Tag: Be the Church

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“Character Isn’t Developed in Ease and Quiet” -Helen Keller

Quite a bit of the Bible covers the idea of trials being used to teach believers to rely more heavily on God. That’s an important concept I think we overlook too often. God wants us to rely on Him. He wants us to take one step at a time even when we can’t see the path things are going to take. I’m going to put a twist on it, though. I’m not saying it will work this way for everybody, but I’d like to share a bit about how it’s worked in my life.

This hasn’t been true 100% of the time, but throughout our marriage, when my wife and I looked around at some of the people we knew who were in a similar life stage as us, we just seemed to have it a little easier. Maybe our version a particular challenge was less complicated, or our loved ones tended to have better health, or we just had trials that were fairly short in duration. It’s certainly been a blessing, but we didn’t want to grow accustomed to it. Concluding that God can take away as easily as He can give, we adopted the saying “to whom more has been given, more is required.” We considered ourselves blessed in certain ways, so we viewed ourselves as able to offer things others could not.

Years back, I finished some schooling I had been working on. It was such a relief! I took a bit to enjoy the sheer amount of free time after completing a years-long endeavor. Soon, though, I felt I needed to give some of that time back to the Lord rather than sitting on the couch and wasting it. I started looking for ways to use the gifts and talents He’s entrusted to me. After struggling for a bit with what that might look like, I settled on an idea. You can poke around the various pages of this blog and see I’ve had a bizarre collection of interesting experiences most people never come close to. I’m also able to write in a conversational, down-to-earth tone that people find easy to understand. The idea for this blog took shape and started getting off the ground, with the work I put into it following the same schedule my schooling previously did.

It didn’t stop there, though. A couple years after the blog started, the world got put on pause as covid spread across the globe. As you recall, the pandemic changed so many aspects of daily life. In our house, I worked from home for a long stretch of time. It was kinda nice…for a little while. Not having a commute was great, but missing out on the back-and-forth with folks at work drove my creativity to find new avenues of expression. A new, outrageous idea started forming. This time gave birth to the idea of a 10-part Christian speculative fiction book series.

To be sure, it’s an audacious goal, especially considering I’ve never attempted anything like it before. I’m excited about the series though, I’ve got the skeleton for the whole thing mapped out and I’m very far along on some volumes, but what I’ve found is that I get bogged down in the writing. I’ve put together extensive notes on each of the volumes, and it’s fun for me to base some of the characters on some of the people I’ve known in person, to write comedy into it, to write powerful emotional scenes, and ultimately point readers to Christ without making it preachy. But…the project has stalled because I simply don’t have the time, energy, or focus (or more accurately, all three at the same time) to make meaningful progress as far as getting words on paper. It’s incredibly frustrating for me to have what I believe is an epic story mapped out, but be seemingly unable to get it into a deliverable format that can reach the masses and become a tool God starts using to reach a new audience. This might sound a bit like I’m inflating my own ego, but in reality I’m simply treating it with gravity and a matter of urgency; I approach it as though the series will be part of what triggers or contributes to a large revival. Going back to the beginning of this post, the stalled nature of the project is something I’d consider a trial in my life.

In this post I’m taking the long way to arrive at this point: even though I’m facing this trial, it’s related to the work I’m trying to do for God’s kingdom, rather than a trial related to my personal life (finances, health challenges, etc.). Of course I’m interested in getting this story out for public consumption as soon as possible, but I believe the challenges associated with that goal come at a smaller cost to me personally than the trials I’d likely be facing if I had decided not to do anything significant to honor God. I believe when people step into the calling God’s given them, He plows the road for them, removing obstacles that would have inflicted some kind of expense on them had they not followed His lead.

God’s going to allow you to face trials in your life. While you obviously can’t escape all of the personal challenges in life, it seems like you get to bypass many of the especially taxing ones when you’re living in the power of God and walking the path He’s invited you to travel. Had I waved off the blog idea and the book series idea, I don’t know what different set of trials I would have faced in the interim, but I’ve also got a certain degree of peace of mind knowing I’m genuinely taking swings at the pitches God’s giving me. I’m in no way qualified to write a 10-part fictional series, but I’m not afraid to give it a try when I feel God’s saying “here, try this.” I’m relying on Him and His timing, and trusting He sees me and has a plan. In the meantime, in the words of TobyMac, “if I can’t walk, then I’m crawling.” I’m still working on it when I can, always trying to move it forward.

