As I read 1 Cor. 8:1-13, I recognize that the word knowledge, or its root, is used ten times. There is a knowledge embraced by all those in the Corinthian church: that of food sacrificed to idols. Some folks could not eat this food due to its negative impact upon their seared conscience. Then there is a greater knowledge: knowing that there is really only one God, the Father, who is the One for whom all things were created and for whom they exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things were created and through whom we exist. This is a great knowledge that should relieve our conscience when eating foods that really have no ultimate impact upon our relationship with God. There is yet a greatest knowledge: for God to know us. In vv. 1-3 we read that 'knowledge puffs up, but love (agape love) builds up." We also read that anyone who loves God is known by him, and then in the rest of the chapter Paul goes on to challenge us not to take for granted the weakness of some of our brothers and sisters in faith. Even though we are free in Christ, to do some things might cause a weaker believer to stumble.
It is in the love of God and love of brother or sister in Christ, and the exercise thereof, that God gets to know us!
Matt. 7:21-23, "No everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. 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 deeds of power in your name?/ Then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers."
So here is the question for you and me: how well does God know us? Only as well as we are practicing unconditional love for Other/others. It is in this act of loving and giving ourselves away that God knows us. John 17:3 reads this way, "And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." Is our knowledge great, greater, or greatest? When it becomes greatest, we stop trying to be so smart and imagine that we really know anything. What matters is being known, known by God and Jesus Christ!
Dr. Fitz
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
HDTV & HDXTY (HD Christianity)
This past fall, my wife (Debbie) and I became empty nesters. We have three children, all of which are living outside of our home. Two are in college and one is recently graduated. Our children negotiated with Debbie (or Debbie negotiated with them), and the children ended up taking all of our television sets, living room and their bedroom furniture. Wow! What a setback to our pitiful home furnishings, but we love them to death and are helping them live independently.
We have put off buying a new television for years, surmising that there is not much worth watching on television anyway. However, in our newfound living conditions, we broke down and bought a new TV (plasma screen HD – high definition). The brilliant colors and the clarity of picture are amazing. It is incredible to watch a football game and see the blades of grass, the sweat on player’s faces, and actually be able to keep up with the ball during a televised tennis match. Just watching TV is amazing! Things that were previously not visible are now jumping off the screen at us.
It is time for churches to offer HD (high definition) faith in Christ. We need to give better clarification of the details of Jesus’ life and how that translates into Christlike living during this day and time. God gave us the highest HD vision we could get by taking flesh, becoming Emmanuel, God with us – clearly showing the Godlife available to all humanity. The writer of Hebrews puts it like this in 1:1-3a:
“Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, 2but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son,* whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds. 3He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains* all things by his powerful word…”
Many people today can only describe their faith by stating what they do not believe in, what they are against, and who the “bad” people are. It is time for us to grow up, to mature, and to literally grow into the full maturity of Christ. Paul puts it this way in Ephesians 4:13 when describing the desired outcome of using God’s spiritual gifts to us:
“until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.”
When we describe our faith clearly, being highly defined (HD), then others are quietly challenged to become more clearly defined in what they believe. This is a great method of nonmanipulative evangelism. Enabling and challenging other(s) to define themselves is inviting and makes space for them to define their faith and beliefs in their own terms (usually different than what we would have imagined). Only when we clearly define ourselves can we engage in constructive conversation without becoming defensive.
Is your faith HD? Try it out! Others may find your clarity something truly beautiful, something worth taking the time to admire, observe and thereby seek higher definition for themselves. Only Christ offers the Highest Definition available!
Merry Christmas,
Dr. Fitzgerald
We have put off buying a new television for years, surmising that there is not much worth watching on television anyway. However, in our newfound living conditions, we broke down and bought a new TV (plasma screen HD – high definition). The brilliant colors and the clarity of picture are amazing. It is incredible to watch a football game and see the blades of grass, the sweat on player’s faces, and actually be able to keep up with the ball during a televised tennis match. Just watching TV is amazing! Things that were previously not visible are now jumping off the screen at us.
It is time for churches to offer HD (high definition) faith in Christ. We need to give better clarification of the details of Jesus’ life and how that translates into Christlike living during this day and time. God gave us the highest HD vision we could get by taking flesh, becoming Emmanuel, God with us – clearly showing the Godlife available to all humanity. The writer of Hebrews puts it like this in 1:1-3a:
“Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, 2but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son,* whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds. 3He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains* all things by his powerful word…”
Many people today can only describe their faith by stating what they do not believe in, what they are against, and who the “bad” people are. It is time for us to grow up, to mature, and to literally grow into the full maturity of Christ. Paul puts it this way in Ephesians 4:13 when describing the desired outcome of using God’s spiritual gifts to us:
“until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.”
