"Coining Words"

Coining Words”

 

For 22 years our home was enriched by the presence of a black-and-white feline named Taffy. As she aged it became necessary for our family to coin a term known as desquishtification, which may be defined as scraping the remnants of food in her bowl into a lump in the center of same to make it easier for her to empty said bowl and keep her from turning the air blue with demands that it be done. Usually this took care of the noise until the next time she was hungry.

Recently Karen was group-texting with several friends and someone used a word I’d never heard before: emoticons. It refers to pictures (icons) showing emotions in electronic communications, an area in which I need all the help I can get! I now know what it is but still don’t know how to use it.

Why is it necessary to create new words? Generally speaking, it’s done when the words or expressions available to us are inadequate for what we want to say. If we were to compare a dictionary of today with one from 30 years ago we’d find hundreds of words which were unknown in the previous generation, reflecting a myriad of changes over this period.

When it came to describing the source and nature of the Scriptures in 2 Timothy 3:16 Paul didn’t have an adequate expression so it appears he made one up. This term, theopneustos in Greek, is a compound word meaning literally “God breathed” (translated “inspiration of God” in the KJV). To my knowledge, scholars have never found this word anywhere else in ancient Greek writings. By putting it in Paul’s mind the Holy Spirit is reminding us of the uniqueness of the Bible—all of it comes from the mind of God and He used godly individuals to record it forever (“…Men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”—2 Peter 1:21).

If known words fell short of depicting what God’s Book is and a new one was coined we should be satisfied that it’s special. And because it is it’s worthy of being studied, hidden in our hearts, and obeyed. That’s how we “…Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 3:18).

Blessings!

Jim McMillan

 

"Utilizing or Using?"

“Utilizing or Using?”

 

Many years ago my father knew two men engaged in different professions on Long Island. Both these men were solid believers so Dad was startled when each told him separately that they didn’t like to deal with other Christians in their businesses. The reason was the same in both cases: their fellow-believers expected to pay less for their services than they would pay a non-Christian. In other words, these men felt used rather than utilized by God’s people.

It’s human nature to be selfish and try to use people to one’s best advantage. But as Christians we have been made new creatures in Christ (see 2 Corinthians 5:17) and as such “…have put off the old man with his deeds; and have put on the new man….” (Colossians 3:9-10). Paul reminds us that we are to consider others better than ourselves and look on the interests of others as well as our own (see Philippians 2:3-4). If by our actions we show our brethren that the only reason we call, visit, or acknowledge their presence is when we want something from them it’s a sad commentary on what it’s like to be part of Christ’s body—they can find that in the dog-eat-dog world they live in every day!

I once declined to give a Christian woman the name of a Christian craftsman in her area whom I knew when she made it clear she expected a discount on his work.  But before we say we’d never do something like that let’s think of how we sometimes treat God. How much of our praying is asking for things rather than praising Him? How much of our service is rendered when it fits into our plans rather than His? How much of our giving is done after we’ve taken what we want rather than putting Him first? In other words, we often seek to use God for our own advantage just as we do people. To paraphrase (and maybe twist) President Kennedy’s words: “Ask not what I can do for God; ask rather what He can do for me.”

Paul admonished believers in Rome to “…offer yourselves to God….” (Romans 6:13). So let’s stop using God (and His people) and give ourselves to Him to be utilized for His glory.

Blessings!

Jim McMillan

"Practicing the Basics"

“Practicing the Basics”

 

Retired Boston Celtics’ star Larry Bird once scored 47 points in a triple-overtime victory, including the winning basket on an acrobatic shot with seconds remaining. In a post-game interview Bird was asked why he seemed to be able to make the “big play” so often. He answered, “Every day I practice the basics.” Can you picture the man who was arguably the most complete basketball player of his era going over the most fundamental parts of the game daily? He could easily have claimed to have moved beyond such trivial matters, but it was his attention to the cardinal points that kept him sharp and able to succeed under pressure.

We can apply Bird’s comment to our walk with Christ as His people. If we’re to make a significant impact for Him we must be practicing the basics daily. What are they? Prayer (“Morning by morning, O Lord, you hear my voice….”—Psalm 5:3), Bible study (“…The Bereans…examined the Scriptures every day….”—Acts 17:11), reflection on God (“I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds.”—Psalm 77:12), and fellowship (“Every day they continued to meet together….”—Acts 2:46) to name a few. Further, we cannot have the attitude that we’ve advanced to such a point in our relationship with God that we no longer need to emphasize the foundational principles. Then, too, we must realize that it’s the basics which keep us from cracking when the pressures of life threaten us.

If we’re to succeed where others fail in our Christian walk we cannot afford to abandon the basics which got us where we are. We need to speak with God in prayer, let Him speak to us through His Word, dwell on the wonder of who He is, and learn from our brothers and sisters in Christ. Without the basics we’ll fail when the time comes for the “big play”—with then our lives will count for Him.

Blessings!

Jim McMillan

"The 710 Church"

“The 710 Church”

During three of my four college years I lived with six fellow students in an off-campus house located at 710 University Place. It was owned by an unmarried lady named Esther Carson (whom we affectionately addressed as “Housemother”) who worked in the dining hall and cared for her 90-something-year-old mother (whom we called “Grandma”). After Grandma died Housemother sold her property to the college and moved to Florida. (The house was later razed to make room for an expansion project.) Years later one of the former “710’ers” looked her up and learned she had a list of all the guys who’d lived in her home and still prayed for us. While she had no children of her own she considered all of us “her boys” and wanted God’s best for us.

Prominently mounted inside 710’s front door was a plaque which said, “Home Sweet Home”. Now that you’ve stopped laughing about how that could be with seven guys living together let me tell you what was in the smaller letters: “Where each lives for the other and all live for God.” For the most part we as housemates sought to observe this biblical principle (“Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.”—Philippians 2:4) so 710 became a “Home Sweet Home Away From Home.”

This year marks the 50^th anniversary of my graduation which put me in a reminiscent mode. As I thought back to my 710 life as “Home Sweet Home” it dawned on me that it could be changed to “Church Sweet Church—where each lives for the other and all live for God” and serve as a fitting goal for any local assembly. While no church is perfect –remember each one is made up of imperfect people like you and me—as we take our relationship with God and one another seriously we can help move each of our respective bodies towards becoming a “Church Sweet Church”, poised to make a difference in our communities.

What am I doing to produce “The 710 Church”?

Blessings!

Jim McMillan