Happy Birthday, Joanna Marie. Our oldest is five today. Can it be so soon?

Today, across America students met to pray. Here is my prayer to join theirs:

Father, may world peace be at the heart of all world leaders. Move your hand among the governments and the leaders to make yourself known.

Be with our country, her leaders and decision makers that we might act wisely in our world. Keep our president, vice president, and congressmen safe that they may lead us prudently. Help the judges who interpret our laws approach you for wisdom before their decision-making.

Attend to our State and local leadership—the ones who are close to home, and may even give us their ear.

Guide our school leaders—teachers and administrators. Give them wisdom as they teach our children. Be with those children, especially those who bear faith in Christ. Help them to be a positive witness for the Lord Jesus Christ where they are.

Finally, Lord God, be with your children wherever they may be. Help us to seek your guidance in even the smallest of our decisions. May we be more like you to be more influential in our communities, our schools, our cities, our states, our country, and even in our world.

Amen.

Matinee idols of yesteryear keep us from understanding idols and idolatry very well. We talk about the idols of the silver screen (or the small screen). However, if we really want to look for the idols that are taking our attention off of God these days, we should look to the Game Show Network. Our avaricious ways are fed day in and day out because of our society’s fascination with game shows.


Icons of our society developed within us a hunger for the living-room suite, the brand new washer/dryer, A NEW CAR! Innocently enough we tune in to enjoy a half-hour (or in the case of some of the newer game shows, led by the Hour-Power editions of The Price Is Right) in order to watch and vicariously experience the winning of more things—more things to become idols in our lives—by our favorite contestant. Some of the newer shows have even moved away from traditional prizes—appliances, airplane trips, or automobiles—cutting out the middle man and moving directly to money, money, money. Some of the more popular shows focus on money for prizes.

The point of all this is not to get you to stop watching TV (unless it’s your idol). Nor do I want to say that game shows or the airing of them is evil. The point is that idolatry is so ingrained in our society that even the most innocent of venues encourages us to participate—and participate wildly in the act of idolatry.

god – that which is the central focus of our lives

idol – the physical representation of our god

Many things can be our god—those things, people, or ideas that we allow to take the place of the one true God in our life. On the other hand, idols are those physical manifestations of our god. Something to own, to show off, to worship. Do you have idols in your house? Your garage? Your wallet? Idolatry is acting as if some object has more power—spiritual, magical, unexplainable power—than that object has in and of itself. The god of your life is the one to whom you build a shrine (in your room or in your mind); the idol is the center point of your shrine.

In our study of the Decalogue, we should note that once we rid our lives of other gods—having only God as our only God. We must remove from our surroundings those things that keep the false gods before our eyes.

Be in prayer for our friends and colleagues, Charley and Marianne, as they prepare to take the next step in their lives--adoption! Read some of the details here: http://journeytojoshua.blogspot.com/

Here are the words penned by my great-grandfather and originally published in the Oklahoma Odd Fellow. {Thanks to my brother, Dr. Andrew Jay Potter}

I came across this the other day. My brother found an old poem of our great-grandfather's and put it to music. The thought is really nice.

Some years ago, I heard of the wag who said, "I've learned two things in this life--(1) there is a God, and (2) I'm not Him. Looking to the First Commandment, we are reminded of this yet again.

We are living in a day when God’s Word has become the object of political and judiciary battles. This week, at First Baptist Church of Mulberry Grove (www.fbcmulberrygrove.com), we will begin to look at the Decalogue (the Ten Commandments). We do this not to join into the argument and the political fray, but to see what God’s Word says and how it applies to our lives. Having said this, I believe that if we can actually find ourselves abiding by the Commandments and even growing in our Christian lives when we can wrap our hands around Number One—God is God and nobody else is.

The purpose in studying the Ten Commandments is not to get into the fray with the politicos of this world. I am not in the habit of crossing political or judicial swords with people who have too much time on their hands than to see that living according to the Decalogue just makes sense. Instead I am convinced that, as a nation and (for those of us who are) as believers in Christ, we need to get back to the basics of building an abiding relationship with the Creator and with our family, friends, and neighbors along the way.

