To Scroll, Skim, Stay Awhile or Swipe Left, That Is the Question

Yesterday, the world watched high-definition video of a spacecraft landing on the surface of Mars after a nearly seven-month flight from earth to the Red Planet. Many watched on their smartphones. The technology that makes space flight possible fascinates. The technology that makes it possible for me to watch on my phone is wonderful…and dangerous.

You are able to read this because you have access to the Internet which delivers to you information in the form of email and a wide range of digital formats. Because you have email and online capability, you have more access to more information than the rest of humanity combined prior to the Internet. The information may or may not be true, may or may not be helpful, may be attention grabbing and useful or it may be captivating and a waste of time.

Some remember when the go to source on any given subject was the World Book Encyclopedia. Today’s school age children do not even know what an encyclopedia is. What they know is Google, Wikipedia, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, TikTok, and when they feel nostalgic, Facebook. So much knowledge, information, and wisdom floats in the digital ozone and is instantaneously available at our fingertips. Simply, it is mind-boggling to consider the information available to us at our fingertips.

That expanse of information continues to all things Christian. Sadly, not all things labeled Christian that appear on the Internet are actually Christian. I haven’t done the research, but it would not surprise me to discover that only a fraction of what is available under the label Christian is consistent with orthodox Christianity, historical interpretation, and accurate application. Which brings me again to Peter’s words -

But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction (2 Peter 2:1).

False teachers are not a minor concern, an irritating nuisance, or a circus sideshow. They will destroy a local church, devour its members, and defame Jesus Christ. False teachers are the greatest threat to the church of Jesus Christ.

When you choose to listen to someone’s sermons, listen with a discerning ear and discriminating mind. When you choose to read the latest Christian book currently residing near the top of the New York Times Best Sellers list, read it with your Bible close at hand. When you follow a friend’s Facebook share that takes you to someone’s blog or Lunchtime Musing, read critically. Ask often, “Is this what God says in His Word?” Raise the question, “Did the apostles of Jesus Christ teach this idea to the early church?” When the author or preacher suggests something novel or new, ask how the disciples since the first century survived all these many years without that idea.

As believing people who think the best of others (1 Cor. 13:5), we tend to receive what others deliver in the name of Jesus. The bent to believe is wonderful when the content is consistent with God’s Word. The bent to believe without scrutiny is dangerous when the content is inconsistent with God’s Word.

Today, false teachers declare that Christian people who have enough faith will be healthy. If you are not healthy, you do not have enough faith. Other false teachers declare that Christian people will be financially secure, independent, even wealthy when Christian people give God what belongs to Him in the form of a seed gift to the false teacher’s ministry. If you are not financially secure, independent, or wealthy, you need to take the step of faith and give your money away (ideally to them), only then can God grow your money beyond what you already have. Still other false teachers denounce the Lordship of Christ over every area of a believer’s life. They reason that so many matters (think LGBTQ+, abortion, critical race theory, the limits of government, etc.) in the culture are neutral, and Christ has no opinion on them. They conclude a Christian is free to do as he wishes where Jesus has not specifically addressed the matter in 21st century terminology. The list of false teachings goes on and on. The proliferation of opportunities to hear false teachers brings their potential for damage to a whole new level.

I am committed to safeguarding “the way of righteousness” and conveying only and completely “the holy commandment delivered” to us (2 Peter 2:22).

I trust you are committed to receiving only what is consistent with the teaching of Jesus and his apostles and to obeying everything taught by Jesus and his apostles.

As always, I welcome your feedback and any suggestions you might have for an upcoming Lunchtime Musing.

To read past Lunchtime Musings, follow me at medium.com/@mikeverway

Mike VerWay
Pastor for Preaching & Vision

It Wasn't Better Back In The Day

It’s time for a pop quiz. There is only one question, and it is multiple choice. You at least have a chance at getting it right.

Q: Fill in the blank: Near the end of the president’s term, editors of a major newspaper in the nation’s capitol wrote, “If ever a nation has suffered from the improper influence of a man, the American nation has suffered from the influence of _____________.”

A: Bill Clinton
B: Andrew Jackson
C: Donald Trump
D: George Washington

The column appeared in the Philadelphia Aurora in 1796 in the waning days of George Washington’s presidency. The celebrated Father of Our Country, the singular force behind the victory over King George and the greatest fighting force in the world, and the man whom many wanted as king more than president was assaulted in the press on administration policies and to his horror, personal character.

No president escapes media gaze, and every president and his followers complain about the coverage he receives. Solomon accurately concludes, “There is nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9).

