Reflections Columns

Blessed

2012-02-27T11:29:00.001-08:00

Growing up in Texas, I learned that when someone asked, “How are you?” they rarely wanted an honest answer. Anything other than “Fine,” or “Great,” tended to throw the conversation off course. When I lived in Minnesota, an understated culture, I discovered that the appropriate response to “How are you?” was “Not too bad.” When I tried to use that response in Texas, it raised all kinds of questions. But, whether in Minnesota or Texas, I discovered that African Americans had developed an entirely different response. When I asked my African American friends, “How are you?” they often responded, “I’m blessed.”

In my youth, I stopped using the word “blessed” or “blessing.” I thought it seemed shallow and artificially religious, something you say to sound religious when you don’t know what else to say. I wasn’t even sure what it meant. But, as I have grown older, I have changed my mind. I think my African American friends got it right. I am blessed.

Jesus used this term when he introduced the Sermon On the Mount: “Blessed are the poor in spirit … blessed are those who mourn … blessed are the meek … blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness … blessed are the merciful … blessed are the pure in heart … blessed are the peacemakers … blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake.” (Matthew 5:3-10).

Being blessed has nothing to do with prosperity, health, comfort or security. It is all about a relationship with God that blesses us whatever our circumstances happen to be. In fact, those who suffer poverty, illness and difficulty are more likely to experience God’s blessing than those who are wealthy and well off.

I grew up listening to Billy Graham each week and looked forward to listening to the Hour of Decision. Dr. Graham’s messages, books and, most of all, his conduct always inspired me. He ended every broadcast by saying, “God bless you real good.” It wasn’t proper grammar, but we all understood what he meant and, when we listened to him we always felt blessed.

Liturgical churches still conclude their worship services with the “benediction,” a blessing of the worshippers as they leave the worship experience. In African American churches the benediction is the high point of the service. Many churches end with a rush toward the doors to get a jump on parking lot traffic and early seating at nearby restaurants. It seems to me that we lose something when we don’t take the time to experience God’s blessing and to bless one another.

When God called Abraham to follow Him, he promised him He would bless him and make him a blessing to the nations (Genesis 12:2). God’s blessing of Abraham and his descendents sometimes resulted in great difficulty. Perhaps the secret to following Jesus is discovering how to live life very day with awareness that we are, indeed, blessed, and seeking ways to bless others.

The Right Stuff

2012-02-20T06:46:00.001-08:00

Fifty years ago today John Glenn became the first American to orbit the earth. I was in high school. Our science teacher slipped us out a side door and led us to his house a few blocks away where we crowded around his black and white television to watch the launch. The tiny speakers strained to recreate the thunder of the Mercury Atlas 6 rocket when it ignited on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral. A shaky camera traced the flame that streaked through the sky hurtling John Glenn toward space. The rocket was little more than a beefed up Intercontinental Ballistic Missile, its warhead replaced by a space capsule. Within four hours, Glenn made three orbits of the earth, and then prepared for re-entry. An entire nation held its breath as Walter Cronkite described the potentially loose heat shield and the likelihood that Friendship 7 would burn up like a meteor.

Years later I visited the Smithsonian and viewed the space capsule in which Glenn made his historic flight. The capsule is about the size of a 1960’s Volkswagen Beetle. It was far less sophisticated than a Prius or a Ford Focus. Personal computers would not become available for another twenty years. Because of their discipline and courage, John Glenn and the other astronauts who blazed the first trails into space came to be known as men with “the right stuff.”

Few of us will ever experience a heroic moment like John Glenn experienced February 20, 1962. But each of us has the opportunity to be men and women with “the right stuff.” Every day we are called upon to live with courage, discipline and faith. Some face huge challenges.

When I think of people with the “right stuff,” I think of my friend Heather. Heather was born with cerebral palsy. She is confined to a wheel chair with limited use of one arm. She is unable to feed, bathe or clothe herself. But she is able to manipulate the joystick on her powered wheel. Although she struggles with a speech impediment, she is articulate and intelligent. As a freshman at Baylor University, Heather gave her life to Christ. Four years later she graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in counseling. Three years after that, she completed a Master’s degree at Truett Seminary. Since I met her, she has made three trips to India to minister to those who have handicaps similar to her own. Last year she published her first children’s book, My Friends and I.

James wrote, “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.” (James 1:2-3). Peter wrote, “In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 1:6-7).

Perhaps the fiftieth anniversary of John Glenn’s courageous ride into space can remind us that we must face life with courage and faith. That each of us can live with the “right stuff.”

Addictions

2012-02-13T09:49:00.000-08:00

As I follow the news reports of Whitney Houston’s death I feel a sense of sadness and grief. Although the toxicologist reports will not be available for weeks, recent interviews with Houston and descriptions from those closest to her leave little doubt that her untimely death came as a result of drugs and addictions that were beyond her control.

Addictions are the demons of our day. Over the last three years we have watched Josh Hamilton battle his own addiction to drugs and alcohol. His most recent relapse reminds us how powerful and ever present these demons can be. In spite of the encouragement and help from his Ranger teammates who shunned alcohol in their victory celebrations out of deference to him, and in spite of Ian Kinsler’s efforts to get him home sober and safe, he still succumbed to the temptations that never leave him alone.

The sex addictions that took Tiger Woods down from the pinnacle of the sports world and destroyed his marriage have left him a shadow of his former self. He hasn’t won on the PGA in over two years. His meltdown on the final round of the Pebble Beach Pro-Am on Sunday illustrated the long and difficult battle he is still fighting to return to his former form.

Mexico illustrates the widespread problem of drug abuse and addiction. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that the drug war in Mexico has claimed more than 47,000 lives since 2006. Last weekend mourners gathered in Lewisville, Texas to grieve the deaths of a missionary couple killed in their home, victims of the rising crime in that country.

The answers to addiction are not easy. In every case the personalities and issues creating and supporting the addictions are complex. But, perhaps the starting place for help is confession of our own human weakness and our need for deliverance. The Apostle Paul did this when he examined himself and cried out, “Who will deliver me from this body of death?” Peter did the same when he fell in the bottom of his fishing boat and declared, “Depart from me O Lord, for I am a sinful man.”

One of the most dramatic stories in the Bible deals with a man addicted to destructive impulses. He was so mentally, psychologically and spiritually ill that he refused to wear clothes and lived among the tombs, attacking those who came near and inflicting himself with wounds. When Jesus encountered him He ordered the destructive legion of demons to depart from the man. They did so, entering a herd of swine that immediately rushed over a cliff and drowned themselves in the sea. When nearby residents arrived, they found the man sitting at Jesus’ feet, sober, clothed and in his right mind. (Mark 5:1-20).

I have always found this a mysterious and puzzling story. I don’t know how to explain demons and spiritual forces that defy scientific examination. But, like everyone else, I have observed the demonic forces that destroy individuals, families and nations. I am also convinced of the difference Jesus Christ has made in my own life and I have seen Him change the lives of others.

Kingdom Preview

2012-02-06T09:04:00.001-08:00

My wife and I like going to the movies. We don’t like all movies. We prefer comedies; light-hearted dramas and uplifting stories. Some that stand out over the years are Sea Biscuit and Secretariat (we like horse stories), The Blind Side, The Greatest Game Ever Played and Chariots of Fire (we like sports), Mr. Holland’s Opus, Freedom Writers, The Great Debaters and Akeelah and the Bee (we like movies about teachers making a difference). The best are usually based on true stories.

We try to get there early, grab a seat in the first row of the second section, you know, the one where you can prop your feet up on the rail in front of you. We settle in with our diet coke and popcorn, sit back and watch the previews of shows soon to be released. Like everyone else, we lean over and whisper to each other as we watch each trailer. “That one’s not for us,” or, “we’ll have to see that one.”

The Australian writer, Michael Frost, argues that the Christians and churches are to be like movie trailers for the Kingdom. We are to live in such a way that when others see us they say, “I want to be a part of that,” or ”I wish the world was like that.” This is what Jesus meant when he said, “Let your light so shine that men may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

Whether we like it or not, our churches and our lives are being viewed like movie trailers by others. When non-believers look at our churches and our lives, they are whispering to themselves and to one another saying, “I’ll have to check that out,” or, “I wouldn’t want to be part of that.”

Jesus presented the clearest preview of the Kingdom. He invited others to look at his life to see what the Kingdom looks like. He said, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18-21).

The early followers of Jesus practiced Kingdom living in such a way that others were drawn to them and to their churches. This is why the Christian faith exploded in the first three centuries. People saw previews of the Kingdom practiced in the churches and the lives of believers, and they wanted to be part of it.

This is also the reason Christianity is stumbling in our day. Too often churches and Christians are selfish and self-centered, fighting among themselves and with others for dominance and control. When others see this, like patrons at a theater, they whisper to themselves, “That’s not for me.”

Every church and every believer must live in such a way that others see God’s Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. This is what Paul meant when he said, “But thanks be to God, who … manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.” (2 Cor. 2:14-15).

Jesus' Creed

2012-01-30T06:05:00.000-08:00

A creed is simply a statement of what we believe. Everyone has a creed because everyone believes something. Even atheists have a creed, which is their belief that God does not exist.

Every religion has a creed. Islam believes that there is no god but Allah and Mohammed is his prophet. Hinduism believes in reincarnation with a strict caste system and an endless array of gods. Buddhism also believes in reincarnation and promotes an eight-fold path to escape suffering.

Every Christian denomination and church has a creed. Some call them statements or confessions of faith. They vary slightly but almost all affirm the Trinity or triune Godhead as One. They almost all embrace the divinity and humanity of Jesus, his sacrificial death, resurrection and promised return. Some recite the Apostle’s creed that dates from the second century or the Nicene Creed adopted in 381.

Increasingly people are developing their own customized creeds, blending elements of the world’s major religions with their own personal preferences. This is especially true of the vast number of people unattached to organized religion, but it includes many who are regular church attenders and members.

Perhaps it would be helpful to ask, “What was Jesus’ creed?”
When Jesus spoke about God He described Him as our Father, teaching us to pray, “Our Father in Heaven.” He taught us that the Father knows our needs before we ask Him, that the very hairs of our head are numbered, and that He takes great pleasure in giving us the Kingdom.

When Jesus spoke about himself he said, “I am the light of the world. … I and the Father are One. He that has seen me has seen the Father. … He that believes in me shall never die. …The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. … I go and prepare a place for you, and if I go I will come again and receive you to myself.”

A lawyer once asked Jesus what He believed about the commandments. Jesus responded, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Many believe this is the essence of Jesus’ creed. It summarizes every thing he taught about God and life.

We may or may not know the belief statement of the church we attend, but we have a core belief that governs everything we do. All of us have a life creed. For Jesus this core belief was built around loving God and loving others. Everything He did and everything He said reflected His love for God and His love for others.

When we stand before God, we will not be judged by the creeds of the churches we attended. Neither will we be judged by the creeds we memorized and recited. We will be judged by how our core belief made a difference in how we lived, what we did and what we said. Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”

Beyond Religion

2012-01-24T07:08:00.000-08:00

A young friend of mine wrote on his facebook page, “Religion is still the opiate of the masses.” He got some interesting responses. One person agreed with him. Another wrote, “It can’t be. If it was, I would take it for recreational purposes.” Of course the statement originated with Karl Marx when he was developing the Communist Manifesto, the philosophical foundation that would eradicate religion in Russia for seventy-five years. When I visited Moscow and Lenin’s tomb ten years ago the hopeless despair left in atheism’s wake was palpable.

My first inclination, like many, is to jump to the defense of religion. But that might not be the most thoughtful response. After all, religion killed Jesus. The Roman government reluctantly carried out the crucifixion only after Pilate had repeatedly tried to release Jesus concluding, “I find no fault in him.” It was the religious leaders of Jerusalem who incited the crowds and demanded Jesus be crucified.

Mankind is incurably religious. Every culture on every continent has spawned religion. And, more often than not, the results have not been good. 9-11 and the Twin Towers serve as monuments to the deadly effects of Islamic Jihad. The Hindu caste system of India consigns millions to poverty without hope.

The Christian religion can become corrupt, self serving and self absorbed. Perhaps Dan Brown’s novel, The Da Vinci Code, found credibility with so many because they suspect that religious systems can become politically vicious when their survival is threatened. The mentally unstable often use religion to justify atrocities against the innocent. We cannot forget the 909 people, including women and children, who voluntarily drank cyanide out of religious devotion to Jim Jones in Guyana.

Sometimes religion is not just an opiate, it is a poison.

Jesus, on the other hand, makes people less selfish, more generous, fills them with hope and leads them to sacrificial efforts to help others. Jesus transformed a little Albanian girl named Agnes into Mother Teresa who spent her life living among the poor of Calcutta and caring for them. Faith in Jesus made William Wilberforce the leader of reform in England to abolish slavery in the British Empire. Faith in Jesus Christ changed a backwoods playboy from North Carolina into Billy Graham who preached grace and forgiveness to millions. Faith in Jesus Christ catapulted Martin Luther King, Jr from the backstreets of Atlanta into the forefront of the Civil Rights movement. The list goes on.. Faith in Jesus Christ transforms us into better people and the world into a better place.

What Happened to Winter?

2012-01-16T08:23:00.000-08:00

For the past week I have been visiting friends and family in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Montana. Most Texans avoid these regions in January. But, when you have grandchildren in Montana, what can you do?

The weather tricked us. We discovered balmy weather in the forties and fifties, with no snow. Instead of blizzard conditions with blowing snow, we were greeted with brown grass, bare ground and blowing dust. My friends in Minnesota and Wisconsin were not happy. They despise a wimpy winter. Maybe that is why the Packers lost last night to the Giants. Playing at Lambau field, site of the famous ice-bowl in 1967, the weather must have confused them. Yesterday we went to church in Billings, Montana without wearing a parka. What is this?

While many are happy for a respite from shoveling snow and digging out cars, we can’t help but miss the sounds of children giggling down snow-covered slopes, the slap of hockey sticks in the park, the sight of snowmen standing sentry in front yards, not to mention ice-fishing and snow mobiles. Of course, winter might still show up. She has several months left to make her appearance. When I woke up this morning it was 7 degrees with several inches of snow that fell overnight. It should get up to 15 today even though the temps are predicted to return to the forties by Saturday. Without winter’s harsh grip it is difficult to fully experience spring’s miracle: thawing streams, budding limbs, fields of flowers and fresh green grass.

The seasons somehow enrich us with rhythm purpose and meaning. They help us recognize our connection with creation including the migrating geese and the hibernating bear, badger and bee..

From the dawn of creation, God provided seasons. In Genesis, “Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years.” (Genesis 1:14).

Solomon wrote, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8)

Life is lived in seasons: birth-childhood and youth; young adulthood; middle age; old age and death. Every season is unique. Every season is to be received as a gift from God and celebrated. Each has its challenges, difficulties, advantages, sorrows and joys.

When Jeremiah looked at seasons and the miracle of nature, he was reminded of how disconnected human beings can become from their creator. “Even the stork in the sky
knows her seasons; and the turtledove and the swift and the thrush observe the time of their migration; but My people do not know the ordinance of the Lord.” (Jeremiah 8:7).

Maybe this winter, however it turns, can remind us to celebrate all the seasons of life, living in a way that remains connected to the Creator and His creation.

Thin Places

2012-01-09T09:29:00.000-08:00

Celtic Christianity has a term to refer to those moments when the separation between this world and heaven becomes so minimal that we sense the presence of God. They call these the “thin places.” They are the places where love and compassion reign. Where forgiveness overcomes resentment. Where selfishness is swallowed up in sacrifice. Where prejudice surrenders to acceptance. Where the violent flame is quenched and people live in peace. They are the times when our soul is overwhelmed with awe and we worship God.

The news usually focuses on “thick places” where our world is farthest from God. For some strange reason people gravitate to the sick stories of murder, corruption, abuse, crime and war. But God gives us moments when He comes near, moments when we sense the fragrance of His presence and we hear the whisper of His voice.

Occasionally the media alert us to a thin place, like the recent story of strangers who plunged into the icy waters of a Utah river to rescue children drowning in an overturned car. We witnessed another thin place when the Amish community in Lancaster, Pennsylvania provided food and comfort to the family of the killer who murdered their daughters in the Amish school a few years ago.

Sometimes we sense the thin place when we stand before God’s creation and marvel at its majesty, beauty, complexity and balance. Sometimes we feel it in cathedrals and churches or informal and intimate gatherings with other believers. Sometimes the thin places appear in everyday life. Often, when they do, they are unexpected..

When Jesus came, the reign of God broke through upon the earth so that we were able to see, in a brilliant flash, what God’s Kingdom really looks like. This is what John meant when he said, “That was the true light, which, coming into the world enlightens every man … we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten of the Father.” Wherever Jesus went he created a thin place. This is why Jesus said, “the Kingdom of God is at hand.”

When He sent his followers out, Jesus taught them to live and speak in such a way that people would know that they had come into a “thin place.” “Whatever city you enter and they receive you, eat what is set before you; and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.'” (Luke 10:8).

As followers of Jesus our task is to help create the thin places. We do so by living in such a way that the reign of God rules in our hearts, controlling our speech, our actions and our decisions. We are to create “thin places” wherever we work or study, among our co-workers, fellow students, family, friends and even our enemies.

Jesus taught us to pray, “Thy Kingdom come Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.” He was teaching us to pray that we might become instruments for the thin places. This is why Jesus said, “You are the light of the world … let your light so shine that men may see your good works and glorify your father who is in Heaven.” God desires that His reign and rule should be displayed and celebrated.

2012

2012-01-02T08:26:00.001-08:00

This week we close the book on 2011 and open the first pages of 2012.

Closing the book on the past is important. First, we need to close the book on the insults and injuries that we may have suffered. Failure to close the book on these can cripple us in our efforts to embrace the future. We can only overcome past insults and injuries by practicing forgiveness. Jesus had a lot to say about forgiveness. He taught us to pray, “Father, forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” And, after teaching us to pray, drew the application: “For, if you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.” When Peter, feeling rather generous, asked Jesus, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus responded, “Seventy time seven.” As we close the book on 2011, it is important that we forgive those who have mistreated, insulted or injured us in any way.

Second, we need to close the book on our own sins and transgressions. We all regret things we did and things we left undone, words spoken and words we failed to speak. The guilt and regret of the past can become a huge burden that weighs us down and prevents us from achieving our best. God wants to take this weight from our shoulders. The Psalmist wrote, “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His loving kindness toward those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. Just as a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him.” (Ps 103:11-13). “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord, “Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool.” (Isa. 1:18). The writer of Hebrews wrote, “Let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus.” (Hebrews 1:1-2).

As we open first pages of 2012, the possibilities are endless. A recent poll indicated that most Americans are optimistic about the future. On January 1, ABC News ran the headline: “Public Optimism Prevails Nationally and Globally.” The article went on to say, “Despite the still-deep downturn, Americans overwhelmingly express positive views about what 2012 holds for them personally.” God wants us to be optimistic and hopeful. We can look forward to the future based on God’s promises. “For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.” Both Paul and Peter agreed that Jesus is the source of this confidence. “Just as it is written, ‘Behold, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, and he who believes in Him will not be disappointed.’” (Ro. 9:33; 1 Pe. 2:6; Ps 118:22; Isa. 28:16).

May this year be a year of forgiveness and faith! May it be your best year ever!

A People Who Sit In Darkness

2011-12-26T07:08:00.000-08:00

This week the control of North Korea is expected to pass into the hands of Kim Jong-un, the young son of Kim Jong Il who died last week. He will be the third generation dictator to rule North Korea since it was established in 1948. He inherits a country still officially at war with South Korea.

Since a cease-fire truce was signed in 1953, the two nations have gone in radically different directions. South Korea, pursued democracy and religious freedom. As a result, South Korea has prospered becoming the fourth largest economy and the second largest missions sending country in the world. By contrast, North Korea is the last Communist dynasty. It remains mired in poverty, boasting the largest standing army in the world armed with nuclear weapons. According to Open Doors, Christians in North Korea suffer the most severe persecution of any nation in the world.

The stories behind the history and headlines are personal. I first met Robert about five years ago. He survived the Korean conflict on the streets of Seoul as a child. After the war, he was one of the orphans rescued by Pearl S. Buck and given an education in the United States. He achieved a prosperous and promising career in finance living in Canada, but was battling despondency and contemplating suicide until he met Christ. He is now pastor of a Korean church in the United States. Several years ago he began planting churches in Cuba. He said that he hoped working in Cuba would help him prepare for the day when he would be able to carry the gospel into North Korea.

My good friend Benjamin, also Korean, watched his father killed by North Korean soldiers. For years he harbored hatred toward the North Koreans for what they did to his father, but he found forgiveness through faith in Christ. In recent years he has been helping plant churches in China. Like Robert, he hopes to carry the gospel to North Korea. When asked why he wants to do this, he says, “Jesus told me to love my enemies.”

Last year a young North Korean student told her story to the Lousanne Congress on World Evangelism. Her father was an assistant to Kim Jong Il before coming to faith in Christ. As a result of his faith, he was later imprisoned. She has not heard from him since he was imprisoned in 2006 and suspects he was executed. You can hear and view her testimony by clicking on the image to the right. I have watched the video many times and still find it difficult to watch without weeping.

In these days following our Christmas celebrations, we need to join our Korean brothers and sisters in prayer. Let us pray that God will “shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” (Luke 1:79; Matthew 4:18).

The Birth

2011-12-19T08:45:00.000-08:00

Life itself is a miracle. Hours before my mother died at the age of eighty-nine, she was able to hear the heartbeat of her great granddaughter in my daughter’s womb. Two months later, I sat outside the delivery room at the hospital and heard my grand daughter’s first cry. Sunrise and sunset cannot compare with the mystery and the beauty of birth.

Our greatest efforts at language, music, art and theology fall short of describing the miracle that lies beyond our comprehension. John described it this way, “In the beginning was the Word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. He was in the beginning with God. … And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. And we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:1,2 14).

The Apostle Paul expressed it with these words: “In the fullness of time, God sent forth His son, born of a virgin, born under the law.” (Gal. 4:4). “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.” (Col. 1:15-16).

Birth and life is not about logic and reason. It is about passion and love, about hopes, dreams, aspirations, struggle, pain, healing and forgiveness. All of these are bound up in the birth of Christ. It is here that we see God’s passion and God’s love. In the life of Jesus God lifted our aspirations and our dreams to their highest potential. When Jesus was born, God embraced our struggles, our weaknesses our sufferings and our sins. In Jesus God made known His character and His nature in terms we can understand. “He that has seen me,” Jesus said, “has seen the Father.”

As miraculous as every birth is to every parent, the birth of Jesus was far more so. The Scriptures are clear that He was born of God, not merely man. He was fully human and fully divine. The Bible says that all the fullness of God was embodied in Him. “For God so loved he world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16).

Music for the Season and the Soul

2011-12-12T09:59:00.000-08:00

Everywhere we turn we hear the sounds of Christmas. The little drummer boy drums; the nutcrackers crack; the babe sleeps in a manger in the little town of Bethlehem while the angels herald his coming. How could we celebrate Christmas without music?

The angels could not contain themselves. On a dark meadow outside Bethlehem the heavens were opened and the hills echoed with music human ear had never heard. The angels of heaven joined in a thunderous chorus praising God for His goodness and grace and announced His mysterious gift: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” God is not against us. God is for us. He has extended his hand to us and touched us in the flesh with the flesh of His son. He has healed us and saved us from our sins.

The best acoustic theaters of Greece dim in comparison to the music that echoed on the hills outside Bethlehem. The most extravagant speaker systems of today cannot reproduce it. The greatest composers of history have stretched their talents to capture the emotions and the significance of that moment. They have found their highest inspiration when reflecting upon the birth of Christ.

On August 22, 1741 George Frideric Handel secluded himself in a room in London and started writing an oratorio to celebrate the birth of Christ. Twenty-four days later he emerged with the Messiah. At the end of his original manuscript he wrote the letters “SDG” – Soli Deo Gloria, “to God alone the glory.”

Music is an integral expression of faith. Most of the Psalms written by David were written as songs to be sung in worship. The Song of Solomon is a love song between the believer and God likened to a lover. Music is a gift God has given us as human beings to express our longings, our emotions and our faith. No other creature is endowed with this unique gift. It has always surrounded the Christ event.

I expect that Mary and Joseph sang. Early in her pregnancy, Mary burst into song when she met her cousin, Elizabeth (Luke 1:46-55). I wonder what lullaby she must have sung to the infant in her arms? Music was part of Jesus’ life. The Bible says that after the last supper, Jesus sang with his disciples before going out. Imagine those twelve male voices singing in the upper room. The Apostle Paul wrote, “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” (Col. 3:16).

During this Christmas season, may your spirit be renewed and lifted by music celebrating God’s unspeakable gift.

Decorations

2011-12-04T18:59:00.000-08:00

Last weekend the first strings of light were stretched across rooftops, lawns and windows. They punctuated the otherwise dark neighborhood with brilliant flashes of light. And, with each passing day, other houses added their glow.

This weekend we pulled the Christmas boxes from the attic where they have been patiently waiting since they were packed away last January. Candles, candy canes and crocheted snowmen took their places, surrendering center stage to the nativity. The branches of the tree that stands proudly in the window bowed with the weight of memories: cardboard stars that were cut out by chubby little hands long ago, names printed on them with backward letters; ornaments that remind us of vacations where we laughed and played. We hung stockings on the fireplace mantle, annual symbols of expectation. They once held the names of our children. This year, they bear the names of our four grandchildren, reminding us of their sparkling eyes and heart-melting smiles.

A large part of Christmas is preparation, expectation and anticipation. It feels right to me. That is the way God sent his Son, after centuries of preparation, expectation and anticipation.

The prophets foretold His coming centuries before. From Genesis to Revelation, the Scripture points to Him. Isaiah said, “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14). “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6).

The Bible says that when Jesus was born, Joseph and Mary took the child to Jerusalem where they met some remarkable people who had been waiting a long time for this moment. They met an old man named Simeon who had been waiting for many years for God’s promised Messiah. The Spirit of God had revealed to him that he would not die until he saw the Lord’s Christ. When he saw the child, Jesus, he took the baby in his arms and blessed God saying, “My eyes have seen your salvation which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light of revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.” (Luke 2:25-35).

Mary and Joseph had hardly recovered from Simeon’s amazing declaration before they met Anna, an eighty-four year old widow who had been fasting and praying in the Temple for years waiting for the Messiah. “At that very moment she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.” (Luke 2:36-38)

I guess that is why I like this time of year with all the decorations. It reminds me of God’s preparation and God’s promise. It reminds me of the One who is worth waiting for! He has come, and He is coming!

Advent

2011-11-28T05:06:00.000-08:00

The turkey has been carved and every morsel of meat stripped from its carcass. We have dined on left over dressing, turkey sandwiches, and I guess we are destined for turkey soup. The Black Friday lines are gone leaving behind horror stories of pepper spray, shootings and muggings along with the happy shoppers who braved the wee-hour crowds and got the good deals. Bleary-eyed workers at Wal-Mart, Target and Best Buy are beginning to catch up on their sleep. Across America, shoppers are turning to the blue glow of computer screens searching for the best deals on Cyber-Monday.

This weekend, a blast of fall blew copper colored leaves across the yard. Families scrambled outside their houses with giggling children. Mothers gave advice and helped as fathers struggled to untangle strings of lights that would adorn the roof and, in some cases, stretch across the yard. Up and down the street on which we live, rooftops came aglow with red, green, yellow and blue lights. Sunday evening we erected the Christmas tree in our front window. I will have to tinker with the lights to get them all lit, but it is a start. In a matter of hours, the season shifted from Thanksgiving to Christmas.

