Treasure In Clay Jars

Recently I wrote about the controversy spawned by airliner British Airways over its decision to force an employee to discontinue wearing a cross around her neck because they felt that it was offensive to others. The ridiculous decision created a firestorm of protests from all around the world, and in a predictably financially motivated reversal, British Airways has now relented on the policy, and “…have decided to allow some flexibility for individuals to wear a symbol of faith on a chain.” So states airline Chairman Willie Walsh. However listen to this additional statement on the part of the Chairman: "Our uniform is one of the most powerful symbols of our company and heritage. Our staff wear it with pride and our customers recognize and value it. "This modification will enable staff to wear symbols of faith openly without detracting from the uniform." So, it seems Mr. Walsh is making things perfectly clear where British Airways stands. In the pecking order of important...

Is it me or does the following recent news headline seem fairly predictable and very much “on message”: Clinton Hires Evangelical Consultant for Presidential Campaign An “evangelical consultant” has been hired by Hillary Clinton to help attract Christian conservatives in her likely 2008 presidential campaign. – Anne Thomas ChristianToday.com website . Just one question to you the reader: are you a true believer in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior over your life? If yes, do you feel the need to have your Christianity neatly packaged so others will truly believe that you believe ? Jesus could save Mrs. Clinton the extravagant cost of an "evangelical consultant" with His beautiful simplicity: “If you love me, obey my commandments… (John 14:15 NLT). But then again…this is America, where political marketing strategies work among Christians even as the actual behavior of the politicians are in direct contradiction to our own Bibles. God bless America indeed.

I know I may be beating a dead horse (unfortunate pun not intended), but as I read the following headline this morning, the incredible absurdity of a world in denial and ignorance was too powerful to gloss over. The headline read: "Blair Urges Vatican to Face Reality on Condoms" . This wonderful piece of “pragmatic” philosophy was spoken by British Prime Minister Tony Blair, regarding the discussion of “effective” ways at fighting the spread of AIDS. The headline’s article goes on to say incredulously: In a television interview on World AIDS Day Friday, Mr. Blair criticized the Vatican’s longstanding opposition to the use of condoms, as he argued that preaching abstinence was not enough… Speaking to MTV, Mr. Blair, Anglican, said: "The danger is if we have a sort of blanket ban from religious hierarchy saying it's wrong to do it (using condoms), then you discourage people from doing it in circumstances where they need to protect their lives." – Christian Today....

I did something today that I normally don’t do: I ventured into a place I consider hostile territory – I went to the movies. Those who know me well (admittedly a crowd of one – my wife) know that I abhor the environment of the modern movie theater. If it wasn’t for the movie that we were going to see, the $3.50 bottle of water would have surely tipped me into another soapbox on the absurdity of the modern theater environment. However, I was anticipating the pleasure of the movie “The Nativity Story”, so being a grump about having to endure the movie theater seemed at odds with the message of Jesus. After viewing “The Nativity Story”, I can clearly see why the City of Chicago was so quick to ban public excerpts of the film from being shown at a street festival in the city a few weeks ago. This movie is all about JESUS! We really can’t have that going on freely in the American public square now can we? This movie is a wonderful reminder of why Christians should love Christmas. This was n...

A few years ago in England there was an object lesson on the perversion with which some people have come to view Christianity and Christ in the enlightened world of the 21st Century. The case surrounded the issue of global airline British Airways (BA) who had recently suspended one of their check-in workers Nadia Eweida, from wearing her cross around her neck because it is too visible to the traveling public and is therefore offensive to others. All this while at the same time, British Airways as a matter of policy allows other “religious” adornment such as turbans and veils to be worn by employees because in doing so they demonstrate the “tolerance” that should be the hallmark of a sophisticated society. In the words of BA CEO Willie Walsh “…I am proud to lead an airline that has a track record on diversity and inclusion which is second to none.” There is that diversity word again. In the interest of diversity, various religious symbols and creeds ought to be encouraged in our multi-c...

"He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me, scatters. (Luke 11:23 NIV) With this very brief but eloquent statement, our Lord Jesus Christ plainly lays before all mankind the essence of every person’s destiny. According to Jesus, either you are with Him or you are against Him. No gray area. Your life demonstrates your choice. This does beg a question therefore: how do know if your life is with Christ or against him? If you give Jesus Christ any kind of credibility in your thought process, then it stands to reason that this question must be answered in your mind and heart. You can’t sit on the sidelines. Christ does not permit it. I love this simplistic black or white theology. You don’t need a Phd to figure it out. Every one with a functioning mind automatically participates. Few (if any) have an out! I can guarantee you that most who may happen to read this post feel in their heart that they are certainly “not against Christ”. Sure there are a few ...

There is this incredibly annoying commercial that appears frequently on TV advertising a reality show by illusionist Criss Angel. It shows this young man predictably dressed in gothic black performing all kind of "apparent miracles" while an incredulous public looks on in amazement and wonderment. One of the scenes shows the dark Mr. Angel (pun intended) walking on water. As I watched the commercial recently, the below passage of scripture came to my mind which I think fittingly captures the lure and presumed success of Mr. Angel's presentations: Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for (that day will not come) until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God; For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back wi...