Charlie's Journey's Journal

During a recent Communion Service Scripture reading I was struck by a portion of John 19.  I am sure that I have read it scores of times, but this time it really got me to thinking.  When John recorded the events surrounding Jesus’ crucifixion he wrote, “ And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe.” (John 19:35).   In the midst of making some incredible claims about the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus John pauses to say, “believe me”!   As I got to thinking about the importance of this statement it reminded me that we all have to be honest with the gospel – not just John (whose words would transcend time) – but every one of us.   Even though we have the written Word available to us today, we must treat it with honesty and we must be transparently truthful when discussing it.   So, how do we make this happen? 1.   We must know what the Bible say...

When Paul wrote to encourage his protégé, Timothy, he reminded him, “ For I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother  Lois  and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that  it is  in you as well.” (II Timothy 1:5) .   I don’t find it odd that these two women influenced Timothy’s ministry because I have experienced it as well.    I have been surrounded by women who have shaped my perspective on life.   As we honor Mother’s Day I would like to thank a few “Moms” who have influenced me.   Elaine Wharton – The thing I appreciate most about my mother is the spirituality that she and my father infused into our family, but there is something else that stands out.   My mom taught me that I am a valuable person.   We all have critics trying to shape our lives – sometimes what we need is a biased cheerleader.   As a child and as an adult she was my cheerleader. Grace Perryman – My mother-in-law...

How important are issues in the church?  Throughout our religious history certain teachings have tended to define and have developed into central themes of our faith.  So, here is the question for the day:  “How important are the issues that seem to be important to us?”.  Before we go any further, I would like to offer the following disclaimer – I do not have an agenda, nor am I on a mission to joust at any windmill.  I present this discussion to help us focus on what we have allowed to define us.  I am comfortable with our fellowship, but that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t step back and take a look at what we believe and why we believe it.  As I thought about our beliefs I got to wondering how we got to where we are and if all points are equal – not to us, but to God.   We have developed a comfortable formula for determining our worship and defining spirituality, but is He as comfortable with it as are we?   When we assess what we do, h...