WHAT DO YOU CALL THE OPPOSITE OF GOD BLESSING A VENTURE?

Among my other responsibilities as Executive Vice President at Georgia Hospital Association (GHA), I served as the “front door” for vendors seeking the association’s endorsement. I met with hundreds of companies over my 19 years there. Some of them got it right, and others were flaming disasters. Additionally, I had the chance to lead GHA teams in developing our own products to sell to hospitals nationwide. So I thoroughly get what it takes to successfully launch a healthcare product.

When I founded my consulting company post-GHA, I infused it with my deep understanding of what it takes to successfully sell to healthcare instituti0ons. These insights also made it into my book, Thriving in the Healthcare Market:  Strategies from an Industry Insider for Selling Your Product. The book features 84 pitfalls I’ve seen trip up vendors and also offers nearly 200 tips on how to avoid them.

Almost miraculously, the publisher – an affiliate of the 80,000-member international Healthcare Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) – approved my proposal two days after I submitted it. This never happens! I was also delighted when the book got glowing endorsements and the highest possible rating from an outside organization that reviews business-related books.  

Once my book hit the market, I pulled out all the stops to get it before the right audiences:  joining 31 LinkedIn healthcare technology groups, regularly posting brief articles and crisp videos highlighting the top 10 pitfalls and other significant topics, approaching many health tech incubators and accelerators, doing podcast interviews, and speaking at various meetings and conferences.

Not all my promotional efforts panned out, however. In fact, several of them totally bombed:

• A division of Emory University considered developing a video curriculum based on my book but ultimately dropped the idea because of budget constraints.

• An affiliated arm of HIMSS failed to promote the book to HIMSS’ 80,000 members.

• Every year HIMSS has a huge convention and expo with up to 40,000 participants and hundreds of vendors on the exhibition floor. These vendors are the book’s perfect target. The publisher invited me to the HIMSS 2020 trade show as their guest but, alas, the Covid pandemic shut the whole thing down.

• For HIMSS 2021, I spent many hours developing a joint talk with HIMSS’ immediate past chairman, a highly sought-after international speaker. Unbelievably, the education committee rejected this proposal, even though it came from HIMSS’ top leader.

• The HIMSS chair and I tried again for HIMSS 2022. Same result!

• I contacted six senior leaders and professors at a for-profit educational company whose sole focus is preparing sales executives to succeed in selling to healthcare organizations. They couldn’t have found a more perfect resource than my book! Despite two emails and a phone call to each of them, not one of them ever acknowledged my emails or voice messages.

• I co-chaired two regional multi-day health tech conferences for an organization that also has a magazine devoted to promoting emerging technology. Since I knew the president, I approached him about seeing how my book might help his readership. After his initial expression of interest, he ghosted me.

Had any one of these initiatives succeeded, the book’s reach would have greatly expanded.

What do I make of all this? If I were cynical, I would accuse God of “teasing” me with so many false starts. Interestingly, I usually find it easiest to trust God when multiple things go wrong. One or two disappointments are frustrating, but so many fizzles can’t be “just coincidence.” (Of course since God absolutely controls everything, nothing is truly coincidental.)

Over the years, I’ve learned accusing God is a bad idea. First of all, he’s God and I’m not. Similar to what God asks Job after Job complains for several chapters, where was I when God created everything and set the world in motion?

Secondly, God doesn’t owe me anything. What I really deserve is condemnation and hell because of my sin. By his grace, God touched my heart years ago and forgave my sins, bringing me into a relationship with Jesus. Anything beyond this is pure blessing.

Furthermore, I’ve stopped “demanding” that God explain his reasons when things go south. Sometimes I can look over my shoulder and see some good that eventually emerges from problems or disasters. Sometimes I can’t. And that’s OK. Like I said, God doesn’t owe me anything. 

So what do you call the opposite of God blessing a venture? I call it part of God’s loving will for me, even if I don’t fully understand it. I hope you can embrace this attitude too.

Don't Do This to the Bible

In the 1980s I worked at a religiously sponsored hospital, and in 1988 they issued a wall calendar featuring a beautiful photo, a Bible verse, and an inspirational thought for each month of the year. Here’s the January entry:

I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father but through me - John 14:6

Great verse! It comes from the lips of Jesus himself, and he claims the only way to truly know God is through him.

But look at the calendar’s reflection on that verse:

Am I the Way for others – or do they see me as a barrier?

Is my Truth evident in what I say – as opposed to what I do?

Does Life fill my days and nights – or is mere existence all I know?

Although these are important questions, the only thing they have in common with John 14:6 is the repetition of the words, “way,” “truth” and “life.” Jesus is pointing to himself in this verse, but the calendar turns that around to make the reader the focus.

