ONE OF THE BENEFITS OF FASTING

According to Tamas Horvath, a researcher at Yale University, one might want to consider fasting before taking a test, or doing anything else that requires accurate short-term memory.

Ghrelin is a hunger hormone produced by empty stomachs. It enhances learning in the short term, at least in rats. Ghrelin speeds communication in the hippocampus region of the brain; the region associated with spatial memory.

While Christians are not commanded to fast in the New Testament, we see several examples of it in the first-century church. Here is just one more practical example of the benefits of fasting.

Grace & Peace;
Tom

FAITH DOES MATTER IN MARRIAGE

For years, the statistics I received said that Christian couples divorced at about the same rate as nonChristian couples. That has always puzzled and troubled me very much. I just read this blurb in Psychology Today that says otherwise.

"Black couples are at higher risk for divorce than white couples, but religion is a buffer against breakup. Black couples who attend religious services tend to stay together regardless of the importance of faith in their family or how frequently they attend services."

This is one of the first indications that some of the first research on Christian marriages was not thorough enough.

Grace & Peace;
Tom

THE DANGER OF LOVE

"To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. . .The only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love is Hell" (C.S. Lewis).

Grace & Peace;
Tom

BOUNDARIES

We all need to have personal and professional boundaries; our lives will be happier that way. Jesus said, '...let your yes be yes, and your no be no' (Matthew 5:37). Others need to know that when we say "yes" we mean "yes" and when we say "no" we mean "no."

Our modern technology tends to blur the boundaries. People who use mobile phones heavily have less satisfying family lives, according to a University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee study. The culprit is the "spill-over" effect when technology blurs the boundary between work and private life. Today's round-the-clock availability is tough on family. Keep the boundaries up.

Grace&Peace;
Tom

WE CAN WORK IT OUT

". . . so that your words may give grace to those who hear" (Ephesians 4:29 NRSV).

I found this blurb on communication in "Psychology Today" by Lauren Aaronson that I thought would be a good technique for all of us to use.

"Want to predict the outcome of a spousal spat? Tally up pronouns. The person who says "We" the most during an argument puts forward the best solutions, according to a study in Psychological Science. "We"-users may have a sense of shared interest that sparks compromises and other ideas pleasing to both partners. "You"-sayers, on the contrary, tend to criticize, disagree, justify and otherwise teem with negativity. But sometimes criticism comes in handy. When one partner complains that he or she feels under attack, the other can ease the tension by rephrasing sentences to use the winning "we."

Grace & Peace;
Tom

SOMETHING FOR THE YOUNG WOMEN TO CONSIDER

"Going to college increases a woman's chances of getting married; it also lowers her chances of getting divorced by 13 percent" (Psychology Today). I wonder if the research included those who went to a Christian college, and if so, what percentage of the total they might be. I think some research needs to be done on just Christian College marriages. Should I do it?

Grace & Peace;
Tom

BUYING UP OPPORTUNITIES

"Redeeming the time, because the days are evil" (Ephesians 5:16 kjv).

One of the central doctrines of Christian theology is The Fall. As a result of the first sin, creation was corrupted. The law of entropy came in force which says that closed systems* tend to disintegrate; the creation is dying. The Fall is the cause of the predominance of evil in the world; it is why it is so difficult to accomplish the required tasks of life. Truly great achievements require a great amount of energy and sacrifice. We truly live in a fallen world!

Modern translations of the Bible tend to translate this text, "making the most of the time" or "making the most of every opportunity." But these translations soften the intention of the Spirit. "Redeeming" means to pay a price for the freeing of time. It doesn't means just to take advantage of every opportunity that comes along. It means to buy up opportunities. This isn't easy! It takes time, commitment, practice, education, shoe leather, tires, gasoline, and money. At times it will seem like the rewards aren't worth it. Sometimes we will have to wait for heaven to see the results, but we continue on in faith, trusting in God for provision.

The congregation, of which I am a member, recently made a commitment to build a $300,000 gym and classroom annex for this reason. It scares me to do this because we are a small church of modest means, but this step of faith is going to buy up opportunities to work with kids and adults who come to use the gym.

The reason I do this blog is because of Ephesians 5:16. I do not know who will be helped by what is written here; it may only be a few, but if it is only one or two it will be worth it. I will have redeemed the time for them.

What can you do to redeem the time?