Every generation concludes there has never been a time like this. The world has never been this messed up. The government has never been this corrupt. The morals have never been this loose. Children have never been this rebellious. It’s like we’ve forgotten about the flood, the rules of Ahab and Herod, the filth in Corinth, and the defiance of Absalom. Maybe the good ‘ol days were not that good after all.

One consequence of thinking the present time is unlike any other is the mistake the Bible is a relic with no value in a modern world. The writings of Moses and Paul along with the teachings of Jesus cannot have the nuance to navigate the sophistication of the modern mind. The Bible was good for nomads and sheepherders but not for the educated and enlightened.

Ancient vulgarity has nothing on modern arrogance.

We are Christians trying to navigate our world as faithful followers of our Lord. Like all before us, we live this life in a broken world populated by fallen people. The failures of our leaders, the agenda of the powerful, the gullibility of the masses, the lies promoted and believed, and the faithlessness of the church prompt in us a longing for something different, something better. The different and better is in the presence of Jesus. The present morass of deceit and disease can prime us for the future harmony of beauty and blessing.

They were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them (Hebrews 11:16).

With every new news cycle and observation of cultural decline, we have the opportunity to set aside the appeal of the now and develop our appetite for what awaits us with Christ in heaven. When we are frustrated by loss of freedom, we wonder at the freedom we’ve yet to experience that awaits us when we are with the Lord.

Live faithful, Christian, and keep your eyes on heaven.

As always, I welcome your feedback and any suggestions you might have for an upcoming Lunchtime Musing.

To read past Lunchtime Musings, follow me at medium.com/@mikeverway

Mike VerWay
Pastor for Preaching & Vision

Everything and Everyone Is Against Me, Even God

I remember my girls singing,

Nobody likes me, everybody hates me
I think I'll go eat worms!
Big fat juicy ones, Eensie weensy squeensy ones,
See how they wiggle and squirm!

If the ditty is stuck in your head the rest of the day, my sincere apologies.

Some Christians think God doesn’t like them. These, saved by the indescribable gift of God’s son, look at their difficult and wrenching life circumstances and conclude, “God doesn’t like me. God doesn’t care about me. Maybe, God hates me.”

For the child of God, few texts surpass the greatness of Romans 8. From its opening line that affirms God’s approval of the justified to its climax of God’s love in Christ for his own, Romans 8 has ministered to countless of the faithful over the centuries.

Most of us are familiar with 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” Sadly, the text has been both misused and neglected.

Misused by those who offer the text to the hurting as an explanation for why bad things are happening to them. 8:28 is not first an explanation of why bad things happen to us but a reason to endure hardship that is the reality of living under the curse as we await the completion of our redemption (8:18-25).

Neglected by those who see the text as little more than a crutch to the hurting, offering no substantive aid to the downcast. “Remember, Romans 8:28!” seems like a cavalier way to comfort the wounded and broken, forgetting this quoted line is God’s message to the shattered spirit intended to bring comfort and aid.

Soon after 8:28 is another solace for the Christian. Paul writes, “Since God is for us, who can be against us?” He affirms a fact: God is for his own. God was for Paul, and God was for the Christians at Rome, and God is for us; God is for you!

To be sure God is not for everyone. He is aggressively opposed to the wicked (Psalm 34:16) and reveals his wrath against the godless (Romans 1:18). But that’s not you! You have “received the Spirit of adoption” and you cry out, “Abba, Father.” Your Heavenly Father is not against you. Your Heavenly Father has not forgotten you and does not hate you. God is for you! He offers to you evidence that he is for you, “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” (8:32).

• God is for the childless couple. You want to have a family and for whatever reasons it isn’t happening. It’s hard knowing your friend is pregnant and seeing their joy holding a baby. In your emptiness, God is for you.

• God is for the grieving spouse. About half of us will bury a spouse. Once two become one, death rips apart the union. What’s left is a gaping wound. In your pain, God is for you.

• God is for the dejected parent. Rebellious children break parents’ hearts. You’ve tried everything, and nothing changes for the better. In reality the relationships are deteriorating daily. You are ashamed to say it, but you’re looking forward to the day he heads off to college or the navy. In your continual frustration, God is for you.

• God is for the mistreated child. You can’t do anything right. Your dad is always angry. Your mom criticizes and nags. Neither of them listen to you when you try to explain. They just yell, ridicule, or punish. You’d rather be at grandma’s house or a friend’s than be at home. In your confusion about what family life should be, God is for you.

• God is for the recently furloughed. A stimulus check, ha! What’s that going to do for you. What you need is a job that pays well, has good insurance, and comes with some security that you won’t be let go if the economy turns bad. In your anxiety, God is for you.

