The Danny Sims Blog

God Speaks, do You Listen? How do You Listen?

2012-01-25T07:09:00.000-08:00

Here is a practical “how to” method of hearing God.

The point is to hear God so His Character is evident in my life. That is not the same as hearing God so I can get what I want. Too many people want to hear God in order to verify that God wants them to do something that just happens to be what they already want to do.

This kind of “I heard God” cheapens the people who practice it.

There is a story of the young Christian who said to his spiritual advisor, “I was just talking with Jesus and He says that I should get a new car.” The spiritual advisor replies, “That’s odd. I was just talking with Jesus’ father and He says you ought to make do with the one you’ve got.”

Do you really want to hear God? Here is a simple process I learned from Mark Thibodeaux, a Jesuit priest who wrote a wonderful book I highly recommend, Armchair Mystic. The title isn't great, but it is a really great book.

This process is very practical. Some will say, "That's it?!" And I will reply, "Yep." But if you'll do it you will notice a few things change about your prayer life. Read Thibodeaux's book becasue he has several other practical guides too.

While I’m relaxed, usually having a cup of coffee, I turn to the passage of scripture I want to pray over. Recently it was Luke 5:1-11, where the disciples catch so many fish they fill two boats.

I softly sing (sometimes I just sing it in my head because it is hard for me to be soft when I sing) a praise song I like. Sometimes I make one up. “Lebh Shomea, Lebh Shomea...” That’s Hebrew for “a heart that listens.” I just softly sing it over and over again to a simple tune I make up on the fly.

When it seems the right time I pick up my Bible and read the text a few times. I go slow and watch for words or lines that jump out at me. This day it was verse 7, “They signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink."

The image of two boats full of flopping fish and wide-eyed fisherman becomes clear in my mind. This is a really cool part for me ever since I've been on a boat on The Sea of Galilee. But even if you've not been there you've been on a boat or can imagine a scene like this. One guy is frantically waving his partners over for help. The shouts and hands on oars now emerges as an important part of the image.

Then I recognize one guy is Peter and the others must be Andrew, James, and John. In my imagination I am now in the scene with them. I try to smell the fish and feel the boat beneath me. And now Jesus looks at me. In my mind Jesus looks like Brian Deacon who played Him the film simply titled, Jesus.

God says, “Trust me. Work with your partners. Let them help you. I will fill your boats and then some.”

I sit in my chair and the boat and think about the promise from this text. I treat it as a Word from God. "Trust me. Work with your partners. Let them help you. I will bless you."

This Word from God gives me comfort and hope. God reminds me there are people in my life He wants me to partner with. I believe God. I believe what He has said to me is consistent with His Word elsewhere. God has never once told me to do anything inconsistent with what He has been telling people for ages. Yet His Word for me almost always has new insight for my life that very day, even that very hour.

I sit there for awhile and wonder about what God has said.

I thank Him for speaking to me. Now I am no longer there with Jesus in the boat, I am sitting in my chair. I look at my coffee and wonder if it is too cold to enjoy. It almost always is and I usually go make another cup.

Tebowing at Salvation Mountain

2012-01-17T06:06:00.000-08:00

Tebowing at Salvation Mountain

You know all about Tim Tebow's prayer posture, right? How about Leonard Knight's Salvation Mountain? Yesterday our son Elijah (who just made the Dean's List) and several buds from Pepperdine took a classic college road trip. It must have seemed much longer than the four hour drive from Malibu to the desert and the Salton Sea.

Billy Graham on MLK: "A social leader and a prophet"

2012-01-16T04:56:00.000-08:00

My friend KansasBob recently linked to an article at the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association website. Take this jump to read the article in full, but here are a few paragraphs:

King credited Mr. Graham with having a significant part in reducing the tension between whites and blacks in the South. In 1965, Mr. Graham canceled a tour of Europe to preach a series of crusades in Alabama, praying that the Gospel would tear down walls of division between the races and seeing the importance of his work alongside King’s.

King later said, “Had it not been for the ministry of my good friend, Dr. Billy Graham, my work in the civil rights movement would not have been as successful as it has been.”

During the civil rights movement, Mr. Graham preached, “Jesus was not a white man; He was not a black man. He came from that part of the world that touches Africa and Asia and Europe. Christianity is not a white man’s religion and don’t let anybody ever tell you that it’s white or black. Christ belongs to all people; He belongs to the whole world.”

Mr. Graham was in Australia at the time of King’s death. He remembers the moment someone approached him with news of King’s assassination, which was followed by journalists seeking a quote: “I was almost in a state of shock. Not only was I losing a friend through a vicious and senseless killing, but America was losing a social leader and a prophet, and I felt his death would be one of the greatest tragedies in our history."

A question about what to do when people treat you badly

2012-01-15T05:27:00.000-08:00

Question: Some friends have hurt me by endorsing some rumors and not acting at all like friends. What should I do? What do you do when people speak badly of you or malign your character?

Answer: Don't react in kind, but rather be kind. On those occasions I have been sharp or edgy in response to what I perceived as something unfair, untrue and unGodly I have always regretted it. I have, however, never regretted being kind.

You might also withdraw and be quiet for a season of time in order to provide some space. You can use this time to pray and forgive. Sure, the people who hurt you can say all kind of things about you during this season of time. They may never recognize their wrong, apologize, recognize your forgiveness, or even know you've worked hard to get past what they said.

Here's the thing... If they continue to act wrongly it will only expose them for what they are. But exposing them is not your goal. Your goal is to move forward and forgive. Turning the other cheek is not a sign of weakness but rather a sign of strength. It is kind because it does not strike back, which shows anyone watching (and many people are probably watching) who in the relationship is acting in love.

Remember, You can only control you, so if you need to be quiet and withdraw for awhile my advice is to do it. But be kind in all things.

NCAA President's Comments About Football Playoffs a Joke

2012-01-14T19:58:00.000-08:00

If you want to read the original article in Sports Illustrated take this jump.

The NCAA and the BCS simply do not want a playoff system. This week NCAA President Mark Emmert said he would back a "small playoff" if that's what Bowl Championship Series officials decide to adopt.

His reasons for rejecting a sensible playoff are a joke. And it's a joke that SI doesn't call him out in the article. Here's a quote from Emmert:

"Moving toward a 16-team playoff is highly problematic because I think that's too much to ask a young man's body to do. It's too many games, it intrudes into the school year and, of course, it would probably necessitate a complete end to the bowl system that so many people like now."

Young men and their health? The school year? Too many games? Gimme a break. Protecting the BCS and all the money that flows to the NCAA and the SEC is the reason. Nothing more, nothing less.

Check this out:

North Dakota State beat Sam Houston in the the Football Championship Subdivision (the old Division 1aa) last week. It was the 16th game for each team in a five week playoff that began with 20 teams in all.

The Division 2 champs Pittsburg State beat Wayne State in the championship game on December 17. It was their 15th game and game 16 for Wayne State. The D2 playoffs involve 24 teams over five weeks of games.

The Division 3 playoffs involved 32 teams over five weeks this year. The championship game was the 15th game for both the winner Wisconsin Whitewater and Mount Union as well.

Too much to ask a young man's body to do? Too many games? It would intrude on the school year?

Only for Division 1 and the millions of BCS dollars I guess.

What a joke.

Gimme the Vente, Leave Room for Kindness

2012-01-13T11:08:00.000-08:00

Check out the story below or take this jump to the original at Good News, complete with a picture of Haley Joel Osment from the 2000 motion picture Pay it Forward. I love this stuff. It reminds me of my friend Mark Crowell going to a laundry mat with a bucket of quarters and paying for unsuspecting strangers to do their loads of laundry.

The main conceit of the 2000 Kevin Spacey film Pay It Forward is that if one person does a kindness for three strangers, and those three people each do kindnesses for three strangers, and so on, one person can change the world. Rarely do we see this acted out in the real world the way it was cinematically—one scene finds a man giving away his brand-new Jaguar to a guy having car troubles—but on a smaller scale, these sorts of random niceties happen far more often than you might think. Today, it’s selflessness at a small coffee house in Bluffton, South Carolina.

It all started two years ago at Corner Perk, a small, locally owned coffee shop, when a customer paid her bill and left $100 extra, saying she wanted to pay for everyone who ordered after her until the money ran out. The staff fulfilled her request, and the woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, has returned to leave other large donations every two to three months.

“People will come in and say, ‘What do you mean? I don’t understand. Are you trying to buy me a coffee today?’” the shop’s owner, Josh Cooke,told the local news. “And I say, ‘No, somebody came in 30 minutes ago and left money to pay for drinks until it runs out.’”

It took a while, but word has started to spread around the tiny coastal town, home to about 12,000 people. Now, more and more customers have been leaving money to pay for others’ food and drink. Cooke says some people don’t even buy anything when they come in; they just stop to donate and head right back out.

A medium cup of coffee at Corner Perk costs $1.95. That may not seem like a lot, but for a family struggling to save money in these tense and difficult economic times, two bucks saved at the right moment probably feels like a million. And a jolt of generosity is a better pick-me-up than caffeine any day of the week.

100 year old mom meets her 82 year old daughter for first time!

2012-01-02T20:19:00.000-08:00

Follow this jump to a wonderful story about 100 year old Minka Disbrow. She has just met her daughter Ruth Lee, now 82, for the first time!

Minka gave Ruth up for adoption back in 1928 after she was raped. She never dreamed she would meet her little girl this side of Heaven.

One of the best lines of the Yahoo! story:

Five years ago, Disbrow prayed she might get the chance to see her. "Lord, if you would just let me see her," Disbrow remembers praying. "I promise you I will never bother her."

Bother? The families have gotten together many times now and will again soon to celebrate Minka's 100th birthday.

Here they are, sharing a long awaited moment and bouquet.

Dollar Nativity

2011-12-24T05:25:00.000-08:00

The most cherished Christmas decoration in our home is a tiny nativity that cost $1. Our daughter Hannah bought it when her kindergarten class went to the dollar store. For over 10 years now we have carefully boxed and stored the Dollar Nativity.

Our Dollar Nativity is a great reminder that the best things about Christmas (and all of life) are free. Or almost free.

Baby. God. One. More. Time.

2011-12-23T05:27:00.000-08:00

Re-posted from years past... I like writing this style of narrative, but reading it requires a bit of effort. I. Hope. You. Enjoy.

Donkey. Dirty. Weary. Night. Nervous. Hopeful. Bethlehem? Census. Trip. Long. Baby. Today? Tomorrow? When? Anxious. Angel. Prophecy. Hope. Israel. Silent. Secret. Months. Nine. Why? How? Who? Me? Me. Virgin. Pure. Joseph. Good. Understand. Thankfully. Tears. Joy. Sorrow. Joy.

Room? No? No. Again? Where? Stable? Animals? Baby? Tired. Hay. Loud? Quiet. Cold. Fire. Warm. Joseph. Care. Bread. Water. Blanket. Sleep. Sleep.

Joseph! Baby! Labor. Pain. Contraction. Please. God?! Hours. Push. Breath. Sweat. Cold. Hot. Push. Work. Baby? Almost. Push. Scared. Excited. Tired. Hope. Brave. Remember. Gabriel. Now. Drink. Again. Push. Mother? Nurse? Anyone? Joseph! Yes! Now!

Boy! Cry! Blood. Clean. Hold. Kiss. Sweet. God. Wipe. Cheek. Hands. Tiny. God. Cry. Mother. Father. God. Shhhh. Comfort. Kiss. Tears. Joy. Morning. Sunlight. Baby. Beautiful. Jesus. Suckle. Quiet. Eyes. Open. Hair. Dark. Soft. Cloths. Wrap. First. Again. Second. Almost. Again. Wrapped. Tighter. Finally. Perfect.

Infant. God. Boy. Diapers. Breast. Sleep. Wake. Cry. Days. Week. Baby. Healthy. Temple. Proud. Go. Law. Sacrifice. Circumcise. Beautiful. Gate. Tall. Dove. Offering.

Man. Old. Watching. Coming. Eyes. Wide. Hands. Trembling. Baby. Wants. Hold. Yes. Nice. Shouts. Wonder. Sings. Praise! God! Promised. Now. Salvation. Everyone. Light. Jew. Gentile. Glory. Israel. Crowd. Whispers. Talk. People. Simeon? Looks. Mary. Child. Man. Thoughts. Revealed. Soul. Pierced. His. Yours. Ours.

Woman. Interrupts. Old. Prophetess. Anna? Kind. Prayer. Eyes. Wide. Hands. Trembling. Shouts. Praise! God! Redemption. Jerusalem. People. Talking. Looking. Baby. Sleeping. Wonder.

Amazed. Family. Mary. Joseph. Jesus. Family. Tired. Home. Good. Baby. God.

Luke 2:39-40 When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.

Mozart's Requiem and Little Drummer Boy en Espanol

2011-12-22T08:04:00.000-08:00

Earlier this year my family visited the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. The original church was built by Helena in the 300's but was destroyed in a revolt two hundred years later. The current Eastern Orthodox Church was built in the mid-500's, making it one of the oldest churches in the world.

One note of interest is that you enter the church through a tiny door called the "Door of Humility." I’m sure, like me, you know some Christians who need to enter (as well as exit) their own church through this door!

You can read about the church in Wikipedia (OK, I wouldn't allow my students in the college speech class I taught to use Wiki as a source, but it's actually a very good article). Here is a picture of Suzanne, my dad and Olivia. The little Door of Humilty is just over Suzanne’s shoulder.

When we were there a Latin Mass was being observed in the large basicala. Mozart's Requiem was being played as worshippers prayed. Just below the larger sanctuary, down a small staircase, another group was singing "The Little Drummer Boy" in Spanish, loudly banging it out with a guitar and using a wooden table for percussion. I smiled at the diversity of people who come to see the spot where Jesus was born.

Below is our daughter Hannah smiling at the spot where Jesus is said to have been born. No one is sure He was born here but make sure He is indeed born in the manger of your heart.

Real or a Joke? It's the Ladder...

2011-12-21T04:20:00.000-08:00

Good news is that I truly outdid myself this year with my Christmas decorations. The bad news is that I had to take him down after 2 days.

Two things made me take it down. First, the cops advised me that it would cause traffic accidents as they almost wrecked when they drove by. Second, a 55 year old lady grabbed the 75 pound ladder almost killed herself putting it against my house and didn't realize it was fake until she climbed to the top (she was not happy). By the way, she was one of many people who attempted to do that.

My yard couldn't take it either. I have more than a few tire tracks where people literally drove up my yard. I kind of feel like I gave in to the man by taking him down but my neighbor did confirm two near miss accidents on the busy street next to my house. I think I made him too real this time!

Check out these gifts

2011-12-19T05:33:00.000-08:00

Take this jump to see CNN Money's list of the top 15 worst gifts, all available through Amazon. I think some of these are genius.