Grace and Peace;
Tom

*The earth is not a closed system by itself, but the universe is.

SLEEP, A WEIGHTY MATTER

According to a study at Eastern Virginia Medical School, people who sleep just 16 fewer minutes per night than the average person are significantly at risk of being over weight. As inconsequential as those moments sound, it adds up to nearly two hours of lost sleep per week. After controlling for other lifestyle and health factors, researchers calculated that missing two hours of sleep each week is associated with a ten-point increase in body mass index--or the difference between a healthy weight and obesity.

Since 1960, when the average amount of shut-eye was 8.5 hours, the average amount of sleep time has shrunk to about 7 hours. No wonder we struggle with our weight. Also, it isn't just the weight that is a concern, it is the immune system that is weakened and cognitive ability that is impaired. The onset of adult diabetes is also linked to skimping on sleep. So, turn off Letterman and get some Z's!

Even the Lord needed His sleep. The Bible doesn't say very much, but it does say that during a violent storm on Galilee, "Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. . ." (Mark 4:38). Even during the storms, do not be troubled and afraid. Get some sleep.

Grace & Peace;
Tom

CSI JERUSALEM 4

I hope you all had a blessed Easter. Helen and I returned from visiting our family in Iowa City. God blessed the Hawkeyes. The recent tornados missed the revered Kinnic stadium! We were bless with a wonderful time of worship at the Iowa City Church of Christ where son Tom is the preacher. And, we had some real quality time with Alex and Samantha, our grand children, and Suzi, our beautiful daughter in law. Son Paul, of Paul's Ponderings, has moved to Iowa City and will be teaching a Sunday school class at the church.

What does the resurrection of Jesus mean? The resurrection transformed the lives of the witnesses. They were willing to die for what they saw--they would not change their testimony! The witnesses knew what it meant! It means that Jesus is who he said he was, "I am the way--and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6). It means that what Jesus says is true. As he told John in Revelation 21:5, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." It means that God has the last Word, ". . . that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Philippians 2:10-11).

Now what will you do?

Grace & Peace;
Tom

CSI JERUSALEM 3

Some have questioned whether Jesus really died on the cross. Anyone familiar with Roman crucifixion would have no question. The lashing that Jesus received often killed people itself. The spear in the side, as Jesus hung on the cross removed all doubt. That a severely wounded man could have rolled the stone away is preposterous!

Something powerful had to have happened in Jerusalem two millennia ago. From a small band of frightened disciples, to a robust, functioning church numbering in the thousands in a matter of days is a miracle in itself. In the profundity of John Madden, "Boom," you have a church! It, indeed, was a big bang that changed the world. Legend and myth do not have opportunity to grow with this speed in a hostile environment like Jerusalem, where the church had its beginning. The Apostle Paul, writing within a few years of the resurrection said, "Then he appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep" (I Corinthians 15:6). Paul, by implication, invited anyone who wanted to check out his story with one of the eyewitnesses to do it.

So, we can sing, with apologies to Martina McBride, "Let freedom ring, let the white dove sing, let the whole world know that today is the day of reckoning....roll the stone away, its Resurrection Day!!"

Grace & Peace;
Tom

CSI JERUSALEM 2

I believe in science. I do not trust anecdotal evidence. Testimonials, by themselves, have little value in establishing a fact. I have been misled by testimonials so many times that I have become more trusting of scientific research. However, scientific research is conducted by emotional and biased human beings, so the results of it are not always true either. With an issue so positively and negatively charged with emotion as the resurrection of Jesus is, logical investigation is difficult to come by. On this issue, I am not purely objective, but the evidence I share certainly has to be considered by any one who is making a decision about Jesus.

research is not just quantitative (scientific), it is also qualitative; that means that it deals with the testimonies and documents of human beings. Consider the credibility of the witnesses. They had no reason to lie. They were a small group of frightened people who had nothing to gain but persecution and death. They had no motive. They did die for their testimony! Their persecution and death establishes their credibility. Granted, there are discrepancies between the stories of the resurrection in the four gospels, but there is agreement on the event. All the disagreements mean is that the authors didn't get together to "cook" the story before they wrote it down. The writer of the Gospel of Judas does not fit into this category. He did have motive.

