Tag: christian inspiration

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Reduced by $10,000, or Paid in Full?

It’s not the best example, and I’m not fond of the idea, but since it’s a current event, I’m using it.

Think about the number 10,000. If you had to count from 1 to 10,000 you could do it, but it would take long enough to be super annoying, so it’s definitely a substantial number.

Yesterday President Biden announced an initiative to forgive holders of federal student loans up to $10,000 worth of their debt if they met certain criteria. These days education can be ridiculously expensive, so it’s very easy to incur that much debt (many times over, in fact).

Still, though, imagine waking up one day to the reality of having that much of your agreed-to obligation wiped out. Then, when you inquire about it, you hear “Don’t worry about it, it’s gone from your ledger.” All you can do is express thanks.

While 10,000 dollars’ worth of debt is certainly nice to not worry about, it’s still a quantity that we can mentally grasp, and most students can eventually repay. What if the total amount of all your different types of debt numbered in the millions, or even in the billions? Having $10,000 forgiven would still be nice, but it would hardly make a dent in the bottom line figure of what you owe.

Now imagine a debt so large that you can’t even comprehend it because it’s so abstract. What if you personally owed debts totaling one hundred trillion dollars? That’s a one followed by 14 zeroes. Nobody on the planet right now could pay back a debt that large. Not even the U.S. Government could do that. You’d have no hope of putting that debt completely to bed in your lifetime. The constant phone calls and mail from debt collectors would be all-consuming; the debt would be the only thing on your mind. You wouldn’t be able to enjoy food, sleeping well is no longer a thing, and you wouldn’t even be able to take pleasure in the little things in life.

But if you had your debt totally wiped out and the balance restored to zero, how thankful do you think you’d be?

It would be the largest weight ever…lifted right off your shoulders. That’s what Christ offers to you, me, and everyone else. There are two ways to get to Heaven: 1. live a perfect and sinless life, and 2. ride the coattails of someone that’s done exactly that. If you slip up even once, route number one is no longer an option. No amount of money can buy back a single mistake. Since nobody reading this can claim eligibility for the first route, you’re left with the second route, and only Jesus Christ has lived a life without sin. God hates sin, and He will not tolerate it in Heaven. When Christ sacrificed Himself on the cross, He essentially gave Himself as an offering that satisfied God’s wrath. That was Him saying “my coattails are right here, waiting for you to grab them.” By claiming Christ as Lord of your life, you gain the status of being covered by what He’s given. It’s Christ saying “don’t worry about it, it’s gone from your ledger.” You’re standing at the pearly gates, trying to get in, and Christ says “yeah, open the gates, they’re with me.”

Placing your trust in Jesus Christ as your savior is the only way for you to go to Heaven. When you trust in Him, your spiritual debt has been wiped clean. It’s gone. Even if you had been living under its crushing weight, it no longer exists the instant you welcome Jesus into your heart.

You want to talk about having a major debt forgiven? There’s no greater example than that one.

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The Memorable Events in Your Life May Just be Preparation

Sometime in the spring/summer of 2008, my first-time-pregnant wife came to my place of work to attend a ceremony celebrating the promotion of several people, including me.

Since being pregnant was a new thing for her, there was still a lot she didn’t know about how pregnancy would affect her body. The ceremony was to be held in a conference room that was already in use by someone else, so a crowd of us began gathering outside the door as the start time drew near. There was no place to sit while we were waiting, and my wife started feeling very hot and a little woozy. She told me something felt very wrong, and I was able to be right there to catch her as she fainted.

I was ready to ditch the ceremony and take her to the hospital, not knowing what was wrong. A gentle, but decisive old Master Sergeant made his way to us and helped revive my wife. Finding out she was pregnant, he disappeared somewhere else in the building for a few minutes, then returned with a piece of cake on a paper plate. He knew from experience that a mother-to-be’s body has an important relationship with blood sugar, and that skipping meals has a different set of consequences than when not pregnant.

Skip ahead about 14 years. A couple weeks ago our family took a trip to a beach town I’ve been visiting on and off since I was a kid. Part of the draw for that little town is a bakery that produces some great “I’ll eat better when I’m back home” food. My wife, our three kids, and I were milling around inside, each of us choosing something for that morning. The place had a number of customers waiting their turn, and our turn finally came. While my wife was in the middle of placing our family’s order, a man’s voice called out “can somebody dial 911?!” I looked over to see a man holding an unconscious woman, seated in a chair at a table near the window, preventing her from falling over. Her head was bent at an awkward angle, her hair completely covering her face.