I write this to encourage you. If you’re already following the path you feel God’s calling you down, that’s fantastic…keep it up! If, however, you’ve been feeling a sort of “tugging” in a certain direction you can’t explain, and you’ve been avoiding it because there’s at least some aspect of it that simply doesn’t make sense on any level, I’m going to extend a personal invitation to you to give it a try anyway. Paradoxically, the excuses you’ll think of first could be some of the first obstacles to get plowed out of your way when God starts clearing the road in front of you.

God knows you and knows what you’re capable of when He empowers you. You act in obedience, then He clears the road. It’s not the other way around. Try stepping out in faith and see what happens.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. – Proverbs 3:5-6

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Your Best is Your Best, Regardless of Scope

Every now and then God will call somebody to do extraordinary things and change the way people think. Many of these people end up being giants of the faith. Charles Spurgeon. Billy Graham. D.L. Moody. Jim Elliott. C.S. Lewis. Joni Eareckson Tada. Some live long, full lives of service, others endure great misfortune that God uses for His glory. God uses all of them for His purposes.

But what about us “normal” people? What about those of us who aren’t going to fill a stadium or hold a revival, or be overseas missionaries?

I’ve got two things to offer for those folks.

The first is that just because you don’t feel like you have a grand purpose right now, that doesn’t mean you never will. Ask for a way you can use your life and your talents to honor the Lord. If you haven’t found a calling and you want one, you should ask for one. Ask every time you pray. Pray for it all the time. Keep praying long enough, and He’ll show you what to do. (Just don’t be surprised when it’s something bigger than you expected, and once that happens don’t be put off by it.)

The second is that even though we can’t all be Billy Grahams, we can be faithful to what God’s asked of us. He asks different things of different people, and somebody else could very well have been called to do something cooler than what you’ve been asked to do. We rarely know ahead of time God’s reasons for doling out tasks the way He does. Some things are little, others are big. The important thing is that when God asks something from you, you endeavor to give Him your best and follow through on it, even if you don’t understand why He would ask it of you.

It’s also important to keep in mind that your role may not be confined to a single function. Your calling could involve one big thing, lots of little things, or something in between. Sometimes the thing God wants from you is surprisingly ordinary. Just show yourself to be reliable. If you can’t be faithful with little things, how can you be trusted with big things? Love God, be faithful, and show love to others, in that order.

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Hopefully a Little Something To Give You Some Encouragement

Did you ever hear what you needed to hear at just the right time?

My greatest hope for this blog is that it encourages believers to step into the role God’s made for them, regardless of how impossible it seems. I’d love if the entries bolster courage and resolve in its readers, and helps fuel them to swing for the fences and take the next step to do the things only God could empower them to do.

When it comes to this blog, the nature of the medium generally results in a lack of feedback from readers. Through a variety of means, people either drop in on the actual blog itself, view entries somewhere on social media, or receive emails, and after reading an entry they move on with life. Of course I’m curious about what people think of various entries, but I’ve come to accept that I simply won’t find out in most cases. That’s okay in the short- or medium term, but it gets harder to stay motivated in the long term.

Due to a combination of my spiritual gifts, my life experience, and the way my brain’s wired, I tend to keep plugging along on something I believe to be important when I believe many others would have lost interest or given up. In my mind, God led me to begin this project; He pointed to a spot beyond the horizon and said “now, go!” I continue because this is the task I believe I was given “until directed otherwise.”

That doesn’t mean, though, my determination is unflappable. That was seven and a half years ago.

Even though I work to please God and not people, every once in a while I do wonder if these entries are making any kind of difference. I fully accept that I won’t find out the true impact of my efforts until Heaven, but sometimes it feels like I’m just sending post after post into the electronic void. In fact sometimes I go so long without getting any feedback I start bringing it up in my prayers. I don’t mind continuing to do it if it’s what God would have me do, but every now and then I get to the point where I kinda ask “hey God? Could you please either, like, send me some encouragement to keep this going, or let me know I can shut it off?”

Well sometimes, He does send that encouragement, and it’s enough to keep me going.