It also needs to be added that the tendency of the disciples was not to believe in the resurrection. Dead people do not come to life. Thomas' doubts pretty much sums it up, "Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, and place my finger in the mark of the nails, and place my hand in his side, I will not believe"(John 20:25). Thomas received his "scientific" proof and responded, "My Lord and my God!" (John 20:28).

Grace & Peace;
Tom

CSI JERUSALEM

Nearly two thousand years ago Jesus of Nazareth was crucified near Jerusalem. He was crucified between two others and his death would have meant nothing more than theirs except that on the third day his tomb was empty! Now some claim that the body was stolen by his followers. some say that Jesus didn't really die, he merely walked away. some say that the disciples merely had auditory and visual hallucinations of Jesus being alive after his death. What really happened in Jerusalem on what we celebrate as Resurrection Day?

As Gil Grissom, of CSI Sin City, is wont to say, "Follow the evidence." The evidence says that once a person is dead, he stays dead. The evidence says that the place of burial was known to friend and foe alike. The evidence says that both friend and foe agree that the tomb (place of burial) was empty. The facts so far: Jesus of Nazareth was crucified and his tomb was empty.

For Christians, everything is at stake here because the validity of the Christian religion rests on this event. It was the preaching of the resurrection of Jesus that was the drawing power of the Church from the very beginning (I Corinthians 15:1-6). If the event didn't occur, Jesus the Christ was a fraud or a nut case. Christ was never preached in the first century Church as a good moral teacher or prophet, but he was always preached as Son of God, Lord and Savior. Paul, the apostle, sums it up best when he says, "If Christ has not been raised your faith is futile and you are still in your sins"(I Corinthians 15:17). Come to think of it, the preaching itself is evidence because the preaching was about the resurrection of Jesus. This event was preached in Jerusalem, itself, fifty days later. Friend and foe heard the first sermon. Counter evidence could have been presented. Christianity would have been stomped out at its birth. But, as a result of that preaching, three thousand believed it and obeyed the command to repent and be immersed. Wow! If there would have been powerful counter evidence the Church never would have had a beginning!

Grace & Peace;
Tom

ARRIVING TOGETHER

"The saddest sight I have ever seen was at the deathbed of an old couple who had lived together many years. Both had pneumonia. I watched the passing of the aged wife and then went to see the husband. I made not a sound. 'Mother's dead?' he queried. I did not need to answer. He closed his eyes, folded his hands over his chest and in a short time he also was dead. Don't ask me the meaning. The finest scenes I have witnessed have been the serene old age of such couples. As far as I can see, in order to arrive at the same place at the same time it is necessary to travel together. To so travel it seems that the burdens of life must be borne share and share alike. (Arthur E. Hertzler M.D.).

I hope I have not overworked Dr. Hertzler for you. I will give him a rest for a while, though he has more observations worthy of sharing later on.

Only about 5% of couples fit together like "hand in glove." The other 95% of us have to work at marriage to make it work. That is not a bad thing. It can both build and reveal character. Dr. Jerry Gibson has commented on the Greek word agape by calling it, "commanded love." "Husbands love your wives," the apostle Paul commanded the husbands in the Ephesian church. Jesus has command all of us to 'love our enemies.' Sometimes that is all we have, a command to be obeyed in faith. No romance, but a command. The truth is that, if in faith we obey the command to love, the romance and the feelings of friendship have a medium in which to grow. In the case of marriage, maybe we'll arrive at life's destination together. Isn't that romantic?

Grace & Peace;
Tom

FEAR OF DEATH; A PARADOX

"The doctor may start with the fundamental probability that if the patient has a fear of a disease he has it not. Queer fact, this, but often true, nor is it confined to fear of organic disease. A patient with a cancer of the stomach rarely is possessed of any fear. If he has it he accepts the verdict without emotion. When death knocks on the door no one is frightened. The smartest observation ever made was when Shakespeare said there is no need to fear death. It will come when it will come, and then, it may be added, it will be without fear" (Arthur E. Hertzler, M.D.).

If you are afraid you are going to die, you probably won't. If you are not afraid of dying, you probably will. Keep that in mind the next time you are in the hospital. Remember, Dr. Hertzler made that observation pre 1940, but it was an observation made from over fifty years of medical practice. I think, in general terms, it rings true today.

