Tag: bible verse

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When Your Tank is Empty but There are Still Miles To Go

During my Junior year in college, our men’s dorm held its own version of the Olympics.

The games consisted of a variety of events. There were some conventional events, some less-conventional events, and some downright nutty events (I was thankful to be one of the referees, rather than one of the participants, in the event where you had to reach into a bag and eat whatever you pulled out). The games were memorable and went late into the night.

For some events the scoring system was straightforward. There were four floors represented, so in an event where all four floors participated simultaneously (a relay race, for example), the first-place finisher got 400 points, the second-place finisher got 300, then 200 for third place, and the last-place finisher got 100 points.

For bracket-style events, the scoring system was a little more controversial. We had two very good chess players in the dorm, and chess was one of the events. Events like this were split into two matches for round one, and then the winners from both matches would meet in the finals, and both losers from round one would also go head-to-head. The winners’ bracket would place first and second overall, and thus be awarded either 400 or 300 points. When these two talented competitors faced off in the first round, one of them had to lose. That guy was then forced into the loser’s bracket, where he could earn no higher than third place overall.

Well somehow I found myself representing my floor in the arm wrestling event. I was no slouch, but in this event I was definitely outgunned. It would be an understatement to say that I was not favored to win the event.

Due to the scoring system, the strategy I settled on was to use up everything I had in the tank to try to win the first match. That way if I could pull off a win, I’d avoid the loser’s bracket and be guaranteed a minimum of 300 points for our team even if I lost round two in an embarrassing fashion.

For the first match I got paired up with a guy named Tyrone. Tyrone was a buddy of mine, and we regularly lifted weights together a few times a week. We each had our strengths when it came to different exercises in the weight room, but trust me when I tell you that he had the advantage when it came to the explosive power and brute force required for arm wrestling.

I developed a new strategy…just try to last longer than 10 seconds!

We both sat down and established our grips, and the judge started the match. For about a second and a half, our hands went nowhere, a perfect balance of strength. Then Tyrone’s muscle simply overpowered mine. My fist steadily descended toward the table. A few seconds into it, this one was already just about over. My knuckles were so close to the table, but he couldn’t seem to close the deal. He didn’t quite have the leverage to bring his power to bear on my barely alive wrist.

I think at that point Tyrone changed strategies. It seemed like he took his foot off the gas and just waited for me to get tired. Since his advantage lay with his power though, he should have gone for the kill.

Surprised that I was still in it and that I wasn’t yet headed for the lower bracket, I resolved to give it everything I had. The problem was that the force I could generate using “everything I had” became less and less as time went on.

The seconds ticked by. A match that should have been over in 5 or 10 seconds was still going at 30 seconds. Then it passed 60 seconds. Those watching started out enjoying the match with shouts and yelling. Some of those spectators got bored and walked away, only mildly curious about the outcome.

Anybody watching could see that I was in pain, wincing and just barely hanging on. The whole time, Tyrone sat there, cool as a cucumber, just waiting for my strength to give out. He tried a few more times to go for the kill, but it didn’t work. Nobody was more surprised than me when he just gave up and stopped trying. He let me push his hand to the table surface. I can’t say I beat him, but I advanced to the winner’s bracket!

Over the past couple of weeks I’ve been talking about finding and pursuing the thing that God put you here on Earth to do. It’s your “I have to;” it’s your God-given purpose. For those of you trying to ignore it or push it to the back of your mind, consider this: everyone that’s ever existed either already has, or someday will, experience two “rounds:” this one on Earth that we’re living right now, and the one that comes after this one. You may not think of it in these terms, but this current round is the one that determines where we experience the second round.

If you’re a Christian, please don’t misunderstand me, it’s fantastic that you’ve accepted Christ as your Savior…but for almost everyone other than those who experience deathbed conversions, your Christian walk is probably meant to go deeper. The Holy Spirit has a way of prompting you to move in directions you don’t want to go, of pushing you to do things you don’t want to do. And you know the crazy part? Many times it’s for the sake of making an eternal impact on someone else, but it’s not something you could have (or would have) planned on your own.

Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him. –James 1:12

So even if you’re wincing in pain while barely holding on, surprised that you’re even still hanging in there, let me encourage you to give everything you’ve got despite the pain so that this round has a bigger impact for those on your team (and those that will join your team in the future)! The opposition may look like they’re fresh and powerful, but you never know what’s going on behind the scenes. Do not give up! Save nothing for round two; put everything you’ve got into round one, and let round two figure itself out.

For those seeking closure, even if I were fresh and didn’t have an exhausted arm, I wouldn’t have been able to beat Dave, the guy I met in round two. I think that round ended with my hand on the table less than 3 seconds after the match started.