When we describe our faith clearly, being highly defined (HD), then others are quietly challenged to become more clearly defined in what they believe. This is a great method of nonmanipulative evangelism. Enabling and challenging other(s) to define themselves is inviting and makes space for them to define their faith and beliefs in their own terms (usually different than what we would have imagined). Only when we clearly define ourselves can we engage in constructive conversation without becoming defensive.
Is your faith HD? Try it out! Others may find your clarity something truly beautiful, something worth taking the time to admire, observe and thereby seek higher definition for themselves. Only Christ offers the Highest Definition available!
Merry Christmas,
Dr. Fitzgerald
Sunday, November 2, 2008
The Butterfly Effect
Here is a copy from our home page related to my sermon today, The Butterfly Effect. The essence of my sermon was that one small act of faith, one simple and simplistic movement in tandem with God's word and will has cosmic consequences. Here is a copy of the info from the FBC, New Bern home page:
Click here for link to better understanding of how matter works on the quantum level of electrons. Click here to view a demonstration of how prayer/focused concentration on a single drop of water can literally change the structure of that drop of water. Biblical connection? Click here to listen to a video describing Chaos Theory that illustrates the sensitivity and unpredictability of our weather systems, and how a simple small act, even by that of a butterfly flapping its wings, can have major consequences in another part of the world some time later. Click here for a great short demonstration of the inability of science to figure it all out.
Be honest, let me know what you think about all of this!
Click here for link to better understanding of how matter works on the quantum level of electrons. Click here to view a demonstration of how prayer/focused concentration on a single drop of water can literally change the structure of that drop of water. Biblical connection? Click here to listen to a video describing Chaos Theory that illustrates the sensitivity and unpredictability of our weather systems, and how a simple small act, even by that of a butterfly flapping its wings, can have major consequences in another part of the world some time later. Click here for a great short demonstration of the inability of science to figure it all out.
Be honest, let me know what you think about all of this!
Monday, October 20, 2008
Panic Attacks
It is amazing how many folks are having panic attacks these days. I never even knew what a panic attack was until the mid 1990’s when one of my family members experienced this. We rushed to the hospital sure that one was experiencing a heart attack. Heart was racing. Chest and arm was hurting. Mouth was dry and face taught! This sure looked like a possible heart attack to me and the one experiencing this. This was accompanied by nausea and an upset stomach. Simply put, this is a horrible experience, but one that has more and more people becoming familiar with in this day and time.
Why? I am not a medical doctor, so I will not attempt to explain why good people of post adolescent age are experiencing these attacks in ever increasing numbers. What I do know is that these experiences are debilitating. I even know of one person who had three of these in one day. I know that some people will not ride across bridges because they know they will have a panic attack, and some will not even go out to eat in a public restaurant because they may experience one. I do not want to confuse this with agoraphobia, which I also know someone who suffers from this (and she cannot drive outside a fifteen mile radius of her home).
God seeks to heal us through both faith and science. God uses medical doctors, medicine and technology, as well as faith and prayer to deliver us from the land of slavery, the house of bondage. The word, “panic,” as used in the Bible (NRSV), is only found in the Old Testament. The first context of panic describes God’s infliction of panic upon the Egyptian army as they pursue Moses and the Israelites who are leaving Egypt. In all of the Old Testament contexts panic is used as a tool of God against unbelievers, even against the Israelites themselves when they turned away from God to pursue worthless idols. Panic is not God’s intention for humanity. Peace is! But how attuned are we to God today? Do we spend as much time in relationship with God as we do the secular news and concerns?
Our country suffered a sort of panic attack on 9/11/01. Wall Street experienced many days of panic during October 2008. Review the downward panic drops of the Dow Jones Industrial Average during the month of October. Consider how the media reacted to the Senate’s rejection of the first bailout bill – panic from the newsroom into your living room!
November is a time for us to focus on Thanksgiving. Spend time daily giving thanks to God for all that God has done, and all that God has promised! As God’s children, let us not be like the unbelievers who panic based on who wins this election, or what happens to Wall Street, or the banking industry, or the price of gas. Let us be the children of God we are called to be and relax because we know who we are and whose we are and who is in control of our lives. God has covered our past, taken care of our future, and seeks to fill us with his Presence in the present. Stay focused on the Good News and let that dictate your peace, not the nightly news!