In some ways, Christmas is a unique American cultural holiday. Over the last two centuries our forefathers developed traditions that define the season: the Christmas tree, Christmas cards decorated with snowmen and snow flocked trees, eggnog, fruitcake, and, again, turkey and dressing. We have added electric lights that twinkle in the night; fairy tales with fanciful themes, Santa and Rudolph; The Grinch who stole Christmas; Miracle on Thirty-fourth Street and It’s A Wonderful Life. We have adopted A Christmas Carol from England and The Nutcracker from Russia. And, on top of all this, we have ratcheted up the commercial impact.

The church I attended yesterday lit their first candle for Advent. It reminded me that this season is not just American. The Advent, of course refers to the “coming” of Christ, the gift of God’s Son to the world. He came in much different circumstances, with none of the traditions we have added. And He came for all nations. As Zechariah predicted, ““Many nations will join themselves to the Lord in that day and will become My people. Then I will dwell in your midst, and you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent Me to you.” (Zech. 2:11).

Today, there are more Christians in South America, Africa and Asia than there are in the United States and Europe. Many of the trappings and traditions we enjoy at this season are unknown to them. But we share one thing in common, the “Advent” of God’s only begotten Son who has saved us from our sins.

I think I enjoy the American Christmas traditions as much as anyone. But, as the seasons turn, I hope I will not be distracted from concentrating on the single most important event in human history, God’s unspeakable gift in Jesus of Nazareth.

Make It Your Best Thanksgiving Ever

2011-11-21T06:52:00.000-08:00

I took the title of this column from a Martha Stewart Living Magazine. Before you get the wrong idea, I have to explain that I don’t read or watch Martha Stewart, Oprah or Paula Deen, but my wife does. We have these magazines lying around the house and it is difficult to ignore what is on the cover.

So there she was, Martha Stewart, offering a perfect piece of pie while smiling a perfect smile with perfect teeth, wearing a perfect dress with perfect hair, surrounded by a perfect kitchen with an open window that looked out on a perfect garden. Like Oprah and Paula, every wrinkle and excess pound had been photo-shopped away so that she looked decades younger than her actual age. And, over her head hung the words, “Make It Your Best Thanksgiving Ever.”

Unlike Martha, when we sit down to Thanksgiving dinner we must show up with wrinkles, warts and all. We look our age. The kitchen is a mess with spilled flour on the cabinet and sinks full of dirty dishes to be cleaned up afterward. The food, of course, is great because my wife is a great cook: baked turkey, mashed potatoes, giblet gravy, her famous dressing passed down from her mother, green beans, fruit salad, cranberry sauce, pumpkin, apple and pecan pie, for starters.

But, it occurred to me, when I saw that magazine cover of Martha Stewart, that Thanksgiving isn’t about the food or the perfect picture. Real Thanksgiving is about the heart. It is difficult for a heart that is not thankful every day to be truly thankful on Thanksgiving Day.

Which brings up another concern about this Thanksgiving. A few years ago the retail stores invented black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving when one-day discounts lure mobs of hysterical shoppers into their stores before dawn. At first, I didn’t understand black Friday and, except for one occasion for which I repented, I have avoided it. But black Friday has begun to creep. This year, some stores are opening as early as 9 PM on Thanksgiving Day so that shoppers can shop all night. Really. Is this necessary?

The traditional American Thanksgiving was special because there was nothing commercial about it. All the stores were closed. Workers could spend the day with their families. No one had to shop for presents or send cards. All we had to do was enjoy getting together with those we love and be thankful. Even the homeless, the poor and prisoners could sit down to a good dinner. But, if black Friday continues to creep into Thanksgiving Thursday, our thankful memories of gathering around bountiful tables with family and friends might be replaced with frazzled memories of jostling strangers in the check-out line for the best deal.

I am ready to draw the line. I will concede black Friday in hopes it will pump life into our economy. But I hope we will make this Thanksgiving, and every Thanksgiving, the best ever by being truly thankful with those we love.

11-11-11

2011-11-11T08:43:00.001-08:00

11-11-11, a unique date that occurs only once every century. Today, approximately fifty-seven thousand couples will tie the knot according to David’s Bridal, the nation’s largest bridal retailer. It is Veterans Day, a day to honor those who have served our country. At precisely 11 AM a wreath will be laid at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington Cemetery. To previous generations, it was Armistice Day, commemorating the signing of the peace treaty between the Allies and Germany at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918.

It is a unique date to me for another reason. One hundred years ago today, November 11, 1911, William James Waters Harper and Fleta Hamilton stood before a Baptist minister near Hillsboro, Texas and repeated their vows. They had six children. One of those children, their fourth child, was my mother. Tomorrow more than fifty of their descendants will gather near Hillsboro to celebrate their one-hundredth anniversary.

Will Harper and his bride were “share croppers.” They never owned any land and had few possessions. They rented the black land that they farmed and prayed that it would rain. When it did, they harvested bumper crops of corn, maize and cotton and bought the things they needed and a few things they wanted. When it didn’t, they went in debt and stretched what little they had as far as it would go. They survived the Great Depression, two World Wars, raised a family and lived to see a man standing on the moon, (though they always doubted whether it was true). They started their marriage farming with mules and depending on a rickety windmill to water their stock. Fleta wrote a weekly column for the Itasca newspaper and served as mid-wife to the migrant workers who worked in their fields.

When we gather we will celebrate family, five generations of family in one room. Some of us will reflect on the first memories we shared as children. Some of us will introduce ourselves to one another for the first time. But we will all share the bond of family. No other social unit transcends the centuries and culture more than the family. No families are perfect, starting with Adam and Eve who suffered the tragic conflict between their sons. But the family has remained the essential unit for nurture, instruction, admonition and comfort. The Psalmist writes, “But He sets the needy securely on high away from affliction, and makes his families like a flock.” (Ps 107:41).

We will celebrate faith. Those who knew and remember Will and Fleta Harper remember them for their faith. Christ was at the center of their home and local preachers were often at their table. Most of their children and many of their descendants have lived faithful lives in service to Christ. They bequeathed to their family the great legacy the Apostle Paul cited when addressing his young student, Timothy: “For I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well.” (2 Timothy 1:5).

11-11-11 will serve to remind us of those who have gone before: the veterans who gave their lives for our freedoms and the little known men and women, like my grandparents, who bequeathed to us the treasures of family and faith.

Life with Buddy

2011-11-07T08:30:00.001-08:00

A couple years ago we adopted a dog. Well, I guess “I” adopted a dog. Across the years we had pets, mostly mutts and strays that wandered into our lives. They helped us raise our kids. After our kids left home, along with their pets, the house was quiet. I guess it was a little too quiet. I missed having a dog. Like the kids, I had to convince my wife that I would feed him and take care of him. She finally gave in.

We found Buddy, a Corgi rescue who was lost and starving on the streets of Fort Worth. When we first saw him he was skinny and sick, but we instantly liked him. He soon won my wife over and now he is “our” dog, healthy and happy. That was two years ago. Buddy and I have bonded. He goes with me just about everywhere I go. And, along the way, he is teaching me some things.

Buddy is teaching me to trust. Whenever I get in my truck he jumps in and takes his place, ready to go. He doesn’t know where we are going or what we are going to do. But he believes that if I am driving it is okay. I need to be more like that with God. I always want to know where we are going, when we are going to get there and what we are going to do once we arrive. I need to jump in the truck with God and give him control of my life.

Buddy wants to be with me. He doesn’t care if he is at the lake running, splashing and rolling in the mud, sitting in a chair next to me on the patio or in my study lying at my feet. He just wants to be where I am. He even follows me from room to room in the house. I need to spend time with God like that. What made the early disciples different was the fact that they lived with Jesus (Acts 4:13).

Buddy follows me. Whenever we go for a walk in an open field I let him run free. But he keeps an eye on me. He has developed a radius of his own, about thirty yards from wherever I am. Within that radius he feels comfortable exploring smells and marking trees. Occasionally he gets out of eyesight. But, when I call his name he comes running. Not real fast, but as fast as he can. After all he is a Corgi. It reminds me of what Jesus said to His disciples, “Come, follow me!” “My sheep know my voice.”

And, he is teaching me patience. He will wait on me forever. If I am writing, he lies down, rests his head on his paws, keeps one eye on me and waits. If we are walking and I stop, he sits down with his tongue hanging out and waits. If I go to the store in cool weather, he waits in my truck until I return. Buddy never complains about waiting on me. He never gets in a hurry. Maybe I should be more like that with respect to God and those I love.

When Things Go Clump

2011-10-31T08:39:00.000-07:00

My cousin calls it “clumping:” those times when demands upon our life converge in a perfect storm. We face demands from employees, employers, clients and supervisors. We face demands from our family: marriages that need nurture; children who struggle with growth issues from the cradle to college; aging parents with failing health. Unexpected illness strikes us when we least expect it. “Clumping” times steal away our breath and rob us of our energy. Sleep is illusive, and, when it comes is often filled with restless nightmares of unfulfilled obligations.

Even Jesus experienced “clumping." As his fame spread, the demands made upon him multiplied. The Gospels say that he did not even have time to eat. At one point he was so exhausted that a life-threatening storm could not wake him. Thousands pressed in upon him from dawn to dusk seeking help. His own family rejected him. His closest followers disagreed with him. His enemies hounded him.

But in the midst of these demands Jesus always demonstrated a calm confidence and a quiet center. He refused to be hurried or harried. He never snapped back, never became irritable. And, in the end, he changed the world. No life has impacted the world more profoundly than Jesus.

What are the clues from Jesus that can help us when “clumping” strikes?

“Clumping” is temporary. The time when demands and crises seem overwhelming will ultimately pass. Jesus could face the overwhelming demands that fell upon him because he knew it was temporary. Hebrews says, “For the joy that was set before him he endured the cross.” Having learned this truth from Jesus, Peter wrote, “In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials.”(1 Peter 1:6-7)

Prepare for the “clumping” stages of life before they come. Life will “clump.” Jesus told the story of two men who built their houses, one upon sand and the other upon rock. When the storm came, which is inevitable, the house built on sand collapsed. If we continually practice honesty, goodness, generosity, forgiveness and faith when times are easy, we will be able to overcome when times get tough.

Build quiet space for prayer in the midst of life’s demands. Even though the demands upon Jesus were intense and unrelenting, he always found time to get alone with God. Mark writes, “In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there. Simon and his companions searched for Him; they found Him, and said to Him, “Everyone is looking for You.” (Mark 1:35-36).

Constantly look to God. Perhaps this more than anything else was the secret of Jesus’ success. He said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner.” (John 5:19).

Baseball

2011-10-24T07:31:00.000-07:00

Okay, I am a baseball fan. I guess it started in Little League when I was ten years old. During the summer, I spent long hot afternoons shagging worn out baseballs wrapped with black electric tape and slugging with cracked bats that were held together by wood screws. On Saturdays, I tuned in to Dizzy Dean and Pee Wee Reese for the game of the week.

A few weeks ago I returned to my hometown to play in a softball game with my classmates from ’65. We are all in our mid-sixties, some are already on Medicare. I played first base and the old adrenaline showed up. We even turned a double play, which is not as difficult as it used to be since it takes so long for the runner to reach first. You can drop the ball, kick it and even roll it to first base and have a chance of getting the batter out.

When Josh Hamilton hit thirty-five home-runs in the home-run derby a couple years ago, my mother claimed him as family: “Maybe a long lost cousin,” she said, since her mother’s maiden name was Hamilton. My mother was a baseball fan. She almost never missed a televised Rangers game, even when they were on the west coast and played until 2 AM. When her vision started to fail, she chose to have cataract surgery so she could watch the game. Last year, before she died at 89, she cheered them through their first World Series.

So, I’ve been glued to the World Series this week pulling for the Rangers. I like watching them, not just for the baseball, but for the personal stories. Everyone, I guess, knows Josh Hamilton’s story, a top drafted player who hit the skids due to drugs and alcohol, then, through a faith experience with Christ and his grandmother’s love, made a comeback to major league stardom. In a way, Hamilton represents everyone who struggles with addictions and weaknesses. He says his last relapse started with the thought, “Maybe I can just drink one.” Of course, that is the way our sins always start. He learned something along the way as a follower of Jesus that has made the difference. He immediately confessed it where it needed to be confessed, to his family and to his employers

I like the way Hamilton’s teammates responded. Ian Kinsler said, “We don’t need an apology. That’s his battle. We’re here to be his friend and love him as a teammate.” It sounds a lot like the way Jesus wants His churches to work. I suppose it was the way Peter’ s friends responded when he told them about denying Jesus at the trial.

Not long ago, I picked up Mickey Mantle’s autobiography at a used books store in Terrell. According to Mantle, he always struggled with excessive drinking. Mantle did not grow up in church. He attended prayer meetings convened by his teammate Bobby Richardson for a while, but never learned “church speak.” He concludes his story by saying, “I guess we are all on the same team now … it’s even like Casey [Stengel] is running it. I might not know what he is saying all the time, but if he tells me to bunt, I’m going to bunt. If he tells me to swing away, I’m going for the fences.” The Christian life is a lot like that. We just need to listen to God like The Mick listened to Casey.

Poverty and Wealth

2011-10-17T10:05:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, demonstrators gathered in the public squares of New York, Chicago, London, Rome, Sydney, Tokyo, and Hong Kong, among others. The demonstrations spread across Europe, Asia and the Americas. Their protests were varied, sometimes promoting views in opposition to one another. But, according to the New York Times, “the protests were united in frustration around one issue: the widening gap between the rich and the poor.” The phenomenon is global.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. poverty rate grew to 15.1% in 2010, the third year in a row the poverty population has risen while median household income has declined. At the same time, the wealthy are becoming wealthier. According to Terry Clower, Economist at the University of North Texas, “Over the past 30 years, the share of household income going to the well-to-do has risen dramatically.” Edward Wolff, economist at NYU, stated, “The Great Recession has exacerbated wealth divisions in this country, with the wealthy share of the top 1 percent rising from an already huge 34.6 percent in 2007 to 37.1 percent in 2009.” When the rich get richer while more people drop beneath the poverty line and the middle class continues to shrink, something is askew.

Compounding the unrest are the frustrations created by the Great Recession. Thousands of young people signed up for student loans to pursue educations that would open doors for well-paying careers. When they graduated from colleges and universities in 2008, the jobs weren’t there. They still aren’t. For more than two years many have worked in menial and minimum wage jobs that they could have had in high school. Older adults who intended to work into their sixties and seventies have been forced into early retirement with limited income.

The Bible is clear that God is concerned about the issue of poverty and wealth. David wrote, “I know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and justice for the poor.” (Ps. 140:12). Solomon said, “He who oppresses the poor to make more for himself … will only come to poverty.” (Prov.22:16). “The righteous is concerned for the rights of the poor, The wicked does not understand such concern.” (Prov. 29:7). Jesus said, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because He has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed.” (Luke 4:18).

There is wide disagreement regarding the complexities of economics and economies, the balance between equity and efficiency. But the bedrock principles that will ultimately see us through never change: integrity, honesty, generosity and justice. Even Gordon Gekko had to learn that greed is not God.

When We Die

2011-10-10T08:26:00.000-07:00

When Steve Jobs died October 5 at the age of 56, we all paused to reflect. He had resigned just six weeks earlier as CEO of Apple. Few people changed the landscape of our lives as much as Steve Jobs. His user-friendly computing innovations including the iPod, iPhone and iPad transformed the way we live. Diagnosed with pancreatic cancer eight years ago, he addressed his own mortality in a commencement speech at Stanford:

“No one wants to die,” he said. “Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because death is very likely the single best invention of life. It is life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.”

Death is inevitable. But what happens after we die? The book of Job asked the question we all ask sooner or later: “If a man die, shall he live again?” After years of suffering and serious arguments with his friends and with God, Job emerged with a powerful conclusion. “I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth. and after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me! “ (Job 19:25-27).

The issue of life after death is central to the Christian faith. While most people believe that some kind of life exists after we die, Jesus provides the only verifiable evidence of life beyond the grave. Each of the Gospels gives an eyewitness account of Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection. Luke says, “After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.” (Acts 1:3).

The Apostle Paul wrote, “The first thing I did was place before you what was placed so emphatically before me: that the Messiah died for our sins, exactly as Scripture tells it; that he was buried; that he was raised from death on the third day, again exactly as Scripture says; that he presented himself alive to Peter, then to his closest followers, and later to more than five hundred of his followers all at the same time, most of them still around (although a few have since died); that he then spent time with James and the rest of those he commissioned to represent him; and that he finally presented himself alive to me.” (1 Corinthians 15:3-8 The Message).

Jesus promised something far better for us when we are “cleared away” by death’s inevitability. He said, “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:1-3).

When I'm Sixty-Four

2011-10-03T08:05:00.000-07:00

Paul McCartney wrote the song, “When I’m 64” at the age of 16 and later recorded it in 1966. I have grown up with the song. I was twelve when he wrote it, twenty when he recorded it. I have listened to it most of my life. I remember reciting the lyrics in my youth, thinking of the inconceivably ancient age of sixty-four. I assumed by then I would be in a nursing home or dead. “Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I’m sixty-four?”

Well, I am now sixty-four, and, strangely, I don’t feel old or anywhere near incapacitated. Last week I spent several days with some of my childhood friends. We are all sixty-four. Several of us were in Mrs. Pritchet’s first grade class at Robert E. Lee Elementary in Corsicana, Texas in 1953. We have the photo to prove it. Some of us now have little or no hair. Others of us have hair, but it is gray, unless we have found a good bottle of dye.

While we don’t feel old, and somehow envision ourselves as we once were in our youth, others apparently think we are old. When we went out to a restaurant together for dinner, the owner took pity on us and gave us a free dessert.

But, I realized something when I was with my sixty-four year old childhood friends. I realized we are all still on the journey. We started this journey together as children in post-World War II. We were the first baby boomers. We didn’t know what that meant. We just knew there were lots of us. We have journeyed through the Sixties, Viet Nam, Flower Power, the Moon landing, Watergate, Floppy Disks, the World Wide Web, the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Desert Storm, the Dot Com Bust, 9/11, Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Great Recession (which is still with us). Our individual journeys have taken different turns and twists. Some have been military; some have been medical, some in business, some in education, and some in the Christian ministry. We have different political, economic and religious opinions. But we are all on the journey we first started, and we are all on the journey together.

It reminds me of the words Jesus first spoke to his followers. “Come and follow me.” God always invites us to a journey. His invitation is to all of us and His invitation is life-long. The journey never stops. It has valleys and mountaintops. It leads through sorrow and celebration. It encompasses wonder, worship and war. It includes pain, poverty and prosperity.

Now that I am 64, the age our generation has sung about since childhood, I am grateful for the journey. I am grateful for the companions God has given me to travel with. And I am grateful for the One who invited me to follow Him when I was young and still leads me when I am old.

What Are We Missing?

2011-09-26T07:30:00.000-07:00

In a similar day to our own, Habakkuk posed the following questions to God, “Why do you tolerate wrongdoing? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds. Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails.” It seemed to Habakkuk that God had abandoned the world to its own destructive devices.

God’s answer to him was quick and clear: “Look at the nations and watch— and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe,even if you were told.” (Habakkuk 1:5).

Like Habakkuk, maybe we are missing something.

When we listen to the news regarding the economy, international politics and religious trends in America, we could easily conclude that the world is spiraling out of control. Last week the economists, including the Federal government, took one look at the future and ran for the exits. So did investors. Congress is again paralyzed. After ten years, we are still engaged in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, desperately trying to find some way to end them. Revolutions are sweeping the Middle East in Egypt, Yemen, Algeria, Syria, Tunisia and Libya. Christendom seems to be on the skids. Church buildings that once housed vibrant congregations stand empty. Some have been turned into offices, lofts or restaurants. Many of the great cathedrals of Europe now operate as museums.

The Bible teaches that God is active in human history. The Old Testament carefully charts God’s hand at work among the Egyptians, Assyrians, Persians, Greeks and Romans. The New Testament concludes Scripture by introducing Jesus in the “fullness of time.” It would be illogical to conclude that God turned his back on human events and walked away two thousand years ago.

While Christianity has waned in the West, it has exploded in South America, Africa and Asia. Only 35% of the world’s Christians live in the United States and Europe. In some regions of South America the number of Christians has grown at more than twice the rate of the population. Latin American nations are now sending thousands of missionaries to Arab countries. South Korea has become the second largest mission-sending nation in the world. In China, more than 4,500 new believers come to Christ every day. By 2033 China could have the largest Christian population on earth. The number of Christians in Africa has skyrocketed from 10 million in 1900 to 360 million in 2000. African Christians are now sending missionaries to Europe where Christianity has been in decline.

Christianity is actually growing faster than at any time in history. It simply is not happening in America or Europe. And, Christianity outside the West does not look like the Christendom structures of the Reformation. They are not building cathedrals. They are becoming passionate followers of Christ. When people become passionate followers of Jesus they become more honest, generous and industrious, the very elements that create an economic, political and spiritual future.

If we look at the nations and watch, we will stand in utter amazement at what God is doing in our day.

Rain

2011-09-19T07:21:00.001-07:00

I usually start my morning on the patio behind our house before sunrise. Last week Orion greeted me, shining brightly in the southern sky, still on the hunt. A full moon hung low on the western horizon flooding the land with soft shadows. But the stars and the moon soon faded as the sky grew gray and the sun approached from the east. One morning neither stars nor moon appeared. The black sky was draped with clouds. I thought I caught a glimpse of lightning out of the corner of my eye, but dismissed it as a flash from the TV screen through a window. And then, I thought I felt a drop of moisture on my forehead. But, again, I dismissed it as my imagination. We had not seen rain in over two months. As the day dawned, I heard the rumble of thunder and felt the sprinkle of rain. I did not run for cover. I sat there, letting the rain fall and smelling, for the first time in months, the fragrance of wet earth. It soon stopped. Last night we had our first heavy rainstorm of the season.

We have been locked in a devastating drought in Texas. We set an all-time record for heat, most days over 100 degrees in our history. Texas was declared the hottest and driest state in the United States. Wildfires have blackened hundreds of square miles and thousands of homes have burned to the ground. It has been a devastating summer. The drought is still not over, and will not be until a foot or more of rain falls on the land.

In August we drove across the Texas panhandle. The landscape looked like scorched earth. We passed through one small west Texas town where a liquor store posted a message on its marquee: “Pray for rain.” A few miles down the road we ran into rain, torrential showers that were moving around the west Texas prairies like a gigantic irrigation system in the sky. When we entered the downpour we could barely see to drive. When we exited, we could see other dark streaks of rain slanted across the open horizon. Of course, they didn’t last and they did not end the drought, and they were local to the region around Dumas. But at least the liquor store had its prayers temporarily answered.

Sometimes we are able to live in our insulated world of air-conditioned houses, buildings, automobiles and planes so that we forget that we are part of creation. Nature has a way of putting our human egos into their rightful place. In spite of our technological advancements, we cannot control the weather. The drought has reminded us of our dependence upon the earth. If the rain stopped we would dry up and die. We have been reminded that life on this planet is a gift and that we live by the grace and goodness of God.

The Bible says, “it is the Lord who sends the thunderstorms. He gives showers of rain to all people, and plants of the field to everyone.” (Zechariah 10:1). “He will also send you rain for the seed you sow in the ground, and the food that comes from the land will be rich and plentiful. In that day your cattle will graze in broad meadows.” (Isaiah 30:23). “You heavens above, rain down my righteousness; let the clouds shower it down. Let the earth open wide, let salvation spring up, let righteousness flourish with it; I, the Lord, have created it.” (Isaiah 45:8).

Going the Extra Mile

2011-09-12T10:02:00.001-07:00

I went to Walmart the other day. Something I do as a part of the middle class ritual. Sometimes I visit other stores with fewer choices and higher prices just to avoid crowds. But Walmart sells fishing licenses. I don’t know why Texas Parks and Wildlife decided to set their annual renewal on September 1. And I don’t know when I will go fishing. But at least I will be ready. After all, waiting till later in the year doesn’t save anything. The license costs the same now as it will cost next June.

While at Walmart, I thought I would pick up a few items for my new diet. I am trying to lose weight again. Three peaches, two bags of frozen vegetables and a box of rice. I didn’t think these staples would get me through a Cowboy game, but maybe, if I eat enough vegetables and rice, it will keep me out of trouble.

I was clearly under the express limit of twenty items so I went to the express check out and got in line. . I stood behind a young Hispanic woman who was obviously pregnant and had a small child on her hip. She started emptying her cart onto the counter. In all she had well over forty items, including, cases of coke and a large sack of potatoes. She piled up the counter not once, but twice. I smiled and was patient. The cashier was apologetic that she did not see the woman’s cart before she unloaded it. Several customers behind me rolled their eyes, groaned and asked if the girl couldn’t read. I waited, smiled, bought my items and did not complain. “Maybe she made a mistake and got in the wrong line,” I thought. Anyway, we ought to give a break to a young woman with a child on her hip and a baby in her womb. She is trying to feed and take care of her family. I am just buying a fishing license and trying to stay on a diet. I was feeling rather good about myself for not complaining or rolling my eyes.

After I got home I started thinking. Why didn’t I offer to help the young woman? I could have lifted the potatoes and cases of coke. I could have helped her with her basket. Was it enough to simply smile and not complain? I could imagine Jesus saying, “Don’t be so smug. If I had been there I would have helped the girl.”

“Okay, Lord,” I said. I am listening. “But sometimes ‘going the second mile’ is hard to do. Not so much because I don’t want to do it, but because I simply miss the opportunities.”

Every day we have opportunities to “go the extra mile.” To do something unexpectedly nice for someone. We just need to open our eyes and see others the way Jesus sees them. Sometimes it is the little thing that can change the world.

Remembering

2011-09-05T10:18:00.000-07:00

On September 11, 2001 the Atlantic and Pacific oceans vanished. Not literally, of course. But prior to that date we felt isolated from a distant and violent world in which terrorists attacked innocent crowds. We felt protected by the vast bodies of water that separated us from Europe, Africa and Asia. After 9/11 those barriers no longer existed. We were connected and vulnerable.

Those who are now in high school have only vague memories of 9/11 since they were all less than seven years old when it happened. They have no memory of the pre-9/11 world. They have grown up in a world of security lines and bag checks at airports and public gatherings. Since entering elementary school, they have witnessed a steady stream of funeral processions and flag draped coffins returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan. Some of them have grown up without mothers and fathers who died there.

Every generation has its 9/11 to remember, a staggering event that freezes the moment in memory. For those of us who grew up in the 1950s and 60s, it was November 22, 1963, the day John F. Kennedy fell to an assassin’s bullet at Dealy Plaza in Dallas. For our parents it was December 7, 1941, a quiet Sunday morning when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor.

Every generation experiences events that threaten to steal their freedom, destroy their dreams and leave them frozen with fear. But one event stands alone that places all others in perspective. One event above all others enables us to rise above our fears to embrace the future. September 11, 2001, November 22, 1963 and December 7, 1941, are all dated in reference to the birth, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The prophet Isaiah predicted Jesus’ life when He wrote, “In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious.” Paul summed up His significance when he said, “In the fullness of time, God sent forth His son.” It was the perfect moment. Everything in history is dated in reference to His birth as B.C or A.D. From Him flow the faith and courage to face any disaster, to overcome any foe and to live with confidence knowing that goodness and righteousness will prevail upon the earth.

