Raise your hand if you want tomorrow to be better than today.
Raise your other hand if you would rather God give you prosperity than calamity.
Good. I’ve got you where I want you. Now give me all your money.
You and I were hard-wired for hope. Something in our DNA makes us want to believe that tomorrow can and will be better than today. When times are easy, we tend to presume on that. When times are tough, we go looking for it.
Maybe that’s why Jeremiah 29:11 has become such a popular verse in recent years. Go into any Christian book store or gift shop and you’ll see it on coffee mugs or on some idyllic painting or poster:
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Doesn’t that do something for you? It certainly does for me. It tells me something about the heart of my God for me as an individual, and for the people I care about.
Trouble is, we take it completely out of context. [click to continue…]
The previous post – the one about Eagles’ Wings – was a significant one for this site – it was Post #1,000. Over the last six-plus years, roughly three times a week, I have had the delight, challenge, and opportunity to share an insight, rant, celebration or half-baked idea on a wide variety of subjects.
And now this. What to do to begin the next 1,000?
At first I had this crazy idea about going through the titles of every single post, in order, taking one word and writing a single piece. Yeah, that became pretty impossible, pretty fast.
Then I thought about other variations on that theme, playing off of previous post titles, etc. Problem is, that, too would have taken an enormous amount of time, and I still didn’t know what I actually wanted to say in that format.
I thought about linking back to favorites – mine and yours… [click to continue…]
“You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself” (Exodus 19:4, NIV)
Here is a place.
An experience.
An image used to describe the powerful grace of a loving God.
Here is a birthright.
An invitation.
A metaphor for flying swiftly above the dangers and dead-ends into the loving arms of a Heavenly Father.
And where you can’t go on your own and when you lack the strength to survive, that’s when He meets you where you are and brings you to Himself… on eagles’ wings. [click to continue…]
Beyond the riot of the noise and the fury of the storm
I hear Your voice, and all else is peace and quiet.
Above the swelling of the sea and the tossing of the waves
I hear Your voice, and everything becomes so still.
Within the darkness of despair and the sinking in my soul
I hear Your voice, and rise again to living hope.
Against the doubts of unbelief and the questions in my mind
I hear Your voice, and rest in knowing You believe. [click to continue…]
We’re in an interesting season and it has me thinking a lot about – and working a lot on – home. In a couple of months we’ll be moving from this…
To this…
At times the process has felt a lot like David’s famous whine: “How long, O Lord?” At other times we’ve found ourselves wondering how in the world we’ll get it all done.
All the details.
All the work.
All the thinking and buying and selling and meeting and planning and more meeting…
To prepare a place called Home.
In between all those details, plus the daily joys of work and service which go on regardless, I’ve been thinking about another kind of Home. One that’s more lasting. One where I have a place, but don’t have the task of preparing it… I just have to partner with the Lord to prepare me for the place.
Sometimes, like the Whiner-in-Chief, I look at this hope and ask, “How long, O Lord?” And sometimes I get this sense that it’s sooner than I think. [click to continue…]
In the last post I shared six signs of a leader who breathes life into organizations and followers, as opposed to those who have a way of sucking the life out of them. Definitely worth a review if you missed it. My guess is, you have probably experienced both types on a personal level, whether it’s in your workplace, your church, or your community. We’ve certainly seen both types on a global or national scale as well.
What I’m more concerned about, however, is the leadership you show, even if you don’t think of yourself as a leader. Everybody influences somebody, and you’re no exception. And all of us can learn from the example of the ultimate life-giving leader, the Lord Jesus. Here are six more signs of a life-giving leader. [click to continue…]
When the clock tolls the launch of a new dawn
And people start stumbling toward their routines,
There in the early light of day many are searching for more –
They’re looking for the light…
They’re looking for you.
When the morning meditators do their thing
And the quiet prayers of hidden millions ascend to heaven,
There in the expressions of thanks and need and hope
They’re looking for the light…
They’re looking for you. [click to continue…]
It starts out innocently enough. You dutifully climb into the attic and start hauling out the boxes of decorations. Once again the house is tricked out with stockings, twinkling lights, and the scents you save for just this time of year.
You ask the familiar questions: Do we go with same-old same-old, or try something completely new and different? Are we staying home, or traveling, or both? Who’s coming and going? What’s on the calendar between here and there? And of course, what should be get for [fill in the blank] this year for Christmas?
But here’s the tricky part – other than Black Friday, nobody’s giving you any extra time to make all that happen. You still have a job to go to (hopefully), 21 meals a week to account for, meetings to attend, bills to pay, promises to keep.
So how do you make it all fit together? You hurry. You scurry. And sometimes you worry that it never quite seems to all get done.
Truth be told, sometimes sacrifices have to be made to get it all in. And therein lies the rub… because the one thing that Christmas is all about often gets lost in the flurry. [click to continue…]
(Sort-of-random thoughts on the anniversary of infamy and conspiracy theories and high-powered cold medicine, which doesn’t really go with the previous two subjects but can sure make you see them in a whole new way…)
So many years gone… I was only five at the time. Still I remember the solemn funeral, the haunting image of the caisson and that black, riderless horse, and Mrs. Kennedy standing behind the veil. I don’t remember much else of the time, except for the fact that we had a black-and-white TV with three channels available, and when the president was on TV, we could forget watching Captain Kangaroo or Tom and Jerry because he would be on all three channels at the same time.
Wow… how did I ever survive a childhood without Sesame Street, the Cartoon Network, or Nick Jr.? The “Disney Channel” of course! Which came on for an hour every Sunday night at 6:00 on NBC.
Okay, so – in case you missed it – I wanted to let you know that there are people who still believe that no single shooter could have ended the days of Camelot. [click to continue…]
You’ve been told how special you are, how good you have it, even in spiritual circles what an Overcomer you are. But what you hear doesn’t seem to match up with what you see. You look at the rainbows and unicorns of somebody’s social media status and all you seem to see in your life are the clouds and jackasses.
Maybe it’s time for a reality check. Maybe it’s time for a Come to Jesus meeting, where you actually come to Jesus. There with a good dose of truth, faith, and courage you will see that you actually are more than a conqueror. Yet you still must overcome.
Why?
Because every motion forward… in kingdom life, in relationships, and in your own personal growth runs headlong into resistance.
Even special people.
Even blessed people.
Even Overcomers must overcome.
Your identity isn’t a badge you wear to feel good. It’s a weapon you’re given to enforce the truth. Maybe it’s time to sharpen that sword. Without a doubt, it’s time to overcome. [click to continue…]