Is death a thing to be feared? Jesus asked, "And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his span of life?" (Matthew 6:27). I take my vitamins and do physical training not so much to add length to my life, but to add productivity to it. Whenever the Good Lord calls me home it's okay. I just want to be as productive as I can as long as I can. What is to be feared about death is the lack of opportunity to change. We are what we are. Our future is fixed. Until the time of death the Lord has given abundant opportunities for change; to follow His will. After that is judgment, there are no more opportunities for change (Hebrews 9:27).

Grace & Peace;
Tom

NOT EVERYONE WHO SAYS, "LORD, LORD"

"The ministers of the old days were not learned in a book sense, but many were men of great earnestness and high purpose. These men in general had an idea that something notable should take place at the moment of dissolution and seemed to think I should provide pabulum for their discourses. I had to tell them that saints and sinners died alike and that at the time of death, whatever might have been the antecedents, there was no pain. I have seen only one man who looked on death with terror and he was a sanctimonious old sinner, the pillar of his church, at the sight of whom one just instinctively grasped one's pocketbook" (Arthur E. Hertzler, M.D.).

Forgive me for bringing up the death topic so frequently, but it is an appointment we are all going to keep unless Jesus returns in our generation. Also, it is the time of year when we traditionally think about resurrection. We have a great hope! Nevertheless, we need to be reminded that we are not saved by faith only, but by a faith in Jesus that gives evidence that it is real. Repentance and baptism are the essential first manifestations of this, but it is also a life where the call of the flesh and the world does not get the first answer, but rather the call of the Spirit.

"On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many might works in your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me you evildoers'" (Matthew 7:22-23).

Grace and Peace;
Tom

A COMMON HOPE

Writing about the death of a loved one, Hertzler says, "It is a peculiar thing that, no matter what one's ideas may be in general, when one's loved one has gone before, there is a lurking hope that somewhere, somehow there will be a meeting again, Even the noted agnostic, Bob Ingersoll*, in the funeral oration over his brother expressed this hope" (Arthur E. Hertzler, M.D.).

It seems to be a common characteristic of human beings, no matter how technologically advanced the culture, to have a longing for life and fellowship in the "hereafter." "A slow ride in a hearse can't be the last ride," we all want to believe. But belief in life and fellowship after death without being in Christ is only credulity, and not a legitimate hope. The hope of the Christian is based on one documented fact in history; Jesus Christ has risen! We have a great future!

"Let not your hearts be troubled; believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so would I have told you that I go and prepare a place for you? And when I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself, that where I am you may be also" (John 14:1-3).

Grace & Peace;
Tom

*"Google" Robert Ingersoll. The atheists claim him.

AFRAID TO DIE?

Several years ago I found a book in a library discard pile that has been a priceless read for me. The book is Horse and Buggy Doctor, by Dr. Arthur E. Hertzler. Dr. Hertzler practiced medicine on the Kansas prairie from the Late 19th century to the 1940's. He built a clinic in Halstead, Kansas that, for a short time, rivaled the Mayo clinic in Minnesota. (Halstead is a 45 minute drive from my first ministry in Abbyville, KS.) Hertzler was the son of a lay Mennonite minister, but became very cynical about Christians, though he was a man of faith. Nevertheless, this book offers some important insights into human nature; some of which I will share in the nest few days.

"As a matter of fact, fear is too little regarded as an adverse influence in the outcome of an operation. . . Even today, I refuse to operate on a frightened patient. I have seen, to often, patients who stated that they would not recover, who proceeded to make good their prediction. Some of these cases did not show the cause of death, even at autopsy. I believe they were actually and literally scared to death."

"For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive" (I Corinthians 15:22). The promise is only for those "in Christ." The hope we have is not wishful thinking, but it rests on one thoroughly documented event, the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Grace & Peace;
Tom

A GIFT

"Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift--that is why it is called the present" (unknown).

Grace & Peace;
Tom

MEDICATION IN PSYCHOTHERAPY

William Glasser guesstimates that for every 10,000 to 20,000 patients who choose to depress, there is one who is depressed because of a primary chemical imbalance. He says the figures are the same for psychotic people yet antidepressant and antipsychotic medications are prescribed in vast numbers. ". . . used in small doses as temporary relief until the patients can be counseled to regain control of their lives, these drugs have benefit; but used to cure, they promise a hope that they cannot fulfill and are a cruel delusion to the patient and the patient's family" (William Glasser). Amen!

Grace & Peace;
Tom