God grant me serenity to call the impossible, possible with You,
Vision to see the achievable in obviously-hopeless situations,
And wisdom to discern the difference.
Give me faith to boldly ask You for the unthinkable, [click to continue…]
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Do not be anxious about anything. Instead, in every situation, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, tell your requests to God. And the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6-7, NET).
It’s one thing to be prayerless and anxious.
You can pray, though, and still be anxious. [click to continue…]
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Emilie was jealous. Eyes open, staring at the dark ceiling night after night, jealous.
And the focus? Her husband, Chris.
She was jealous of how he could carry an enormous load of stress from his work, simply say a prayer or two at bedtime, and effortlessly fall asleep.
Chris was actually 19th-century pastor Christoph Blumhardt.
One night Emilie couldn’t take it anymore, so she pleaded with her husband, “Tell me your secret!”
He replied: “Is God so powerless that my worrying would help the well-being of our parish?”
Then he added, “There comes a moment each day when we must simply drop what weighs on us and hand it over to God.”
That’s what Paul meant when he encouraged his friends in Philippi:
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6-7).
Stop, drop and roll, friends. That’s how to put out the fire when you’re burning. [click to continue…]
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You live in what feels like a constant state of tension. Even your “good stress” is, well, stress. You check the news at least each day to make sure you’re on top of the latest thing to worry about. Your time is stretched so thin that any interruption or change of plans sends you reeling emotionally.
Your credit cards are loaded to the max, and your life feels a lot like your email inbox – loaded with clutter, junk, and unfinished business – some of which is actually important.
Your best sleep comes after 2:00 in the morning. You avoid those medical checkups because you already know what they’re going to say. Unless, of course, you need to get that prescription refilled.
And then…
…then, somebody comes along, usually on a Sunday, and says…
“Let’s worship Jesus!”
And honestly, it just feels like another reason to feel anxious.
What if I were to tell you that if you’re harried and helpless, stressed out or fried emotionally, the Bible actually gets where you’re coming from? If I could show you a way to magnificently worship the Lord Jesus, even when you’re at the end of your rope, would you be interested?
This is an Offering for the Overworked, overstressed, overeating, over-fill-in-your-blank.
Ready? Here it is: [click to continue…]
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Some of the most profound lessons in life can only be discovered face down in a proverbial ditch. And that’s where I found myself about 25 years ago. My career was crumbling. My family life was devastated. Whatever influence I had was waning quickly. My dreams were being shattered. I was a complete failure privately, and was about to be exposed as one publicly. And for the moment, it was right where God wanted me to be.
There as life was crashing in all around me, I asked the Lord one of the most life-changing questions I could have asked, and He was gracious enough to give me an answer.
How did I wind up here?
The Lord showed me three things – three huge, blinding, colossal choices or habits that set me up for a trip to the ditch. The first I’ve already covered here – I allowed myself to get discouraged in one area of my life, and soon discouragement spread like spiritual cancer.
Here is the second. I read it on the 18th of the month – I know this because it was in Proverbs 18. But reading it was like reading a lab report on the condition of my heart.
A man who isolates himself seeks his own desire;
He rages against all wise judgment (Proverbs 18:1, NKJ)
At first blush it was obvious what that meant. I was a pastor. I was a public figure who made my living with words and relationships and eternal truths. I was “on” 24/7, or so I thought. So I gave every effort to play the part. I smiled pastor smiles. I prayed pastor prayers. I said pastor things. And when people asked me how I was doing, I gave pastor replies. “Good!” I would say, smiling.
I never told anybody otherwise.
I never shared what my biggest, most challenging obstacles were. I never shared the depths of what my dreams were, either for myself or for the church. I never told anybody I had gotten discouraged. I never asked for wisdom or help. I was a professional problem solver. I was supposed to be the solution to other people’s problems and the complete solution to my own… all the while presenting a front and leaving an impression that all was well.
The only way to pull all this off was to isolate myself. I even had a name for it – I called it “transparency to a point.” I would let people see and hear enough to believe I was being open and honest, but wouldn’t tell them too much.
Why? Pride, for sure, but that’s the third answer to the question… more on that later. Why isolate, then? Because I didn’t want people advising me to do what I didn’t want to do. I didn’t want to ask for anybody else’s help to succeed. And I didn’t want to expose my life and work to somebody else’s opinion, wisdom, or direction.
In short, I isolated myself, and I was an idiot to do so. I would caution you against the same mistake. [click to continue…]
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It doesn’t take much for a breeze
To become a roaring fury –
Or a gentle, soaking shower
To become a fierce, howling squall.