Here's the list:

1. A pre-need cremation plan ($1,189)

2. Fresh whole rabbit ($46)

3. Automated Ukelele Band Machine ($20,000)

4. Battle tank (price and availability unknown)

5. Uranium ore ($39.95)

6. Anatomical Chart Co. Bags of Bones ($50.96)

7. Playmobile security checkpoint/metal detector ($190, see the butcher shop & police station too)

8. Wolf urine ($31.95)

9. Yodeling pickle ($10.80)

10. Pole Vault Landing System ($13,961.86)

11. Duck carcass press ($2,500)

12. 1,500 live lady bugs ($18)

13. Government Grade Geiger Counter ($16,000)

14. Rare Catholic Monstrance ($25,000 & shipping is $4.95, I kid you not)

15. Gallon of Milk from Tuscany ($45)

Jewish Rabbi makes fool of himself as he bashes Tim Tebow

2011-12-18T07:41:00.000-08:00

Sometimes conservatives make me crazy by the things they say or do. But this week it was a liberal Jewish Rabbi who takes the prize as he bashed Tim Tebow. But the Rabbi didn't stop at bashing. For him Time Tebow is a key to presidential politics, a secret for liberals winning against conservatives and a way to understand global tensions between Jews, Christians and Muslims.

I kid you not. I couldn't make this up.

Take this jump to read Rabbi Joshua Hammerman's Jewish Week column on Tim Tebow. Yes, the post was pulled just hours after it was released, but not in time to save the Rabbi from being exposed as the nut he is.

Here is a sample of what Hammerman wrote:

"If Tebow wins the Super Bowl, against all odds, it will buoy his faithful, and emboldened faithful can do insane things, like burning mosques, bashing gays and indiscriminately banishing immigrants."

He caught me. I'm one of the faithful, in my bunker stockpiling cocktails for the next Tebow win. I'll leave it to you to decide if they are Molotov or not.

Read the column. Hammerman actually gives us a fresh reminder of The Tebow Story, including how his mother was encouraged to abort Tim during her pregnancy. As you read, just when you think surely the Rabbi will redeem himself and make a good turn, he laments that Tebow's mother didn't abort him after all.

Really? What if Tebow inferred we'd be better off if the Rabbi's mother had died in the Holocaust?

Hammerman's wheels really come off as he closed his rant. "Unlike some other blue-staters, I do not fear people of faith. I fear people of certainty. The worldwide struggle going on right now is not between good and evil, but between certainty and doubt. It cuts across denominational lines: Progressive and Modern Orthodox Jews lie on one side of the divide, joining mainline Christians and moderate Muslims; and those on the other side are also Jews, Christians and Muslims; the people of certainty." He then insists he will pray for The Patriots to beat the Broncos in today's game.

I'll close with a quote from self-described conservative Jewish blogger Steve: As a Jew, I'm embarrassed by Hammerman and the other leftist Jewish (and non-Jewish) vermin, who actually believe that because they are leftists or liberals, they are enlightened, and their opposition is narrow minded and bigoted. I'm conservative, and I'm open minded to the fact that Rabbi Joshua Hammerman is a leftist bigot.

Sexual Healing Video has 750,000 Views

2011-12-14T20:11:00.000-08:00

Take this jump to see Matt Robertson's YouTube Video titled Sexual Healing

Matt writes this about his rap:

I originally wrote (this poem) for open mic at Pacific University. It highlights my journey with casual sex and the conclusion I came to that sex as recreation, or just for fun, is unable to satisfy us the way we were meant to be satisfied. Sex is good, in it's proper context. This poem mainly focuses though on anyone who has been deeply affected, hurt, and damaged by sexual sin. Forgiveness and mercy are given freely by Jesus. He cleans, restores, and heals us beyond measure and asks nothing in return. He saw all our sin and filth before he went to the cross and it was still his joy to go get us.

How great is it that our 17 year old daughter shared this video with us?

A Jew, a Muslim and Tim Tebow walk into a...

2011-12-13T07:10:00.000-08:00

Follow these jumps to some Tim Tebow links.

Here is an article in The Wall Street Journal on how different faiths are embracing the Christian QB.

From the article:

"...the rabbi at Denver's Temple Emanuel was asked if he would ever sermonize about Tebow. Joe Black responded as if he had just chugged an espresso. "Oh, absolutely!" he said. "Here's the sermon I would deliver and probably will deliver: Tim Tebow is broadcasting the fact that he believes in God. God is actively involved in his life. We call ourselves people of faith. Is that how we perceive God? And if not, how do we perceive God?"

At the Colorado Muslim Society, the Broncos don't come up usually in conversation. But Tebow is often a topic for discussion when the board's chairman Khaled Hamideh and his friends gather for weekly barbecues and potluck dinners. He counts himself as a Tebow fan mostly because of the quarterback's winning pedigree. "I know I'm a Muslim and he's a Christian, but I admire somebody who thanks God for everything that he gave him," Hamideh said. "The team has rallied around him not because of his religious beliefs but because they believe this guy has something in him that pushes him the right way."

Ruth Borri, a teacher at the Avalokiteshvara Buddhist Center in Denver, overhears aisle talk about Tebow. She finds his steadfast devotion refreshing. "There's a great deal of spirituality missing in our whole culture in general," she said. "His willingness to be what he is and not be ashamed of it is something that I think is an admirable quality."

Here's a website dedicated to photos of people Tebowing. I kid you not. You don't know what "Tebowing" is? Take the jump and check out the photos. Here's some background from the website:

Tebowing is defined as "to get down on a knee and start praying, even if everyone else around you is doing something completely different."

The term "Tebowing" was coined by entrepreneur and avid Denver Broncos fan, Jared Kleinstein, in October 2011. A Denver native, Kleinstein had just finished watching Bronco quarterback Tim Tebow lead Denver to a miraculous comeback victory over the Miami Dolphins. Tebow threw two touchdown passes and a 2-point conversion in the final 2:44 of the fourth quarter to force overtime. The Broncos would go on to win 18-15 in overtime after a Matt Prater field goal.

Immediately following the game, Jared decided he and his friends needed to pay tribute to Tebow for what had just transpired, so he asked his friends to join him outside for a quick photograph. Following Jared's example, they all got down on one knee, put their heads to their hands, took a picture, and thus, "Tebowing" was born.

The next day, Kleinstein launched tebowing.com and the rest is history.

It's Not About Football

2011-12-12T06:14:00.000-08:00

You can read them all in The Denver Post if you take this jump, but here are my favorite Tim Tebow quotes from his locker room interview yesterday following the Denver Broncos come from behind win over the Chicago Bears.

"If you believe, unbelievable things can sometimes be possible."

"But great things are only possible if you're under very tough circumstances."

" I think my teammates make me look a lot better than I am."

"I don't think it's 'Tebow Time'; I just think it's 'Bronco Time,' and the team steps up as a team. We play for one another and continue to trust one another, and I think that makes all the difference in the world."

"I'm just trying to improve every single day."

"I think this has just been a great season, and I'm proud to be on a team with a bunch of guys who are high-character, coaches that are high-character, and however it ends I know I'm that I'm going to proud of all those guys and proud of the effort we put forth."

Ken Staples

2011-12-10T05:42:00.000-08:00

Ken Staples died this week. He was a great guy and a good friend.

My family spent time with Ken at his place in Red River, NM a few summers ago. He was not well. His blood disease was advancing. It required transfusions and constant monitoring of his temperature. We went to Red River in part because we were concerned it might be our last opportunity to spend some time like that with Ken. Yet that week, as always, he was all about life and living it well.

The Sunday we were there Ken gathered a large circle of friends, from a variety of denominational backgrounds, to share communion on the deck of his home. Then that same crowd joined a few hundred others at "Community House," a unique Red River gathering where anyone is welcome for worship. Ken and Mildred were key participants in CH for many years. I was honored to speak and my family was blown away when Ken went to the stage and joined in a quartet for special music, backed up by acoustic guitar and piano. It was old time Gospel Hour starring Ken Staples!

Our last day in RR Ken suggested we drive to Goose Lake. He described the winding seven mile one lane dirt road up the mountain which begins at about 8,500 feet elevation and ends at the lake at about 11,500. Once there you have a spectacular view of NM's highest peak, Wheeler Mountain (13,161 feet). Its snow melt creates Goose Lake.

Old mining cabins, moose, and eye-popping drop-offs along the trail make for interesting photo ops and dangerous rubbernecking too. Ken manned the jeep with Suzanne and Hannah plus all the fishing and cooking gear. I drove a four wheeler with Elijah in tow.

Ken described the road, the vehicles, the elevation change, the degree of difficulty... I was concerned about a two or three hour drive on an unfamiliar road, straight up a mountain on a four wheeler. And I wondered about Ken at the wheel of the jeep in his weakened state.

No need for worry. Ken loved every minute of it. Once we arrived at the breathtaking lake (its beauty as well as its elevation) Ken walked all around the edge throwing his line in. The sun was bright, the day was, well in a word, perfect.

Over lunch (yes, we caught trout!) Ken wistfully looked up at the summit of Wheeler Mt. and for a brief moment we thought about taking the trail...

No, we had come far enough. But it was perfect indeed.

Suzanne and I often think about that moment, sitting in the sun on the top of a mountain beside a crystal clear lake, enjoying family and friends.

God bless you Ken. Enjoy communion with your friends at the big Community House, you and Mildred together again. And enjoy that mountain along with the crystal lake. We'll keep driving the road and look forward to seeing you there, OK?

11/22/63 and a Prayer for Today

2011-12-04T06:33:00.000-08:00

I read Steven King's 11/22/63 over the weekend. It's the story of a man who travels back in time to stop the Kennedy assassination. No worries... No spoiler here.

I will say that the descriptions of Oswald are vivid. For me this is the most gripping part of the narrative. Ironically, Steven King's story about going back in time to prevent the death of JFK brings Lee Harvey Oswald to life.

Again and again dark forces stand between the time traveler and any actions he plans to take to adjust history. There is a repeated line in the book. "The past is obdurate and does to want to be changed."

I think the present is obdurate.

There are bright and wonderful forces for good. And there are dark and terrible forces for bad. These stand between the travelers in this Present Time (you and me) and the actions we know we ought to take, actions necessary for good changes in our yet to be written histories.

O God,

I want to hear Your voice and discern Your will in the details of my day. I believe Your plans for me are good and that You have indeed given me a hope and a future. But You have also given me today. Help me choose wisely and join You in standing against the dark forces that would keep me from You and Your good.

Amen.

Fort Worth ISD Tackles the Issues that Matter Most

2011-12-03T03:00:00.000-08:00

Follow this jump to a Fort Worth Star-Telegram article about the Fort Worth ISD and the biggest question facing education in America:

Should Santa Claus visit the classroom?

Are you kidding me? If you have some time and will promise to take your blood pressure meds, read the 254 (at the time of this posting) reader comments for the article.

The true meaning of Christmas is lost on those don't see the irony of protesting "no Santa in a classroom" as a religious issue. Of course since many worship at the altars of the cash register and credit card swiper they might be on to something...

We would all be better off with less confusion about Santa and God, not particularly in that order. But I don't think the sky is falling if Santa can't come to class. Some kids will be better off without the distraction.

Of course some of those same kids could've used less distractions during football pep rally dismissals too... Now we're talkin' about a religious issue.

Herman Cain Wishes he had Taken the Advice

2011-12-02T12:26:00.001-08:00

There is a simple admonition in the scriptures that says, basically, "Don't allow event a hint of sexual misconduct to tarnish your reputation or give people cause to wonder about you."

Herman Cain is about to pull out of the Republican primary process because he had a 13 year relationship with a woman who is not his wife. I'm not saying it was an illicit relationship or even an adulterous one. I am saying it was dumb. If it was proper why didn't Mrs. Cain know about it? The best answer Herman Cain can come up with is, "It was dumb."

I know a married man who gave diamond earrings to a woman who is not his wife. He bought them at a charity auction and publicly reasoned his inappropriate gift away saying, "This sweet lady is divorced and it has been a long time since any man gave her something nice." I cringed as he stood up and presented the stunned divorcee, sitting at his table beside his wife, with the gift. Dumb.

There are four women a married man can give a gift to: his wife, his mother, his wife's mother or his daughter. All other women are off limits. Men, if you're married and know another woman who needs something (like a loan, earrings, conversation, friendship...) ask your wife what she thinks. If she agrees the help is needed, she can give the gift.

"Don't allow event a hint of sexual misconduct to tarnish your reputation or give people cause to wonder about you."

Kurt Warner tells Tim Tebow to "tone it down"? Not exactly...

2011-11-30T06:40:00.000-08:00

An article by Dan Bickley in The Arizona Republic is being quoted all over the place this morning, from ESPN to Fox News, from The Drudge Report to The Washington Post. Take this jump to read the article in full.

ESPN and the others all have it partly right but mostly wrong. If you only read the headlines and quotes you miss the most important part. The story is not only for famous, winning quarterbacks and their testimony in the glow of victory. It is for those of us on the bench and out of the game. Super Bowl MVP Warner says he was at his best giving God glory not on the stage, fettered with confetti and holding a trophy. He says it was when he was not famous, not winning, and on the bench working at a grocery in Iowa. That is when Kurt Warner says he made his biggest impact for God.

Read the Bickley article. Warner simply tells Tebow he should let his good deeds shine so brightly that people see them and give God the credit. That idea is not original with Kurt Warner (check out what Jesus says in that famous sermon on the mountainside). And a believer should take this humble "it's not about me" approach no matter their fame or fortune.

Warner is right. Religious people (Tebow included) are at their best when they are not the focus. And Kurt Warner reminds us our light shines brightest when we are struggling and no one knows who we are.

I happen to believe Tim Tebow deeply believes that to be true and would be doing exactly what he is doing if he was a missionary in the Philippines or bagging groceries somewhere in Iowa.

From the article:

"There's almost a faith cliche, where athletes come out and say, 'I want to thank my Lord and savior,' " Warner said. "As soon as you say that, the guard goes up, the walls go up, and I came to realize you have to be more strategic.

"The greatest impact you can have on people is never what you say, but how you live. When you speak and represent the person of Jesus Christ in all actions of your life, people are drawn to that. You set the standard with your actions. The words can come after."

Tebow should listen up, because Warner already has lived this story. He's had coaches who felt religion was cutting into football time, telling Warner he spent too much time with the Bible. He saw how some fans were offended by the frequent shout-outs to Jesus, that Warner somehow was suggesting that God was a football fan, caring more about an NFL quarterback than, say, "a tsunami victim."

It's a tough subject. Some people recoil, some people relate. Some cheer, some jeer, some turn away completely. On his journey, Warner found his biggest impact on people came during his personal struggles, when he had no platform, when he was relegated to the bench and people witnessed how magnificently he handled demotions and adversity.

It wasn't about words. It was words in action, the kind that speak volumes.

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T08:23:00.000-08:00

Psalm 100

A psalm of thanksgiving.

Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth!
Worship the Lord with gladness.
Come before him, singing with joy.
Acknowledge that the Lord is God!
He made us, and we are his.
We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
go into his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the Lord is good.
His unfailing love continues forever,
and his faithfulness continues to each generation.