An old song captures the experience of millions who have persevered and prevailed through devastating tragedies for more than two thousand years. Bill Gaither wrote it and first sang it forty years ago. “Because He lives, I can face tomorrow. Because He lives, all fear is gone. Because I know who holds the future my life is worth the living, just because He lives … this child can face uncertain days, because He lives.”

Authenticity

2011-08-29T08:36:00.001-07:00

I stepped up to the counter and handed the cashier my twenty-dollar bill. She glanced at me, lifted the bill up to the light, squinted and examined it, then laid it on the counter. She whipped out what looked like a felt tip marker and marked it. After a long second, she placed it in the cash register and gave me my change. It seemed simple enough. But it made me wonder.

What made her think my twenty might be fake? Did I look dishonest? I reminded myself that it was standard procedure. She had been taught to check every twenty because you never know who might pass a counterfeit. You can’t recognize honesty or dishonesty by a person’s looks.

Wouldn’t it be nice if it was just as easy to discern fake people as it is to recognize a fake twenty? What if we could hold people up to a light, squint and examine them for watermarks, or just swipe them with a pen and watch for discoloration?

Unfortunately, it isn’t that simple.

Sometimes the people we trust the most disappoint us. That was the case with Richard Nixon. After winning the presidency by a landslide vote, the Watergate investigations revealed a man far different than the public image. One of our great difficulties today is the widespread doubt that no politician can be trusted. They seem more intent on vilifying their opponents and promoting their own agenda than engaging in sincere dialogue.

We all know that no one is perfect. We are all human. We are all sinners and we all make mistakes. We are not looking for perfection. But we are desperate for authenticity. We are desperate for authenticity in parents, teachers, employers, employees, preachers and politicians.

Jesus ranked authenticity among the highest of virtues. His harshest words were leveled at those who pretended to be what they were not. Speaking to people of his day, Jesus said, “You're like manicured grave plots, grass clipped and the flowers bright, but six feet down it's all rotting bones and worm-eaten flesh. People look at you and think you're saints, but beneath the skin you're total frauds.” (Mt. 23:27-28, The Message). He warned his disciples, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.” (Luke 12:1 NASV).

What really gets scary and complicated is to examine ourselves. Am I authentic? Is there any hypocrisy in me? Are we being open, honest and authentic with one another? Someday, of course, there will be a test. God will hold each of us up to the light. He will not be concerned about the flaws and imperfections. He will examine us for authenticity. Are we people of authentic faith living authentic lives?

When He Comes

2011-08-22T07:10:00.001-07:00

Beyond confessions of faith, hymns and sermons, the Second Coming of Christ remains virtually irrelevant to daily life. We pursue our educations, work at our careers, raise our families, worry about retirement and prepare for the inevitable: death and taxes. The lives of believers and non-believers show little marked difference beyond church attendance.

But what if He comes today? What if He comes tomorrow? What if He came yesterday? No, I am not suggesting you missed the “rapture.” But, He did, in fact, come yesterday and He will, in fact, come today. Before you dismiss this as crazy, let me explain.

This is exactly what Jesus taught His disciples before His ascension into Heaven. Jesus said when He returns, “the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ … ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ (Matthew 25:31-46)

Jesus comes to us everyday if we are looking for Him. He comes in small, imperceptible and unexpected ways. He comes in the interruptions that beg for our attention and threaten to derail our pre-planned agendas.

Yesterday He came to me in the person of a young Hispanic employee at Wal-Mart who needed words of encouragement. A couple of weeks ago He came in the form of two brothers in their sixties who stopped to help me work on my 1977 VW bug when it quit running. A month ago He came in the form of a Chinese woman named Chiu who was fishing on a pier with her mentally handicapped daughter. Last year He came in the form of a teenage unwed mother who had given birth to a son who died a few days later. How many times I have missed Him and did not recognize Him? I don't know. He comes every day in many ways and forms that we are likely to miss if we are too focused on our own agendas. We might even miss Him by being too focused on our opinions about eschatology.

If we live our lives alert and ready to receive Him each and every day in the small encounters with the “least of these” we will be ready to receive Him in that day, when He appears like lightning from east to west. We might even hear Him say, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”

Fear

2011-08-15T09:19:00.001-07:00

We all know that sex sells. Companies have used sex to sell everything from cars to cabbage. But sex seems to be yielding its throne in the marketplace. Fear may be surpassing sex as the emotion of choice for marketers who want to control commerce and politics.

Life insurance, annuities, real estate, technology and political candidates are all marketed through the advertising of fear. Fear sells. Marketers call it “shockvertising.” It is sometimes referred to as “fear mongering.” Nedra Weinreich, who teaches social marketing at UCLA says, “What all of these campaigns have in common is that they try to instill the fear of what might happen if you do not support their causes.” As we enter a presidential election year, I expect the fear campaigns will intensify. Politicians know that people vote their fears.

We have always lived with fear. Those who grew up in the 1950s learned as children to “duck and cover” beneath their desks in the event of a nuclear attack. (How much protection that would have provided, I don’t know.) Many of us lived through the cold war, the star wars arms race and 9-11. Those who are entering their teens have never known a world in which people greeted one another at the airport gate and walked freely through the terminal without security lines.

The wild swings in the stock market are evidence of the fear and panic gripping our world. Fear may be one of the primary reasons corporate executives are sitting on record cash profits rather than creating jobs and investing in the future. We are in danger of becoming a fearful people.

God does not desire that we live fearful lives. Jesus spoke a great deal about fear and how to overcome it. Speaking to his disciples, Jesus said, “Are not five sparrows sold for two cents? Yet not one of them is forgotten before God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows. … Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest? … Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.” (Luke 12).

When a distressed father received the news his daughter was dead, Jesus said, “Stop fearing. Only believe.” When the disciples were on the sea, struggling against the wind in the dark, Jesus came to them and said. “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” The Apostle Paul wrote, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. (2 Timothy 1:7).

It is important that we not fall victim to the fear tactics of market manipulators. It is important that we find a faith that frees us from the paralyzing fears that can rob us of power and love and a sound mind.

Anger

2011-08-08T08:54:00.001-07:00

Anger. There is a lot of it out there. Last week Standard and Poor’s downgraded the U.S. credit rating largely due to the boiling anger within congress and the inability of elected representatives to work together. In the final analysis, congressmen were angry, the president was angry and now the American people are angry.

Anger doesn’t require such significant issues to raise its ugly head. Last weekend several Tampa Bay baseball fans got into an angry fight over a foul ball that landed in a garbage can. After tempers flared, the security guard stepped in and ruled that the ball would remain where it landed, beneath a pile of peanut shells, beer, hot dog wrappers and whatever else had been deposited in the can. If we can’t get along with one another, nobody wins.

We are all acquainted with anger. We have felt the rising resentment and boiling emotions that overwhelm rational thought and take control of our words and our actions leading us to say things and do things that we later regret. We call it losing our temper. It is built into us. We are born with it. Anyone who cares for a newborn soon discovers that babies have a temper. For most of us, age helps. We call it “mellowing.” Things that once pushed our button and shoved us over the edge are not as frustrating as before. We become more patient, we gain greater perspective.

It is okay to become angry. When anger causes us to take action that will result in improved environment and behavior, it is good. Jesus became angry. He did not casually cleanse the temple. He drove out all those who were using religion for profit, overturning their tables, scattering their money on the stones and driving the bleating sheep, braying oxen and fluttering pigeons before him with a whip. Later, when the religious authorities wanted to prevent him from healing the sick on the Sabbath, the Bible says he looked at them “with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart.”

But, it is not okay to lose our temper. Uncontrolled anger can be disastrously destructive. It is not okay to live an angry life as an angry person. Angry people alienate others, and, when their anger spins out of control, they inflict damage and injury to themselves and others. When anger cuts off conversation and communication that can lead to understanding and solutions to shared problems, it is a bad thing. When anger spills over into rage that lashes out at others to hurt and to harm, it is a bad thing.

Anger is one of those human emotions we all possess that must be channeled and controlled to produce constructive results. Left unchecked and allowed to run wild, it can destroy us. The Bible instructs us to “Be angry and yet do not sin. Do not let the sun go down on your anger.”(Eph. 4:26). The Bible also says, “The anger of man does not fulfill the righteousness of God.” (James 1:20).

Debt

2011-08-01T05:45:00.000-07:00

The nation and the world watched with shock, horror and disgust as the United States congress argued and bantered till the last minute to raise the debt ceiling, adopt a budget and avert the United States’ first ever default. As best I can understand it, the irreconcilable conflict had at least three positions: the Democrats who wanted to raise the debt ceiling so that the U.S. can continue borrowing and pay its debts until after the 2012 presidential elections, the Republicans who wanted a short term increase in the debt ceiling that will require another round of negotiations within the year and the Tea Party Republicans who wanted no increase in the debt ceiling forcing the government to immediately reign in its spending to current levels of income. (I am sure this is an overly simplistic appraisal of the situation.)

Regardless of political positions or opinions, the underlying issue to our current crisis is debt. We simply owe more than we can pay. Everyone, Democrats and Republicans alike seem to recognize that this cannot continue. We cannot continue as a nation sinking further and further into debt.

Perhaps debt and credit will be the defining issues of the twenty-first century. We have watched Greece, Spain, Portugal and Ireland wrestle with debt issues that totter the European markets. We are still struggling to recover from the debt and credit crisis of 2008 that sent our economy spiraling into the "Great Recession."

The generation that grew up in the Great Depression and fought the second World War learned early in life the value of saving and of avoiding unnecessary debt. But they are quickly passing from the scene. Those of us who grew up in the second half of the twentieth century and the early years of the twenty-first are having to relearn those lessons the hard way.

For decades we have lived under the illusion that budgets could be based on credit. We ran up credit card debt adopting life styles and standards of living beyond our income. We even coined a phrase to describe it: the “standard of living bubble,” defined by Investopedia as “The concept of consumers living beyond their means for an extended period of time. … the use of consumer credit and spending increases in order to provide the illusion of increases in standard of living.”

Prior to the “Great Recession” of 2008 the average savings rate for Americans was negative. We were, on average, spending more than we earned. Fortunately, we are making progress. Americans are reducing personal debt and increasing personal savings. Now we are painfully watching our government wrestle with the same debt issues we each must address. The way forward will not be easy and will not be rectified overnight. But, if we as a people and a nation learn to live within our means we will establish a firm footing for prosperity and health.

Writing in 1757 as Poor Richard, Benjamin Franklin warned, “when you run in debt, you give another power over your liberty,” and “the borrower is a slave to the lender and the debtor to the creditor.”

The Scripture says “Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another.” (Romans 13:8).

A Prayer Perspective

2011-07-25T06:48:00.000-07:00

Perhaps you have heard the story of the church that was incensed because a local bar opened across the street. Knowing nothing else to do, the church members mounted a prayer campaign to rid themselves of this blight on the neighborhood. They prayed that God would intervene to remove the bar.

A thunderous storm soon swept across the town and a streak of lighting lit up the sky, striking the bar. The building burst into flame and burned to the ground. The owner of the bar sued the church for the destruction of his property as a result of their prayers. The church defended itself claiming that the lightning strike was an accidental act of nature. The judge sat perplexed in front of the plaintiff and defendant. “It appears,” he said, “that I have a bar owner who believes in prayer and a church that doesn’t.”

During the Civil War Abraham Lincoln pondered the issue of prayer. Both the north and the south were religious. Both believed they were right and both prayed for victory. After his death, the following note was found in his papers: “The will of God prevails — In great contests each party claims to act in accordance with the will of God. Both may be, and one must be wrong. God cannot be for, and against the same thing at the same time. In the present civil war it is quite possible that God's purpose is somewhat different from the purpose of either party.”

It is widely reported that during the civil war Lincoln met with a group of ministers at a prayer breakfast who tried to encourage him. They told the president that they had prayed that “God would be on our side.” Linclon corrected them saying, “No, gentlemen, let us pray that we are on God’s side.”

How do we pray and what do we pray for? The Bible is clear that we should let our needs be known to God, that nothing is too great or too small for prayer. We must be careful, however that our prayers are not merely extensions of our own self interest and desires. And we must not allow prayer to degenerate into a tug of war to get God to line up on our side against the interests and desires of others.

When Jesus gave us the model prayer he taught us to pray, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Everything else in the prayer flows from this and is secondary to this. But Jesus went a step further. He not only gave us a model prayer to guide our words, he demonstrated how to pray when he faced death on the cross and prayed, “Father, not my will but thine be done.”

Prayer works best when it brings us into alignment with God and his purposes on the earth, purposes that often are at odds with our own. When we pray this way we will love our enemies, do good for those who abuse us and give ouselves generously for others.

Nightfall

2011-07-18T07:16:00.000-07:00

Under the glaring light of day we may fool ourselves into thinking that we are center stage, that everything revolves around us, but the night gently tells us that we are, in fact, a small spec in the galaxies of creation. The wind, whipped into a hot fury during the day, loses its strength, grows silent and lies down for the night. Darkness dissipates the day’s heat. Tires that whine on pavement grow silent along with the roar of the engines that drive them. Crickets tune their instruments and fireflies flit about in the dark. The world sleeps. As the sun fades in the west, the lesser lights gradually take their place in the night sky.

Perhaps previous generations were more in tune with the realities of their existence because they spent more time under the night sky. Too often, we crawl into our houses and fill the evening hours with noise from our televisions without witnessing the nighttime reminders that were designed to renew the spirit and place each day’s work in perspective.

Genesis describes night in God’s creation: “Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so. God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also. God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good. There was evening and there was morning.”

A shepherd who grew up under the stars guarding his father’s flocks, David wrote, “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than God and you crown him with glory and majesty. … How majestic is your name in all the earth.” … “Give thanks to Him … who made the moon and stars to rule by night, for his loving kindness is everlasting.” (Psalm 36:9)

“Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens; Praise Him in the heights! Praise Him, all His angels; Praise Him, all His hosts! Praise Him, sun and moon; Praise Him, all stars of light! Praise Him, highest heavens, and the waters that are above the heavens!
Let them praise the name of the Lord, For He commanded and they were created.” (Psalm 148).

When the night falls, know that He is near.

The Verdict

2011-07-07T07:35:00.000-07:00

After three years of courtroom drama the Casey Anthony trial is over. The verdict sent shock waves across a nation that had been glued to the proceedings. Not guilty on all accounts for murder. I assume no one reading this column is uninformed regarding the essential elements of the case and its outcome. People are still talking about it. Television viewership spiked when the jury gave its verdict. HLN drew its largest audience in its 29-year history. Audiences for other news channels doubled. This morning NBC devoted live coverage to the sentencing. The emotions of this trial touched a nerve.

I suppose part of it was due to the innocent images of two-year-old Caylee Anthony that flashed across our screens and the horrendous death she somehow suffered. Parents remained mystified by her mother’s failure to report her missing child for thirty-one days and the fabricated stories she told to police.

Few questions, it seems, were answered by the agonizing trial. The largest question of all remains unanswered in the minds of many: was justice done? According to our American judicial system we would have to say “yes.” Casey Anthony was tried by a jury of her peers who failed to find evidence beyond a “reasonable doubt” to convict her of murder. Regarding what really happened, we don’t know. No one knows.

Our judicial system is not perfect. At times it fails to convict the guilty. At others it wrongly convicts and punishes the innocent. Nonetheless, it is the best judicial system we have been able to devise for a just society.

Ultimately, of course, we will all appear before the court that never makes a mistake. Jesus spoke of this court when he said, “I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.”
We will all face a verdict on that day. And, for each of us, the verdict will be “guilty.” What we already know to be true will be made abundantly clear. We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. When Peter met Jesus he cried out, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man.” The Apostle Paul confessed, “I am chief of sinners.” Our own sin is just as heart-rending in the eyes of God as the tragic death of this two-year old child may be to ours.

Our personal sin and guilt created a great dilemma for God. He loves us and doesn’t want to punish us. But He is just and must punish the guilty. That of course, is the reason Jesus had to suffer the cross. A penalty must be paid for our guilt and God chose to let His Son pay that penalty for those who receive him as Savior and Lord. This is the mystery of John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His sonly begotten Son, so that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

God's Metrics

2011-07-05T06:39:00.000-07:00

We live in a world of metrics that is obsessed with measuring progress in almost every area of life. The business world has created an entire glossary of terms for measuring CPM (Corporate Performance Management). Every business needs to know its ROI (Return on Investment), Churn Rate (the measure of customer or employee attrition over a specified time) EBITDA. (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization), to name a few.

Students and educators are all too familiar with TAKS (Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills). Past curriculum has focused on TAKS that determined the future for both students and schools. The Texas Education Agency is now phasing in End of Course (EOC) assessments and STAAR (Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness) to measure achievement.

Sports is enamored with metrics. Athletes compete not only against each other, but against all the records of the past. When Rory Mcllroy set a new 72 hole record for the U.S. Open he was competing against Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and all those who played before him. PGA players are rated by average score, percentage of fairways hit, greens in regulation, average putts per round. Baseball is synonymous with statistics: batting average, runs batted in, on base percentages, earned run averages.

We have created metrics for area of life. If measurements are so important, it might be good to know God’s metrics. How does God measure success or failure?

Most of us assume that God’s measurements are limited to religion: church attendance, offerings, budgets, building, religious ceremonies and service. Surprisingly, according to the Bible these things are not God’s primary measurement.

The prophets taught that God could care less about religious ceremonies. In Amos, God says, “I hate, I reject your festivals, nor do I delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer up to Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them; and I will not even look at the peace offerings of your fatlings. Take away from Me the noise of your songs; I will not even listen to the sound of your harps. But let justice roll down like waters And righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”

In Isaiah, God says, “Incense is an abomination to Me. … I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts, They have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them. So when you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; Yes, even though you multiply prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood. Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, reprove the ruthless, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.”

When Jesus confronted the religious leaders of his day, he reproved them for focusing on religious disciplines while omitting the “weightier matters of the law.” He challenged his followers saying, “I was hungry and you fed me, in prison and you visited me, thirsty and you gave me to drink … in that you have done it to the least of these, you have done it to me.”

So, how well are we measuring up by God’s standard of measurement?

The Fourth

2011-06-27T10:05:00.000-07:00

Next Monday we celebrate the Fourth, a uniquely American holiday. No other nation has a holiday quite like it. No other nation on earth has aspired to a higher and simpler ideal. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

Two of the most prominent men who created the Declaration of Independence died fifty years to the day after the signing. Thomas Jefferson, the author of the Declaration died in his home at Monticello on July 4, 1826. A few hours later, on the same day, John Adams, who edited the early drafts and won approval for the Declaration before the Continental Congress died in his home. Thirty-seven years afterward, on July 4, 1863, Lee’s Confederate army withdrew in defeat from Gettysburg. On that same day, Vicksburg fell to Grant, two pivotal battles that decided the preservation of the Union and the abolition of slavery. On July 4, 1884, France presented the Statue of Liberty to the United States.

In many ways the history of our nation has been written by our efforts to live up to the Declaration of freedom and equality for all. We have struggled among ourselves, often falling short. We have sought to defend and extend freedom among foreign nations by sending our young men and women to lay down their lives.

We have learned that ultimate freedom can never be achieved though legislation and government alone, as important as those are. Ultimate freedom must be achieved in each human heart. Every one of us must fight a personal war with our own sin nature that seeks to make us captive and steal our freedom. We see everyday in the lives of our politicians, sports heroes and celebrities the consequences of losing that battle in the secret places of the heart. Greed and corruption remain the greatest obstacles to freedom and equality among the nations of the earth.

The pervasiveness of sin is perhaps the best documented reality in our world. The media is filled with daily accounts of its presence and the horrendous consequences it can create.

Two thousand years ago another document was drafted. It was not voted upon by representatives and did not found any government. But those words spoken long ago hold the secret to the ideals that we have embraced. Jesus said, “Truly, truly I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin … If the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.”

God sent His Son into the world not merely to pay the penalty for our sin so that we might enter Heaven, He sent Him in order that He might overcome sin’s grip on our lives and set us free. The Apostle Paul had once been enslaved to ambition, anger and resentment. He started his early career persecuting the Christian faith. But he found a better way. He confessed, “The good that I would do, I don’t. And that that I don’t want to do is exactly what I end up doing … Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 7:24).

This Fourth, as we celebrate the freedom envisioned by our nation’s founders, may we experience true freedom that is found through faith in Christ.

Imagine

2011-06-20T10:04:00.000-07:00

Imagination. It is the magic carpet of the mind. With it we can journey centuries backward in time or fly forward to the future where we have never been. We can imagine things as we wish they were, and, when it is most productive, we can actually change the world around us. Imagination sets us apart as human beings from all the rest of creation.

Imagination is, perhaps, our most powerful tool for good or evil. Adolf Hitler imagined a world without Jews and launched the Holocaust. Martin Luther King, Jr., imagined a world where men would “not be judged by the color of their skin, but the content of their character.” His imagination fueled the Civil Rights movement.

Forty years ago this week John Lennon recorded his trademark song, “Imagine” in the Ascot Sound Studios at Tittenhurst Park. It became Lennon’s signature song and has remained one of the most popular songs ever recorded. In 2002 the song came in number 2 in Britain as the most popular song of all time. In 2009, Rolling Stone ranked the song number 3 among the five hundred greatest songs of all time. It owes most of its appeal to the musical talent of John Lennon, but some of its appeal is found in its lyrics: to imagine a world of peace where “all the world will be as one.”

What if we used another script for imagining a different world? What if, instead of Lennon’s lyrics, we used Jesus’ words from the Sermon on the Mount? What would that world look like?

If we followed Jesus’ instructions we would treat everyone with respect. No one would be considered a fool and no one would be expendable. Adultery and lust would vanish. Marriage would prosper. Each of us would speak truthfully and no one would lie. We would refuse to retaliate and no one would seek to get even with those who have wronged them. We would go the extra mile and, if anyone asks for our shirt, we would give him our coat. We would not only love our friends and family, we would love our enemies and seek to do good for them. Our faith would be authentic and real without any hypocrisy. We would give to the poor in secret without even taking a tax deduction or hoping someone recognized our charity. Instead of praying long repetitious public prayers, we would pray privately from our hearts. If anyone has wronged us in any way, we would forgive them without requiring them to ask for it. We would no longer be driven to accumulate possessions and money. Instead, we would invest our resources in doing good for others who are in need. We would no longer worry. Everyone would treat everyone else the same way they desire to be treated.

Each of us, every day is creating a world of our own imagination. In the end, we each must choose what we imagine and what the world around us will become.

What Is God Like?

2011-06-13T13:07:00.000-07:00

What is God like? It is an important question. Our answer determines our worldview, how we see ourselves, how we see others and how we measure what is important.

If God doesn’t exist, as some assert, we can only view the world as a collision of random accidents. We live accidental lives on an accidental planet in an accidental solar system moving through accidental galaxies. Ultimately our lives have no reason or purpose. We simply are, for a few short years, and when we die, we are no more.

Others see God as the “prime mover.” He designed the physical laws of the universe and set it in motion like a wind up clock or toy. But, He is not involved in His creation. It is simply unwinding itself, spinning along according to its primal design. We each live our lives as infinitely insignificant cogs in the master machine.

Some view God as an “all seeing eye” watching us. He is personally cognizant of our lives and our actions and He is watching everything we say and do. We each live our lives like Truman Burbank, Jim Carrey’s character in “The Truman Show.”

Still others envision God as a god of vengeance. He delights in taking note of our sins and punishing us. Our journey on this earth is little more than a process of being beaten into submission by a god who punishes us for every sin we commit. Entire religions have been built around methods of sacrifice and penance to appease this angry god.

Jesus had a different answer. If you want to know what God is like, Jesus said, think of your father. Of course not all fathers are good. There are some deadbeat dads out there who spoil the image. But the vast majority of fathers love their children and would do anything for them. That is why we honor them on Father’s Day. I was one of the fortunate ones to have a good father. He was, and is, my hero. He was neither famous nor rich. He had no lasting achievements. He died when he was 53. But he was a good man, the best man I ever knew. He corrected me when I was little and did wrong things. He taught me a better way and set a better example that has served me for a lifetime. If I needed anything, he was there to help. That is why Jesus said, “Don’t worry. Your Father who is in heaven knows what you need.”

Now that I am a father with children and grandchildren of my own I better understand what Jesus meant when he said, “If you being evil know how to give good things to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give what is good to you!” This helps me enormously. If God is like that it changes how I see myself, how I see others and how I see the world. Happy Father’s Day!

Time and Eternity

2011-06-06T07:19:00.001-07:00

Time. It is the great mystery. Past, present and future. The past is beyond our grasp, as is the future. We sense that somewhere out there the past exists as we lived it. We are the same people that we were when we engaged in past circumstances, solved past problems, pursued past goals. We can remember it, but we cannot relive it. Likewise, we believe that somewhere out there lies our future. We can envision it, but we cannot yet experience it, and, we have learned that our envisioned future might turn out far different than we imagine. Only the present moment belongs to us.

Our modern measurement of time with nano-second precision has given us the illusion that we can control time and make it our servant, that we can stretch it and compress it. We pant through frenzied days of frantic activity trying to conquer the clock. In almost every sport, whether football, basketball, soccer or track, we are competing against time, trying to manage the clock. The team that can best utilize fractions of a second to put points on the board, emerges the winner. Golf and tennis, competitions passed down to us from an era before the clock ruled, have been adjusted to fit our time-conscious culture by putting players “on the clock” to speed up play while adding sudden death play offs and tie breakers.

Two centuries ago, without mechanical and electronic precision, men measured their lives by more natural cycles: seasons for planting, growing and harvesting; the moon, waxing and waning from a tiny silver sliver to a full faced orb and back again; days measured by the shifting shadows of the rising and setting sun. Trans-ocean travel was dependent upon the wind and the currents in the sea. Time was less precise. Time moved more slowly. In some ways, life was lived closer to eternity.

When we touch God we reach beyond the boundaries of time into a realm that exists beyond us. We are drawn into the “eternal.” Even the word “eternal” is inadequate to convey the reality and ultimate dimensions of God. The New Testament writers, writing in Greek, opted for the term eis aionion, literally “into the age” or “beyond the age.” It could also be translated “beyond time.” Everywhere we read the word “eternal” in the New Testament, it is the translation for this mysterious phrase, eis aionion. God draws us beyond time into a dimension that cannot be measured by our mortal comprehension.

When God revealed Himself to Moses, he gave his name as “I AM,” a clear reference to His timeless being. When Jesus explained his identity, He said, “Before Abraham was, I am.” Jesus said that those who believe in Him “will never die.” Faith changes the game. It suspends the clock, stretches the moment into eternity and compresses eternity into the moment. When we come to faith in God through Jesus Christ, he lifts us out of our myopic mortal existence and pours eternity into our soul. He invites us to live eis aionion, into the age.

Post Apocalypse

2011-05-30T07:45:00.000-07:00

We are now living in a post apocalyptic world. That is, if you gave any credence to Harold Camping’s predictions last week. I expect that even Camping was surprised with the media attention his doomsday forecast generated. Main line news programs reported it. It was on the front pages of the newspapers. According to his meticulous interpretations of Biblical prophecy, the world was scheduled to end at 6 PM on Saturday, May 21. It didn’t. And now Camping has come out with another prediction. Apparently the apocalypse has been postponed to October 21. Kind of like a make-up date for a rain out.

The whole thing might say a lot more about how we read and understand the Bible than anything about the end of the world. Most Christians immediately recognized Jesus’ very clear statement about predicting the date for the end of the age. While the Bible is clear that the earth will wear out, that Jesus will return, that God will judge the “quick and the dead” and that God will create a new heaven and a new earth, it is also clear that no one knows when this will happen. Jesus said, “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.” No one can predict the date.

