On Azimuth

Civility n: formal politeness and courtesy in behavior or speech. 6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. Colossians 4:6 English Standard Version             President Trump in a late-night flurry of postings on social media included a short video that portrayed former President Obama and his wife as apes. After an outcry of outrage, disgust, and disapproval, he had the post removed. While I am glad that he did remove the post, I find it once again exhibits the moral turpitude of the man who holds the highest office in our country. Many of his supporters laud his speech as “telling it like it is” however, his lack of civility…basic decency…displays a lack of self-control and hubris.             Were this a solitary act one might excuse it as a momentary lapse; but, this is only one act in a vast...

  1 Woe to those who decree iniquitous decrees, and the writers who keep writing oppression,  2 to turn aside the needy from justice and to rob the poor of my people of their right,  that widows may be their spoil, and that they may make the fatherless their prey! Isaiah 10:1-2 English Standard Version 1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4 for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. Romans 13:1-4 29 But Peter ...

  26 For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. Galatians 3:26 English Standard Version             First among the myriads of changes in point of view when we become a Christian, is how we view God. Many people view God as the big judge in the sky, just waiting to punish us for their misdeeds. Others view God as a grandfather sort of creature, someone who loves them without restraint or condition. Still others view God as a divine vending machine, someone, or something, who will grant their desires once they find the right coin of faith or prayer and deposit it. And others view God as a distant tinkerer who designed this universe, wound it up, and walked away to let it unwind on its own. There are other ways of viewing God. Many of them contain some component, or kernel, of truth; however, most people miss one of the great truths of how we view God. He is our Father.       ...

  16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. II Corinthians 5:16-17 English Standard Version             One of the things that I love about living at high altitude near Cloudcroft is the clouds. We live at about 8,800 feet. The big puffy clouds: Nimbostratus, Cumulus, and Cumulonimbus, form between six and eight thousand feet, with Cumulonimbus often soaring well over ten thousand feet. Consequently, we live very close to clouds, and I enjoy watching them sail past sometimes close enough to reach out and touch. Of course, proximity does come with its own challenges. Recently during the night, a particularly violent thunder and lightning storm passed through. The lightning flashed all around us while...

  10 I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. 11 For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers.   I Corinthians 1:10-11 English Standard Version             Many Christians refer to their place of assembly as “the sanctuary.” This refers to two ideas; one the sanctuary is a place that we have set aside for a holy purpose for worship and two a place where we can find refuge from the world. In fact, for years a man who was fleeing persecution or punishment, just or unjust for a crime could claim sanctuary in the Church building. This harks back to the cities of refuge found in the Mosaic Law. Our worship centers, our sanctuaries, ought to be places where we can find rest and refuge from the turmoil that roils our world....

7 For they sow the wind,     and they shall reap the whirlwind. The standing grain has no heads;     it shall yield no flour; if it were to yield,     strangers would devour it. Hosea 8:7 English Standard Version             When my social media started filling up recently, I did not recognize the name Charlie Kirk, neither did Christy. We had to look him up to find out why he was important and what he stood for. At first, all I knew was that a speaker at a university had been assassinated. As time passed, I  noticed trends developing. I was unsurprised at the direction of the trends and who embraced what. These postings were a dark commentary on the state of our culture. As the hoary prophet said, “They shall reap the whirlwind.”             We’ve given voice and platform to our darker impulses. We allow peopl...