Jumping to Conclusions

No author writes something hoping no one reads it. I have been blogging for several years and appreciate my readers’ level of support.

The email posting service I use – Constant Contact – notifies me whenever someone either subscribes or unsubscribes. Of course, I hate to see someone leave, but I get it. My inbox consistently receives 100-200 messages a day. Since I can’t possibly read and process all those, I periodically drop some feeds.

A few years ago, Constant Contact informed me that Dan, a top leader of a ministry group I was heavily involved with, unsubscribed. I have to say, I was a bit miffed. I had spent countelss hours working with that group and also made major financial contributions. However, in the months preceding the “unsubscribe,” I felt a bit of tension with the group. There had been numerous opportunities for me to jump in on some projects for which I was very qualified, but I was ignored, which made me a bit resentful. Seeing his “unsubscribe” just added to my negative feelings, but I didn’t say anything to anyone in the group.

But I was ticked! After all I had done for them, Dan couldn’t even tolerate an occasional email notice in his inbox? Instead of unsubscribing, he just could have ignored them and left them unread.

A few weeks later, I was scrolling through my subscriber list in Constant Contact and stumbled across Dan’s name. And then something caught my eye. I saw he actually had TWO registered email addresses – one ministry and one personal. His unsubscribe was for just one of them, keeping the other address active.

Oh, that’s quite different! He wasn’t ditching me after all.

I felt ashamed that I had let my feeling of being overlooked cloud my interpretation of Dan’s action.

There are four ways I could have responded to his change of status action:

  • Angrily communicate my disappointment to Dan

  • Not say anything but let my negative feelings boil below the surface

  • Calmly initiate a conversation, asking questions rather than making accusations

  • Conclude that this wasn’t a big deal and get on with life

Our decisions are informed by past experiences. It’s not unreasonable to let your prior interactions with someone color how you feel about them. You can notice others’ conduct and draw reasonable conclusions about who they are and how they’re likely to act in the future. However, how you let those observations influence your behavior to them matters. Although we are not to be naïve babes in the woods – never following up when we detect that something is amiss – neither are we to lash out whenever we don’t get our way or feel snubbed.

As Jesus was sending his disciples out on a preaching and healing mission, he instructed them to be as wise as serpents but as innocent as doves (Matthew 10:16). This dual admonition to astuteness tempered by gentleness should also govern our behavior.

I could have angrily confronted Dan, pointing out how much I had done for this group and walked away from their ministry. However, since I had little direct operational interaction with this with him, I didn’t feel this issue rose to the level of needing intervention. If this had been a problem with a co-worker with whom I interacted all the time, I would have taken the third option listed above:  try to resolve the situation respectfully and tactfully. 

What is your default reaction when you feel slighted? Do you jump to conclusions and lash out? Do you ignore the issue and let it fester? Or do you gently pursue a resolution?

Restoration

Last Sunday, Annette and I visited the Automotive Heritage Museum in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Located in what was the last operating Hudson automobile dealership in the world, this great little museum showcases several dozen beautifully restored cars dating from the 1920s through the 1970s. Despite the decades of – in some cases – very hard use, the dents, scars, dings, and faded paint have all been reversed, and the cars have been brought back to factory-perfect conditions. They are now worth many times their original sticker prices.

I recently saw an ad in Hemings Automotive News – a publication specializing in used vintage care – offering a perfectly restored 1959 Chevrolet Impala. Although it originally sold for about $2,900, the 2025 asking price was $125,000. The highest reported auction sale price for a restored 1959 Impala was $368,500. That’s more than 11 times its original sticker price, once inflation is factored in. Restored cars can be incredibly valuable!

So can other things that have been restored.

The reason Annette aand I (and both our kids) were in Michigan was for the funeral of my 96-year-old mother-in-law, Helene Bleecker who died on July 10. The minister who conducted the service referenced Psalm 23. You know, “The Lord is my shepherd.” This psalm consists of 15 phrases, a few of which the pastor highlighted.

One phrase that caught my ear was, “He restores my soul.” Helene’s last months were filled with pain, disorientation, and confusion. As a strong believer in Jesus, she is now with him in heaven. Her body is fully restored. Her relationships with those who have gone before her are fully restored. And – most importantly – her soul is now fully restored. All the limitations and faults of people who know Jesus dissolve when they enter his presence.

So Helene has received the ultimate restoration.

But a careful reading of the psalms reveals another aspect of restoration. David says the Lord “restores my soul” – a present tense verb that implies a “here-and-now” process which is a down-payment on the ultimate restoration to come.

God created each of us out of his love for us, and he wants us to love him back. Unfortunately, each of us is marred by sin – our own and that of others – so we are twisted versions of what God originally intended. When we recognize our perversion and our need to receive forgiveness from Jesus, he begins our transformation. If we let him, he continues the process throughout the rest of our times on earth and brings it to completion when we stand before him in heaven.

In 1 Corinthians 15:42-44, Paul draws parallels between our earthly bodies – which are sown as perishable, in dishonor, in weakness, and as natural – and what they will be when they are raised as imperishable, in glory, in power, and as spiritual bodies. That’s what Helene is experiencing right now.

So last weekend, we got to see two examples of restoration: that of many classic automobiles, and – more importantly – that of my dear mother-in-law. Just as no one would have imagined that a fully restored 1959 Impala would be worth many times more than its original price 66 years later, it’s hard for us to comprehend what a perfectly restored person standing in God’s presence will be like. But I’m glad I will experience that one day! And I hope you will too.