In Christ,
Dr. Fitzgerald
Why? I am not a medical doctor, so I will not attempt to explain why good people of post adolescent age are experiencing these attacks in ever increasing numbers. What I do know is that these experiences are debilitating. I even know of one person who had three of these in one day. I know that some people will not ride across bridges because they know they will have a panic attack, and some will not even go out to eat in a public restaurant because they may experience one. I do not want to confuse this with agoraphobia, which I also know someone who suffers from this (and she cannot drive outside a fifteen mile radius of her home).
God seeks to heal us through both faith and science. God uses medical doctors, medicine and technology, as well as faith and prayer to deliver us from the land of slavery, the house of bondage. The word, “panic,” as used in the Bible (NRSV), is only found in the Old Testament. The first context of panic describes God’s infliction of panic upon the Egyptian army as they pursue Moses and the Israelites who are leaving Egypt. In all of the Old Testament contexts panic is used as a tool of God against unbelievers, even against the Israelites themselves when they turned away from God to pursue worthless idols. Panic is not God’s intention for humanity. Peace is! But how attuned are we to God today? Do we spend as much time in relationship with God as we do the secular news and concerns?
Our country suffered a sort of panic attack on 9/11/01. Wall Street experienced many days of panic during October 2008. Review the downward panic drops of the Dow Jones Industrial Average during the month of October. Consider how the media reacted to the Senate’s rejection of the first bailout bill – panic from the newsroom into your living room!
November is a time for us to focus on Thanksgiving. Spend time daily giving thanks to God for all that God has done, and all that God has promised! As God’s children, let us not be like the unbelievers who panic based on who wins this election, or what happens to Wall Street, or the banking industry, or the price of gas. Let us be the children of God we are called to be and relax because we know who we are and whose we are and who is in control of our lives. God has covered our past, taken care of our future, and seeks to fill us with his Presence in the present. Stay focused on the Good News and let that dictate your peace, not the nightly news!
In Christ,
Dr. Fitzgerald
Thursday, October 9, 2008
At Home Anywhere
Matthew 8:24, "A wind storm (literally a great earthquake) arose on the sea, so great that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he [Jesus] was asleep."
The sea in the Bible was symbolic of chaos. So this story, which in some variation is also in Mark and Luke's gospels, indicates that waves of chaos were threatening the disciples. We can surely resonate with them today. Undoubtedly we feel as if our country, and the global economy, has experienced a great earthquake of seismic proportion. After shocks continue (waves continue to slap the sides of our boats/homes and destabilize our comfortable journey from one place to another).
Jesus, the Son of God who has no where to lay his head, is strangely able to sleep in the midst of certain terror and calamity. His actions relate to faith in all three gospel accounts of this story. Our God, Christ, is at home everywhere! He needs no earthly security to enable him to "feel" safe and "secure." We must cling to Him and to his faith during all times, but especially at a time like this. Some of our neighbors, friends and acquaintances are going to lose their "stuff." Stuff is not just the value of their savings and investments, but also their jobs and ability to feel productive and of value to others. We must recognize that Christ is in this boat with us! Christ enables us and challenges us to have great faith when great earthquakes hit us hard.
We will survive this. This can deepen our faith. We may need to wake up and realize that all of us have too much "stuff," and need to jettison some of it overboard as the sailors did in the story of Jonah when they were threatened by the storm at sea due to Jonah's disobedience. There is much corruption in corporate America, in government, and in humanity (you and me). We need to take responsibility for our part in this crisis and grow in faith and share the faith with those who will be, and are, looking for someone to awaken and save them. Christ is here! Christ is Savior! Call him! He'll be there for us in ways that will deepen our connection to God in ways that move us onto right paths, for his name sake.
Amen
The sea in the Bible was symbolic of chaos. So this story, which in some variation is also in Mark and Luke's gospels, indicates that waves of chaos were threatening the disciples. We can surely resonate with them today. Undoubtedly we feel as if our country, and the global economy, has experienced a great earthquake of seismic proportion. After shocks continue (waves continue to slap the sides of our boats/homes and destabilize our comfortable journey from one place to another).
