Are we there yet?
No.
When are we gonna get there?
Five minutes sooner than the last time you asked.
We’re never gonna get there.
We’ll get there.
When?
Soon enough. Look outside and see how far we’ve come and how fast we’re moving.
Are we there yet?
+++++++
I’ll bet you’ve had a few conversations like that if you’ve ever been on a road trip with kids (or maybe a few adults). And inevitably, the younger he or she is, the sooner this question pops up:
Why does it have to take so long to get there?
And the only right answer, which they can never seem to grasp at that age, is, because to get there, first you have to go here. And here is where we are. But we can still enjoy being here until we get there.
The Christian life has its own version of “There Yet.” [click to continue…]
How many times have you said it? Or heard somebody else mouth something like this…?
I just want to do God’s will.
I wish I knew what God wanted me to do.
How can I find the will of God for my life?
Tell me how this is supposed to fit into a grand plan!
I want to do God’s will, but I’m wired to lead. Is that wrong?
I know God has a plan in all this, but for the life of me I can’t see it.
I’m willing to follow Jesus, but how can I know how it all will turn out?
I did what I thought was God’s will and instead of feeling joyful it felt terrible… instead of everything working out, it all looked like a failure.
How do I know that if I surrender my life to God’s will He won’t make me be a missionary somewhere in a place with lots of mosquitos or cannibals or something?
Ever since Jesus Christ burst onto the scene and called those fishermen to follow Him, those who have chosen to say yes have discovered the mystery and marvel of finding and fulfilling the will of the God of the Universe. And make no mistake about it… God wants you to know His will. But He also wants you to develop the spiritual muscles necessary to discern it. Check this out: [click to continue…]
This is about a Father with four sons…
A Sailor.
A Driver.
A Flyer.
A Walker.
The Father provided richly for each of his sons. He gave them a home in which to flourish. He provided resources upon which to build their futures. He even saw to it that each was uniquely equipped and trained to succeed, according to his own natural bent.
Yet despite their obvious advantages, each son seemed convinced that there was more to life than living under the watchful, seemingly all-knowing gaze of his Father. Each seemed determined to find fulfillment on his own terms. And despite the obvious objections of the Father, each chose to go his own way. [click to continue…]
As you celebrate in the silent night or the joyful noise that is your Christmas, I joyfully lift my prayer to the Father of lights on your behalf – praying that you would discover the unique inspiration that comes from knowing what an inspiration to others you can be.
I pray that on this day you would find your way to the Chamber of your Beloved, to rediscover the awakened intimacy that comes from having your soul restored, realizing again the central message of Christmas, that you are completely loved.
I pray that in the coming year, when you engage with the terrible and the trivial in this world, that when others are desperately looking for the light of truth and hope, they find it burning brightly still in you.
[click to continue…]
Time and time again you’re the one who shows up when somebody needs you to.
Sometimes you bring your words with you, sometimes no words at all – just the enduring companionship of a faithful friend.
But who shows up for you when you’re the one who’s aching for the presence of another?
Jesus, that’s who. And in this case, me… because He wanted me to remind you, He’s always there.
You’re the one they turn to for their own self-understanding.
Like a human mirror or road map, you help others make sense of the terrain or the terrible, the magic or the mystifying of their lives.
But who holds up the mirror or points the way for you when the way seems baffling or impossible?
Jesus, that’s who. And in this case, me… because He wanted me to remind you, He’s always there.
Alone is just a figment of a blind imagination.
Lost is just the devil’s panic button of despair.
So when you need reminders of your hope and destination,
Hear the Spirit’s whisper that your Friend is Always There.
[click to continue…]
I could duplicate stories like these all day…
The Job Site
I was working construction (pausing here for those who know me to gasp or laugh or something). It was a high-pressure day and I was off with a coworker on an assignment with a deadline that just wasn’t getting done. It was Friday afternoon, I was leaving out of town, and the pressure just kept building. I was a failure at this, and knew it. I figured at that point the whole world knew it.