The fact that so many recognized the contradiction between Campy’s fancy mathematical footwork to pinpoint the date for the end times and Jesus’ simple statement illustrates one of the essential principles in understanding the Bible. Always interpret obscure passages in light of clear ones.

It also says something about who we choose to follow. There are a lot of religious voices out there. We recently dropped our cable subscription and went back to TV programs on the local airwaves. I was surprised to discover we could receive more than 30 stations with an antenna. Then I realized that many of them were “religious” stations, with some of the wildest preacher-performers I have ever seen. Flipping the channels was, to be quite honest, scary.

I thought Jim and Tammy Bakker had faded. Tammy, of course, has passed on. I felt sympathy for her in her last days. After serving his prison sentence, Jim has gone back on the air and online with his own apocalyptic predictions. His web site offers all you need for survival when the tribulation hits. Jim used to believe he would be raptured prior to the tribulation, but he changed his mind and decided he could sell survival items including everything from four-man tents, a solution to protect yourself from epidemics and “Time of Trouble” food buckets that will get you through seven years of famine (for the bargain price of $3,000.) Of course you can also buy jewelry and a set of his DVDs to watch in your idle time.

We have so many religious caricatures on the airwaves and in print that we have difficulty sorting through them to discover the authentic voices. Jesus knew this would be the case. That is why he gave us a simple rule to follow. Check out their fruit. Jesus said, “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits.” (Mt 7:15-16).

Does God Exist?

2011-05-23T06:27:00.000-07:00

In an interview last week, Stephen Hawking, the world’s foremost physicist, stated his belief that there is no God. He said, “I regard the brain as a computer which will stop working when its components fail. There is no heaven or afterlife for broken down computers; that is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark.”

I was one of the nine million who read Hawking’s popular book, “A Brief History of Time.” I took heart when he referred to God as the force that could fully explain the creation of the universe. Either I misunderstood what he meant, which is highly possible, or Hawking changed his mind.

Either way, Hawking’s latest confession of non-faith saddens me. It is difficult for me to comprehend how such a brilliant mind can reach the conclusion that all we observe in the universe is an accident, that there is no intelligent force or design behind our existence. It seems as illogical to me as finding a Swiss watch in the desert and concluding its intricate pieces just accidentally fell together from nowhere.

I went back and watched the movie, “Contact,” a science fiction story that wrestles with science, empirical evidence and faith. As the story points out, a lot of religion is messed up. At the same time, science and empirical evidence can only take us so far. The question Hawking is dealing with is bigger than any religion or denominational expression. It is also bigger than science. It is a question we all must face and answer. How we answer it makes a great deal of difference in how we live and how meaningful our lives are.

Hawking concluded that since there is no God, humans should seek to live the most valuable lives they can while on Earth. This too, makes no sense to me. If there is no God, where is the motive to live responsible and valuable lives? We are sucked into a black hole of non-existence and non-meaning. What does it matter?

If we argue that love matters then, it seems to me, we are thrown back into the very lap of God. Love is the greatest and most mysterious reality in our existence, eclipsing all other discoveries. Who wants to live in a world of technological perfection and scientific achievement without love? A loveless world would leave us shallow, fragmented, lonely, isolated, fearful, and miserable.
Here lies the greatest truth: “God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.” (1 John 4:16).

Ultimately, I suppose, faith or non-faith is a choice. We can choose to believe that our world is the result of a creative God who desired and designed our existence from the tiniest molecule to the most distant star or we can choose not to believe.

I am not as brilliant as Stephen Hawking. He is a genius by anyone’s standard. But the idea that human beings are no more than computers that will one day crash and be discarded as junk leads nowhere. For my part, I will choose to believe. It is the only conclusion that seems to make any sense.

What We Don't Know

2011-05-16T06:43:00.000-07:00

The total of human knowledge is increasing at an astonishing rate. It is estimated that it took 300 years for knowledge to double after 1450, but only 150 years for it to double again. From 1900 to 1950 it doubled once more. It is now believed to double every 900 days and, after 2020 is expected to double every 72.

Only 200 years ago physicians thought that illness was caused by bad blood. George Washington was virtually bled to death in 1799 as the favored treatment for an obvious infection. One hundred years ago Henry Ford introduced the assembly line and the Model T. Fifty years ago computers were unknown. Twenty years ago the Internet was unknown to the public. Our access to knowledge and the world has dramatically changed. What is there that we do not know today that will be common knowledge tomorrow? What is it that we think we know that will be proved wrong?

Each of us is able to comprehend only a small segment of the vast ocean of human knowledge. And, when all our knowledge is compiled and computed it only scratches the surface of the limitless universe. We are still confined to this tiny spec of a planet. We have not been able to travel any further than the moon. The vastness of the universe remains far beyond our reach. The closest star, Proxima Centauri, is 4.33 light years away. Traveling at the fastest speed imaginable with current technology, scientists estimate it would take 19,000 years to reach it. At our very best we can only observe the vast reaches of the universe through our telescopes as though looking through a glass darkly.

Regarding God, we debate our axioms and truths as if we have complete and comprehensive knowledge about God. We must always be reminded by the words of the prophet when God says, “My ways are not your ways. My thoughts are not your thoughts. As the heavens are above the earth, so are my thoughts above your thoughts.”

This is one of the reasons God sent his Son, simply because God is incomprehensible. Knowledge of his universe is too vast. Knowledge of his nature and character is too far beyond our mortal minds. As with his creation, we can only observe and stand in awe.

We are like newborn babes first opening their eyes to a new world they have never seen. We are like children giggling over new found discoveries on the play ground: a stick, a flower, a worm, a caterpillar. I think God takes joy in this. He takes pleasure in our discoveries of his intricate, complex and mysterious creation. At the same time, he is grieved by our blindness. The violence, cruelty, abuse and conflict that exists in the earth bears witness that for all our advance in scientific and technological knowledge, we are still unable to focus on the truths that matter most. Jesus, as God in human flesh, was the only one who has ever known and seen all things clearly. For all of our advances we have yet to learn the Sermon on the Mount and put it into practice.

Justice and Grace

2011-05-09T07:14:00.000-07:00

It has been more than a week since Osama bin Laden’s death. When I first heard the news I felt no joy. I was not sad that he was dead. I am glad he is no longer a threat to innocent people. I believe the world is a better place without him. But I wondered why I did not feel like dancing in the streets and waving flags. Why did I feel no jubilation at this news?

Perhaps my sadness stemmed from the conflicting worldviews represented in bin Laden’s death. One worldview operates on the basis of terror, violence, bloodshed, retaliation and revenge. The other world view operates on the basis of love, forgiveness, kindness, gentleness, goodness and grace. The killing of bin Laden seemed to demonstrate the triumph of the first worldview, leaving the questions: Can the second worldview exist with out the first, or does it exist at all? How do those of us who opt for compassion, forgiveness and grace live in a world that seems dominated by violence, retaliation and revenge?

When I was a youth I shocked my mother by saying, “God is not just.” I think she wanted to wash my mouth out with soap. I simply could not reconcile God’s justice with God’s grace. If God is just, it seemed to me, he could not be loving and forgiving. On the other hand, if he were loving and forgiving, he could not be just. So, I opted for a loving and forgiving God. Of course I was wrong. God is both loving and just. He revealed himself to Moses as “the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in loving kindness and truth; who keeps loving kindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished.” (Exodus 34:6-7).

God’s justice and grace intersected on Golgotha. Jesus endured the cross because he knew a penalty must be paid for our sin and that violence, hatred and cruelty must be overcome by God’s grace and goodness. Isaiah had predicted this moment: “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isa. 53:5-6).

Our fallen world is filled with violence and hatred, goodness and grace, all at the same time. Somehow we must seek both justice and grace. I have no doubt that Osama bin Laden deserved death. But his death in no way compensates for the thousands of innocent lives lost on 9/11 or the multiplied thousands more brave and innocent men and women killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, or the thousands of young Muslims led astray by his radical views. Personally, I am ready to celebrate goodness and grace everywhere it is found. And I am prepared to affirm justice wherever it is necessary and can be achieved.

After The Wedding

2011-05-02T06:25:00.000-07:00

Last week: “the wedding.” This week: marriage. Few couples will ever experience a wedding like Prince William and Kate Middleton. A few very wealthy celebrities might approach or exceed the expense. But they will not achieve the global attention created by the tradition and ceremony surrounding a prince marrying his princess. This week, regardless of the ceremony and publicity, William and Kate, like everyone else, must turn their attention to the more difficult challenge of building a marriage.

Prince William and Kate’s fairytale wedding struggled to escape the shadow of his father’s marriage to Princess Diana. We all hope the young couple will succeed where his parents failed. We all want marriage to work. We all wish every marriage would live up to the thrill of the weddings in which they were formed.

Weddings are events. They can be planned, staged and bought. Marriages, on the other hand, are lifelong relationships that take time, effort, struggle, sacrifice, love and forgiveness, things that money cannot buy. No one really knows what goes on in a marriage except the husband and wife who share the marriage bond. Some marriages appear strong and stable to the public eye, but are inwardly crumbling. We were stunned when Al and Tipper Gore called it quits.

Last year my wife and I celebrated our forty-second anniversary. I remember how she appeared beneath her wedding veil at the altar, the tear that formed in her eye when we exchanged our vows. She was nineteen. Some images in the brain never fade. Even though the years have aged us both, her nineteen-year-old beauty remains whenever I look at her.

We were naïve. We had far more to learn than either of us knew. I think it took the first ten years to begin to understand who she really is, and I am still learning. Along the way, she helped me discover who I am.

Our marriage has had its celebrations and its sorrows. We have celebrated the birth of three children and four grandchildren and we have wept at the graves of our parents. We have known exhilaration and depression, achievement and disappointment. We have traveled the world together and built a home. She nursed me to health after my motorcycle wreck. This week she will undergo cancer surgery, and I will be by her side.

Throughout the years we have discovered building blocks that make marriage work. The first is faith. It was our faith in God and His son Jesus that brought us together and kept us together. But faith that merely professes to believe in Jesus would not have been enough. Marriage, more than any other relationship, taught us the importance of living out the things Jesus taught: honesty, trust, respect, humility, confession and forgiveness. Without these elements faith is empty, especially in marriage.

We are still learning the meaning of love and our love is still growing, as I hope William and Kate will learn and grow. We are still striving to live out the Bible’s definition: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” (1 Cor. 13).

The Royal Wedding

2011-04-25T08:37:00.001-07:00

This is the week of the wedding. Over two billion people are expected to watch Kate Middleton's four-minute walk down the aisle at Westminster Abbey to exchange vows with Prince William. When she departs, she will no longer be referred to as Kate. She will be known as Catherine, most likely Princess Catherine depending upon the Queen's choice of title.

Weddings are big business. Families with limited resources borrow against their home equity and their annuity in order to see their daughters adorned for the monumental moment. According to a Bridal Association of America, the average wedding in the United States cost slightly over $30,000. The most expensive wedding on record? Vanisha Mittal, whose father owns the largest steel company, to British investment banker Amit Bhatia on June 22, 2009. The cost: more than $60 million. The tab for Prince William and Kate’s wedding will run close to $50 million. Of course love cannot be measured in money and the cost of a wedding has nothing to do with the success of a marriage. Nonetheless, the wedding is one time when everyone is willing to splurge, to throw caution and check book to the wind in an effort to create and capture this one perfect moment.

Perhaps that is why the Bible uses the wedding imagery to help us understand our relationship to God. It is extravagant. The Bible describes the church as the “bride of Christ” adorned for her husband. Of course, the Bible’s reference to “church” has nothing to do with denominations, organizations, institutions or buildings. When the Bible talks about the church, it is talking about people, “a people after God’s own choosing.” It is talking about you and me. The wedding image is included to help us know how much God cherishes us and how much he is willing to pay, not just for a perfect moment, but for a perfect relationship. The wedding image is the visible expression of John 3:16.

As the royal wedding week unfolds, there is much speculation about Kate’s appearance. Somehow, in our WikiLeaks world, no one has been able to discover what the royal wedding dress looks like. She has kept it secret. As much as the world is abuzz about these things, Kate likely has little concern about how she will appear to the guests, the media or the world. When I walked my daughter down the aisle at her wedding, she was focused on only one person, her future husband who stood at the altar waiting for her. I suspect Kate is only concerned about how she will appear to her fiancé, Prince William.

So it is with our faith. Our focus is not on the world or the opinion of others. Our focus is on Jesus as the bridegroom. The book of Revelation describes it like this: “Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: ‘Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come and his bride has made herself ready.’” (Rev. 19:6-7). With every act of kindness, goodness, mercy, justice, compassion and faith, we prepare our selves as the bride for our bridegroom. Like Kate’s wedding dress, most of these things will be done in secret to be revealed when the bridegroom appears.

Resurrection

2011-04-18T06:38:00.000-07:00

I was twenty-nine years old when my father died. Only hours before his death, I spoke with him. Our eyes met one another, the same eye contact I had with him from my birth. I held his hand as he drew his last breath, and he was gone. His body lay lifeless and unresponsive.

The morticians took his body from the hospital room where our family had waited through the night. My mother, brothers and I visited the funeral home and chose a casket. Shortly afterward other family and friends joined us to view his body lying still and quiet, dressed in his familiar suit, his hair combed. I stood by the casket and stared at his face. It was obvious another hand had combed his hair and another hand had tied his tie. He seemed to be sleeping. I almost imagined him drawing breath. Almost imagined him opening his eyes that sparkled once again with life, his lips parting in the familiar grin, the dimples reappearing in his cheeks. But he didn’t move. We buried his body in the cemetery thirty-five years ago surrounded by friends who came to comfort us, many of whom are now buried beside him.

I asked myself the question Job asked centuries ago, the question every man and woman must ultimately ask when they stand where I stood on that day, “If a man die, shall he live again?”

Job’s struggle with the question was not about theology or philosophy. His struggle was like mine. It was personal. It is the struggle we all must face sooner or later when those whom we love die. “At least there is hope for a tree,” Job said, “If it is cut down it will sprout again. … Its’ roots may grow old in the ground and its stump die in the soil, yet at the scent of water it will bud and put forth shoots like a plant. But a man dies and is laid low; he breathes his last and is no more.”

The world will ponder Job’s question this weekend when we gather in Christian churches around the world. If Jesus was raised from the dead, the answer to life’s most important question is clear. Luke wrote, “After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.” John wrote, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.”

After having pondered the question we all must ponder, Job foresaw the event we celebrate this week. He wrote, “I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!”

How Big Is God

2011-04-11T08:25:00.001-07:00

Today I drove my 1977 Volkswagen bug that I have named Bullet. When I bought it, it was beat up, every fender dented, the paint peeling from its rusting surface. Depending upon the eye of the beholder, it was either a piece of junk or an antique. I chose the latter, had it painted and drive it almost every day.

The same year my VW bug was manufactured, NASA launched Voyagers 1 and 2 in opposite directions to explore the solar system and, eventually to reach interstellar space. But, space is a big place. Traveling at 39,000 and 35,000 miles per hour respectively, the Voyager probes are just now reaching the edge of our solar system, thirty-four years after their launch. Both Voyager probes carry gold plated phonograph records in hopes some extraterrestrial being might play them and listen to our world. If they do, they can hear a personal greeting from President Jimmy Carter. Although they have reached speeds fifty times faster than the fastest fighter jet, it will take them 70,000 years to reach the closest star.

One scientist put the size of the universe in perspective. If our sun were the size of a grain of salt, he said, the orbit of the earth would be one inch in diameter. And the closest star would be four miles away.

When we lie on the grass at night and look into the sky it is filled with stars, seemingly close together. But, in fact they are very, very far away. There are four hundred billion stars in our galaxy alone and there are fifty billion other galaxies. If the cosmic universe is this big, how big is God?

The Bible seeks to expand our minds when we think about Christ and God to help us understand that God is far bigger than anything we every imagined. When Paul writes about Christ, he says, “The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” (Colossians 1:15-17). According to Luke, when people met Jesus they were struck by the “majestic greatness” of God.

Shortly before Jesus was crucified, he prayed for those who would believe in Him. According to John, his prayer included this statement, “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.” (John 17:24). The word for world in this statement is not the Greek word, “ges” from which we derive our words “geology, geography and geothermal.” It is the word “cosmos” indicating the “cosmic universe.” When we think about the expanse of the cosmic universe, we get a small glimpse of His glory, and quickly realize that our finite minds are far too small to comprehend His majestic greatness.

Whenever I drive my old Volkswagen bug I am reminded of those Voyager probes and how puny our man-made objects appear in the cosmic galaxies of creation. By contrast, I am caused to reflect on the majestic greatness of God. I am grateful that the invisible creator of creation has invited me to know him through the visible person of His Son.

Believe It Or Not

2011-04-04T06:58:00.000-07:00

“Believe.” It is an interesting word. Sometimes we use it to indicate doubt. If we are not entirely certain of something, we will say, “I believe so.” For instance, if someone asks, “Are your friends joining us for dinner?” We will say, “I believe so.” Meaning, I think they are but I am not quite sure. If we were certain they were coming to dinner, we would simply say, “Yes.”

Sometimes we use “believe” to indicate our agreement with someone else’s statement. When I say, “I believe you,” I am indicating that I “believe” something is true. If you point to an airplane and ask, “Do you believe this is an airplane?” I might say, “Yes, I believe that is an airplane.”

At other times we use the word “believe” to indicate our confidence in someone. We may use the term for a political candidate or a doctor indicating confidence in that person. In this case they would get our vote or our business. We could also use this term with respect to the pilot of the airplane. We could believe in him, meaning we have confidence he can fly the airplane.

The word translated “believe” in the Bible is “pisteuo.” “Faith” is closer to the meaning of “pisteuo.” But, we don’t have a verb form of “faith” in our language. We cannot say, “I faith you.” We are left with our word “believe.” In this case, if we believe in the airplane and the pilot, we must climb aboard the airplane, take our seat and actually fly in it. We follow instructions and trust both the airplane and the pilot to take us aloft thousands of feet in the air.

The “faith” meaning of the word changes how we understand key passages in the Bible. For instance, when Jesus says,“I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me shall never die,” he is actually saying, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who puts his trust and absolute faith in me shall never die.”

Here is the difference in religion and relationship. There are many who occasionally attend church who “believe” in Christ and “believe” they are Christians. They use the term like the first example. They are not quite sure, but they think it might be true, or hope it is.

Then there are others who attend church who “believe” according to the second definition. They give mental assent believing that Jesus is the Son of God, but it doesn’t make much difference in their lives.

Still others fall into the third category. They believe in Jesus in the sense that they have confidence in who he claims to be. They think he is a good person, that he spoke the truth, that he would get their vote among the other religious leaders in the history.

But moving into a faith relationship with Jesus Christ requires the New Testament kind of “believing.” We must trust Him with our lives. In this case we don’t have to understand or know everything, just like we don’t have to understand or know everything about flight and airplanes in order to fly. When the Bible says, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved,” it means more than wishful thinking, mental assent or even having confidence in Christ. It means we must place our complete faith and trust in Jesus Christ. Like flying, we must follow His instructions and trust Him. If we do this, He will save us.

Grace

2011-03-27T12:34:00.000-07:00

Today I held Grace for the first time. Grace is my granddaughter, born March 27 to my daughter, Allison and our son-in-law, Noah. Like all grandparents, I am amazed at this miracle.

Holding her, I thought about my mother who died eight weeks ago today at the age of 89. The night before she died we gathered around her bed, my wife and I and our children. We told her we loved her and she told us that she loved us. We reminisced about a few memories. Then, my son-in-law held his iPhone up to her ear and played a recording of Grace’s heart beat. It was strong and rapid, dancing with new life. My mother’s heart was failing and would beat its last beat by morning. Grace’s heartbeat was just beginning, pounding in my daughter’s womb, waiting to be born.

I also thought about my daughter. She was born the year I turned 40. Jackie, my wife, was 37. We had two sons ages thirteen and eight. We had not expected any more children. When we discovered Jackie was pregnant, we met with the doctor. He asked if we wanted to terminate the pregnancy, apparently due to our age, the increased risk of defects and the fact that this pregnancy was not planned. We sat dumbfounded by his question. We looked at each other for a moment and responded, “No.” This was not a pregnancy, this was our child. We wanted this child. We would do nothing to risk her full and complete health. We changed doctors. Eight months later, Allison was born, as perfect a daughter as a father could ever wish to hold. I rocked her to sleep every night and sang songs to her about Jesus until she finally told me she thought she was too old to be rocked any more. Those were treasured moments, moments when I celebrated God’s gift of our daughter. Moments when I oftened reflected on the doctor’s question.

Years later I started writing poetry and wrote a poem about the daughter God gave us. Here it is:

You came into my life unexpected,
unrequested, unplanned and unknown,
bursting the bands of my being,
redefining and rewriting
the schemata of my soul.

I thought my world was whole,
believed I knew my substance
needing none other than I knew,
contemplating and comprehending completeness.

You appeared to me,
a formless faded phantom on a screen,
echoes of flesh, a beating heart,
tiny fetal foot reflected in the womb
of your mother.

We wanted you, longed for you,
waited for you, prayed for you,
prepared for you:
a room, built with my own hands,
a yellow crib and mobile,
fluffy toys and dolls,
to greet you when you came ...
home.

And you came,
revealing my arrogant ignorance,
that I could think my world complete,
that I could live if you were not,
that life could be without you,
that life could be again in your going.

You pose the question in my mind,
with your smile, your girlish giggle,
the stroking of your cat,
the tears upon your cheek,
the weight of your slumbering body
at rest in mine, curled up in the arms
of a big blue chair:
“What is there I know not that I have not
and could not live without?”

So, today, I held Grace, my daughter’s daughter, and reflected on the grace of God!

Preserving a People

2011-03-21T06:11:00.001-07:00

Every time we voice our pledge to the flag, we are reminded of our American commitment: “one nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all.” Justice is important. We cannot have liberty without justice. Cornelius Dupree Jr.’s recent exoneration and release after serving 30 years in prison for a crime he did not commit along with the growing number of exonerations based on DNA testing raises huge questions.

John Grisham’s latest novel, “The Confession,” underscores the difficulties. Although a work of fiction, his story of a young black man wrongly convicted in Texas and executed in Huntsville is chilling. It is reminiscent of scenes from Steven King’s novel, The Green Mile. I once stood beside the execution table in the death chamber at Huntsville. The sense of the place was haunting. Many have gone to their deaths in that room guilty of the crimes for which they were convicted. Others, it appears, were innocent.

Ed Gray, former prosecutor in the Dallas County district attorney’s office recently wrote a memoir of his career entitled, Henry Wade’s Tough Justice. Wade was the Dallas County DA for 36 years. He is best known for prosecuting Jack Ruby for the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald. Gray states that the standing joke in the Wade administration was “Anybody can convict a guilty person. Convicting the innocent is the trick.”

The best known person ever condemned and executed for crimes he did not commit was Jesus. He was wrongly accused before the courts of his day and appeared before the Roman governor, Pilate, who, after yielding to social and political pressure, sentenced him to die. He was then tortured and crucified outside the walls of Jerusalem according to Roman law.

Like most Americans I still believe we have the best judicial system on earth. But no system can rise above the people involved in it, including lawyers, judges, juries, officers and those called upon for testimony. As believers who worship the One who suffered the world’s greatest injustice we need constantly to commit ourselves to truth, honesty, integrity and ethics that preserve the freedoms we hold so precious.

Justice, of course, extends beyond the courtroom. We create or erode a just society every day by the way we live, by being truthful and honest in all our dealings. My middle son once stood in line for more than half an hour to return a few dollars to a department store that the clerk had mistakenly given him in change. When he finally reached the counter, the workers in the service department were dumbfounded. No one had ever stood in line to return money. Their system wasn’t set up to handle it. An older man standing in line behind him and watching stopped him. “Young man. If you ever need a job, you call me.”

Every lie, every slander, every dishonest deed destroys a nation. Every truth, every encouragement, every honest action, builds up a people. Deuteronomy 16: 20 says, “Follow justice and justice alone, so that you may live and possess the land the Lord your God is giving you.” Micah 6:8 states, “What does the Lord require of you? To act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

When Disaster Strikes

2011-03-14T13:50:00.000-07:00

Our hearts go out to the Japanese people. The reports of devastation continue to escalate and the depth of loss continues to deepen. Thousands of bodies wash up daily on Japanese shores. Plumes of smoke rise from exploding nuclear plants. Last week’s disaster seems overwhelming.

Whenever disasters like this strike we are prone to ask spiritual and theological questions that usually revolve around “Why?” Jesus addressed this question on more than one occasion and gave us some insight into the answers. When he addressed a crowd regarding a recent building collapse he posed a rhetorical question: “Do you think that those who died when the tower at Siloam fell were more sinful than others?” And answered his own question clearly, “I tell you, no.”

When his disciples discovered a man blind from his birth they asked a similar question. “Why was this man born blind? Was it because of his sins or the sins of his parents that he was born blind?” Jesus answered them, “It was neither that this man sinned nor his parents. He was born blind that the works of God might be made manifest in him.” He then proceeded to heal the man so that he could see.

Jesus predicted that earthquakes would continue and would occur in various places on the earth. We have learned that our planet is in constant movement. The earth’s crust continues to shift. Most often its movement is imperceptible, but occasionally it shifts with dramatic and devastating results. We have witnessed the destruction that can be leveled on human civilization when this happens.

I stood on the shore at Banda Aceh, Indonesia following the 2004 tsunami and witnessed the devastation that laid waste that capital city and claimed the lives of a quarter million people. My daughter and son-in-law volunteered in the recovery efforts after Haiti was decimated with similar loss of life. Last year alone, there were twenty-two quakes measuring 7 or greater on the Richter magnitude scale. Earthquakes struck Chile, Indonesia, the Philippines, India, Japan, Mexico, the Solomon Islands, Ecuador and New Zealand.

Natural disasters will occur. They are as inevitable as the rising and setting sun though not as predictable or as regular. Where and when they will strike and with what force, we don’t know, though geologists continue to search for clues by studying movement in the earth’s crust.

Jesus was clear that earthquakes would come and disasters would occur. He was also clear about how we should respond. We must manifest the works of God. We must pray for the people of Japan. When one people suffer, we all suffer. And we must give. My favorite organization for responding to disasters worldwide is the Texas Baptist Men. They have a long history of working effectively with local and global organizations to bring meaningful help where disasters strike. They are especially adept at providing clean water and clean up volunteers when needed. I know their leadership personally and have great confidence in them. Donations can be given for disaster relief to Texas Baptist Men at www.texasbaptistmen.org.

Finding God's Vision

2011-03-07T08:48:00.000-08:00

For several years I led an organization that asked two questions: “What is God’s vision for your life?” and, “How can we help you fulfill God’s vision?” Some churches are beginning to ask these questions regarding those who attend. They are, I believe, the right questions. Unlike the institutional and program oriented question, “How can you help our church?” these questions help people discover the transforming dynamic of God that changes their lives and the world. Most people have an innate sense that God has a vision and purpose for their life. At the same time, most people have difficulty finding God’s vision and living it.

Two weeks ago I spent the weekend with a relatively new church in Wisconsin that is learning to ask these questions. The church started ten years ago with two hundred people present. Ten years later more than 1,400 gather each weekend at Jacobs Well in Eau Claire. During lunch I sat beside a woman who was obviously very involved and comfortable at the church. I asked if she was a staff member. She laughed and said, “No, I am a volunteer.” I later learned that two years ago she was addicted to drugs and battling depression.