Andy, Glenn, Annette and Stephanie at Dover Township Cemetery

Hell? . . . Really?

These days many think the idea of hell should have disappeared with believing in dragons and burning witches at the stake. And some who focus on the love of God question whether a loving God would condemn anyone to hell – if hell even exists. Well, some of these people are willing to concede that the Hitlers and mass murderers of the world have earned their place in the flames, but almost everyone else deserves to go to heaven.

Even many people who don’t consider themselves Christian regard Jesus as a great teacher, role model and spiritual leader. Since Jesus is so influential, let’s look at what he taught about hell. 

Jesus told 40 parables, many of which are “happy:”

  • A shepherd finding a lost sheep – Luke 15:3-7

  • A woman rejoicing over finding a lost coin – Luke 15:8-10

  • A widow who convinces a judge to give her justice because of her persistence – Luke 18:2-8

However, by my count, about half his parables involve judgment where things end poorly for some:

  • Sheep that are blessed and goats that are condemned to eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels – Matthew 22:31-46

  • A narrow gate that leads to life and a wide road that leads to destruction – Matthew 7:13-14

  • An inappropriately dressed wedding guest who is bound hand and foot and thrown into outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth – Matthew 22:2-14

So Jesus clearly taught that some will experience blessings and others will be frightfully condemned. Beyond offering parables that taught this, he sometimes went out of his way to introduce the topic of hell into totally unrelated conversations.

On one occasion when a Roman centurion asked Jesus to heal his servant, Jesus was surprised that the centurion’s faith was so robust that he recognized that Jesus could heal without even being physically present. After healing the servant remotely, Jesus remarked,

Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Isreal with such great faith. I say to you that many will come from the east and west, and will take their place at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the subjects of the kingdom, will be thrown outside, into the darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth – Matthew 8:10-12

Nothing about the centurion’s request remotely touched on the topic or hell, yet Jesus – without prompting –injected it into this conversation.

You can’t deny that the Bible records these and many other times where Jesus taught about hell and God’s judgment. Logically, here are the only conclusions you can come to about this indisputable fact:

  • Jesus didn’t really say these things but, instead, the Gospel writers put words in his mouth – But this would have involved an impossibly complex conspiracy to systematically inject this topic into dozens of otherwise-unrelated parts of Jesus’ ministry as recorded in all four Gospels, Not a single copy of the ancient New Testament manuscripts supports this idea.

  • ·esus really didn’t believe in hell but was willing to accommodate the backwards beliefs of his listeners – However, that would severely undermine his credibility and authority as a teacher. If he said things he didn’t really believe, why should you trust anything he said?

  • Jesus was wrong. There is no hell – I don’t recommend embracing this view.

  • Jesus truly believed in hell’s reality.

In my book That’s a Great Question:  What to Say When Your Faith Is Challenged I describe what I call the Filter of Selective Christian Theology, where people embrace Jesus’ “nice” sayings like loving your neighbor and turning the other check but reject his clear teachings about God’s judgment and hell. They do this primarily because they already know what they want to believe and filter out the parts they don’t like.

One more thing:  John 3:16 is arguably the most famous verse in the Bible:  “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

That’s a lovely, reassuring verse. But let’s keep reading. John 3:17-18 says. “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned but whoever does not believe stands condemned already. . . .”

The evidence is pretty conclusive. Jesus believed in and actively taught about hell. Ignoring his teaching on this subject is perilous. There is only one way to avoid condemnation and spend eternity with Jesus in heaven. That is to acknowledge your sin and inability to live up to God’s standards, recognize that the only remedy is Jesus’ death and resurrection where he took your penalty, and commit yourself to following him. I truly hope you have done this.

Try This to Add Some Texture to Your Prayer Life

Many people faithfully pray every day for those closest to them. I love bringing before the Lord each of my family members plus a handful of close friends. However, this often becomes a jumble of requests as I move among various people and their differing and ever-changing needs:  someone’s health concern, a friend’s tough financial circumstance, a third person’s relational challenge, someone else’s job-related problem. With about 15 people with so many needs to pray about, my prayer time often turns into an ADD nightmare.

About a year ago, it occurred to me that my prayers for others would probably be more effective and certainly more enjoyable with a bit of organization. So I started clustering my prayers into four categories and focusing on just one category each day for those 15 people.

I start with myself and then progress to my wife Annette, and then each individual in my son’s family, then each individual in my daughter’s family, then my 96-year-old mother-in-law. Then I move on to five dear friends and finish by praying for the direction of our country and for guidance and effectiveness in my ministry activities.

This is what it looks like:

  • Day 1 – For God to speak to each individual (including me) and that we would listen and respond. If I know someone is going through a particularly tough period, I will add a request that the Lord would provide a specifically tailored bit of encouragement to them, even that very day.

  • Day 2 – For what I perceive to be that person’s greatest spiritual or personal need. It may be a particular struggle they’ve mentioned or it might be my own thought about a possible growth area.

  • Day 3 – For relationships: both my relationships with each of them individually and the important relationships within their family units.

  • Day 4 – For their tangible needs like health issues, financial circumstances, job-related problems, etc. These are more “nuts-and-bolts”-type prayers and are different from those from Day 2, which focus on more personal needs. On Day 4, I include prayers for protection of the grandkids from the many dangers our culture exposes them to.

I follow this practice first thing in the morning. If I wake up early and don’t have to jump out of bed, I’ll take my time and pray in some detail. Other days If I’m rushed, I walk through the list rather quickly.

