Tag: bible verse

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You Matter

No matter what you’ve been through, or who you think others think you are, we need you.

Some people don’t know what it’s like to feel included.

It’s difficult for them to have a sense of belonging, seemingly anywhere they go.

I think just about everyone has experienced that at least once or twice in their lives, but for some people it goes far beyond that, to the point where they can’t recall ever really fitting in with the people around them. For those people, encountering a new social setting holds little promise of genuine relationships; it will probably result in another mask or more surface-level conversations that are meant to prevent letting anyone get past the walls they’ve constructed.

If you’re one of those people, you need to hear something that you probably don’t hear often enough: you matter. On top of that, although people may let you down, you are loved, you are valued, and you are cherished by the creator of everything that exists, Jesus Christ.

It’s my hope that you’re able to find real connection and belonging through Christ. I believe that He has a plan for everyone’s life, and that He uses the things that have happened in each person’s life to prepare them for the future roles they’ll play in the bigger picture of Christ’s kingdom. Contributing toward that kingdom may come in the form of reaching others and bringing them into the kingdom, or it could be as a way of helping current believers strengthen their faith so they’re willing to do things they previously couldn’t. In this way, we play a part, but it all serves to glorify Christ.

Even if you don’t see value in yourself, let me assure you that it’s there. Ephesians 2:10 says For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

“God’s masterpiece.” That means that of all the things He created, you are the pinnacle. There is inherent worth in you, even if you or someone else has tried to convince you otherwise. With Christ, you can feel at home, and you can finally feel as though you belong.

You might not struggle with feeling worthless, but you may very well know someone who does. I want to help embolden you to be an encouragement to them. For any number of reasons, these folks have been cast off, underestimated, undervalued, and generally ignored by others. It doesn’t take long to put up walls if you’re living or working in an environment like that. You may not have an earth-shattering conversation with them in a single sit-down, but you can breathe life into them one conversation at a time.

Now consider that any single one of these “underloved” people can have a life-changing impact on someone else. They know things you don’t, they know different people than you, and they’ve lived through things you haven’t. Each one of those variables equals something the Holy Spirit can use to create a new connection in someone else’s life.

You don’t need to be a therapist to talk to someone and make them feel welcome. Just be authentic. Odds are that if you’re a regular reader of this blog, you have faith in Jesus Christ. You can mention that belief as a part of your authenticity, but don’t force it on them. The golden rule we all learned as kids says to treat others the way you want to be treated. The platinum rule says to treat others the way they want to be treated. If you end up being someone who treats them in a way that makes them feel safe and welcome, believe me, they’ll take notice of your faith.

There’s a place for everyone that wants to follow Christ, but there are as many different stories about how that happens as there are Christ-followers. Maybe you can be part of someone’s story about how they became a Christian, and it can all start by paying attention to someone who feels they don’t deserve a second glance.

Lord, I overlook people every day. Sometimes it’s because I’m in a hurry, but sometimes it’s more intentional. Please help me remember that each and every person on (or above) this planet right now is someone You consider valuable, and to treat them that way. I go through life focused on what I’m doing, but help me to see where you want me to look around and focus on someone else. In Your name, Amen.

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Face it, You Just Ain’t Got it Anymore

I used to have some pretty good hearing. Then a few decades rolled by.

My wife and I are normally pretty strict about the amount of “screen time” our kids get. Just seeing how mesmerized my son gets by anything electronic, we recognize we need to actively manage just how much time the kids are staring at something without blinking.

And yet…I enjoy a round of video games every now and then to blow off some steam, too. Right now I still have an original, old-school Nintendo with some of the best games (Contra and Dr. Mario get the most play time here). As you can imagine, the console and games are pretty old at this point, so they don’t really work all that well. If you had a Nintendo as a kid, you remember pulling the game out, blowing in the bottom, sticking it back in, and seeing if that worked any better. Sometimes the controller acted a little goofy and you’d yell to your buddy “I didn’t do it! It did it on its own!”

Well my wife surprised me with an updated version of the old console. It’s a mini version of the old Nintendo, and it has the same style of controllers hooked up to it (with some modern touches, of course). Now instead of having to switch game cartridges, there are over 600 games built directly into the console (including Contra and Dr. Mario).