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

A Thanksgiving Hooke

2011-11-21T07:20:00.001-08:00

There are no Thanksgiving traditions about twelve year old John Hooke. No songs, no poems, no pilgrim lore. Yet of all the long forgotten stories from the original 102 people aboard the Mayflower in 1620, maybe little John's is one we ought to remember.

When John Hooke's father died, his mother signed an apprenticeship agreement with a tailor, Isaac Allerton. This arrangement meant John was under the tutelage of a master who would show him a trade, provide food and clothing, and teach him about religion and faith.

Perhaps the faith and religion lessons were the most difficult. The next year young John sailed with Allerton and his family on the Mayflower. John died that first brutal winter in Plymouth.

Abraham Lincoln wrote in his proclamation of Thanksgiving as a National Holiday in 1863, "We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity; we have grown in numbers, wealth and power as no other nation has ever grown." How right Mr. Lincoln was, and is. Accustomed to the blessings of this world, it's easy to lose a spirit of thankfulness and lose touch with the spirit of Thanksgiving.

His gift is that he reminds me of how rich I am. When I was John Hooke's age, I was singing, "Over the river and through the woods ..." On Thanksgiving Day, I was eating extra pie, waiting for the Dallas Cowboys' game, warming by the fire, or jumping in a pile of leaves. None of these things are wrong. In fact, that's what is right about Thanksgiving. That's the "Thanksgiving Hooke." It's the peace I've enjoyed for which I must give thanks. It is the bounty of Heaven ... the love of family ... the blessings of a gracious God ... and the gift of a little apprentice boy.

We know of no significant contribution he made to the Mayflower mission. He did not sign the Mayflower Compact. He likely had no choice but to get on board that boat. Yet his gift is that he reminds me of how rich I am. John Hooke gives us perspective and calls us to search our hearts for the same measure of sacrifice and an extra helping of thankfulness.

The Biblical word most like the old English concept of apprentice is "disciple." Here again is the "Thanksgiving Hooke." Will we attach ourselves to a master teacher? Will we go where He goes? Will we sail with Him to another land in faith?

What kind of pilgrims and apprentices will we be?

A Prayer on our Daughter's Birthday

2011-11-20T08:59:00.001-08:00

Today is our daughter's birthday.

I read Luke 8 this morning, a chapter in the Bible filled with stories of Jesus doing spectacular good. I was in this text particularly because it is my little girl's birthday.

Ok, my 17 year old is not so little anymore, but... Luke 8 tells the story of a 12 year old girl who was very ill and died. I cannot imagine her parents' desperation.

In the middle of that darkness, someone reports that Jesus the healer has come to town. The girl's daddy leaves her bedside and fights through a huge crowd to find Him.

The rest of that story is vintage Jesus. When she comes again to life the scripture says her parents were overwhelmed. I can only imagine her parents' exhilaration.

A prayer for today:

O God,

I bring You into my heart and home this day, my daughter's birthday. Let me bring You and all Your healing power into her life and the life of our entire family. You have given us life and will give us life anew. I trust you to carry us from death to life and bring us to Your Glory and Goodness for all eternity.

Another GREAT Khan Academy Story

2011-11-18T05:15:00.000-08:00

Follow the jump to a great post at a blog I'm not familiar with but discovered recently and intend to explore. The post is about 8 year old Dominique, a little girl who could not figure out math until a gifted teacher introduced her to a Khan Academy video. These stories are why I love KA!

From the article:

Even though Dominique was new to Khan Academy, even though the computer is slow to give her feedback, even though she was only on level one, and a problem sometimes took her three minutes, this was and is her favorite thing to do with me—second only to eating pizza.

I had met Dominique’s report card before I met Dominique—straight F’s. When I did meet her, she came with a stack of worksheets that “she needed help with.” The first problem on the top of the paper was 78 – 49 =________. In the blank in pencil was 31 with a red X next to it. The whole paper was like this: a full page of double digit subtraction problems with wrong answers penciled in the blanks and red X’s next to them.

The truly remarkable thing, however, is that even though Dominque has been getting “F’s” on her report card for the last two years and even though she keeps getting worksheets thrust under her nose with problems she doesn’t understand, and even though she keeps getting red “X’s” on these papers, still she has a smile on her face and is enthusiastic about trying again.

Lady Gaga's Creative Director Quits, Cites the Gospel as Reason

2011-11-17T02:59:00.000-08:00

Follow the jump to a Billboard article about Lady Gaga's longtime creative director Laurieann Gibson leaving due to religious differences.

From the article:

But as time went on... friction began to trickle into their working relationship. A hint of it came during the filming of Gaga's "Judas" video, whose strong religious overtones made Gibson somewhat uneasy. She described the conceptual debate as such: "At one point, there was two completely different views and after the third glass of wine, I was like, 'Listen, I don't want lightning to strike me. I believe in the Gospel and I'm not going there.'"

WJWJW (Who's Jersey Would Jesus Wear?)

2011-11-16T06:12:00.000-08:00

Take this jump to an article at The PostGame blog at Yahoo Sports.

From the article:

A handful of Denver fans have decided a customized Tim Tebow jersey would make for the perfect Christmas gift. What could possibly be troubling about that? A whole lot, depending on who you ask.

Rather than have the last name "Tebow" on the back of the Broncos jersey, these fans have placed "Jesus" above Tebow's No. 15.

Not everyone thinks it's appropriate. Some fans told CNN (via KTVQ) that the new custom apparel is blasphemous.

"Sports is one thing, and Jesus is another thing," Traci Yown, a mom Christmas shopping for her son told the network. "I like to have their names, their last names on the jerseys. I'm a Christian, but I mean I wouldn't want people going around having Jesus on the back of their jerseys."

But Rev. Marcus Buckley of a Baptist Church in Greer, S.C., believes those who speak out against such public displays of religion are haters.

I don't know if they are haters or not. I do know some Christians behave in ways that drive non-believers and even some believers crazy. Occasionally a personality comes along, like Tim Tebow, who simply polarizes people.

From my eye Tim Tebow is as genuine as he can be. For him, Jesus is life. He (Tim, not Jesus) isn't pushing the jersey. But he (Tim, not Jesus) probably likes it. He likely disagrees with the Christmas shopping Christian mom in the article. Jesus is not "another thing." Sports and even shopping cannot be separated from authentic faith. Tim would most certainly say he prefers to see the name of Jesus than the name of Tebow anytime, anywhere.

WJWJW? Tim Tebow might like to think the answer is a jersey with your name on it. For Tebow it's probably just how he believes.

Funny One

2011-11-15T05:03:00.000-08:00

A Rabbi goes to visit the neighborhood barber. When it comes time to pay, the barber refuses saying “No charge. You are a man of the cloth. I could never take anything from you.”

The next day, the barber arrives to open and finds on his doorstep a bag full of bagels with a note from the Rabbi. ”Blessings to you for your act of kindness.”

That same day, a priest comes in for a haircut. When it comes time to pay, the barber again refuses saying, “You are a man of the cloth, I could never take anything from you.”

The next day, the barber arrives to open and finds on his doorstep a lovely basket of fruit with a note from the priest. ”Blessings to you for your act of kindness.”

That same day, a Church of Christ preacher comes in for a haircut. When it comes time to pay, once again the barber refuses saying, “You are a man of the cloth, I could never take anything from you.”

The next day, the barber arrives to open. On his doorstep he finds three more Church of Christ preachers.

Being Nutty is not the Same as Being Faithful

2011-11-14T04:09:00.000-08:00

Follow this jump to a Washington Post article about snake-handling, poison drinking believers.

From the article: A hand-lettered statement taped near the pulpit reads: “The pastor and congregation are not responsible for anyone that handles the serpents and gets bit. If you get bit, the church will stand by you and pray with you. And the same goes with drinking the poison.”

A youth minister I know once told a teenager with a broken bone to toss aside the crutches and walk by faith. A couple days and much pain later the boy went back to the doctor.

Being nutty is not called faith. It's just nutty.

A Prayer for Today

2011-11-13T05:18:00.000-08:00

God,

Your power has created another day and Your love sustains my life in it. I awoke this morning because of Your goodness and mercy. You have made this day. I never want to lose my wonder over Your power to create and do what only You can do.

This is the day that You have made. I will rejoice and be glad in it.

11-12

2011-11-12T07:47:00.000-08:00

I received this email yesterday:

I read your blog post today on 11-11 and was wondering if you'd take a minute and answer a question. Since Solomon and Israel fell away from their covenants with God, do you think we have done that today? I guess by "we" I mean America and the church. And, assuming you will say that we have also left our covenants with God, what can be done about it? Thank you!

The easy answer is that the collective "we" has indeed turned away from God, both America and the church. But truth is there are some people who are faithful, like Isaiah's remnant.

But here's the deal... These Godly people are not our hope. The One in whom they have placed their faith and remained steadfast, He is our hope.

The hope is NOT to be politicized, though it often is. It does not belong exclusively to the right or left.

The hope is not be to be denominationalized. It does not belong to the Baptists or the Church of Christ, the Catholics or the Lutherans.

Last week I saw a Mitt Romney ad on a newscast, one currently being run in Iowa. He was giving a stump speech in the ad. Behind him was an ocean of American flags. Frankly he was pretty good and very passionate. But as his intensity peaked and the 30 second spot ended he said, "America is the hope of the earth."

Wow.

Solomon probably thought the hope of the world was Israel. That's how he ends up with hundreds of wives. Political deals with foreign nations sounded like a good idea at the time but proved fatal to his faith and the future of the nation who's most important role in the world was to introduce all its inhabitants to God.

Church leaders probably think the hope of the world is their church or their denomination. That's how we end up with hundreds of movements and churches claiming they are the true church, they alone have the one lost detail and have figured it out. This is why churches cover up scandals. Hiding our sins and the truth (a truth that we know better than anyone) that we are not nearly as close to perfect as we claim sounds like a good idea at the time. But it proves fatal to our faith and the future of people who's most important role is not to condemn the world, yell at sinners and pretend we are right all the time. Our job is to love and introduce people to our God.

So have we fallen away from our covenant with God. In a word, "Yup."

What can we do? The best answer is in the scriptures. Here are two:

2 Chronicles 7:14
Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.

Micah 6:6-8
What can we bring to the Lord? What kind of offerings should we give him? Should we bow before God with offerings of yearling calves? Should we offer him thousands of rams and ten thousand rivers of olive oil? Should we sacrifice our firstborn children to pay for our sins? No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

11-11-11

2011-11-11T04:45:00.000-08:00

I'm not into numerology, but today is 11-11-11.

I thought I'd comment on the eleventh book of the Bible, the eleventh chapter, eleventh verse. It occurred to me there are two 11-11-11's. In the Christian Bible the eleventh book is 1 Kings. In the Jewish Bible it is Jeremiah.

1 Kings 11:11 So now the Lord said to him, “Since you have not kept my covenant and have disobeyed my decrees, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your servants."

Jeremiah 11:11 Therefore, this is what the Lord says: "I am going to bring calamity upon them, and they will not escape. Though they beg for mercy, I will not listen to their cries."

Cheery messages, huh? Actually these are both good words for us. Let me explain...

The 1 Kings verse is a word to Solomon, the Jeremiah verse to Jerusalem. Interesting 11-11-11 is to the King and the Kingly City, and each has the same message. In fact, the Jeremiah verse directly points back to the 1 Kings verse which was written many years before.

Solomon, once heralded as the wisest man on earth, had begun to trust more in his own wisdom than God's wisdom. He made political alliances with other nations. The verses leading up to I Kings 11:11 say Solomon's wives turned his heart to worship other gods instead of being completely faithful to the Lord his God. Each foreign wife represented a deal brokered with a neighboring king, backroom deals that highlighted a shift in Solomon's loyalties.

Jerusalem simply followed Solomon's example. Years after God's promise to turn Israel over to his servant (civil war had torn the nation apart, one side led by Solomon's son, the other his servant) both Judah and Israel were alienated from God just as Solomon had been. The verses leading up to Jeremiah 11:11 say the people had returned to the sins of their forefathers, refused to listen to God and worshipped other gods. Both Israel and Judah had broken the covenant God made with their ancestors. Just like Solomon back in the days of 1 Kings.

God reminds us in each 11-11-11 of the consequences of broken covenants. On 11-11-11 pray for reign. Take to heart these words from God. Keep His covenant and obey His decrees, living in His Kingdom with faithfulness and goodness for you, your children and their children.

Ten of Thousands of Tweets @ Joe Paterno & Penn State

2011-11-10T05:21:00.001-08:00

Here are ten tweets this morning about Joe Paterno's firing at Penn State:

@RickyCreech
People upset over firing of Coach Jo Pa. Success does not exempt one from moral, ethical or legal obligations.

@kdemps13
Jo Pa deserved to be fired. He didn't call the police. I actually have respect for PS now that they fired him and the prez.

@djladiesmancain
In 10 years they won't be associating Jo Pa with this scandal all you will hear is how he won so many games!

@aaronlandont
I guess Penn State students haven't figured out why Jo Pa is out? Riot? Really?

@LoveThemRedSox
JO PA IS NOT THE VICTIM!! He admitted his poor decision; He held other's to a moral code that he failed to uphold himself!

@Trichick65
To the students at penn state supporting Jo Pa- shame on you! He protected a pedophile. Where is your support for the children molested?

@KevinPONeill
This whole situation at Penn State is sickening and the fact that a legend lost his job after 46 years is sad. Jo Pa deserved better

@JimmyFenimore
I heard the Penn State student body can now be found at Zuccoti Park. Jo Pa

@redbone1300
Will someone please explain to me why Jo Pa and the Penn STate program shouldn't be held accountable? Cause im dying to know.

@dannysimsdotorg
Molesting little boys ruins lives. Those boys will have to live with much worse than firing and rioting.

Follow First

2011-11-09T04:30:00.001-08:00

Is there too much focus on leadership and too little little focus on following?Maybe the world does not lack good leaders but instead is short on good followers.

As a Christian "leader" I have spent a disproportionate amount of time and energy honing my leadership skills. An honest evaluation probably suggests all my efforts have not yielded axis tilting effect. What I have needed to do for a long time and have begun to do is reinvest in being a better follower.

Hmm... Maybe the church does not lack good leaders but instead is short on good followers.

I heard an interesting angle on this related to books, publishing and reading. Go to Amazon and see how many titles are listed with "leader" or something like it in the title. You'll find 30,000 plus. We are buying and reading lots of books on leadership. Now search for titles with "follow" in them. There are about 1,000 and many are something like "How to lead so people will follow."

Compare our preoccupation with leading to Jesus in the Gospels. Never once does He command anyone to lead. In fact the word "lead" is found less than 25 times in the Gospels and most of those occasions are used in a negative context, like "don't be led by a blind guide." Yet the word "follow" crops up in the Gospels almost 100 times. That's four times more than "lead" and pretty much each time "follow" is used in a positive way.

The story of Jesus is about following, not leading. The call of God is first about following, not leading.

I don't think I need to work on leadership skills. I know I need to work on following. My family, the church and the world need me to be a sold out follower of God.