Beyond these 15 or so people, from time to time, I commit to praying daily for a month for someone going through an unusually tough season. Making them a permanent “add” would eventually bloat my prayer activity to an unreasonable level, so the 30-day commitment allows me to bring someone before God for a period while keeping things manageable.

Of course, none of this means that I don’t pray for other requests throughout the day. I love being able to remember needs mentioned at Bible Study, lunch meetings or friends’ texts.

I wanted to describe this very rewarding prayer approach that I stumbled on and suggest that you consider adopting it. A word of caution, though. What makes this an enjoyable process is a personal commitment to not make this a legalistic “must do.” On those days when I’m particularly rushed, I quickly move through the topic of the day and then move guilt-free into my day. Discipline is good. A guilt-inducing attitude is not.

I'm Glad I Didn't Let My 18-Year-Old Self Determine My Future

The September after I graduated high school, I packed up the VW bug and headed to Syracuse University with high hopes and only a vague idea of what I would do for the rest of my life. Because, as a high school senior, I did an independent study project trying to replicate laboratory creation of polystyrene, I slid into a chemistry major without giving it much thought.

Because my freshman year of college saw major campus protests, midway through the spring semester, I began to seriously question the relevance of my chemistry major. In light of larger social issues, I didn’t really think spending the rest of my life studying certain subatomic particles that could only be detected by an electron microscope would be that fulfilling. Who cares?

So I did a hard right turn and became an English Education major. Then a few months later I entered into a life-changing relationship with Jesus. Although I stuck with the English major, instead of becoming a teacher after graduation, I joined the staff of Cru, a Christian outreach organization.

I had three wildly different jobs over my nine-year tenure at Cru: 

  • 2 years working with college students in New York and New Jersey

  • 5 years directing various internationally traveling bands

  • 2 years serving in the international personnel office in the main headquarters

During our last two years on staff, my wife and I carefully evaluated long-term career objectives. I tentatively decided to go to seminary and ultimately become a church pastor. For various reasons, I decided instead on a profession in healthcare executive leadership and spent the rest of my career there.

By my count, including my three different roles within Cru, I made seven vastly dissimilar career decisions. If my choice as an 18-year-old would-be chemistry major was irreversible, my life would have been much different and ultimately, I believe, far less fulfilling. 

Why am I telling you this?

We live in a time when some voices in our society are giving their blessing to 12-year-olds who might have ambivalence about their gender identity to undergo radically life-changing and irreversible surgery and/or hormone therapy to switch genders. I even saw a TV spot about an eight-year-old boy being encouraged by his parents to adopt a gender identity that contradicts his biological reality.

Allowing adolescents to physically transition their sexual identity is horrifying on three levels:

First of all, to my knowledge, there has never been a society in the history of the world that has believed that a man can become a woman or a woman become a man. This goes against every aspect of human history and natural science. Is our generation truly wiser than every other civilization that preceded ours?

Secondly, in a few cases, school officials encourage students to “explore” gender identity alternatives without informing their parents. If a student can’t even go on a field trip without a permission slip from a parent or guardian, how can some outside authority start a child down a path that could ultimately lead them to make permanent, life-altering decisions? 

Finally, with no disrespect to adolescents, how could they possibly make a clear-headed decision about something so fundamental as whether they will spend the rest of their lives as a man or a woman? Middle school teachers will tell you that students who display gender confusion at that age often settle into their true biological gender a year or two later. And of course, every person should be treated with respect as someone created in God’s image.

Because society recognizes the relative immaturity of 12-year-olds, here are some things that, for their own protection and society’s good, they are not permitted to do:

  • Vote

  • Serve on a jury

  • Join the military

  • Get married

  • Enter a legal contract

  • Get a driver’s license

  • Buy an R-rated movie ticket

  • Drink alcohol

  • Buy cigarettes

Yet some in our society encourage their “right” to make a drastic decision to make changes to their bodies that can never be fully reversed.

If I, as an 18-year-old, made an initial career choice I subsequently changed six times, what sense does it make to allow an early adolescent to start down the unalterable path of drastic body change?

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“ . . . (w)hoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to fall away – it would be better for him if a heavy millstone were hung around his neck and he were drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe to the world because of offenses. For offenses will inevitably come, but woe to that person by whom the offenses come.”

Matthew 18:6-7 (CSB)

A Tribute to a Faithful Man of God

I met Mark Warren at a Cru summer staff training conference in Ft. Collins, Colorado more than forty years ago. He was a good-natured friendly guy, an active fitness enthusiast, and serious about making a difference for Jesus. We really hit it off. Over the next few years, we saw each other a few times but, as often happens, we ultimately lost touch.

He died on February 11, my fourth friend or acquaintance to die within the last six months. All of these deaths were tragic, but Mark’s has haunted me in a special way.

He got married in June of 1983. Exactly one year later, he was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) – the dreaded Lou Gehrig’s disease. Within a year, he lost the ability to walk and speak. Here’s part of his obituary:

Mark’s faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, not only never wavered; it grew increasingly stronger throughout his life. Mark was an example of courage to his family and friends. As ALS diminished his physical strength his faith, love, perseverance, and joy in every circumstance through the power of the Holy Spirit increased. ALS did not define or defeat him. Mark had hope in Jesus that sustained him. Mark trusted Christ and followed Jesus because he believed the truth of John 3:16-17. He believed that Jesus took his place and died on the cross for his many sins. That is why we can know that he is with his Savior right now. He would want anyone reading this to know that of every worldly pursuit in which he engaged only his trust in Christ’s work on the cross provided him with true satisfaction, unsurpassed peace, and deep abiding joy.