Tyrone, if you’re reading this…I still can’t claim victory, because I didn’t actually beat you; you just let me win. I have no doubt you should’ve won! You were an animal in the weight room. As a testament to how strongly I believe this, I’ll admit that I’m kind of afraid you’re going to read this and come find me and demand a rematch!

PS – The answer’s no, unless you’re really weak now.

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You Don’t Win by Accident

Years ago I was in a leadership class in the Air Force, and during one exercise the teacher named several controversial topics, one at a time. Each time she named a topic, the 12-15 of us in the class were supposed to go to one side of the room or the other, depending on our personal views on the topic.

For many of the issues, the class was close to evenly split. Sometimes maybe it’d be 75% on one side vs. 25% on the other. I don’t remember the topic, but there was one time where I found myself the sole representative of one particular viewpoint.

I don’t actually know what everyone on the other side of the room thought about me taking that position on the matter, but I know what it felt like. I was one person bearing the judgmental gaze of everyone else in the room. It was lonely and uncomfortable.

Guess what? If you openly follow Jesus, this is something you should become accustomed to. Become comfortable being uncomfortable. Christ Himself let people know that following Him would come at a cost, and that hasn’t changed over time. The world always has…and always will…disavow the teachings of Christ. Are you willing to associate yourself with Him and His teachings?

There’s a strange new development in American culture. I think the concept has been around for ages, but the interconnectedness of today’s world probably amplifies it. In today’s culture, the concept of “agreeing to disagree” is gone. It’s not enough to simply disagree with people; you have to show everyone else that you disagree with them and look down on that “invalid” opinion (as though an opinion could possibly be invalid). It’s a bizarre form of insecurity that ultimately has the effect of silencing or watering down dissenters.

Many Christians are swayed by this for some reason, as though getting along with the culture is more important than the message we carry. We’re now at the point where Christians are the counter-culture people in our society…but even many Christian pastors and priests avoid sensitive topics or only focus on subjects that the culture approves of.

Well, in times when preachers water down their message and pride themselves on showing others how “woke” they are, remember this: YOU (the Church) are God’s plan to help redeem the world. Your actions, your words, your lifestyle are what will make a difference in someone else’s eternity. If your pastor or the Christian voices you’ve long been listening to now seem like they’re “evolving” the message of Christ, it’s probably time to look for a new pastor or spiritual mentor. Stick with Christ and the Bible; in a world where morality varies with the day of the week, Christ and the Bible don’t change.

Christians will naturally ask “how can we get the world to like us better?” I understand the question and the reason for asking it, but the only honest answer is to become more like the world. Sorry everyone, but it’s not the Church’s job to make the world like us more; it’s our job to help save the lost that live in it. That’s going to come from speaking the truth in love and demonstrating the love of Christ to others. We’ll have plenty of time to skip through fields of daisies and butterflies in Heaven; while we’re here though, we should be getting sand kicked in our face by the people that don’t want to hear what we’re saying.

Did you watch the video I added at the end of last week’s post? What’s “that thing” that you believe God is calling you to do? In a world that’s desperate for lasting truth, it might just be that whatever’s coming to your mind is going to make a bigger impact on the lost in this world than some of the “politically correct” pastors that are out there.

Make no mistake: living for God is hard, but it’s good. We’ll have to discipline ourselves to dig deep in order to give God our best, and it’s going to mean consistently choosing things that we wouldn’t ordinarily choose, but it’s worthwhile.

First Corinthians 9:24-27 describes the Christian life as a competitive race. We’re not in this race just to get the tee shirt, just so we can say we finished, or even just to break into the top 10…we’re supposed to run to win. That’s not something that happens by accident, it takes focus, training, and determination. The more of those things you have, the more you allow God to use you for the expansion of His kingdom.

For more on living with purpose, check out this talk from a pastor whose message is about living a life where you “run to win.”

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Overcoming Yourself and Fulfilling Your Purpose

People are fantastic at talking themselves out of things.

Did you ever just kind of “know” that you were supposed to take a certain action that had no other origin other than the Holy Spirit moving you to do it? Maybe it was to give some cash to someone you didn’t know. Maybe it was to connect and have a conversation with someone you hadn’t spoken with in a long time. It could’ve just been to speak up at a certain time.

But you didn’t do it.

Ever have a moment like that? Afterwards, you can brush it away, saying “It’s fine, that wouldn’t have made any sense.” On the other hand, maybe you actually resolved to do it. “You know what? No, that doesn’t make sense, but I just feel like I’m supposed to.” Then you never really got around to following through.

I’m curious; for every time God prompts a person to do something that they then follow through on, I’m a little scared to know how many prompts go ignored or are rationalized away.