I reached for my phone, only to discover that I didn’t have it on me. (I’m on vacation, at the bakery. If you call me here, I’m not answering it.) Both my wife and one of the bakery staff placed the call. I went over and tried to see how I could help. In talking to him, I learned that she was a couple of months pregnant, and I passed the info along to those on the phone with the dispatchers. Though he was obviously well-intentioned, it became pretty apparent that the guy didn’t have a clue what to do. I told him that we needed to get her lowered to the floor. Protective of his girl, and not really willing to comply until he determined that I wasn’t some sort of con man, he asked “are you a doctor or something?”

Now, I’m no doctor. I haven’t been certified in CPR or first aid in over 20 years. A few thoughts flashed through my head, memories of things I could tell him about, and I almost flipped out on the guy about whether or not he was seriously asking me this question while this woman, for all I knew, was choking to death on a bear claw while he tried to establish my credentials. Instead I answered something like “I know a thing or two about this. We need to make sure her airway is clear, and I can’t do it when she’s like this.”

That seemed enough to satisfy him, and the two of us lowered her to the ground so she was seated with her legs out in front of her. Before we could lay her down all the way, she started coming around. The fella held her steady as she groggily started piecing together what happened. During the course of talking with her, it came out that she had skipped having any food so far that morning. At only two months pregnant with a first-time pregnancy, it was still early enough that you’re still kind of finding out the hard way what you can and can’t do. This all started feeling a lot more familiar to me. The bakery worker that had called 911, who I suspect had been through at least one pregnancy of her own, came over and offered an unopened bottle of orange juice. My wife now off the phone with 911, she, too, made the connection, and began telling about her experience 14 years prior.

We spent some time trying to help her not feel so embarrassed, sitting on the bakery floor with everyone staring at her. Right about then I saw a police vehicle arrive and the officer grab a pair of medical bags out of the trunk. Holding the door open for him and seeing that the professional was now on the scene, I turned my attention back to what we’d been doing. My kiddos, on their own, had moved to a part of the store where they’d be out of everyone’s way, and stood quietly waiting for things to play out. It was one of those “Jesus looked at them and loved them” kind of moments.

When our family left the bakery, those two were still being attended to by the police officer. Later that day though, we saw them walking around the town, so things must’ve turned out alright for them.

You’ve almost certainly heard before that God prepares you for the things He places in your path. Sometimes it’s funny how He does it. I certainly didn’t consider my wife’s fainting as a preparatory action, at least at the time. Who knows? Maybe in another 14 years, those two (by that time) well-experienced parents will be helping out another set of parents-to-be.

It’s also important not to get caught up in a “I’m not qualified” mindset (at least for the important things). Sure, we were qualified to call 911. We weren’t really “qualified” for any sort of medical care, but we were the ones to step forward and be there with someone that was going through something scary. It doesn’t take any special training. Often we focus more on the reasons why we shouldn’t step forward than on the reasons we should. If you’ll allow me to push the metaphor a little, I’d say that if you wait until you consider yourself “ready” to jump in and follow God’s call, you’re probably not ever going to do it. God’s strength is made perfect in our weakness, and He wants us to have willing hearts more than properly trained and educated minds. He’s given you different experiences, giftings, and abilities that are intended to be used. Please…use them.

Lord, thank you that this event didn’t seem to be anything serious. Thank you also that You put someone there to help those two get through it. Thank you still that You invited us to be a few of those “someones.” And finally, thank you for all the opportunities You’ll give everyone reading this to be a part of the story You’ve written for their lives; please give us all the courage and preparation we’ll need for those times. In Your name I ask, Amen.

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It’s A Good Idea To Have Some Backup

In my younger days I thought it’d be cool to get SCUBA certified, so while I was stationed in coastal Virginia with the Air Force, I found a dive shop and got signed up for the course.

I had been on a few “escorted” dives prior to that, and I enjoyed them, so I figured this would be a fun hobby to get into. The course was split up into sections; we had classwork, pool time, and time in a lake.

The academic work made sense to me, and the pool time was a good warm up as far as familiarization with adjusting equipment and figuring out how to operate underwater. The lake was the part I was looking forward to, though.

When the day finally came, we showed up and went over a few things from class. Then we went over the dive plan and a map of the area where we’d be diving. Finally we paired off into teams of “dive buddies” and suited up.