• God is for the injured and diseased. Thumbing the pages of the photo album, you hardly recognize the face you see. The stroke or cancer or fall or heart attack or the cumulative years have left you a shell of your former self. It hurts to move. It hurts not to move. “What’s the point of living like this?” you wonder. In your weakened state, God is for you.

• God is for the weary and burdened. Sleep is a gift, but not one that lasts long. There’s not enough of you to go around. Everyone needs you…now! There’s nowhere to hide and no relief in sight. In your fatigue, God is for you.

• God is for the discouraged pastor. You prepare sermons to feed the flock. They don’t seem interested in eating. You love only to be betrayed. You know you make mistakes but why can’t they be gracious when you do? Nobody calls you when you’re in need, but if you don’t call when they are in need, look out. In your dismay, brother-Pastor, God is for you.

• God is for the single parent. This isn’t what you thought life would be, but here you are. It doesn’t matter how you got here. This is life now. You and the kid. It’s hard not having someone to lean on as a parent, someone who gets up in the night so you can get some sleep, someone to discipline so you aren’t the meanie every single day. In your not ideal situation, God is for you.

• God is for the perpetual bridesmaid. “Sure, I’d love to be in your wedding.” You are genuinely happy for her. He’s a good guy, and she’s the latest of your squad walking the aisle. You’ve shared in the day with five friends in the last two years, but that’s not looking like a possibility for you. In your loneliness, God is for you.

• God is for the dreamer with dashed dreams. It seemed like a great idea on paper. You carefully considered the pros and cons. You made the plans, asked for advice, took the risk, and worked hard to see it come true. But it didn’t, not even close. You flopped, miserably. The years and effort seem wasted. It’s really hard to dream again about what could be. In your failure, God is for you.

Here's a better tune and text for Christians to sing.

O God, our help in ages past, Our hope for years to come, Our shelter from the stormy blast, And our eternal home.

Under the shadow of Thy throne Thy saints have dwelt secure; Sufficient is Thine arm alone, And our defense is sure.

Before the hills in order stood, Or earth received her frame, From everlasting Thou art God, To endless years the same.

Thy Word commands our flesh to dust, “Return, ye sons of men”: All nations rose from earth at first, And turn to earth again.

A thousand ages in Thy sight Are like an evening gone; Short as the watch that ends the night Before the rising sun.

The busy tribes of flesh and blood, With all their lives and cares, Are carried downwards by the flood, And lost in foll’wing years.

Time, like an ever-rolling stream, Bears all its sons away; They fly, forgotten, as a dream Dies at the op’ning day.

Like flow’ry fields the nations stand Pleased with the morning light; The flow’rs beneath the mower’s hand Lie with’ring ere ’tis night.

O God, our help in ages past, Our hope for years to come, Be Thou our guard while troubles last, And our eternal home.

Isaac Watts, 1719

As always, I welcome your feedback and any suggestions you might have for an upcoming Lunchtime Musing.

To read past Lunchtime Musings, follow me at medium.com/@mikeverway

Mike VerWay
Pastor for Preaching & Vision

Years of Grace Since the Loss

Five years ago this week we buried my mom. What follows below are my thoughts in anticipation of that day. In the years between, I’ve learned much about grieving, loss, and absence. I’ve experienced our Lord’s sweet companionship and calming peace. I think much more about heaven and about how few my days on earth might be. The number keeps getting smaller as I compare my current age to my mom’s age at death or the ages of others dying around me.

In time we all will bury those whom we love. Most of us will bury parents, about half of us will bury a spouse, and a brokenhearted few will bury a child or children. When the events come, our Lord will minister to us. He will not abandon us. He will not forget us or forget our loss. He will work all things together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).

In the circumstances of 2020 and now into 2021, I’ve thought repeatedly, “I’m glad my mom and dad aren’t around to experience this craziness.” While I say that, I do wish my mom and dad “were around.” I just miss them. Still, my experience is far from unique. Brenda’s mom has been with the Lord for 25 years, and you too have your story of loss.

If you are hurting or grieving, if loss and absence nag at you, I hope you find something helpful in my thoughts from five years ago which remain true today. Thank you for loving me in my sorrow.

Originally published February 2, 2016

Tomorrow I will bury my mom. Those are painful, somewhat surreal words to write.

For most of the last decade, I’ve known this day would come. When my dad died nearly nine months ago, I was not surprised. At 74, his life was longer than virtually everyone else in his family. His health during the last 10 years of his life was, at best, poor. Surgery for prostate cancer exposed him to the killer bacteria MRSA. The infection weakened his body making otherwise minor issues major problems.

