By: Gary L. Hutchens

​   There is a difference between being truly spiritual and just being religious.  I suspect that many people have a difficult time clearly differentiating between the two concepts.  Most people probably equate religious practices with being spiritual.  But a person can be religious without being truly spiritual.  However, a person cannot be truly spiritual without also being religious.  A truly spiritual person will be a religious person, but a religious person may not necessarily live a truly spiritual lifestyle.  Allow me to illustrate by way of a purely hypothetical scenario.

By: Gary L. Hutchens

​   Attitude!  We all have one.  It’s often difficult for us to see our own, but it’s obvious to everyone else.  We often deny ours while pointing out everyone else’s.  It can be either positive or negative, the source of encouragement or discouragement, produce joy or anger, lead to our own fulfillment or despair.  It can be as elusive as the wind and as powerful as dynamite.

by: Gary L. Hutchens

​   Many churches teach that once a person is saved he/she can never be lost, no matter what.  If that is true, why did God guide the writers of scripture to include so many exhortations to saved Christians to remain faithful?  Why Jesus, in His letter to the church at Smyrna, instruct those Christians to “Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.” (Rev. 2:10)?  He said He would give them “the crown of life” (eternal life, synonymous with salvation) after, as a result of, their having remained faithful unto (up until and even including dying for their faith) death.  Why “faithful unto death” if, having already been saved, they could not be lost?

by: Gary L. Hutchens

​   The New Testament scriptures, either directly or indirectly, continually emphasize the importance of unity within the Lord’s church.  Why?  Many people mistake union for unity.  There can be no unity without union, but there can be union without unity.  People who are united are also naturally in union with each other.  But many people find themselves in some kind of union with other people with whom they are definitely not united.  A classic example is a married couple who can’t stand to be around each other.  There’s a union- marriage- but there’s no unity.

by: Gary L. Hutchens

   “Have It Your Way!”  That was the advertising line for a popular hamburger chain some years back.  But the principle is not unique to that particular chain.  Every chain of hamburger restaurants will let you have it your way.  Just tell ‘em how you want your hamburger- with cheese or without, with pickles or without, with ketchup and mustard or without, with mustard but no ketchup or ketchup but no mustard- and they’ll fix it however you want it.  If you don’t like the hamburgers sold in one chain, you have a whole lot of other chains to choose from.  You can have your hamburger, however you want it, your way!

by: Gary L. Hutchens

​   We are faced with choices everyday.  After the Israelites had crossed the Jordan river, had fought the battles and taken possession of the promised land, Joshua called the people together and told them to make a decision of commitment: “And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” (Josh. 24:15).  They needed to choose, one way or the other.

by: ​Gary L. Hutchens

​   When Solomon became king of Israel, God granted him a request: “Ask!  What shall I give you?” (1 Kgs. 3:5).  Solomon responded by humbly describing himself as “a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in” (vs. 7).  He then asked God for “an understanding heart to judge your people, that I may discern between good and evil” (vs. 9).  Solomon’s request was for wisdom that he might lead God’s people effectively.  God bestowed upon him a degree of wisdom that made him the wisest man who had ever lived (vs. 12).  And, because Solomon’s request was so selfless, God bestowed upon him great wealth (vs. 13).

​by: Gary L. Hutchens

​   The way we live our lives is often referred to by various terms that indicate a particular direction taken.  We’ll speak of the course of a person’s life, or what path he’s taking in his life, or what road he’s traveling through life.  Our Lord Himself used this very frame of reference: “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (Matt. 7:13-14).

by: Gary L. Hutchens

​   Often, we feel either inadequate or without sufficient resources to be able to do something that needs to be done.  These lines of reasoning are constantly used by individuals and congregations in relation to serving God.  In some cases we say we don’t have time to serve God as we would like.  Sometimes we state that we just don’t have the ability to do some good work that needs to be done.  In other cases we claim to not have sufficient resources to the get the job done.  While these statements can hold some validity, we must not use them carelessly as excuses to simply let ourselves off the hook.  If we open both our physical eyes and our eyes of faith, we will often find that we have more time and ability and resources than we first imagined.

by: Gary L. Hutchens

   We live in a high-tech culture.  Information, along with the ability to communicate that information instantly, is power.  The internet, email and text messaging are commonplace tools used by young children in grade school.  Cell phones are so multi-dimensional as to be accurately described as also making phone calls.  Our entertainment systems would have seemed like science fiction in the 1950’s or 60’s.  Hundreds of television channels available 24 hours a day via cable and satellite dishes.  Movies on demand, DVR, home theaters, game boxes, virtual reality…