Even though he could not speak, Mark became an accomplished writer, had a quirky sense of humor, and pursued as many interests as his disability allowed.

I was astounded to learn how upbeat and optimistic he was, especially after I did the math. If he lost the ability to walk and talk in 1985 and died in 2025, that means he literally spent four decades unable to get around by himself or communicate orally. That was more than half of his entire lifetime.

Perhaps it’s a reflection of God’s grace that he seldom clues us in on what our futures hold. I wonder what Mark and his devoted wife would have thought had they known the day they got married how the next 40+ years would unfold. Undoubtedly, they had many ups and downs and shed buckets of tears, but God sustained them as the disease progressively took its toll.

I remember reading a comment from Corrie Ten Boom, the famous Dutch Christian who spent years as a young lady in a Nazi concentration camp. Years later, she recalled a time when, as a child, she was about to embark on a family train trip but hadn’t gotten her ticket from her father yet. When she asked him why not, he explained that, because he was afraid she might misplace it, he would give it to her at just the moment she needed it and not before. Corrie later saw that as a great picture of how God offers us his grace:  right on time, but rarely early.  

Based on seeing how well Mark finished with praises to God on his lips, I can only conclude that he and his wife faithfully tapped into God’s grace, dispensed day by day. What an inspiration! It makes me wonder if I’d have the same level of faith and fortitude. And it also puts my issues – which are miniscule by comparison – in perspective.

I wanted to pay tribute to this amazing man of God, and I hope that his story causes you to you evaluate how willing you are to trust God even in the most dire of circumstances.

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“His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share your master’s joy.’” 

Jesus in the parable of the talents – Matthew 25:21 (CSB)

  • How do you react when you read about Mark’s faithfulness? The goal is not to make you feel guilty over worrying about your circumstances. Instead, it should offer some perspective.

  • Think about the hardest thing you have ever faced. What was your initial response to those circumstances? Were you able to finally come to a place of trusting God through them?

Yet Another Follow-Up on Why I’m Glad I Didn’t Ask for Prayer

Two posts ago, I explained that I was glad I didn’t ask for prayer during a recent pre-service worship team meeting, I had invited three guys from the gym, all of whom said they might come that day, but I decided not to mention that to the group because doing so would have been more about me as “the great outreach guy” than about my gym buddies and my desire that they further their relationships with God.

Last time, I reported that none of them ended up coming and stated I was disappointed but recognized that the story isn’t over. I continue my friendly chats about faith and Jesus with each of them.

This week, I’d like to mention another aspect of this story. John Hard, a friend from my Cru music ministry days, left an insightful comment on my original Face Book post.

I . . . recently have come to realize that there is practically nothing I do in my Christian service that doesn't still have some taint of my sin nature attached to it. . . . I need to . . . (acknowledge) that there is a sinful motive underneath the surface but that my genuine heart’s desire is for God to do something spectacular for his own glory.

I’ve said exactly the same thing many times. Even quietly making an online charitable donation has something in it for me – the pleasure of knowing I am helping a worthy cause. But should the fact that I enjoy helping others prevent me from doing so? Of course not.

Instead of beating yourself up when there’s some kind of benefit to you, you should humbly admit that there is always some degree of self-interest in even the most altruistic actions. And then move forward, asking the Holy Spirit to keep your less-than-ideal motives in check. You’re OK as long as you stay away from the tipping point where the value to you exceeds that of the value to others. 

The Bible recognizes our dark sides. Jeremiah 17:9 teaches that human hearts are more deceitful than anything else and are incurable. And no lesser person than Jesus himself rattles off in Mark 7:20 the “contents” of human hearts:  sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance, and folly. Not a pretty picture.

But thjs is only half the story. The great news is that if you:

  • Come to grips with your sinfulness and its implication (continued separation from God)

  • Recognize that the only cure is acknowledging your inability to be acceptable to God based on your own merits

  • Trust in Jesus’ death in your place to pay for your sins, and

  • Ask him to take over your life

everything changes.

Here’s what 2 Corinthians 5:17 says:  “Whoever is a believer in Christ is a new creation. The old way of living has disappeared. A new way of living has come into existence” (God’s Word translation). And Romans 8:1 – one of my favorite Bible verses – delivers this incredible verdict:  “ . . . there is now no condemnation for those whare are in Christ Jesus” (NASB1995). Did you get that? No condemnation.

According to the Bible, true Christians are sinners who have been redeemed. Both parts of that statement are 100% true. Some Christians read that thought this way:  We’re sinners who have been redeemed. Others stress the second part:  We’re sinners who have been redeemed! I plant my flag with the latter group.  

We should never ignore our continued tendency to sin, but true Christians have been redeemed and are no longer subject to God’s condemnation. This is the way Jesus wants us to live, leaning into God’s grace.

If you’ve committed your life to Christ, although it’s important to remember the “dark side,” I hope you fully recognized you’ve been redeemed and live in the freedom Jesus offers.

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“Those who belong to Christ Jesus are no longer under God’s judgment”

Romans 8:1 (New International Readers’ Version 

  • If you know Jesus, do you focus more on the idea that you’re sinful or that he has completely redeemed you?

  • How do you live in the truth that God has completely forgiven and redeemed you as a Christian without abusing his grace and failing to honor him in your behavior?

Follow-Up: I’m Glad I Didn’t Ask for Prayer

My last post ended with a cliffhanger. I reported that, during a recent pre-service worship team huddle, I decided against asking for prayer that three guys from the gym would come to church that day. Too much of my motivation for mentioning that would have been grandstanding before the pastor and the others. If y ou missed that post, you can scroll down to read it.