When God does big things, He invites people to come along with Him; the people that go along and get to be a part of those events usually aren’t the people that say “no.” Sure, there are some “Jonahs” thrown into the mix, but by and large, God wants willing participants. You’ve heard the clichés. “If you want to walk on water, you’ve got to get out of the boat.” You know in your mind that God has an infinite number of ways to unlock your potential, but you struggle with giving up control and actually allowing Him to do it.

I get it. Really, I do.

Don’t let the story end there, though. Just because you struggle with something doesn’t mean it’s not worth the struggle. A step of faith, plus another step of faith, followed by additional steps of faith leads to walking by faith.

There’s a term in physics called “inertia.” You’ve probably heard it expressed as one of the famous laws of motion: a body at rest tends to stay at rest, and a body in motion tends to stay in motion, unless acted upon by an outside force. Whatever your life’s trajectory, when God sets something new in your path, He’s presenting you with a task that’s going to require a change in inertia. Being aware of your shortcomings and taking actions intended to combat your weaknesses can help build the momentum you need to overcome your existing inertia.

An example would probably help. When I feel God’s leading to pursue a course of action, my natural tendency is to stew on it for a bit and let the idea grow on me. “Let me sleep on it” is a common mantra in my life. That can be very helpful if I’m thinking about refinancing a mortgage, but it can be a bad thing if it’s following a calling from God. With time the idea fades or the window passes. There are times I’m reluctant to pursue something, but I know I really need to do it anyway. In my case, as a way of holding myself accountable, I tell someone about the idea. I’ve found that if the idea spreads to someone else, it has a tougher time dying. The person or people that know about it can ask me how it’s going. They can hold my feet to the fire, even if they’re just curious about whether or not I was even serious about it. God can use me to do things for His glory, but I have to be willing to make an effort…to take steps to fight through the distractions, to withstand all the other things that compete for my time, attention, and energy. In that fight, I can be my own worst enemy, so I have to take additional measures to move toward that goal.

Let me drill down a bit further, hoping it helps you in your own Christian walk.

I absolutely love it when God uses people that are “unqualified” to accomplish big tasks. David killed Goliath. Moses, at age 80, with a speech impediment, became the voice of God’s people. Jesus gathered 12 “nobodies” and changed the world. These are well-known Bible stories, but these things still happen today. God calls people to do big things that don’t make sense on paper, and He brings them success in order to showcase that it could only have happened through His intervention.

A little about me for those that don’t know me well. I’m very left-brained. My mind naturally gravitates toward math, science, logic, analysis, organization…all the things that are boring or cold for right-brained people, who favor imagination, intuition, the arts, and creativity. Now…I have some of those right-brained qualities, but my natural thought processes lean more toward a left-brained style.

So imagine my surprise when discovering that I feel led to write a fiction book. This is honestly a project that I feel God has laid before me.

That makes no sense, right? If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time you might say “well, he already does a lot of writing, so that’s not really a stretch.” It’s true, I do a lot of writing for DareGreatlyNow.com, but almost none of it is fiction. I have no training in creative writing (or in whatever style blogging is considered, either). These entries are usually only two pages or so, and they’re not difficult to write about because most of them are either my experiences or they come right out of the Bible. I’m talking about a book that’s like, 40,000-50,000 words. The word that keeps coming back to me is unqualified.

Still, if you work at it for a long time, you could probably make that goal happen once, even if it’s difficult. Seemingly to make it apparent that God’s involved and that His strength is made perfect in my weakness, I feel led to write not one fiction book, but a series. Not just a trilogy. This is a seven-part series of books that are about 40,000-50,000 words each. That’s like starting with a blank piece of paper and ending up with The Chronicles of Narnia. Not just The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe…I’m talking even the ones you don’t remember or never heard of. (How many of you are now trying to see if you can name all the books in the series, I wonder?)

Alright, so let’s say I get past the nagging “unqualified” lens. The next word I deal with is “daunting.”

That’s absolutely an overwhelming task. I don’t have the time or the drive to do that! Here’s the thing though: if your vision of a God-initiated project in your life isn’t scaring you at least a little bit, you may not be envisioning something big enough. When God commissions you to do something, He also empowers and equips you to do it. Additional requirements that will need to be in place in order for your endeavor to succeed will be set in motion at the appropriate time. He’s not going to leave you flapping in the wind. As you start taking steps to make it happen (I have a colleague who might say “as you start taking bites of that elephant”), He sustains you and gives you what you need to move ever closer to the goal. By the time it’s over, it becomes evident that it could only have happened with His help.