This application violates the most fundamental principle of biblical interpretation:  understand what a verse means in its context before you decide how it applies to you.

Here’s John 14:6’s context. Jesus has just told the disciples he was going to the Father to prepare a place for them and that he would come back to take them with him. He then says, “You know the way to the place where I am going.” This prompts Thomas, one of the disciples, to ask, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

This is when Jesus declares himself to be the Way, the Truth and the Life and that no one came come to God apart from him.

Do the calendar’s three questions bear any relationship whatsoever to Jesus’ statement? When Thomas heard Jesus’ words, I suspect he was no more likely to wonder if he (Thomas) was a barrier to others (as mentioned in the calendar’s reflection) than he was to wonder what the weather was like in Rome that day.

The calendar’s questions are good ones, and we should consider whether or not we are following their advice. The problem is that the questions have no more connection to what Jesus said in John 14:6 than they do with advising me whether or not I should eat organic food.

It’s been said that you can use the Bible to prove any point. That’s true. In fact, I can show you that the Bible declares that God doesn’t even exist. Psalm 14:1 says – and this is a direct quote – “There is no God.”

Does that trouble you? Well, let me put you at ease. That’s only part of the verse. This is what the entire first part of Psalm 14:1 says: “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’”

That’s quite different.

But my manipulation of that verse demonstrates how it’s possible to find a string of words that states something I already believe and then act as if God endorses my position. This amounts to treating the Bible like a book of magic. If I can find just the right combination of words, it has to be true. Never mind that that’s not what the passage really teaches.

Instead, we must fully understand what a particular passage means in both its immediate context and the Bible’s larger, overall framework before rushing to questionable interpretations or applications. Occasionally, I have gently challenged a well-meaning Christian’s interpretation or application of a particular passage I think they are misinterpreting only to have them question whether or not I really believe the Bible. Of course I do. But it has to be read responsibly.

Let me point you to a very helpful book about how to get the most out of reading, interpreting and applying the Bible:  How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth by Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart. It’s both comprehensive and accessible to any reader.

https://www.amazon.com/How-Read-Bible-All-Worth/dp/0310517826/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2TAG7UYYL90KB&keywords=how+to+read+the+bible+for+all+its+worth&qid=1708108859&sprefix=how+to+read+the+bible+for+%2Caps%2C147&sr=8-1

Reading and applying the Bible responsibly takes some work, but doing so is enormously rewarding as it will help you more completely understand how to live in the fullness of God’s love for you.

The Role a Chicken Played in Teaching Me About Generosity

One of the highlights of my five years in Cru’s music ministry was our overseas tours. To maximize our outreach, our band often did two concerts a day. One day in Kenya included a late-morning high school program followed by an afternoon break and an evening church concert. One of the Ethiopian-born Cru staff couples was aware of our open afternoon and kindly invited us to have lunch at their modest house.

When we arrived, we quickly assessed the situation. There were nine of us in the band, one American Cru staff person, and the two Ethiopian staff members for a total of 12 people. The buffet meal they had prepared consisted of a large bowl of rice, some vegetables, a dressed salad, and a single chicken cut up into small pieces. We quickly recognized that one chicken wouldn’t go very far feeding twelve people, so went very light on the meat.

As I was going through the line, I thought through the rest of the day’s schedule and figured there was just enough time between the time we returned from lunch and when we would have to leave for the evening concert setup for me to slip over to the KFC restaurant next to our hotel and get a “real” meal.

On the way back to the hotel, the American staff member surprised us by saying, “You probably don’t realize what this staff couple did for you. The standard of living for African staff members is so modest that they typically can only afford to have meat once a week. And they shared their weekly meat meal with you.”

I felt terrible. Rather than appreciate the thoughtful meal laid out in front of us, I had been preoccupied by figuring out how I could really fill my belly.

In my defense, I was brought up with a “scarcity mentality,” so I am not naturally predisposed to generosity. Growing up, I heard many stories from my elderly relatives about how difficult it was living through the Great Depression and how they had to constantly scrimp just to stay afloat. Added to this was my own experience being raised by a single mom. We never missed a meal, but things were so tight that we rarely could afford cookies, ice cream or any other “splurge” foods. Our big “treat” beyond our basic meals was one orange a day each.

But this background is no excuse. Recently, I’ve tried to make an effort to step up my generosity game, especially with people who are less fortunate than I am. That extra $5 I add to the restaurant tip certainly means more to the hard-working server than it does to me. God has blessed me in so many ways that I should be willing to be a conduit of blessing to others.

