Hello is Healthier

 

“A smile is the universal welcome.”  Max Eastman

 
Okay, think about it. Where’s a place that you find that you’re consistently warmly welcomed? And not just a, “I’m doing my job welcome.” About the only business where I find that I am warmly welcomed is at a car dealership. I’m rarely there more than a minute before someone is asking, “Sir, have you been helped?” Of course, a car buyer/customer is potentially worth thousands of dollars in commission, so there are other motivations which is why we have a high index of suspicion at a car dealership.
  Did you know that habitually saying “Hello” to others can make you healthier? It also opens doors for friendships. I know that it did for us.
  Some of our lifelong friends in Burlington are Tim and Rozanne Bird. We’d moved in for just a few days and the only people that we knew in Burlington were those from our church. Shortly after we moved in while I was away at work, Tim came over with a fresh loaf of zucchini bread for our family that Rozanne had made…and we’ve been friends ever since. Their children played and grew up with our children. We’d spend the holidays together. We were there for each other if there was a need or an emergency. There was hardly anything more enjoyable for us than to stop and talk to Tim and Rozanne. And though we moved from that neighborhood years ago, we’re still friends and periodically get together (though not as often as either of us would like).
  Being friendly can help you live longer. Gallup just released a poll that learned that adults in the U.S. who regularly say hello to multiple people in their neighborhood have higher wellbeing than those who greet fewer or no neighbors. Your wellbeing score increases steadily by the number of neighbors greeted, from 51.5 among those saying hello to zero neighbors to 64.1 for those greeting six neighbors.
  Americans report saying hello on a regular basis to five neighbors, on average, with 27% reporting greeting six or more. This varies substantially by age, however. Young adults (those under 30) say hello to an average of 2.9 neighbors, compared with 6.5 among those aged 65 or older. About one in seven among those under 30 (14%) greet six or more neighbors, compared with 41% of those aged 65 and older. Having children under 18 in the household marginally improves the chances of greeting neighbors.
  We are suffering from an epidemic of loneliness in the United States and Western civilization. Lacking connection can increase the risk for premature death to levels comparable to smoking 15 cigarettes a day, according to an advisory from the U.S. Surgeon General released earlier this year. The physical consequences of poor connection can be devastating, including a 29% increased risk of heart disease; a 32% increased risk of stroke; and a 50% increased risk of developing dementia for older adults. The continued rise in suicide rates is connected to this crisis that as a culture we are so disconnected.
  What we so cherish, our radical individualism, is at the same time destroying us. Individualism has engendered unprecedented social isolation and yielded a depth of loneliness unique to 21^st-century American culture.
  God designed us as relational beings. It’s a reality long affirmed by the Bible but now also supported by neuroscience. We must understand that we are social beings before we can regain social connectedness, friendship, and community in our church and in the world. While we can’t change the world, we can make a difference in our world. What can we do?
  Limit your smart phone use. Personal, local conversations have been replaced by furious tapping on glowing screens separated by hundreds of miles. A smart phone is nearly always within reach. It’s there to wake us up in the morning, play our favorite music, capture our lives in pics and video, an ever-present portal to Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, but it carries a price. Our digital interactions with one another, which are often necessarily brief and superficial, begin to pattern all our relationships. As we become shallow in our interactions with people, it becomes our habit.
  The barista at the coffee counter gets a DM-like response. When we hang out with friends, we offer a series of Tweet-like responses in a superficial conversation with little spiritual meaning. The way we interact online becomes the norm for how we interact offline and it’s not the way to have a good conversation with someone. A good conversation involves listening and timing. That’s lost with Internet communications because you’re not there with that person. We must not treat another person the way we would if we interact with social media, but we will if we’re not careful.
  The Lord Jesus models perfect being-in-relationship for us. Jesus was never not in relationship. He didn’t enter this world by splitting the heavens but by gently growing in his mother’s womb. He entered a normal family, spent His childhood and early adulthood in obscurity, and then launched His ministry by inviting others to follow Him. Even on the night of his crucifixion, Jesus gathered for a meal with His disciples, then He led them to pray with Him at Gethsemane. With His final breaths, Jesus instructed his disciples to care for his mother. If relationships were essential to Jesus, shouldn’t they be essential for us, too?
  Like Jesus, we exist for relationships. If Jesus was history’s most “fully alive” human, it shouldn’t surprise us that a person can’t become fully human without a community. Simply put, we were created for community.
  Ours is a social gospel. American Christians tend to read Scripture from an exclusively individualistic framework. We’re surprised to find that the Lord’s Prayer contains only plural pronouns (“Our Father…Give us… Forgive us”) and that the Apostle Paul writes “our Lord” 53 times but “my Lord” just once. So, our salvation isn’t less than personal; it’s more than personal. Responding to the loneliness epidemic creates an ideal opportunity for churches to prioritize fostering authentic community.
  Western individualism has sparked unprecedented social isolation. We must work to recover the biblical need of community. It can begin next door by simply saying “hello” to a neighbor. It starts at work as you take time to interact with co-workers. It’s cultivated at church, as we share and care with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Can we help you spiritually? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address. 