It was much different from the pool. I didn’t wear a wetsuit; I wore a semi-dry suit, which made me very buoyant. It took just about all the extra weight I owned just to maintain neutral buoyancy. The instructors helped me with a few tricks and some extra weight, and got me ready to go. After we got our equipment situated to our liking, we began the dive.

It started off fine. We followed the plan, moving from one underwater landmark to the next without a problem. Over time though, something started feeling wrong. The buckle holding my air tank in place somehow came loose. The tank began sliding out of place, moving down my back.

Because of where the buckle was located and how the tank was seated, I couldn’t get the leverage or the reach to fix things on my own. My dive buddy was in front of me, and I tapped him on the leg to get his attention. He turned to look, and I pointed over my shoulder at my tank, but I guess what I was trying to communicate wasn’t very obvious. He turned back around and kept swimming according to our dive plan. I grabbed him and pointed again to my tank, making more exaggerated gestures. (It was frustrating being so close to someone without being able to talk to them!)

He finally figured out what I was getting at. I turned my back to him, he slid the tank into the right position and locked the buckle in place. After that I was good to go and we were able to resume the dive according to the original plan.

Sometimes, you just need a buddy. My prayer is that something I write on this blog helps encourage you to step out in faith and use the gifts God’s given you to bring glory to Him. My hope is that the fruit of your efforts goes way beyond anything you thought it would be, but make no mistake: if you attempt to give God glory, you’ll run into opposition. You’re going to get discouraged. You’re going to get knocked down. Having a buddy to help you get back on your feet is a great asset to have.

A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken. –Ecclesiastes 4:12

As you embark on your efforts to employ your God-given gifts and talents, keep your buddy/buddies close, and be quick to lend a hand when they get knocked down, too.

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It’s Time to Cowboy Up

The apostle Paul, in his closing salutation to the Colossians, made a unique remark to the readers of his letter.

In the second to last verse in the whole book, he told them something to pass along to somebody he knew, somebody named Archippus. I don’t know exactly who he was, some think he was probably the son of Philemon (as in…the book of Philemon, verse 2). In Colossians 4, verse 17, Paul says And say to Archippus, “Take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it.”

It’s so simple that you may have read right over it without even thinking about it. Why would this text even be included in the letter?

My guess is that Archippus was like a lot of us. I’m openly speculating here, but I’d guess Archippus was waffling about proceeding with the charge God had given him.

We read the well-known Bible stories and think “well, yeah, if God talked to me from a burning bush, I’d know what He wanted me to do, too!” Gideon got two chances to make sure he really got the message and that God wasn’t just messing with him.

For the rest of us though, God’s calling can be a lot more subtle. Sometimes it takes a lot of prayer, seeking, and waiting. Other times it’s dropped in your lap. Once you know it, though, you’re on the hook. It’s not just a dreamy “someday goal,” it’s something you’ve been charged by God to do, and it’s up to you to take steps toward making it happen.

It’s a sobering thing. Receiving a calling, great or small, means you have the opportunity to rise to the occasion. It’s God saying “okay, now let’s see how you do with this one.” It means you have the chance to step out in faith and act in obedience in a way that will enable you to look back later in life and be proud that you chose to honor the Lord when He gave you the invitation. You might take it, you might not; nobody’s going to make you. I don’t know what level of sadness is possible in Heaven, but I imagine that remembering lost opportunities on Earth to worship the King of Kings is probably one of the saddest things you could dwell on.

So with that perspective, I’d love to encourage anyone like Archippus…do it. Follow through. Take heart, because God you this charge…this ministry…for a reason. You might not learn it this side of Heaven, but it will all become clear someday. Fulfill that calling, and think of it as performing an act of worship.

Need a little motivation and a reminder about who you are? Check out this video. Take note of the thoughts you have while watching it, and don’t be afraid to take action.

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Your Tax Dollars (Not) at Work

Hiding on Grandma’s couch is one of the only things this camo pattern’s good for

Right after Basic Training I got shuttled off to another section of Lackland Air Force Base near San Antonio, TX. It was here I began the long road to become an instructor for Survival, Evasion, Resistance, & Escape, or SERE.

