers, not most of them. (more…)