In the article, I didn’t reveal whether or not the gym guys came, and several of you asked if they did. They did not.

Of course, I was disappointed but not particularly upset. We have developed friendships over the last few months, and I will continue to chat with them at the gym and/or over breakfast, so this was not a “make or break” invitation.

Sometimes we place too much importance on a particular ministry opportunity as if it’s game over if things don’t turn out as we hoped. We forget that God often woos people over time.

In the September/October 2024 issue of Christianity Today magazine, Linda Holifield shares how she came to know Christ. Raised in a black-and-white, fundamentalist Christian background, she drifted away and ultimately renounced her faith, primarily because she never got answers to her honest questions. However, through ongoing involvement with a “non-anxious and faithfully Christian friend” (as she calls her), Linda started on the journey back to faith and eventually established a life-changing relationship with Jesus. She concludes her story like this:

If God can pursue me over decades, patiently meet me in moments of seeming godlessness, and ultimately resurrect my heart . . . , then I can trust him to be alive in the spiritual journeys of others who seem far off from him. . . . My story screams of God’s long-game redemptive work that was out of sight for so long. (Click this link to read her full story: My Deconstruction Turned to Deconversion. But God Wasn’t Anxious. - Christianity Today)

So, no, the fact that my fellow gym rats didn’t show up is not the end of the story. Although it’s an honor to be part of helping someone come to faith (and something we should all be engaged with) the other person’s eternal destiny does not depend on me. As Jesus said, even the rocks cry out the truth (Luke 19:40).

Of course, we are told to join with others in prayer (Matthew 18:19). However, you can misunderstand this admonition and assume your request might only be answered if you reach a “tipping point” concerning three aspects of prayer: 

  • Praying frequently enough

  • Getting enough others to agree with you in prayer

  • Demonstrating your sincerity through enough emotional intensity

You can subconsciously imagine – almost superstitiously – there’s a mathematical “formula” that ups the chance of God answering your prayers. If you don’t get your desired results, you could erroneously conclude it’s because you didn’t rack up enough “total prayer minutes” or weren’t fervent enough. But remember, God responds to your requests based on his wisdom and love, not because you met some vague threshold that shows you’re serious.

So, I will continue to have friendly conversations with the gym guys. Maybe they will come to church one day. Maybe they won’t. But getting them to walk into the building is not the issue. The real endgame is helping them strengthen their relationships with Jesus, and that can happen in any number of ways. If God chooses to use me to do that, that would be great. But he doesn’t need me.

One important concept I learned while on Cru staff is this:  Success in witnessing is sharing Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit and leaving the results to God. This principle of faithfully carrying out your duties and trusting God with the outcome applies to all ministry ventures. And this allows you to relax in God’s sovereignty and grace.

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Many are the plans in a person’s heart,

but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails

Proverbs 19:21

  • How do you react when something you sincerely and earnestly prayed for doesn’t happen?

  • What is the balance between defining a desired outcome and being able to trust God with the outcome?

I’m Glad I Didn’t Ask for Prayer

I play in our church’s praise team about every three weeks. Each Sunday right before the first service, church staff, the band and the production team huddle for final instructions and prayer. Typically, the pastor asks if anyone has a particular prayer need.

The last time I played happened to be the Sunday I was hoping three guys from the gym would show up. I had been meeting with them individually for a couple of months, and I used the fact that I was playing as a “sweetener” to coax them to come. When the pastor asked for requests, I considered bringing up these three guys.

However, I felt the Holy Spirit telling me to back off. Why would I really be asking for prayer? Was it primarily so these guys would come and learn more about God. or was it more to impress the pastor and everyone else? How often does someone bring a new person to church? And here I was, possibly getting three new guys through the door on the same day! How cool is that? That should certainly earn me the “Spiritual Hero of the Week” award.

Thankfully, I kept my mouth shut and just continued praying by myself.

A primary theme in the Sermon on the Mount is that your attitude matters more than your actions. Even if you are doing good things, if your heart is wrong, you are not pleasing to God. Jesus says that anger comes from the same place in your heart as murder does. The same is true for lust and adultery. So even if you’re not a murderer or an adulterer, you are still sinning if your heart harbors the same underlying evil that could blossom into murder or adultery.

He goes on to warn against making a public show of prayer:

When you pray, you mustn’t be like the play-actors. They love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners, so that people will notice them. I’m telling you the truth:  they have received their reward in full. No:  when you pray, go into your room, shut the door, and pray to your father who is there in secret. And your father who sees in secret, will repay you (Matthew 6:5-6)

In the case of praying for the gym guys, my request would have come dangerously close to “standing on the street corners” to be noticed. Since there was too much chance for self-aggrandizement in asking for prayers for the gym guys during the pre-service gathering, I realized I was better off praying silently instead of showboating. And I’m glad I did.

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“When you practice your piety, mind you don’t do it with an eye on the audience. Otherwise, you won’t have any reward from your father in heaven” 

Matthew 6:1 – The New Testament for Everyone

  • How often do you have to check your motives when doing good deeds? How prone are you to seek the spotlight when doing God’s work?

  • What are some steps you can take to counteract this tendency?

I Almost Lost Control of My Car When I Saw This Billboard

A couple of years ago as my wife Annette and I traveled up I-75 about 40 miles north of Atlanta, I spotted a pretty cool (or so I thought) billboard. It quoted Philippians 2:10 – “At the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth.” I always enjoy seeing this type of public acknowledgement of faith.