As you think about your own generosity, let me remind you that it can involve more than just your money. I fully realize how packed everyone’s schedule is, and I don’t say this to add any guilt. But you should look for ways to be generous with your time as much as is reasonable, jumping in to minister to the people God places in your path. Beyond paying for the care of poor man left bleeding on the side of the road, the Good Samaritan interrupted his schedule to get personally involved. The religious elite who passed by the victim weren’t willing to provide any assistance at all (Luke 10:25-37).

One word of caution. Generosity must be balanced by responsibility. I have occasionally heard of people who impulsively give away so much that they neglect their financial obligations.

Of course, my lesson on generosity didn’t really come from the chicken. It came from the staff couple. But the chicken was what prompted the lesson. Writing this article is a good reminder to me that I can do more to pass along the generosity God has shown me.

An Incredibly Helpful Book

Instead of sharing my own thoughts, I’m using this week’s post to bring a potentially life-changing book to your attention. I am on the board of a wonderful organization 70x7 (www.70x7.org) founded by my friend Mark Goodman. His upbringing is among the most dysfunctional I have ever seen, and he’s written his story in his just-released book Forgiving a Good Man (https://www.amazon.com/Forgiving-Good-Man-survivors-forgiveness/dp/1662883129). Mark has recounted his background on numerous podcasts, and his book is getting great buzz! He is also making good progress toward turning his story into a feature-length movie.

By Mark’s own admission, the only explanation for his current healthy mental state is God’s grace. He is a forgiveness coach, speaker, and author, and his mission in forgiveness is unique because it combines clinical psychology, theology, and real-life experiences. Here is a link a six-minute video explaining his personal forgiveness journey:  70x7.org/about.

And here is a synopsis of his story.

My personal story took me from an abusive home life in Detroit with a father who was emotionally, physically and sexually abusive to his own boys to being homeless on the streets of LA as a teenager. But it was better and safer in the streets of LA than the home I grew up in. My three brothers did not fare as well. One died angry, one checked out mentally and lives in imaginary walls of his own making with imaginary friends to keep him safe, and one brother took his own life while on the phone with me. And yet…here I am…one of the happiest people you will ever meet with a beautiful wife, a beautiful life, six beautiful girls and 13 grandchildren. How does that make sense? Shouldn’t I be angry? On drugs? Full of resentment? The answers: Everything is forgivable. The Lord tells us (1 Peter 3:9) that there is a blessing for not repaying evil with evil — I am living that blessing! I had a choice and the right to carry around that resentment my entire life…but I chose freedom….freedom found in forgiveness.

And my dad…the same man who should have gone to jail for the rest of his life for the things he did…at age 65, sobered up and turned his life to God. The last 23 years of his life, he was the nicest, most generous person you would ever meet. We reconciled and had a great time together. The message: You are never too old, never done too much bad to find God’s grace, redemption, and forgiveness…and for us…reconciliation.

If you know anyone – including yourself – who lives under a burden of bitterness because of horrible things others have done to them, I urge you to recommend Forgiving a Good Man to them. Or better yet, give them a copy. And be praying that in the near future, millions will be able to see Mark’s story on the big screen.

What My Eye Surgery Taught Me About the Christian Life

I’ve been blessed with excellent health my whole life. I never get sick. In fact, at my high school graduation, I was awarded a $25 savings bond for never having missed a day of school from third grade on. That’s about $2.50 per year.

The one exception to my crazy-good health is my eyesight. I started wearing glasses at seven and experienced continued nearsightedness until my glasses entered the Coke bottle range – minus 13.00 diopters – until it was greatly improved through surgery.

About ten years ago, I started experiencing double vision, a condition that was controlled by adding prisms to my glasses. However, in the last year, it got progressively worse to the point where my ophthalmologist recommended strabismus surgery where she would reach behind my eyeballs to adjust the muscles.

After waking up following the surgery in July, I noticed an immediate improvement, but the double vision had morphed a bit. I was still seeing double, but in a different way.

What happens is that, although the underlying muscle problems had been addressed, my brain needed time to “reprogram” itself to the new reality. Over the years, my brain had adapted to compensate for the muscle deficiency, and it needed time to relearn how to see. My surgeon told me this is normal and that the transition would take several weeks. And she was right. Over the next month or so, the symptoms gradually diminished, and things are back to normal now.

As I thought about this physical progression, I realized it’s also highly parallel to our spiritual growth. My double vision problem was immediately resolved by the surgery. But it took weeks for my brain to catch up with this new reality.

Isn’t that exactly what we experience as Christians? The moment you recognize your need to have your sins forgiven based on Jesus’ death and commit your life to follow him, your biggest life problem – separation from God – is solved. If you were to die at that moment, you would be immediately ushered into Jesus’ presence in heaven. However, if you remain on earth – which you clearly have done – you are still human with all the problems and limitations created by living in a messed-up world and by your past experiences, sin and mistakes.

