Principle of Eternity

Passing Sighs of the Longing Heart

by Andy Wood on September 10, 2010

in Five LV Laws, Life Currency, Love, LV Cycle, Principle of Eternity, Waiting

I still miss her sometimes.  Pity I’m so busy I don’t miss her more.  For me it’s mostly in passing sighs… Like now.  (-From my journal a couple of days ago, referring to my mother, who died earlier this year.)

Heard any sermons on longing lately?

I doubt it.

In spite of the fact that it’s such a common experience, and one that is treated a surprising number of times in the Bible, “Dealing with Longing” doesn’t typically generate offerings, baptisms, or slick series brochures from the local worship establishment.

And yet it’s there… right in plain sight.  The Bible’s own version of “Miss You Like Crazy.”

Paul wrote those wild child Corinthians a pretty dress-you-down letter (we call it 1 Corinthians).  Their response?  They turned their hearts, and longed to see Paul.  His reply?  Same thing.  [click to continue…]

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Opporknockity Only Tunes Once

by Andy Wood on September 3, 2010

in Exploring the Possibilities, Five LV Laws, Life Currency, Love, LV Cycle, LV Stories, Principle of Eternity

What would you do if you were Jimmy?  You’re caught in a dilemma because your best friend is a hood.  Riff-raff.  Wrong side of the tracks.  Your parents say you can’t visit him.  And he’d do just as well to stay on his side of town, too.  But there’s something special about him; that’s why he’s your best friend.  He doesn’t have much, but he does have heart and passion. 

And a cheap, second-hand guitar he doesn’t even know how to tune.

You come from a good family, with something of a pedigree.  You live in one of the music capitals of America, and your cousin is a famous country musician.

Maybe you can still be his friend – this kid some people called “white trash.”

Maybe you can introduce your friend to your cousin.  Maybe your cousin can cross the tracks in your place.

That’s what Jimmy did.  [click to continue…]

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What it Takes to Be a Servant Leader

by Andy Wood on August 25, 2010

in Enlarging Your Capacity, Five LV Laws, Leadership, Life Currency, LV Cycle, Principle of Eternity, Principle of Legacy

Ask most any Christ follower who or what the ultimate model for leadership is, and they’ll point you to Jesus Christ. 

Ask that same Christ follower what the ultimate standard for leadership is, and they’ll probably land on servanthood.  “Jesus was a servant leader,” they will opine, “and He called His followers to lead by serving.”

Okay, so far, so good. One more question.

Ask that same believer to name somebody from among the most successful ministries or institutions who actually practices servant leadership across the board…

…and watch their pupils widen.  The headlights just caught the deer.

In spite of all our claims to servant leadership, the honest truth is that leadership on a grand scale means knowing what to do with opportunity, influence, power, and public image.  Can a leader have all of that and remain a servant?

Yes. 

But will he?

Camels and the eye of the needle come to mind. [click to continue…]

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The Searching Heart of God

by Andy Wood on August 3, 2010

in Exploring the Possibilities, Five LV Laws, Hoarders, LV Alter-egos, LV Cycle, Principle of Eternity

How’s this for a welcome to a pastor’s study? 

NOTICE

The Pastor of Calvary Church Receives Sinners and Eats With Them.

Any Questions?

Now there’s a guy who’s either long on courage or short on brains!  But he knows his New Testament.  And if he does it in the right spirit, he also understands something about the searching heart of God.  

In answer to the question hanging on the pastor’s door, Jesus once told a story.  [click to continue…]

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Hide and Seek: The Ultimate Treasure Hunt

by Andy Wood on June 23, 2010

in Esteem, Five LV Laws, Life Currency, LV Cycle, Principle of Eternity, Waiting

Get this scene…

It’s the long-shadow season… a late-October Saturday afternoon.  Alabama has just kicked off to Tennessee, and the rest of life has been put on hold.  I’ve got the snacks and drinks, recliner set to football position, and it’s a glorious day.

That’s when I hear it.  In those few seconds before the doorbell rings and the dogs go crazy, I hear the giggles of a gaggle of adolescents.

Two thoughts immediately flash by:

  • I am obviously not living in Dixie, because nobody in their right mind there would be roaming the streets when the Tide ‘n’ Vols are on TV.
  • I’m about to be scavenger hunted.

Sure enough, I open the door to a group of teenagers, and one of ‘em hands me a list.  “We’re on a scavenger hunt.  Do you have any of these things?”

Game on (while the other game is on pause). [click to continue…]

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The 380 and The 120

by Andy Wood on April 4, 2010

in Consumers, Five LV Laws, LV Alter-egos, Principle of Eternity

What are you going to do with the resurrection of Jesus?

