It's a long story . . . . . abandonment to hope!

I’m going to start telling a long story. This post is the first installment. It’s a story of God reconciling me to my earthly father after having been abandoned by him for almost 40 years. This post will start at the beginning. I was born October 11, 1962 – thankfully. Had my father had his way I might have been aborted, at least as I hear it. But God knew my days even in my mother’s womb, and He had a plan for my life. But a newborn with two other kids, under the age of three, was just too …

a funeral count down

I love this country. But sometimes I am ashamed of our sense of values and priorities. For weeks now I have heard nothing from our national news agencies but the detailed events that have led up to the funeral of a blonde woman. To make matters worse the day of her funeral our news media and talk show hosts picked this thing apart … reaching beyond the point of ridiculous. When Jesus died it was really “no big deal” to most people around Jerusalem that day. But in reality it was part of God’s plan to save sinners that would …

Thinking something different

“Discovery consists of looking at the same thing as everyone else and thinking something different.” — Roger von Oech I love this quote. I found it in the sign-off of an e-mail from a friend and it has provided a good deal of reflection, some of which I offer to you today. First is the use of the word “discovery.” You could replace that word with “worship” and the quote would still work. “Worship consists of looking at the same thing as everyone else and thinking something different.” I have found a good deal of worship is discovery. As we …

Leadership 101 – Part 4 – Disciplined

Love Example Accountable Disciplined Paul, writing to Timothy, urged him to “train [i.e., discipline] yourself for the purpose of godliness.” (1 Timothy 4:7) Paul knew how vitally important it was for his young protege to develop the habits of self-control, restraint, and order. Without those qualities his character and his ministry would suffer greatly. Harry Truman offered this analysis, “In reading the lives of great men, I found that the first victory they won was over themselves… self-discipline with all of them came first.” Discipline is essential. Aristotle once said, “What lies in our power to do lies in our …

Leadership 101 – Part 3 – Accountable

Love Example Accountable Henry Blackaby nails this one… “The time to buy the smoke alarm is when you build the house, not after the fire starts. The time to enlist friends as partners in accountability is not when [ fill in the blank ] temptation is already a raging inferno but before the first spark. Time after time, disgraced leaders admit that, although they were surrounded by people, they had not close friends with whom they were transparent and who were in a position to hold them accountable. They rarely cite the lack of available people or the unwillingness of …

The mission is you

“Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:27)   You have a mission in life and this is it: you. Your mission is not only your story, though that is part of it, it is you, because Christ is in you. You were made to be a vessel to carry him and reflect him through your personality as he lives his life through yours. You are the temple, the dwelling place of the most high. You are a carrier of Christ; he lives again in you. Jesus died, rose again, and went to heaven in his new body, but …

Leadership 101 – Part 2 – Example

Love [ see March 5 entry ] Example Charles Barkely once proclaimed, “I’m not a role model. Hey parents, you should be raising your own kids. Don’t rely on me to do it.” Sorry Charles, you are a role model. And you are a leader whether you accept the responsibility or not… because you’ve been given a position of tremendous influence. Hey men, we’re leaders too… as husbands and dads we’re in a position of great influence. So what should we be doing? Warren Wiersbe says that “[Shepherds and leaders] must imitate the great Example, the Lord Jesus, and, by …

No shortage of sinners

Eugene Debs, who ran for president of the United States as a third party candidate in 1912, had this to say while campaigning:   “As long as there is a lower class, I am in it. As long as there is a criminal element, I’m of it. As long as there is a soul in prison, I am not free.”   Obviously he didn’t get elected since none of us has ever heard of him, but I believe there is a lot of truth in thinking this way about our place in the world.   The Apostle Paul had something …

Leadership 101 – Part 1 – Love

Webster defines leadership as “the office or position of a leader,” “the capacity to lead,” or “the act or an instance of leading.” Based on these definitions, leadership can be viewed as a position, an ability, and an activity. But what characteristics do godly leaders possess? What exactly is a leader? And what does a leader do? Over the next several days I’ll post a simple acrostic, one letter at a time, that will hopefully help to describe what biblical leadership is all about. Here we go! Love – Leaders love people… it’s that simple. Says Richard Swenson, “We were …

Because of you

Your mission is to live your life.   In 1 Corinthians 7, the Apostle Paul addresses believers who are married to unbelievers, and outlines a general rule that if the unbelieving spouse chooses to stay in the marriage, it would be good for the believer to stay, too. He gives two reasons for this: First, the children will have a godly influence through the believing parent, and second, the unbeliever may be converted “because of you.” (1 Corinthians 7:16) (Exceptions to this rule would of course be situations of abuse and endangerment of a spouse or child.)   Just what …