Just as it took weeks for my brain to catch up with the new visual reality, it takes time to allow the Holy Spirit to transform me to become more like Jesus. In fact, the process will continue for the rest of my life.

Here are two implications of this dynamic:

1. Give yourself grace for your mess-ups. You’re never going to completely “arrive.” The main thing is that you are submitting yourself to God’s leadership in your life and seeing him gradually change you.

2. Extend the same grace to others. I know of some Christian leaders who demand immediate changes in a new believer’s life. Addictions and deeply ingrained patterns of sin take time to get uprooted. Of course, we should lovingly and graciously encourage changes based on God’s standards, but it’s important to give the other person time to mature into a more Christ-like life. You can’t demand someone go from 0 to perfect in a few days.

I’ve been writing about grace a lot lately, and this transformation process is just another example of how we need it for ourselves and others.

"My Chains Are Gone" - What Does This Look Like?

One of my very favorite Christian songs in Chris Tomlin’s version of “Amazing Grace.” To the original verses, Tomlin added an interlude with these lyrics:

My chains are gone, I've been set free
My God, my Savior has ransomed me
And like a flood His mercy reigns
Unending love
Amazing grace

The image of broken chains is one of the most common descriptions of the Christian life. But what does this really mean? What does it look like? Can I expect to immediately be freed from my addictions and other major problems?

I want to be very careful here. I fully believe that God can instantly transform someone and save them from a life of alcoholism, drug abuse, sexual addiction, and the like. This does happen. But not usually. More often, God starts someone on a lengthy road that leads to significant changes over time – often many years.

The following picture captures how the transformation process often unfolds. Imagine you are in a locked jail cell, unable to get out on your own. Jesus comes along with the key, unlocks the door, and invites you to leave. The moment the tumblers in the lock click, you have an option you didn’t have before. But you are still in the cell, and you will remain there until and unless you get off the cot, swing the door open, and walk out.

On rare occasions, Jesus will pull the cell door open himself, walk in and carry someone out. But in my experience, this is very much the exception. Instead, he expects us to do our part.

This dynamic reminds me of something I wrote in another blog post from 2021. In a dramatic scene from C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe one of the children (Peter) had to attack a ferocious wolf that was about to devour his sister Susan.

Peter did not feel very brave; indeed, he felt he was going to be sick. But that made no difference to what he had to do. He rushed straight up to the monster and aimed a slash of his sword at its side.

A nightmarish battle ensues.  But finally, Peter

found that the monster lay dead and he had drawn his sword out of it and was straightening his back and rubbing the sweat off his face and out of his eyes.

Mind you, Aslan, who represents Christ, was right there watching the whole thing. He could have instantly vaporized the wolf, but instead he wanted Peter to experience the growth and exhilaration that comes from facing and attacking a terrifying situation.

So the way I see it, when you enter into a relationship with Jesus, he really does break your chains – or to put it in other terms, unlocks the door on your cell. You’re no longer forced to wallow in whatever it is that traps you. But he wants you to step up and rely on him to help you grew to new heights you could only have imagined. Having the cell door unlocked is just the beginning of a life-long process that allows you to draw on the power of the Holy Spirit to develop your spiritual muscles and become increasingly transformed into the image of Jesus (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Part 2 – Some Christians Miss 2/3 of the Definition of This Word

Last time, I discussed how Christians sometimes correctly understand part of how to apply the definition of “grace” but miss a second aspect. Here’s what they get right:

Meaning 1 – Grace is the basis through which your sins are forgiven and you can begin a relationship with God.

Here’s the part that sometimes gets overlooked.

Meaning 2 – Grace is the basis of your continued relationship with God after you have come to know Jesus. If you try to slavishly follow rules – some of which are not in the Bible – you are either trying to appease or placate God or trying to impress him with your good behavior. This is not living by grace.

But there is a third meaning that is also often lost.

Meaning 3 – Grace describes how you should always treat all people, even those with whom you strongly disagree.

Jesus said that loving our neighbor is right up there with loving God. Here is just a small sample of the many Bible verses that urge acting with grace toward grace others:

• Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt so that you may know how to answer everyone (Colossians 4:6).

• Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse (Romans 12:14).

• Do not repay anyone evil for evil (Romans12:17).

• “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Matthew 5:9).

• “You have heard that it was said, ‘love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. . .” (Matthew 5:43-44).

Living this out gets tricky. Not every one of your neighbors will agree with you. Some may even hate you. Acting graciously is especially challenging if someone’s positions obviously violate God’s standards.

Some Christians feel compelled to passionately– and sometimes angrily – call out people who promote obvious sin. They fear that if they don’t, they are implicitly condoning sin. We should take strong stands on various cultural issues by clearly, firmly, and rationally presenting biblical perspectives. But we should do so with grace, without spiraling into name-calling or hateful words.