I suspect if I will follow God with all my heart, soul and mind "leading" will take care of itself.

God Does What God Does

2011-11-07T19:41:00.000-08:00

Follow this jump to an interesting take on the surprising story of Barak, Sisera, Jael and Deborah. My family has visited Tel Megiddo in Israel, not far from where Jael's tent would have been near Heber's encampment.

From the article by John C. Holbert, Professor of Homiletics at Perkins School of Theology in Dallas:

As the old Gilbert and Sullivan song has it (from "HMS Pinafore"), "Things are seldom what they seem." Every convention in this story has been subverted. The women are heroines, and the men are cowards. The great battles do not occur, but a devious feminine deed wins the day. We do not, of course, celebrate the monstrous cleverness of Jael. We celebrate the surprising way of our God, who does not always use the expected rules of society and culture but often goes another way to perform the divine work. That God is indeed the God of surprise!

A Prayer for Today

2011-11-06T04:20:00.000-08:00

God,

There are times when I feel distant from you. I want to feel close, to be comfortable. Speak to my heart Your comfort and remind me today that you are always with me. Help me not give into feelings that would separate You and me in any way.

I know You are loving and patient, forgiving and good. Pour those realities of Your character over me. Wash me with your love, patience, forgiveness and goodness.

And as I am renewed give me joy. Fill my heart today with the emotion of wonder that comes from You, from being with You, from knowing You and trusting You. Let that feeling replace my feeling of distance from You.

I don't want to rely on feelings but as long as I'm going to have them God, let my feelings draw me toward You, not away. I want to be close, O God.

You Just Can't Make this Stuff Up

2011-11-05T05:23:00.000-07:00

Miami police officer arrested for going 120 mph because he was late for work!

10 year old pulls a 9mm handgun on a woman because she teased him about taking his candy on Halloween.

5 year old girl backs family car out onto street then calls 911 for help.

Trucker swarmed by 25 million bees he was delivering after crashing his rig.

Harold Camping was wrong about end of world on May 21, now admits he does not know for sure what Bible means about exact date.

A Real Life Text Exchange... Working Through Sin & Forgiveness, part 2

2011-11-04T05:07:00.000-07:00

This is a continuation from yesterday...

She has not said a verbal word to me except 2 weeks ago when she told me she couldn't live with the betrayal and wanted a divorce

I heard a great line recently: "Life consists of our actions but more so our reactions. Demonstrte faith in all your reactions."

I know a marriage counselor in S Antonio who believes as I believe: no marriage is so beyond repair that it cannot be saved. I'll ask him for local reference in case cammie gets ready to reconcile

In mean time keep focused and work hard on what you can control... You.

A couple of weeks later:

Things are a little better I was approved for an apartment today and get to move in on thursday so I can quit moving from plc to plc living out of a duffle bag Going to a sex addicts group weekly and a reconciliation group weekly but she has filed divorce and is moving forward on that as fast…

Wow. How are you holding up?

Just very sad and burdened that I blew this whole thing up but not depressed just continuing to work on me it will be a little better once I get the apartment

Starting to connect with some people at my new church a little bit just continuing to pray that god works out what is best for both of us and that my children forgive me and allow me to be their dad again someday

Sounds sad indeed but also sounds like you are holding up and well focused

Well when I get n the apartment it will help… I am going to make it I think the worst part is over after tonight

Thank you so much for your prayers and the reference to my counselor changed the coarse of my entire life thank you

Good, God is good

You keep saying that if someone feels like they can't get out of something confessing to one brother is what will help heal you. Those words almost convinced me to tell someone way before all this blew up…

Gods truth is always better than ours yet we are deceived into thinking we are smarter and know best Proverbs 14:12 says "There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death." I've listened to my wisdom WAY too much and rejected God's so I know what that'll do to you

Yes I can truly witness that! Maybe we could meet for a coke or something next time you are in town I would like that

Sounds good... I'd like to take our texts and make ur into a post on my blog it would be TOTALLY anonymous

Man any way I can be used to help someone out of the mess I was in I am all for it u have total permission to use it anyway you see for good

My friend is still "in process" (as if any of us are not) and he has an old new perspective: one day at a time. Pray for him and all those trapped in bondage. There is a way out! It's hard work but God's work is not daunted by degrees of difficulty.

A Real Life Text Exchange... Working Through Sin & Forgiveness

2011-11-03T04:46:00.000-07:00

Some time ago a dear friend texted me (I’ll call him Tom) asking me to call him. I did and he shared some tough news: Tom has struggled with sex addiction for a long time and recently was involved in an affair.

His wife is pursuing a divorce, a difficult yet understandable reality for him. I know of a gifted counselor where this friend lives and put them in touch with one another.

Today and tomorrow I am, with Tom's full permission & encouragement, posting our text message dialogue. I have kept these text messages just as they came to me and just as I sent them to him, complete with the funny typos we make and shortcuts we use when we text. Only the names and details that might keep this from being anonymous have been changed.

Notice how Tom knows his wrongdoing and wants help. And notice how his church is helping. Churches get bad raps on dealing with the fallout of sin sometimes. Tom’s old church and his new church have really helped, are really helping him.

Finally, take note how confession is healing Tom. This is why I'm posting this today and tomorrow. Over and against our inclination to keep sin a secret, when it is taken out of the darkness and placed in the light of God’s love and mercy His healing can occur. Join me in praying that Tom can continue to find that healing.

Danny this is tom. Kammie and I have had a situation come up and I would like to talk to u about it as soon as possible if u could call me when u have time

A few days after we talked we began to text:

How u doing?

Not real well she asked me to find a place to stay next week somewhere and I have not had any verbal communication sinve sunday and text has been business only

Wow... Have you talked with your pastor?

Yeah but everyone says I can't push her and have to wait

Is church paying for ur counseling?

They said they would when I got the details counselor didn't say anything about payment except for my insurance card

OK good

Hang in, be in prayer, read the Psalms and wait. No one who does these ever says it's easy

I ll call about the councilling but he is going to do my assesment and then maybe one more session before referreing me to someone over here but I will check church and help speed that up, counselor is also getting me in touch with a local chapter of sex aa

Some weeks later

How are you doing?

Not the best Kammie wants a divorce but I am seeing a md friday and the book that counselor recommended has been so ispiratuonal. I had gotten our finances really messed up before this blew up and she took over all the bills and other than gas I have been taking out some for food so that she can use all resources to work on the bills. But the last I knew she is going to get an apartment to get a fresh start at the beginning of nov and leave me with the house and morgage and all the credit debt so I am working on getting a second job to help me float until I can sell the house.

I have found a sex addict support group I went to it for the first time last nite and they are providing a councilor that seems to know a lot about add and allowing me to have a $5 co pay. Pastor said they would need to see our plan of getting our finances str8 befo helping with the cost because kammie has told him I have spent way more money than I have and he s right but it was on stuff I thought was needed most of the time. I have started worshiping at a new church bcause I don't want to interfere with kammie’s worship.

Sad but understandable Will she be open to reconciliation? I know you can't read her mind but what is your feeling?

I am kind of a mess at the bottom but I am working hard on me and my problems to get better for me and god . I don't know if she will ever go to reconciliation.

All you can control is you

Tomorrow's post will bring us up to where Tom is today... Say a prayer for all the marriages we know that are struggling. Say a prayer for the people caught up in secret sin.

All Things to All People

2011-11-02T04:49:00.000-07:00

Follow this jump to an interesting article about Edgar Allan Poe and the Jesuits at Fordham. Our son elected to attend Pepperdine but he had been accepted to Fordham. Maybe that's why the article caught my attention.

Did Poe's famous bells toll at Fordham? Perhaps. But I'm more interested in the treatment Poe received there, bells or no bells.

The article concludes:

The Jesuits "provided pastoral care to a troubled, unhappy soul in need of friendship and compassion. It didn't matter whether Poe was Catholic or not. Although a minor footnote in Poe's life, as well as Fordham's history, the Poe-Fordham connection illustrates the way Jesuits have lived out their charism of being 'all things to all people.'"

Post from Israeli woman living in Ashkelon which is being bombed daily from Gaza

2011-11-01T04:34:00.000-07:00

This is from a dear friend in touch with her love ones in Israel.

Well there I am driving back from Ashkelon to my settlement on the border with Gaza (2.5klicks from the fence). I see a flash of light leaving the area of Gaza. I need to make the most amazing calculations as follows:

If it's a mortar I'm nowhere near it and I'm OK - my family at home though are at risk. If it's a kassam, I'm still too far away, my family at home are at serious risk. If it's a grad - it's heading my way. If it's going to hit Ashkelon, I have another 30 seconds to stop the car and get out to the roadside and cover my head and hope it doesn't hit me. If it's a grad going to Ashdod, I have enough time to get under the fire path. SO did I a) stop and scream, b)stop at the road side, c) speed up to get under the flight path. Those of you who guessed right - I'll send you a fragment of rocket... Life in the Gaza surroundings. Gooie nag to those who managed to get some sleep. We didn't, but we're alive...

I'd Love to see Bernie Madoff's Family Forgive

2011-10-31T03:47:00.000-07:00

Last nights's 60 Minutes interview with the Madoff family was tough.

Bernie Madoff's wife Ruth and his son Andrew said they will never speak to their husband and father again. His son Mark had already guaranteed he will not. Last December he hung himself.

Sure Bernie Madoff's crimes were terrible. People were devastated by his fraudulent investment scheme. And he is serving a prison term of 100 plus years. He will die in prison. But I suspect he would tell us the jail cell of unforgiveness is where he feels most locked away.

What if his wife and son visited him in prison and told him of their shame and hurt, their regret, devastation and anger? But what if they also told him they love him and that they forgive him? If they don't I suspect they will be serving time for the rest of their lives too.

Unforgiveness robs the heart of hope and steals away our joy. Forgiveness sets the captive free, the first of which is the one who forgives.

Prayer for Today

2011-10-30T05:48:00.000-07:00

God of life and forgiveness,

Give me this day eyes to see and ears to hear. Let me see you in every good thing, in all the beauty of this day. Let me hear you in each moment, discerning your voice in the midst of all the noise.

As I commune today I want to know you as bread, the substance of community and the only portion that satisfies my deepest hunger. I want to see you in the wine, the cup that calls me into forgiveness and quenches my desperate thirst.

I want to see you, to eat and drink your life and forgiveness today. But then let me be like the bread, sharing your life with many. And let me like the wine, changed by the power of your forgiveness and poured into the lives of my family and friends.

Let me see and hear you today O God.

You Can't Make this Stuff up

2011-10-29T05:20:00.000-07:00

A Sioux Falls, South Dakota 16 year old girl rams her car into the DMV building right before she takes her driving test.

Kentucky is giving away an historic bridge.

Colorado man reports his date as a burglar when his girlfriend surprises him by showing up unannounced.

60 Elvises (or is it Elvi?) leave the building due to fire alarm.

Firefighter revives dog with mouth-to-snout resuscitation.

87 year old man busted with $3 million load of cocaine in his pickup truck.

Hundreds in Distress

2011-10-28T04:49:00.000-07:00

There's a text in Jeremiah that says if you rely on yourself for all your your strength and turn away from God in your heart you will suffer like a tree in the desert.

“Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD. He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives."

I thought of this at our Parks Board meeting Wednesday. The Fort Worth city forester reported the summer heat wave and drought has cost us dearly in our city parks and golf courses. At least 500 trees are dead, dying or in distress.

Of course that's what happens in a drought. The good news is thousands more trees are safe because they were watered.

The verse goes on. “But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”

It's been a hot, dry year. How are you holding up?

Powerful Story from Corrie ten Boom

2011-10-25T04:49:00.000-07:00

In her book Tramp for the Lord, Corrie ten Boom tells the story of an old woman she met in Russia in the time of the Communist persecution of Christians during the Cold War:

The old woman was lying on a small sofa propped up by pillows. Her body was bent and twisted almost beyond recognition by the dread disease of multiple sclerosis. Her aged husband spent all his time caring for her since she was unable to move off the sofa.

The only part of her body she could control was her right hand. And with the index finger of that hand she had for many years glorified God by typing on a vintage typewriter beside her. All day and far into the night, she would type. She translated Christian books into Russian. Always using just that one finger—peck … peck … peck—she typed out the pages. Portions of the Bible, chapters of books...

"Not only does she translate books," her husband said as he hovered close by during our conversation, "but she prays for these people every day while she types. Sometimes it takes a long time for her finger to hit the key, or for her to get the paper in the machine, but all the time she's praying for those whose books she's working on."

I looked at her wasted form on the sofa and cried inwardly, "Oh Lord, why don't you heal her?" Her husband, sensing my anguish of soul, gave the answer. "God has a purpose in her sickness. Every other Christian in the city is watched by the secret police. But because she has been sick so long, no one ever looks in on her. They leave us alone and she is the only person in all the city who can type quietly undetected by the police."

One day Corrie received a letter from that lady's husband that described the day she had gone home to be with the Lord. The husband explained that the woman had worked until midnight that very night of her death, typing with one finger to the glory of God.

A Prayer for Today

2011-10-23T04:11:00.000-07:00

O God,

Today help me focus on what is good and right. Let me see how You work and how You love. I want to do what You do and love the way You love today.

I need Your help seeing past the trivial that so easily distracts and help putting aside the sin that so easily entangles. I want to see Your grace more clearly and embrace all the plans and hopes You have for me today.

I want to forgive the way You forgive, God. Wash me of the sins I have and help me release anything I hold against others. I want to be cleansed and forgiven. And I want to forgive those who have sinned against me. Help me be like you, as a forgiver.

Often I have prayed for more of You. Today I pray for more of me. More loving actions and words, more faithfulness in doing what You do, more forgiveness, more following You in all the good You will do today.

Unforgiveness is like...

2011-10-22T06:25:00.000-07:00

"Unforgiveness is like drinking poison hoping it kills someone else."

I'm not sure it's original with him but Marcus Brecheen is the guy I first heard use this great line to capture to misguided self-destructive choice common to many (most?) people.

Choosing not to forgive? You're killing yourself! Yet forgiving does not mean minimizing what someone did to you or pushing pain and regret into a dusty closet of your soul and acting like everything's OK.

I'm speaking on tis topic tomorrow at 9:00 & 10:45 am. Follow this jump for directions to the South MacArthur Church.

Couple Married 72 Years... They Died Holding Hands!

2011-10-21T04:55:00.000-07:00

Follow this link to a GREAT story about Gordon and Norma Yeager, a real-life love story. He was 94, she was 92. They were married 72 years and died holding hands!

From the story (KCCI, Channel 8 Des Moines):

In the intensive care unit of Marshalltown's hospital, nurses knew not to separate Gordon and Norma. "They brought them in the same room in intensive care and put them together -- and they were holding hands in ICU. They were not really responsive," said (son) Dennis Yeager.

Gordon died at 3:38 p.m. holding hands with his wife as their family them.