But as we whizzed by the billboard, two additional words below the verse popped out:  “Even Democrats.”

I just about drove off the road when I saw this!

There are at least two reasons why this was an inappropriate and even dangerous billboard. First, there have been numerous attempts to wed Christianity and secular government. And that rarely ends well. Yes, in one sense, it was wonderful when Christianity became Rome’s official state religion in AD 380. The persecution and execution of Christians stopped, and many more people were introduced to Jesus. All this was good.

But the co-mingling of religion and government inevitably led to perversion of the faith as people recognized the political advantage of aligning with the officially approved religion. Christianity started down the road of being leveraged by “the establishment,” leading to its growing corruption.

At various times, well-meaning Christians have attempted to coerce virtuous behavior. Don’t get me wrong. Our faith should affect every part of our lives including our participation in the political and policy making processes. Having laws that support biblical and moral values is crucial for a moral society. But it becomes dangerous when those efforts descend into enforced religious practice or mingling of faith and partisan politics. Just one example:  On October 21, 1663, John Harlow, a Virginia colonist, was fined 50 pounds of tobacco for failing to attend church. Bad idea.

Clearly, our current political climate is highly partisan and bitterly divided. But no more so than that of Jesus’ day.

Quick quiz:  With which faction or group did Jesus align himself:

A.    Herodians – A religiously oriented political party tied to the house of Herod

B.     Sadducees – A powerful, aristocratic group that rejected many aspects of the spiritual world, including belief in resurrection, angels and demons

C.     Zealots – Revolutionaries extremely loyal to the Jewish way of life to the point of advocating violence

D.    Pharisees – An influential religious group that attempted to impose scrupulous behavioral standards on the Jewish people to hasten the appearance of the Messiah who they expected would rescue Israel from Rome

E.     None of the above

Of course, the answer is E.  

As the old saying goes, “If it’s good enough for Jesus, it’s good enough for me.”

As important as it is to be responsible and active citizens, the moment we allow politics – or anything else for that matter – to assume more importance than our single-minded commitment to Christ, we are swimming in dangerous waters. Linking “Jesus is Lord” with an anti-Democratic message (and an implied endorsement of the Republican party) borders on blasphemy. Some Republican Christians may be surprised when they arrive in heaven and discover there are actually some Democrats there. And some Democrats will be surprised to learn they will be sharing eternity with some Republicans,

The second reason this billboard is inappropriate is that it can be a major impediment to sharing the good news of God’s grace. Think about it. If I am a Democrat who self-identifies as an atheist or an agnostic, how likely is it that this billboard will encourage me to explore what it means to acknowledge Jesus as my Lord? If I take this billboard at face value, you are asking me to abandon my political convictions – perhaps deeply held – if I want to follow Jesus. Instead of alienating people, we should seek ways to welcome them.  

Let me repeat that we as Christians ought to be actively involved in the political process. Some politicians demonstrate more godly policies and behavior than others, and they deserve our support, but don’t wrap Jesus around your candidate.

I thank God that he calls some people to pursue political office motivated by their desire to serve others and improve the world. But this becomes problematic when my allegiance to any party or candidate gets conflated with my loyalty to Jesus. So be sure to vote, but keep your political loyalties a clear second to your commitment to Jesus.

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Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.

Psalm 124:8 – ESV 

  • How much influence do you think the Christian faith should have on public policy?

  • How engaged are you in the political process? Should you be more involved, or are you basing too much of your hope and happiness on the outcome of any particular election?

We Came Within 50 Feet of Disaster

A week ago, we got to live out the truths of two cliches:

  • Life can change in an instant

  • When all is said and done, what really matters is the safety of your loved ones

On Thursday, September 5, Annette and I drove to the Silver Lake area of Los Angeles to babysit the grandkids for nine days while Andy and Liza went to New York and Maine to celebrate their tenth anniversary.

Sunday afternoon, we started hearing about the Bridge Fire, about 15 air miles south of our town of Wrightwood in the Angeles National Forest. The fire was pretty stable all day Monday and into Tuesday morning.

Mid-afternoon Tuesday, Annette drove back to Wrightwood for her Bible study meeting scheduled for Wednesday morning. Before she got there, she called a couple of times alarmed by the ominous smoke clouds over the mountains.  “The sky looks like tomato soup!” she exclaimed. An hour after she got home, San Bernardino County issued a sudden “Evacuate NOW” order, so she jumped back in the car and made a beeline down the mountain.  

Tuesday morning, the Bridge Fire covered only 4,000 acres, but because of what fire officials called a 1% of 1% set of weather conditions, within a few hours it had exploded to over 40,000 acres. Because we are in a canyon that backs up to one of the ridges, our neighborhood was incredibly vulnerable.

As Tuesday evening wore on, the possibility that our house could be gone by morning grew increasingly real. I began to think through what we would have to replace in the event of a total loss:  all our furniture and appliances, the car we left behind, all our clothing (down to socks and underwear), our hundreds of books, Annette’s kitchen gear, my 50+ harmonicas (each of which costs about $45 and some of which are hard to get), the 150+ music charts I had spent countless hours arranging, even mouthwash and Q-Tips. But then I remembered that we were safe and so were our family and friends.

As Annette and I lay awake in bed at 4:00 a.m., I echoed what many before us have verbalized when they escaped death and injury but lost everything they owned. “At least we’re all safe.” She wholeheartedly agreed and said that, if the worst happened and our town burned down, what she would be saddest about would be the inevitable scattering of our immediate neighbors whom we have come to love. Then I said, “I’m so glad to be going through this whole thing with someone who knows how to respond the right way.”