A few years ago I visited the Harley Davidson factory in Kansas City. We wanted to learn what made Harley Davidson tick (or rumble) and why this company had made such a dramatic turn around. We visited the teams assembling the bikes and met with their managers. We listened to one of their young executives who introduced himself as “a disciple of Jesus Christ disguised as a Harley Davidson executive.”

In 2004 I answered my cell phone and listened as a young woman with a speech impediment introduced herself. “I’m Heather. I have cerebral palsy. God has called me to India. How can you help me?” That brief conversation started a long friendship. I drove to Waco to visit Heather and found her confined to a wheel chair with limited use of one arm. In spite of her disabilities, she radiated the presence of Christ. She said God whispered in her ear, “India.” She has been to Bangalore twice to work with others who have similar handicaps to her own and plans to return. She wrote her first children’s book this year entitled “My Friends and I.”

God has a vision for every life. It is just a matter of finding God’s vision and living it out. Here are some clues I have discovered that help people get started on that journey: 1. Trust Jesus Christ and welcome Him into your life, 2. Study the Bible. God speaks to us through His Word, 3. Pray. Start praying for others, not just yourself and your own family, and 4. Listen to other believers who seek to encourage you. Get involved in a healthy church and a small group of authentic followers of Jesus Christ.

When Paul neared the end of his life, he said, “I have not been disobedient to the vision.” (Acts 26:19). He followed the principles in the previous paragraph. His journey started with his trust in Jesus Christ on the way to Damascus. He studied the Scriptures and discovered its mysteries. He prayed constantly for others. Barnabas encouraged him and introduced him to other believers. He became involved in the church at Antioch that “set him apart” for “the work to which God had called him.” When he got stumped, he looked for God’s vision for the next step on his journey. (Acts 16:6-10).

(Heather Herschap's new children's book, "My Friends and I," is available on Amazon)

Did Jesus Do Dishes?

2011-02-28T17:57:00.000-08:00

Did Jesus do dishes? The very question sounds sacrilegious. That might be the point. Sometimes our “religion” prism causes us to miss the real miracle about Jesus. The whole idea of “religion” tends to confine our thinking to “church” related activities and theological conversations. To most people, Jesus never enters day-to-day conversation because to do so is to introduce “religion,” and daily life has little to do with religion.

Those who knew Jesus, who met him, heard him, saw him, ate with him and walked with him were struck by his humanity. He was real, but, as some say, “not real religious.” He went to the synagogues and spoke there, but it was the religious people who had difficulty with him. He ate with tax collectors, visited with prostitutes and befriended lepers, violated religious laws by healing the sick and allowing his disciples to harvest grain on the Sabbath.

Jesus’ divinity continued to shine through for all to see: he made the blind see, caused the deaf to hear, lifted the lame to walk and raised the dead. Even the wind and the sea obeyed him. But, as important as all those things were, especially to the individuals who experienced it, he elevated the mundane to the miraculous.

John described him like this: “The Word became flesh and lived among us and we saw his glory, glory as the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14); “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.” (1 John 1:1) The writer of Hebrews wrote: “For we have not a high priest who is not touched with our infirmities but was tempted in all ways like as we are, yet without sin.”

The Bible never says that Jesus did the dishes. It does say that he washed feet. Which, it seems to me, required a great deal more humility than washing dishes. I expect dishes were prized possessions in most homes of Galilee. They weren’t cheap. You could not pick up dishes at the local Walmart or the Dollar store. They were all hand crafted and often passed down from generation to generation. Most homes likely had little more than the bare essentials when it came to dishes. They did not pile up in the sink waiting for someone to unload the dishwasher. But I wouldn’t be surprised if Jesus helped his mother out, or even lent a hand to Martha in the kitchen at Bethany, and washed dishes.

I always think my wife will be most impressed when I buy her flowers. She does appreciate them and she likes them. But what she really seems to like is the times that I do the dishes. It may be that the most spiritual thing you may do today is to do the dishes. It could be a God thing.

Who Is Jesus?

2011-02-21T07:56:00.000-08:00

He is the most controversial man ever to live. His own family thought him mad. The people loved him. One of his closest friends betrayed him. The Jewish court convicted him of heresy. The Romans killed him. He never earned a degree and had no formal schooling. He was never elected to office. He never wrote a book. When he died he owned nothing beyond the clothes on his back. But, within three centuries of his death, the entire Roman Empire worshipped him. More books have been written about him than any other individual who has ever lived. Entire libraries have been devoted to understanding his life and his teaching. He changed the course of western civilization and, today, two thousand years since he was born, millions are turning to him in Africa and Asia. Who is Jesus?

Leo Tolstoy, arguably the greatest Russian novelist, author of War and Peace and Anna Karenina, spent much of his life wrestling with the teachings of Jesus. In his later years he wrote The Kingdom of God is Within You in an attempt to implement the teachings of Jesus. Tolstoy corresponded with a young Mahatma Gandhi who, although he remained Hindu, often quoted from Jesus and recognized Jesus’ influence on his thinking. When Martin Luther King, Jr.’s home was bombed in 1956, he stepped out on the front porch to quiet an angry crowd that threatened to do battle with the police. He said, “"We must love our white brothers, no matter what they do to us. We must make them know that we love them. Jesus still cries out in words that echo across the centuries: 'Love your enemies; bless them that curse you; pray for them that despitefully use you.' This is what we must live by.”

Jesus remains popular in the United States. A Barna Group survey concluded that more people claim a “connection” with Jesus than the number claiming a Facebook or Twitter account. Two out of three Americans claim to have a personal relationship with Jesus. But who is the Jesus whom two thirds of Americans claim to know? In his book, Imaginary Jesus, Matt Mikalatos creates a fictional story in which Jesus is seen according to the image that brings us the greatest benefit. In so doing, he introduces “King James Jesus,” “Magic 8-ball Jesus,” “Testosterone Jesus,” “Free Will Jesus,” “New Age Jesus,” and “Meticulous Jesus.” All of this leaves us asking the question again, “Who is Jesus?”

Jesus was the first person to pose this question. According to Luke 9 and Mathew 16, when Jesus’ popularity was growing so that thousands thronged to see and hear him, he took his twelve disciples aside and asked them the question, “Whom do men say that I am?” The disciples looked at one another and began repeating what they had heard others say. “Some say you are John the Baptist,” they said. “Others say you are Elijah. And still others say you are one of the prophets.” After hearing their response Jesus put the question to them more personally. “Who do you say I am?” In both accounts, Peter was the one who spoke first. “You are the Christ the Son of the living God.” Jesus affirmed Peter by saying to him, “Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father which is in Heaven.”

Of course Jesus was looking for more than a confession, a creed or mental assent from his followers. It is clear that Jesus expected them to put their faith into action. Elsewhere he said, “Why do you call me Lord, Lord and do not the things that I say.” “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” Perhaps the most important questions any of us will face in this life are, “Who is Jesus?” and, “Are you doing what He said?”

Out of Egypt

2011-02-11T09:37:00.000-08:00

The world is focused on Egypt, a land that has always figured prominently in the Bible. When Matthew wrote about Mary and Joseph’s escape to Egypt to protect their child, he paused to note the prophetic fulfillment: “And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘Out of Egypt I called my son.’” (Mt. 2:15).

When I went to Egypt a few years ago, I visited the Coptic Church built on the spot where Joseph and Mary supposedly lived during the first years of Jesus’ life. I also visited the pyramids and stood in the awe inspiring shadow of these immense structures that stand like sky scrapers in the desert. I reflected on the fact that these same pyramids stood where they stand today when Abraham first came to Egypt, when Joseph ruled as Prime Minister and when Moses grew up in Pharaoh’s courts. Standing on that spot, the sweep of history suddenly seemed to shrink and the events of the Bible appeared as current events.

My visit to Egypt with a group of Christian leaders came at a tense moment. Our troops were poised to attack Iraq and war was imminent. While there, we had the opportunity to sit down with the governor of Cairo. We first learned that the governor was a graduate of the University of Minnesota. We visited about Minnesota seasons, the long brutal winter and the contrasts with the climate in Egypt. Then we asked him, “What is it that you need in Egypt.” His response was quick and clear. He first stated that they were not pleased with everything the United States is doing in the Middle East. And then he said, “We like Americans. And we want your business.” Each year thousands of Egyptian young people graduate from their schools and universities. They are well educated and well trained, but they have no jobs. More than anything else, he stated, they needed businesses to flourish and provide jobs for their people.

The governor’s statements presaged much of the conflict that is presently broiling in the streets of this ancient city. They also revealed a new reality for those of us engaged in global missions. In Egypt as in many other predominantly Muslim countries, the doors for traditional missionaries remains closed. But the door for Christian entrepreneurs is open.

Today Hosni Mubarak resigned as president and handed control of the country to the military. While the military promises a transition to greater democracy, it is still unclear what the final results will be. Hopefully recent events will result in a more open democracy with freedom of religion and free speech. But it could result in an oppressive fundamentalist Islamic state similar to what happened in Iran when the Shah was removed. One thing is clear, what happens in Egypt affects world history and will doubtless shape the global future for our children. Spiritual and political forces are vying for dominance in the Middle East. Turkey and Iran represent the struggle between Shiite and Sunni Muslims for control. At the same time, more Muslims are turning to Christ than at any time in history. We need to pray that God will use this current crisis in Egypt for His glory and that God will provide an open door for the gospel. It could be that the pathway to faith and peace in the Middle East could come “out of Egypt.”

The Vanishing Generation - A Tribute

2011-01-31T06:48:00.000-08:00

Tom Brokaw called them “The Greatest Generation.” They grew up in the Great Depression. They drove some of the first automobiles on the first paved highways in America. They went to work for the Works Progress Administration and built our nation’s infrastructure. They strung wires across our country and brought electricity and telephones to homes throughout America. They bought radios and invented the first television. They landed on the beaches at Normandy, raised the flag atop Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima and defended our freedom in World War II. They were the first to enter space and chose to go to the moon. Today, their generation is vanishing from the earth. They once numbered more than twelve million but only 2.5 million survive. One thousand members of the WW II generation die every day.

This week, my mother joined that number.

Leola Harper was born on a farm near Hillsboro, Texas in 1921. When she was ten, she climbed behind the wheel of a Model A and, at her father’s instructions, drove her mother to town on gravel and asphalt roads. By the time she was a teenager she was working a team of mules. She rode to school on her horse, Prince, who had a will to run. When he raced away with her, stumbled and fell to his knees, she refused to let go until he regained his feet. In high school she won ribbons in track, played basketball and grew to love baseball.

The boys lined up to date her until my father won her over and they married in 1940. One year later, on a December afternoon that yielded to sunny skies and warm weather, she spread a blanket on the grass for a picnic with her husband and listened to the Tommy Dorsey band on the car radio. She sat stunned along with millions of her generation when the music stopped and President Roosevelt reported the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

After the war, they moved to Corsicana. Having given her life to Christ, she joined First Baptist Church along with my father and settled in to raise three sons. For more than thirty years she taught pre-school children at the church. After her husband died in 1976, she went to work as a teacher’s aid choosing to work with special needs kids. She taught them to read during the week. She rode the bus with them, hugged them and sat with them at church. After retiring, she worked for another nineteen years as a volunteer “Pink Lady” at the Corsicana hospital.

Last week, at the age of 89, still living in her home on Sycamore, she suffered a debilitating stroke and was care-flighted by helicopter to Tyler. Partially paralyzed, she was offered a feeding tube to extend her life. She declined and chose hospice care instead. She was transported home to Corsicana on Friday afternoon. Saturday evening she fought through pain and medication to spend an hour blessing her grandchildren who gathered around her bed. Twelve hours later, she departed her aging and broken body for a place prepared for her in heaven where, once again, she is young and strong and beautiful. (John 14:1-14).

This Monday, February 7, her family and friends will gather in Corsicana to say goodbye to Leola Marie Harper Tinsley and turn another page for the “greatest generation.”

What You Won't Do For Yourself

2011-01-24T08:04:00.001-08:00

What I won’t do for myself I will do for my dog. Left to myself, I will sit around and vegetate. I know that other people don’t do this, but I do. But when I look across the room at my dog who follows me from room to room and is happy to be wherever I am, I know that he needs to walk. So, I get up, put on my walking shoes, find his leash and off we go. It is good for him and it is good for me.

This little act highlights an important point I have discovered. We all need to be motivated for someone or something outside ourselves. I have heard it said, “If you won’t do it for someone else, do it for yourself!” But I have discovered that doing it for myself is the lowest and weakest motivator in my life.

Some have assumed that our democratic system works because it is based on self-interest. If everyone looks out for himself, seeks to make the biggest profit and accumulate the most wealth, it all just seems to work out. But that isn’t true. Our democratic system works because people are willing to sacrifice their own self-interest in the interest of others. The key to American democracy is selfless altruism. Not greed.

Life is not like Monopoly. We don’t win by owning the largest number of properties, raising the rent and amassing stacks of money on our side of the board until we drive everyone else into bankruptcy. That might work for a board game, but even then the players seldom feel good about it. In life we win by giving ourselves away.

We are made in such a way that we must be called to something higher, something and someone outside ourselves. We will endure great pain, hardship, discipline and even death for people and causes that are greater.

When we live our lives and make our decisions based upon self-interest and self-gratification we are led into dead end tributaries, into a shallow existence that results in isolation and loneliness. When we choose to orient our lives around serving and helping others, we launch out into the deep where we discover meaning and fulfillment.

Howard Hughes, one of the wealthiest men of the twentieth century who spent lavishly to indulge his whims and idiosyncrasies, died a recluse, lonely, isolated and mentally deranged. The FBI had to resort to fingerprints in order to identify his body. Mother Teresa, who was penniless, spent her life caring for the poor, sick, orphaned and dying. When she died in 1997 the Missionaries of Charity, which she founded, had over one million co-workers serving the “poorest of the poor” in 123 countries. In 2010, the 100th anniversary of her birth, she was honored around the world.

This is why the Scripture urges us to put others first. “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” (Philippians 2:3-4). “Let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:1-3).

The Good and the Evil Among Us

2011-01-17T08:04:00.000-08:00

The assassination attempt on Gabrielle Giffords reminds us of the evil that resides among us. We are so horrified by the massacre of innocent people in a Safeway parking lot that we want to point blame somewhere, to somehow eliminate it ever happening again. For the past week politicians have pointed fingers at one another trying to affix blame to their opponent. We have examined the killer’s trail hoping to find a clue that will enable us to eliminate the possibility of such a thing ever happening again. Such tragedy should rightly cause us to examine ourselves more closely and to search for means to correct whatever causes may have led to the assassination. But evil will not go away. It surfaces repeatedly to inflict pain, loss and grief as it did nine years ago on 9/11, in Oklahoma City in 1995, at the Columbine High School massacre in 1999 and the Fort Hood killings in 2009.

The good news is that for all the evil that exists in the world there is far more good. For every crazed psychopath who plots the murder of innocent people there are a hundred heroes. We were reminded of that last week in Tucson when twenty-year-old Daniel Hernandez rushed to Gabrielle Giffords and cradled her head applying pressure to stanch the bleeding and save her life. Anna Balis grabbed Rob Barber who fell next to Giffords and used her bare hands to keep him from bleeding to death. Retired Col. Bill Badger, himself wounded, was one of four who subdued the killer while Patricia Maisch, 61, wrestled a gun clip away from him and prevented him from reloading. One of the victims, nine-year-old Christina Taylor Green, became a hero in her death. Her innocent face inspired us all to create a better world for our children and to “live up to her expectations” as our President reminded us. Christina’s organs were donated to save the life of another child in the Boston area.

The list of heroes is always far longer than the list of murderers and assassins. The number of men and women who rushed into the Twin Towers ten years ago is too long to list. While the killers at Columbine have been long forgotten, Rachel Scott’s legacy continues to grow. Rachel’s Challenge has gone global. The life of the young woman who was the first shot at Columbine has inspired hundreds of thousands to acts of kindness.

In fantasy and fiction heroes are usually endowed with super powers along with a perfect physique and beauty. But in reality, heroes are very average looking people. They appear in every shape and size, every age and every ethnicity. Unfortunately, the same is true for those who inflict evil on the innocent.

Jesus indicated that this was the reason that God patiently allows good and evil to co-exist in the world. He compared the world to a field where the owner has sowed good seed. But, as the good seed sprouts, he discovers his enemy has invaded the field and sowed weeds among the good seed. The farmer’s servants offered to enter the field and root out the weeds, but the owner refused. “While you are pulling the weeds you may uproot the wheat with them. Let them both grow together until harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.” (Matthew 13:24-29).

We must focus on sowing the good seed in our own hearts, in our families and our communities. The evil will not go away and it cannot be completely eradicated in this world. But the good will prevail and the harvest will come.

Fame Fortune and Family

2011-01-10T06:51:00.001-08:00

The media has gone crazy about Ted Williams, the homeless man with the golden voice discovered by a passing reporter in Columbus, Ohio. When the video was posted on the Columbus Dispatch web site and went viral, Ted Williams suddenly went from rags to riches. Last week he appeared with his mother on the CBS Early Show. He has been offered lucrative contracts to use his unique voice to market everything from Kraft products to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Williams’ sudden rise to fame in the You Tube world comes after a long record of disappointments. While Williams himself seems like a likeable and nice guy, his addictions to alchohol and drugs have left a wide wake of disappointment among those who have been closest to him. When reunited with his mother, she publicly warned him not to disappoint her again.

Most notable among those he has disappointed is his ex-wife, Patricia Kirtley, who is partially blind. According to the New York Daily News, Williams abandoned Patricia and their four girls twenty-three years ago. Patricia raised their four daughters as a disabled single mom. It was difficult. But, she persevered. She went to school and received a license as a blind vendor. She even took on Ted Williams’ child by another woman and raised the boy as her own son. In addition, two of her sisters and a cousin took in children Williams fathered by other women. She says she did not want to see the children sent to foster homes.

Throughout it all, it appears that Patricia avoided becoming bitter or resentful. If Ted showed up for Thanksgiving, she welcomed him, knowing he would not stay. Her oldest daughter, Julia, now 30, said, “Our mom was our sole provider. She is more than a phenomenal person. My father is a nice guy, but he fell victim to the streets. We prayed for him and we worried about him, but we became accustomed to the fact that he just wasn’t there.”

We have to hope that Ted Williams makes good use of the fortune that has unexpectedly fallen into his lap, that he remains sober and demonstrates responsibility toward his family. Williams is the latest example of our media driven world with its misplaced values. The list of gifted and talented people who earn millions for their athletic, dramatic and vocal talents while demonstrating irresponsible behavior toward others is a long one. Ted Williams and Patricia Kirtley’s story reminds us that the real heroes are often unsung, unrecognized and unrewarded by the world.

The media, of course, will move on. This week the media will turn its attention to other events and Ted Williams’ moment in the spotlight will fade. What remains to be seen is what he does with his opportunity and how he handles his responsibility to his family.

The Bible has some rather strong words to say regarding our responsibility to our families. The Apostle Paul wrote, “Anyone who does not provide for their relatives and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” (1 Timothy 5:8). The true measure of our lives is never found in the extent of our fame or the size of our fortune. The true measure lies in the investment we make day in and day out to our families and others.

The New Year Looking Forward

2011-01-03T06:25:00.000-08:00

Last week, as 2010 faded into memory, I wrote on Looking Back. This week, as the New Year and the new decade dawn, we will focus on Looking Forward. The past is written, and, although it will continue to be reinterpreted in our minds by selective memory, we know what it is. The future, however, is always difficult to predict.

Some things seem fairly predictable on the near horizon. The economy is improving. Financial experts predict a slowly strengthening economy with more jobs, better income and growing investments. The war in Afghanistan will continue. No one has come up with a clear way out of the conflict. Terrorism will continue. Al Qaida is not going away. People will marry and babies will be born. We will continue to educate our children and our youth. Innovations and changes in technology will continue. The iPhone, iPad and iWhatever will continue their march toward ubiquity.

The Bible teaches us two things about looking forward. First, take the long look. The future may be much longer than we ever imagined. The Bible says, “A day to the Lord is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day.” And “He keeps his covenant to a thousand generations.” If a generation is 20 years, the average length of time between the birth of a generation and the birth of their children, then each century contains five generations. Based on that assumption, One hundred forty generations have lived since Isaiah wrote this prophecy and only 100 generations have lived since Jesus was born. A thousand generations would stretch human history to the year 20,000.

I am not proposing that we take the thousand generations literally or that we extrapolate the thousand years as one day to project the length of time the human race might survive, but I think it is fair to conclude that God’s view of history might be much longer than we ever imagined.

Secondly, the Bible teaches that Jesus’ return is always imminent. He will come in a day when we do not suspect. He can return to earth at any hour of any day. Jesus said, “So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour that you do not expect him.”

As we look forward, we need to prepare and plan as if many generations will follow. We need to be stewards of the resources given us. We need to pass to the next generation a better planet and a better world, just as our forefathers have sought to pass to us a better planet and a better world. At the same time we need to live as if Christ will return today.

The interesting conclusion from all of this, it seems to me, is that if we live as if Christ might return today we will also live in such a way that we pass forward to the next generation a better world if he delays his coming.

The New Year Looking Back

2010-12-27T10:34:00.000-08:00

As the New Year dawns, we pause to remember the year that is rapidly slipping into the recesses of our memory. Looking back is important. Remembering helps us put in perspective the things that are to come.

We are slowly recovering from the latest economic collapse as we face the future. We saw improvement in 2010 and financial experts predict an improving economy in 2011. But millions are still struggling. Many recent college graduates have taken low paying jobs while they juggle student loans and search for employment in their career fields. The unemployment rate remains above 9% with more than 14 million people out of work. Retirees watched their annuity investments plunge in 2008 and face the future with increased insecurity.

Looking back long term helps us handle these immediate challenges. It helps us avoid arrogance and pride, despondency and despair. Some of us have a lot to remember. We lived through the war in Vietnam, the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr., the cold war and the space race, the first oil embargo with gas lines that stretched around the block, Watergate and Richard Nixon’s resignation, runaway inflation and the recession of the 80’s, the first PCs, cell phones, internet, Desert Storm, the dot com bust, 9-11, the Iraq war, Afghanistan and the Great Recession of 2008. We have learned that things will get better. We have learned that God is faithful in every crisis and every difficulty. We know from experience that his promise is sure: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11).

When times get tough, it is easy to forget. We need to be reminded about God’s faithfulness. This is why the Bible teaches us to remember. The Passover was established to help Israel remember how God delivered them from slavery. We celebrate Christmas to remember God’s gift of his only-begotten Son, a light shining in the darkness. Jesus gave us the Lord’s Supper to help us remember his death, burial and resurrection.

Just as important, the Bible tells us that God remembers us. When we feel forgotten and alone, thinking that no one cares, God remembers. Every rainbow reminds us that God remembered us when the greatest calamity in history struck the earth, a flood so great that it almost wiped all human life from the earth. (Genesis 8,9). God never forgets. “He remembers His covenant forever, the promise He made, for a thousand generations.” (1 Chron. 16:15). Jesus said, “Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.” “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Finding Christmas 12-20-2010

2010-12-20T19:34:00.000-08:00

The anticipation has been building for a month. Christmas is at the door. Twinkling lights illuminate windows, roof tops and lawns. I like the concerts, the majestic music celebrating Christ’s birth. I like the brightly wrapped gifts full of suspense and promise collecting under the tree.

Christmas is the time to communicate and gather with friends. Although email and Facebook may take a bite out of Christmas cards, I still like hearing from people whose lives have helped shape my own. I like reading their Christmas letters with updates on themselves and their kids. The gathering part can be a challenge. Office parties, church groups, close friends and family quickly fill the calendar. We travel great distances and juggle schedules to spend this special time with family members we have not seen in a year. It isn’t easy. All of this communicating and gathering challenges us for control of our time and our lives. When our continuing duties for work, school and family are overlaid with Christmas commitments we sometimes find ourselves weary and exhausted, feeling that our lives are spinning out of control.

We search for Christmas in the spectacular: the spectacular event, spectacular lights, the spectacular gift. We want to re-create the perfect Christmas card moment that we wish exemplified our lives.

The first Christmas had little resemblance to our contemporary traditions. The birth of Christ occurred in the chaos of the common and the ordinary: a common stable surrounded by common animals in a common village. Few took notice. There was no extravaganza staged in the cities. The angels’ announcement occurred in a remote region with only a few simple shepherds present. The Magi, who observed the star in the east, came and went almost unnoticed.

It was for the common and the ordinary that Christ came. He grew up in a carpenter’s shop in the remote village of Nazareth. He owned no house and had no possessions. He had no place to lay his head. And, after a brief public ministry in which he healed and taught thousands, he died upon a common cross outside Jerusalem and was buried in a borrowed tomb. In birth, life and death, Jesus redeemed the common and the ordinary and elevated each of us to an extraordinary relationship with God.

The first Christmas was an “out of control” event for Mary and Joseph. The tax summons that took them to Bethlehem could not have come at a worse time. The baby was due. She was in no condition for such a long and arduous journey. When they arrived, the town was a bedlam of people. No one wanted to be there. They had come because they were obligated under Roman law. Of course, it was not out of God’s control. What appeared to be an onerous obligation and an inconvenient time was actually a fulfillment of prophecy that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem.

Perhaps God planned it this way to teach us that His intervention must be experienced in the common and the ordinary chaos of life. When we look for Christmas in the spectacular, we can only experience it once a year. But when we discover Christmas in the common and the chaotic, it can change our life every day.

A Soul Christmas

2010-12-13T10:34:00.000-08:00

We don’t talk much about the soul. Other generations did, but not ours. We are far more focused on our bodies and our money. This is apparent in our approach to Christmas with our lists of what we want and our search for the perfect gift with the deepest discount. The soul is seldom even mentioned. It seems that we have abandoned discussions about the soul to practitioners of New Age and metaphysics.

What is the soul? It is not an organ that can be removed, placed on a laboratory table and analyzed. We cannot perform a “soul-ectomy.” The Bible is filled with references to the soul and clearly recognizes both the existence and the importance of the soul. We all sense that there is something within us that is more than the sum of our parts, the substance of our being where we make decisions that affect the health of our bodies, our mind and our emotions. This is our soul. It is the substance and the essence of who we are, especially in relationship to God and to each other. When the body withers and dies, the soul remains. Our soul is eternal.

Our decisions and our actions shape our soul. Regarding the body in comparison to the soul, Jesus said, “Do not be afraid of those who can kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” With respect to money, Jesus said, “What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?” He told the story of a rich man who was focused on his wealth and amassing greater fortunes. ' But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?'

David was intimately aware of his soul and referred to the soul often in the Psalms. He gave us clues as to how we can nurture and shape our soul. He said, “The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul.” And “Then my soul will rejoice in the Lord and delight in His salvation.” (Ps. 19:7; 35:9).

In some way, the Christmas season reveals the condition of our soul. If we are focused on temporary conditions, seeking to satisfy ourselves with possessions and self-centered gratification, Christmas can become a season of stress, leaving us disappointed, exhausted and empty. But, when we approach the Christmas season in faith, our soul is stirred. When we focus on the miraculous goodness of God who sent His Son and when we seek opportunities for generosity and comfort to others, we discover joy and gladness. Our soul resonates with Mary, the mother of Jesus who sang, “My soul exalts the Lord and my spirit has rejoiced in God my savior. For he has had regard for the humble state of his bondslave; for behold from this time on, all generations will count me blessed. For the Mighty One has done great things for me and holy is His name. And his mercy is upon generation after generation toward those who fear Him. He has done mighty deeds with his arm; He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart. He has brought down rulers from their thrones, and has exalted those who were humble. He has filled the hungry with good things; and sent the rich away empty handed.”

