influence Archives

And the Emmy goes to . . . no one I know

By the time you read this, the awards will have been passed out and discussed in the media and around the office workroom. Do you know, or care, who won? Does any of it change anything in your life?

Maybe.

I looked over the list of nominees and, for the first time I can remember, I did not know one person or program that was nominated for an award. I thought I had “aged out” of this award’s show, but when I took a closer look, I realized that I never would have watched these dark, depressing, even evil shows.

If this is what people are putting into their minds each evening, no wonder the depression statistics are increasing! One show was labeled “post-apocalyptic” and I thought to myself, “Nothing to care about then.”

My next thought was, “But there is something to care about now.”

How is television influencing our culture?

I grew up with three stations that each played the national anthem first thing in the morning and again at night, right before the Indian head took up permanent residence on the screen. If you are fairly young, it’s okay if you have no idea what that last sentence means. If you are smiling right now . . . you get it.

I’m not surprised when I hear the reports of increased depression, angst, worry, and concern among the people in our culture. There is a mental health option that will rarely be reported by our media. Why? Because it is the suggestion that we would be a much happier, healthier society if we simply turned off our televisions, computers, etc.

Why don’t we hear about that?

Because that decision would shut down the need for, and the ability to pay for, all of these different stations, websites, podcasts, etc. That may seem odd for someone who works for an internet ministry to say—but I’m a big fan of telling the truth!

A media fast for 2024

It is January and I’ve had this thought: We can relearn and relish the joy of utter silence!

Right now, as I sit typing, the only sounds I hear are the wind blowing outside and my washing machine finishing its spin cycle.

Take a minute and turn off the television, radio, phone, and computer notifications and just listen.

What do you hear in the silence?

Spend a minute or two enjoying those sounds and then consider how you feel when you are done. Compare those feelings to the way you feel after watching one of those Emmy Award-nominated shows, a news broadcast, or streaming a show on your TV.

I’m not suggesting we all move to a monastery. At least I’m not suggesting that yet . . . LOL! I am suggesting we regularly visit the quiet this year.

2024 is likely going to be a noisy, unsettling, and almost meaningless year of television. 2024 is going to be filled with false news on the internet mixed with occasional truth. There will be wrong opinions on social media and a few opinions that should shape our own. There might be a handful of television shows that will encourage our souls, but most programming will fill our hearts and minds with the dark things of this world.

Our kids probably sang, “Be careful little eyes what you see. Be careful little ears what you hear.” I think God wants his kids to consider that song regardless of their age!

Protect your thoughts with God’s

Philippi was a prosperous Roman colony, and Paul’s letter was written to encourage the Christians living there to continue to live faithfully in a culture that didn’t appreciate their values and opinions. In fact, Paul’s words to the Philippians provide American Christians with valuable and relevant advice for 2024.

The Roman culture was just as divided, disorderly, and decadent as our American culture today. The world’s issues continue to travel the same roller coaster as always, looping around again from era to era. Each generation rides whatever twists, turns, climbs, and drops the coaster travels.

One of the best indicators that our Bibles are the inspired word of God is the way every generation can be led and inspired by the transcendent, eternal truth that has helped every generation before us. Paul’s words to Philippi are his sermon to all of us today.

He told the first-century Christians how to consider their culture. He wrote, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (Philippians 4:8).

Now, reread those words above as Paul’s advice for the way we consume any type of media. Just substitute Paul’s last words with “watch and look at these things.”

2024 is an important year

I can’t imagine what we will be talking about next year. The topics will range from wars, politics, people’s successes, and their failures. The topics will likely continue for every year, even as the names change.

I have no idea who will be nominated for an Emmy award next year or if I will recognize any of the shows or performers that might be awarded. If the nature of the programming doesn’t change, I can’t imagine my viewing preferences will either. I like to be careful what I allow into my thoughts.

Let’s commit to bringing more joy-filled and peaceful silence into our homes and lives. Let’s give God the opportunity to influence our thoughts and opinions with his perfection. We need less media and more of his truth this year. We will need the same thing for 2025 as well!

Our faces, our conversations, our homes, and most especially our souls will be blessed and changed by “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable.” And, “if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise,” we can think on, watch, and consume those things.

Paul’s letter encouraged and taught me today. How about you?

Faith doesn’t always fix it, but it has an effect

What was your first thought when you learned about the death of Naomi Judd?

I really appreciated the family’s honest but private announcement. Everyone deserves that protection, even though the public will likely not honor it very much.

I was saddened because Naomi Judd was a person who was public about her faith in God. At the same time, I was worried about how that would play out in the media. Neither God’s people nor the world’s are very good about offering grace for mental illness. Brains get sick too, and we would be wise to understand that.