In a matter of mere moments,
The elements that nourish you
Can soon threaten to destroy you
Or just paralyze you with fear.
That is true in the natural…
More so in the relational.
Sometimes the waves that pound at you
Are tides of public opinion.
Sometimes the winds that howl to you
Are the voices of the critics.
Sometimes the raindrops that pelt you
Are problems with no solutions.
When storms are raging,
It’s time for engaging
Your faith, your hope, and your love. [click to continue…]
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In an old strip from “Bloom County” back in the early 80s, Opus, the beloved big-nosed penguin, is sitting at a bus stop with a Polish guy, a black guy, a white guy, an old lady and a midget (um, vertically challenged person)…
Black Guy (to Opus): Ya know… you penguin types offend me.
White Guy: Hey… I’ll tell ya what offends me… dirty words, that’s what!
Polish Guy: Polish jokes offend me.
Black Guy: Stereotypes offend ME.
Old Lady: TV sex offends me!
White Guy: LOOK! That sign is offensive!!
Midget: I made that sign and I’m offended!
Polish Guy (to Black Guy): Frankly sir, you offend me.
Black Guy: Well! I’m offended at your offense.
Old Lady: Those nudes offend my womanhood!
White Guy: Those gays offend my manhood!
Midget: This comic offends my offensiveness!
All: MY GOSH… LIFE IS OFFENSIVE!! AAAAAIGH! (they all run away, leaving Opus sitting at the bus stop)
Opus: Offensensitivity.
Have you checked your offensensitivity levels lately? Some days it just seems that all of life is offensive. And other days, well, maybe we have enough grace to let a few people be completely wrong. This just in from Serenah:
I have just read your put your stingers up piece and it was helpful. But how do you put your stingers up permanently when you are in a situation you can’t remove yourself from? I know God is trying to teach me to let go of defensiveness but I don’t know how?
Fair question. How do you drop your guard when every day feels like a march into the enemy’s camp? Here are a couple of thoughts on the fly, but thoughts worth taking a look at. Offensensitivity is the result of three overlapping things: Fear, Framing, and False Beliefs. [click to continue…]
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Know what day this is?
Isday.
Sorry if you’re stuck on Wasday, hollering “Mayday!” muttering about Humpday, or dreaming of Someday.
Today is Isday.
It may be a good idea to redirect your focus. [click to continue…]
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Honestly, I was a little disappointed.
“Gonna be old school today,” I thought to myself as the choir started in on Dottie Rambo’s classic, “He Looked Beyond My Faults,” set to the Irish tune of “Danny Boy.”
When it comes to church music, I can be nostalgic, but I’m not much of an old school guy. I’m more of a “sing a new song to the Lord” type. So on this day I settled down on the pew to politely smile and nod away my mild disappointment.
I think God had a nod of his own.
It wasn’t the first time I had heard the words – Lord knows, the song was written in 1968 and was a regular fixture in my teenage years. Every traveling music evangelist with a reel-to-reel tape recorder, every AM radio station blaring out gospel favorites, every traveling duo, trio, or quartet, they all did this song.
But on this day, just a few weeks ago, I heard – as in, heard with the heart – a line that shook me to the core. This is literally what I wrote in my notebook: [click to continue…]
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Hey… you on the treadmill or the carousel.
Yes, you. I have a question for you.
Remember the time you had an idea that would make a difference in your world? Remember when you aspired to something better? Something richer? Something gloriously possible because you imagined it so?
Yeah, so… whatever happened to that idea? Whatever happened to your dreams?
Remember when you were on a mission – when you had a sense of calling and clarity, and you even gave the G-word as your source? Remember when you stepped out in confidence because God told you to?
Yeah, so… whatever happened to that calling? Whatever happened to your dreams?
Remember when you were enflamed with passion or infused with hope because you could see it, taste it, enjoy it even before you experienced it? Remember when you were so excited you could hardly sleep at night?
Yeah, so… whatever happened to that passion? Whatever happened to your dreams?
Remember when you were determined to get something done – to solve a problem or meet a need or advance a cause? Remember when you swore that you were done with idle living and wasted time?
Yeah, so… whatever happened to that determination? Whatever happened to your dreams?
Remember when you were surrounded by can-do people who spoke into your life with encouragement and faith and offered to help you get where you were going? Remember when they convinced you that you had what it took to get it done?
Yeah, so… whatever happened to that connection? Whatever happened to your dreams? [click to continue…]
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