Timothy's Thoughts

Y ou don’t realize how much people learn from actions until you hear them talk about it. As Hindu friend of mine told me about something he had watched on television concerning Christmas. When he had watched it in the past, a man had held “the baby Jesus” in a basket and shown him to the people. This year, the man held the baby in his arms. My friend asked, “ why would he do that? He is a god, he shouldn’t be touched by humans.” Who would’ve thought that a basket would have such theological importance? But my friend is right. Jesus is God and from that standpoint, we humans shouldn’t touch him. That’s what amazed John when he wrote his epistle. God, the creator of the world, took on human flesh and dwelt among us. John had touched him, perhaps not fully understanding the significance of that when he did, but he touched him. The whole point of Jesus coming in human form was to restore fellowship between God and man. He took a form that made it possible for people to touch him. I don’t k...

P eople are frustrated about this Phil Robertson thing. You can hear it in post after post on the internet. The thing that is frustrating them isn't so much that A&E dismissed Phil. People are used to their favorite shows getting canceled. And it isn't because Cracker Barrel removed products with Phil's image on them. Most people weren't aware that they carried those products. No, the thing that is frustrating people is that these corporate executives don't seem to be listening. First. You've got Nancy Dubuc, who dismissed Phil for quoting what the Bible says about homosexuality. It wasn't that long ago when people rallied behind Chick-fil-a after the had someone make a similar statement. If Nancy Dubuc had listened, she would have realized that she was starting a fight. Then there is Cracker Barrel, who in the midst of most of their customers taking a stand for Phil Robertson, pulls his picture off their shelves. If they'd been listening, they would...

P redominantly, the posts I have seen are in support of Phil Robertson and free speech, but FoxNews included the following Tweet in an article they wrote on the subject: Thank god A&E did the right thing, what Phil did was not a issue of freedom of speech but an immoral act, its 2013, stop being ignorant. - @LucVsZhVO of Chicago This is the type of mentality we are dealing with when we deal with the world. To this person, an immoral act trumps freedom of speech, so it is seen as perfectly okay for A&E to silence Phil Robertson. The problem with this thinking is that what @LucVsZhVO defines as an immoral act and what Phil Robertson defines as an immoral act are two very different things. That is why freedom of speech is so important. Without it, those who have the most power will define what acceptable speech is and define everything else as immorality. True supporters of freedom of speech realize that freedom of speech means that other people have the right to say things they...

W hen we think about the holidays, we might think that Halloween is the most wicked of them all. It is a celebration of the dead and often involves people dressing up as ghosts and witches and any number of evil things. If that isn’t enough, children go from house to house begging for candy. Christmas, on the other hand, is viewed as the very best of the holidays. We sing songs of peace on earth and good will to men. We watch the kids in the Christmas pageant at church. We read the story of Jesus’ birth in the Bible. What could possibly be evil about Christmas? For one thing, Santa. The way many people view the jolly old elf is far more evil than what most people do for Halloween. Many people view Santa Claus as the god of snow. Take the song “Snow for Johny,” for example. One line says, “God, tell Saint Nicholas to send a little snow.” While the kid in the song is praying to God, it seems to be saying that the weather isn’t in the hands of God, but in the hands of Saint Nicholas. Whil...

A fter listing four expectations their church has of their members, Steve Stroope, the lead pastor at Lake Pointe Baptist Church in Rockwell, Texas, states, “Every church you would ever join expects these things of you. The difference is that they just won’t tell you. We let you know up front what is expected. The only difference is communication, not expectation.” As I think about it, before I was baptized, I stood before the small church I was joining and we read through the Church Covenant. I was eight years old at the time, just old enough to grasp most of the concepts. Before I was permitted to join the church, I was asked to agree to that covenant. The next church I joined didn’t have a copy of the Church Covenant hanging on the wall. Some of the church members had never seen it and it even surprised one of the men the church ordained as a deacon, shortly after I became a member. But whether a church has the Church Covenant on display or not, every church has expectations of thei...

I finally decided to give up on my old flip phone and move up to a smartphone because the Nokia Lumia 1020 has a camera on it that is actually worth having. With the camera grip attached, it even feels like a camera with a cell-phone attached rather than the other way around. With that in mind, I decided I wanted to keep the grip attached, rather than just attaching it when I thought I would be taking pictures. (How am I supposed to know when I'm going to want to take pictures.) The problem with that is that there isn't a cell-phone case out there that is big enough to hold it. Small camera cases are too small. Larger camera bags are too big. And it seems that other people are having the same problem finding a suitable case. So, I thought I would write a post to tell people what I am using. . I am using the Lowepro 5.0 Navi Case . It is a little snug top-to-bottom, but it provides enough room otherwise to store ear buds and the USB cable (without the wall plug). It has a scre...

A recent discussion caused me to think about the public school system and the role Christians have in it. In recent years, there have been several well-known Christian leaders who have suggested that Christians should pull their children out of public schools. Most recently, Albert Mohler and John Piper have been pushing this idea. The basic argument is that parents shouldn’t subject their children to the liberal agenda of the National Educator’s Association (NEA). The problem I see with Christian parents pulling their kids out of public school is that schools are like a pan of salt water. If you taste the water and it isn’t salty, you add salt. If you start taking the salt out and putting it back in the shaker, it becomes less salty. In Matthew 5:13-16 , Jesus called us the “salt of the earth” and “the light of the world.” Most of us will agree that public schools are lacking salt and light. And most of us will agree that the kids who are attending public schools have a great need fo...