Our Christian message is that faith will fix the darkness and that is truth, but even truth isn’t perfected this side of heaven. Faith won’t always fix the world’s problems. Sometimes our faith simply helps us see beyond the problems to their eternal solutions.

Christians are called to be the “light of the world.” Is it time we should feel more responsible for bringing the light than revealing the darkness? I put myself under that admonition too.

Ancient wisdom for modern days

Isaiah 32 is an interesting chapter in Scripture. Is it about Israel, or is it about the days when the Messiah will come? The best answer to that question is yes. One of my favorite things about Scripture is the eternal nature of God’s truth.

Israel thought they were doing okay. They knew they had strayed from what God most wanted in their lives. They knew times were darker, and the prophets were warning them that God wasn’t pleased with their choices. They knew their kids didn’t care about God’s word as much as their grandparents had cared. But they had crops to grow, businesses to run, clothes to wash, and meals to prepare.

The Israelites knew their culture wasn’t okay with God, but they were too busy to care enough and felt helpless to fix the problems. Besides, God loved them and had made them promises. So, they continued to accept their flaws, hoping God would too.

Isaiah, their prophet, told the people what God’s judgment would look like when it came. They had broken God’s covenant and things were going to change. But Isaiah also told them there was hope for their future generations. God would send a Messiah and enable people to, once again, be right with God. Isaiah made a bold statement about the power of change through the coming Messiah.

Receiving salvation through faith in God’s Messiah, Christ Jesus, enables a person to be made right with God, and being right with God is righteousness. Isaiah wrote, “the effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever” (Isaiah 32:17). Spend just a minute and think about Isaiah’s words. They describe the potential life and witness of Christians today, those who live rightly with God.

Our question this month is: What effect is our Christian life and witness having in our culture today?

Our world needs a “righteous” witness

I read an article from Johns Hopkins about the statistics for mental health in America. Those statistics are likely to get more attention in the days ahead.

The two statements that stood out to me were:

“An estimated 26% of Americans ages 18 and older—about 1 in 4 adults—suffers from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year.”
“Approximately 9.5% of American adults ages 18 and over will suffer from a depressive illness (major depression, bipolar disorder, or dysthymia) each year.”

Faith plays an important role in a person’s mental health; however, Naomi Judd and many others illustrate the fact that faith doesn’t always cure mental illness, or any of the other illnesses either. The effect of righteousness is “peace, quietness and trust” but the permanent promise is for “forever.”

Christians are the “light of the world” but sometimes, this side of heaven, the batteries wear out and even Christians find themselves in the darkness. The good news is that we don’t all “wear out” at the same time. God created us to need one another and gifted us in ways that can help.

How will your life affect the darkness this week?

If one in four people is struggling with the darkness today, how can we help?

First, look in the mirror.

If you are in a dark place today, admit it. You are in good company, even among your Christian friends. It’s okay to be going through a rough time because everyone does.

Righteousness means you have peace, quietness, and trust as your promise, but remember that Scripture also promises “in the world you will have tribulation” (John 16:33). In the same verse, the Lord also said, “I have overcome the world.”

The best witness isn’t the person who never struggles; it is the person who learns to “overcome” their struggles by seeking help and by offering help.

Second, if you have a friend in a dark place, do more than pray for them.

Prayers surely will help the person, but often our prayers will lead us to be their help. Offer prayers for the person and offer yourself to God. Jesus is the light of the world, but he said the same thing about Christians.

Finally, never doubt that if people know you are a Christian, your witness is watched.

People want to know if Jesus is real. People want to believe there is a heaven, and they hope they can go there. Christians are the light of the world. We are righteous because of Christ, but we will never be perfectly right. Righteousness is our gift, but it is also our goal this side of heaven.

The impact of our lives on others will be profound if we simply live with the honest hope of heaven.

The “effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever” (Isaiah 32:17).

Peace.

Quietness.

Trust.

That person will be a “light” in our world.

At least one in four people you see need some of that light today.

Maybe the person in your mirror could use some light.

The best way to surround yourself with light is to become light. May that be the “effect” of our righteousness this week.

Amen?

One Moment Changes More

Sometimes one moment will change many more.

With news of the coronavirus, it could be the moment of the next handshake or the choice of a seat at the theatre.

We trust traffic lights to control all of those who are driving, but last week I saw someone run a red light and narrowly miss two cars as a result.

That moment could have become life-changing—or life-ending—for several people.

An important moment thirty-four years ago today

What has been your most significant moment thus far?