We came so close to calamity that the back of our next-door neighbor’s fence got charred! Thankfully, by God’s grace and through the incredible work of the hundreds of firefighters, only a handful of structures in Wrightwood burned. You probably heard about our fire on national news.

Since we bought our house four years ago, we’ve suffered two years of serious drought, a severe blizzard, a few very minor earthquakes, a hurricane, close encounters with a bear and a rattlesnake, and now this (our second wildfire evacuation). We’re living a lot “closer to the land” than we did in Metro Atlanta!

A few people have asked, somewhat facetiously, if we regret moving here. Absolutely not! Even if our house had been destroyed, I would say the same.

The punchline of a talk called “Demystifying Decision-Making” which I have given several times is that if you deliberately, responsibly and prayerfully seek God’s will for important decisions, you must interpret everything that results from that decision as part of his plan. And that includes even such tragedies as your house going up in flames. God is all-knowing, all-powerful and all-loving That means none of the unfortunate aftermath of a decision is beyond his control or has caught him by surprise.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that you won’t experience frustration, disappointment, or even anger over the circumstance, but ultimately, you have to settle in to the fact that God filters everything through his omnipotent and loving hands.

Next time, I’ll relay some of the great things that have already happened because of this forest fire experienc

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Keep your life free from love of money; be content with what you have. He himself has said, after all, “I will never, ever leave or forsake you.” – Hebrews 13:5 (The New Testament for Everyone)

  • What is the hardest set of circumstances you have ever faced? To what extent were you able to see God’s hand in the situation?

  • How do you think you would react if you lost all your possessions?

 

A New Twist on an Old Summer Camp Story

Part of the “evening ritual” at the 4-H summer camp I worked at while I was in college was the vesper talk designed to help our campers reflect on their days and perhaps the larger meaning of life. We had a pool of stories that we would regularly recycle. Thank goodness the kids were only there two weeks or else we would have run out of material.

One of my favorite talks involved a somewhat mean kid whose dad wanted to teach him a lesson by giving him a 12” log, a hammer, and a sack of 5” nails. “For this next week,” he instructed, “every time you do or say something that hurts someone, drive a nail it into the log.” 

If you ever endured poison ivy, mosquito bites and bug juice at summer camp, you might have heard this story and know where it’s heading. But don’t bail on me. After I get to the punchline, I’ll present a new angle I hope you will appreciate.

The son thought his dad had lost it. “What’s with the nails in the log? What’s that supposed to do?” But he agreed to comply and by the end of the week, the log resembled a porcupine with nails sticking out everywhere.

“Now,” said the dad, “for this next week, every time you do something kind, I want you to pull one of the nails out.” Realizing how many bad things he had done, the son felt some degree of remorse and tried to make up by going out of his way to do and say kind things. And, voila, by the end of the week all the nails were gone.

Although the dad was pleased by his son’s attempt to compensate, he pointed out that even though the nails were gone, the holes in the log weren’t.

Our little sermonette to the campers stressed that even if they tried to “undo” some of the harm they had done, the damage couldn’t be erased. So just don’t be mean. That’s an important lesson, and many of the kids took it to heart.

But I recently thought of a way to recast this story to reflect an even more significant lesson.

Instead of the log representing my relationship with others, think about it as my own soul. And instead of driving a nail into the log when I hurt someone, think about it as driving a hole in my soul every time I sin.

The overwhelming majority of people – religious or not – would say they try to compensate for their shortcomings by doing good things to balance the scales. It’s the old “If my good deeds outweigh my bad ones, God – if there is one – will accept me.”

As this old camp story teaches, though, even when the nails are removed, the holes can’t be. And in my new version, the nail holes are not damage done to others but damage to my own soul.

The Christian message as taught in the Bible is that I can never fill the holes in my core being caused by my sin. And those sins separate me from God.

It would be depressing if the message stopped there. But it doesn’t. The rest of the story is that Jesus can and will fill those holes if we ask him to. And he is the only one who can. 

As important as it is to realize the negative implications of our bad behavior on others, it’s more important to recognize what it does to my relationship with God. And even more important is finding the only true remedy to my alienation from God caused by my sin. And that is confessing my rebellion against or indifference to God, claiming Jesus’ forgiveness, and committing my life to him.

I hope you can relate to my revised adaptation of this story.

One last thing. The lesson from the original version still rings true. Even though Jesus can and does repair the devastation to the souls of people who recognize their need and turn to him, relational and sometimes even legal consequences remain. So, let’s not forget the implications of our behavior on others.

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  • To what extent do you believe that, in God’s eyes, your good deeds can make up for you bad ones?

  • Have you ever gotten to the point of recognizing that nothing you can do will make you acceptable to God but that Jesus’ perfect life, death and resurrection can do just that if you turn to him?

. . . [T]he wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal like through Christ Jesus our Lord – Romans 6:23 (New Living Translation)

If You See Something, Say Something

Our little town of Wrightwood is nothing like the rest of Southern California. We have only 5,000 residents, no stop lights, and no fast-food restaurants. But we do have snow. Not exactly downtown LA.

We also have a country club. But forget everything you know about country clubs. Ours consists of a sag pond (created by the two sides of the San Adreas Fault that runs directly under it) with thousands of tadpoles, a few tennis courts, a small fitness center, and a snack bar. The closest thing we have to golf is a disc golf course. But one nice feature we do have is the summer Sunday afternoon concert series with blues, jazz or rock groups playing in the pond’s bandshell.

