Timothy's Thoughts

T he old hymn says, “You ask me how I know he lives? He lives within my heart.” Some conversations with atheists have caused me to think about that. It doesn’t matter what you say to some atheists, they’ll eventually get back to the claim that we’re just making stuff up because we want to feel good. It shouldn’t surprise us that they would believe that, but if we have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, shouldn’t the song we true? Shouldn’t we have inside knowledge that they don’t and can’t have without that same relationship? What does that look like and how can we know it isn’t just a feeling that we’ve made up? It is natural for people to argue that their beliefs are true. That is something we share with atheists. We look at the evidence and it looks like it points to the God of the Bible. An atheist looks at the same evidence and interprets it very differently. But in both cases, we keep pointing to the evidence as proof. It is also natural for people to support organization...

I magine this scene: You’re talking to someone who has moved into area. In the course of the conversation they say, “We’re looking for a good church. Do you know of any?” There it is! An opportunity dropped right in your lap. You say, “You should come to our church. Our pastor preaches great sermon. Our people are super friendly. We have programs for your kids. Let me give you a card. It lists our service times and our website, so you can check us out.” The other person accepts the card and says, “I’ll be sure to do that.” That’s the kind of conversation we would love to have. But maybe we shouldn’t be so excited. The problem with this conversation is that it involves matching up an ideal church with an ideal person. What if this person doesn’t have kids? What if the church doesn’t have programs for the kids? What if the pastor doesn’t preach very well? What if the church isn’t very friendly? What if the church doesn’t have a website? When I was a teenager, I was the music director at ...

F requently, I find myself having a discussion with someone and picking my words carefully. There are things that I don’t say directly, for fear that doing so would shut down the conversation or harm the friendship. Instead of telling them what I want them to do, I try to swing them around to my way of thinking and hope that they will take the action that I would like. They rarely do. I decided to list these actions that I feel strongly that people should take. The list turned out longer than I expected, but here they are in the order I thought of them: Accept Jesus Christ Of course, I tell people that they should accept Jesus, but there are people who claim to be Christians and yet I doubt their salvation. The fruit just isn’t there. Their lifestyle isn’t that of a Christian. They aren’t involved in church other than attending once a week or so. Attend Church Regularly With some people, it’s hard to know whether they’ll be at church or not. They often have a reason they don’t show up,...

M otivation is in short supply at this time of year. It’s really unfortunate, because this is also the time of year when people have made New Year’s resolutions and they’re trying to keep them. But cold weather and early evenings take their toll. I find it interesting how different my motivation this year is from last year. Last year, at this time, I had a goal. I had lost some weight, but between Thanksgiving and Christmas, my weight had remained constant. I counted that a success, but I was ready to see the scale start moving downward again. My daily calorie intake was so low that I was hungry much of the time. I would ride my bicycle in the evenings because I knew that would allow me to eat more. I had also committed to cycling through the winter and I was anxious so to see how well I could handle the cold. This year, I’m at my ideal weight. I’m not watching my calorie intake as closely, so I don’t associate riding my bicycle with allowing me to eat more. I’m also getting very tir...

I t’s that time of the year when people start making up resolutions for the new year. I don’t do resolutions, because I can never keep them. But I do have some goals for 2016. Goals are easier to keep because you can catch up after you get behind. Here are my goals (in no particular order): Write a Book It’s been a while since I’ve done any significant writing, but I intend to set aside more time for that in 2016. Just making it a goal while probably be enough to convince me to watch less Netflix and play fewer games, so that I can complete my task. Ride a Bicycle 4,000 Miles That’s nearly 500 miles more than I rode in 2015, but it’s doable, if I don’t injure myself again. Ride a Bicycle to Church at least 10 Times When you think about it, it is a little silly that I live less than 2 miles from church and I use my truck to cover that distance. I probably drain more energy from the battery starting the engine than is replaced in the length of time it takes me to get to church. I’m not r...

W e’re beginning to see a push for walkable cities. If you’re unfamiliar with the term, a walkable city is one in which an automobile is not a requirement. You can walk (or ride a bicycle) to the store. You can walk to work. You can walk wherever you want to go. It turns out that walkable cities are healthier cities, which is due to residents being more active and because of better air quality. Walkable cities are less stressful. Apparently, they are also cool. Walkable cities have more young people than other cities. The cool factor of walkable cities got me thinking. There are a number of churches that structure their worship services around being cool. The preacher is more likely to have a tattoo than to wear a suit. The music is new. Their praise team uses lighting that would make a rock band envious. They offer classes focused on things that interest young people. But for all that these churches are doing to look cool, I don’t recall seeing any that are trying to fit within the wa...

A lone. I spend most of my time alone. There are a number of people who assume that I prefer to be alone. I do not. I was at a wedding and an acquaintance asked me, “Do you wish it were you up there?” I responded in the negative, at which time he said, “I suppose you probably decided what you want out of life some time ago.” I didn’t correct him, but he didn’t get it. My answer had nothing to do with a lifelong decision. When he asked the question, my mind went to the woman who as getting married that day. She was the type of woman that I know I would butt heads with daily. If the guy she was marrying wanted to put up with her, I was happy for him, but I wanted nothing of it. I haven’t found many women I thought would be an acceptable match. Those that I thought might be didn’t agree. So, I am alone. There is more than one way to not be alone. When I go to church, I am not alone. When I visit someone, I am not alone. Sometimes, just getting out in my neighborhood, I encounter enough pe...