Of course, right after Basic, you’re not much good for anything aside from doing what you’re told. It’s nothing personal…you just don’t know anything yet. You have to hang around for awhile and learn how things are done (sadly, the thing that makes the most sense isn’t commonly done). Our first week or so after arriving at SERE was spent doing what we call “in-processing,” which in our case consisted of some paperwork and sitting around listening to lots of briefings. We didn’t interact with the SERE instructors during that week other than to say “hi, we’re here;” we did our in-processing en masse with administrative troops that did it full time.

One day, probably the week after we finished all our in-processing, I think our instructors had some stuff they had to take care of at the school building, so they sent us back to our dorms to do our details…where we cleaned up and were supposed to make the place shine. One thing that’s important to understand…this was in early 2004; we were in the midst of two wars and the military infrastructure to support them was crying uncle in some places. Rumor had it that the dorms we were staying in had been condemned, but had been pressed back into service for the war effort. We could do our details for weeks, but it was only going to make the place look so nice, you know? Sending students to do details in the dorms was just a way of keeping them out of our instructors’ closely cropped hair for awhile.

Now I was still pretty new to this, but apparently we didn’t get sent back to the dorms to do details very often, and when we did, it was seen as a great opportunity to goof off. The training was pretty intense, so having some free time was a nice thing to have, because we were all wound up pretty tight.

I guess I happened to be standing in the wrong place at the wrong time. One of the more senior students pointed at me and said “You, you’re on Sergeant watch.” He sat me by a window where I could see the main entrance to our building. If I saw anybody that wasn’t a student approaching the entrance, especially any of the SERE instructors, I was supposed to raise the alarm.

I have no idea what everyone else was doing, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t what we were supposed to be doing. If one of our instructors had snuck in the back door and caught us, we would have paid pretty dearly for it. I was still young enough in my Air Force career not to know it, but punishment through physical exercise was something you come to embrace in SERE Indoctrination. Uniform look like garbage? Get down and start doing flutter kicks. Is your hair too long? That’s a set of pushups for each hair that’s touching one of your ears. Suffer an egregious lapse in judgment during the weekend? Heaven help you.

After staring hard out the window for awhile, one of our SERE instructors rounded the corner of the building, heading toward our door. I was still so new that I didn’t even know the guy’s name. “It’s Sergeant…one of the sergeants is walking up the path!”

One of the more senior students rushed to the window to get a better look, and sure enough, he saw Joe walking toward the front door. With a muttered curse, he ran out of the room and down the hallway, letting everyone know they needed to look busy…now. About 10 seconds later, guys were mopping the halls, vacuuming the Day Room, washing windows, dusting stuff that didn’t have a speck of dust on it, and scrubbing stuff you never even thought about scrubbing.

Joe wasn’t a sadistic dude, but if he had caught us goofing off, he would have dropped the hammer on us! It would have been one of those “everybody do pushups until I get tired” moments. Then after hearing us struggle for awhile he would have said “are you getting tired?” When we said yes, he would have said “okay, roll over on your backs and start doing flutter kicks.”

I wouldn’t say we performed our duty in an honorable way that day, but it provides a different bit of context to a famous Bible verse about being watchful. First Peter 5:8 says Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

I don’t think Joe came there to try to catch us doing something we weren’t supposed to be doing. He was probably just coming to the dorms to say “okay, we’re ready for you to come back now,” but if he had seen what we were actually doing, you can bet he would have devoured every last one of us. Whether he was intentionally trying to catch us or if he caught us as targets of opportunity, the result would have been the same: we’d be toast.

The devil is the same way. Constantly on the prowl, he’s looking for believers to devour. I don’t think he bothers too much with nonbelievers…he already owns them, so why would he waste effort on them? He’s looking for enemies to pick off. Sometimes he’s targeting a firmly planted Christian through an ongoing campaign against them, and other times he comes across a Christian that’s teetering on the edge of something they’re not supposed to be doing. If he sees that, he’ll put his campaign on pause and pounce on the target of opportunity. Enticing that believer to sin enables a whole host of tools that can be used against them to cripple their effectiveness as the hands and feet of God (guilt, shame, desensitizing of sin, fear, doubt, follow-on consequences, etc.).

Therefore, as Peter says, be on your guard and on high alert, because your enemy’s looking for an opening where he can nail you. Don’t give him the opportunity.

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I Fail To See…Anything at All…

My wife and I have been married for 16 years now, and it’s been good. Our personalities complement each other, we have lots of laughs, and of course, we’re still learning together, especially when it comes to parenting.

One thing that’s kind of funny about our relationship, though, is a scenario that my wife continually finds herself in, but often doesn’t anticipate. She, like many people, sometimes stands up too fast, stretches, and then gets lightheaded.