The most divisive, polarized decade in our country’s entire history was the 1860s. The bloody Civil War, in which an estimated 620,000 Americans lost their lives, was followed by the equally contentious Reconstruction era where both sides had to grapple with mending the unprecedented divide.  

President Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address, delivered a month before the Civil War ended, is widely considered one of the greatest American speeches of all time. In Christian History and Biography magazine, Robert C. White, Jr. comments:

Lincoln’s address provides a model for how Christians can speak of faith and politics together. First, he began by expressing respect for the positions of each side, even those whom his audience would deem the enemy. Second, he grounded his thinking in the Bible, using the Bible not simply as an illustration but as a foundation for his political arguments. Third, he affirmed that God acts in history. . . . Fourth, Lincoln was comfortable with ambiguity. . . . Finally, he spoke not in arrogance but in winsome humility. In the final paragraph of the Second Inaugural, Lincoln offered the ultimate surprise. Instead of rallying his supporters in the name of God to support the war, he asked his listeners, quietly, to imitate the ways of God.

These godly principles ooze grace and are truly brilliant. I can think of no better prescription in today’s world for graciously interacting with those with whom we disagree. John 1:17 states that grace and truth came through Jesus. Both grace and truth are crucial. Grace without truth degenerates into sentimentalism and an “anything goes” mentality. Truth without grace results in harsh judgmentalism.

Many Christians would go to the mat to defend definition 1 of “grace” – the basis of their salvation – but they often ignore or downplay the other two facets. Is this true of you?

May we all fully embrace all three aspects of the word “grace.”

Meet Job Version 2.0

Back in May 2020, I introduced you to a very good friend of mine, Chris Hogg. I mentioned that I didn’t think I had ever known anyone else who has had so many things go wrong, none of which were self-inflicted. Here is the list of woes I mentioned:

·       His mother was an explosive bi-polar, and his father was a narcissist who constantly berated him.

·       His only sibling is a brother who was estranged from the family for years. Chris has a college-aged niece he only recently met.

·       Right before we started getting together, Chris’ wife of twenty years unexpectedly left him for another man.

·       His ex-wife did all she could to turn his children against him. He spent many thousands of dollars and almost two years battling to get custody of his then-school-aged son.

·       On January 30, 2018 Chris came within inches of being crushed to death when another driver performed an illegal U-turn right in front of him, causing a nearly fatal T-bone accident. Chris suffered a traumatic brain injury, major vision damage, significant pain, and multiple other injuries. Most of these problems remain five years later.

At the time, I stated that if there is a “Society of Job” in heaven, Chris will be a shoo-in once he arrives.

Since my last post about Chris, his credentials for joining the “Job Club” have only increased:

·       When Chris had to reign in his father’s reckless spending and take his car keys away for his own safety, his dad reported his to state Department of Family and Child Services for alleged theft and elder abuse.

·       On top of their full-time work responsibilities, Chris and his second wife had to assume nearly-full-time caregiving duties for both his parents as their health declined. Both parents recently died within a few months of each other.

·       Chris’ children and stepchildren have suffered significant personal and health issues, nearly bringing the family to the breaking point. One of his children has a severe medical condition from which she may not recover.

·       Chris’ own health has steadily declined to the point where he can only effectively function for a few hours a day. And he has to be in near complete darkness because of severe photosensitivity, an after-effect of the accident. What’s worse, there are days when he has trouble even getting his words out because of the traumatic brain injury.

·       About two years ago, Chris’ high-end camper was destroyed in a freak accident when the building it was stored in burned to the ground.

·       Last December, Chris contracted a mysterious eye infection which resulted in additional scarring and has further compromised his vision.

·       Besides the direct physical fallout from the truck accident, Chris has other ailments including a torn rotator cuff (brought on by his decades as a building contractor) and kidney cysts. He recently had a knee replacement and said he has never experienced this level of pain before, even from the accident. That’s quite a statement from someone who has suffered as much as he has.

A couple of months ago, I heard him complain for one of the first times. If it were me, my complaint undoubtedly would have included the entire list of everything mentioned above.

But what was Chris upset about? “I’m afraid all my physical needs are stealing my wife’s life from her.” Unbelievable! That was what was weighing most heavily on him – not his personal pain, not his reduced ability to work, not a sense that God was being unfair to him. He was most concerned about the impact of his needs on his wife!

When Annette and I visited Atlanta in June, I had the delightful experience of spending two hours over bagels and coffee with Chris. His genuine smile in this picture reflects his peaceful trust in Jesus despite unimaginable hardships. As he walked to his truck, Chris’ parting words to me were, “I’m super thankful, and I’m so blessed. This isn’t my permanent condition. Eternity will be a whole lot different and a whole lot better.”