Secrets 12-06-2010

2010-12-06T04:55:00.000-08:00

The Wikileaks secrets are still leaking. Most of the documents appear to be trivial and petty. Some of them are serious. All of it stems from words written and spoken in secret places that the participants never dreamed would be read or heard by anyone else. But what was said in private is now public and the international diplomatic world is reeling.

You would think that we would have learned our lesson about secrets. President Nixon and “all the President’s men” thought that they could get away with it. But every word uttered in the oval office found its way into print and into the public. The Watergate tapes ripped the mask off the public image of politics and left an entire generation disillusioned.

Twenty years later, Bill Clinton assumed that what he did in secret would remain secret. But what happened with Lewinsky behind closed doors became public record resulting in the second Presidential impeachment in history. In his autobiography Clinton confessed, “The question of secrets is one I have thought a lot about over the years. … Secrets can be an awful burden to bear, especially if some sense of shame is attached to them . … Of course, I didn’t begin to understand all this back when I became a secret-keeper. …I was always reluctant to discuss with anyone the most difficult parts of my personal life.”

Jesus warned us long ago that our secrets would become public. He said, “But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. Accordingly, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed upon the housetops.” And again, He said, “For nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has anything been secret, but that it would come to light.”

What we do and say when we are alone, when we think no one else is looking, that is the part of our life that ultimately determines our success or failure. We are defined by our conduct and our conversation in secret. Jesus constantly encouraged his followers to focus on what they did in secret. “When you pray,” He said, “go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.” And, “when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.”

Jesus taught that those who say and do things privately that they do not want others to know about are like cups that are only washed on the outside. A slimy green scum continues to grow on the filth that is left on the inside. He compared people who keep up a public image that is not consistent with their secret conduct to marble tombs in graveyards. They appear whitewashed and clean on the outside, but inside they are filled with rotting and decaying bones.

When we do what is right in private, what is seen in public will take care of itself. The most important part of our lives is the secret part.

Korea - Behind the News 11-30-2010

2010-11-30T09:05:00.000-08:00

A few years ago my wife and I boarded a plane at DFW and landed sixteen hours later in Seoul, South Korea. We found a prosperous modern city in a growing economy. We rode efficient subways in complete safety. It is the fourth largest economy in Asia and is referred to s the "Mirale on the Han" because of its remarkable economic progress. North Korea, by contrast is poverty stricken under a strict Stalinist regime that uses nuclear intimidation to secure world aid in order to prop up its tottering economy.

North Korea's attack on Yeonpyeong last week once again catapulted the Korean peninsula to center stage and sent ripples around the world. The political, economic and religious contrasts between North and South Korea are obvious. The personal stories beneath the surface are not.

I first met Ben in the 1980s when we were starting Korean churches in Texas. I later learned his story. As a teenager he watched North Koreans kill his father because he would not renounce his faith in Christ. For years he harbored anger and resentment. Then he was able to make a mission trip to North Korea. The people to whom he ministered asked why he had come to help them. He responded, "Because Jesus told us to love our enemies." Unable to re-enter Noth Korea, he continues to help plant churches in China.

I met Robert a few years ago. As a child he survived on the streets of Seoul with his mother during the Korean conflict. After the cease fire, he was one of the children rescued by Pearl S. Buck. Her efforts brought him to the United States and provided an education. He became a sucessful businessman well on his way to personal wealth, but his marriage was failing and his life was empty until he found Christ. He quit his profession, went to seminary and became pastor of a Korean church. He later went to Cuba and helped start dozens of churches. Regarding his work in Cuba, he said he felt that working in a Communist country would help him prepare for the day when he would be able to minister in North Korea. He now works among North Korean refugees in China waiting and praying for the opportunity to share the gospel in North Korea.

When we visited Seoul, my wife and I attended a 6 a.m prayer meeting in one of the churches. Every morning members gather at 4, 5, 6 and 7 a.m. to pray. More than a thousand people were present. They prayed quietly in small groups with family and friends as they do every day. Some read their Bibles. Some knelt. Some prayed quietly whispering reverent prayers. We were inspired and humbled. Today, South Korean churches send out more than 12,000 missionaries to 160 countries. They are intentionally going to the hardest to evangelize corners of the earth, seeking to witness "in a low voice and with wisdom." The Sarang Community Church in Seoul has grown to more than 45,000 members. They are training people as "lay professional missionaries" to take secular jobs in other nations so they can share Christ with their co-workers and neighbors.

During these tense days on the Korean peninsula, I hope all of us will join our Korean brothers and sisters in Christ, praying for peace and for freedom so that multitudes who have never heard will hear the message of hope in Jesus Christ.

William and Kate 11-22-2010

2010-11-22T09:59:00.000-08:00

The prince has chosen a bride. A commoner will become a princess. The future king of England has chosen his future queen. Movie stars, athletes, musicians and would-be-celebrities shrink into the shadows compared to the blinding light focused on William and Kate.

All the world takes notice, including the descendents of the rebellious Colonials and the offspring of prisoners consigned to the Outback. We are dazzled by royalty and the age-old Cinderella story lived out in true life. (Well, maybe it isn’t exactly Cinderella. After all, her parents are self-made millionaires.)

Prince William and Kate Middleton were on a holiday with friends in Kenya when he proposed. Choosing “somewhere nice” according to William, a “very romantic” place according to Kate. William slipped the engagement ring on her finger, the same ring worn by his mother, Princess Diana, a large sapphire surrounded by diamonds. On Tuesday they announced the wedding would take place at Westminster Abbey on April 29, 2011.

The media is giddy with the story. So is my wife. She loves Cinderella stories of any kind, especially true ones. She has carted me off to “Princess Diaries,” “Runaway Bride,” “The Proposal,” “Pride and Prejudice” and others. I take her to these shows because she loves them and I love her. I have spent hours sitting in darkened theaters, the only male in a room full of women. I usually wear my cap and keep it low over my eyes so I won’t be recognized. I excuse myself in the middle of the movie to find refills of popcorn and Coke. I remain seated till all the rest of the moviegoers file out so I won’t be recognized then walk by the entrance to movies like “The Dark Knight” to hide my trail.

Why are we attracted to this English melodrama? Maybe it is the holdover from the age of Victorian Romance. Maybe it is in our blood somewhere, this obsession with royalty, the stuff that made Shakespeare famous. I suspect it has something to do with our own dreams to be lifted out of anonymous obscurity, to have our life suddenly elevated to international and historic importance, like Kate Middleton.

Of course, the Bible indicates that none of us is obscure or anonymous. We are all known. In fact, God has made a proposal to us, to elevate us to royalty and significance. The King of Heaven has offered to place His ring upon our finger if we will accept it. Jesus said, “You did not choose me, but I chose you.” (John 15:16). Peter described followers of Jesus in this way: “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” (1 Peter 2:9.) In some way, every one of us lives a “Cinderella” story.

Preparing for Thanksgiving 11-15-2010

2010-11-15T08:03:00.000-08:00

The trees are turning. Invigorating cool air has spilled across Texas. Families are making plans for Thanksgiving. Some prepare for children to come home. Others make plans to travel. Thoughts turn to turkey, dressing, giblet gravy, pumpkin and pecan pie. Football is in the air and the Cowboys have finally won again. I like Thanksgiving and the American traditions that go along with it.

Thanksgiving is unique to the American experience. No other nation has a holiday quite like it. From the time we are children, we are taught to remember the Pilgrims who feasted in 1621 with their Indian friends giving thanks for their survival in the new world. Children in elementary schools still walk out on stages wearing flat brimmed pilgrim hats and painted faces to re-enact the first Thanksgiving in front of adoring parents.

George Washington signed the first Thanksgiving proclamation in 1789. But the official annual holiday began in 1863 when Abraham Lincoln set aside the fourth Thursday of November as a day for giving thanks. When he issued his proclamation our nation was embroiled in Civil War. Young men by the thousands lay dead on the battlefields. Families were gripped with grief. But a wounded nation found solace for its soul by seeking a grateful heart.

In times of prosperity and peace, in times of war and want, throughout the Great Depression and our most recent Great Recession, we have paused as a nation on this final Thursday of November to remember and to be thankful. For this one day, at least, we make sure that the homeless and the hungry are fed. On this day we lay down our tools and gather around our tables with those whom we love the most. We are not burdened with the buying and giving of gifts. We simply pause to enjoy one another and the goodness with which God has blessed us.

Nothing is more important than cultivating a grateful and thankful heart. We all experience blessing and loss. God sends his rain on the just and the unjust. The faithful and the unfaithful must weather the same storms. We all experience life and love that we do not deserve. We will all suffer disappointment, injustice and pain. Illness will come. The loss of loved ones will come. The same circumstances sow the seeds of bitterness and resentment, thankfulness and gratitude. The former leads to death. The latter leads to life.

The Bible is clear about the importance of thanksgiving. The Psalms are filled with thanksgiving and praise. Jeremiah envisioned desolate Jerusalem restored with gratitude saying: “the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who say, ”Give thanks to the Lord of hosts, for the Lord is good, for His lovingkindness is everlasting". (Jer. 33:11). Paul wrote, “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” (Colossians 2:6).

Miracle of Life 11-8-2010

2010-11-08T05:58:00.000-08:00

My daughter was born the year I turned forty. With two sons already thirteen and eight, we were not expecting another child. In fact, the doctors told my wife and I that having more children was an impossibility. But, the impossible happened. The doctor’s first question was, “Do you want to terminate this pregnancy.” We were stunned. Such a consideration never entered our minds. Nine months later we were given a beautiful little girl who has blessed our lives immeasurably. I often thought of the doctor’s question when I rocked her to sleep and felt the weight of her slumbering body slump against my shoulder.

Our daughter is now grown.. Two years ago I walked her down the aisle to give her away then performed the wedding ceremony, one of the highlights of my life. Three months ago, they came home and excitedly told us they were expecting a baby, our fourth grandchild. When they gave us the news of her pregnancy, her baby was no bigger than a small marble. Three months later, we already know that our daughter’s baby is a girl. We have listened to the baby’s heartbeat and watched her dancin in the womb. All her vital organs are developed. She even has tiny fingernails and toenails.

My wife works with pregnant and parenting students in the public schools. She constantly works with girls who are pregnant, helping them have a healthy pregnancy, healthy birth, learn how to become a good parent, stay in school and have a future. With three children and three grandchildren of our own and my wife’s occupation, you would think that the process of pregnancy and birth would have become commonplace. But it hasn’t. In fact, it is quite the opposite. The older I grow and the more I witness the miracle of life by which children are birthed into the world, the more I stand in awe.

David expressed it best in Psalm 139: “For You formed my inward parts; you wove me in my mother's womb. I will give thanks to you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are your works, and my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in your book were all written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them.” To the prophet Jeremiah, God said, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you.” (Jeremiah 1:5).

Every birth, every child and every person is a miracle of God. We are all more than mere flesh and blood, brain, bone and sinew. We are made in His likeness, with the awesome freedom to choose good and evil, to bless others or to curse them. We have infinite possibilities and an immortal soul that will one day depart this mortal body. We are eternal beings living in a miraculous universe that astounds our senses.

Freedom for the Frenzied Life 11-1-2010

2010-11-01T11:29:00.001-07:00

We live in a time-crunched world where life is lived on the run. Millions pull out of their drive-ways in the pre-dawn dark and navigate their way onto freeways while munching breakfast burritos and egg-mcmuffins. They listen to traffic reports and the morning news between cell phone calls. It is a frenzied start to a frenzied day. Weary from long hours at the work place, the same drivers re-enter the stream of traffic for a slow return to the suburbs on clogged freeways. They make their way home in the gathering darkness past memorized billboards that measure their movement and neon signs that light the way. Weekends are filled with a hundred errands, second jobs, T-ball, soccer, football, baseball and the race to cram in as much recreation as possible before starting the Monday through Friday routine all over again. Some squeeze church attendance into an already full schedule that has no margins.

Richard Foster analyzed it like this: "We are trapped in a rat race, not just of acquiring money, but also of meeting family and business obligations. We pant through an endless series of appointments and duties. This problem is especially acute for those who want to do what is right. With frantic fidelity we respond to all calls to service, distressingly unable to distinguish the voice of Christ from that of human manipulators." We are increasingly depressed and suicidal. We have turned to alcohol and drugs in a desperate effort to cope. We know deep down that something isn’t working. There must be a better way.

Most people recognize the ten commandments as foundational to human conduct and life. But somewhere along the way we reduced the ten commandments to nine. We eliminated the fourth commandment as irrelevant and archaic: “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.” A half-century ago, businesses were closed on Sunday and sporting events recognized Sunday as a day for worship. All that has changed. Today our calendars are filled up to a 24/7 frenzy.

When Jesus said that man was not made for the Sabbath but the Sabbath was made for man, he did not erase the need for the Sabbath in our lives. Instead, he underscored the importance of the Sabbath to all of us for mental, emotional, spiritual and physical health.

In his book, Living the Sabbath, Discovering the Rhythms of Rest and Delight, Norman Wirzba writes, “Put simply, Sabbath discipline introduces us to God’s own ways of joy and delight. … When our work and our play, our exertion and our rest flow seamlessly from this deep desire to give thanks to God, the totality of our living --- cooking, eating, cleaning, preaching, parenting, building, repairing, healing, creating --- becomes one sustained and ever expanding act of worship.”

Sabbath requires time for rest, silence, solitude and worship, but it is more than a day of rest. It is way of life that is filled with wonder, worship, awe and delight. When Jesus declared himself the Lord of the Sabbath, he offered to us a better way. He said, “Come unto me all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest to your souls.”

Changing The Rules 10-26-2010

2010-10-26T07:10:00.000-07:00

It is always important to know the rules in anything we do. We have rules at school, rules at work and rules at home. We establish laws to govern traffic: speed limits, stop signs, turn lanes and signals. We pass laws for family, marriage, commerce and civil conduct. We spend billions of dollars to employ law enforcement officials, judges and lawyers with courts and legal systems to make sure the rules are obeyed.

We even have rules for play. Every sport has its rules with umpires and referees to insure that the rules are enforced. In some cases we add instant replay to make sure their rulings are fair and objective. Still, arguments erupt and tempers flare when either side believes it has been unfairly judged. We will likely see grown men kicking dirt and yelling in each other’s faces during the World Series arguing about the rules and how they have been enforced.

Some rules are unwritten. We assume we know them from birth. They are common to every culture on earth. They are simple rules: love your family and your friends. Do good things for them. Love your country. Whoever hits first is in the wrong. If someone hits you, you can hit them back. Don’t break in line. Take your turn. Lend only to those who will pay you back with interest. Look out for “number one.” If someone wrongs you, get even. Sometimes we follow these rules even when they conflict with the law. They are the stuff of most movies and novels. They are the rules by which we live our lives.

Jesus’ words sound strange when compared to our natural assumptions about how life is supposed to work. . "But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either. Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back. Treat others the same way you want them to treat you. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” (Luke 6:27-36).

When Jesus came, he changed all the rules.

The Rangers and Josh Hamilton 10-19-2010

2010-10-19T08:13:00.000-07:00

A year ago I wrote my first Reflections column about Josh Hamilton’s relapse and recovery as an alcoholic. In January of 2009 he had taken a drink, which led to another and another. The end result was an embarrassing bar scene caught on cell phone video. Hamilton immediately confessed his relapse to his wife and family and to the Rangers management. When it became public nine months later, he confessed to everyone. Ian Kinsler spoke for the team during that episode. He said, “We don’t need an apology. That’s his battle. We’re here to be his friend and love him as a teammate.”
A year later, Hamilton is being touted for the MVP in the American League with a season batting average of 359 and 32 home runs. When the Rangers clinched the playoffs against the Oakland A’s on September twenty-fifth, Hamilton excused himself from the traditional champagne celebration. Instead, he showered and headed back to the stadium to speak to fans regarding his faith as part of Faith Day Oakland. The next day he said, "I'm excited and what happened yesterday as far as the guys celebrating in here, that's part of it. It's not for me. I'm not saying that I wouldn't have liked to have been in here with them. I just felt like it was in my best interest if I didn't participate. But it's amazing that it just so happened to work out that we clinched the same day they are having Faith Day and I'm speaking out there."
Last week, the Rangers won their first division title against the Tampa Bay Rays. Having watched their teammate struggle with his addictions the Rangers team did something that has never been done before in major league baseball. Putting action to Ian Kinsler’s words of a year before, the team decided to put aside the champagne and beer. Instead, they celebrated their historic win with Ginger Ale so that Josh Hamilton could be included.

Writing about the event, sports columnist Matt Friedman wrote, “In today’s sports world, it’s rare to see athletes that go out of their way to make a classy gesture. But we have seen it … tonight, the Rangers sacrificed their booze for a teammate. It wasn’t going to be difficult to cheer for the Rangers to beat the Yankees in the ALCS, but now they have given me a true reason to pull for them.”

The Apostle Paul gave us a principle that is illustrated by the Rangers actions regarding Josh Hamilton. He taught that we should each consider the impact our actions and decisions make upon others. He wrote, “Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this--not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother's way. … It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother stumbles.”

The Wedding 10-11-2010

2010-10-11T20:21:00.000-07:00

It is an American rite of passage, the ultimate moment when dreams come true. No expense or effort is spared to make the wedding the perfect moment. Family and friends travel hundreds of miles just to be there. Parents go into debt to provide the perfect cake, the sit down dinner, a gala reception, not to mention the bride’s dress and decorations.

We have added our twists to the wedding traditions. While many weddings are still held in cathedrals, churches and chapels, they have moved beyond church walls in search of exotic places to “tie the knot:” on mountain tops, at home plate, on beaches and boats.. Wedding music is no longer limited to the bridal march. We have opted for country western, hip-hop and pop. We have added unity candles and unity sand. But one element remains unchanged in every wedding ceremony: the high point of the event is the entrance of the bride! Everything leads up to the bride’s entrance beaming beneath a white veil, adorned in an elaborate dress that enhances her beauty.

I like weddings held outside. In the one I attended last weekend, the flower girl entered the gazebo under a bright blue sky scattering her petals on the bride’s path. She stopped at the entrance, tugged on a rope to ring an overhead bell then shouted with excitement, "She's coming! She's coming!” The crowd giggled and smiled as they always do when children perform, then they turned their heads searching for their first glimpse of the bride.

It reminded me of Jesus’ love for weddings. He performed his first miracle at Cana in Galilee, turning water into wine so that the wedding moment would not be spoiled. It also reminded me of the wedding scene predicted in the Bible. The Scripture is clear. One day Jesus will return like a bridegroom prepared to receive his bride. Jesus said, “I will come again.” (John 14:3). He urged us to be perseverant and patient, waiting for the bridegroom’s arrival. (Matthew 25:1-13).

If Jesus is the bridegroom, who is the bride? According to the Bible, we are. Scripture teaches that everyone who trusts in Jesus Christ and follows him helps form the bride of Christ. We are the bride of Christ as members of his church. Paul wrote, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.” (Ephesians 5:25-27) We are the bride of Christ as citizens of the Holy City built by God in Heaven. (Revelation 21). Like a bride who prepares for her wedding, we need to prepare ourselves for his coming.

I can hear the flower girl’s voice ringing in my ear: “He’s coming! He’s coming!” “The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.” (Revelation 22:17).

Class Reunion 10-4-2010

2010-10-04T09:39:00.000-07:00

This weekend the Corsicana High School class of 65 gathers in Corsicana for their forty-fifth class reunion. I am a member of that class. I walked across the stage at CHS forty-five years ago to accept my diploma from our principal, Mr. Armistead. Like all other graduating classes we made speeches to one another about dreams and visions, about how we would change the world. In some ways, we did change the world. In other ways, the world changed us.

In our youth we watched John Glenn orbit the earth in Friendship 7, the Mercury space capsule no larger than a VW Bug. In 1963 we sat mesmerized beside the radio listening with our teachers to the breaking news of John F. Kennedy’s assassination in Dallas. When we walked across the stage two years later we scarcely understood the watershed moment of history in which we were living. Some of us shipped out to serve in the jungles of Vietnam, others headed off to college. We pursued our educations in a volatile world. In 1966 a sniper paralyzed the UT campus from his perch atop the UT Tower. For almost two hours he gunned down students, killing 16 and wounding 32. In 1968 Martin Luther King, Jr. fell victim to a sniper bullet in Memphis. Two months later we watched Bobby Kennedy die in a pool of blood in Los Angeles. In 1970, Ohio National Guardsmen opened fire on protesting students in what would become known as the “Kent State Massacre.”

We watched the world go global and we went global with it. We bought the first PCs with “floppy discs”: the Commodore 64, the Tandy and the TRS-80. We played the first video games with “Pong” and “ Pac-Man.” We bought the first mobile phones and referred to them as “ bag phones” because they looked like luggage. We created a connected world with e-mail and the World Wide Web. We flew on the first jet airliners and visited places we never expected to see. We watched the world shrink until we could be anywhere on the globe in twenty-four hours.

We married, had children, raised families, and now many of us have grandchildren. We made mistakes, did some things we regret. At times we wish we had done better. But, forty-five years after graduation, we feel blessed. We have, most of us, discovered a deeper understanding of faith that only comes after decades of laughter and sorrow, success and failure. Many of us can now say, as King David said many centuries ago, “I once was young and now am old, but I have not seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging bread.” We know the world is a dangerous place. It has been dangerous throughout our lifetime. But we have also discovered that God can be trusted and that His promise is true: “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Securing The Future 9-27-2010

2010-09-27T16:50:00.000-07:00

It has been nine years since the World Trade Towers collapsed in flames. The smoke still looms, casting its shadow in our memory and clouding our future. The constant threat of terrorism has not gone away. Nine years later, however, it is increasingly clear that terrorism is not the number one enemy to a future for our families. Afghanistan and Mexico bear witness to this fact.

In Afghanistan, our soldiers have performed admirably, meeting most of their military goals. The path to victory remains blocked not by terrorism but by corruption. A recent article in Foreign Policy Magazine stated, “…corruption and mismanagement at all levels of Afghanistan's government is the single largest obstacle to achieving an orderly transition to Afghan control and convincing local citizens to reject the Taliban.”

Mexico teaches the same lesson. In a region arguably as rich in natural resources as the United States, corruption keeps Mexico captive to poverty. An editorial in the Dallas Morning News recently stated, “The drug cartel battles that have turned the border area into a war zone are just one example of the power criminal enterprises can obtain when bribery and collusion are allowed to penetrate all levels of the police, government, business and state-owned enterprises.”

The history of the United States is unique because of the moral values that have protected her from crippling corruption. Few gave our fledgling nation any hope of survival when it was formed. Fifty years after the American Revolution our new nation was not only surviving but thriving. The Frenchman Alexis de Tocqueville toured the United States in search of the secret to our democratic success. In 1831 he concluded, “The Americans combine the notions of religion and liberty so intimately in their minds, that it is impossible to make them conceive of one without the other. … Liberty cannot be established without morality, nor morality without faith.”

The secret to our future is the same. Each generation must embrace the kind of faith that establishes honesty and integrity in commerce at every level. We may feel there is little we can do individually to counteract terrorism. But we can secure our future and that of our children every day by the choices we make. Every time we choose truth, justice, fairness, and honesty, we choose our children’s future. Every act of kindness, generosity and charity prepares a people to experience God’s blessings. The path to the future is always the path of repentance and faith.

When John introduced Jesus he clarified what repentance meant: “And the crowds were questioning him, saying, "Then what shall we do?" And he would answer and say to them, "The man who has two tunics is to share with him who has none; and he who has food is to do likewise." And some tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they said to him, "Teacher, what shall we do?" And he said to them, "Collect no more than what you have been ordered to." Some soldiers were questioning him, saying, "And what about us, what shall we do?" And he said to them, "Do not take money from anyone by force, or accuse anyone falsely, and be content with your wages." Luke 3:10-14).

Post-Christendom Jesus Followers 9-20-2010

2010-09-20T07:10:00.000-07:00

Anne Rice, the popular author of the Vampire Chronicles that sold some 100 million copies, shocked the secular world when, in 2002, she announced she was done with vampires. After thirty-eight years as a professed atheist, she said she had found faith in Christ and returned to the Catholic Church. Two months ago, she rocked the Christian world by proclaiming she was renouncing Christianity. She stated, "For those who care, and I understand if you don’t: Today I quit being a Christian. I’m out. I remain committed to Christ as always but not to being “Christian” or to being part of Christianity. It’s simply impossible for me to “belong” to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group.” She went on to say, “My faith in Christ is central to my life. My conversion from a pessimistic atheist lost in a world I didn't understand, to an optimistic believer in a universe created and sustained by a loving God is crucial to me."

Of course, I think Anne Rice is selling “Christianity” short. While churches are often quarrelsome, sometimes even hostile, I would hate to live in a world without churches. I visited Russia at the end of the Soviet Union and saw what that looked like. Churches do far more good and create much more charity than otherwise. But, she does have a point.

Interestingly, Anne Rice is not alone. George Barna, the leading researcher on faith in America reported in 2008 that “a majority of adults now believe that there are various biblically legitimate alternatives to participation in a conventional church.” It appears that there is a growing number of people who claim faith in Jesus but want little or nothing to do with the institutional church.

For some, this may sound alarming or confusing. The fact of the matter is, we are living in a post-Christendom world. Christendom was defined by the dominance of the institutional church, both Catholic and Protestant, that shaped and influenced the western world. At its height, Christendom dominated governments and communities. This is no longer the case.

For those of us who are serious followers of Jesus, we can take heart by reminding ourselves that the most fruitful period of faith occured in pre-Christendom, the first three centuries following the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. Here is the paradox. Worldwide, we are witnessing the largest growth in the number of Jesus followers in history. In China more than 30,000 new believers are baptized every day. The number of believers in Africa grew from 9 million to 360 million in the last century, most in the last decade. More Muslims have come to faith in Christ in the last two decades than at any other time in history. Interestingly, the rapidly reproducing churches in these nations look little like our western Christianity. They resemble the churches of the first century that met in homes as close-knit communities that produce transformed people who act like Jesus.

At their core, churches are communities of believers who exhort and encourage one another to become like Christ. Churches are the wine-skins provided to contain the new wine of faith in Christ. Over time, each generation’s “wine skins” grow brittle, inflexible and institutional so that succeeding generations must discover new “wine skins” that serve their new found faith in Christ.

Center of the Universe 9-13-2010

2010-09-13T15:27:00.000-07:00

For thousands of years, men assumed that the Sun and stars rotated around the earth, that we were center stage, but, starting with Galileo in the sixteenth century, we found out that our earth is only one of nine planets that orbit the Sun. More recent investigations along with our first forays into the fringes of outer space have verified that we are, indeed, a very small speck of dust in the galaxies nowhere near the center of the cosmic creation.

This physical discovery gives rise to a more personal question that affects our daily existence. “Where is the center of my universe?” For most of us, the answer to that question is a very small two-letter word: “me. Everything revolves around us and our interests. This is the reason we are prone to become angry with God. Sooner or later the evidence begins to pile up that, like planet earth in the cosmos, we are not the center. Everything is not ordered for our personal gratification, pleasure and benefit. Maybe the Eagles expressed it, “This is not the center of the universe.”

Paul started his life like most of us, focused on his own ambitions. He went so far as to arrest Christians, both men and women, and throw them into prison to advance his own agenda. But, after he met Christ everything changed. He discovered that the Christ whom he persecuted was, in fact, the center of all creation. ”He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” (Colossians 1:15-17).