Well there you have it, I’ve shared with you something that I feel led to pursue. Now I’m on the hook for it. I don’t really have a whole lot of experience with estimating how long this should take, but I’m guessing I’m signing up for something that will likely take the better part of a decade, unless I can somehow quit my job to work on it full time, but, you know, still have money for food, shelter, and all those other things my family’s grown accustomed to.

That’s me; that’s what I’m working with. I said in last week’s post that I’d have more on what God is asking of you. Odds are that you’ve been spending a lot more time at home over the past 10 months or so. That much time can drive a person crazy, but it can also provide opportunities for quieting yourself to hear what God would tell you.

I’m going to show you a less-than-3-minute video that I’ve shown you before, but a lot has changed in the world since the last time I did. It’s an advertisement for a product, but that’s not why I’m showing it to you. I don’t have any financial interest in the video or what it’s advertising. In fact, I haven’t even looked too far into what the video’s selling. I just think it’s a phenomenal video because it articulates a feeling I’ve experienced, so it hits home a little more than normal. I’m hoping that it helps provide some clarity for you, and maybe help you make sense of a restlessness that’s been pulling at the fringes of your mind.

After watching this video, if you have a picture in your mind (anywhere between super fuzzy or remarkably concrete) of what it’s talking about, I encourage you to do what I did in this post: know yourself enough to take some actions that will help you overcome the inertia that would otherwise keep you from following through. If you need to tell someone, tell them. If you need someone to tell but can’t get past how crazy you think it sounds, email me: tim@daregreatlynow.com. If God lays something on your heart, please pursue it. Think of it as the next “step of faith” in your journey toward “walking by faith.”

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Spies Like Us

Have you ever stopped to think that living for Christ can, in some ways, be compared to life as a spy?

No, not 007, with pen grenades and cars that shoot missiles from the headlights. James Bond movies can be fun to watch, but they’re not the most accurate depictions of what life as a real spy is like.

I’m sure there’s a lot of spying that happens today, but to me a lot of the interesting stuff happened during the Cold War. It just seemed like it was more interesting before you could hack everything through the internet. In some cases, there might be someone with access to very valuable information that feeds juicy tidbits back to their handler. You’d also have dramatic stories of Soviet pilots defecting with the latest fighter plane design.

In just about every case, you’ve got a human being that’s committing some level of treason against their country, and at least part of their mind is dwelling on the consequences they’ll face if they get caught. Some people are simply more given to worry, but excessive worry and the lifestyle of a spy are not compatible things. I can’t say that I’ve walked in their shoes or experienced the stress that they experience, but for many spies (or “assets”), there comes a point at which their life of ulcers and poor sleep gets to be too much, and they ask to be extracted or set free from the lifestyle they’re living.

That can be us as Christians. We’re simply passing through this world. “This rental’s not our home.” Working for God in the pursuit of bringing Him glory, we long for Heaven but we don’t know when we’ll get there.

Spies don’t work alone; the information or function they provide serves someone. That someone can be called many things: a spymaster, a handler, an asset manager (you might pause the next time you meet someone that describes themselves as an “asset manager”). That person’s role is to direct the spy what to do or what to report on.

When someone conducting espionage gets frayed nerves and tells their handler they’ve had enough and want to be “brought in from the cold,” the handler needs to weigh a few things. Can that asset be convinced to stay in place a little longer? How much longer will that asset be useful? Is it worth the risk of leaving them in place and being caught? Are they still motivated by the same factor that drove them to engage in espionage in the first place? The handler may need to pull out all the stops to convince the spy to stay in place and keep doing what they’re doing, and that may entail using stick, carrot, or both. After all, even if the handler is genuinely fond of their asset, the information will stop flowing if the asset leaves their post.

Ultimately, that spy lives their life in a way that reprioritizes someone else’s desires over their own. I think this is what Paul meant in Romans 12 when he wrote of our lives being a “living sacrifice.”

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:1-2

Unlike an Old Testament sacrifice, where an animal’s life is taken in our place, we’re to present our lives and bodies as a “living sacrifice.” It’s a higher, more productive calling than a calling with a quick ending. It’s a life of service that spans years and in many cases multiple decades; compared with an ending on an altar, this kind of sacrifice can be much more taxing and take much more effort.

At one point or another, just about everybody has wished for the trials and difficult times in their lives to be over. Sometimes people even go so far as to pray for God to take them home before it gets any worse. While that would certainly take away the stress and shortcomings of what we have to endure in this imperfect world, it would severely restrict the amount of usefulness God can wring out of us in this life. In that regard, He’ll sometimes say “No, I need you where you are right now. Sit tight, keep doing what you’re doing, and I promise I’ll make it up to you later.” Like an actual spymaster, He may do this through reassurance, or He may do it by applying more leverage on you.