One time I was wrestling with this problem, and I had been asking the Lord for a little pick-me-up, some kind of sign that I should either continue posting or start wrapping things up. Now it’s important to understand that I’m not the most outgoing guy. I’m usually pretty content hanging back in a crowd and I don’t usually go seeking out others to start a conversation. That weekend in church, though, a longtime supporter found me and we started talking. He let me know that he didn’t read each and every blog post I sent out (and that’s fine), but he still enjoyed the ones he read. We talked for a few minutes about past entries, and then as we closed the conversation, one of the last things he said to me was “keep doing what you’re doing.”

Sometimes God just shows up, man. He doesn’t forget about you. Somebody out there needs to hear this: God has not forgotten you. He sees your struggle, and He knows your heart. He knows you’re trying to do the right thing, and He knows you’re not perfect. I want to encourage you to keep going. Don’t give up. Keep doing what you’re doing.

But you, take courage! Do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded. -2 Chronicles 15:7

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A Special Thanks to Those who Look To Include Others

Despite humanity being more connected than ever before (at least superficially), there are currently a lot of lonely people out there. For those folks, Thanksgiving is the start of a very hard season.

I’ve been blessed to spend almost every Thanksgiving with family and/or friends, but the odd occasion where that didn’t work out gave me a little taste of the loneliness that can be a hidden difficulty of the holiday season. You add to that all the commercials about people spending time with loved ones, and it starts to feel like you don’t fit in. Even Black Friday commercials and advertisements sting a little bit. After all, what’s the point of all those sales if you already have the stuff you want and you don’t really have anyone to buy for?

Now imagine not just a week, or even a month, of this, but living like this all the time.

Thanksgiving is this week. Do you have a little extra room at your table for someone who’d otherwise be alone? Someone who’s single (young or otherwise), someone whose loved one(s) is/are far away because of business, or someone for whom it just wouldn’t be practical to get home and back for a long weekend (college students, etc.). There are also couples in the same boat who I’m sure would love to be invited to a “Friendsgiving.”

Someday, those who call Christ their Savior will enjoy sweet fellowship all the time. Until we get there though, we do the best we can, and I’m grateful to those that include others who’d ordinarily be alone.

May you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

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Quick Hit: That Could’ve Turned Out Way Different!

Well, another school year has come and gone. More than any of his report cards or achievements in extracurricular activities that came this year, I’d like to celebrate one of my son’s accomplishments.

A middle school lunchroom is not a fun place to be. It’s bustling, it’s loud, and I probably picture a little bit of a prison chow hall when I think of one. One day this past school year, a kid sitting near my son started choking on his food. The obvious look of distress on his face gave it away. My son asked him if he was choking, and the kid nodded with wide open eyes.

“Stand up.” My son walked behind him and did the Heimlich once or twice, dislodging the problematic food chunk. The kid was able to breathe normally after that, thankfully. During the whole episode, which probably lasted 30 seconds or less, no teachers or lunch proctors noticed. My son said only about three or four kids in the immediate area realized what was going on and witnessed the event.

I’m not sure where he learned the Heimlich Maneuver, but I’m glad he did. Way to go, Pal! I’m proud of you!

Have you ever been in a setting where you assumed you were there for one reason, but in reality your presence ended up being pivotal for something different? Don’t make the mistake of thinking God can only do one thing at a time through you. God can use you, His beloved, to walk, chew gum, and do yo-yo tricks all at the same time.

You limit what God can accomplish through you when you restrict your willingness to do the different things He calls you to. If that’s something you’re doing, God’s not the limiting factor…you are.

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You Don’t HAVE A Soul, You ARE A Soul. You HAVE A Body.

I’m at the age now where I’m too old to do all the things I used to be able to do, but I’m not old enough to realize I should sometimes skip the attempt. I think it’s safe to say it’s a little late for me to start thinking about a career as a professional athlete.

The kids are getting quicker and I’m getting slower. Injuries and sore muscles take longer to overcome. I rest a little longer between sets when working out. I could push through the pain, but these days I put a lot more thought into whether or not that’s a good idea. It feels like every year gets a little shorter than the last one. In my mind I’m still in my mid-twenties, but the aches and stiffness in my joints tell a very different story. I blinked and it’s twenty years later.

