Author: Les Shultz

The Christian’s Immune System
“If there is no immune system to resist heresy, there will soon be nothing but the teeming infestation of heresy.” —Thomas C. Oden
Your immune system is a complex defense system for suppressing and eliminating infections. Agents that can invade your body live everywhere—in the air; on dust particles, food and plants; on and in animals and humans; in soil and water; and on virtually every other surface. They range from microscopic organisms to lager parasites.
The vast majority of these organisms do not produce disease, but some do. This majority is usually kept under control by your immune system but, if that system becomes weakened or you encounter an organism to which you have not built up a resistance, illness results.
We live with the constant battle that is going on between the body and infection—a battle your body usually wins, but not always. We don’t have to be told how important our immune system is for our good health. A strong and healthy immune system protects us from disease.
We know how important it is that we pump–up the immune system with vaccinations, injections or oral immunization agents. We can be immunized for the flue, measles, chickenpox, diphtheria, mumps, smallpox, and many, many more threats to health and life.
It might be well to think of the Christian religion as an immune system that protects us from dissolution and death. But the benefits that Jesus Christ offers us include much, much more than immortality.
The great plague that, more than anything else, infects us and inhibits us is selfishness. The selfish need an immunization of love. Harry Emerson Fosdick in “Riverside Sermons,” wrote: “Bitterness imprisons life; love releases it. Bitterness paralyzes life; love empowers it. Bitterness sickens life; love heals it. Bitterness blinds life; love anoints its eyes.”
Bitterness is the end result of selfishness. It is a deep feeling of anguish created by anger, resentment or animosity to people or life. Life owes us and it has not paid off. Only the application of the therapy of love can gradually wash away the fruits of bitterness.
Thomas C. Oden speaks of an immune system for heresy. Heresy is like an infection. Heresy can be understood as an opinion or doctrine that is not in line with the accepted teachings of Jesus Christ. It is more than false teachings; it also has to do with improper attitudes.
The siren call of the heretic enters smoothly into the ear and mind. The message is one that supports our own personal gods, whatever they may be. The message infects our morals, our ethics, our values, our attitudes, and our relationships. We are victims. We are bound by unnecessary restrictions. We do not allow ourselves to experience the pleasures of life. It is an old song which reverberates from Eden to the present day.
There is a vaccine which we can take that helps the immune system resist heresy. It is the good news taught by Jesus Christ. There is a clinic which dispenses the vaccine, it is called the church. The clinic is open seven days a week to provide the information and use of the antitoxin that saves us not only from the heretics but also from ourselves. The invitation is open. It’s up to you.
It was a very wise pastor who observed, “The most extraordinary thing about the oyster is this: irritations get into his shell. He does not like them. But when he cannot get rid of them, he uses the irritation to do the loveliest thing an oyster ever has a chance to do. If there are irritations in our lives today, there is only one prescription: make a pearl.” Harry Emerson Fosdick

The following story that is a prime example of the love of friends. Its application moves on to love for our families and our love for God.
A story is told of two friends who were walking through the desert. During some point of the journey, they had an argument, and one friend slapped the other one in the face.
The one who got slapped was hurt, but without saying anything, he wrote in the sand: “Today my best friend slapped me in the face.”
They kept on walking, until they found an oasis, where they decided to take a bath. The one who had been slapped got stuck in the mire and started drowning, but his friend saved him.
After he recovered from the near drowning, he carved on a stone: “Today my best friend saved my life.”
The friend, who had slapped and saved his best friend, asked him, “After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand, and now, you carve on a stone, why?”
The other friend replied: “When someone hurts us, we should write it down in sand, where the winds of forgiveness can erase it away, but when someone does something good for us, we must engrave it in stone, where no wind can ever erase it.”
You may not be able to carve something good that is done for you in stone, but you can write it on the mind and heart and remember it from time to time as an aid to expressing love for someone for whom you care for.
Pastor Kevin Martineau quoted in Pastor Tim [mailto:posts@cybersaltlists.org] Cybersalt News, Today’s Illustration

Thoughts from here and there…
“How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.”
Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Sonnets from the Portugese, no. 43.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:43-45a NRSV).

He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets,” (Matthew 22:37-40 NRSV).

“Do to others as you would have them do to you. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? (Luke 6:31-33a NRSV).

“But strive for the greater gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way. If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.” (1 Corinthians 3.4-8a, NRSV).

Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law, Romans 13.8-10, English Standard Version)

Love is acting rather than reacting.

“Love is the willingness to extend one’s self for the nurture of one’s own or another’s spiritual growth.”

Valentine’s Day

I found this bit of information about Valentine’s Day on the internet on the home page of The Backman Elementary School, Salt Lake City, UT.

“The holiday of Valentine’s Day probably derives its origins from the ancient Roman feast of Lupercalia. In the early days of Rome, fierce wolves roamed the woods nearby. The Romans called upon one of their gods, Lupercus, to keep the wolves away. A festival held in honor of Lupercus was celebrated February 15th. The festival was celebrated as a spring festival. Their calender was different at that time, with February falling in early springtime.