"It was really strange, they were holding hands, and dad stopped breathing but I couldn't figure out what was going on because the heart monitor was still going," said Dennis Yeager. "But we were like, he isn't breathing. How does he still have a heart beat? The nurse checked and said that's because they were holding hands and it's going through them. Her heart was beating through him and (the monitor was) picking it up."

"They were still getting her heartbeat through him," said (daughter) Donna Sheets.

At 4:38 p.m., exactly one hour after Gordon died, Norma passed too.

Too good to be true? No, it's so good because it is true.

Do You Read the Bible or Should it be the Other Way Round?

2011-10-20T03:37:00.000-07:00

Follow this link to an interesting survey of over 1,000 American adults asking them about their experience with the King James Version of the Bible. Some of the data reveals how Americans interact with the Bible in general, not only the KJV.

Among the findings:

Women are more likely to read the Bible than men.
18% of adult Americans read the Bible daily, 24% never read it.
89% of adult Americans have at least one Bible.

Here is a link to an article that extrapolates the data to suggest reading the Bible has some surprising effects in making the attitudes and opinions of some more liberal and less than conservative.

Ever since Gutenberg invented the printing press the Bible has become more and more available. Ever since Al Gore invented the internet (wink) it has become more and more accessible. I do not think its accessibility brings more familiarity with the Bible's story. Don't get me wrong. I'm all for Bible reading. But even more, I'm for knowing God and being transformed by His Word.

Some of the greatest heroes of our faith never held a Bible in their hands. That point doesn't mean we should disregard the Bible. We ought to read it. And we ought to let it read us. There is a big difference between a Bible thumper and someone who's heart and soul has been thumped by God.

Actions & Reactions, Obedience and Faith

2011-10-19T08:48:00.000-07:00

Your actions make up the part of your life you can control (to some degree). Your actions reflect your values, what you believe. Your actions are your obedience to God.

Your reactions make up that part of your life beyond your control (to a large degree). Your reactions reflect your character, how you behave. Your reactions are your faith in God.

I wonder... Do some Christians focus so much on their "action life" that their "reaction life" is underdeveloped?

Khan Academy

2011-10-18T04:12:00.000-07:00

Here's another person who has discovered Khan Academy. I'm just one of millions who believe KA is revolutionizing teaching.

My wife has been using the same basic technique for years in her sixth grade classroom, using BrainPOP. Khan is just making the videos more accessible. And making them available at no cost is genius.

How do Private Christian Preparatory Schools Impact Future Behaviors of Graduates?

2011-10-17T06:20:00.000-07:00

I spent some time this weekend reading The Cardus Education Survey. Read it in its entirety here.

How do private Christian schools impact future behaviors of their graduates? As husband to a career Christian school teacher, father of one graduate and another soon (in just 18 months, YIKES!) I am keenly interested in this question. The report is generally positive about the influence of a Christian school in the life of our kids and resulting in positive contributions to our world.

The report begins:

"In contrast to the popular stereotypes portraying Christian schools as promoting a socially frag- mented, anti-intellectual, politically radical, and militantly right-winged lifestyle, this comprehensive study reveals a very different picture of the Christian school graduate. Compared to their public school, Catholic school, and non-religious private school peers, Protestant Christian school gradu- ates are uniquely compliant, generous, outwardly-focused individuals who stabilize their communities by their uncommon commitment to their families, their churches, and larger society. Graduates of Christian schools donate money significantly more than graduates of other schools, despite having lower household income. Similarly, graduates of Protestant Christian schools are more generous with their time, participating far more than their peers both in service trips for relief and development and in mission trips for evangelization."

The report also indicates that a private Christian school graduate ultimately makes family the top emphasis; is less engaged in politics, has more general direction in life, and is “a foundational, reliable, and indispensable member of society.”

Here are some other quotes from the report:

“Catholic schools provide higher quality intellectual development…Protestant schools…are not advancing (students) to a higher education any more than their public school peers. Protestant school graduates attend less competitive colleges than both their Catholic and non-religious private school peers.

“We find the motivations and outcomes of Christian schools to be in large part accurately aligned, but we question whether the motivations of Christian schools ought to be re-evaluated to provide a more comprehensive institutional program for the families which they serve and the communities in which they operate.”

I found the report challenging and largely encouraging. The bottom line is this: Private Christian education must provide a safe and loving place for students to grow relationally and intellectually. If they do that they tend to produce graduates who tend to make an impact in this world.

A Prayer for Today

2011-10-16T06:18:00.000-07:00

Today God, I will not ask for anything. Today I give.

I give you my praise, my heart, my will, my life. Today I bless You, for You are great and wonderful. You alone are God. I surrender my idols and repent of my sin. I give you all the idle thoughts and secret sins that stand between my heart, soul, mind, and strength and who You are.

I give You credit for all the good in my life and praise you for the trouble for in my troubles You have taught me Your grace, mercy and steadfastness. You are a God who never changes but is ever changing me and I exalt Your name. I exalt You not because of me or any goodness in me. I lift Your name because of who You are, who You have been and who You always will be. From beginning to end You alone are God and I offer You a sacrifice of adoration.

All I have to give is me. So today God, I will not ask for anything. Today I give.

Amen.

Priceless Double Take at Pepperdine's Waves Weekend

2011-10-15T10:21:00.000-07:00

When we left Elijah at Pepperdine University back in late August we looked forward to October. His grandparents planned to go out for Waves Weekend. Just knowing he would have family out to the west coast in six weeks made leaving our son a bit easier for us.

We have been all geared up for Elijah to come home Thanksgiving. That's a long stretch many parents have endured as their first one flew the nest for their university experience. But of course it was all new and emotional for us. Then, two weeks ago Elijah's grandparents arranged for Suzanne to join them on the trip. they suggested we make it a complete surprise for him.

These last two weeks have crawled by for Suzanne. Then after a cancelled flight late Thursday, an extra trip home then back to DFW early Friday, then finally an arrival at LAX 12 plus hours later than anticipated, Suzanne was in a shuttle van headed to Malibu.

His grandpa Mickey used an iPhone to film Elijah with his grandmother. Then his mom walked up, seemingly out of nowhere. His double take and their embrace is priceless.

God's Bigger Plans

2011-10-14T05:48:00.000-07:00

Some people seem to think all God wants is for them to stop drinking too much beer or cursing, or stop looking at pornography. There may be powerful strongholds God is indeed wanting to release you from. But God has even bigger plans for you than for you to stop sinning.

God’s plan for you is not only to free you from something but to free you to become something! God not only wants to release you from the power of sin but to release you into His power to live. God wants you to become!

Running with the Herd

2011-10-13T05:00:00.000-07:00

Follow this link to an article about the dangers of following the herd.

The author (Dr. Frederick Schmidt, Director of Spiritual Formation and Associate Professor of Christian Spirituality at Perkins School of Theology at SMU) takes you on a journey from "Occupy Wall Street" to a German Christian who sided with the Nazi's, not because he was an anti-Semite but because he loved German music. Nuts? That's how it is when we run with the herd.

Do you act and react based on your values? Or when it comes to choices do you tend to go with the flow? I've done it and I've seen others do it. I've seen leaders disappear because it was easier to sit on their hands simply because everyone else was sitting on theirs.

It can be a lonely and vulnerable place if you take a stand when no one else steps forward. It is easy to get caught up with whatever the crowd is doing.

How about you? Do you run with the herd?

Helen Ellison

2011-10-12T05:11:00.000-07:00

Follow this link to a blog post about Helen Ellison, one of God's most loving people. Helen died yesterday after a lifetime of making us smile.

I have known Helen since 1974 when, as a sixth grader who walked across the Abilene Christian campus for lunch daily, I met this short little lady with big smiles and tall laughter. That was a routine through junior high, high school, then my college and graduate school years. Helen had a profoundly simple way of looking at people with love and generously handing out hugs to anyone blessed to stop for a conversation.

To say Helen was special is right, but not quite enough. Helen was in many ways the person all who love God want to be, the person described in the scriptures as gentle, loving and kind. Helen seemed to so easily remember what many of us so easily forget: God is good and so is His life.

God bless you Helen. See you soon...

It’s not English, is it?

2011-10-11T04:53:00.000-07:00

In Japan they eat less beef than Americans do and they have less heart attacks. In Mexico they eat more beef than Americans do and they have less heart attacks.

In Africa they drink less red wine than Americans do and they have less heart attacks. In France they drink more red wine than Americans do and they have less heart attacks.

In Germany they drink more beer than we do and guess what? They have less heart attacks. Clearly, the conclusion of this study is this: if you speak English you’re going to have a heart attack!

The problem is not really the problem. It’s not English, is it?

Think for Yourself? How Wise is That?

2011-10-10T06:41:00.000-07:00

In his book Peculiar Speech Will Willimon tells how former Yale President Benno Schmidt addressed incoming Freshmen: "We cannot supply you with a philosophy of life. This has got to come from you, from your own active learning, your own choices, your own decisions. Think for yourself.”

Think for yourself?

Schools and universities are in the teaching business. Yet when it comes to a philosophy of life based on values and wisdom many of those institutions say, "Think for yourself."

Think for yourself... How's that working out?

Willimon bluntly says President Schmidt and Yale have no clue what students are supposed to be doing. Yale has a smorgasbord of courses and a great buffet line of faculty. Whether that adds up to something called 'wisdom' by graduation day, they have no idea. "Think for yourself."

The good news is there is a place where can wisdom be found.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

Be Ready, End Times & All the Time

2011-10-09T06:44:00.000-07:00

The only time I can do anything about is now.

I do not believe my eternal security is in jeopardy because I’m not 100% sure about what will happen in the end. The earliest disciples seemed to have little clue. Should I be worried I don’t have more clarity about end times 2,000 years later?

Jesus does consistently say this: Be ready for the end times all the time. I think that's the point of the three stories in Matthew 25. Be ready and put your trust in God. Jesus does speak of the end and He says we will be surprised when it comes. His warnings are not about being surprised. He warns against being unprepared. It will be OK to be surprised. It will not be OK to be unprepared.

I'll put my trust in the grace of Jesus who's lack of teaching on the matter suggests to me there are other, more beneficial points of focus. Why wouldn't Jesus spend more time on end times if it is an all important doctrine? When the end comes, it comes. You may go to be with the Lord or the Lord may come to us before you finish reading this paragraph. Either way, you don't know when the end will come.

Still here?

When Jesus returns, I hope He surprises me while I'm showing myself a good and Godly human. Whenever He comes I want to be ready.

A Psalm for Today

2011-10-07T04:09:00.000-07:00

Athanasius, Christian leader of the fourth century, said, “Most of the scriptures speak to us where the Psalms speak for us.”

The Psalms are not a set of laws. They don’t pretend to spell out everything rationally. Instead they are poetry. They remind me of when ballerina Anna Pavlova was asked, "Your dance is beautiful but when you dance, what are you saying?” She replied, “If I could tell you I wouldn’t have to dance.” The Psalms are what we say when we can't say what we need or want to say.

Often a Psalm will raise a question more than it answers a question. I like that. God is big enough for my questions. The Psalms remind me that it is important to be honest with God and listen for His voice in the poetry of my pain as well as the laughter of my life.

Here is a Psalm for today:

Psalm 86

A prayer of David.

1 Hear me, LORD, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. 2 Guard my life, for I am faithful to you; save your servant who trusts in you.

You are my God; 3 have mercy on me, Lord, for I call to you all day long. 4 Bring joy to your servant, Lord, for I put my trust in you. 5 You, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call to you. 6 Hear my prayer, LORD; listen to my cry for mercy. 7 When I am in distress, I call to you, because you answer me. 8 Among the gods there is none like you, Lord; no deeds can compare with yours. 9 All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, Lord; they will bring glory to your name. 10 For you are great and do marvelous deeds; you alone are God. 11 Teach me your way, LORD, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. 12 I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever. 13 For great is your love toward me; you have delivered me from the depths, from the realm of the dead. 14 Arrogant foes are attacking me, O God; ruthless people are trying to kill me—they have no regard for you. 15 But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness. 16 Turn to me and have mercy on me; show your strength in behalf of your servant; save me, because I serve you just as my mother did. 17 Give me a sign of your goodness, that my enemies may see it and be put to shame, for you, LORD, have helped me and comforted me.

Got an iPhone? Ipad? Thank Joanne Schiebel

2011-10-06T03:41:00.000-07:00

Navigate here to read a moving post about Joanne Schiebel. Who is she? If you're reading this on your iPad or iPhone you'll want to know.

In 1954, she was single college student who was also pregnant. Rather than have an abortion Joanne chose life and placed the baby boy up for adoption.

In 1955, a California couple named Paul and Clara Jobs adopted that baby and they named him Steven. Steve Jobs passed away yesterday.

There are consequences, relative to abortion, more tragic than the imagined loss of our "magical" iPads, iPhones, or one of the countless products influenced by Apple. But just thinking of a world without Steve Jobs is a reminder of the power of choosing life.

God bless you Steve. And also Joanne Schiebel.

Life or Life Abundant?

2011-10-05T07:32:00.000-07:00

Jesus didn't come simply so that we might have life.

He throws something else in. He says, "I've come so that you might have life more abundantly." Jesus didn't come so that we could try to make it; He came so that we can make it. In a world of subtractions, Jesus comes with additions. In a world of half empty people Jesus comes to fill us up to the brim.

Here is an example of someone who has yet to find the abundant life...

I know a Christian lady who was single for many years and was quite unhappy. She did finally married a man but then months later found herself still unhappy. Turns out marriage was not the solution to all her loneliness. Who knew you could be married and still feel very much alone? She thought having children would solve the problem. She learned the hard way.

I asked her which unhappiness she preferred. "Make me single again any day, because it's one thing to be miserable by yourself, but it's another thing to have people making you miserable, people that you've got to live with, and then you find yourself making the children miserable because you two are miserable. I'd rather be miserable alone."

She had come to realize her choices and her attitudes were the chief problems in her life. She knew about The Holy Spirit but did not know The Holy Spirit. She knew about all The Spirit could bear in her life (love, joy, peace, patience...) but had never personally experienced God in this way.

She jumped into a marriage looking for something that marriage simply does not provide. Then she had children and was woefully unprepared to raise them up to find abundant life. She realized it is tough to point someone to the water when you are dying of thirst yourself.

Oh, by the way... She and her husband served for many years as leaders in their church. Tragically churches, at times, promote spiritually dry people to positions of leadership in the vain hope they will somehow mature and become what God is calling them to be. Of course churches ought not do this, but truth is "church" can be the very institution who encouraged the unhappy single person to marry someone in order to find happiness in the first place.

When will we take the words of the great theologian Johnny Lee to heart. "I was looking for love (or life) in all the wrong places..."

And all the while Jesus says, "I have come not only that I might make you alive, but that I might make you abundantly alive."

Thinking of my Grandparents

2011-10-03T04:54:00.000-07:00

Both sets of my grandparents were faithful members of small conservative churches. Grandpa Moore led singing and had been an early member of the Stamps Baxter Quartet. Grandpa Sims was a deacon. He cleaned the church building and genuinely believed the King James Version was the only one "authorized" for our use.