Happily, mine occurred thirty-four years ago today when the nurse placed my oldest son, Ryan, in my arms. I became a parent that day, and that one moment has changed almost every moment since.

Parenting is a lifelong relationship, but not all of our children belong to our immediate families. Some of our children are older than we are. Most are probably close in age, and some might be much younger.

We might be parents naturally, and we are likely working hard to lead our kids to faith in Christ.

But all of us who are Christians have been called to become spiritual parents to spiritual children as well.

Who were your spiritual parents?

Who helped raise you spiritually?

If you are like me, it’s a long list. Those people were my teachers, my examples, my accountability partners, and my friends. Just this morning I was blessed to read an article a friend had written about her increased passion for quiet time with the Lord each day.

I’m coming out of an extremely busy three weeks and was reminded of my own need to seek quiet time with God for the sake of my soul rather than for the sake of a blog post or Bible lesson. I needed to be “parented” this morning and I’m grateful for her teaching.

Every Christian who has matured in the Lord will parent others in the faith. That is how God intended evangelism to work.

Who are your spiritual children?

I was teaching a passage in 2 Corinthians last week that Paul wrote to Christians saying, “We have spoken freely to you, Corinthians; our heart is wide open. You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted in your own affections. In return (I speak as to children) widen your hearts also” (2 Corinthians 6:11–13).

Paul told the ancient church in Corinth that he thought of himself as a parent to them, and he loved them like a father loves his kids. He asked them to love him as they would love a parent.

Paul loved the young, growing Christians in Corinth despite their ongoing attraction to the wrong influences in their lives. He told the church that it was time to mature in their faith and separate themselves from unholy things.

A spiritual parent wants the best for their children in the faith. Whom do you feel that way about today? Whom has God called you to parent spiritually?

What is spiritual parenting?

Evangelism

Quite often, your spiritual children are people the Lord has brought to your life who need to be born again.

Commitment

There is no way we can invest our time and energy into everyone we meet. But there are some people we are called to make a greater commitment to than others.

You will sense that God has given them to you to mentor, not just befriend.

Who is watching you as an example for Christian living today?

Discipline

Every good parent disciplines their kids, for their sake. We want our kids to be strong in the world, know how to behave, and know how to relate well to others.

Spiritual parents want their kids to be strong in the Lord. They need to know how God wants them to behave in the world and how to relate as a Christian to others.

Discipline is about exchanging wrong or weak behaviors for better ones. Disciplining kids is one of the toughest jobs for any parent, and the same will be true for those God has given us to parent spiritually as well.

Unconditional love

There is literally nothing that either of my sons could do that could cause me not to love them with a deep and unconditional love. That is the love God gives naturally to every mom and dad.

One of the best ways to recognize your spiritual children is to sense a heightened concern or compassion for the person. We can’t mentor everyone, but we are called to mentor some.

Whom has the Lord caused you to think and care about at a greater level?

The difference between work and chores

Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus about the gifting of the Holy Spirit. He said, “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:11–13).

A “saint” is a person who has received Jesus as their Lord and become a child of God.

The “work of the ministry” is the work that causes others to know, love, and walk through this life as an obedient child of God.

We are called to live like our Lord lived, “to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.”

The spiritual teaching and nurturing we give our “birth-kids” are the chores we have been given. Chores are the work we do around our house.

Work is what we do when we leave our homes.

Which people has God called you to invest your time and Christian influence in who are not in your home?

Consider that the “work” of your ministry. You have spiritual children the Lord wants you to teach and nurture as well.

Evangelism is simply growing your family

There is a spiritual gift of evangelism, but all of us are lifestyle evangelists. Your life is the most influential sermon you preach. You witness to people all day, every day.

Has your sermon caused some people to know Jesus?

Does your lifestyle preaching help others walk with Jesus and live “to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ”?

All of us should have a growing family, forever.

One moment changed many more

The nurse placed Ryan into my arms and I became a parent. I will be a parent for the rest of my life. And it is my great joy to see Ryan parenting my grandkids to know and love the Lord.

We were tucking Ryan’s kids into bed this past weekend when my granddaughter said, “We need to sing our songs.”

I listened while she and her three-year-old brother sang the verses to “Amazing Grace.”

This morning, one of my Bible students became my spiritual leader.

“Kids” grow up to have children of their own. That’s how God intended it to be—naturally and spiritually.

I hope all of us, including God, will enjoy a growing family for the rest of our lives.

How Do We Receive and Perceive God’s Promises?

Sometimes it seems like Scripture makes promises we can’t count on.