So here we are. We’re not home yet, but while we’re waiting for God to take us there (in His time, not ours), we’re to place God’s will above our own.

This next part is hard to hear; I wish I could look you in the eye and reach out and put my hand on your shoulder when I say this. The world will always hate Christ, and by extension it will always hate those that follow Him. If you’re a passionate and obedient Christ-follower, you will have your life of peace, prosperity, and fulfillment, but it’s probably not going to be here on Earth. So saddle up, grit your teeth, and dig in, being willing to endure difficulties and discomfort, because the part you’re waiting for won’t be until you’re finished here. It’s going to be worth it, though, so hang tough and let your Handler be the one to tell you what your role is and when it’s time to come in from the cold.

Next week’s post will have more on what it is that God wants you, specifically, to do in this life. Spoiler alert: I don’t know what your specific calling is, but I’ll talk about how to help you figure it out. If this is something that’s been on your mind, please spend the next week in prayer to help prepare you for it.

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Awestruck

I enjoy parts of the Bible that give sneak peeks into the realm we can’t see. Specifically, there are parts in the Old Testament books of Ezekiel and Daniel, along with the New Testament book of Revelation, where the authors convey experiences where they visit places that our current bodies were not designed to withstand. These passages more or less illustrate that our bodies cannot physically handle being in the presence of divine glory.

Often the authors of these passages will say something like “I fell on my face” or “I fainted.” Daniel says in Daniel 10:8 that “no strength remained in me; for my vigor was turned to frailty in me, and I retained no strength.” (See also Ezekiel 1:28 and 3:23, Daniel 8:17, and Revelation 1:17)

Can you imagine being so awestruck that your strength just gets sapped from your body?

I can remember a time like that. We took a family vacation to the beach when we only had two very young kids.

We’d gone to the same beach about two years earlier, when we only had our daughter, but our son arrived a couple of months later. Even though she had been less than two years old for her first beach trip, pictures helped her remember the trip and helped get her excited to go back.

My son, on the other hand, had never been there before. Now roughly 23 months old, he saw that his big sister was excited, and that Mommy and Daddy talked about the upcoming trip with smiles. When the day finally came, we took an hours-long car ride on a rainy morning and arrived at our home for the week, just a few blocks from the ocean.

We were all excited to go see the beach right away, especially after being cooped up in a car for so long. We started the walk toward the shore with a bounce in our step.

Off to the beach for a first look!

As we crested the dune and caught our first glimpse of the ocean though, my little guy grew quiet and slowed down. He became almost lethargic. His boundless energy disappeared.

I picked him up, and he cuddled in close. He clung to me in the face of something that, to him, obliterated his concept of just how big the world was. He’d never before experienced the breeze coming off the ocean or the roar of the waves that crashed on top of themselves as they beat against the shore; it was unsettling for him and it sapped his strength.

Those verses listed above give us a sneak peek at just how small we really are, how all the things that stress us out on a daily basis are completely irrelevant compared to the bigger reality.

Stunned

I look at that picture now, years later, and think about how sweet it was to have my little guy awed into a stupor, silently clinging to his daddy and afraid to let go. What a picture of how our Heavenly Father is there for us and is completely at ease dealing with things that would blow our minds. To me it’s a beautiful image of our acknowledgement that we’re inadequate, and our complete dependence on His strength to sustain us. He holds us and comforts us, safe in His arms, even in the face of elements that are seemingly full of rage and beyond our capacity to process it all.

As we start a new chapter in American history, look out for one another, support each other, and spread the news of Christ’s love for us. Whether hopeful or fearful for the future, this is our calling.

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A New Year is a Great Time To Get Started

Let’s pause for a moment to think about what the term “the body of Christ” means. The people of the church across the world constitute “the body of Christ,” but what does that mean?

Think of the average human body. It has two arms, two legs, a brain, a mouth, etc. Each part of the body plays a role. Some of those roles are more visible (a pastor, for example). Others are less prominent, but are still important to glorifying God. Volunteering to clean bathrooms in the name of Christ truly takes a servant’s heart, but isn’t a function that gains a lot of attention. Think of this as a middle toe in the body of Christ.

If you’re a Jesus-follower, you’re a part of the body of Christ, and the Holy Spirit has blessed you with talents that you’re to use for the purpose of glorifying God. For some people, their calling is obvious. If teaching from the Bible comes very naturally to you, it’s probably not terribly difficult to see the direction you should go (the particulars may be a mystery, but the broad strokes aren’t). For others it may not be so clear cut. If you absolutely excel at being a business leader or entrepreneur, it may be confusing to try and see how to glorify God using your God-given talents. It doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to start a God-focused business. It might mean exactly that, but it could also mean that you should use your talents to run a successful business using God-honoring business practices in order to fill a need that’s not being addressed. Maybe it means that God commissioned you to make a boatload of money that can then be used for His glory. My point is that whatever you are naturally good at should be one of the ways you make an effort to glorify God.