When you're a kid you don't see your grandparents' faults. I hope my kids and grandkids remember me like I remember my granddads.

I ate lunch with my maternal grandparents just about every Friday when I was in college. And we always had a hamburger, french fries, cold coke in a glass (no ice) and a Little Debbie Oatmeal Cream Pie. Each time my grandmother would say, “When you see the Little Debbie name, you can be assured it’s quality.”

Grandma Moore fed their little dog fried chicken wings. Needless to say it was a bit hefty. Sadly it died the same year my grandfather was going downhill. My grandma was so sad.

We spent lots of Christmases in Texarkana, Arkansas with my other grandparents. They had a tiny house in a pretty run down section of town. But when you’re a kid none of that matters. We loved to go there. My grandma ran a little beauty shop out of a small salon attached to the house. I loved to go out there and have a little glass bottle Coke, the eight ounce kind, out of her Coke Machine. Those were her favorites and she thought they were sweeter than any other kind of Coke. I’d love to have that machine today. It was the kind with the long skinny door you opened to pull the bottles out by grabbing the top and the neck.

My grandfather Sims smoked and drank coffee. I remember many mornings waking up in their front room to the smell of cigarettes and coffee in the kitchen. I’m sure that sounds disgusting, but I remember it fondly. Their Christmas tree was always full of silver tinsel. I don’t know why my grandma shoveled it on so thick, but that’s how she decorated it. We sat around and laughed a lot at their home. My 3 brothers and I played 2 on 2 football in their backyard. A few years ago I took my family by the house. I was amazed at the poor state of the neighborhood and absolutely blown away by how tiny that yard is. How we played football there is beyond me.

I think of my grandparents often.

A Prayer for Today

2011-10-02T08:15:00.000-07:00

Let me see You, O God, as You are, not as I have concluded You are. Bring the fullness of Your character into my heart and then bear fruit in my thoughts, words and actions today. Help me seek you more and more deeply.

I want to be loving, show joy and bring peace to everyone I encounter. Help me. I want to be patient and kind. Help me. May all who cross my path see goodness in me. May faithfulness in all its forms abound in me and let gentleness pour out from me. And help this one with so little control be self-controlled because today I am under Your control. Help me O God.

Let me say, "Yes!" to all You ask of me today.

Scattershooting... Serious to Silly, I've Covered it all

2011-10-01T06:43:00.000-07:00

If this story is accurate, the parent should not have advertised the prayer event during school hours, much less without permission.

I've been wondering if Tiger Woods might be on the verge of quitting competitive golf.

My favorite line about Herman Cain is this: He "grew up with loving parents and little else." He had the most important thing.

9 year old Colorado girl scales 2,000 foot vertical rock ledge. Wow!

Hamas and Abbas just simply do not understand what it takes to live as a "good neighbor."

Drone strikes taking out a terrorist who also happens to be an American citizen? If the US Constitution does not protect the worst of us, does it protect the best of us?

Funny road signs. Funny because they are real.

Tolerating Your Neighbor is not Peace

2011-09-30T04:24:00.000-07:00

My friend Kansas Bob has a really good post about the peace Jesus brings. It is different from the pease of the world. One asks us to tolerate each other and lay down our guns. The other calls us to love each other and lay down our lives.

Which one is the peace the world seeks? How's it working out for us?

Below is a quote from Kansas Bob's post. Navigate here to read all of it.

The peace of Christ is not like the outward form that the world wants - it is not about coexisting with your neighbor and not being at war with them. The peace that Jesus speaks about is an internal peace that spills over into the cracks and crevices of our lives. This peace of Christ is one that shatters the walls...

Come O Prince of Peace. In the midst of turmoil I so need you today.

Guest Blogger!

2011-09-29T04:38:00.000-07:00

My daughter Hannah is my guest blogger today. Below is the speech she wrote and gives today for her high school speech class assignment: Someone I Admire. If I were giving a speech on that topic I'd talk about my daughter!

It’s a question all of us are asked. Who do we admire? For some of us we may admire celebrities such as Oprah or Steve Nash. We may admire Grandparents, Moms, Dads, siblings, or even friends. Some of you may even look up to teachers, principals, and maybe even politicians. Well maybe not politicians. For me I have always admired a few very important people in my life. If you ever asked me whom do I admire most, I would never be able to choose between these six people. So I have decided to include all of them in my speech.

I would first like to start off my parents. My mom and dad have sacrificed things for me like I’m sure many of your parents have too. They have given me opportunities to be successful and opportunities to grow as an individual. I have blessed in the aspect that my parents have always given me space in my life while still being involved in my life. They have let me learn from my mistakes without throwing them in my face. They have let me make my own friendships and choose for myself who I surround myself with. They bless me with love and support when I definitely don’t deserve it. I have been blessed with amazing parents who love me and want the best for me and I admire them for their selflessness and their love not only for me but for others as well.

Another person I look up to is my older brother, Elijah. Elijah has not only been my brother for the past sixteen years of my life. He has also been my friend. We really don’t have that much in common when I think about it. We have different interests, different hobbies, and different tastes in music. The only thing that we really have going for us is our gene pool looks alike and we have the same color hair. Despite these differences I enjoy Elijah’s company more than any other person I can think of. Elijah has taught me to not care about what others may think, but to be my own person and people will love me for who I am. He introduced me to this quote by Dr. Seuss that says, “Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.” I have been fortunate enough to have a sibling that is also a great friend. I love and admire Elijah for his honesty, his heart for other people, his good advice, his fun personality, and much more. He has taught me so many things about what it takes to be a person with perseverance.

There are three more very important people in my life that I love dearly and have much admiration for. But to describe why I admire these people requires a bit of a backstory first. When my uncle Willie was only fifteen years he was a star athlete in high school and was already being looked at by many universities. This was until his life changed on June 6, 1983 when he was in a car wreck with his best friend. His friend, Brent, was driving when out of nowhere a car came and crashed into them. Brent was killed on impact. As the car was hit on the drivers side it caused the car then bend around Willie. He was unconscious at the time the ambulance arrived and stayed in a coma for three months before waking up. Willie is now severely handicapped. He lives with scars the lengths of his legs, has only one and a half lungs, has no spleen, he has indentions in his back from where fluid was drained out of his lungs, and he is partially paralyzed throughout the left side of his body. Statistically Willie should not be alive. Not everyone survives a crash like that but he did. What shocks me about Willie is this; In my sixteen years, not once have I heard this man complain. Willie has taught me how to look at every situation with a positive attitude and realize just how blessed I am. He has taught me to not look at the statistics of a situation and how impossible it may seem, but instead to look at the possibilities any given situation.

Because of my uncle’s severe handicaps in life, my grandparents have taken care of him for 28 years now. The sacrifices they have made over these 28 years astound me. My grandparents are the definition of loving people. They give and give and ask for nothing in return. I admire them for being so dedicated to our family and they love they have for all of us.

I have been blessed with amazing people in my life and hope you have been able to see that too. Thank you.

Alabama Town Offers "Church for Prison" Swap

2011-09-28T05:51:00.000-07:00

A town in Alabama has a "Church or Prison" option for some criminals. You can read all about it here or here.

There are too many punch line angles for me to process this morning, but I just have to ask...

Of all the church options out there, which ones would be considered hard time?

Could those of us already going to church get credit for time served?

Here's a Guy who Lives it

2011-09-27T04:38:00.000-07:00

I interviewed a friend who teaches at risk, special need teenagers. Many of his students have criminal records and have assaulted a teacher at some point. In that way he reminds me of those 9-11 responders, walking directly into a situation as others are running away for fear. Pray for my friend and all those who work with at risk kids. This humble man is a hero. He won't agree, but he is.

Do you see your work with special needs kids as service to God?

I see it as what I do. Spending time with the least of these. Nothing more nothing less.

Yes, but isn't that what God wants from us?

I feel in some strange way, that when I leave in the afternoon, I am the one that has been richly blessed.

Maybe that is the principle, "it's more blessed to give than receive" at work.

I have met numerous people of different faiths that do and act as myself. So I don't know if it's a God thing or is it just doing right.

Perhaps it is God at work through all who "serve the least of these" as you said when you quoted Jesus earlier. And maybe when we give ourselves away we are the one who receives the blessing.

Yes I agree. The more positive you do the more positive you receive. Not always but most often. But I really don't think what I do is special it is just what I do.

What do you do with the tough cases, I mean the kids that can break your heart but also can break your nose?

I don't know, because I see them as teenagers that have been placed in situations that they had no control over. Of my current students three have had their fathers commit suicide, six fathers are in prison long term and most have never met their father. I have three girls who have been sexually molested by their father. Most of my kids have some experience or interaction with gangs which become a substitute family for them.

Wow. Do these kids want discipline? Can you discipline them?

Yes they do want discipline, so yes you can discipline. They miss and want boundaries they need to hear when,what and where. They have been making their own decisions since they've been 10 or 11.

What is your goal for them?

To be productive members of society.

What advice do you have for us? What can we do when we come in contact with an at risk teenager?

Do for the "least of these." Do whatever your comfort level is, but do something. Here is my best advice: Spend time not money. Lead by example. Be the light without preaching. Listen with compassion. Speak with love.

Trying to Keep up with Jesus

2011-09-26T03:56:00.000-07:00

We stood in a back alley behind low-income government subsidized housing on a humid July afternoon in St. Louis. We were holding an old gas oven, waiting to load it into a borrowed pickup truck that was supposed to be coming around the block. We were doing this for a woman we had just met, a single mom who was upgrading from one cheap apartment to another.

I looked across to my friend Leif. He was smiling just a couple of feet away, holding the other side of the load. I asked, "Is the rusted edge on the bottom of this oven cutting into your hands?"

He laughed and said, "It was but I think it's already cut as much as it is going to, so I'm not worried."

Leif and I were partners in a ministry program the summer before we went to grad school. I learned a lot from him those ten weeks, including how to serve people I might ordinarily ignore. Leif liked to say, "These are the people Jesus hangs out with."

Leif had suggested helping Mary move that day. We had met her because Leif had taken the time to listen. A guy said he needed a hand helping a blind lady move apartments. Mary was that blind lady.

A sticky rain began to fall, the truck wasn't there yet and we were tired. Hot and well beyond ready to go I asked Leif, "What are we doing here?"

Still smiling he said, "Trying to keep up with Jesus."

I'm going to make it a point to do that this week.

Which role does Abbas want to play in this story?

2011-09-23T14:42:00.000-07:00

Jesus explains what being a good neighbor looks like by telling a story of a good Samaritan. Problem is there are others in that story including the guy who gets robbed and the thieves who beat him.

In his speech today at the United Nations today Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas unilaterally refused to recognize Israel as a nation (or a neighbor). Here is the AP reporting on the speech:

The speech papered over any Palestinian culpability for the negotiations stalemate, deadly violence against Israel, spurned peace offers and the internal rift that has produced dueling governments in the West Bank and Gaza. It also ignored Jewish links to the Holy Land.

Sigh.

WWJD About Palestine?

2011-09-23T05:01:00.000-07:00

My friend Kansas Bob is an encouragement to me. I read his daily devotional every morning, most often the first thing each morning.

He pointed me to a blog where Carl Medearis, expert in Arab-American and Muslim-Christian relations and author of the book Speaking of Jesus: The Art of Not-Evangelism asks, "Would Jesus support a Palestinian State?" I've posted some of it below and you can read all of it here.

I am in favor of justice for both sides and peace on all sides. If a Palestinian state is inevitable (I believe it is) someone has to take the question of "what does it mean to be a good neighbor?" seriously.

So how would Jesus vote this week if he had a seat at the U.N.?

Surely love, compassion, justice and peace-making would top his lists of concerns for all involved. Maybe he would give a new parable - the Parable of the Good Palestinian - offending all who would hear.

Rather than allowing obscure Old Testament promises to dictate our foreign policy, what if we stuck to the clear commands of God - love your neighbor, your enemy and the foreigner in your midst - which appear in Exodus, Leviticus and three of the four gospels.

Many Christians in America think of Jews and Christians as “us” and anything that sounds Muslim or Arab as “the other.” But the call of Jesus is to be more loving towards the “other” than towards the people we think of as “us.”

This command works both ways. When I’ve had audiences with leaders in the Hezbollah or Hamas, I tell them the same thing: That Jesus said to love your enemies. Who are your enemies? Israel.

It’s true that there are elements of Palestinian society that do not want peace, no matter the price. They need to be isolated and dealt with.

The same goes for elements of Israeli society that don’t want peace. The good news is that extremists are a minority on both sides of the conflict.

People ask me all the time what I think about Israel and end-times theology, and how the Palestinians factor into that.

Here’s my answer: If your end-times theology trumps the clear commands in Scripture to love neighbors and enemies, then its time to rethink your theology.

Why There is a One-Sided Version in Israel

2011-09-22T04:52:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I posted a question about Israel and Palestine I had emailed bestselling author Brian McLaren, along with the reply he had recently posted on his blog. He began his reply this way:

It's great that you've been to Israel - and your trip may have included significant time on the West Bank, or even in Gaza. Unfortunately, many guests who visit Israel get a somewhat sanitized and one-sided version of events... where all the threats are by Palestinians and all the lack of security is among Israelis.

Brian is right. I'd have loved a two-sided version but only one is recommended by our State Department. We did spend significant time in the West Bank. But a trip to Gaza City was not on our itinerary. Let me share the reason from the perspective of Mohammed, our guide in Egypt as we drove across the Sinai to Cairo in 2009.

As we boarded our minivan in Taba, Egypt (just across from Eilat, Israel where a handful of Palestinian terrorists murdered dozens of Israelis just weeks ago) I asked Mohammed how long it would take to drive us to Gaza. He thought I was asking him to take us there. Mohammed looked shocked and said he could not.

"It is too dangerous. You would never leave and I would be in trouble for taking you. They would probably kill me too."

The reason some Westerners do not go to Israel is fear of Palestinian terrorists. The reason no Westerners go to Gaza is fear of Palestinian terrorists. I'm not excusing Israel from its large collection of wrongdoing, ill-timed raids or bombings that kill innocent Palestinians. But reality tells us this: until Palestinians get control of their own terror fringe (some will argue that it is not fringe at all) they will suffer from that perpetual one-sided view of the Israeli experience.

I'd love to go to Gaza. I'd just that i'd like to come back too.

Question & Response with Brian McLaren on Israel/Palestine

2011-09-21T04:49:00.000-07:00

You can see Brian's blog post featuring my question here. I'll post a response to Brian tomorrow. I've known Brian since 2001 and consider him not only a challenging thinker (no, I don't agree with everything he says or writes) but also a good friend.

Brian,

I read with great interest Rabbi Lerner's plea for a full U.N. membership for Palestine you posted. I'd love to know what your advice would (will) be regarding securing Israel's borders with that new reality in place.

I've been to Israel twice in the past two years and also in Egypt. The issues are complex enough for sure. But peace might be "simple" (simple is NEVER easy) if Israel could and the U.N. would act directly once peace was (is) broken by bombs and murder (from either side).