As I watched him decline, I prepared myself for his eventual death. Each time I said goodbye to him, I did so knowing this might be my last time with him. He was ready to meet the Lord, and to the extent possible, I was ready for him to be with the Lord. Still, I miss him every day.

My mom was never old to me. As a teenage mother, she raised my sister and me with the vibrancy of a kid. Though small of frame, her energy level was that of a thoroughbred. Little kept her down and few stopped her. When she set her mind to do something, chances were she’d get it done. Whether earning a bachelor’s degree by attending school in the evening or continuing to teach after two LVAD surgeries, she resolved to continue to do what she determined was the right and best thing to do. Her aggressive nature and my dad’s mellow disposition were a beautiful match.

My mom developed congestive heart failure more than ten-years ago following a minor heart attack triggered by a virus. She suffered the heart attack the first week of July, and, as expected, was back in the classroom in late August. I asked her to retire, but that was a futile suggestion. The leopard can’t change its spots.

Despite her heart problems, I was not ready for her death. At 69 she lived twenty years less than her mother and much less than all the other women in her family tree. My always young mom was not old enough to die. During the last weeks and days of her life, she remained quick-minded, articulate and witty, like you might expect from her in the classroom or in conversations with her grandchildren.

Her heart diagnosis and her various open-heart surgeries should have prompted me to adopt a similar approach to her that I did with my dad. Her lifestyle, however, wouldn’t let me. Over the last 18 months, she put more than 47,000 miles on her car. Though retired from teaching, she wasn’t retired from life. In two years she built a small but profitable business that supplemented her meager income. In her home church she ministered to disadvantaged women, played her clarinet in the orchestra, sang in the choir, and attempted whatever ministries were suggested or apparent to her. In the northern Wisconsin church where she gathered for worship, she met a young family with a son diagnosed with childhood leukemia. She loved the young mother and father, cared for their other child during chemo treatments, provided meals to the family, and opened her heart and home to them. All this after having met them when she was a newbie to the church family.

My timeline for life did not include my mom’s death in January of 2016. When Paul wrote, “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell. For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you (Philippians 1:21-24),” I want to apply this to my mom. From my low-level perch, my mom’s remaining with us is more needful than her going to be with Christ at this point in time. Like Paul, I am hard-pressed, albeit for myself.

Where to go from here? This is the question. I miss my mom beyond my capacity to express. I contemplate the future without her, and I become sad. I’ve picked up my phone to call her, and then suddenly remembered. I should just remove her name from my phone, but I don’t want to remove her name from my phone.

Still, my life is not over. Like me, my mother buried her father first and then her mother. She felt many of the emotions I feel, and she fought on. She continued to serve the Lord. She continued to love people. She continued to give her best. She fought a good fight. She finished her course. She kept the faith. The best way for me to honor my mom is to do the same.

By God’s grace.

As always, I welcome your feedback and any suggestions you might have for an upcoming Lunchtime Musing.

To read past Lunchtime Musings, follow me at medium.com/@mikeverway

Mike VerWay
Pastor for Preaching & Vision

Value the Valuable, Dismiss the Cheap

Paul writes simply and directly, Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth (Colossians 3:2).

His words do not seem too complex. The things of earth are in opposition to things above, and there will only be disappointment if affections are for things on earth. Frankly, things on earth cannot deliver what we hope they can. We cannot regard things above and things on earth as the same or that there is a time and place to set our affections on earthly things and not consider things above. Matthew Henry wisely notes, “The prevalence of our affection to one will proportionably weaken and abate our affection to the other.”

Here are 8 applications from Paul’s instruction. What would you add?

1. Set your mind on things above, not on the prospects of a political party.
   

2. Set your mind on things above, not on the life you will live once retirement comes.
   

3. Set your mind on things above, not on the affirmation you crave from likes, retweets, or heart emojis.
   

4. Set your mind on things above, not on the next experience that will give you a temporary high.
   

5. Set your mind on things above, not on the companionship that pulls you away from Christ.
   

6. Set your mind on things above, not on the make believe helps for your deepest hurts.
   

7. Set your mind on things above, not on winning the argument with your adversary.
   

8. Set your mind on things above, not on manipulating the system or the relationship to get what you want.

As always, I welcome your feedback and any suggestions you might have for an upcoming Lunchtime Musing.

To read past Lunchtime Musings, follow me at medium.com/@mikeverway

Mike VerWay
Pastor for Preaching & Vision