Many of us are glad to see 2020 pass into the history books, but what impact will you make on the year 2021? What is it that you’re here to give, to achieve, for the glory of Christ? Maybe you don’t have something specific in mind, but then again maybe you do. Don’t let the fact that you lack a vision of the final product hold you back from starting the endeavor. About two and a half years ago I started getting a vague picture in my mind. I knew I had a lot of unique experiences, and I knew that I had a knack for writing. I could put them together somehow, but I wasn’t sure what that would look like…a book of some kind? How do I consistently write about my experiences in a way that doesn’t come across as, well, being “me-centric,” but instead honors Christ?

The truth is, this effort is still evolving. Even now I don’t know what the end version will look like. What comes naturally to me is writing about things I’ve observed or done and putting a Godly spin on it. Over and over it comes back to the same thing: I want to encourage people to reach their full potential in Christ, but I need to be flexible about how God actually does that through my efforts. The important thing is that, even if it’s not perfect, I’m pursuing the thing I feel called to do. This is my 150th post, and I still have tons of ideas about future posts. This blog is not wildly successful in terms of a vast readership, but I believe it honors God, and I think many times God wants to see actual obedience before He opens doors to new possibilities or additional responsibilities for His followers. He wants to see you move from “I would” to “I’m doing.” Lots of Christians say “sure, I would do that if I felt God wanted me to,” but I imagine a much smaller percentage say “I think I’m called to do this, and it’s time for me to step out.”

I love it when people make that leap into the unknown, and I want to encourage you to make the jump. Just a word to help buck you up…some of the people that start this process are successful right away. For the vast majority, this is not the case. There will be some struggle, some personal cost, and some frustration when seeing someone else’s quick success. I understand why you may feel that way, but don’t lose sight of the goal and start thinking that lack of quick success translates into a valid excuse for quitting.

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest, if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9

God put you where you are, He gave you talents and resources, and He wants you to follow through when He tells you which direction to go. Sometimes it will be close to home, other times it will require leaving the comfort and familiarity of your surroundings.

To close today’s post, I’d like to provide a quote from the movie “The Ghost and the Darkness.” In a scene where the main character, John, is conflicted about leaving his pregnant wife to embark on an exciting trip to a far-flung place in order to build an important bridge for his job, his wife helps put him at ease about leaving at a terrible time for their family life. In light of today’s post, it’s a quote that applies to us all, and I hope you’ll apply it in your life.

“You build bridges, John. You have to go where the rivers are.”

This world will crumble and it will get darker, and that provides the Body of Christ with more opportunities to shine brighter. May we all be ready and willing to go where we’re called in order to do God’s work in 2021 and beyond!

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A Very Merry Christmas to One and All!

Just a quick post this week, and an early one so you’re not getting extra emails on Christmas Eve!

Jesus let us know that we’d have trouble in this world. It’s a given.

His entry into the world, however, marked a milestone that would change our relationship with the Creator, and ultimately overshadow the trouble we have in this life.

I’m very thankful for that!

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. – Luke 2:14

Merry Christmas to you all!

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Do You Know How To Spot the Fake?

When I was a kid there were a group of us in the neighborhood that were fans of WWF wrestling (now WWE wrestling).

It was great, man. Every Saturday morning we’d watch as a cast of colorful characters, with clear good guys and bad guys, all had a chance to beat each other up. There was “the Macho Man” Randy Savage, Hulk Hogan, The Ultimate Warrior, Jake “The Snake” Roberts, Bret “The Hitman” Hart, and tons of other wrestlers.

We’d watch as the good guys took on the bad guys, and made the bad guys pay for whatever line they happened to cross that week. With jaws on the floor, we felt the shock and betrayal as a good guy went bad, or cheer when a bad guy turned good. We’d even try doing the moves on each other in somebody’s backyard while adding goofy commentary in the style of what we heard on TV. Thankfully the wrestlers back then weren’t as high-flying as today, otherwise we probably all would’ve gotten hurt a lot more.

As I got older, more people around me started talking about how fake it was. “Fake?” I thought. Hmmm. I didn’t buy it right away, but I started seeing things a bit differently as I watched. While there was still plenty of potential for all the characters to get hurt (and they often did), I started noticing how they acted in ways that didn’t seem like consistent behavior. “How come that guy can usually get hit with a chair and it doesn’t stop him, but he picks right now to take forever getting up after getting kicked in the stomach?” Or maybe “it sure is convenient how that referee got knocked out, then woke up right after the bad guy cheated.”