This was a cool present, for sure. I normally wake up pretty early for work, so on Saturday mornings I usually wake up before everyone else, and sometimes I head down into the basement to play some games before anyone else wakes up. I even have an old TV to hook it up to because it looks weird when you connect it to a modern TV. So yes, I have a big ol’ cathode ray tube-looking monster that’s about two feet deep, sitting in a corner of my basement.

Because I know I’m going to have an audience if the kiddos find out what I’m doing (and I don’t want them to waste their screen time watching me play mindless nonsense), I turn off the lights and turn the volume down real quiet. My hope is that after they leave their bedroom and come down to the main floor, they’ll think they’re the first ones up and actually read a book or something.

So one time a few weeks ago when I was playing games in the basement and I heard someone walking around upstairs, I froze when the basement door opened. I mean, I didn’t make a sound. Whoever it was opened the door and stood silently at the top for a bit, just listening as I sat there motionless. Imagine my surprise when my son started bounding down the stairs into the basement and started talking to me before he could even see me.

“How did you even know I was down here?”

It turns out he was able to hear something that I’ve lost the ability to hear. As you age, even if you don’t have any damage to your hearing, your ability to hear certain frequencies decays at a predictable rate. My son could hear the high-frequency noise that the old TV makes when it’s turned on. I marveled at this for a bit, proud of his stellar hearing, but then it slipped my mind and I forgot about it. (You can even take some internet hearing tests that guess your age by your ability to hear. Unfortunately it says I have the hearing of someone that’s 5-7 years older than me. Guess there will be hearing aids in my future.)

Fast forward a couple of weeks. I was playing video games again one day after work while the kids played with neighbors outside. After they got too hot to continue, they all came inside. The door at the top of the basement stairs opened, and one of the neighbor kids almost right away said something like “it sounds like someone’s playing an old arcade game down here.” It turns out his family has one of the big throwback ACTUAL arcade games (like Pacman) at his house, and the high-frequency noise it makes sounds similar to my stone-age TV.

It’s official. I simply don’t have the tools I used to have.

As time goes by, you’re going to lose some of the capabilities you once possessed. What’s important is that you need to use the ones you still have (or the ones you’ve gained over time) in a way that would please God.

Picture yourself in “the good old days.” What did you have back then that you don’t have now? You’re probably thinking of physical assets. Strength, health, good looks, the ability to eat or drink whatever you want without putting on weight.

What’s also missing from back then? Think about all the mistakes that younger version of you still needed to go through. Those mistakes led to hard-won experience that gives you more wisdom in the choices you make today. How about income? Who’s making more, that younger you or the current you? With more resources comes a greater ability to fund God’s work. I’m sure family looks different, too. Back then there may have been more older generations still around in your family. Now maybe you’re on the older side of that spectrum, but those that are younger bring a special happiness to your heart.

The point of all this, of course, is that time marches on and even though the focus tends to be more on what you’ve lost, there are also some things you’ve gained.

The way you honor the Lord may not look like it once did, but that doesn’t mean you should stop using your current gifts, resources, and time to please Him just because you can’t do it the same anymore.

So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. –1 Corinthians 10:31

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Go Ahead, Break the Mold

Our world is changing, and it’s changing very quickly.

Let’s look, for example, at the business model that Christians use to reach unsaved people. It used to be that we (Christians) would invite people to come to church, or maybe a Christmas program, so that the people we invite could hear the message that someone else delivers. Or maybe we’d support missionaries in bringing Jesus to the natives of some far-off land. There’s nothing wrong with those things, but “inviting people” or “supporting missionaries” aren’t spiritual gifts. They’re important functions, but it’s also important to remember those that speak from a pulpit or travel to foreign lands are not the only ones with holy ministries.

Maybe this general attitude of “buck passing” is what’s led to the condition of the church now.

Every church is made up of imperfect people, so a church is never perfect, but these days it seems like things have gone off the rails. Many individual Christians have lost sight of the fact that Christ is the most important thing in their lives. It’s now common to have Christians (even members of the same church) torch each other over, of all things, politics or whether or not to get the COVID vaccine. I’m talking, like, vicious attacks, burning bridges kind of stuff. It’s as though these folks honestly believe that expressing their opinion is more important than the commission we’ve all been given to point others to Christ.

Jesus didn’t shy away from the controversial issues of the day, but He also rolled up His sleeves. He met people’s needs as a way of getting them to pay attention to what He had to say. People these days who think their spiritual gift is to gaslight other Christians on social media have lost sight of their priorities.