“One of the customs of the young people was name-drawing. On the eve of the festival of Lupercalia the names of Roman girls were written on slips of paper and placed into jars. Each young man drew a slip. The girl whose name was chosen was to be his sweetheart for the year.

“Legend has it that the holiday became Valentine’s Day after a priest named Valentine. Valentine was a priest in Rome at the time Christianity was a new religion. The Emperor at that time, Claudius II, ordered the Roman soldiers not to marry or become engaged. Claudius believed that as married men, his soldiers would want to stay home with their families rather than fight his wars. Valentine defied the Emperor’s decree and secretly married the young couples. He was eventually arrested, imprisoned, and put to death.

“Valentine was beheaded on February 14th, the eve of the Roman holiday Lupercalia. After his death, Valentine was named a saint. As Rome became more Christian, the priests moved the spring holiday from the 15th of February to the 14th—Valentine’s Day. Now the holiday honored Saint Valentine instead of Lupercus.

This is one of many stories of the origins of Valentine’s Day. We enjoy giving and receiving valentines. I rejoice is the daily valentines which God sends me. I can see them in the love and the gifts that are shared with me. Enjoy the day and thank God for divine valentines.

One of my favorite songs is An Illusive Dream, with Words and Music by Jimmy Owens (©Copyright 1968 by Lexicon Music, Inc. International Copyright Secured. Made in USA. All Rights Reserved.)

The lyrics of the song challenge us with a question.

Where might you be going this fine day my friend?
Off along an aimless road that soon must end,
Chasing an illusive dream that shines so fair
But when found isn’t there.

I can understand your weary sigh, my friend.
There but for the grace of God go I, my friend.
Come and let him lead you to your journey’s end,
Oh come along and walk with him.

If without the grace of God your life should end,
And before the face of God you;’d stand, my friend.
What would your illusive dream avail you then?
So come along and walk with him.

Another author Jan Salisbury, psychotherapist and organizational consultant, in a presentation to the Washington State Attorney General’s State Conference, September 1986 closed her presentation with a poem, by Natasha Josefowitz, called:
“I Have Arrived.”
“I have not seen the plays in town
only the computer printouts
I have not read the latest books
only The Wall Street Journal
I have not heard birds sing this year
only the ringing of phones
I have not taken a walk anywhere
but from the parking lot to my office
I have not shared a feeling in years
but my thoughts are known to all
I have not listened to my own needs
but what I want I get
I have not shed a tear in ages
I have arrived.

Is this where I was going?”

It may not have been where she was going, but it is where she arrived. t does not appear to be too appetizing.

The challenge is to answer the questions. Where are you going? It depends? What is your ambition? What is your goal? What is the vision that provides you with both of the above.

Moving to Janesville Wisconsin I discovered a group called “Apathy Anonymous.” There was no membership list, no dues, no meetings. It was the creation of the President of Norwood Mills. One of the items that he offered was the following paper that I found extremely important. That is the reason that I share it with all who might take the time to read the suggestions that Thomas Nilser produced.

24 WAYS TO BETTER COMMUNICATION

BY DR. THOMAS R. NILSER DEPARTMENT OF SPEECH UNIVERSITY OF  WASHINGTON SEATTLE, WASHINGTON

From time to time it is well to review some of the principles of good communication. The following statements summarize suggestions that have appeared in various journals and books. The list will remind busy people of communication principles that sometimes get submerged in the day-to-day routine.
1. If there is one thing more important than any other to good communication, it is self-knowledge. To get better acquainted with your self take fifteen to twenty minutes in quiet each day to reflect on yourself, your purpose, your relationship with your fellow human beings and the organization for which you work.
2. What is said and done, day–to–day on the job, is the most important part of communication in business and industry. Intellectual honesty, living what is said, acting cooperation as well as talking about it, is essential to developing good communication within an organization.
3. No matter what we say or how we say it, no one else gets quite the meaning we intend from the words we use. By the same token, we never get quite the meaning anyone else intends.
4. One of the biggest obstacles to communication is our tendency to evaluate, to pass judgement on, to agree or disagree with statements before we find out what is meant.
5. Another important obstacle is our feeling that we have to defend ourselves by defending what we have said.
6. When listening, look for what the speaker intends, not just what is said.
7. When talking, think in terms of the total impression you create, not just the words that are used.
8. When talking, consider every indication of the listener’s response, not just whether the instruction or directions are understood.
9. Ask more questions, to see whether your listeners have understood what is intended. Have your instructions repeated, “to see if I’ve said what I mean.” check for understanding at the time of talking.
10. Misunderstandings are inevitable, and therefore the kind of atmosphere needs to be created that will encourage people to ask questions when they don’t fully understand.
11. Where difficulties arise, try to keep the talking centered on the problem rather than on personalities.
12. Remember, as the other person sees the situation, he/she is right.
13. When individuals disagree, try to get each to state the other’s position, each to the satisfaction of the other. We can try this too.
14. Recognize that in discussion disagreement is normal and inevitable. Expect it, prepare for it, use it to obtain greater awareness of the various aspects of the problem at hand.
15. Don’t abruptly disprove someone’s statement, and don’t directly contradict. Disprove indirectly, preserving the other person’s ego in the process.
16. Control your own natural ego-building desire to get the upper hand, to show up weaknesses in the other person’ point of view. Do reveal weaknesses when they are important but do it in a way that leaves the other person’s ego intact.
17. Take every honest opportunity to make the other person feel better or more important.
18. An important function of communication within an organization is to make known or bring to light misunderstandings and misapprehensions before they develop into serious problems.
19. It is usually a good idea, after a person has poured out a gripe, to ask the person to describe the situation again, “to make sure that you get it straight,” Telling a gripe the second time often makes it seem less important.
20. Vary rarely will anyone change his/her mind by being asked to, told to, or argued with. He/She must come to see the situation differently, and this is not likely to happen as long as a personal threat is seen in the situation or there is a need to defend one’s self.
21. When talking, pause more often to think through what you are about to say. We create strong impressions by the way we phrase ideas and whether we make rambling or concise statements.
22. Tone of voice is more important than we think. Consider the impressions that are being created with your tone of voice.
23. Body movements offer clues to feelings, meanings, and attitudes. Random, involuntary movements often suggest that the speaker is ill at ease or impatient. Consider what is being communicated by your body movements.
24. Be as direct and as candid as is possible under the circumstances. Your listener is very important.

