“Preach the gospel at all times, using words when necessary.” We’ve probably heard this adage before. As Christian healthcare professionals, we may wonder and self-reflect how we’re sharing the Good News in this way. If our actions speak more loudly than our words, how are our day-to-day actions preaching the gospel to those around us?

“Preach the gospel at all times, using words when necessary.” We’ve probably heard this adage before. As Christian healthcare professionals, we may wonder and self-reflect how we’re sharing the Good News in this way. If our actions speak more loudly than our words, how are our day-to-day actions preaching the gospel to those around us?

Have you been frustrated or angry with anything in the last year? Maybe a better question would be, “How many times have you been frustrated or angry in the last year,” because it was a doozy. Over the course of 2020, God helped me wrestle through a lot of those frustrating things. I thought I’d grown past the point of letting the continued craziness get to me. I recently realized, however, that though I have grown spiritually this year through handling difficulties in my life and the world around me, I have also become apathetic at times as well. I realized my decreased response to bad news wasn’t necessarily maturity but born apathy of being tired of it all. God convicted me of this reality when someone was giving me a news update last week. I just nodded and tuned them out, because in my mind it was just more bad news, and I didn’t want to know more because I didn’t want to have to think about it.

“…Fear God and keep his commandments…” (Ecclesiastes 12:13, NIV).

In the book of Matthew, Jesus Christ gave the Sermon on the Mount, and in Matthew 6:22-23, He teaches about the importance of keeping our eyes healthy. As Jesus said, “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light” (Mathew 6:22, NIV). When reading that passage, I could not help but imagine what the collective eye of humanity witnessed during 2020. It is true, that year generated and continues to generate great despair, fear, worry, frustration, anger, hopelessness, sin and all the like. Although the above verse is a part of a passage that teaches on money, there is more to these verses. There is a heart condition which is rooted in the greatest commandment. That commandment is to love God with all your heart, soul and mind, and to love your neighbor as you love yourself (Matthew 22:37-40). It is this principal that can help us work through seasons like last year and keep our eyes on eternity.

The problem for many Christians is that they have no concept they are living in a war zone. Too many Christians trudge half numb through this life oblivious to the perils all around them.

2020 will go down as a year to remember, a year many want to forget. But this Christmas season, let’s commit to renewed adoration of our Savior.

“And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:8-11, KJV).

To reduce no-shows and late cancellations by getting three critical matters right from the start and to get them in the appropriate order.  Otherwise, who knows what will happen. 

To reduce no-shows and late cancellations by getting three critical matters right from the start and to get them in the appropriate order.  Otherwise, who knows what will happen. 

“We need to get back to the basics of life, a heart that is pure and a love that is blind, a faith that is fervently grounded in Christ, the hope that endures for all times. These are the basics, we need to get back to the basics of life.”

The topic of slavery and racism couldn’t be more relevant in this age of social justice we are in right now. It goes without saying that racism is evil. Genesis 1:27 makes very clear that all are created in the image of God. The image of God, or Imago Dei in Latin, refers to the fact that humans were made uniquely and separately from all the rest of creation in a way that reflects God’s image in our moral, spiritual and intellectual essence. It means that in certain aspects, and in an imperfect sense, we resemble God. It is because we are image bearers of God that our lives have intrinsic worth, and this of course goes for all humans. It is precisely because we are made in God’s image that racism is evil. Martin Luther King, Jr. talked about this frequently as the basis for civil rights. He argued that the brotherhood of man is dependent upon the fatherhood of God. Reject the latter and you erode the foundation of the former.

This new Covid world has taught us things. We’ve learned more about ourselves, our families, our country, and the world as a whole and how connected it really is.  Have you had a chance to be still and reflect on what you have learned during this tumultuous time?  I’ve had a little time, but I’d like to take more and really sit and thank God for what He’s done in the midst of the brokenness.  Once you do get a chance to reflect, write those thoughts down and share them with someone and then ask them to tell you about what they have learned. The more you share and hear, the bigger and more beautiful the picture will be of what God is doing.  I’ll share with y’all a little of what I’ve learned.