The thing that’s supposed to set us apart has now become a rarity. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. –John 13:35

In a time like this, we need people that are willing to live their lives for Christ in ways that are not commonplace. The ways that you can show love for or meet the needs of your neighbor are limited only by your imagination. People out there are struggling not only with the basics of food, water, and shelter, but are struggling with anxiety, infertility, holding a job, PTSD, insecurity, a special needs child, depression, bullying, or any number of other problems. Some of you reading this may have experience in one or more of those areas, and could be specially equipped to come alongside others currently facing that struggle. You may be considering taking a bold step to help meet someone’s needs, in the process opening the door to share Christ, but you’re hesitant because it seems too risky.

It’s not really my place to give it, but sometimes people feel like they need to hear it from someone…so, if that includes you, let me try to help out: you have my permission…go ahead and break the mold. You’re uniquely suited to do incredible things if you’ll allow God to use you. Reach people for Christ in a way that is nontraditional, is unusual, or hasn’t been done before. You were made for this! There are just two criteria you need to abide by: Love Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, and you are free to do anything short of sin to point other people to Him.

I don’t know who you are or what your plan is, but if you’re meeting those two criteria…I’m rooting for you.

In signing off, here’s a song by Jen Ledger that speaks to this topic. She herself broke the mold, and may inspire others to do the same.

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You Just Don’t Know the Third Option

Sometimes you think you have all the eventualities gamed out. Then something comes along and blows you away.

It’s hard to read the Bible and not get annoyed with how quickly the Israelites forgot about God’s provision for them. Israel is the nation God holds dear. After repeated bouts of stubbornness against Him, God finally had enough of the Israelites and had the people carried off as captives to foreign lands. At some future date, though, He’ll bring them back and use them to carry His message of salvation throughout the globe in the End Times.

It’s a lofty mission, and a tremendous honor for a nation that has repeatedly demonstrated their unworthiness. In that day the future Israelites will fulfill the mission God assigned to them long ago. Nobody knows what events will transpire in order to enable that remarkable eventuality to take place. Yet thousands of years ago this same group of people was perfectly willing to settle for a much lowlier lot in life, and we’d do well to learn from their story.

In Exodus chapter 14 we read about when Moses had led the Israelites out of Egypt, and they were camped against the Red Sea when they learned Pharaoh and his army were pursuing them.

As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord. They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!” – Ex 14:10-12

You and I know, thousands of years later, how the story turned out, and we scoff at their unbelief. For just a moment, imagine being in that camp and shaking with fear at what you saw. “It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!” I see why they thought that, but they could only imagine two scenarios…remain as slaves but having their needs met, and dying as a free people in the desert. They discounted the possibility of a third option. In this case God came through big time for His people, by using a way nobody saw coming.

What can we learn from this? How can we be encouraged by this story when we’re trying to muster the courage or the resolve to take the next step (or maybe the first step) on an endeavor to which we feel God has called us? When you find yourself thinking “Do I march out on this thing, probably into failure or ridicule, or do I stay in my comfort zone, where at least it’s not so bad?” remember that God doesn’t get boxed into situations where there are only two choices. The third option just might be Him saying “If you do this, I’m going to reward your faithfulness in a way you can’t even imagine.”

God has a life of adventure and reward waiting for you if you seek His will and follow His leading. I do, however, feel compelled to give a warning along with this post. If you choose to reject the calling God has for you…that is, if you’d rather live the life that takes no leaps of faith but at least you won’t have to do anything crazy, a life of Christian lukewarmth, do you know what will happen? In most cases, God will let you do exactly that.

God, I know You have two stories for my life…the one I’ll actually live, and the one I would live if I accept each of the invitations You’re going to offer me during this lifetime. It can be scary and uncertain, but help me to make the two as similar as possible. Amen

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Quick Hit #1

While there’s a time and a place for wordy posts, sometimes less is more. There’s even a Bible verse about that. Ecclesiastes 6:11 says The more the words, the less the meaning, and how does that profit anyone?

With that in mind, I introduce to you a style of post I’m calling “The Quick Hit.” Here’s the first one:

Did you know that the more time you spend in prayer and in meditating on the Bible, the more you become like Christ?

The more you become like Christ, the more your desires align to His will.

The more your desires align to His will, the more likely your life’s efforts and plans will be fruitful.

This helps explain the meaning behind Proverbs 16:3: Commit your works to the LORD, and your thoughts will be established.

What else needs to be said?

