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Published: 19 October 2019

Some of you will recognize the title today as a song from the 70’s by Kerry Livgren of Kansas.  The second verse reads, “Same old song, just a drop of water in an endless sea.  All we do, crumbles to the ground, though we refuse to see.  Dust in the wind.  All we are is dust in the wind.”  As a single, it sold over a million copies and, it has had over a million downloads.  Why?  It’s a rather hopeless song, but it does resonate with reality.  We’re searching, deep down, for something to bring meaning to our existence, our work, our pain and our relationships.  The great King Solomon recognized the same struggle when he wrote, “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.”  Does it matter?  What if we are dust in the wind?  Can you really live with that?  Maybe when life is fun and all is going your way, but what about when there is pain, loss and struggle?  There were some people in first century Corinth that were teaching there was no resurrection.  Paul referred to those people as ignorant.  It is not the wise who reject the reality of the resurrection, it is the foolish.  Those who know God, those who know His promises and believe them also find meaning in life.  To those who know they will live forever, the Spirit says, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”  NOT IN VAIN…NOT without meaning!  We are more than dust in the wind; we are eternal beings destined for a glorious or horrible future.  The choice is ours but it’s the resurrection of Jesus Christ that makes the difference.

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Published: 10 October 2019

According to my Internet research, the little adage about sticks and stones being more harmful than words first appeared in 1862.  As you know, it ends, “Words will never harm me…”  Not true.  I have crashed bikes, fallen from trees, had three surgeries, hit my finger with a hammer, been whipped with a stick and pelted by stones but the pains that still remain in my heart are from words.  I can still remember painful things that people said to me over 40 years ago.  I’m not remembering them with bitterness, but there are still scars; some things are hard to forget.  Words have power.  Words can cheer, encourage, inspire and bless.  Words can also depress, discourage, ruin and curse.  The apostle James wrote that our words can be like a match that starts a forest on fire.  We’ve all been involved, to one extent or another, in a forest fire of words, “set on fire by hell.”  We’ve probably also been encouraged, refreshed and blessed by someone’s kind and thoughtful response in our time of need.  Lord willing, this coming Sunday, we’ll learn about why Spirit-empowered word use is so important in private and in public.  “Desire earnestly to prophesy…”