Recently billboards have been springing up that proclaim, “I am second.” They are part of a movement to proclaim what Paul discovered. We are not number one. God is. And when we make Christ the center of our universe, everything else comes into focus. According to the web site, “I Am Second is a movement meant to inspire people of all kinds to live for God and for others.” I Am Second testimonies include people like Jason Witten, Colt McCoy, Josh Hamilton, Tony Dungy, Joe Gibbs, Anne Rice and many others whose names you may or may not recognize. They include the rich and famous as well as those who have been addicted, abused, molested and imprisoned. The number ultimately includes all of us. Check it out at www.iamsecond.com.

When Jesus Christ becomes the center of our universe everything changes. All the petty resentments and disappointments disappear. Scripture begins to make sense. For instance, in an effort to comfort others, many people quote the Bible when tragedy strikes saying “All things work together for good.” What the Bible actually says is, “All things work together for good for those who love the Lord, for those who are called according to His purpose.” This is entirely different. All things don’t work together for my good when I am the center of my own universe. They only work together for good when I recognize that God is the center of the universe and I am created for his glory.

The Child Within 9-6-2010

2010-09-07T10:01:00.001-07:00

Jesus changed all our presumptions about what it means to be “religious” when he took a little child, stood him in front of his disciples and said, “Except you become as a little child, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven” Many people conjure up images of old men with long gray beards, black capes and stooped shoulders when they think of people who are religious. Some think of ascetic monks living in desert regions, emaciated and starving, bleary eyed and anti-social. Others picture nuns robed in their habits whispering prayers as they finger their rosaries. When he wanted to forge an image in the mind of his followers Jesus chose a child. Why would he do this?

Jesus left the answer to that question up to us. We can all speculate about the lesson he wanted to teach by choosing a child. Here are a few characteristics that stand out to me when I think about children and the reason he chose a child to illustrate the nature God looks for in Kingdom people.

Children live in the moment. They are not worried about the future. They are not burdened with guilt about the past. Watch children playing on a playground. They have little awareness of time. They wear no watches.

Children become friends fast. Most children have not learned to be hesitant and shy. They greet one another as if they have already met. “Want to play?” And the game is on.

Children laugh. I love listening to children on the school playground and in the park. Anywhere children gather, the air is filled with laughter. It is their nature to laugh.

Children do not know prejudice. I’m not sure when we learn racial and cultural prejudice, but young children have not learned this lesson. They readily accept each other as equals regardless of skin color or clothing. If they notice a difference between them, they do not hesitate to ask about it. And, once the difference is recognized and addressed, they move on.

Children trust. With their father’s extended arms and a little encouragement they will fling their bodies into open space fully confident they will be caught.

Children are awed by God’s creation. They are mesmerized by grasshoppers, caterpillars, butterflies and flowers. They stop and take time to watch an ant wrestle a crumb of bread across the ground. They notice the spots on a lady bug.

Children have great imaginations. Give a child a sandbox, a stick, or a can and they can construct unbelievable creations. I watched children recently playing in the sand. They were digging a hole. When I asked what it was, they looked at me with a puzzled look, as if I was the only one who did not recognize the obvious. They patiently explained that it was a grasshopper sanctuary.

This list isn’t complete. You can add others, I am sure. Somewhere within us all is buried the child we once were. Perhaps if we could re-connect with the child-like simplicity within us, we might take our first steps toward becoming Kingdom citizens as Jesus described it.

Was Jesus Right? 8-31-2010

2010-08-31T10:53:00.001-07:00

Jesus is universally respected. Even the followers of Islam claim him as a prophet. And millions who have no use for the church still like Jesus. But the question still remains, “Was Jesus right?” “Did he know what he was talking about?”

It is difficult to reconcile Islam’s claim that Jesus was a prophet with the clear statements that he made regarding himself: “He that has seen me has seen the Father.” “I and the Father are One.” “All authority has been given to me in Heaven and on Earth.” “No one comes to the Father but by me.” Jesus clearly claimed to be more than a mere prophet or a great teacher.

It is also difficult to reconcile the attitude and actions of professing Christians with Jesus’ words and instructions. When I was eighteen, I worked in a warehouse that shipped products to stores where they would be sold. I worked with older workers who, like me, worked for minimum wage. Some of my co-workers, who were professing Christians, heard that I planned to become a “preacher.” They tried to be nice and encouraging. They told me it was a good thing for me to become a preacher, but reminded me that those things “don’t work here.”

I interpreted their comments to mean that they believed in Jesus but the teachings of Jesus were out of touch with the real world. They were like many Christians I have encountered over the years. Dallas Willard calls them “vampire Christians.” They want a little of Jesus’ blood, just enough to forgive their sins and assure they are going to heaven, but they don’t think Jesus knew what he was talking about when it comes to everyday life.

Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” Clearly, He thought He knew what He was talking about, and he expected that anyone who placed their faith in Him would do everything they could to obey Him. It was apparently inconceivable to Jesus that someone could think they loved Him, and, at the same time, ignore or disobey His instructions.

Either Jesus was the smartest person who ever lived and knew better than anyone else how life should be lived on this earth, or he was a delusional pretender who has misguided millions for more than two thousand years. If Jesus’ instructions for living will not work in the courtroom, the schools, the factory and the family, neither will they work to get us to heaven. Our personal conclusion about whether we believe Jesus was right will not be reflected in what we profess about who He is, but in what we do when we are going about our day to day activities at work, at school and at home. Are we bringing our lives into alignment with his life and teaching? Do we act like Jesus acted? Do we forgive like Jesus forgave? Are we truthful and faithful like Jesus was truthful and faithful? Do we love like Jesus loved? Following Jesus’ instructions has nothing to do with earning our way to heaven. It has every thing to do with loving Jesus and living a meaningful life. If you want to know what Jesus expects, you can find his instructions in Matthew chapters 5-7.
Jesus told us how to know whether He was right or not. He said, “If you abide in My word [hold fast to My teachings and live in accordance with them], you are truly My disciples. And you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32. Amplified Bible).

Living Water 8-23-2010

2010-08-23T14:55:00.001-07:00

For many years I have made it a practice of having a time of devotion early in the morning. I like to spend this time outside, preferably at sunrise. I have done this in the winter in Rochester, Minnesota where I bundled up in my winter coat, gloves and hood, scraped the ice off the chair and took my place to watch the rising Sun glint off the glass buildings of Mayo Clinic. There have been gaps when I missed. The demands of the day were pressing and I was unwilling to get up early enough for this discipline. But I have discovered that when I spend time for personal study of Scripture, prayer and reflection on what God wants to say to me, the day seems to go better. My life has a healthier center and, when the day is done, it seems to be more productive.

Lately I have been going out on my patio behind our house in Rockwall, Texas. The landscape seems braced for the scorching heat that will surge past 100 when the sun rises to its full height. After my devotion, I water the potted flowers on our patio: bachelor buttons, petunias, chrysanthemums and periwinkles. I keep a watering pot handy, and often leave it filled the day before so I will remember to do this. If I miss a few days, the plants show it. They become stressed, and, if neglected too long, they wither and die. Recently I missed a few days of having my devotion on the patio and, as a result, the flowers missed their watering. Their leaves shriveled and the flowers began to fall from the drooping stems. They have become a spiritual barometer. Perhaps they reflect the condition of my spirit and soul from these quiet times alone with God.

The flowers don’t respond well to alternate periods of draught and deluge. Drowning them in water once a week, simply doesn’t work. They need watering every day, not necessarily a lot, just enough to soak in the soil. Watered frequently in this fashion they thrive, even in record setting triple digit weather.

This may explain why American Christianity seems so insipid, (like salt that has lost its taste). Many Christians depend on a deluge of spiritual watering for one hour once a week during a worship service at church. And many more don’t even do this. The spiritual lives of many Christians may resemble the stressed out flowers sitting on my patio table in the heat of summer.

David expressed this truth in Psalm 1. “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers”

Jesus said, “Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life." (John 4:14) And again, he said, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost.” (Rev 21:6).

Inception 8-2-2010

2010-08-02T16:25:00.000-07:00

My son-in-law, who is a psychology major, recently went to see the movie Inception … twice. Last weekend, my son, an architect, talked me into seeing the show starring Leonardo DiCaprio. It is still the number one box office attraction in the country. I was surprised to find the theater almost full at 2 PM on a Saturday afternoon more than two weeks after its initial opening. I was also surprised to find a reference to Inception popping up this morning in a newspaper report on the economy. “Inception” is quickly entering mainstream conversation.

“Inception” is a science fiction movie. Like all science fiction, there are holes and gaps in the science. And, like all good science fiction, the fiction feeds the imagination. The science does not have to be validated; it only has to be believable enough for the imagination to take over. And, for those of us willing to let our imaginations run wild, it creates some interesting scenarios.

The plot’s thesis is to plant an idea into someone’s mind so that they change their actions and thereby change the world. Along the way, it raises psychological questions about dreams and the subconscious. It also raises philosophical questions about reality and perceived reality. And, it leaves totally unanswered the questions about what happens to us when we die.

In the dream worlds of Inception, when we die, we just “wake up” at another level of consciousness. But what happens in the “real” world when we die?

This final question, the one about what happens to us when we die, is the critical question that Jesus addressed. He demonstrated that death is not final when he raised the dead to life. This he did with the widow’s son at Nain and with his good friend Lazarus at Bethany. He promised the penitent thief who was crucified with him, “Today, you will be with me in Paradise.” But he answered the question most effectively by his own resurrection. Luke says, “After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.” (Acts 1:3).

The Bible is very clear about the reality of Heaven. Contrary to the opinion of some that when our body ceases to breathe we cease to exist, the Bible promises a new body in a new reality that supersedes this temporary world. That is largely the reason that Jesus came. The Scripture states, “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.” (Philippians 3:20-21).

Of course, Heaven is not the only reality after death. I will write more about that next week.

Reunion 7-26-2010

2010-07-26T13:05:00.000-07:00

It is that time of year when families gather for the annual reunion: aunts, uncles and cousins, some twice removed, and, to complicate things, some twice or thrice married. Reunions are a mixed bag. Some experience the thrill of familiar faces that frame the memories of their youth, and plunge into the pleasure of telling stories passed down through the years, embellished with each cycle of telling. “Do you remember when …?” The stories don’t even require a complete telling. Laughter fills the circle before the story can be told because everyone who is listening has either heard it or told it countless times.

Others hang back along the fringe, looking puzzled, trying to figure out who these people are and how they might be remotely related to them. The young and the newly added “in-laws” are usually in this number. Sometimes they seek each other and have their own make-shift reunion, sharing the common bond of amnesia regarding the inside jokes and familiar references to names not present, faceless people everyone else seems to know whose absence makes their presence even more pronounced.

The reunion has a strange mix of sorrow and laughter. Significant people are absent. Voices that once echoed at the tables of past reunions now lie silent beneath the earth. The same people who gather for the reunion gathered and wept at the funerals for those who no longer come. Their memories are like the deep colors that form the background for vivid paintings or the rich bass tones of the cello and the French horn that enrich the orchestra. At the same time, these sorrows are offset by giggling children who appear like bright colors that dance on the canvass and whose laughter picks up future melodies like the flute.

We somehow have confidence that Heaven is about reunions. We all look forward to seeing people who loved us, those we loved, when we get to Heaven. And, somehow, this earthly reunion helps us look forward to that day. We don’t know exactly how it will happen or how God could manage all the intertwined family relationships when we get to Heaven, but, somehow, family reunions portend the Heavenly event. When I was a child we sang, “Will the circle be unbroken?” It was a way to ask the question together and look forward to something more perfect that God has planned for us.

Jesus did not shy away from using this image to help us look forward to a more perfect day. He said, “In my Father’s House are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go and prepare a place for you that where I am, there you may be also.” The book of Hebrews uses this metaphor to spur us on to better living: “Seeing that we are surrounded by so great a host of witnesses, let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the originator and the finisher of the race.” It seems to me that God takes pleasure in our reunions, just as He takes pleasure in reuniting Himself with us through His Son.

Paying Tribute 7-18-2010

2010-07-18T11:06:00.000-07:00

On Friday afternoon, July 16, we stood at the corner of Goliad and Washington in Rockwall and held our flags to honor the funeral procession for Spc. Jerod Osborne, a 2008 graduate of Rockwall Heath High School. He was serving as a combat medic when a roadside bomb claimed his life in Yakuta, Afghanistan. In May of this year he received a bronze star for single handedly saving the lives of civilians at the site of another roadside bomb. He was killed July 5 when his body shielded a lieutenant riding in the front of the vehicle.

Some saluted. Others held their flags high. We all stood silent and still: young men with spiked hair, older men grown gray, little girls, the hot wind whipping their dresses as they shaded their eyes and squinted into the sun. We watched the long motorcade descend the distant hill and slowly climb to the city square led by police cars and motorcycles with blue and red flashing lights and a long double line of Patriot Guard Riders mounted on their bikes. As I held my flag above my head I felt the wind tugging at the folds like the emotions that tugged at our hearts. As I watched the faceless line of cars carrying the family and friends who feel Jerod’s loss the greatest, I was reminded of scenes long ago when I stood before the flag draped coffins of friends brought home from Vietnam, or assembled with others at the National Cemetery to pay respects to a Marine veteran of Okinawa.

Sometimes the continuing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq seem far removed. Sometimes we feel unsure about why we are fighting there and what we hope to accomplish. The war on terrorism is much more complicated than the wars of the past. At our best, we always hope that the sacrifices made by our men and women will result in a better world, not only for us, but for those who live in the distant places where they lay down their lives.

Wars, it seems, are incessant. Jesus said it would be so. The struggle for justice and freedom never ends. The issues that create wars and call young men into combat may be debated, but the courage and sacrifice of young men like Jerod Osborne, who give themselves to save lives, both military and civilian, is without debate.

Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.”

Consider The Birds 7-12-2010

2010-07-12T14:20:00.000-07:00

When I step outside in summer’s scorching heat, I hear birds. They never complain. They always have a song. I have listened in the predawn dark for the first twitter from the trees. Like sentinels they watch for the first faint glow in the east, and, long before the sun rises, they start their sunrise celebration. Sometimes I think they are surprised when a new day dawns. Their excitement seems to echo Zecharias’ emotions when he announced the birth of Jesus saying, “The sunrise from on high will visit us!” (Luke 1:78).

I especially like the cardinal. I have watched these brilliant red birds perched high on bare limbs in the Minnesota winter, their ricochet notes shattering the snow covered stillness on a subzero morning. I have listened to the same unmistakable notes and spotted their bright red coat amid thick green oaks in the sweltering heat of a Texas summer. The mockingbird is always dressed in his gray tuxedo for some special occasion, white tipped wings flashing when he flies like formal cuffs in full dress. Unlike the cardinal, the mockingbird never ventures into northern winters. He much prefers Texas winters where he can perch on his stage in the live oaks and sing his stolen songs. I remember waking, when I was a boy, to the rasp of blue jays at play in the pecan trees outside my window. They rasp now as they did then, and every time I hear them I am carried back across the decades to my youth. When we lived in Minnesota, I watched chickadees on winter afternoons fluttering in the windowsill snow searching for seed. I sat on our deck in Minnesota and listened to squadrons of Canadian geese flying low overhead, so low that I could hear the wind in their wings.

Jesus apparently watched the birds and took pleasure in them. He referred to them to help us understand God’s love and care for us. He said, “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” Again, He said, “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”

Sometimes we find ourselves thrown into difficult circumstances. Like the scorching Texas heat or the frigid Minnesota winter, every element seems to be set against us and we have difficulty seeing our way forward. At such times we are prone to wonder if God has forgotten us. We are prone to discouragement, doubt and worry about our future. Failing health, unemployment, broken promises and broken relationships conspire to steal away our confidence, our hope and our faith. At such times we need to consider the birds. We are not forgotten. He who cares for the birds of the air will doubtless care for us. We are of great worth to God. Listen to the birds and take heed to their song.

Raising Children 7-5-2010

2010-07-05T12:15:00.000-07:00

No occupation is as challenging as parenting. Children have no on-off button. They cannot be put in the closet like clothes, turned off and parked like cars or placed in a kennel for the night like pets. They are on a constant quest, poking, prodding, pushing, pulling and climbing. When our children were little, as soon as they got in the car they looked for buttons to push and knobs to twist. When I turned on the key the blinkers blinked, windshield wipers wiped and the radio blared, vibrating the windows and rendering me momentarily deaf. The same was true for our bedroom and kitchen.

They grew up to be responsible adults. But the path wasn’t easy. Every passage brought new challenges: the first day of school, a move from familiar neighborhoods to a new city, puberty, a drivers license, dating, computer games and technology. Parenting requires a constant learning curve that never stops, even after children are grown and on their own. Relationships constantly change and adjust. As a parent, you are always entering new and unfamiliar territory.

I found across the years that there is no “fix it” book for parenting, no “cure-all,” “read this,” or “do this” simple solution. Every child is different and every parenting situation has its unique challenges. But there are some essential tools that make the difference: patience, consistency, authenticity, trust, love, faith and a listening ear. Most of us don’t come naturally equipped with these essential tools to be successful parents. Most of us have to learn them and acquire them while we are on the job. And all of us have room for improvement.

Years ago I visited a young mother in her home who was caring for several pre-school children. I was amazed at her patience and attention with the children and commented on it. She responded by telling me that this had not always been the case. Before she trusted Christ, she said, she had no patience with children, but after she gave her heart to Christ, He gave her a gift of patience, not only for her own children, but for others.

The Bible says that John came to introduce Jesus to the world by turning the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to righteousness. Every generation has to struggle against the natural desires of the flesh that result in envy, jealousy, resentment, anger and self indulgence. These attitudes destroy the family. When we put our trust and faith in Jesus Christ He gives us a new heart. He produces in us the fruits of the spirit that equip us to be the parents and people that we long to be: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, self-control.” All of these, the Bible says, are the fruit of the Spirit. When our hearts are right with God so that we are producing these fruits, we will be good parents. Then we will be able to fulfill the Scripture’s instruction, “Do not exasperate your children, instead, bring them up in the teaching and instruction of the Lord.” (Ephesians 6:4).

The Fourth - 7-4-2010

2010-06-28T11:13:00.000-07:00

The fourth. It is our most important and most widely celebrated patriotic holiday of the year. When our founding fathers signed the Declaration of Independence two hundred and thirty-four years ago, John Adams envisioned celebrations in every city with parades, fireworks and political speeches “from one end of this continent to the other.” More than two centuries later, Adam’s dream has become reality. This weekend bursting sky-rockets and exploding bombs will illuminate the night skies over cities, parks and lakes. Parading bands will march in the streets followed by decorated floats and mounted horses. Politicians will address crowds from platforms hung with red, white and blue bunting.

But the Fourth is more than a holiday dream. It provides the focus for our American ideals in the words penned by Thomas Jefferson, “We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” With those words, Jefferson laid a theological and philosophical foundation that would inspire and guide our nation.

Throughout our history, sociologists have sought the secret of America’s success. After touring the United States in 1830, Alexis de Tocqueville concluded that democracy and freedom worked in America because of America’s faith. He wrote, “Liberty cannot be established without morality, nor morality without faith … despotism may govern without faith, but liberty cannot.” Robert Kaplan’s Empire Wilderness sought a similar re-examination of America in 1998. He reached more pessimistic conclusions than de Tocqueville but expressed the same longing for faith. Visiting a Mexican church in Tucson, Kaplan wrote, “The church conjured up tradition, sensuality, nostalgia. If only this church were more relevant to the social forces roiling the southern half of Tucson.” In The Next One Hundred Million, Joel Kotkin paints an optimistic future for America in 2050 based largely on our unique faith. He writes, “a ‘spiritual’ tradition that extends beyond regular church attendance … persists as a vital force.”

We strive toward equality because that is the way God made us. We are each made in His image and every person is born with infinite worth. We are taught, through faith, to love our neighbor as ourselves, to do unto others as we would have them do unto us, that we are greatest when we are servant to others and that service to God is measured by our actions toward the “least of these.”

The pursuit of happiness can end in disaster when it is misguided. The pursuit of happiness only leads to life when it is linked to the liberty that comes through faith in Christ. Without faith in Christ we are prone to become captive to addictions and sins that easily beset us. Jesus said, “Everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin … if the Son makes you free you shall be free indeed.” (John 8:34-36).

The Journey 6-21-2010

2010-06-21T12:32:00.001-07:00

Jackie and I set out on another journey this month. This time we are cruising the open prairies and mountain vistas of Montana. There is something about the open road, something about new territory, new sights, new sounds and new people. I guess that is why Willie’s song, “On the Road Again” stays at the top of the charts. Yesterday we visited Pompy’s Tower and viewed William Clark’s inscription, the only remaining physical evidence of his epic journey with Meriweather Lewis to discover the northwest passage. He scratched his name on the sandstone cliff overlooking the Yellowstone River during their return trip, July 25, 1806.

Something about the human spirit has always been drawn to the journey. We are mesmerized by the expeditions of Marco Polo, Columbus, Magellan, Lewis and Clark, Lindbergh, John Glenn and Neil Armstrong. We are drawn to the imaginary journeys of Hobbits to find Mount Doom in the Lord of the Rings and Star Trek’s quest to go where no man has gone before. Journeys, both real and imagined, change the world and they change us.

God chooses to reveal himself to those who are on the journey. In fact, redemption starts with God’s call to Abraham to leave the country of his fathers and launch out on a journey to places he had never seen. Moses’ famous journey out of Egypt resulted in the Ten Commandments which provide the basis for all moral understanding. No journey was ever more life changing for human history than the journey Jesus set out upon when he left Nazareth and gathered his motley band of twelve men to follow him. Their travels on foot through the regions of Galilee, Judea and Samaria changed the world. The stories of their encounters with the lame, the blind, the rich, the poor, prostitutes and priests provide us the framework for understanding God and our selves.

We are all on a journey. The journeys we choose, where we go, how we get there and who goes with us will shape us and change us for the better or the worse. We like to think we are all going to the same place, that we will all arrive at the same destination no matter what we believe, what we do or how we live. But the fact of the matter is that this just isn’t true. Different roads lead to different places. Jesus said “broad is the way and wide is the gate that leads to destruction and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life and there are few who find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14) He alone knows the way that leads to life and He continually invites us to join the journey that leads us there saying, “Come, follow me.”

Fathers Day 6-14-2010

2010-06-14T07:11:00.000-07:00

Sunday, June 20, smoke will rise like incense from America’s backyards filling neighborhoods with the scent of sizzling steak, the unmistakable sign of Fathers Day. Fathers Day had its start in the United States 100 years ago in Spokane, Washington. Mrs. Sonora Smart Dodd got the idea while sitting in church observing Mothers Day. Her father raised her after her mother’s early death, and she wanted some way to honor him. The city and its churches adopted the proposal with enthusiasm. Since that time our nation has paused on the third Sunday of June to recognize the role of fathers in our families.

As a twelve-year-old boy, Jesus rewrote everything we ever thought about fathers and everything we think about God. He had returned to Jerusalem with his parents to observe the Passover as was their custom. The Passover was a family event. Relatives and friends traveled in caravans from Nazareth to Jerusalem once a year to visit with distant relatives and observe this significant historic Jewish custom. When the group started their journey home they were struck with the horror of a missing child. The twelve-year-old Jesus had been left behind, lost on the streets of the capital city.

Mary and Joseph left the returning caravan and traveled a full day’s journey back to Jerusalem to find him. After threee days of anguish, they found him in the Temple engaged in discussion with the religious leaders. Hardly able to control her emotions, Mary asked him, “Son, why have you treated us this way? Don’t you know your father and I have been anxiously looking for you?” His response shocked her. He said. “Did you not know I must be about the things of my Father?” Mary and Joseph did not understand what he was talking about. (Luke 2: 41-52) The reason for Mary and Joseph’s confusion is rather simple. They had never thought of God as Father. Like all faithful Jews, they considered God too holy for his name to be pronounced. Only the priest could approach God in the holy of holies and that only once a year. No one thought of God in personal terms as “Father.”

This became a dominant theme in Jesus’ ministry. He revolutionized prayer by teaching us to pray, “Our Father who art in Heaven” and encouraged us to bring all our requests to God saying, “Which one of you if your son asks for an egg will give him a stone, or for a fish will give him a snake? If you being evil know how to give good things to your children, how much more will your Father which is in Heaven give what is good to you.” "Take no thought saying what shall we eat? or what shall we drink? or wherewithal shall we be clothed? For your Heavenly Father knows that you have need of all these things ..." "It is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." "I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me." With his final breath upon the cross, Jesus said, “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.” From his first recorded words to his last, Jesus redefined God as our Father.

At the same time, Jesus elevated the role of fatherhood by making this comparison to God. Few relationships have a greater impact upon our lives than the relationship with our father. And few relationships offer greater opportunity for shaping the next generation than a father’s love for his sons and daughters.

Finishing Well 6-8-2010

2010-06-08T12:29:00.000-07:00

One of the great lessons taught in every sport is the importance of finishing well. An athlete or a team can stumble at the start, but it is how they finish that makes the difference.

On November 26, 1994, 30,000 fans filled Texas Stadium to watch John Tyler play Plano East in a high school football play off game. With three minutes and three seconds left, John Tyler led the game 41 to 17. On the next play, Plano East scored a touch down, then proceeded to recover three on-side kicks to score three more. With 24 seconds remaining, Plano East took the lead 44-41. They kicked off to John Tyler whose returner took the ball on his three yard line and returned it 97 yards. Final score: John Tyler 48, Plano East 44.

Everyone who follows golf immediately recognizes the name, Jean Van de Velde. Leading the British Open at Caroustie in 1999 by three shots, the Frenchman only needed a double bogey 6 on the final hole to claim the coveted Claret Jug. After a series of reckless shots that ended up in the creek protecting the 18th green, he removed his socks and shoes and waded in debating whether to hit from the water He took a drop, triple bogeyed the hole and lost in a play off.

In 2006 the famous marathoner, Robert Cheruiyot of Kenya was striding triumphantly toward the finish line in the Chicago Marathon. As he approached the line, he threw his hands over his head in celebration, stepped on a logo marking the end of the race, and fell backward striking his head on the pavement. He lay on the road semi-conscious as runner after runner passed him.

Most of us can make a good start at whatever we choose. Everyone can sprint at the beginning of a race, but, what matters most is how we finish.

Looking back over his life the Apostle Paul stated, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.” (2 Tim. 4:7). Paul didn’t make a very good start. Known in his youth as Saul, he pursued blind ambition for advancement proudly searching out Christians and throwing them in jail, both men and women. He assisted in the cruel execution of Stephen, an innocent man, stoned to death as the first martyr following Jesus’ resurrection. But, following his conversion to Christ, he lived a consistent life of faith and finished well. In another letter, Paul wrote, “Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Cor. 4:16-18)

When Jesus prepared for the cross, he said to the Father, “I have finished the work you gave me to do.” (John 17:4). The last word he spoke before he died was, tetelestai, “it is finished.” He had demonstrated God’s glory on earth in a perfect, sinless life and “paid in full” the penalty for our sins so that we might have eternal life with Him in Heaven.
May each of us run the race God has given us today, looking to Jesus, “the author and perfecter of our faith” so that we finish well.

Graduation 5-31-2010

2010-06-05T05:36:00.000-07:00

On high school and college campuses all across the United States young men and women lined up last month robed in graduation caps and gowns grinning at their friends. Their eyes scanned the audience, peering past dangling tassels in search of family members who searched for them. Cameras and cell phones lit up stadiums and auditoriums with bursts of light seeking to capture the magic of the moment.