I’ve had a lot of conversations over the years with disappointed Christians. I’ve actually been a disappointed Christian at times. (It’s easy to think that when you are a full-time “paid” Christian that there should be a few added promise-perks. There aren’t.)

But, most of the time, our disappointment can be overcome with a better understanding of those promises.

Bible promises that aren’t

One example: Proverbs aren’t promises; they are statements of general wisdom.

A good example of that is Proverbs 22:6: “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.”

That Proverb can’t be a promise because it would mean that your child didn’t have free will choices. What Solomon was really saying was, “Raise your child now with a biblical knowledge of right and wrong, and chances are good that he or she will make biblical choices as an adult too.” The general wisdom: it’s wise to raise kids with godly values, morals, and behaviors if you want them to be godly adults.

Another example: psalms are usually words of praise for what God is able to do or has done in the past rather than what God has promised to do every time.

A new look at a familiar promise

I wanted to correct another “promise” that a lot of people think is a personal truth for their lives.

I was reading my son’s First15 devotional last Saturday and had a few new thoughts about a familiar verse. I often quote Jeremiah 29:11, but Craig wisely used verse 11 through 14 for his devotional. I was reminded that verse 11, on its own, doesn’t really tell the whole truth and might set us up to misunderstand the promise.

Jeremiah preached, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope” (29:11). This is a great thought about God’s intentions for his people. But, all of us know that disappointment and evil can happen in our lives. Several of my readers are dealing with financial loss resulting from a devastating tornado that came through Dallas. How, then, are Jeremiah’s words a promise to them?

What did Jeremiah mean when he preached that message? Can we think of Jeremiah 29:11 as a promise for our lives and the lives of other Christians?

Yes and no. Understanding the promise in verse 11 requires a little more information.

What was the original promise?

Jeremiah preached this message to the Jewish people who had already been captured and enslaved by the Babylonian empire. They or their parents had been marched from Jerusalem to Babylon. It would have taken about two weeks for them to get there, and it is doubtful that they were provided much food or water along the way. Many of those people died.

Verse 11 wouldn’t have been a promise for them.

By the time Jeremiah wrote chapter 29, it is likely that he was preaching, almost entirely, to the children of the people who had been captured. God had already told the Israelites that they would be in exile for seventy years. The average life span was about thirty years during this time and probably less for people who were slaves.

In other words, Jeremiah’s words wouldn’t have seemed like much of a promise to the people he preached them to. But they were.

The rest of the passage provides the truth of the promise.

What does the passage tell you about the promise?

Jeremiah 29:10–14 says, “For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.’”

What did God promise?

The Jewish people would be captives for seventy years. For most of the people, the promise was hope for their children and grandchildren, not themselves.
God always had a plan and has a plan. God knew the nation would be taken captive, and he knew he would restore the nation.
God would bring the Jewish people back to their land, restore their fortunes, and gather them back. The promise was their return to Israel, but it would never be entirely the same place or the same prosperity God had originally provided them. It would be Israel, but a different Israel.
The actual promise was a restored relationship with God. “Then you will call upon me, and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.” God’s promise for welfare and hope was the promised blessing of a restored relationship with himself.

And, the earthly blessings promised were almost entirely for their descendants, the Israelites who hadn’t even been born yet.

What does 29:11 mean to Christians today?

After this blog post, how many of your Christian plaques, pictures, dish towels, and coffee mugs will look a little less promising than they did before?

Don’t worry though. His word is always true and always relevant.

Jeremiah 29:11 doesn’t promise us that we will be rich and free from evil. God would never make that promise to people who live on planet earth, surrounded by people who have free wills and the freedom to use them.

Someone can steal your riches, and people are capable of evil. The prophet did promise that God will always have a plan to restore our relationship with him and provide us with his blessings. We misunderstand his promise and often feel disappointed when we define what those blessings should be.

There is more to say, but I will say it in next week’s blog post. For now, stand on the promises of God’s word, knowing that the promise can’t be understood except in its context—and, most of the time, won’t fit on a coffee mug!

Then again, if you could get the whole truth in a few words, those of us who blog about and teach the Bible might be out of a job.

One of my favorite promises is found in 1 Corinthians 2:9: “But, as it is written, ‘What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him.’”

One day, Christians will go to heaven and realize that our best promises were unimaginable to us on earth.

In other words, our greatest blessings are yet to come.

And that is God’s promise.

The Voice of Your Inner Thoughts

I watched the Emmy Awards Sunday night with a different kind of interest. It might have been because I am teaching from Corinthians this year and am often amazed at the cultural comparisons.