There have been numerous times in our marriage when I see it coming, but she doesn’t. In the past I’ve been brushing my teeth, puttering around in the kitchen, coming down the stairs, or doing something else, and I’ll hear her stand up and stretch. At that point I know I’ve got a few beats to get there in time to catch her when her vision tunnels or goes dark. Sometimes the stretch lasts long enough that the muscles steal all the blood from her head and she starts to slump mid-stretch.

She can handle it herself, of course. It’s not like she’s helpless and passes out if it happens when I’m not around. The point is that I see it coming and she doesn’t. Sometimes I know her better than she knows herself.

God’s like that too. He knows you better than you do. I think each of us probably believes we know what’s best for us, and sometimes we maybe even think we know better than God.

“God, why haven’t I won the lottery yet?” “Because if you did, it would destroy your life.”

Or maybe “God, I think you blew it. I should have gotten that job.” “I can see why you think that, but if you did, you’d be focusing your energy somewhere other than where I want you to focus it right now.”

You may have prayed “God, I’m still waiting for that spouse/child to come into my life.” “Yes I know, but I have you doing something more important at the moment.”

There are endless reasons why God doesn’t follow your timetable or path. I don’t know why He does some things in certain ways, but I know He knows us better than we know ourselves. As we go through our lives endlessly wondering why He chose to make us take detours or experience setbacks, it can be painful, but remember that in light of His intimate knowledge of us, there’s probably at least one purpose behind it, even if we don’t know what it is.

Lord, it’s not too bad to trust You with certain areas of my life, but it can be really hard to trust You with EVERY area of my life. I know You know me best; please help me to accept that Your ways are higher than my ways, that it’s intentional when you slow me down as I’m ready to run ahead, and that whatever happens today is part of the preparation for tomorrow. Thank you for blessing me the ways You have. In Your name, Amen.

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The Physics of Sin

It’s been a long time since I’ve done it, but years ago I got scuba certified. As you might expect, there’s a lot more to it than just grabbing an air tank and jumping into the water. I found learning about some of the physics behind it to be very interesting. I know not everybody is a math person, so I’ll try to keep it pretty general.

Scuba diving is all about pressure. Before we get in the water we’re only dealing with the weight of air on us. If you’re standing on the shore at sea level, the weight of all the air above you equates to a little less than 15 pounds per square inch (psi). That’s not much, considering how many miles up that column of air extends. This level, 14.69 psi, is known as one atmosphere.

The water is a completely different story. Since water weighs so much more than air, a column of only about 34 feet of water exerts the same amount of pressure as one atmosphere. Standing at the ocean’s edge you have one atmosphere pressing down on you. Scuba diving 34 feet deep, you have two atmospheres pressing down on you (one air and one water).

Moving from sea level to 34 feet under the surface causes the pressure that’s exerted on your body to increase by 100%, to nearly 30 psi. It’s definitely noticeable. If you move another 34 feet deeper, you have a total of three atmospheres (almost 45 psi) pressing on your body. The same amount of air pressure in your tank offers differing amounts of breathable air at various depths because there needs to be enough “oomph” in your air tank(s) to overcome the water pressure to make it through the regulator, hoses, and into your lungs. That excess “oomph” is what determines how much air is available for you to breathe. The deeper you go, the less time you can stay there.

Here’s the kicker: as you’re descending deeper, you notice the biggest pressure difference early on, and even though you’re still descending, the rate of increase gets less noticeable the deeper you go. Ever dive deep into a pool or a lake? You probably had to plug your nose and equalize the pressure in your head/ears before you went 10-12 feet deep because it felt like there was a huge increase in pressure. Mathematically, moving from one to two atmospheres is a 100% increase. Moving from two to three atmospheres is an increase of only 50%. Moving from three to four atmospheres is an increase of only 33%. The further you go, going even further feels like less of a big deal.

Sin is like that too. When you first encounter something you know is wrong, it’s easy to identify as being wrong. Once you start accepting it, rationalizing it away, or getting comfortable with it, it becomes more difficult to think of as being “wrong.” You start to accept additional things you formerly would’ve rejected outright. Once you make the jump from “one atmosphere” to two, it becomes easier to move to the third, and from there to the fourth.

What’s the bottom line? If you know it’s wrong, don’t do it. Don’t compromise. The more you compromise on living a God-honoring life, the more you’ll be willing to make subsequent concessions. Stay in that area near the surface, where you’re still sensitive to small changes in pressure and where going only 10 feet down becomes painful.