Presidents, principals, guest speakers and valedictorians spoke of new horizons, a future yet to be written, a world to be changed. They urged those who have reached this achievement to believe in themselves and to never stop learning.

Every graduate that walks across the stage to shake hands with administrators and receive their diploma represents a unique story. Few are as unique as Helen Small who graduated with a Masters of Science degree from the University of Texas at Dallas. Helen is ninety years old. One of her teachers, Dr. John Santrock, a professor of psychology said. “What especially stands out about Helen as a student is how appreciative she is of the opportunity to learn.” Commenting on her college experience as a ninety-year-old, Helen said, “It’s helped me start a whole new phase of life.”

Graduation commencements inspire us because they not only recognize significant achievement, they celebrate new beginnings, new possibilities and opportunities, or, as Helen said, the start of a new phase of life. Education offers to the young the opportunity to acquire knowledge and skills that equip them for the future. For those who are older, it offers the opportunity to re-tool, to start over, to pursue new dreams.

Nothing is as important for a new start on life as a spiritual transformation that connects us with God and places in our hearts the values that make life meaningful. Proverbs says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” In Ezekiel God said, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”

God is always about new beginnings. He offers to the young the opportunity to launch their lives on the path that leads to life and, to those who are older, the opportunity to wipe the slate clean and start over. Whether or not you hold a formal degree from an institution, whether you are nineteen or ninety, you can make a new start on life. Paul wrote in Corinthians “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation: old things are passed away, behold, all things are become new.”

Memorial Day 5-24-2010

2010-05-24T05:54:00.000-07:00

Next week, like millions of other Americans, we will fly our flag outside our house to honor Memorial Day. It is a tradition my wife brought into our marriage from her father who served in the Pacific during World War II. All across our country the stars and stripes will unfurl in the breeze, lifting and dropping, whipping, snapping, shuffling and slouching above the roof tops of schools, factories and government buildings; above parks, parades and cemeteries. In stadiums across America millions will stand to their feet, hands over hearts, and sing of the broad stripes and bright stars reflected by bombs bursting through the night.

Forty eight years after Fort McHenry, this flag hung in ominous stillness above Fort Sumter. Bearing the stars of the states that rose against it, it led the way into the man-made storms of grape-shot and cannon fire to the sound of screaming men and thundering horses, flying to the flank and rising to the center. Almost a century later it was raised above the black sands of Iwo Jima where young Marines gave their lives to lift its blood stained cloth above their heads and let it fly on the enemy hill. The same flag still stands on Tranquility Base where the Eagle landed and Neil Armstrong took one small step for man and a giant leap for mankind. We have all stood at the graveside of flag draped coffins and many have held the crisply folded flag to their breast, solemnly handed to them by white gloved soldiers.

This Memorial Day the flag reminds us that we are still an experiment. Two and a quarter centuries is a very short time and our nation is still relatively young. Lincoln’s prophetic words at Gettysburg still ring true. We are a new nation “conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” Our generation, like every other generation must rise to the test to prove whether “that nation, or any other nation so dedicated and so conceived can long endure.” Every Memorial Day we are called to a new resolve that “this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom – and that government of the people, by the people and for the people shall not perish from the earth.”

Across the years our nation has fought and won battles and wars on virtually every continent. Memorial Day helps us remember young men and women who gave their lives in obedience on those battle fields. But the most important battles to be fought for the future of our nation will not be with missiles and guns. The most important battles to be fought will be found in the hearts of men and women. The preservation of our nation, its hopes, dreams and ideals, depends on the character of its people and their leaders. Honesty, integrity, compassion, generosity and goodness are the elements that will determine the ultimate outcome of the battles and wars that have been fought in our nation’s past.

In Proverbs, the Bible says, “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.” (Prov. 14:34) Isaiah says, “Behold My Servant, whom I uphold; my chosen one in whom my soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him; He shall bring forth justice to the nations. (Isa. 42:1). Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of God’s promise to bless the nations. Every person will ultimately be accountable to Him and our greatest challenge is to reflect His character and His glory.

Suicidal 5-17-2010

2010-05-17T13:11:00.001-07:00

Anna, Texas, with a population less than two thousand, has been rocked by a series of suicides and suicide attempts. Three times in a sixteen-day stretch the police responded to calls involving apparent suicides or suicide attempts. Churches in the city urged residents to gather at Slayter Creek Park in Anna on May 19 to pray for the city, its residents and for its leaders.

Sooner or later suicide becomes personal for each of us. Someone we know, or someone close to us takes their life. A number of years ago, my cousin’s husband, a psychologist with a doctorate from SMU, wandered out into the woods behind their home, sat down at the base of a tree and shot himself.

Suicide, whenever and wherever it occurs always leaves a wide swath of emotional destruction among family members and friends leaving in its wake feelings of confusion, anger, guilt and grief. Like all wounds, time helps, but the shadows of suicide never completely disappear in the lives of those closest to the victim.

Suicide is a global problem. According to the World Health Organization, the United States is 40th in the world with 11 suicides per 100,000 persons per year. In every country, the rate of suicide is far higher among men than among women.

The primary symptoms leading to suicide appear to be depression and hopelessness. Almost everyone gets depressed at one time or another. Some of the greatest personalities in history have battled depression, including Abraham Lincoln. But when depression slips into despondency and hopelessness, an irrational moment can result in the shocking headlines we read in the newspapers.

As human beings, each of us faces a difficult moment at some point over the span of our lifetime. In today’s connected world we can span the globe on our keyboard and, at the same time, not know the name of our neighbor next door or across the street. Individuals come and go in such a hurry that the support network of family and friends has shrunk in today's society and some feel they have no place to turn.

None of us can read the minds of those around us, but each of us can resolve to be a better friend, a better listener and simply be there for others. Suicide is never God’s plan for anyone’s life. God always offers a future and a hope. He can remove the guilt that often leads to despair. “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord. Though your sins be as scarlet they shall be white as snow.” (Isaiah 1:18) Even when circumstances are darkest and the future seems impossible, God has a way forward that we cannot see. “For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.’” (Jeremiah 29:11).

If you are despondent and have had suicidal thoughts or if you know someone who is in need of help, call the suicide and crisis center for help at 214-828-1000. You can visit their site online at www.sccenter.org. Talk to your local minister or your physician. Never give in to hopelessness. There is always hope in God. (Romans 5:1-5).

20/20 Faith

2010-05-10T11:56:00.000-07:00

Myopia. I learned the word when I was ten years old. I learned it from the optometrist who checked my eyes and told my parents that I was nearsighted. I didn’t know I was nearsighted. I thought everyone saw everything the way I saw it. Trees were green blobs. The landscape blurred into blotches of pink, green, brown and blue, like an Impressionist painting. (Maybe Claude Monet created Impressionism by painting what he saw). I have to admit I wondered how other kids could catch and hit a baseball. I never saw the ball until it was on top of me. I could see some vague arm motion in the distance and then, wham! The ball was in my face.

My first pair of glasses changed my world. I discovered leaves on trees. I could see people’s faces inside their cars. I could read the blackboard from the back of the room. As a teenager I became the clean up hitter on the all stars, and could catch a fly ball over my shoulder while galloping toward the centerfield fence like Joe DiMaggio. When I returned to the dugout, I heard the coach say, “I always knew if he could see it he could catch it.”

Myopia is not only physical. It is spiritual. We are all born spiritually nearsighted. Like my childhood years, we think we see things clearly, but we don’t. We are unaware of what we don’t see. The only person who ever had perfect vision was Jesus. That is why He said, “I am the light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness … if anyone walks in the night he stumbles because the light is not in him.” (John 8:12; 11:10)

When the prophet Elisha and his servant were surrounded by an enemy army at Dothan, the servant was gripped with fear. But Elisha told him, “Do not fear. Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” When God opened the servant’s eyes, he saw that “the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” (2 Kings 6) When we are gripped with fear and despair we need God to open our eyes so we can see clearly. “If God be for us,” Paul said, “who can be against us?” (Ro. 8:31)

Jesus once met a blind man in the village of Bethsaida. Jesus laid his hands upon him and asked him, “Do you see anything?” The man responded, “I see people; they look like trees walking around. Once more,” the Bible says, “Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened … and he saw everything clearly.” (Mark 8:22-25). Many of us are like that blind man. We may be religious. We may attend church. But we need a “second touch” from God so that we can see clearly.

We are born with spiritual near sightedness so that we only see things close up, our own self interests. As a result we are often filled with fear, doubt, anger, resentment and despair. When we turn from our sins and place our faith in Christ, He is able to touch us so that we see clearly and walk in the light. Only Christ can cure the spiritual myopia that afflicts us from birth and enable us to see the world as God sees it.

Fragile Planet 5-3-2010

2010-05-03T06:22:00.001-07:00

The first sheen of oil from the BP oil spill reached the wetlands of Louisiana on Saturday, May 1. Many predict it will soon coat the Louisiana coast replacing the scent of surf with the stench of crude. Sunday, May 2, President Obama curtailed all commercial and recreational fishing between New Orleans and Pensacola. Millions of fish and birds could die. Driven by the shifting winds and prevailing currents, the oil slick threatens to stretch to the coasts of Florida and enter the Atlantic. The potential devastation is unimaginable.

My first reaction was grief like I would have felt had someone spilled an oily stain on my daughter’s wedding dress. But the analogy falls far short. This catastrophe is far more serious and devastating. The repercussions could last for decades. We are reminded that we live on a fragile planet.

I grew up in Corsicana, Texas where the first oil was discovered west of the Mississippi in 1894. The city fathers hired a company out of Kansas to drill for water. Instead, they struck oil. The city was incensed. Oil was worthless and messy, far less valuable than water. The internal combustion engine was in early development and automobiles were virtually unknown. The twentieth century changed all that.

My perception of earth changed dramatically on Christmas Eve, 1968. That was the day Apollo 8 reached the moon as the first manned mission. We watched as the space capsule sent back a moon’s eye view of the earth, a brilliant blue-green ball of life set against the background of space like a priceless jewel delicately placed on black velvet. Just before the lunar expedition lost radio contact and disappeared behind the moon, astronauts, Frank Borman, James Lovell and William Anders, took turns reading from Genesis 1:1-11. “In the beginning God made the heavens and the earth …”

The Scripture writers somehow sensed thousands of years ago that the earth was fragile. Without the tools we have for understanding the cosmic universe with its vast dimensions, they nonetheless knew that this place was special and that its beauty could be spoiled. David wrote, “You founded the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. Even they will perish, but You endure; and all of them will wear out like a garment.” (Psalm 101:25-26). Isaiah wrote, “And all the host of heaven will wear away, and the sky will be rolled up like a scroll; all their hosts will also wither away as a leaf withers from the vine.” (Isaiah 34:4).

We now know, after centuries of scientific exploration and development, that our planet is indeed unique: a tiny speck in the galaxy unlike any other, teeming with life. While physicists like Stephen Hawking remain convinced by sheer logic that other intelligent life must exist somewhere in the vast cosmic universe, there is, so far, no evidence.

Our best source of knowledge for our uniqueness remains the source to which the astronauts turned as they disappeared behind the moon. We are reflections of the living God who gives us life and entrusts to us the care of His creation. His first instruction was “Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth.” (Ge. 1:27-28). We have done pretty well on the multiplication part. How well we will do in the “replenishing” remains to be seen.

Waiting 4-26-2010

2010-04-26T08:13:00.001-07:00

When I married Jackie we repeated the customary wedding vows promising to cherish one another “in sickness and in health, in poverty and in wealth.” Perhaps we should have added an additional line. Something like. “I promise to wait for you.” Since we married we have waited for each other. We have waited at airports, train stations and bus stops. We have waited outside of public restrooms too many times to count. I have waited on her to put on last minute make-up and she has waited on me to put down my book or close my computer. When she gave birth to our children, I waited. When I had a motorcycle accident, she waited. In too many ways to enumerate or remember, we have waited on each other. If we added it all up it would be a huge chunk of our lives. And now, it makes me happy. She is worth waiting for.

When we had children, we waited. We waited for their birth. We waited for them when they got out of school. We waited late at night in dark parking lots for their buses to return. We waited for them in the car, the motor running, the clock ticking, knowing we were late to church. We stayed up waiting for them to come home from their first dates. And we waited for them to come home from college.

Waiting is a part of life. We choose to wait for those we love.

That is why God waits for us, because He loves us. Isaiah says, “Therefore the Lord longs to be gracious to you, and therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you for the Lord is a God of justice; How blessed are all those who long for Him. (Isa 34:18). In Jeremiah, God says, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you.” (Jer. 1:5). God has waited an eternity for you.

We often miss God because we haven’t learned to wait on Him. We blast through busy schedules making quick decisions without taking time to connect with God’s better plan for us. The Psalmist said, “My soul waits in silence for God only. From Him is my salvation.” (Ps. 62:1) “I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me and heard my cry.” (Ps. 40:1) The prophet Micah said, “But as for me, I will watch expectantly for the Lord. I will wait for the God of my salvation.” (Micah 7:7)

Waiting on God involves prayer and finding time to be quiet before Him. Sometimes it includes fasting. But waiting isn’t always about sitting still with our arms folded. The Apostle Paul waited on God by remaining in motion. Acts describes his efforts to discover God’s plan for the next chapter of his life. While he was moving through the regions of Phrygia and Galatia, the Holy Spirit forbade him from entering Asia. He then sought to go into Bythinia, but the Spirit of Jesus said no. Only after his visit to Troas did God make it clear to him he was to head west toward Macedonia. (Acts 16:6-10).

Jesus said, “Seek and you shall find. Knock and it shall be opened.” The secret is to remain open to God’s direction and to listen to His voice while we remain in motion constantly seeking and knocking. When we “wait upon the Lord” in this way, He will direct our paths.

Acts of Kindness 4-19 2010

2010-04-19T07:11:00.000-07:00

Most of us are inspired by great acts of heroism. Sully Sullenberger, the captain who skillfully landed US Airways flight 1549 on the Hudson River on January 15, 2009, has become a household name. After striking a flock of geese that disabled the engines, Sullenberger flew the plane like a giant glider and landed safely on the Hudson River saving the lives of 155 people on board. For thirty years Sullenberger flew airplanes in an uneventful career. This one act made him a national hero.

A couple weeks ago New York City was captivated by the heroic act of a French tourist who plunged into the river to save a two-year-old child. When Julien Duret saw Bridget Sheridan slip through the guard rail and fall into the East River, he did not hesitate. He immediately jumped into the river to save her. Later, amid all the commotion, he took a taxi and disappeared without waiting to be thanked.

Few of us will be given such significant opportunities to perform heroic feats that make the news. And even if the heroic opportunity were given to us, we might miss it.

Celebrated heroic actions make a difference. They burst upon us like a torrential downpour that sweeps us off our feet. But it is the little known acts of kindness that often make the greatest difference. They are like the raindrops that pool into fresh water lakes and nourish the earth.

Jesus recognized the importance of heroic and sacrificial actions. He said, “Greater love hath no man than to lay down his life for his friend.” Of course, this is what he did when He went to the cross and laid his life down for us. But he also taught the importance of little acts of kindness. In fact, it might very well be that the little acts of kindness we choose to do every day have a far greater impact in transforming the world than a few famous acts of heroism.

All of us have opportunity every day to perform little acts of kindness. We all have opportunity to let someone else in line before us, to hold a door open for a stranger, to speak a kind and encouraging word to the cashier who wearily scans countless items at the checkout counter. We can all be kind to a waitress who works for a minimum wage to support her child, or a student working nights to pay for college. The little acts of kindness change a culture.

A friend recently recounted his visit to Arby’s. Completing a cell phone call, he watched from his car as a large woman frantically searched the back seat of her car. He asked if there was a problem. She told him she had a roll of quarters she was going to use to buy lunch, but she could not find them. He pulled out a $10 bill and asked, “Will this help?” She refused. He insisted. Inside he stood behind the rattled woman as she thanked him profusely. She said, “God sent you, you know.” When the cashier delivered his order she said, “The manager was watching and he went ahead and gave you a free sandwich.”

Little acts of kindness add up. All put together, they can change the world.

The Master's 4-12-2010

2010-04-12T10:18:00.000-07:00

Sports are never just about the performance on the field or the final score at the end of the day. It is always about the story behind the competition. That was true this past week, once again, at the Masters golf tournament in Augusta, Georgia.

The Masters has become a highlight of the year for me. Like millions of other golfing duffers, I look forward to this unique week in sports. The spectacular fairways lined with brilliant azaleas and dogwoods mirrored on the surface of glassy pools mark the beginning of spring. It has become the setting where some of the great stories of sacrifice, hope and devotion have unfolded.

Bobby Jones, the original designer of the Masters, somehow left a legacy that has made this tournament different. An amateur golfer who won all the major championships, Jones never accepted a check for his victories.

I have watched the Masters legacy unfold across the years: Jack Nicklaus making a surge on the back nine to become the oldest winner of the tournament at age 47 with his son as his caddie; Ben Crenshaw doubled over in tears on the eighteenth green after winning the tournament one week after he buried his life-long coach and friend, Harvey Pinick.

This week, the tournament ended with Phil Mickelson tearfully embracing his wife, Amy and claiming his third green jacket. For more than a year Amy has been battling breast cancer. Phil has limited his appearances in order to be by her side, and, as a result his golf scores had suffered. But this week was different.

Perhaps Phil learned something from Payne Stewart in 1999. Standing on the green at the final hole of the US Open and playing with Stewart, Phil had a chance to win his first major tournament on Father’s Day. Amy was at home expecting their first child at any moment. Phil fell one stroke short when Stewart sunk his par putt. Payne Stewart had wasted much of his early career partying and carousing, but he had given his life to Christ and discovered the values that truly count. Stewart walked over to Phil, took his face in his hands, locked eyes with him and beamed as he said, “Phil, you’re going to be a father!” The next day, Phil’s daughter, Amanda, was born. Four months later Payne Stewart was killed in a plane crash. His funeral at First Baptist Orlando inspired the golfing world and his wife Tracy wrote a biography of her husband’s golfing journey to faith. Phil Mickelson wrote One Magical Sunday (But Winning Isn’t Everything).

Most of us will never attend a Masters golf tournament. The tickets are carefully guarded and difficult to obtain. Fewer still will ever compete in the event and only a handful will be able to claim victory. But all of us have the opportunity to win at what really counts: the relationships that make life meaningful. Jesus taught that all of life is summed up in relationships: to love our enemies, to lay our lives down for our friends, to love our wives as Christ loved the church, to care for our children and to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.

The real question for all of us is not whether we ever make it to the Masters as an observer, a player or a winner. The real question is whether we belong to the Master.

Listen 4-5-2010

2010-04-05T08:29:00.000-07:00

I am not a great listener. I lose focus. One word can trigger any number of divergent thoughts. My mind will race off in pursuit of those thoughts suddenly deaf to the words being spoken. At other times I leap ahead, thinking about what I want to say rather than listening. I have to discipline myself to re-focus on what is being said, sometimes scrambling to piece together the gaps that I missed during my mental lapses. My wife knows this. She can see it in my eyes. Sometimes she will stop talking and the silence will awaken me from my temporary daydream. “You’re not listening,” she says. Of course she is right. But occasionally I am lucky enough to be able to repeat the last sentence that she spoke, retrieving it from some kind of digital recording in my head, even though it’s meaning was not being registered in my brain.

My wife, on the other hand, is a great listener. That is one of the reasons I married her. She listens intently, not just to me, but to anyone speaking to her. I once watched a total stranger stop her on the street in New York and spill out their life story. I have witnessed the same thing on subways, in train stations, at Walmart and, of course, at church. You can see it in her eyes. She focuses. She doesn’t glance around the room wondering if there is someone else she should speak to. She doesn’t look beyond you. Her eyes don’t glaze over in a fixed stare that pretends to listen while she thinks about something else. This is the reason she is so successful in what she does. She works with high school students in crisis. She has students of every race and religion, and she makes a difference.

Listening is a powerful gift. It is transformational. When someone listens to us without judgment or accusation we hear and see ourselves differently. Somehow the act of having someone truly listen enables us to sort through our emotions and confusions to reach better conclusions. Feelings of isolation and loneliness dissolve and melt away when someone listens to us. The listener, by listening, has the ability to heal.

Most of us are far more intent on being heard than hearing. When we pretend to listen, we are, more often simply waiting for a gap, a chance in the conversation to insert our already preconceived conclusions. We interrupt one another with conversations that often are running on different tracks.

The Bible says, “Everyone must be quick to hear and slow to speak.” (James 1:19).

How many times have we injured someone, or simply failed to help someone, because we were too quick to speak? How different our world would be if parents listened to their children; if bosses listened to their employees; if businesses listened to their customers; if politicians listened to the people; if persons in power listened to each other? Maybe if we were better at listening to one another, we might be better at listening to God.

A Resurrection World 3-29-2010

2010-03-29T08:49:00.000-07:00

My brother admits that he sometimes reminds people of Cliff Claven, the Cheers character who could enlighten, extend and confuse any conversation with his “little known facts.” The difference between my brother and Cliff is that my brother’s little known facts are more often correct. Recently he rocked my life-long assumptions by informing me that the Greeks knew the earth was round over two thousand years ago and actually calculated the circumference of the earth two hundred years before Christ. I checked it out. He was right. They calculated the circumference of the earth to be 250,000 stadia, or 24, 662 miles. This happened somewhere around 210 B.C. The actual distance is 24, 901 miles.

Am I the only one that missed this? When I went to school, I was taught that Columbus sailed bravely westward across the Atlantic, destined, by the prevailing assumptions of that day, to fall off the edge of the flat earth. But now, I am told every Christian scholar in the Middle Ages believed the earth was round. The problem, they thought, was that there was nothing in the Atlantic between Europe and India and the distance was too great. Columbus mistakenly thought the world was smaller than it is and accidentally discovered the new world.

Why didn’t I know this? How did I miss this little known fact in my studies of history and science? How can we spend a lifetime having a false understanding of world history?

What we believe about history makes a difference. It changes our actions and our destiny. The single most important event in human history is the resurrection of Jesus. This event shapes all our understanding about life and death and forms the foundation of our values. Yet billions have never heard of Jesus’ resurrection. And millions more live as if it never happened.

The Apostle Paul said, “If Christ has not been raised your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied. But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.” (1 Cor. 15:17-20)

Jesus came to correct our wrong assumptions about God and about life on this earth. He turned conventional wisdom on its head by exhorting us to love our enemies, to help those who cannot help us, to accept foreigners and aliens. He demonstrated by His life that God loves us and, instead of requiring us to offer sacrifices to Him, He gave His own life as the ultimate sacrifice for us.

If Jesus was raised from the dead, then life is no longer measured in terms of wealth and power. With His resurrection, He reset the measurement for success to include how we serve the “least of these” who live among us. With His resurrection, He declared that death could no longer rob us of meaning and purpose. Living in a world without the resurrection is like living on a flat earth.

Sorry 3-22-2010

2010-03-22T13:31:00.000-07:00

There seems to be a lot of people lately saying they are sorry. Tiger Woods still tops the list as he prepares to re-enter golf at the Masters. David Letterman barely made ripples when he said he was sorry for having sex with his staffers. Presidential candidate John Edwards and Governor Mark Sanford have virtually disappeared after saying they were sorry for affairs that became public. After being caught with a male prostitute, Ted Haggard, the former pastor and president of the National Association of Evangelicals, went on a “I’m Super-Sorry” publicity tour last year. Last week Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington said he was sorry for using cocaine. Even the Pope has said he is sorry for the repeated child abuse by priests in Ireland while similar issues continue to surface in Germany and elsewhere.

I reckon it is good to say we are sorry. We all do stupid things. We all make mistakes. But it seems there should be something more. Two words seem to be missing from our vocabulary and our conversation. The first is “sin” and the second is “repentance.” They are seldom heard even in our pulpits.

We are all sinners like the prodigal son in Jesus’ famous story. (Luke 15) When the prodigal son returned to his father after having wasted his life in a far country, he said, “I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” The story might have ended very differently if the son had said, “I’m sorry. I have made mistakes. I will try to do better.” Somehow it doesn’t sound the same. .

We all need to repent. Repentance was not just an important word but an important concept in the New Testament. Perhaps John the Baptist was best known for preaching repentance in preparation for the Messiah. But Jesus also had a lot to say about it. In fact, the Bible says Jesus came preaching that all should repent. In one place, Jesus said, “Except you repent, you shall all likewise perish.”

Perhaps part of our problem is that we underestimate the meaning of repentance. The word translated repentance, metanoia, literally means “transformation of the mind.” Only God can truly transform our minds so that we think and act differently. We are all sinners and we all need the transformation of the mind called “repentance.” The Apostle Paul said, “Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

As we approach Easter we are reminded that God takes sin seriously. So seriously in fact that He gave His own Son to pay the penalty for our sins. Our sins cost Jesus His life. If we repent and put our faith in Him, the Bible says He will forgive us our sins and give us the gift of eternal life. (John 3:16). What’s more, he promises to transform our minds and deliver us from the sin that so easily beset us. (Romans 7-8).

It is a good thing to be sorry for what we have done. It is a better thing to repent and submit ourselves to God’s transforming power so that we don’t commit those sins in the first place.

Spring 3-15-2010

2010-03-15T07:05:00.000-07:00

There is nothing gradual about spring in Texas. One week forecasters issue winter weather advisories for snow, freezing rain and ice. The next week trees, pear, crabapple and dogwoods, explode with blossoms; daffodils bloom; bare limbs put forth buds and the air is filled with the fragrance of cut grass. Spring comes early in Texas. When I lived in Minnesota, March always threw me off balance. Winter let go its grip by degrees, reluctantly withdrawing from the landscape with snowy skirmishes that lasted through April and into the first week of May. But in Texas, it is winter one day. Spring the next, with summer soon to follow.

I like Spring. All that appears dead “springs” to life. It is the harbinger of things to come: the growing season when empty fields sprout with corn and maise and cotton. Gardens yield their miracles: seed and soil and water and sun produce ripe red tomatoes, yellow squash and fat round watermelons.

When Jesus chose a metaphor to help us anticipate His return, He chose Spring. He said, “Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near; so, you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door.” As exciting as Spring is with its promise of summer, it cannot compare with what God has in store for us in the age that is to come, when He will establish a new heaven and a new earth.

For many years, I have thought it significant that Jesus chose a “Spring” image to signify the end of the age. Most futurists paint a dismal picture. Bookshelves and movie lists are full of doom and gloom prognostications. Their predictions include alien invasions that wipe out the planet, a catastrophic meteor collision that makes earth unlivable, nuclear holocaust that destroys civilization as we know it, or a gradual erosion of earth’s resources.

Jesus held no illusions about the reality of our human condition. He plainly taught us that we would have wars and rumors of wars, that we would experience famines and earthquakes. (Mat. 24:6-7). The prophet Isaiah said, “Lift up your eyes to the sky, then look to the earth beneath; for the sky will vanish like smoke, and the earth will wear out like a garment and its inhabitants will die in like manner; but My salvation will be forever, and My righteousness will not wane.” (Isa. 51:6)

Erosion and pollution will likely continue. Men will continue to wage war. Our strong and youthful bodies will yield to disease, crippling injuries and old age. But in the midst of the woods the dogwood blooms. Through His Son, Jesus Christ, God is preparing a new heaven and a new earth. (2 Peter 3:13; Rev. 21:1). Everyone who believes in Him will be given new bodies that never grow old and never die. (1 John 3:2; 1 Cor. 15). Spring is here!