Clare De Graaf's Blog, page 2

Intentional Grandparenting

A few weeks ago, my wife Susan and I listened to a radio interview of Larry Fowler, who runs The Legacy Coalition. (https://legacycoalition.com/) TLC has as it’s mission, to encourage grandparents to be more intentional about their spiritual legacy. What follows are Larry’s answers to Dr. James Dobson’s Questions.

Online “Worship” During Covid

When our church shot down in-person worship services and went online, I really didn’t mind. No getting dressed up and driving to church. Susan and I could have plenty of hot coffee and watch on Apple TV. What’s not to like about that?

Well, aside from the lack of fellowship, we missed both the majesty and intimacy of live worship and singing. Morning after morning, we just watched the worship team “lead us in worship.” It felt odd. While many churches were beginning to open up, most have limited seating, so the majority of people will continue to worship at home. Or will they?

What’s On Your Bucket List?

A dozen years ago the movie, “The Bucket List” was popular. Jack Nicholson, a white billionaire, and Morgan Freeman, a black auto mechanic meet in the hospital and find they have only one thing in common- they both have a terminal illness. So they make a “bucket list” of the things they what to experience before they die. They check themselves out of the hospital and the adventure begins.

The next year I was asked to preach at a large church out of state. The pastor was going on vacation and invited several guest teachers to each talk on the topic, “My Bucket List- If I Only Had A Year To Live.” The pastor who invited us, set the pattern he hoped we would follow, by preaching the first of the series. He had a list of ten fun, or meaningful things he wanted to do, mostly with his family.

Frankly, I was appalled.

The Danger of Too Much Group Bible Study

You probably think I chose the title of this blog to jar you into reading it. That’s true. I did. But I do think there is a danger of too much Bible study.

Not too long ago, I met with a wonderful Christian couple. They attended a Bible study at their church on Sunday morning. In addition, they both attended Bible Study Fellowship, a wonderful ministry that scores of Christians I admire have attended. The woman also attended a Tuesday morning women’s study at their church.

Here’s what alarmed me. When I asked them what their ministry was – how they were serving the kingdom, aside from the man ushering at his church and his wife serving a local pro-life ministry a few hours a month, that was it. They were spending far more time studying the Bible than actually living it out in service.

Have You Sued For Peace?

My last two blogs have been about Satan and how he tempts us to disobey God.  And when we think of disobedience it is generally around the area of sin.  We are tempted to do something wrong and we have a choice to do it or not do it.

However, there is another arena of sin we don’t often consider.  The cost of truly following Jesus.  In this passage of Scripture, Jesus instructs us to consider carefully the cost of following him.

The Devil Made Me Do It!

In the seventies, Flip Wilson, a well-known comedian, had a popular weekly TV show. One regular feature was a skit in which Flip was the fiery preacher Reverend LeRoy, constantly warning his congregation about the devil’s plans to lead ‘em all straight to hell. Just when he had worked himself up to his self-righteous best, he would let it slip that he himself had committed the very sin he had been warning them about. Caught in his own hypocrisy, he always offered only one excuse, the one the TV audience just knew was coming: “The devil made me do it!”

We all laughed, of course, because each of us saw ourselves in his silly skits. We’re all looking for a devil to blame.

Is There Really a “Deep State?”

There’s been a lot of talk lately by the President and some Republicans about dangers posed by the “Deep State.” The Deep State supposedly is a semisecret, powerful group within the government, determined to undermine the Republican agenda. No one knows exactly who these people are because, of course, they are so deeply embedded into our government. In any case, these “enemies” are either really good at keeping secrets or they are the boogie man. I’ll leave that up to you. Nevertheless, all Christians ought to believe in a deep state.

Confirmation Bias on Steroids!

I can’t tell you how many videos or articles from Christians I otherwise respect are being sent to me weekly to prove their particular viewpoint. Face masks, hydroxychloroquine, the Deep State, protestors in Oregon, Covid misinformation, stay-at-home orders. It’s countless.

I’ve done the same.

And because I’m a Christian and have voted Republican, 98% of these videos and articles are sent from “like-minded” friends. I don’t use the term “like-minded” because I always agree with them, but apparently they believe I do, or should.

Some Surprising Truths About Teaching

Every Christian has his/her favorite teacher; Tim Keller, the late Ravi Zacharias, Chip Ingram or perhaps your own pastor or BSF teach leader.  While I’m grateful for these amazing teachers, that’s just the problem.  They set the mental bar for teaching and without any intent of doing so, the rest of us feel inadequate to teach.

Titus 2 is primarily about teaching for the “average” Christian.  Please take the time to read this chapter now, or when you’ve finished this blog.  The following are some observations my pastor, Jim Samra made on teaching.

A Permanent Enemy

This is a guest blog by Fred Smith. Fred is a trusted friend who runs a wonderful ministry that encourages generosity. His blog calls us to be "generous in spirit," and the cost if we are not.

In his documentary film, “Korengal,“ author and director Sebastian Junger recounts the stories of a platoon of American soldiers deployed to a tiny and dangerous outpost in Afghanistan’s Korengal Valley. The “grinding boredom gives way to bowel-emptying fear, followed sometimes by episodes of nearly psychedelic blood lust and the frankly sexual pleasure of unleashing a .50-caliber machine gun on enemies who are doing the same to you.”

While the film is horrifying to watch, Junger’s book, ”The Tribe” makes the case that coming home from war is often harder than risking your life: “There is something to be said for using risk to forge social bonds…Having something to fight for, and fight through, is a good and important thing.” It is re-entry into a divisive country that proves more difficult.

Coming home from such a “band of brothers” experience to enter what Junger describes as “the conflict of a society at war with itself” is painful and confusing: “People speak with incredible contempt about, depending on their views: the rich, the poor, the educated, the foreign born, the President, or the entire US government. It is a level of contempt that is usually reserved for enemies in wartime except that it is now applied to our fellow citizens. Unlike criticism, contempt is particularly toxic because it assumes a moral superiority in the speaker…You don’t speak with contempt about someone who may be saving your life tomorrow or who you may need to risk your life for tomorrow. One of the amazing things about the current political season is to watch very powerful people in politics and in the media speak with contempt about their fellow citizens. Contempt is poison to democracy…People who speak with contempt for one another will probably not remain united for long.”