Why trust when you can worry!?!

“God has great things in store for His people; they ought to have large expectations.”   Charles Spurgeon

  If you’re like most people, you probably worry about your weight.  That might not be at the top of your list, but according to a recent survey, that’s the #1 concern for most people. Here are the Top Ten Worries (counting down from #10 to #1) according to this survey: #10 Diet. #9 Job security. #8 Rent/mortgage payment. #7 Credit card debt. #6 Low energy level. #5 Overdrafts and loans. #4 Overall fitness. #3 Lack of savings/financial future. #2 Growing old. #1 Being overweight.

  Yet, notice something about this list. First, these concerns primarily fall into two categories – health and finances. Second, these are universal human concerns. Finally, these are issues which will be with us as long as we live. You’re going to have to die in order to stop being concerned about your money and your health.

  Have you ever wondered how much time you spend worrying? It’s probably more than you think. That same survey asked people how much time they spend worrying and here’s what they discovered. Each week, we spend 14.31 hours worrying. That equals 744 hours of worry each year, which turns into 45,243 hours of worry over a lifetime, which equals 1885 days in a lifetime spent doing nothing but worrying. Ultimately, we spend 5.2 years of life enslaved by worry. Is it any wonder that we have trouble sleeping? Or, that we feel under so much pressure and often find it so hard to concentrate? For most of us, it’s not just one thing, it’s multiple concerns all wrapped up together. It’s our job, school, money, work, health, bills to pay, your husband, your wife, your ex, the in-laws, the kids…on and on it goes. Any one issue we could handle or even two, but when you get three or four together, your knees start to buckle.

  To worry is to “give way to anxiety or unease; allow one’s mind to dwell on difficulty or troubles.” The word comes from the Old English wyrgan, which means “to strangle or to seize by the throat.” That’s a helpful image, because we’ve all felt the pressure of worry choking us, squeezing the life out of us. Some folk who are consumed by worry will wonder if they’re possibly having a heart attack because of a tightness in their chest.

  Yet, God has called us to be the people of faith. Faith and worry are arch enemies. Worry is the enemy of a relationship with God. You can’t go to heaven without taking God at His Word, that the death of His Son, Jesus was sufficient to pay for all of your sins. If you want God’s blessing, His approval on your life…if our church wants His blessing, then we must trust Him. Hebrew 11:6 admonishes us that “without faith it is impossible to please Him.” What does it mean then to live by faith, to truly trust God? The consistent pattern of God’s Word is that….

  Trusting God means that we’re obedient. The life of faith isn’t complex. It begins with obeying the truth we already know. It means repenting of sin and doing what we know the Bible teaches is right. It means consistently reading the instruction manual, the Bible.