I hold him up to you as one of the most incredible people I have ever met, not to make you feel guilty if you aren’t as upbeat as he is, but as an inspirational role model. He exemplifies trust in God, faithfulness, and humility like few I know. Next time you are tempted to complain about your rough circumstances or doubt God’s goodness, think about Chris and ask God to give you just a fraction of the grace he has blessed Chris with.

Cut It Out! Please!

A few weeks ago, the Internet was set ablaze over what many considered a scandalous development regarding the internationally acclaimed streaming TV series called “The Chosen.” Headlines screamed things like, “The Pride Flag Flies Proudly On The Chosen Set?” There were even photoshopped images of Dallas Jenkins (the series’ producer) and the actor who portrays Jesus superimposed on an LGBT+ flag. Many saw this development as the producers endorsing the LGBT+ agenda, an unforgivable betrayal of the Bible’s teaching on marriage.

Let me be clear. I am a follower of Jesus who believes the Bible is the inspired, inerrant, infallible word of God and that salvation is available only through Jesus. And I believe I have a highly attuned “heresy detector” and can readily spot teachings that undermine the heart of the Christian message.

Having said this, I am weary of Christians who seem to delight in finding blasphemy where none exists and stirring up needless, destructive controversy. There are a few very minor things about “The Chosen” I might do differently, but it is absolutely God-honoring and is bolstering the faith of millions worldwide.

Dallas Jenkins produced a short video response about this controversy in which he does a great job of:

1. Exposing the exaggeration and even misrepresentation of this LBGT+ flag firestorm. The fact is it wasn’t a flag at all, and it wasn’t “flying” over anything. It was a small 3” sticker an independent contractor had on his personal equipment that happened to be on the set.

2. Explaining that, as a private company and not a church or ministry, “The Chosen” does not practice content censorship of independent contractors they employ. As he says in the video, “The Chosen” does not in any way endorse the LGBT+ agenda but neither does it suppress the personal views of its cast and crew. He points out that Christians are rightly upset when the shoe is on the other foot, and they are prohibited from expressing their faith views in the workplace and other public settings.

I recently had a similar thing as this LGBT+ flag controversy happen to me. Back in 2007, I was blessed to have my book THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION:  WHAT TO SAY WHEN YOUR FAITH IS CHALLENGED published by David C. Cook publishers. And I was further blessed that renowned apologetics expert Ravi Zacharias wrote a strong endorsement that appears on the front cover.

Last month, someone contacted me and told me they were going to buy my book until they saw Ravi's endorsement and asked if I could remove it.

The answer is no for three reasons: 

1. Since the books were printed in 2007, there is no way to remove his statement from the front cover.

2. Ravi's personal problems were extremely unfortunate and left a huge blemish on his life and ministry. However, his personal moral failures don’t negate his intellectual skills as an apologist for the Christian faith. I have sin in my life and the person who wanted to remove Ravi's endorsement undoubtedly has sin in their life. Does that mean no one can attempt to represent God or make public statements about the faith until they are sinless? As Jesus said, "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone" (John 8:7).

3. I had absolutely nothing to do with Ravi's unfortunate personal behavior. I never met the man, nor did I reference any of his works in my book. Do his private problems in any way invalidate my book’s content? I think not.

So, no. The endorsement is not being removed.

To my fellow Christians, PLEASE quit straining out gnats and swallowing camels (Matthew 23:24). I am 100% for doctrinal purity on the core points of Jesus' deity, our inability to live up to God's standards on our own, and the need to trust in Jesus' sacrificial death as the only way to salvation. But we should be about promoting the message of Jesus' love and forgiveness and the need to follow him, not looking to condemn everyone who does not hold identical views as we do on EVERY SINGLE aspect of Christian doctrine and life.

Thanks for letting me ventilate!

What Praying Without Ceasing Definitely Is Not and Some Thoughts about What It Might Be

First Thessalonians 5:16 has got to be one of the most intimidating verses in the Bible. I first encountered it in the old King James Version:  “Pray without ceasing.” 

“How is that possible?” I thought. “That can’t be a good translation. Maybe one of the other versions will provide a loophole.”

• ESV:  Pray without ceasing

• NIV:  Pray continually

• NIRV:  Never stop praying

• Message:  Pray all the time

Not much help. No matter how you translate it, I guess this verse is pretty clear.

(Article continued below. image)

During all three summers between my college years, I worked at an awesome 4-H camp on the eastern end of Long Island. Between my first and second summers, I came to know Jesus personally, and when I returned for year two, I wanted to let all the counselors know about my new-found faith.