The Ten Commandments have also been maligned even by the Church in some respects when we declare that they were Old Testament and not meant for New Testament churches or believers. Christ not only followed them, but He also interpreted them for us. Surely we are not bound by the legalistic constraints imposed by keepers of the law in ancient days, but we certainly must heed the words of Christ, "To hate your brother is to murder him . . . to lust after a woman is to commit adultery with her." (My paraphrase)

Today, following the Commandments is a matter, not of legalism, but of the heart. How is your heart today?

I'm a Chevrolet Corvette!

You're a classic - powerful, athletic, and competitive. You're all about winning the race and getting the job done. While you have a practical everyday side, you get wild when anyone pushes your pedal. You hate to lose, but you hardly ever do.

Take the Which Sports Car Are You? quiz.

Bitterness, gossip, strife, despair, death, destruction, boredom. The list could go on and on. These are the robbers of our joy. I would much rather look for the giver of joy—Jesus in life around me. When we look for Him and His work in the world we develop another list in our lives—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Today is another one of those days that we will always remember. Not because we want to, not because the day itself is of any significance over any other day the calendar brings, but because of the memory of the destruction of life as we know it.

I left our weekly men's prayer breakfast at First Baptist Church in Palestine, Texas, and gone to the post office. News was playing on my radio, and I had to listen closely to make sure that I understood what had just been reported.

As we remember today those who were ripped from their lives prematurely, those who are survivors to those who lost or gave their lives because of the tragedy of 9/11, and those of us who simply look for ways to continue living in the world beyond that date, let us live honorably as Americans and lovingly as believers in Jesus Christ. Today we will either remember the destruction of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center or we will be forced to do so by the media. I would like to encourage you, dear reader, to keep a prayer on your lips for the survivors and for the perpetrators of this historic event.

Indians closed the deal with white men by passing around a pipe of peace. By participating in the ceremony, you were affirming that you would abide by your part of any bargains struck over the fires of meeting. You were also pledging your alliance with the group present. To refuse to participate might bring a time bereft of peace upon you and your people.

Traditionally, in church history church members practiced “Passing Peace” to one another. The practice stems from the Jewish custom of greeting one another with the one-word salute “Shalom!” Literally, “Peace to you!” We carry on this tradition by including a time of greeting one another in the worship service. The practice is a good one, but I think that we ought to consider more what we are actually doing. Are we simply catching up on this week’s gossip? Or are we genuinely offering peace one to another? Let us practice passing the peace of Jesus Christ today, in our church, and in our community.

The Beatles bombarded us with “All You Need Is Love,” and then John Lenin wanted us to “Give Peace a Chance.” The difficulty with their desire was that they had a limited, if not totally incorrect view of both love and peace.

I recall always wanting a piece of pie (or cake) when I was growing up. I wanted to make sure that I was able to participate in the enjoyment of the dessert at hand. I usually thought that the piece that I was awarded was too small. It was the same with the thought that we should enjoy our dessert first while we are still hungry and not leave it until the last of the meal—like an add-on or a tag. But of course, the pie, the cookie, or the cake are just that—an add-on. They are not the main meal. And when our parents allowed us to have a piece of dessert, they portioned it correctly according to our size and how much appetite for sweets should be gratified. My mom’s response to my desire for more dessert was to remind me that I could have another helping of vegetables if I were still hungry.

So what I say is that first of all, we need to understand love—true love, not the fluffy feeling that makes us go weak in the knees, but the kind that helps us to decide to do for those we may not like because we love them—and peace—true peace, not the fleeting want for no more fighting, but the kind that fills us with serenity in times of joy and sorrow, calm and upheaval—in order to claim them. Peace and Love are the capstones that result from a relationship with Jesus Christ. We find them when we are them. To discover love, we must be love; to find peace, we must bring peace.

Sure, I want a piece of peace. But I want it to be more than I asked for.