  And true faith always leads to decisive action. Noah believed God and built an Ark. Abraham left everyone and everything he knew because God told him to. The early church shared a message that cost them, not just their livelihood, but often their lives. So what are the areas of obedience that you’re neglecting? You won’t be free from worry until you first obey. God’s blessings are on those who obey.

  Wonderfully, those who trusted God left behind an inheritance of faith. Each of us is given just one life. We leave behind an abundance of memories for those who love us. So what will your family and friends, your children and grandchildren know about a life of faith by their memories of your life? How will you be remembered? Will you be remembered for your faith?

  Living by faith can be like driving in a fog. When driving though a heavy fog, you can’t see that far in front of you but you keep on driving anyway, believing that what you can’t see, you will see once you get there. When you move forward one hundred feet, you can see one hundred more feet than you could not see before. Thus, you keep going until you reach your destination, driving by faith.

  Trusting God means that we’re patient. Many believers in the Bible and even throughout Church History didn’t see the fruition of their faith in their lifetime. God promised Abraham that he’d be the father of a great nation. When he died, he only had Isaac…not exactly a great nation. But God kept His promise.

  Satan tempts us to live for the here and now, to focus and worry about today. We spend money and time seeking to ward off poor health and death. We save for retirement and build up our 401Ks…and there’s nothing wrong with that, as long as you’re not a fool and living only for temporary healthy and wealth. When our focus is just on the possessions of the here and now, they distract us from the walk of faith. Living for this world is like preserving and storing up the leaves which are going to fall off the trees in a few weeks. If you’re a believer, this world is not your home. You’re just a leaf on a tree, here today…gone tomorrow. Wise people in faith live for the eternal Home built by God. But it means waiting, not as long as most of us think, yet it still means waiting in faith, trusting God.

  Sometimes we feel like our lives have been put on hold. Waiting is one of the godly life’s greatest disciplines. As we wait in faith for the fulfillment of God’s promises, we must remember that “waiting time is never wasted time.” God is working even while we wait. Sometimes He’s testing us and growing us spiritually. True faith is waiting for the fulfillment of God’s promises in His timing, and He always keeps His promises.

  Trusting God means that we’re willing to sacrifice. True faith is always willing to sacrifice. Abraham demonstrated that willingness when he laid on the altar the most precious thing in his life, his son. What’s the most important thing in your life? God will never settle for being second place in your life. He’s only interested in being in first place in your life and won’t settle for anything less.

  Corrie Ten Boom said that she’d learned to hold the things of this world loosely in her hand, because she knew that if she grasped them tightly, the Lord would have to pry her fingers away and it would hurt. Is there anything you’re clinging to, trying to withhold from God? Is there anything that it’s going to hurt if God has to pry it out of your hands?

  Jesus must be Lord of all or He’s not Lord at all. You and I will never give up anything for God that God will not repay many, many times over. True faith means that we’re obedient, patient and willing to sacrifice. 

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Better health in just 52 hours!!

“Want to be healthier this year? Invest a little more than 50 hours.”

This ain’t preacher stuff – study after study finds that attending church is good for you, and not just spiritually but physically as well.

  T. M. Luhrmann, a professor of anthropology at Stanford, wrote in The New York Times. “One of the most striking scientific discoveries about religion in recent years is that going to church weekly is good for you. Religious attendance — at least, religiosity — boosts the immune system and decreases blood pressure. It may add as much as two to three years to your life…Social support is no doubt part of the story. At the evangelical churches I’ve studied as an anthropologist, people really did seem to look out for one another…A study conducted in North Carolina found that frequent churchgoers had larger social networks, with more contact with, more affection for, and more kinds of social support from those people than their unchurched counterparts. And we know that social support is directly tied to better health. Healthy behavior is no doubt another part. Certainly many churchgoers struggle with behaviors they would like to change, but on average, regular church attendees drink less, smoke less, use fewer recreational drugs and are less sexually promiscuous than others.”