At the end of each summer, the camp hosted a farewell thank-you banquet for the staff. We especially looked forward to the part where the counselors give each other humorous awards. Mine for my first “Christian summer” was the “Practice What You Preach” award, signed by Jesus Christ. Ouch!  Not so funny. Apparently, I did a pretty good job of talking about my faith but that was about it.

To rectify this shortcoming, I resolved during the following summer to CONSCIOUSLY think about God all day long. I figured this would increase the likelihood that I would remember to act more like a Christian. So I stopped whatever I was doing every ten minutes or so and thought about him. If I forgot and went twenty minutes, I would confess my sin and promise to do better.

Well, that practice lasted about a day and a half before I realized it would quickly make me a candidate for a straitjacket. A variation of this obsessive practice that some people follow is feeling they have to pray about EVERY decision, down to whether they should have oatmeal or Raisin Bran for breakfast or what color socks to wear. Fortunately, I never succumbed to this pitfall but I know some who have.

So if these crazy behaviors are what praying without ceasing is NOT, what SHOULD it look like? I’m sure there are many different ways to practice praying without ceasing, but here are three possible applications.

1. God has blessed me with hundreds of wonderful friends and acquaintances. Throughout the day, some of them pop into my head. Or I might see someone who physically resembles a friend. In that moment, I can shoot up a quick prayer asking God to bless my friend and accomplish in their lives what they need. And I also pray about a particular need I might be aware of.

2. As I hear a news story reporting about some kind of tragedy, I can ask for God’s presence, peace and grace for those affected. I can also pray as important political policy issues are reported on – that leaders would honor God with their decisions.

3. Author Ken Boa suggests that a way to remind ourselves of God’s presence and glory is to specifically notice and give praise for at least one aspect of the natural world each day. This can simply be contemplating an unusual cloud formation, the intricacies of a leaf’s veins, or the exquisite velvety fur on a Weimaraner puppy.

These three practices should be permeated with grace – no self-judgment or condemnation if you don’t perfectly carry them out.

Another aspect of praying without ceasing is keeping your relationship with the Lord so open that you’re receptive if he wants to show you something in particular. Going back to the socks example, although you shouldn’t obsess over the color decision, if – for some odd reason – God does want you to choose blue over black, you should follow his prompting. This is a trivial example, but it illustrates a mindset of receptivity to things Holy Spirit may be trying to get through to you.

I hope you see the difference between my 4-H camp OCD application of praying without ceasing and the grace-filled practice of enjoying your walk with the Lord and responding to whatever he brings my way.

A final thought. In addition to “praying without ceasing” as described here, spending dedicated times in prayer is an important part of the Christian life and one I need to do more faithfully.

Why Did I Treat These Two Harmonica Students So Differently?

During my graduate school years, I gave harmonica lessons both as diversion from the rigors of study and as a way to generate a bit of income. For the most part, it was a real pleasure teaching aspiring players and introducing them to various harp styles:  blues, rock, bluegrass and country.

But after teaching for a while, I had one student who absolutely did me in. Although he was a very nice person, he had zero musical talent. Even worse, he never practiced and spent about 10 minutes of each lesson apologizing for not having worked on the material and promising to do better for next week. He never did, so he stayed terrible. I never knew that 30 minutes could last so long, and I (privately) dubbed him, “The Man Who Made Time Stand Still.” In the end, realizing that challenging him was pointless, I just “tolerated” my time with him. After he drifted away, I decided to quit giving lessons altogether.

But a few years ago, two guys approached me about taking lessons. Because they had been referred by a musician friend of mine, I agreed to take them on. Both were good, but one was outstanding – the best student I ever had. He intuitively “got it,” worked hard, and made amazing progress. He also showed remarkable initiative by attempting on his own some advanced things I had demonstrated but told him we wouldn’t get to till much later.

Once I realized this guy’s natural talent and drive, I began throwing some pretty difficult material his way. Although I was always encouraging and tactful, I found myself being rather demanding, saying things like, “That was pretty good, but I know you can do better.” I kept pushing him to his limits. In reality, my toughness toward him was a compliment. I saw his commitment and innate aptitude and wanted to help maximize his abilities.

Shouldn’t this dynamic inform how I look at the hardships in my life? Several friends have suffered incredibly difficulties and challenges not of their own making. In talking with them, I see how God has used their rough circumstances to grow their faith and “call the question” about how much they truly trust him. And they’re better for it.

Last May, I wrote a blogpost called, “Is God Paying You a Compliment?” describing how I planted a dozen specimens of the same shrub in front of our house. I knew some would enjoy full sunshine while others would likely struggle in complete shade. I made sure to pick the heartiest plants for the harshest conditions.

Both the shrubs in the shade and my excellent harp student found themselves in their challenging circumstances because of their strength. I knew they could handle the stress.