Lord, help me be patient but persistent in becoming more like You. Break my heart for what breaks Yours, and help me rejoice in what makes You rejoice. Help me go where You send me.

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34 Bible Verses About White Privilege

There’s been a lot of talk about “White Privilege” lately. It’s a controversial topic that seems to be gaining traction, even at major corporations. For those that are unfamiliar with the term, the basic premise is that on average, white folks have advantages in life (either subtle or obvious) that non-white folks do not have. Many definitions say that it’s a product of years of white-imposed racism.

To me, it sounds suspiciously like we’re being led to a place where it will become acceptable to start concluding “the only fair way to proceed from here is to implement Communist policies, where everyone is treated the same.” If you start hearing that, push back hard. There is NO political system that’s been responsible for more human suffering than Communism. If that’s the route things are going, the effect would be to reduce (not end) racism by making everyone miserable, but would come at the cost of intensified class warfare, denunciation or banishment of all political beliefs other than a standardized core of them, and a government takeover of most, if not all, private property.

Still, it’s an interesting thought prompt. If I had been born to the exact same parents, lived in the exact same house, and my parents had the exact same employment situation, but all of us were Asian or Hispanic instead of white, how would things be different?

The answer, of course, is impossible to know. Things would be different I’m sure, but I have no idea how or to what extent. At the end of the day, God made me the way I am, and I’m not about to start arguing with Him about it, so in my view it’s unrealistic for anyone to expect me to be sorry about it. Since He doesn’t make mistakes, the only thing about me I’m ashamed of is my sinful nature, and the cross took care of that for me.

The Bible actually speaks quite a bit about how to obtain privilege, but it uses another term. I’m sure you’ve heard it used many times before. We often hear athletes, the well-to-do, various experts, and people that live joyful lives say that they’ve been blessed. Those various blessings are privileges that not everyone possesses.

There are a ton of Bible verses about people being blessed. In this context, it usually means that God, in some way, rewards an obedient follower by bringing something positive to their life that wasn’t there before. With the exception of Solomon, we don’t normally get to pick what our blessings looks like (he chose wisdom). Sometimes it means wealth, but more often it’s something less tangible. It’s a blessing to have enough to eat every day. It’s a blessing to have a clear conscience and sleep well at night, or to have a peaceful home. Contentment is a huge blessing. Some people take their good health for granted, but it’s definitely something you miss if it’s taken away. Effective medical treatment, a steady job, a happy heart, a pregnancy after a struggle with infertility, running water, air conditioning…they’re all various types of blessings!

According to the Bible, there are numerous routes to receive blessings in your life. It’s no secret; it’s out there for anyone to read. I’ll give you a bunch right here. These actions usually come with consistent Christian living, and manifest themselves naturally when actively living that lifestyle. We’ll probably someday hear “Christian Privilege” used in a negative context meant to help marginalize Christian values, so I’ll refer positively to it instead as “Christ-Follower Privilege.” It’s available to everyone, regardless of skin color, and without reservation I encourage everyone reading this to pursue it. If you choose not to, well, okay, that’s your choice, but I think you’re giving up some great opportunities.

The name of this post was misleading; it should be “34 Bible Verses To Help Any Ethnicity Gain Privilege.” Notice that none of these verses mention anything about race, meaning they’re applicable to anyone. Without further ado, here they are:

Blessed are those who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart. Psalm 119:2

But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit. Jeremiah 17:7-8

Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans. Proverbs 16:3

And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19

Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. Psalm 34:8

Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers, and blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord. Proverbs 16:20

How abundant are the good things that you have stored up for those who fear you, that you bestow in the sight of all, on those who take refuge in you. Psalm 31:19

Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. 1 Peter 3:9

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Matthew 5:6

“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.” Malachi 3:10

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Matthew 5:9

His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ Matthew 25:21

The blessing of the Lord brings wealth, without painful toil for it. Proverbs 10:22

And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 2 Corinthians 9:8

Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers. Psalm 1:1

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Matthew 5:8

Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Joshua 1:8

You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. 2 Corinthians 9:11

I will make them and the places surrounding my hill a blessing. I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing. Ezekiel 34:26

The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace. Psalm 29:11

Observe what the Lord your God requires: Walk in obedience to him, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and regulations, as written in the Law of Moses. Do this so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go. 1 Kings 2:3

Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20:29

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Matthew 5:4

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people he chose for his inheritance. Psalm 33:12

“If you do not listen, and if you do not resolve to honor my name,” says the Lord Almighty, “I will send a curse on you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have already cursed them, because you have not resolved to honor me.” Malachi 2:2

Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you. Exodus 20:12

But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do. James 1:25

Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. Luke 6:22

“Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life.” Mark 10:29-30

Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Psalm 32:1

Blessed is the one whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty. Job 5:17

Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Matthew 5:11

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Empty’s Never Felt So Full

This weekend is Mother’s Day. Gents and kids, if you haven’t made plans yet, the clock’s ticking.