  Can you spare 50+ hours this coming year? With 52 weeks and a little over an hour a week, it’s not very much. Of course, it’s even better if you commit to being part of a small group, too. Wow! A grand total of about 100 hours a year. The average American spends 50 hours a week looking at a screen. A years worth of worship then is about a week of what many of us spend technologically. 

  Can I speak pastorally? First, I trust that you know that I love you. Yet, I’m very concerned for some of you. I’m very concerned about your spiritual health. That’s because it’s very difficult, if not impossible to grow spiritually and yet fail to consistently worship with your brothers and sisters in Christ. Many of you miss a lot and I truly don’t believe you have any idea how often you’re absent. I’m not talking about a Sunday here or there. I’m talking about weeks and weeks of Sundays.

  Attending church is like anything else, if you don’t make it a priority, it’s less likely to happen. If you get up on Sunday morning and decide then whether you’re going to church or not, it’s too easy to hit the snooze button and sleep right through.

  A foundational part of a healthy Christian and a healthy church is consistent church attendance. Be warned though. This is a spiritual battle! Satan would much rather you skip. And most don’t skip for bad things. They’re not out partying all night. It’s usually good things, even very worthy things that will keep you from church.

  Often, it’s family events. It may be time with relatives or out of town guests. It could be babysitting the grands or little Matilda’s (your 4^th cousin’s niece) first birthday party. It could be a hectic week and you convince yourself that you need the extra rest. Or, someone is sick so the whole family stays home to feed them chicken soup. Maybe you’re not feeling 100%. A good question before deciding to stay home is: “Would I go to work if I felt this way?” If you’d go to work, then you probably should attend worship.

  Frequently, it’s a sporting event. A tragedy of our culture is that sports programs have no respect for families who attend church. I’d encourage you to talk to the coach and be willing to make some tough choices. If you’ll speak up if your kid doesn’t get enough playing time, surely you should speak up if that event is going to cause you to miss worship. At the very minimal, when there’s a scheduling conflict, determine that the whole family is attending the early service that Sunday. You’re going to have to make it a priority though or it won’t happen. And when that happens, you lose, we lose and God’s Kingdom loses.

  The Bible compares the local church family to a body. What kind of day would you have if one of your ears decided to stay home while the rest of your body went to work? It would be very frustrating at the very least.

  But please don’t just attend – engage! Some attend church out of habit. They serve their hour and they’re out the door.

  This afternoon the Packers are playing the Cowboys. Can you imagine that someone has tickets, they arrive late and try to sit as far away from the field as they possibly can? From the first kick-off until the last second of the last quarter, they’re watching the clock, daydreaming, playing on their phone, catching a nap, doodling on their program, people watching – anything to endure until it’s all finally over! Can you picture that? Probably not. What does it say about our hearts and love for Jesus when we’re fully engaged in a temporal event like a football game that makes zero eternal difference BUT when it comes to worship, when it comes to learning and growing in grace, when it comes to praise and adoration of the One who died for us – we’re bored and counting the minutes?

  Part of the reason for that is we often fail to prepare before coming to a worship service. Back to that Packer game. Prior to going, you make sure you’ve dressed warm, have your tickets, taken along some snacks and used the facilities before you take your seat. So shouldn’t we prepare our hearts for worship? Shouldn’t we plan what we’re going to wear the night before, plan out breakfast, know where our Bible is, go to bed at a decent time, even make sure the car is gassed? Shouldn’t we leave with plenty of time so that we can relax driving in? Wouldn’t we be wise to take a few moments that morning or the night before to ask God to work in our hearts during the worship service? Shouldn’t we take a moment to quiet our hearts so we can hear the voice of God?

  52 hours is really very minimal. It benefits you and when you’re heart is engaged, it’s a small way to say “Thank you” to the One who died for you! May we all say with the Psalmist, “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord!’” (Psalm 122:1).