Let’s assume for a minute that you actually believe it.  That three days after He was crucified, He actually rose from the dead and ascended into heaven.

Now what?

I guess you and I have to decide where to file that.  We can be part of the 380.  Or we can be part of the 120. [click to continue…]

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The Advocate

by Andy Wood on April 2, 2010

in Five LV Laws, Principle of Eternity

Heard any good lawyer jokes lately?  Here’s one: 

Q: Why did God make snakes just before lawyers?

A: To practice.

All fooling aside, I have a new appreciation for the justice system these days.  There, when a person is accused of a crime, it is required of the system (the court) that he/she have an advocate.  The advocate’s sole responsibility is to look after the best interests of the accused. 

Q: Why won’t sharks attack lawyers?

A: Professional courtesy.

It is not the advocate’s job to determine guilt or innocence; that’s for the judge and/or jury. 

Q: What do you have when a lawyer is buried up to his neck in sand?

A: Not enough sand. 

It is not the advocate’s job to be liked or appreciated. 

Q: What’s the difference between a dead dog in the road and a dead lawyer in the road?

A: There are skid marks in front of the dog. 

The one task – the one focus – of the advocate is to stand in the gap for the accused.

When popular culture collides with the legal system, advocates get a bum rap.  These attorneys are portrayed as ruthless, win-at-all-cost scoundrels who will do anything to get the defendant off, guilty or not.

Exactly.

Q: Why is going to a meeting of the Bar Association like going into a bait shop?

A: Because of the abundance of suckers, leeches, insects, and nightcrawlers. 

So why the appreciation for advocates?  Because I know what it’s like to need and not have one.  My guess is, you do too.  Have you ever sat defenseless outside a closed door while somebody else made decisions affecting you?

For those who trust and follow Christ, however, the story doesn’t end there.  Even when we have no advocate in the board room, the committee or wherever, we have an Advocate nonetheless.  Check this out: [click to continue…]

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Always and Forever

by Andy Wood on September 28, 2009

in Five LV Laws, Life Currency, Love, Photos, Principle of Eternity

Carved into the side of one of my favorite places in the world – Deer Bluff, near the family farm in Alabama… 

That brings up a thought:

Ever seen something like this carved in a rock or a tree (or written on a bathroom wall or somebody’s notebook)?

J.S. + E.J. = Tru Luv 4 Ever.

Without bothering to even ask whether you ever wrote something like that, I wonder where J.S. and E.J. are now?  I wonder how “tru” their “luv” is today?  I wonder if “4 Ever” really meant 4 days, or 4 weeks?  

Then again, who knows?  J.S. and E.J. may be J.S. and E.S. today, with four kids, three pets, two cars, and a nice mortgage.  Maybe there was more than just “4” in their “4 Ever.”

Forever.  Yet another of those charming words we overuse and undervalue.  Often said in the extremes of emotion, for many of us “forever” only means until we calm down or come up for air.  And yet we do live in a world of certainties, where words like “forever” and “always” really mean something.  Trouble is, because of the ways we so often water it down, sometimes we lose the force of forever when it’s the real thing. [click to continue…]

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The Stain

by Andy Wood on June 29, 2009

in Five LV Laws, Principle of Eternity

stainFor Sale: Parachute. Only used once, never opened, small stain.

You and I were created in a stainless image.  Our first parents appeared on the outside as what they were on the inside – innocent in the likeness of their Creator.

Then came the Stain.

Soiled and discolored, we instinctively knew something was wrong.  We tried soaking it out and scrubbing it out.  But the Stain never went away.  Like silver is discolored simply by exposure to the air, we were forever tarnished by the choices we made, and those made upon us:

Passion stains.  Anger stains.  Gluttony stains.  Pride stains.  Fear stains.  Rejection stains.  Deception stains.

Pick a role, we’ve tried it out. [click to continue…]

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Coming Back to the Heart of Worship

by Andy Wood on June 25, 2009

in Esteem, Five LV Laws, Life Currency, Principle of Eternity

worship-seashore“The time is coming and is already here when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth.  The Father is looking for anyone who will worship him that way” (John 4:23)

For centuries Christians have broken fellowship and broken God’s heart in the name of worship.  We have argued over form, anguished over the opinions of others, and attacked those who looked or acted differently.  Meanwhile in Heaven, the search goes on…

When you can sit at the feet of Jesus and rivet your attention to him, even when life is incredibly distracting around you… [click to continue…]

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