I share this because I want to emphasize to you the idea that our time here is short. For our lives to have an eternal impact, we have to be doing productive things in the here and now, and the here and now is quickly passing us by. That means our time is precious and should be filled with purpose. Here on Earth, we’ve only got one lifetime to make a difference for those not currently headed to Heaven. Eternity hangs in the balance, and the stakes are the highest they could possibly be.

Got time for two and a half minutes of Christian motivation? Here’s one of my favorite quotes from this clip I hope you check out. “My life is too valuable, my calling too great, my God too good, to waste my life on things that do not last.”

Time is short. Live with a sense of urgency and intentionality. You have ONE life during which to make an eternal impact.

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Some Good News About Last Year and Some Hope for the Next One

Happy New Year!

It seems like January gives us hope for a better year ahead, but by the time we get to December, we’re worn out and tired. Well let me give you some good news about the year we just closed out.

A recent study of 2024 sales of print media showed that for the year, general sales were up approximately 1% compared to the previous year. At the same time, sales of Bibles were up over 20%!

I haven’t looked real deeply into the data, but it sounds to me like there’s no downside to this. I can’t claim anything for sure as a result of this one study, but I’d guess the whole “truth is relative” movement is losing some momentum as people look for something they can count on. While TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram can be fun for awhile, sooner or later people start to question the meaning of life. No matter what, the God-shaped hole in people’s souls needs to be filled, and people seem drawn to truth.

So there’s reason for optimism as we step further into this new year. Revival should always be our prayer. If you encounter someone new to reading the Bible, help them out a little bit. It’s not the most intuitive book to get started reading. Newcomers may not realize that starting at the beginning is actually starting at the VERY beginning. The really important stuff comes much later.

If you’re one of the people picking up a Bible for the first time and you’re unsure where to start, try the book of Matthew. It covers the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. (If you get done and move on to one of the next three books, don’t be surprised if it sounds familiar; Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are four different accounts of much of the same material.) There are plenty of online study plans, but I can’t overemphasize the importance of getting some insight from a Bible-teaching church, especially from small group studies the church may sponsor.

As we get a new start on the calendar, let’s keep an eye out for opportunities where we can be used by the Lord in various capacities, both in ways we’re comfortable with and in ways that stretch us. Put those spiritual gifts to good use!

Lord, as we kick off a new year, help us strive to fulfill Your calling in each of our respective lives. As this hunger for truth grows within our culture, help those seekers find reliable, grounded followers to help guide them through Your word. Help us not only represent You well, but help us also be mentors for people new to the Bible. Aside from that, give us the courage we need to follow your leading in our lives; help us to actually become the men and women You put us here to be. May this new beginning encourage us to be bold as we pursue You, being willing to take the next step even when we don’t know where the journey will lead. Above all, may You be glorified through our actions. We know Your will shall be done with or without our permission, and we thank You for the invitation to be a part of Your work in this world. Forgive us when we let You down, and help us avoid wallowing in our mistakes, instead pressing on toward the life You’ve called us to. I ask these things in Your name, amen.

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Quick Hit: Holiday Curveball

I recently had the opportunity to have a conversation with a woman who had recently received an unwanted diagnosis. It’s something that, to say the least, is taking some getting used to.

During the course of the conversation, there were two encouraging ideas that came up, which can be applied to other peoples’ lives, too:

  1. This diagnosis didn’t catch God off guard.
  2. This new set of circumstances in no way changes God’s will for your life.

We’ve all had something come along and take the wind out of our sails. As we get ready to kick off holiday season, please be mindful of the people around you who may be going through a particularly challenging time. The holidays, especially, can be a trying time, and you may have been placed in their life for such a time as this.

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You’ve Got Me Seeing Stars

I enjoyed showing various video clips to my kids when they were little. When she was a toddler, I showed my youngest daughter a computer-generated animation accompanied by “Twinkle, twinkle little star.” It was slow-paced, so it easily held the attention of young little eyes. This particular version, about two and a half minutes long, featured an owl who looked up at the night sky and decided to fly up high to get a better look at a star hovering above.

As he flew to a great height, the star came to greet him. The two new friends frolicked along the tops of clouds for a bit, to the owl’s great enjoyment. It was utter happiness for the two, sharing these magical moments. Alas, all things come to an end, and eventually the owl began to fall back to earth as the star watched, waving goodbye, ending this brief friendship.