While I prefer the term “scripted,” the bottom line is that yeah, this isn’t totally real. Wrestlers are performers and athletes, certainly, but it’s somehow not quite the same when everyone in the ring knows what will happen before the match even starts. In that sense, it’s fake. In order for me to accept that, though, I had to compare what I was seeing and hearing to what I already knew.

Did you know that even now people are active targets of spiritual deception…by supernatural enemies? It’s true. Normally we think of flesh and blood enemies, but consider this scenario. If a fallen angel took the form of a “righteous” person, and tried to impart some special “wisdom” to an average Jane/Joe and gave some sort of accompanying supernatural sign, I might not be able to blame Jane/Joe for putting some stock in what they just witnessed. Here’s the kicker though: we’ve been warned that this will happen.

In 2 Corinthians chapter 11, Paul discusses not only false apostles, but fallen angels posing as messengers from God:

            13 For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. 15 It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.

This is a real thing, and many people have been led away from the simple truth of the gospel because of it.

Study your Bible, both Old Testament and New. Think on it, and don’t ever let it be far from your thoughts. The more you know about it, the easier it will be for you to spot a counterfeit when it crosses your path. When someone “masquerades as a servant of righteousness,” question what you’re seeing and hearing. It may take a bit to accept that you may have been duped, but the important thing is not to delay once you’ve discovered the deception. Sound the alarm for students of that school of thought. You’re not responsible for what those people think, but maybe you can help them understand they have a choice to make; don’t be afraid to point out the inconsistencies with scriptures to them. Hopefully they’ll thank you for it later.

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When the Simple Gets Complicated, Make it Simple Once More

This past summer I wrote a few posts about a little girl named Molly, who was born with a condition that caused some of her organs to form on the outside of her body. This brave little 7-year-old put up a big fight that left us holding our breath, but ultimately God took her home on the 5th of July.

After a long delay, this past weekend was Molly’s memorial service.

There were beautiful (and sometimes funny) pictures scrolling on the screen as we waited for the service to begin, and we saw evidence of a big life crammed into seven years. It was hard, for sure. Parents shouldn’t have to say goodbye to their children this way.

I didn’t envy the pastor that spoke at the service. What do you say at a service for someone that was taken at such an early age? He started speaking about the story in the Bible where the disciples didn’t want the local kids bugging Jesus, but Christ more or less told them to get out of the kids’ way, because “the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”

What does that mean?

Think about young kids when they’re excited to greet someone…a favorite aunt or uncle, for example. They don’t prepare themselves; they just come. They don’t say “I’ll be there when I finish doing this,” they just come. Do we have things in our lives that we mis-prioritize, when in reality, we should just drop them and come to Christ? “The Kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” Let’s learn from the kids: don’t lose that eagerness and clarity of mind.

Back in March, I wrote a post about what a life verse is. In it I shared that mine was Joshua 1:9: Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

Imagine my surprise when I turned over one of the inserts in the memorial service’s program to find this verse written in Molly’s handwriting. Molly had many surgeries during her life, and I hope this verse brought her comfort during times of anxiety. Seeing the verse in her writing was just one more way that this little girl made an impact, even after her soul left this world behind.

In closing…don’t let things get cloudy…just come. God doesn’t care about your appearance; He already knows you’re a mess. Don’t wait until you have “enough” money, because it will never be enough. Don’t wait until you get your life in order, because you don’t know how much time you have left. Be like those kids. Drop what you’re doing, and just come. The Kingdom of God belongs to people like this.

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It’s All About Who Controls the Script

A belated “thank you” to all our veterans and their families! Many thanks for your various sacrifices, large and small, throughout your service to our nation!

I’m going to try using a present-day example to illustrate an important principle. I understand it may be a bit controversial, but hang with me, I’m doing it to illustrate a larger point.

If I were to ask you the current status of the 2020 Presidential election, what would you say?

Most people would probably say that Joe Biden won and currently enjoys the status of “President-Elect.”

In reality, however, the election isn’t over yet. As of Wednesday, 11/11, there are three states representing 47 electoral votes where Biden’s lead is less than a percentage point (two of those races are within half a percentage point). There are another 15 electoral votes in a state where Trump is currently leading. Various news organizations have called the races and declared Joe Biden the winner, and if you go strictly by the number of votes received/counted, that may very well be the case. (It remains to be seen how many of those votes will be ordered by various legal authorities to be considered invalid.)