Jesus, the Son of God who has no where to lay his head, is strangely able to sleep in the midst of certain terror and calamity. His actions relate to faith in all three gospel accounts of this story. Our God, Christ, is at home everywhere! He needs no earthly security to enable him to "feel" safe and "secure." We must cling to Him and to his faith during all times, but especially at a time like this. Some of our neighbors, friends and acquaintances are going to lose their "stuff." Stuff is not just the value of their savings and investments, but also their jobs and ability to feel productive and of value to others. We must recognize that Christ is in this boat with us! Christ enables us and challenges us to have great faith when great earthquakes hit us hard.
We will survive this. This can deepen our faith. We may need to wake up and realize that all of us have too much "stuff," and need to jettison some of it overboard as the sailors did in the story of Jonah when they were threatened by the storm at sea due to Jonah's disobedience. There is much corruption in corporate America, in government, and in humanity (you and me). We need to take responsibility for our part in this crisis and grow in faith and share the faith with those who will be, and are, looking for someone to awaken and save them. Christ is here! Christ is Savior! Call him! He'll be there for us in ways that will deepen our connection to God in ways that move us onto right paths, for his name sake.
Amen
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Somebody Cares!
I watched the lady leave the K-Mart parking lot with several hot meals in her front passenger seat. As I directed her around the corner and out of the parking lot, she threw her hands up in the air and emphatically proclaimed, "Somebody cares!!!"
I wondered what kind of frustrations she had already encountered in the immediate first 14 days since Hurricane Ike had ravaged her home and community. Who had she sought help from and found only frustration? Ours was only a meal. Our gift was only a warm offering to carry her through the immediate present to the next day. However, surviving one day because "someone cares" can be enough to get one past deep and destructive thoughts and behaviors when one thinks that "no one cares."
We care because God cares. What a great opportunity it was for our team to serve and average of 38,000 meals per day in Baytown, Texas. We did not ask people any questions about their morals, ethics, faith backgrounds or political beliefs. They were hungry, physically for sure; some mentally and spiritually. We offered to feed all three of these through our work with feeding teams, chaplains and Red Cross helpers, including mental health professionals.
It was great to see First Baptist Church, Baytown, Texas, Red Cross and NC Baptist Disaster Relief all work together so well! As the pastor of First Church, Baytown illustrated it on upcoming t-shirts, we are three cords of love and care woven together to help neighbor!
Three strands, God who is above and sees all, Son who is with us and comes to us as friend and Redeemer, and Holy Spirit who is inside us to guide us onto right paths for His name sake (paths of peace, hope, grace and mercy).
The lady got it right, "Someone cares!" God cares and we care as God's disciples!
I wondered what kind of frustrations she had already encountered in the immediate first 14 days since Hurricane Ike had ravaged her home and community. Who had she sought help from and found only frustration? Ours was only a meal. Our gift was only a warm offering to carry her through the immediate present to the next day. However, surviving one day because "someone cares" can be enough to get one past deep and destructive thoughts and behaviors when one thinks that "no one cares."
We care because God cares. What a great opportunity it was for our team to serve and average of 38,000 meals per day in Baytown, Texas. We did not ask people any questions about their morals, ethics, faith backgrounds or political beliefs. They were hungry, physically for sure; some mentally and spiritually. We offered to feed all three of these through our work with feeding teams, chaplains and Red Cross helpers, including mental health professionals.
It was great to see First Baptist Church, Baytown, Texas, Red Cross and NC Baptist Disaster Relief all work together so well! As the pastor of First Church, Baytown illustrated it on upcoming t-shirts, we are three cords of love and care woven together to help neighbor!
Three strands, God who is above and sees all, Son who is with us and comes to us as friend and Redeemer, and Holy Spirit who is inside us to guide us onto right paths for His name sake (paths of peace, hope, grace and mercy).
The lady got it right, "Someone cares!" God cares and we care as God's disciples!
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Nothing Lasts Forever?
Gen. 6:3; John 17:20-21
Lord, you have created this world according to seasons and cycles. Change is a part of that system of seasons and cycles. As the popular cliché goes, “Nothing lasts forever.” Is it good or bad that nothing lasts forever? Is it even true?
Surely there are many times in my life when I have been so graced by your presence and love that it has permeated all creation and relationships around me. I feel that even now as I sit on my deck having eaten a hearty breakfast followed by a great Quiet Time with you while my black lab, Mamie, sis at my feet. I encounter your presence and love through the sights and sounds of birds, dogs, trees creaking and leaves shuffling in the 65 degree morning breeze. Home builders work nearby in the neighborhood hammering and cutting as they repair and improve homes filled with life and imagination. Planes maneuver overhead as I breathe in your presence and love. I sip my Kona coffee flavored with Splenda and Caramel Vanilla creamer. The leaves dance and sway again with the passing of your Spirit, wind, breath. Surely I wish this feeling and this moment could last forever, but that would be narrow-minded and selfish!