Do you have a specific action plan in mind?

Here's Brian's response:

Thanks for the question - a few quick thoughts.

It's great that you've been to Israel - and your trip may have included significant time on the West Bank, or even in Gaza. Unfortunately, many guests who visit Israel get a somewhat sanitized and one-sided version of events ... where all the threats are by Palestinians and all the lack of security is among Israelis. As you say, it's not that simple. Both sides experience unacceptable levels of danger, which reduces the quality of life for both groups. Sadly, the Israelis have the lion's share of the power, backed by the US ... so although both sides experience a lack of security, the balance of power is tipped strongly against the Palestinians.

So I think it's entirely fair to ask how Israel would secure its borders, but one must also ask, with equal concern, how the Palestinians would experience security - so their lands wouldn't be stolen, their water supplies monopolized, their freedom of movement restricted, their dignity degraded, and so on.

I don't have a specific action plan. It's all very high risk. Ultimately, the people who must live with the results should be making the decisions ... and sadly, until now, the US has played the role of keeping the vast majority of advantage on the side of the Israelis. But here's one way to reframe the question: is the best path towards security for Israel to deny human rights to several million people? I can't help but think that Israel's security and well-being will improve when the security and well-being of Palestinians are also improved.

As I always say, we need solutions that are pro-Israeli, pro-Palestinian, pro-peace, and pro-justice. And the road to those conditions will no doubt be as rocky as our own history has been (and continues to be!).

Five More

2011-09-20T04:38:00.000-07:00

The more complex the challenge, the simpler the possible solutions should be. But I'm sure you'll agree... The "simple" solutions are hardly ever easy.

Five more statements about peace between Israel and Palestine.

No nation will surrender land if doing so militarily disadvantages them. This includes Israel.

Land of strategic or religious significance must be mutually respected. Jerusalem, as it stands today, is an example. The way Jerusalem is shared is not perfect but it works, messy as it is.

If a Palestinian State is formalized, Palestine cannot continue to seek the right of return to Israel for refugees from 1948. Palestinians must declare an end to the conflict and the conflict must end.

A "Land for Peace" deal was rejected by Yasser Arafat in 2000, a deal brokered by US President Bill Clinton with Israeli Prime Miniseries Ehud Barak. We are where we are this week after generations of conflict but also because Arafat rejected Israeli proposals 11 years ago while offering no proposal of his own.

I wish I knew the answer, other than to say that each side must find a way to put the past behind them, to forgive, and to sit down in earnest with the desire for trust and peace in their hearts. We need a miracle.

Simple Israel Palestinian Peace

2011-09-19T08:26:00.000-07:00

As a future Palestinian state is promoted at the UN this week I'm thinking about what real hope for peace between Israel and Palestine might look like. The more complex the challenge, the simpler the possible solutions should be. But I'm sure you'll agree... The "simple" solutions are hardly ever easy.

Building on yesterday's post, what would it look like for both to 'sit under the shade of the fig tree' together? Today five simple statements, tomorrow five more.

Israel has made some awful decisions and done some horrible things, as have the Palestinians. Neither side is fully wrong, neither side is fully right. There should be a bold, honest public assessment of mutual agreement.

A Palestinian state that is not a threat to Israel's citizens, would be mutually beneficial to both partners.

A Palestinian state can not openly support anti-semitism or call for the destruction of Israel and/or of the Jewish people and must actively stand against it when it occurs.

If the Palestinians cannot enforce the obligations of independent statehood they cannot enjoy the benefits of independent statehood. The next time a rocket is shot from Gaza into Israel it should be the new Palestinian state that quickly punishes the aggressors, not Israel.

Israel must agree to be and behave as a good neighbor to the Palestinians and actively and intentionally behave as a good partner in the relationship, militarily and economically.

Told you. All these are simple, none are easy.

Thoughts from Zechariah 3

2011-09-18T07:14:00.000-07:00

I was in Zechariah chapter 3 this morning. In my Bible this text is titled "Clean Garments for the High Priest" which makes it seem the chapter is about a man (you and me). A better understanding shows how it is about God, how He gives second chances, and how He moves in people to promote a common practice/acceptance of His forgiveness in community.

Here are my brief thoughts...

God sticks up for us and rebukes our accuser (Satan). There is a word play there... if you read the text you'll see it.

It is easy for even the best and most faithful people to be covered over by the dirt and filth of sin. So God puts a new garment, clean and bright, on His people. He even puts a clean turban on our head. Be careful calling anyone a "raghead" as pejorative term. The symbol of a new turban in Zechariah 3 is about my place and status as a person forgiven of sin, the recipient of a second chance. If, as a Western Christian, the image of a white robe seems familiar (it probably does) add to it a white turban. If the image now looks too Middle-Eastern, the message of Zechariah chapter 3 is for you!

The grace of God calls me to walk in His ways and keep His requirements. There is no such thing as cheap grace (Bonhoeffer).

Finally, Zechariah 3 ends with not just a reference to Jesus coming to forgive my sin once and for all, but a reference to Jesus prompting me to invite my neighbors (remember how Jesus radically defined neighbor) into this same fellowship and forgiveness.

Christians have a great theology of individual forgiveness but a weak theology of corporate redemption. As I am forgiven I will invite my neighbors out of the heat and into the shade of God's grace and also His righteousness.

Even if doing so makes me uncomfortable? Especially if doing so makes me uncomfortable? Remember how I began... This is about God, not what affirms me and makes me or my neighbors comfortable.

Later this week I plan to apply these thoughts to the Palestinians' request to the UN for statehood...

Random Thoughts While Watching Football Today

2011-09-17T10:55:00.000-07:00

More football helmets fly off players in one weekend now than did in an entire season of football when I was a kid. Are chinstraps not what they used to be?

A Frito Pie is best when made in the bag.

I have known three guys who go by "Frito" and each has been a funny, good guy.

I heard thunder last evening for the first time in four months and I had forgotten how beautiful it is.

Are people interested in cars, beer, tires and auto insurance really watching that much football?

Since Abilene Christian (enrollment of 4,700) has 5 former players in the NFL shouldn't Texas A&M (enrollment of 39,000) have far more than 15?

I would not want to fair catch a punt with several guys running toward me.

Pizza and wings get a lot of pub as good football foods, but a bowl of cereal is underrated.

I used to laugh when my grandma would say, "They're going to break their legs" when she would watch football. 35 years later I find myself grimacing and thinking about my knees when I see guys get tackled or plowed over in a game. I'm with you, grandma!

This is Amazing

2011-09-16T05:33:00.000-07:00

You care about education and helping people learn, right? Navigate here and read this story about Mark Halberstadt, a guy who struggled at math and science (I can relate) and, in those disciplines, a "C" student at best.

Mark went back to college to work on a Bachelors degree in Electrical Engineering and in the process earned perfect scores on his on his Calculus and Chemistry final exams! How did he do that?

Feel Forsaken?

2011-09-15T04:03:00.000-07:00

Theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a leader in a resistance movement against Hitler. He was arrested by the Nazi regime and was hanged in April 1945 less than a month before Germany surrendered to the Allies.

In a scene from Agent of Grace, a movie about his life, Bonhoeffer lies in his darkened prison cell and hears through the cement wall the weeping of a prisoner. Speaking through the wall, Bonhoeffer assures the man that he is not alone, and asks if he would like to pray. The reply comes back, "I don't believe in God."

Bonhoeffer leans against the stark cell wall and calls out to the prisoner, "If you can hear me, put your hands on the wall as if we were touching. Mine are here too." No hands appear yet Bonhoeffer prays this prayer: "Lord, it's dark in me; in you is day. I am alone, but you will stay. I am afraid; you never cease. I am at war; in you is peace."

Out of the darkness you see the other prisoner's hand move up alongside the cement wall, opposite where Bonhoeffer holds his hand. The prisoner is executed the next day and Bonhoeffer follows him to the gallows not long afterwards.

Faith does not mean you never feel forsaken or empty. Faith means trusting when you face uncertainty, darkness or sorrow. Faith does not guarantee you will not be treated wrongly. Don't buy into the idea that faithful people always have it together, never doubt and never find themselves in trouble.

Have you read Psalm 22 recently? Jesus prays part of that Psalm on the cross. "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me." This was just hours after He had prayed, "Not my will but thine."

Feel forsaken? It's OK. Pray the prayers of Jesus and Bonhoeffer today.

FOCUS

2011-09-14T04:24:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday to my wife today! She is the best.

I originally wrote this piece & posted it in 2009. Thought it was good enough to share again.

Golf immortal Arnold Palmer recalls a painful lesson:

“It was the final hole of the 1961 Masters tournament, and I had a one-stroke lead and had just hit a very satisfying tee shot. I felt I was in pretty good shape. As I approached my ball, I saw an old friend standing at the edge of the gallery. He motioned me over, stuck out his hand and said, Congratulations.” I took his hand and shook it, but as soon as I did, I knew I had lost my focus. On my next two shots, I hit the ball into a sand trap, then put it over the edge of the green. I missed a putt and lost the Masters.

You don’t forget a mistake like that; you just learn from it and become determined that you will never do that again. I haven’t in the years since.”

I’m not a good golfer and I’ve ended up in my fair share of trouble on the course. I’d love to play like Palmer played. But how about taking the same approach in life? How great would it be, in regard to all the sand traps we find in life, to say, “I am determined to never lose my focus again and I haven’t in years.”

As the scriptures say in Hebrews 12:1-3, we want to throw off whatever hinders us, the sin that so easily entangles us. The answer is to fix our eyes on Jesus and run with perseverance the race marked out for us. The Amplified Bible says this is, “Looking away (from all that will distract) to Jesus.”

That’s great advice. Look away from all the stuff that distracts you and keep your eyes on Jesus. Here are five things you can do today to keep your focus.

Forget the gallery. Sometimes people cheer and sometimes they jeer. Either can distract you from the most important things you need to do today. I’m not saying overlook people. I am saying don’t let them distract you to the point of overlooking God.

Only do what you can do. Don’t get so excited about possibilities for tomorrow that you neglect what you actually can do today. Live in the moment and be faithful to it.

Commit to Jesus the first few minutes. Begin your day with some quiet time in prayer and in The Word.

Understand that the enemy does not want you to succeed. There is an adversary and watching for him will serve you well. He does not want anything good for you today. The battles are real but God has already won the war!

Share the victories. Talk about the goodness of God and rejoice when you experience deep faith and abiding peace. Tell your story to anyone who will listen. It will encourage and help them more than you know. Plus it will remind you of all the good going on in your life.

Blue Bell and Jose Cuervo

2011-09-13T14:24:00.000-07:00

Many years ago I was particularly close with two sisters and a brother who were in trouble. It's really more accurate to say they were coming out of trouble. Both sisters were recovering alcoholics and their brother was dying with AIDS.

You might think knowing this family would have been a burden. The exact opposite turned out to the the truth. They were a joy to know and richly blessed me. Mike showed great faith and dignity in his last months. His sisters taught me what it is to face your demons with laughter and grit.

I once asked Sheila, one of the sisters, "Why don't alcoholics just say 'no' each time they want a drink?!" I guess I thought I had discovered a lost key for addicts! She looked right at me with a big smile and without missing a beat replied, "For reasons very much like why you find it hard to say 'no' to that second enchilada or bowl of Blue Bell!"

Mike and his sisters gave me a weathered old "12 Step Bible" and it is among the treasures in my library. They helped me see myself in the spirit of those steps (the first two) that admit my life is not easily manageable and I need a power greater than me.

One more word about 9-11 and remember to pray for reign

2011-09-12T06:20:00.000-07:00

One of our favorite scenes of the weekend was watching people, particularly the children, reading the names of those who died on 9-11 at the World Trade Center. It was sadness and gladness at the same moment.

Five years ago I was asked to participate in a blogosphere tribute to the 9-11 victims by posting a tribute to someone who died. I was assigned John Frank Rizzo, a carpenter who was working in one of the towers. You can read my post from 9-11-2006 here.

On a separate and important note, there are still fires burning in Texas. Many people are still displaced from their homes and many live under the real probability they will be evacuated. Suzanne's family is in both of these categories near Magnolia, northwest of Houston.

Pray for rain, as well as reign!

God's 9:11 Words

2011-09-11T04:23:00.000-07:00

I read every chapter 9 verse 11 and the one chapter 91 verse 1 in the Bible this morning. Here are a few that spoke to my heart.

Psalm 9:11 Sing praises to the LORD, enthroned in Zion; proclaim among the nations what he has done.

Psalm 91:1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

Amos 9:11 In that day I will restore David’s fallen tent. I will repair its broken places, restore its ruins, and build it as it used to be...

Zechariah 9:11 As for you, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will free your prisoners from the waterless pit.

Luke 9:11 He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing.

You will hear many words today. Be sure to open your ears and heart to Words that matter most.

Remembering 9/11

2011-09-10T08:53:00.000-07:00

Yale theologian Miroslav Volf, speaking from His personal memories of civil war in Yugoslavia, suggests Christians remember terror, war or pain from at least three angles:

We remember that our enemies are not excluded from the community of humans to whom God has extended forgiveness though Christ's death.

We remember that we are not excluded from the community of sinners in need of God's forgiveness.

We remember our pain within the story of Christ's death and resurrection.

The 10 year anniversary of 9/11 is a wasted opportunity if, as a Christian, all you do is remember where you were a decade ago and emotionally revisit your pain and anger. Don't simply memorialize your pain; claim Christ. Don't make pain or pride or prejudice the Lord of your life; surrender to God. Revision this weekend (and indeed all life) through the plans, promises and power of God.

I' m turning Volf's three points of remembrance into three points of advice for the 9/11 anniversary weekend.

First, worship wherever your thirst is quenched. Don't ever settle for complacent "dry-well" worship. If you know in your heart that your worship is lukewarm use the 9/11 anniversary to heat things up. Find a deep well with fresh water for your soul. This worship should bless you but not focus on you, except to help you confess your sin and worship God.

Second, when you bow your head to confess your sins in participation in the Lord's Supper, be sure to confess any hatred and prejudice you harbor. I think this is especially meaningful this weekend.

Finally, freely acknowledge the trouble of this world yet also believe God has overcome it. This is where we can pray for our troops, men and women laying down their lives for you and me. Know forgiveness is unilaterally offered by God. And know that restoration has already begun. We are, by faith, already residents of the Freedom Tower being built by God.

Pastor Glenn Packiam (author of Lucky and pastor at New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado) recently wrote about Sunday 9/11, "We will not simply remember America's national tragedy. We will remember the Greatest Tragedy of all: that the Son of God was crucified. We will remember that before the cross we kneel as sinners, as those who once were God's enemies. And we will remember that our enemies are also those for whom Christ died."

Here is a prayer my family will pray this weekend. I commend it to you for your family, Bible class, group or church.

Almighty God, we ask for your mercy and peace to shower down on all those who lost a father, a mother, a son, or a daughter on the day of terror 10 years ago. Let us never forget You, not on this anniversary or on any day. Let us be found, should terror ever confront us, faithful to You.