Our world is changing. Things that were once considered unspeakable are now commonplace and even endorsed. God’s view of sin has not changed, so neither should ours. We’re all sinners, and we all need the salvation Christ offers. Everyone needs to hear about it (God loves each and every person He’s created, so we shouldn’t play favorites), and you may be the only way someone encounters the truth. The truth will be more evident in your life if you’re living the way God wants.

Lord Jesus, thank you for creating this wonderful world and even giving us examples from science! Help us all be sensitive about the things in our lives that we should not allow to be there. Also help us to avoid a “holier than thou” attitude and be willing to genuinely reach the “tax collectors and sinners” of the Bible. Praise You for what You’ve done for us! In Your name, Amen.

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I Am Dangerous…In a Good Way

I’m not gonna lie, I’m pretty excited about the widespread release of Top Gun: Maverick tomorrow.

I was too young to enjoy the original movie when it first came out, but after I saw it, it instantly became one of those movies that was easy to quote back and forth with other fans of classic 80’s movies.

(For the record, I’m still miffed about the studio whitewashing history in order to avoid offending China, but I’m hoping the rest of the movie will make up for it.)

I don’t go to the movie theater as much as I used to, but I’m going to make a solid effort to get there for this one. I thought about trying to see it in IMAX, but was afraid I’d get motion sick or something. As it is, I already bring earplugs to wear when I go to the movies. (I’m an aspiring grumpy old man. I’ll probably wear a cardigan and shake my fist at the screen while shouting “turn that infernal racket down!”)

This is a unique case; the sequel was made more than 35 years after the original. It makes you think back to some of the scenes from the first movie. Set in the Cold War, the whole film is about these cocky hot-shot fighter crews that go to a highly competitive school where they’re trained to be even more aggressive than they already are. There’s a lot of exciting aerial photography, tense rivalries, and high-octane action that plays well on the screen.

Uh oh. Five enemy aircraft inbound.

In the climax of the movie, two American fighter crews get into a fight with five enemy fighters. One of the American planes is the first casualty in the fight, leaving a sole U.S. fighter to contend with five enemy aircraft until help arrives. Fresh out of super-aggressive school, the remaining pilot announces “three MiGs dead ahead, coming down the left side. I’m going after them!”

Is this guy for real? This is insane! He’s outnumbered five to one, and he’s still thinking in terms of being on offense! Dude, you need to tuck tail and run if you want to survive!

And yet…it’s what Christians are called to do.

I’ve got some sobering news for you. If you’re a Christian that wants to let Christ shine through you in a world of darkness…that dark world is guaranteed to push back at you. The attacks will get personal, and they will exact a price from you. Yet He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

If you’re truly living a life that glorifies God and aims to strike deep at the kingdom of darkness, expect that opposition to be even greater. You will appear to be the underdog, but you’re supposed to be the underdog. If your actions are a cakewalk, that doesn’t bring God a whole lot of glory, now does it?

I heard something interesting awhile back. Aside from “praise the Lord,” did you know that the most common command in the entire Bible is some form of “do not fear?”

What’s the significance of that command’s frequency? It’s probably important to reflect on all the promises God made to His people, including promises to be with us, to provide for us, and to empower us to do His will. To me that sounds a lot like He wanted to set us up to be secure enough in His love and provision to be aggressive in living our lives for Him.

You’ll mess up. You’ll wonder if you’re doing the right thing. That comes with the territory. Stay true to the commands God laid out in scripture and He’ll be able to use you for great things even if failure is an old friend of yours.

The next time you have the choice of “bugging out” and running away from the challenge or standing to face something you know will be difficult, remember to focus on your security in Christ, knowing that if He’s prompting you to follow a certain course, He’s also prepared the way for you.

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God Hasn’t Changed One Bit

About a year ago we had a brief reunion to celebrate some milestone birthdays in our family. It was a special time where we got together with loved ones, some of which I hadn’t seen in about 15 years. I also returned to my uncle’s house for the first time in 25 years. It was a wonderful time of celebration and it was so good to catch up with everyone.

In the course of traveling to the get-together, we spent a couple nights at my parents’ house. This is the house where I grew up, and now I’m bringing my kids there for visits.

Although my whole family’s been to my parents’ house plenty of times, on this particular occasion I took the opportunity to take a walk by myself around the neighborhood and see what things looked like.