My daughter watched, captivated, until this part. As she saw the look in the owl’s eyes, along with the star’s farewell wave, a profound sadness came over her and she began to cry. This was a completely unexpected reaction. Of course children want to be in the presence of their own mother from a very young age, but it turns out even a child too young to write her name understands the importance of togetherness and the pain of separation in others. Communion and fellowship are hardwired into us; we need others.

After we slip from this life into the next, there are only two possibilities for how we’ll spend eternity. The first is joyful bliss in the everlasting presence of the Lord. The second is the shock and pain of isolation from Him. When we picture Hell, we often think of fire. While eternal smoke from unbelievers is described in the Bible (Revelation 14:11), I think we usually miss the fact that folks in this category have no chance of ever getting right with, and spending time with the Almighty, other than standing before Him in judgment. While Christians can rest in the idea of Christ’s love, those who reject Him will themselves be rejected and cast into an existence of separation from Him (and likely everyone else).

Just a little reminder of what’s at stake here. You might very well be the only person to speak Christ to someone else. Don’t worry about messing it up. They’re already facing the worst-case scenario: eternity separated from the Lord. You can’t make it any worse, but you can help them gain the only thing that matters. Start a conversation today.

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Don’t Lose Sight of the Objective

Though our world continues to darken, there is always hope in Christ, and it’s our job to reflect that hope.

This past week some controversial news came out of the Vatican. I’m not Catholic and I’m not familiar with many Catholic practices, but it seems the Pope has made some changes that now allow blessings for homosexual couples under certain conditions.

To be clear, he’s not changing the Catholic Church’s view that marriage is between a man and a woman, but he’s enabled blessings to take place which formerly could not occur. I’m not real familiar with what exactly a blessing means in this case. If a blessing is something you give to everyone that comes inside, like a handshake or a fist bump, it’s probably not such a big deal. If, on the other hand, it represents the Church saying “we sanction your behavior,” then we’ve got serious problems. I suspect it’s not at either of those extremes. The guidance is that such blessings must not have the appearance of endorsing gay marriage. It is, I think, a relatively minor change to those familiar with Catholic practices and protocols, but again, he has changed policy to enable blessings for people who could not have blessings granted previously. Overall, Pope Francis is trying to make the Church appear more welcoming to homosexuals.

He’s in a tough spot. The number of people that claim to be Catholic (or Protestant, for that matter) is in decline, and he’s trying to do something about it. Unfortunately, when church leaders around the world ask “how can we make the people of the world be more open to attending church?,” the only real answer is “make the church look more like the people of the world.” That’s a mistake.

Christ knew He came with an offensive message, and we, the Church, are to purposely stand in stark contrast to the darkness around us, echoing that offensive message. “You’re all sinners, and therefore unworthy of Heaven.” While that will certainly make you feel defensive the first time you hear it, it’s not the whole story. The rest of the story is that Christ made a way for all sinners (regardless of skin color, wealth, gender, age, political persuasion, social status, etc.) to get to Heaven and spend eternity with God. There are two ways to Heaven: 1. Live a perfect, sinless life, or 2. Ride the coattails of someone who already has. Since option 1 isn’t possible for anyone reading this, we’re all depending on option 2. The only person who’s lived a sinless life is Jesus Christ, and He wants you to accept His offer, which He gladly extends to all without prejudice. The audacity of standing in contrast to what the world says is acceptable is exactly what makes Christ stand out.

I see what Pope Francis is trying to do, but I think if sinners don’t feel welcome in church, that’s as much our fault as it is the fault of upper levels of church leadership. Different churches absolutely have different feels to them, but their primary goal should always be twofold: 1. knowing Christ and 2. spreading Christ. If you’re part of a church that isn’t doing either one of those, it’s probably time to start asking some questions.

We should be going out of our way to make sinners feel welcome at church. After all, we’re sinners, and we’re there, aren’t we? Life is messy. People are broken. No church can fix them, but Christ can. If people are seeking truth, do what you can to make them feel welcome at church, which in turn can help them find the truth of Christ, especially this Christmas season.

Merry Christmas to all, and may you know Christ deeper in the coming year!