I leave tomorrow for Baytown, Texas where I will serve in disaster relief helping prepare between 70,000 – 80,000 meals per day for folks who lost all material possessions in Hurricane Ike. I know of many others who live in acute or chronic pain and they pray for this time, moment, season or cycle of life to pass quickly! To freeze any moment of time would inevitably lock someone, somewhere in the world, in a circumstance and condition of permanent horror, pain and despair (especially some in developing nations)! I do not pray for time to stand still!
In Genesis 6:3 you clarified, after humanity sinned and became one with good and evil, that your Spirit would not dwell with humanity forever. We are sinful and broken. We suffer and cause suffering for creation, neighbor and self. In your divine mercy you set limits, seasons and cycles to govern life in time, space and matter on earth. Thank you, Lord, for you know what is right and best. I do not! We do not!
Jesus reveals your true and deepest desire for humanity in John 17:20-21 as he prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane for his apostles and those who would come to know him through their word,
“I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may know that your have sent me.”
Lord, your desire is for humanity to be one with you, as Christ is one with you; perfect communion between you and us in body, mind and spirit. This is why we cannot remain in broken flesh forever. Broken flesh must be put aside in order to put on immortality and become one with utter and complete holiness. Here we know in part, speak and preach in part, but when the complete comes the partial will come to an end (1 Cor. 13:9-10). Sin will be destroyed. Praise be to You, O Lord of love, grace and mercy. Jesus said,
“I will come again and take you to myself so that where I am, you may be also.” (John 14:3)
Lord, may your Word last forever. May your love in creation and the church last forever (1 Cor. 13:8a) through Christ,
Amen!
Lord, you have created this world according to seasons and cycles. Change is a part of that system of seasons and cycles. As the popular cliché goes, “Nothing lasts forever.” Is it good or bad that nothing lasts forever? Is it even true?
Surely there are many times in my life when I have been so graced by your presence and love that it has permeated all creation and relationships around me. I feel that even now as I sit on my deck having eaten a hearty breakfast followed by a great Quiet Time with you while my black lab, Mamie, sis at my feet. I encounter your presence and love through the sights and sounds of birds, dogs, trees creaking and leaves shuffling in the 65 degree morning breeze. Home builders work nearby in the neighborhood hammering and cutting as they repair and improve homes filled with life and imagination. Planes maneuver overhead as I breathe in your presence and love. I sip my Kona coffee flavored with Splenda and Caramel Vanilla creamer. The leaves dance and sway again with the passing of your Spirit, wind, breath. Surely I wish this feeling and this moment could last forever, but that would be narrow-minded and selfish!
I leave tomorrow for Baytown, Texas where I will serve in disaster relief helping prepare between 70,000 – 80,000 meals per day for folks who lost all material possessions in Hurricane Ike. I know of many others who live in acute or chronic pain and they pray for this time, moment, season or cycle of life to pass quickly! To freeze any moment of time would inevitably lock someone, somewhere in the world, in a circumstance and condition of permanent horror, pain and despair (especially some in developing nations)! I do not pray for time to stand still!
In Genesis 6:3 you clarified, after humanity sinned and became one with good and evil, that your Spirit would not dwell with humanity forever. We are sinful and broken. We suffer and cause suffering for creation, neighbor and self. In your divine mercy you set limits, seasons and cycles to govern life in time, space and matter on earth. Thank you, Lord, for you know what is right and best. I do not! We do not!
Jesus reveals your true and deepest desire for humanity in John 17:20-21 as he prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane for his apostles and those who would come to know him through their word,
“I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may know that your have sent me.”
Lord, your desire is for humanity to be one with you, as Christ is one with you; perfect communion between you and us in body, mind and spirit. This is why we cannot remain in broken flesh forever. Broken flesh must be put aside in order to put on immortality and become one with utter and complete holiness. Here we know in part, speak and preach in part, but when the complete comes the partial will come to an end (1 Cor. 13:9-10). Sin will be destroyed. Praise be to You, O Lord of love, grace and mercy. Jesus said,
“I will come again and take you to myself so that where I am, you may be also.” (John 14:3)
Lord, may your Word last forever. May your love in creation and the church last forever (1 Cor. 13:8a) through Christ,
Amen!
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