Moms are special. Not only did I have a mom as I was growing up, but I’m also married to a mom of three kids.

Don’t get me wrong, dads are special too, but c’mon, when a kid needs comfort, Dad’s not the one they go looking for (at least in my experience). I’ve had at least one of my kids, crying, walk up to me when they’re hurt and ask where Mommy is. One night while Mommy was away overnight, my oldest came into our room after having a bad dream. Upon remembering that Mommy wasn’t there, she stopped to think about whether it was even worth waking me up. If Daddy’s the one that says “walk it off” or “rub some dirt on it,” Mommy’s the one that gets down on her knees, wipes away the tears, and knows how to make it all better.

Many times when we think of the character of God, we think of things that we normally associate with males. What we sometimes forget though, is that Adam and Eve were both patterned after God.

When God created mankind, he made them in the likeness of God. He created them male and female and blessed them. And he named them ‘Mankind’ when they were created. –Genesis 5:1-2

This may come as a shock, but males and females are different from one another. Even so, the traits God possesses are manifested in the two genders He made as described in Genesis.

Now obviously you can’t divide these traits into strictly “male” or “female” characteristics. The noblest attributes any of us display are merely a reflection, a result of God’s creating us in His image. That includes fairness, unselfishness, patience, righteous anger, compassion, tenderness, a comforter, and a sense of justice, among others.

To the moms in my life, I’ve seen you display many, if not all of these traits. I’m thankful God made you either with the attributes already built in or with the ability to learn them. Thank you for being godly examples.

I’m including a song that describes the kind of love a mom often displays (especially new moms), but it’s not a song you’d normally associate with Mother’s Day. “Poured out, used up, still givin’, stretching me out to the end of my limits…this is what love feels like.”

For all the moms out there, thank you for your constant love and support, thank you for being there, and thank you for believing in us.

Happy Mother’s Day to you all!

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A Whole Bunch of People Straight up Vanished – What Just Happened?!

This week’s post isn’t geared so much toward my regular readers as it is the people that have just witnessed an astonishing event, and who are absolutely freaking out right now. If a sizable portion of the human race has just flat out disappeared without a trace, and you’re still here, this post is meant for you.

Right off the bat, I can offer you hope, but it’s going to come with a hard dose of reality. I’m breaking this into two sections: what happened, and what you need to do now. You’re going to think what I’m saying is crazy, but crazy just became your new norm, friend, and the things I touch on can help you start to understand this new reality.

So what happened? I can’t put a number on it, but a ton of people around the whole world just up and disappeared, right in the middle of everyday life. Cars driving down the road suddenly had no drivers, and airplanes lost their pilots, which caused additional chaos, I’m sure. Despite what’s being reported, it wasn’t aliens and it wasn’t some weird new disease. I’m going to go out on a limb here and say the people that disappeared are Christians. That is, they believed and trusted in Jesus Christ. Sure, there are still some church-goers and religious people that didn’t disappear. Ask them why others are gone but they’re still here. If they can’t seem to articulate their thoughts, ask them about their relationship with Jesus Christ. Not their head knowledge, as in their knowledge of or about God, or the money they give or the things they do for the church; ask them about their relational/experiential knowledge…the relationship they have with God. Odds are that they didn’t have a meaningful one.

Here’s the quick and dirty: after Jesus left, the Church (capital “C”) started. Throughout the Bible’s New Testament, the Church is described as the thing preserving the world (the “salt and light”). The Church is what perpetuates society’s collective morality. Yeah, things progressively get less and less like the way God wanted humanity to act. Churches give in, get “woke,” and endorse things that God himself would not endorse. Morality becomes less black and white and becomes increasingly gray. There are some churches and some folks that stand up and try to point the way back to Biblical morality, but over time those voices get drowned out, silenced, or labeled “hateful.”