I had to swing by the other job site where my boss and Ricky were, to give the boss the bad news. Ricky and I usually worked together, but we’d been separated for a few days on different projects. I’ll never forget the way Ricky made me feel – it was as though we hadn’t seen each other in years. After hours and hours of devaluing myself in my head, his infectious smile and greeting made me feel like the king of the world.
It was a foretaste of heaven… where grace has the final word.
The Classroom
In a transparent moment in an online classroom filled with future and present church leaders I wrote this:
“If I could go back and do one thing over again in my 32 years of pastoring… I would be more ruthlessly intentional about leadership development. I would allow myself to be criticized more for neglecting some things in order to focus more on developing discipling leaders. As passionate as I am and was about preaching, and as passionate as some of you are, may I just say, preaching alone won’t come close to accomplishing this. Leadership development isn’t about lessons, outlines, or proclamation. It’s about duplication of your passion, knowledge, skillsets, and passion in the lives of others.”
In reply to that, I got a simple, but profoundly encouraging reply from a student in that class:
I hope you know that by teaching guys like me you ARE accomplishing leadership development. I doubt I will meet you here on earth, but someday I look forward to seeing you in glory! Thanks for everything, and may God richly bless you as you follow Him.
It was a foretaste of heaven… where grace has the final word. [click to continue…]
(Or whatever has us in a panic today)
The headlines are curious today, after weeks of holding us hostage over a disease that Americans steadfastly wish to remain somebody else’s problem. “COMPASSION URGED IN DALLAS AS EBOLA MONITORING ENDS” says the USA Today headline.
Who is this compassion aimed for?
People who don’t have the disease.
So why do they need compassion?
Because at one time we were afraid they may have it.
But after 21 days of having their lives quarantined while the politicians, media, talk radio and social media had everybody in a frenzy, now the science says, they don’t have it. Meanwhile, two nurses who were doing their jobs caring for the one person who has died from the disease in the U.S. now are fighting the virus, and we pray for their healing and recovery.
In the meantime, Dallas, please be kind to people you may otherwise want to avoid like the you-know-what. It’s the American thing to do. [click to continue…]
All Your works shall give thanks to You, O Lord… Psalm 145:10
This is a work of God.
This little guy has lived at my house longer than I have.
Throughout the summer he’s maintained this exquisite work of art, despite several collisions with humans.
He’s not alone.
He joins with all creation, using their gifts and design, worshipping their Creator.
And on days like this, I get to have a front-row seat.
Blue jays, cardinals and mockingbirds call to each other nearby. [click to continue…]
But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day (2 Peter 3:8, NAS).
A Thousand Summers and a thousand more,
Your bride has waited and anticipated
That “blessed hope” You spoke in the language of forever.
Knowing we were born and born again for this,
We will hold on to Your promise and, if need be
Wait a Thousand Summers more.
So we wait, but never barren of Your presence,
And we hope, but never void of Your great care.
So we serve, with boldness standing on the promise
That a Thousand Summers never can compare. [click to continue…]
In one of old his “Peanuts” cartoons, Charles Schultz has Linus bringing manager Charlie Brown a statistical report on the baseball team. “In twelve games,” he said, “we almost scored a run and in nine games the other team almost didn’t score before the first out. In right field, Lucy almost caught three balls and once almost made the right play.” Then Linus concluded in the cartoon’s last frame with this classic statement: “We led the league in ‘almosts.’”
No doubt about it – Linus is prime preacher material. How many times have you heard a pastor say, “We almost met our offering goal?” Or, “We almost reached our attendance goal.” How many people have you known who almost came to church, who almost decided to follow Christ, or who almost trusted their situation to God? It happens – er, almost every weekend.
Come to think of it, we almost do so many things, we could start a whole new church – the First Church of Hand Grenades and Horseshoes. [click to continue…]