There were parts of the neighborhood I haven’t seen for probably 15 years or more, but it had been 30 or so since I really knew it well. So many memories came back as I walked around (some of which I’ve written about before). I used to cut through that backyard all the time on my bike until the owner yelled at me for leaving bike tracks in his lawn. I got stuck in the mud when that house was new. I wonder whatever happened to the people that used to live here? I helped build that house right there. Oh wow, those people were awesome, I wonder how they’re doing?! Don’t go trick-or-treating there, that lady hands out little boxes of raisins. Here’s the hill that a friend and I went flying down on a piece of plywood nailed to a skateboard. A bunch of us did backyard wrestling all the time right over there on that grass.

It was crazy to see how much things changed, but at the same time how much they stayed the same. Like going back to visit your elementary school as an adult, the place just kinda seemed smaller than I remembered. Trees that were small when I was young had now reached full size, while others had been removed. That house looks like it’s in shambles, but that one looks great. Between when I lived there as a kid and when I went for a walk around the place, some houses in the neighborhood had been sold and resold an unknown number of times, but other houses still had the same owners. At the homes where my friends had lived (and where I had spent lots of time), I wondered what the insides of the houses looked like now. Was that crack in the drywall still there?

It was a bittersweet trip down memory lane. As a kid I recognized everyone’s car, but now if someone drove past and waved, I probably wouldn’t have a clue who it was. The weird part was that the driver could be someone that was a child the last time they passed me in a car.

Whether it’s houses, cars, or people, none of it lasts forever. Time relentlessly marches past, and the older we get, we become increasingly aware of how quickly it passes. I’m incredibly grateful that even though I’m becoming more and more aware of just how fleeting this life is, God hasn’t changed one bit in the entire time I’ve been walking this planet. Cultural shifts about what is and what isn’t acceptable continue to change, and so does conventional wisdom. Through it all though, the God watching over me today is the same one that set the planets in motion, who brought the Israelites out of slavery, and who blinded Saul on the road to Damascus. Only His covenants have changed, and they’ve only gotten better with time.

Of old you laid the foundation of the earth,
    and the heavens are the work of your hands.
They will perish, but you will remain;
    they will all wear out like a garment.
You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away,
    but you are the same, and your years have no end. -Psalm 102:25-27

Praise be to the everlasting One, and all glory to the One who invites us to spend eternity with Him (in bodies that don’t degrade)!

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The Odds Don’t Get Any Better Than That

I used to have a colleague who had an interesting sign hanging up near his desk: “When you are dead, you don’t know that you are dead. It is difficult only for the others. It is the same when you are Stupid.”

It’s a humorous (and irreverent) take on things. Before you start wondering about whether or not other people think you’re stupid, let’s take this in a completely different direction. J

If you’re a gambler, you’re always hoping to hit the jackpot, right? Maybe you don’t go to Vegas, but sure, you pick up a couple of lottery tickets or scratchers at the gas station/supermarket every now and then. Imagine if, every time you played, you won at least enough money to cover the cost of the ticket(s) you bought. Once in awhile you might even score a $25 or $50 payout. Overall it ends up costing you nothing, there’s only upside, and there’s always the hope of scoring a big win.

Let’s combine the two anecdotes now. Somebody please explain to me how, if you believe death is the end of your existence (where you don’t even realize that you’re dead), it makes ANY sense at all to reject Christ. If you’re right and your consciousness just fades into oblivion, not caring about Christ isn’t a big deal, but if you’re wrong, you lose everything.

Tell me, what are you giving up by hearing what He’s all about, or even deciding to follow Him? If you give it some careful thought, the worst thing you can probably come up with is feeling like you’re unable to live the lifestyle you want to live. Think of it this way: if Christ is the real deal, He meets you where you are; to meet Him you don’t have to change anything about the way you live, but if you choose to buy in, you’ll want to make changes in your life. It’s all stuff you want to do.

This is a case where it ends up costing you nothing, and there’s only upside…vast upside. I like those odds. You might be very good at convincing yourself that religion isn’t your thing. Consider this: what if you’re wrong about Christ…and you’re betting eternity on it?

(Yes, I realize people give plenty of other reasons for not giving their lives to Christ besides this example, but if you’re one of those people, whatever other reason you come up with, ask yourself: “will that be good enough consolation during an eternity of suffering?”)

It doesn’t have to be that way. Just sayin’.