Eventually (this is the part you’ve witnessed), God says “That’s enough; the evil is too much. I don’t want it to corrupt my people any further, so I’m pulling them out of there.” I don’t know when He’s going to do it, but I know that none of the people who disappeared are perfect; they just chose to love Jesus and trust Him as their savior and are now with Him in Heaven.

So where does that leave you? Well, you’re heading for some very rough waters. As it turns out, the Church was the speed bump that slowed down the moral degeneration of the human race. Now that it’s gone, there’s nothing holding back society’s decay. It’s like defunding the police and trusting that everyone will just get along and live happily together without problems. Things are about to get more insane and deadly than you imagined could ever happen.

If it hasn’t already happened, there’s a guy about to come on the scene that’s the most articulate politician/leader you’ve ever seen. He’s going to seem like he’s got all the answers and people will thrust him to global leadership. It’s a meteoric rise. The Bible calls this man the Antichrist. Circumstances will be such that you are encouraged (and maybe in some cases forced) to worship him. He’s empowered by satanic forces and will be able to do amazing supernatural things, and will perform counterfeit versions of the actual miracles Jesus performed.

Very quickly, here are some other things that will happen: Crazy, unexplainable signs in the sky…sun, moon, sky, and stars will all act strangely (Revelation chapter 6, verses 12-14, along with Rev 8:12). Imagine peace in the Middle East. This guy will orchestrate a 7-year treaty with Israel that brings peace to the region. Halfway through, though, he’s going to break it for his own benefit, desecrating Jewish holy sites in the process (Daniel 9:27, although there’s a lot more reading to do in order to grasp this meaning). Also, you’ll be unable to buy or sell or otherwise conduct normal business without receiving a mark on your hand or forehead. I don’t know if it’s going to look like a bar code, a QR code, or something else, but odds are it will somehow have the number “666” associated with it. (Rev. 13:16-18) Additionally, even aside from the disappearances, there’s going to be widespread death on a massive scale (Rev 6:7-8). Interestingly, there are going to be two guys that show up in Jerusalem that, for three and a half years speak out against the way folks are living and the way the world is conducting itself, pointing the way to Jesus Christ. People are going to hate hearing the truths these two guys are spreading, and will even try to kill them in order to silence them. During this time, these two will be invincible, but at the end the Antichrist himself will kill them both and their bodies will be left in the street as people celebrate their death by giving gifts to one another. Three and a half days later, however, both men will come back to life in full view of everyone. God then calls them to Heaven, and the two men will leave after that. (Rev. 11:3-12)

Look there’s a whole lot that happens, and I just don’t have the space to go into it all. Here’s what you need to do:

  • Accept Christ as your Lord and Savior. You’re not perfect, but you don’t have to be. I realize that “accepting Christ as your Savior” sounds kind of wonky for someone who’s not accustomed to “churchy” language, so I’ll say it differently. Talk to God; pray this prayer: “Dear God, I need you. I’m humbly calling out to you. I’m tired of doing things my way; help me to start doing things your way. I invite you into my life to be my Lord and Savior; fill the emptiness in me with your Holy Spirit and make me whole. Lord help me to trust you, help me to love you, help me to live for you. Help me to understand your grace, your mercy, and your peace. Help me have the strength for what lies ahead. Thank you Lord, Amen.”
  • If it hasn’t already, it’s probably about to become illegal to possess a Bible. You’re going to need one, though, along with a place to stash it. The Bible is a very complex book, with lots of stuff that you’re probably not going to care about (so many lineages!), and you’ll need help understanding it. There are lots of different translations of the Bible, but the most important thing for you is to get one that you can follow and that is an actual translation (not paraphrased). If it says that Jesus Christ is both fully God and fully man, you’re probably on the right track. If you’ve never read the Bible before, start out in the New Testament. If you’re new to this, start with Matthew. (The books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are in the same group of books, and they cover a lot of the same material. Don’t read all four and wonder why they killed Jesus four times!) Some of the books of the Bible that will pertain the most to you (Revelation, Daniel, Ezekiel) are also some of the most difficult to understand, so it’s best to get either a study bible (with notes) or separate commentaries that can help provide explanations of what the text is saying. At this point you’re living in a time that’s past civility, so I’ll say this and you take it however you’d like: the homes and bookshelves of the people who disappeared are your best shot at obtaining the biblical resources that can help you the most, and those folks sure don’t need those resources anymore.
  • The Bible is your single best source for learning what you need to learn, but it can be very hard to understand. For a lot of people, sermons from pastors/priests or additional Bible study materials will help increase understanding of biblical scripture’s application. If you can obtain those resources, do it.
  • Find others like you. God empowers His followers with special talents called “spiritual gifts.” They could be things like teaching, faith, leadership, administration, or the gift of helps (this isn’t an exhaustive list). If you accept Christ, you’ll gain something that you can use to help other Christ-followers, and others will likewise be able to help you. The Bible says that wherever two or more are gathered in His name, He’s there (Matthew 18:20). Take comfort in that, help each other learn about Christ, and help each other survive. You would not believe what God can do when He wants to get something done, and you may very well see it up close.