There is so much trouble in this world, yet we believe You have overcome it all. Today, on this anniversary, may that belief transcend all the darkness and invite us into the blessing of Your light. Help us shine that light in the present darkness of this world. Help us be Your "goodness" in this world and bear all the fruit of Your Spirit.

We plead for our enemies, O God. May they find You, experience Your mercy and receive the same grace and forgiveness You have offered to us. Forgive us as we forgive those who have sinned against us.

And we pray for the men and women who serve in our military. Protect them and may their service in war bring them close to You and peace. We pray war will end forever and peace will reign forever.

Let today be The Day.

I Can't Get Enough Khan Academy

2011-09-09T06:51:00.000-07:00

Here is a small sample of a great article from Wired Magazine about Khan Academy. Follow this link to read the article in its entirety.

In 2004, Salmon Khan’s 13-year-old cousin Nadia, who lived across the country, asked him for help in math. Khan agreed to tutor her on the phone. To illustrate the mathematical concepts he was describing, they’d log into Yahoo Messenger and Khan would use the program’s drawing window to write equations while she watched remotely. When they couldn’t meet, he’d just record a lesson as a video, talking through the material while writing in Microsoft Paint.

One day Nadia told him she didn’t want to talk on the phone anymore; she wanted him to just record videos. Why? Because that way she could review the video as many times as she wanted, scrolling back several times over puzzling parts and fast-forwarding through the boring bits she already knew. “She basically said, ‘I like you better on the video than in person,’” Khan says.

A lightbulb went off: Khan realized that remediation—going over and over something that you really ought to already know—is less embarrassing when you can do it privately, with no one watching. Nadia learned faster when she had control over the pace of the lecture. “The worst time to learn something,” he says, “is when someone is standing over your shoulder going, ‘Do you get it?’”

Today millions of people from around the world learn by using Khan's videos. I believe Khan's approach will enhance good teaching, not replace it. My wife has been using her own illustrated examples to teach math for years. And now she regularly uses Khan Academy in her sixth grade classes, along with Brain Pop.

Great learning will always include personal interaction. And great teachers & learners will always be open to innovation.

Home for Good

2011-09-08T04:55:00.000-07:00

A few years back I walked the rural Kentucky acres of my childhood. I walked between the live oak trees that formed my first baseball diamond. I stood at the creek bank where my brothers and I hunted crawdads and fired our Red Riders at imaginary bad guys. I walked through the twenty acre wood and saw the remnants of our tree house, long ago the mighty fortress of the Sims boys.

The hills where I first rode a bike were not nearly as tall as they were thirty-five years ago. Our house was not nearly as big and the backyard has been reduced too. Even the old barn has lost weight and slimmed down!

How is it that things change so?! Why don’t things stay the same? I would be much more comfortable going home and home looking like home. I’d be more comfortable if the old saying, “The more things change, the more things stay the same” were true. It seems to me, the more things change, the more things look a whole lot different than I remember.

I’m struggling to accept what you've probably known for a long time. There is no such thing as a permanent home in a temporary place. Only God’s Home remains the same. One day we will be there, home with God for good.

An Information/Transformation Education Partnership

2011-09-07T05:44:00.000-07:00

Follow this link to a compelling article in Wired Academic on digital education.

Online learning won't do away with classroom teaching any more than textbooks lessened the role of the teacher. Instead excellent teaching is enhanced by digital and online opportunities. The future of education is a partnership between in-class learning and online digital learning. This is what we see with Khan Academy.

Think of the value of a family watching and discussing media together. In "effective" families the media doesn't do away with the interaction but rather enhances it. The family discusses and experiences the media together. Like new homes feature media rooms new classrooms are featuring media rooms equipped with digital smart tools.

Schools have been offering digital tools to students as part of their enrollment and education experience for some time now. The effective schools are using the tools for good teaching that includes both face to face teaching and face to tablet learning. The tools simply make information accessible. The people make transformation possible.

Jesus on Facebook... More Fans than Justin Bieber!

2011-09-06T15:09:00.000-07:00

Jesus is not just on Facebook, He has the most popular page on Facebook.

Here is a link to the article.

I only use Facebook to keep up with my kids. Do I need to use it to keep up with Jesus too?

I'm not a Weatherman but I am an Observer of Man

2011-09-05T06:30:00.000-07:00

Last night I watched a local weatherman show the satellite image of tropical storm Katia moving across the open Atlantic. I kid you not, he showed its projected path and said, "We can say with some certainty this storm will not come near the United States coastline."

Watching how the media covers weather, and recently Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene and Tropical Storm Lee, has me thinking some people believe we can accurately predict all weather, control its consequences, and even place blame for its extremes.

Weather obsession just might be our Babel tower. In developed western cultures there is a shared baseline belief that man can do anything, know everything and control all things. This tends not to be the case in cultures less reliant on technology and more at ease with the uncontrollability of nature.

In Texas we had more snow and ice earlier this year than we have had in a long time. Now we are in a 100 year drought. Some say this is the cause of man and we must do something about it. It is possible it is the result of unpredictable weather cycles and there is nothing we have done or can do to affect the trends.

If man is causing all these weather extremes, who caused them a hundred years ago or way back in the first ice age?

Man creating weather? Predicting what we so obviously cannot know? Blaming humans for extreme weather? Sounds like a strange god complex to me.

Georgia Church Gets $80,000 Winning Lottery as Offering

2011-09-04T08:30:00.000-07:00

See the story here.

2 to 1 odds church leaders reconsider their view of playing the lottery. And I'm rolling the dice and saying this church is 'blessed' not 'lucky.'

An Open Letter to College Freshmen

2011-09-03T11:14:00.000-07:00

I think Timonty Dalrymple's post at Patheos, An Open Letter to College Freshmen is superb. You can see it in full here, but below are its seven powerful points for the class of 2015.

1. Seek wisdom, not merely intelligence.
2. Seek mentors, not merely teachers.
3. Seek the truth, not merely prevailing opinion.
4. Seek answers, not merely questions.
5. Seek betterment, not merely achievement.
6. Seek fellowship, not merely friends.
7. Seek first the kingdom and righteousness of God.

I sent this to our son, Elijah, as well as President of Pepperdine University, Dr. Andrew Benton. Dr. Benton has already replied with a kind note. Elijah I've not yet heard from... I think he embraces all seven points, but has added an eigth. "On top of it all have a lot of fun!"

Good for him...

Remembering Randy Moody

2011-09-02T04:55:00.000-07:00

My friend Randy Moody died four years ago today. His mom and dad, Lora and Don read The Blog, as do a few others who knew Randy well and loved him much. Randy and I have been close friends since college days and his death rocked my emotional world. I spoke at his funeral and broke down, weeping and unable to speak at the microphone for almost a full minute. As I wrote four years ago, “To say I will miss Randy Moody is not quite right. I will miss him. But I will not be the same now that he is gone.” So true. Below is my original post about Randy. That post became a spot for people to remember Randy, getting thousands of hits and producing hundreds of comments posted from literally all over the world. You can also read the article about Randy that ran in The Christian Chronicle here the day after Randy died.

I Am Glad I Got to Walk Part of it with Him

From September 3, 2007

My dear friend Randy Moody is gone.

A brief news item is posted today at the Newnan Times-Herald website. About half hour south of Atlanta, Newnan is one of those small towns that has become a bedroom community.

The article simply says, "A Newnan man in his late 30s or early 40s died of smoke inhalation Saturday from a fire at his home."

I received a call last evening from Lynn Anderson, a mutual friend and mentor to both Randy and me, telling of Randy's death. Early this morning, as I stared at the words on the computer screen, I knew the unidentified man was my friend and preaching colleague.

Randy and I met the first week of school as freshmen in college. We ended up going to grad school together. As seniors we tied for faculty votes as "Outstanding Communication Student of the Year." We received matching plaques and, somewhere, I have a photograph of us smiling and sharing the honor.

Randy had easily become an NCAA National Debate Champion and later coached consistently winning teams from tiny Abilene Christian against powerhouses such as Oklahoma and UCLA. And when he turned his focus to his first love he was the best preacher the Churches of Christ produced in my generation.

We took more than a couple of road trips. He was the first guy I knew who bought a Mazda RX7 (one of the "it" cars back in the 1980's). He was the first guy I knew to buy a Mac (one of the first generation 128K's), and the first to buy a CD player (when we wondered if this new technology would catch on).

If it hadn't been for me, he would have been the last of us to get married. I was there, wearing an uncomfortable white tux and tight shoes in his wedding.

Two decades later I cried with Randy when he and Lara divorced. He left preaching for a while and sold Cadillacs. A couple of winters passed and he met Susan. He told me over a long phone conversation how his broken and lonely heart had found its cure.

He had begun preaching again, at a church in Newnan. I spoke with one of their elders last evening. He was gracious to step out of his grief for a few minutes and minister to me in my shock and heartache.

To say I will miss Randy Moody is not quite right. I will miss him. But I will not be the same now that he is gone. A friend has died and a voice for grace and redemption has been silenced.

About ten years ago Randy wrote a book, Living in the Real Church: A Fresh Look at How Christians Treat One Another. You can still find it at Amazon here. I will miss the guy who believed with all his heart that there was a way to live and love, a way shown by God. It's a way not free of trouble but the way through our trouble. It has been Randy's way and I am glad I got to walk part of it with him.

God bless you Randy. We will see one another again.

Not Sure I Believe in God Anymore?

2011-09-01T04:31:00.000-07:00

Another of my favorites from Lois Cheney's 1969 devotional masterpiece God Is No Fool (Abingdon Press, but now reprinted by Beaufort Books).

Once, a man said, “If I had some extra money, I’d give it to God, but I have just enough to support myself and my family.” And the same man said, “If I had some extra time, I’d give it to God, but every minute is taken up with my job, my family, my clubs, and what have you—every single minute.” And the same man said, “If I had a talent I’d give it to God, but I have no lovely voice; I have no special skill; I’ve never been able to lead a group; I can’t think cleverly or quickly, the way I would like to.”

And God was touched, and although it was unlike him, God gave that man money, time, and a glorious talent. And then He waited, and waited, and waited.....And then after a while, He shrugged His shoulders, and He took all those things right back from the man, the money, the time and the glorious talent. After a while, the man sighed and said, “If I only had some of that money back, I’d give it to God. If I only had some of that time, I’d give it to God. If I could only rediscover that glorious talent, I’d give it to God.” And God said, “Oh, shut up . “And the man told some of his friends, “You know, I’m not so sure that I believe in God anymore.”

Lois Cheney on Joy

2011-08-31T16:43:00.000-07:00

From Lois Cheney's 1969 devotional classic God Is No Fool (Abingdon Press, but now reprinted by Beaufort Books).

Joy is a old-fashioned word. What did it used to mean?

Like "happy" maybe? Or was it "silly" and "giggly?" Could just anyone get to it? Or was it buried in book and brow?

I wish I knew what it used to mean, for I need a word- a good, solid word that shows how I feel when the day is over, and I've worked well and I'm so glad to be tired.

I need a word for when I've spent hours and hours with those I love, and I'm talk-sore and smile-aching. I need a word for when I'm alone, and over the miles are parts of my heart, deep in others who are warm, safe and at peace.

I need a word for when a job looms like a greyhound and I can do it, and I want to do it, and I tingle to get at it. I need a word for that warm, gentle flow that covers every corner of my being. And says, "Lo, I am with you always."

I need a word. Real bad. And I think it might be "joy."

Or maybe it's God. Then again, maybe they're the same word...

Love Practiced Among People who Love Poorly

2011-08-30T04:26:00.000-07:00

In The Return of the Prodigal Son Henri Nouwen defines forgiveness as “love practiced among people who love poorly.”

Not long ago I received this e-mail:

“My wife and I recently ran into someone who hurt us and one of our children a few years ago. We talked about our struggle to forgive. We know we must forgive and move on, while also knowing this person has not asked forgiveness, probably does not even think what they did that so harmed us was wrong. They probably laugh about it and chalk it up to youthful fun. There is nothing fun about it for my wife and me and our family.”

Here are a few things we need to believe about forgiveness:

Forgiveness does not imply that what occurred to you was not wrong, painful and that it is no big deal.

Letting go of the grudge does not diminish the wrong. You just don't need to carry the heavy buckets of unforgiveness. Doing so will be far worse on your well being than whatever wrong was done to you in the first place.

Forgiveness invites reconciliation but does not guarantee reconciliation.

In other words you can forgive someone and not be close to them ever again. Reconciliation just might not be possible this side of Heaven. That does not mean you cannot forgive or that you have not forgiven.

On occasions there may need to be some distance. Forgiveness can still occur!

Sometimes you ought NOT even reach for reconciliation. If someone abused you you can forgive them but the nature of your relationship will not be the same. You might need to keep your distance.

Finally, remember that not everyone responds to what Jesus says on the cross.

On the cross Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." Maybe they don’t care they hurt you. Maybe they are too ashamed to deal with it. But you forgiving them is not about them. Forgiveness is about you. They may never thank you for it or recognize it in any way. If that's the case, you’ll be in good company.

These Prayers Make Me Smile

2011-08-29T09:11:00.000-07:00

Over the years I've run across some great prayers from kids. These make me smile.

Dear God: Please send a new baby for Mommy. The new baby you sent last week cries too much. - Debie, 7

Dear God: Who did you make smarter? Boys or girls? My sister and I want to know. - Jimmy, 6

Dear God: This is my prayer. Could you please give my brother some brains. So far he doesn’t have any. - Angela, 8

Dear Lord: Thank you for the nice day today. You even fooled the TV weather man. - Hank, 7

Dear God: Please help me is school. I need help in spelling, adding, history, geography and writing. I don’t need help in anything else. - Lois, 9

Dear God: I need a raise in my allowance. Could you have one of your angels tell my father. Thank you. David, 7

Our father who are in heaven, Harold be thy name. Barbara, 8

God is Good, no Matter the Diagnosis or Prognosis

2011-08-28T06:18:00.000-07:00

In his book If God Is Good: Faith in the Midst of Suffering and Evil, Randy Alcorn recalls when his friend, Ethel Herr, had a double mastectomy. Two months later doctors discovered that the cancer had spread. Herr wrote…

“As I sought to explain what has happened in my spirit, it all became clearer to me. God has been preparing me for this moment. He has undergirded me in ways I've never known before. He has made himself increasingly real and precious to me. He has given to me joy such as I've never known before—and I've no need to work at it, it just comes, even amidst the tears. He has taught me that no matter how good my genes are or how well I take care of my diet and myself, he will lead me on whatever journey he chooses and will never leave me for a moment of that journey. And he planned it all in such a way that step by step, he prepared me for the moment when the doctor dropped the last shoe … God is good, no matter what the diagnosis or the prognosis, or the fearfulness of the uncertainty of having neither. The key to knowing God is good is simply knowing him.”

Randy Alcorn, If God Is Good: Faith in the Midst of Suffering and Evil (Multnomah, 2009), p. 399