What you hear very little of, however, is the fact that news organizations are not the authority for declaring the winner of an election. Even though Mr. Biden has signs saying “Office of the President-Elect,” signs don’t make election results official. If you listen to most news organizations, you’d think that the election was decided more than a week ago and that Donald Trump is just a sore loser throwing a temper tantrum by refusing to concede, filing lawsuits and spreading claims of widespread cheating without producing evidence. “Officially” declaring the winner of the presidential election is consistently a months-long process, but we usually know pretty soon after election day because one of the two candidates concedes to their opponent within a day or two.

Why such a stark contrast in this case between what’s official and what we hear? Why would anyone spend so much time presenting anything other than the truth, which is that right now Joe Biden looks like he’s got a strong advantage, but we need to take a closer look at some things?

It happens this way because controlling the narrative can alter the course of future reality.

If you’re fed up with politics, stick with me for just a little longer, I’m going somewhere with this. Let’s take a “what-if” approach. What if Trump’s right, and there was a lot of tom-foolery in the election at his expense, adding states to Biden’s column that should’ve been his? If it can be proven, then he should rightfully be sworn in at the next inauguration. If not, then Trump voters will be disappointed, but will have a little more faith in the process by having people look into it. That doesn’t explain the purpose of the narrative though…

Now let’s say you want to see Trump thrown out of office. You can’t wait for the day he leaves the White House, and the sooner the better. That’s a perfectly fine opinion, and you got to have your say in the election. What’s inappropriate, however, is leading citizens/public opinion down a road that sets the stage for civil unrest. When things are this tight, if organizations are declaring one of the candidates the winner without getting a concession from the loser, what do you think will happen if “winner” status is ultimately granted to the other candidate?

It’s not a stretch to say that some of the issues raised in this election will end up in the Supreme Court. If the court decides something in Trump’s favor, the existing narrative will not allow the decision to be seen as an objective and fair decision, but rather as the courts taking away something that’s rightfully Joe Biden’s. That happens even if it’s completely fair. If even one of the states currently called for Biden flips to Trump, there will be more riots and more cities will burn. Can you imagine if a few states end up getting flipped? We’re looking at a civil war! I tend to think of this eventuality as at least partially the result of irresponsible journalism, but those reporting it this way probably think of it more like a nuclear deterrent: you want people to believe the consequences will be so bad that nobody would dare attempt it. In my mind, that’s not the role of the press.

If you’re still with me, this brings me to my main point: if you are a Christian, you need to fully expect and anticipate that the narrative will one day be flipped firmly against you. Forces have certainly dabbled in this effort here and there, and they’ve taken a lot of neutral ground, but it hasn’t gotten truly bad yet for Christians in America. If you haven’t heard it from anyone else yet, I’ll be the one to break the news to you: it’s going to get tough to openly be a Christ-follower in the United States of America, and I fully expect it to happen in my lifetime.

Many times Christians are described as intolerant hypocrites that condemn anyone who doesn’t fall in line with their beliefs. There are probably cases of that. What Christians are charged to do, I believe, is spread the Gospel to people (yes, even people that don’t look or think like us), and let God do the rest. That doesn’t always mean knocking on doors and handing out Bibles. If you don’t follow Christ, it means much more to you personally (and you’re much more willing to listen) when someone comes alongside you to help during a time of trouble than when someone leaves a pamphlet in your front door.

Unbelievers ought to be encouraged to hear that Christians are coming around. Jesus said in John 13:34-35 that people will know we’re His disciples by the way we show love for one another. We see plenty of other instances of Jesus meeting peoples’ practical needs and, well, just showing love for them in general. Regardless of who’s sworn in this January, Christ provides a model for the kind of love we are to demonstrate. It’s the roll-up-your-sleeves, get-up-to-your-elbows in filth, help-till-it-hurts (and then some) kind of love.

My friends, these days, opportunities to come alongside hurting people are everywhere. And you know what? They don’t all vote the way you vote, but those people still need help. Please help flip the narrative; when people hear “the Christians are coming,” they shouldn’t say “oh, great!” We want them to say “that’s great!” I’ll guarantee that those people shown genuine love are much more receptive to the good news of what Christ’s done for them than the folks that have political discussions with Christians only to have the Christians throw insults at them.

Keep in mind these words from the New Testament:

In everything, show yourself to be an example by doing good works. In your teaching show integrity, dignity, and wholesome speech that is above reproach, so that anyone who opposes us will be ashamed to have nothing bad to say about us. –Titus 2:7-8

God is ultimately in control of the narrative, but it’s up to us to live it out. Don’t be surprised when things get rough! Keep praying for our nation, for other Christians, and for the people that are against us; this is the only life we get to convince others of God’s love for them.