There are very hard times ahead. You will personally understand desperation in a way I can only vaguely imagine in April of 2021. My hope is that this post will float around online long enough to reach the people that need it, starting to orient you in a time of unprecedented chaos.

I’m not out to con you. I can guarantee that I have nothing to gain by passing this information along. In fact, if I’m right about all this, I’m already gone. You, on the other hand, have everything to gain!

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, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. – 2 Corinthians 4:17-18

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The Greatness of What Almost Never Was

Any Star Trek fans here? Even if you’re not one of them, stick around for this one.

When I was a kid I watched the William Shatner Star Trek movies like, a bazillion times. I think part of the reason I liked them so much at the time was because they were some of the first “grown up” movies I was allowed to see. To this day, I don’t think I’ve seen an entire episode of the 1960s Star Trek TV show, but I can probably still rattle off some lines from Star Trek II-VI (not “The Motion Picture” though…it moved too slow to watch more than once).

For those of you who aren’t familiar, William Shatner played the pompous, arrogant, yet dashing and heroic James T. Kirk, Captain of the starship Enterprise. His exploits are legendary, and depend as much on his daring impulsiveness as they do good fortune. Surrounded by a terrific supporting cast (Mr. Spock, Dr. McCoy, Scottie, Sulu, Checkov, Uhura, and all the rest), the crew embarked upon epic adventures where they saved Earth, and probably the universe, multiple times.

So when you take such a storied franchise and announce that you’re going to reboot it, you have to tread a very fine line between honoring the original and telling a new story with different actors playing familiar characters. The first movie in the rebooted franchise came out in 2009, but until viewers got to see it and start generating a positive or negative buzz, nobody really knew if it was going to be a kick-start for interest in the Star Trek universe or if it was going to be a gigantic slap in the face that resulted in a flop.

The folks that did the new movie did a great job writing the plot so that the new actors were free to play the characters their own way, rather than how their predecessors played them. Without going full nerd on you, someone from the original Star Trek era got thrown back in time and changed just enough history to impact some of the characters in the new movie. In the reboot we meet the colorful cast before they become the confident and experienced legends we know them to be, but the part that keeps it interesting is the fact that we’re never quite sure if the characters we’re watching will be able to rise to meet the challenges we know their predecessors could have conquered.

It’s this doubt that keeps the story engaging, as you wonder whether the heroes will have what it takes to be heroes for the first time.

Hang in there, I’m getting to my point.

Through all of this, there are a handful of characters that spent time in both versions of the Star Trek universe. The movie’s main villain is familiar with the famous, battle-tested Admiral Kirk, and sees in the younger version someone bearing little or no resemblance of the legend. In one of the movie’s great lines, which is the origin of the idea behind this post, this villain speaks to the young Kirk about not measuring up to the well-known hero. “James T. Kirk was a great man, but that was another life.”

Using this sci-fi movie as an analogy, let me switch gears on you. In my mind there are fewer things more haunting than the idea that I don’t measure up to what God wants me to be in this life.

When you think of any hero of the faith, whether recorded in the Bible or not, there was a time in their life before they were that person. Their path was still uncertain; the choices they had yet to make could still take their life in a radically different direction. What if Moses continued refusing God’s calling? What if Billy Graham took over the family farm instead of pursuing evangelism?

In my own life, I am on my way to becoming the person God knows I will one day be…and the same is true for you. The person writing this entry is not as seasoned or (hopefully) as wise as the older version that is yet to come; there are still choices ahead in my life that can either bring me closer to or turn me away from fulfilling the earthly potential the Holy Spirit sees in me. Of course, nobody will be perfect this side of Heaven no matter how hard we try, but with God in charge, our level of trust and obedience to Him has the ability to accomplish undreamed-of things for His kingdom. At the end of my life on Earth, my desire is to leave no unfulfilled potential in my Christian walk, to have no arrows left in my quiver. I don’t want to get to Heaven, see a huge building, and when I ask God what’s in it, He says “that’s the glory you could’ve brought me, but you did not pursue the opportunities I presented to you.”