Communication is vital to our acquiring information as well as sharing information. Hope that these suggestions are helpful for your developing communication skills.

Thoughts from here and there…
Father Tom Walsh in Laughing Matters, tells a wonderful story that may find its practical application in our own lives
One day, as I was taking my walk through the aisles of cars, a woman stopped me and said, “Hey, fellow, are you having trouble finding your car?”
Not willing to admit to my foible, I countered with, “No, ma’am, I always walk up and down these aisles. Love that carbon monoxide!” Then, feeling some guilt about lying to a caring person, I leaned against a car in the lot and said, “Frankly, lady, I don’t know where the heck it is parked.”
She responded, “Here, I’ll help you. What kind of a car is it?” I told her that it was a red Camero.
She then said, “Would that be it, the one you are leaning on?”
I looked around and yep, there it was.
Then she said, “Will you help me find mine?”
Astonished, I asked, “You mean you have the same trouble as I?….Then I’m not the only one!”
Together we found her car and then I came back…and couldn’t find mine again.
But it was a glorious day for me to find out that I was not the only one. I felt better. I now revel in the knowledge that I am just one member of a great secret society of good people, nice people, like me, who are sometimes a bit lost.
Does this apply to us, members of a congregation who sometimes feel a little lost when we are only one member in a great society of caring, searching, people of God?

Thoughts from here and there…
Father Tom Walsh in Laughing Matters, tells a wonderful story that may find its practical application in our own lives
One day, as I was taking my walk through the aisles of cars, a woman stopped me and said, “Hey, fellow, are you having trouble finding your car?”
Not willing to admit to my foible, I countered with, “No, ma’am, I always walk up and down these aisles. Love that carbon monoxide!” Then, feeling some guilt about lying to a caring person, I leaned against a car in the lot and said, “Frankly, lady, I don’t know where the heck it is parked.”
She responded, “Here, I’ll help you. What kind of a car is it?” I told her that it was a red Camero.
She then said, “Would that be it, the one you are leaning on?”
I looked around and yep, there it was.
Then she said, “Will you help me find mine?”
Astonished, I asked, “You mean you have the same trouble as I?….Then I’m not the only one!”
Together we found her car and then I came back…and couldn’t find mine again.
But it was a glorious day for me to find out that I was not the only one. I felt better. I now revel in the knowledge that I am just one member of a great secret society of good people, nice people, like me, who are sometimes a bit lost.
Does this apply to us, members of a congregation who sometimes feel a little lost when we are only one member in a great society of caring, searching, people of God?

Father Tom Walsh in Laughing Matters, pp. 98-99

Thoughts from here and there…

Why should I worship?

A little girl came to her mother with the age-old question, “Mother, what is God like?”

Her mother hesitated. “Ask your father.” Her father also hesitated.

Later among her childish possessions, her mother found this scrap of paper on which were written these words in free verse:

“I asked my mother what God was like.

She did not know.

Then I asked my father, who knows more than anyone else in all the world what God was like.

He did not know.

I think if I had lived as long as my mother and father,
I would know something about God.”

~Source unknown.

If someone were to ask you what God was like, how would you answer? Would you hesitate? If you attempt to answer the question, how would you know that your information was accurate?

Worship is a time not only to praise God for God’s blessings, it is a time to learn about God, and life, and yourself. If you spend time in worship do you believe that you might be better able to answer the questions that come not only about what God is like, but also those troubling questions that come to us. It’s possible.

The Apostle Paul writing in Ephesians 1:17-19, wrote “I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power.”

God wants to get to know you better. There is nothing better than knowing God.