NorthStar Church Blog

Like many other Americans last night, I was feeling pretty stupid. Sure, I have a pretty good education and worked pretty hard in school, but after spelling only four words right while watching the 2009 Scripps National Spelling Bee, I started to wonder where these words have been all my life. What have I been doing with my time that has kept me from even hearing them before, let alone be able to spell them? Surely there must have been at least one there that I should know?

As it turns out, there was. The very last word…

Kavya Shivashankar won the bee with the spelling of “Laodicean”. Although I didn’t spell it right, this was one that we should all try to be familiar with, so that we can avoid falling into the Laodicean trap!

In the book of Revelation, Christ instructs John to write a message to seven named churches in Asia Minor. One of them was the church of Laodicea (Revelation 3:14-16). In it, he accuses the church of Laodicea of being “lukewarm”, “neither hot nor cold” and because of that, He instructs them to turn their hearts toward Him again. Today, the negative term Laodicean is used in the English language to refer to those neutral or indifferent in matters of faith.

The city of Laodicea was wealthy, and what the Laodiceans could see and buy had become more valuable to them than what is unseen and eternal. This type of wealth and ease can make us feel confident, but with that confidence we can become complacent…lukewarm toward our relationship with Christ. The letter to the Laodiceans should remind us all to draw close to God through confession, service, worship and studying his Word. Pray for help in reigniting your zeal for Him, and avoid the Laodicean trap!

Now don’t you feel smarter?

As a child, I loved “Little House on the Prairie”. I watched the show, read the books and wrote to all the main characters requesting autographed pictures. Back then, I was fascinated by the horses, the swishy skirts, long braids and sunbonnets. Now I have two girls of my own that I have brainwashed into becoming “Prairie” fans, mostly so that I have an excuse to watch it all over again. I still do like the swishy skirts and horses, but as an adult I am also appreciating the wisdom of Charles Ingalls (aka “Pa”, played by Michael Landon on TV). It seems “Pa” always knew just what to say, how to handle any problem, and how to conduct himself in any situation. I appreciate his character so much I even joked that I should watch all 207 episodes to write down all of Pa’s words of wisdom. Maybe it would be a best seller…chocked full of child-rearing tips, financial advice, self-help and motivational quotes. I’d be rich for sure…think of how much I could contribute to our Foundations for the Future capital campaign!

Well, any good author needs to do some research first. One of the most important tasks is finding out if any other such book already exists. Imagine my disappointment when I found out it does exist, and it is a best-seller. It was written thousands of years ago, well before the birth of Charles Ingalls. You may even have a copy at home!

It is called the Bible. Unfortunately, even though many of us may own one, we may also read it as rarely as we clean behind the refrigerator. We think of it as a collection of outrageous stories, irrelevant rules and ancient history. In reality, it is a treasure chest of wisdom-the ultimate self-help book, parenting guide, and financial advisor. It is the way God speaks to us. It is a living book, applicable to every circumstance we will ever encounter on this earth. We weren’t given the Word just to know more about God, we were given it to change our lives.

As you grow as a Christian you will want to read the Bible and learn more about what God has to say to you. You will want to feed on the Word. If you apply what you read to your life, you will see the power of the Bible to transform you, to help you make that Great Exchange of ordinary living for extraordinary life.

I am sure that Charles Ingalls had some God-given wisdom, but I also know that he and his family were Christians who read the Bible faithfully. Pa had “hidden the word” in his heart (see Psalm 119:11) and he applied it to every aspect of his life. I am thankful that the same source of wisdom is available to me if I just open my Bible, even though I guess I won’t be making my millions any time soon.