Are you living in light of the future God has for you, or are you just drifting through this life?

One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” -Mark 12:28-31

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Playing For An Audience of One

Part of our college graduation requirement was to deliver a “Senior Seminar” in our chosen field of study. This was essentially an in-depth presentation on a faculty-approved topic related to our studies. Each department’s students sacrificed a few Saturday mornings during our final semester and took turns presenting our topic to the department faculty and an audience of our peers.

Although it’s not always the case, science presentations can be boring. All of us biology majors had to sit through some dry (but meticulously researched and well-sourced) student lectures. Most of the bio presentations were either in the pre-med concentration or the ecological field of study.

You may remember from a previous post that I had fallen behind in my major early on in my academic pursuits. As part of an attempt to catch up, I did a summer project where I went out into a wooded area near my house and repeatedly set out 25 small live traps to perform a wildlife survey. I set out little red flags to mark the spots to place the traps, and six or eight times I baited them with various seeds and left them out overnight. It was fairly involved and I thought I’d be able to write up a report to obtain a few college credits for this study. Well, that didn’t work out, but since I had already done it, I figured I’d do my senior seminar on it.

Overall it went well. After hearing so many abstract presentations that were difficult to grasp meaningfully, the biology professors seemed to enjoy hearing about an experiment that one of the students actually conducted in the field. In fact this presentation was the only one that drew questions from all of the faculty members. One of my non-biology housemates showed up to support me, too, which meant a lot. I ended up getting a very good grade, and I probably allowed it to inflate my ego a little more than I should have.

Weeks later one of the biology professors approached me and said “we have a campus-wide visit day coming up for prospective students. As part of the programming, each department has a current student give a presentation for visiting students interested in those respective majors. Would you be interested in delivering your senior seminar on behalf of the biology department that day?”

It was an honor, for sure. It would be good resume fodder, and it looked like I could get a bit more mileage out of that summer project, so I agreed. I gathered my notes, looked at the feedback I got from my seminar and made adjustments, and rehearsed as the event drew near.

The day eventually came, and I waited in the lecture hall prepared to do my presentation for the numerous prospective biology students that would surely come to tour the campus that day. I had no idea how many visiting students would show, but I was ready. I had even started getting cocky by this point. “They asked me to do my presentation, probably because it stood out so much. I don’t even have to do a great job; it’s not like this is a class of my peers…these will only be high school kids.”

Well, that guy still had some growing up to do, and his lesson was about to begin.

The clock kept ticking and it was nearly time to start, but nobody showed up. Finally, one student and one of their parents came into the lecture hall. There was nobody else.

Whichever professor represented the biology department that day spoke a little about the department, introduced me, then let me take it away. It felt weird, playing to an “audience of one” (and their mom or dad) who sat in the back row of a theater-style lecture hall. It felt like sort of a waste, but I went through the entire presentation again.

This time at the end, when I asked for questions, there were absolutely none. The visiting student just wanted to get out of there and stop hearing about the mice I’d caught.

It was a lot different from the first time around. I have no idea if that student chose to attend my alma mater, or if maybe they decided right then and there to look for a different school and/or major because they were afraid they’d have to go out in the woods and try to catch mice or something.

Well, the experience helped bring me back to earth. It helped me better understand the concept of playing for an audience of one. As Christians, we need to be careful about whose approval we seek. It’s also important to examine our motivations. Are we working for Christ’s glory, or our own? Yes we all have talents, but are we using them in ways that would make God happy? I don’t know who I’m talking to right now, but someone reading this needs to think about how they’d feel if they’re busy using their talents or resources when Jesus taps them on the shoulder and says “I can see what’s in your heart, you know.”

We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our heart. 1 Thessalonians 2:4b

Lord Jesus, there are things you’ve done in my life that make me uniquely prepared to serve you in certain capacities. Although some of my experience comes from things I’ve worked hard to earn, help me to recognize that You ultimately control what direction my life takes. Please show me the places in my own mind and attitude where I need to make adjustments in order to ensure I’m working to glorify You and not me. Amen