The program itself was not very good. Hollywood can’t settle on a host for the show, nor can they settle on any standards for behavior. Many of the presenters struggled to read the teleprompter or make acceptance speeches. I’m not sure how often words were bleeped out, but there were a lot of speeches with multiple breaks.

The whole show was pretty much a train wreck from the beginning.

Having rights is different than being right

I’m probably not surprising any of you when I say that Hollywood has a very real darkness these days and, surprisingly, they see themselves as enlightened.

Many of the award recipients made lofty-sounding statements on politics or personal morality. Interestingly, I don’t imagine many (or any) majored in political science, history, or philosophy.

Several spoke about women’s rights while wearing dresses that had to be taped to their chest to prevent possible wardrobe malfunctions. We saw men kissing other men and transgender people treated as heroes or groundbreakers.

Hollywood preaches about people’s “rights” but rarely about the need for people to behave rightly. In fact, their message is that personal choice determines what is right—unless, of course, someone’s personal choice disagrees with theirs.

The ads during the program often targeted upcoming new shows for the fall season. I was amazed at the number of these programs that involved the supernatural and often the occult. They are dabbling in areas they have no idea are actually dangerous for people to think about.

Hollywood has shouted about gun control, but I’ve never heard a network news show blame their own evening programming. How often do the networks air shows that feature a hero with a gun? How many of our random shootings are prompted by a warped sense of wanting to be popular like that?

Hollywood is shouting for an individual’s personal right to choose. God created that concept. But God also created the Law so that we would know how to choose rightly. There will always be consequences when people make wrong choices. Sadly, that message was completely left out of the speeches that were made.

Rethinking our thoughts

I wanted to watch the Emmy Awards because I believe our televisions have influenced our inner thoughts and we need to rethink our thoughts.

When last were you saddened by an unmarried couple in a sexual relationship?
Are you beginning to accept homosexuality as a personal choice?
Are you intrigued by television shows that dabble in or elevate the occult?
Do you grieve the jokes that are made about the clergy, or even the Lord, on sitcoms or talk shows?
Has your thinking changed to include tolerance, acceptance, or even appreciation of things that God’s word has called unholy or sinful?

The reason I ask you those questions is that is what is happening in my inner thoughts sometimes. I’ve become more anesthetized to seeing shows about Satan introduced to primetime television. It’s rare to see a committed, married couple on television who live with biblical standards.

There are popular shows about polygamy, “queer eyes,” and every kind of violence. When did those things become possible? Normal? Acceptable? Appreciated?

The pattern has been around from the beginning and will always be Satan’s method. Jude 1:4 describes that method this way: “For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”

Hollywood hypocrisy

Does it matter if it is just a “television show”?

Hollywood thinks it matters—but only when it is convenient for their message.

Gun violence matters—unless it’s found in a show they are acting in or producing.
Violence against women is terrible—unless they are offered the role of an abused woman or her abuser.
Education is important—unless they have to drop out of school to play a part in a movie or sitcom.
Equality is demanded—unless they are competing for the part or acting in a particular role.
Honesty matters—except when they are pretending to be someone they are not, or shouldn’t be.

The Voice within is a Person

This week I’m teaching from the second chapter of 1 Corinthians. Paul taught a strategic lesson to the church in Corinth about the function of the Holy Spirit in our lives. If you are a Christian, you have been given the Holy Spirit.

Paul wrote, “For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God” (1 Corinthians 2:11).

The Holy Spirit knows what God thinks. When we see something on the television that makes us cringe, that is the Holy Spirit telling us what God thinks. When we see something that seems disgusting or revolting, that is the Holy Spirit telling us how God feels. When we feel saddened by what we see, that is a touch of God’s grief.

The Holy Spirit knows what God thinks, and his role is to inform us so that we can think and feel like our Creator.

You can know God and his thoughts

How can you know what God is thinking?

Paul answers that question in this way: “‘For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?’ But we have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16).

That is one of my favorite descriptions of the Holy Spirit. There is a voice within every Christian who speaks thoughts from the mind of Christ. That voice competes with others but shouldn’t have to. Why do we let Hollywood and other worldly thinking influence our thoughts when we can listen to Jesus’ opinions instead?

Hollywood is enticing and tempting—but we know the source of that type of thinking. Satan has a voice as well.

The Holy Spirit within you is the mind of Christ. Pause often to listen for his thoughts and opinions. They are truly the only thoughts worthy of our time, focus, and especially our opinions and standards. We have been given the mind of Christ, but we have also been given the right to choose his thoughts.

The mind of Christ will always reflect and agree with the word of God. That’s why we call the Bible his holy word. Many of our thoughts will be authored by God’s Holy Spirit today.

Let’s choose to listen well.