A few weeks ago, as Annette and I were signing in at the main gate to enjoy the music, the young check-in lady turned to Annette and out of the blue said, “You are really pretty.” Annette was slightly taken aback, but then a big smile came over her face as she thanked her for her kind remark.

Why are we so chintzy with our compliments? That comment cost the check-in girl nothing and brightened Annette’s afternoon.

A phrase that came into fashion shortly after the 9/11 terrorist attacks was, “If you see something, say something.” Of course, it was intended to intercept potentially dangerous acts, but let me offer a slight variation:  “If you see something you like or respect, say something.” Why not? Who doesn’t like positive feedback? Everyone gets slammed or criticized when they mess up, so why not offer a counterbalance?

 I meet with many men one-on-one to listen to them, encourage them, let them know that I care about them, and offer input as appropriate. Lately, I’ve been making a point to mention during our meetings at least one positive thing I see in them. It’s usually easy to find something encouraging and specific to say.

For example, if the guy recounts some serious trials he’s facing, I might say, “Obviously, you’re going through a hard time, but I’m impressed by how you’re leaning into it,” or “I know this is hard for your whole family, and I love how you how you’re trying to minimize the impact on your wife.”

If I forget to offer such a comment, I sometimes drop a quick text later that day to remind him of something that impressed me. Better late than never.

I urge you to be on the lookout for how you can express genuine appreciation to those in your world. Like any other new behavior, it might take a while to make this a default piece of your conversations, but once you do, you will be amazed how easy it is to identify positive attitudes and behaviors.

 Various studies suggest that it takes anywhere from three to ten positive comments to counter one negative one. The negative ones always seem to find us. Why not be part of the positive side of that ratio?

If you see something, say something.

Who in the World Was Stuart MacLennan, and Why Should You Care?

Here’s a hint. He was pastor of Hollywood Presbyterian Church early last century. Does this help you figure out why you should care? No? How about this?

Just over 100 years ago, he was guest speaker at a small church in Minneapolis where he met Henrietta Mears, a single, “bookish,” physically impaired high school principal in her 30s who lived with her sister. His message so inspired her that she immediately started meeting and corresponding with him and eventually moved to Southern California to become Christian Education Director at his church, a position she held for nearly 35 years.

This is an impressive story. However, that still doesn’t explain you should get excited about Stuart MacLennan. Let me help you.

During Henrietta Mears’ decades-long tenure at Hollywood Presbyterian, among the people she mentored were:

  • Bill and Vonnette Bright – co-founders of Cru and Athletes in Action and the force behind the Jesus film. This film has been translated into 2,166 languages, and estimates are that there have been more than 7.3 billion viewings of the film.

  • Dawson Trotman – founder of The Navigators

  • Jim Rayburn – founder of Young Life

  • Wilbur Smith – cofounder of Fuller Theological Seminary

  • Richard Halverson – a future United States Senate chaplain

  • Many other Christian leaders and Hollywood celebrities

She also went on to establish Gospel Light Publications and collaborate with leaders of such internationally significant ministries as World Vision, Samaritan’s Purse, and Wycliffe Bible Translators. Beyond that, she was an early leader of the National Association of Evangelicals.

Oh, and then there was a young preacher named Billy Graham whom she discipled and encouraged to stage his 1949 Los Angeles crusade which launched his international ministry.  He once commented that, besides his mother and his wife, Henrietta Mears was the most influential woman in his life.

During my nine years on Cru staff, I often heard about Henrietta Mears and her phenomenal impact. But I never heard of Rev. MacLennan until I recently read an article about Ms. Mears penned by my friend Paul Batura, Vice President of Communications at Focus on the Family. From a human perspective, none of Henrietta Mears’ influence would have happened without Rev. MacLennan. Of course, God could have used someone else to inspire her or someone else to accomplish all she did. But, for whatever reason, God chose to use Stuart MacLennan and Henrietta Mears.

One more thing. My story intersects with Stuart MacLennan in a way I hadn’t realized. In a real sense, I am part of his legacy. He discipled Henrietta Mears, Henrietta Mears discipled Bill Bright, Bill Bright founded Cru, and I came to know Jesus through Cru decades after Henrietta Mears’ first encounter with Rev. MacLennan.

Stuart MacLennan’s legacy serves as an example to us all. If you are in professional ministry, you are undoubtedly helping many people. We all have a tendency to gravitate toward the leaders and superstars. If there had been a web page featuring people seeking to become influencers who would change the face of American Christianity, Henrietta Mears would have gotten almost no “likes.” Yet look how God used her. And it’s largely because Stuart MacLennan looked past her “demographics” and discipled an unlikely lady with a heart for God. Don’t write off people just because they may not be one of the “cool kids.” Jesus certainly didn’t.

If you are not in professional ministry, God can still use you in huge ways. Although Rev. MacLennan was the major influence on Henrietta Mears, there were undoubtedly many others along the way who encouraged her and fed into her life. You can do the same.

Help a Christian struggling with a personal tragedy. Invest time teaching the 10th grade boys’ Sunday School class. Share with a coworker or neighbor what God has done in your life. Any of these actions could have a profound impact on someone’s world. And perhaps God will bring someone into your life with whom you can develop a deep discipleship relationship and who just might go on to have a global impact. You never know how you might be influencing future generations.

My parting challenge is, regardless of how big or small your “reach” is, always be looking for ways to help someone in Jesus’ name and to further God’s kingdom.