The next time you face tough situations, consider whether God might be allowing them because he knows that you can take it and wants you to reach your full personal and spiritual potential. Realizing this can transform your attitude toward hardships. Remember that that there may be various reasons for challenges, and you can’t always figure out the “why” of your adversity. But I hope you see that your struggles are designed to strengthen you and enhance your faith.

When God Leads You Down a Dead End

On April 21, 2019, VidAngel Studios released Season 1 of the groundbreaking streaming TV series The Chosen. It’s an extremely creative, compelling, and respectful portrayal of Jesus and his followers. If you have not yet seen this series, you should download the free The Chosen app or the Angel Studios app.

After viewing the first episode, Annette and I were thoroughly hooked. We learned in the fall of 2020 that the producers were inviting The Chosen’s fans and supporters to be extras for the Sermon on the Mount episode to be filmed in Dallas in February 2021. Annette and I jumped at the chance!

Each extra was responsible to make their own outfits. The producers sent very specific instructions, and Annette spent several weeks gathering the necessary materials. Because her sewing machine couldn’t handle the project, she even had to buy a new one. All told, she probably spent the better part of a week and close to $500 making the costumes.

Since the filming was right in the middle of Covid-19’s huge surge, all participants had to bring proof of a negative Covid test performed within 72 hours of arrival. Of course, we complied. But guess what? My test came back positive, so the whole thing was off. All that time and money was essentially wasted. Well not entirely. We have killer outfits if we ever have to go to a costume party 😊.

But still, it was a dead end.

This was not the first time a curveball brought what seemed to be a legitimate, God-led venture to a screeching halt. On two separate occasions, some ministry experts unexpectedly approached me about outreach opportunities they were convinced would have a big impact. Because these were unsolicited suggestions by people with proven track records, I overcame my initial skepticism and concluded these initiatives must be from the Lord.  Subsequently, I spent hundreds and hundreds of hours developing each concept.

In the end, they both fizzled and yielded virtually nothing. Dead ends.

How should I interpret these experiences? In all three cases, I felt God was leading me to pursue them. But if that were true, why would he lead me down extremely time-consuming dead ends? 

Of course, no one can read God’s mind. But I believe these experiences are part of our refinement and growth processes. Over the years, I have seen that God often does dramatic and even miraculous things for people when they first come to know Christ. Because his ultimate goal for us is to grow increasingly dependent on him and learn to trust him completely, at some point, he takes the training wheels off to see if we’re only following him because of his dramatic interventions.

This type of testing reveals how well you trust him even when things don’t make sense or go our way. It always helps when – in hindsight – you can look back to figure out what God was trying to accomplish through a confusing circumstance or a disappointment.

Perhaps the best-known example of God’s testing is the request he made of Abraham in Genesis 22.  Even though God promises he will give Abraham countless descendants through his son Isaac and Isaac was still a minor, God tells Abraham to kill him. That makes no sense. How could Isaac be the father of multitudes if he dies so young? Nevertheless, Abraham is willing to obey. But God stops him and even graciously explains what he was up to:  “Do not lay a hand on the boy. . . . Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your only son” (Genesis 22:12).

So, Abraham gets to see what God was really doing. By way of contrast, Job never gets any explanation for the calamities he faces. After Job complains for a couple of chapters about his crushing circumstances, God finally responds, but his answer is, essentially, “Who are you to question me?” That’s all he gets.

This shows that sometimes God gives us a peek behind the curtain, and sometimes he doesn’t. As I said, his ultimate goal is to teach us to trust him more and more. And he orchestrates the circumstances of our lives – including disasters and dead ends – to accomplish that.

Here are a few questions:

• Have you ever felt God led you down a dead-end road?

• If so, how did you react?

• After your initial disappointment, were you able to reach the point of ultimately being OK even if you were never able to understand the “why”?

Leaning Into What You Hate

Fifteen years ago, I had the privilege of joining the Leadership Atlanta Class of 2007. About 70 elected officials, attorneys, health care leaders, judges, not-for-profit organization executives, and other leaders spent a year studying the challenges of Metro Atlanta and attempting to develop actionable solutions.

During one of our day-long sessions, we did a small group team-building exercises where we had to select one of us to crouch down on their knees – similar to the “duck and cover” position from the 1950s air raid drills – and then the rest of the group had to lift that person up, turn them head-over-heels, and return them safely to the ground. The only requirement was that everyone on the team had to have their hands on the person being flipped the whole time.

I immediately saw where this was going. Since about half the group was women, having eight or nine men touching them during the task was a non-starter. And two of the guys looked like they could have been linebackers in college, making them poor candidates to be lifted. So, all eyes immediately turned to the 145-pound, 5’8” guy – me.

Part of me hated the thought of being the “flipee,” but rather than arguing and risk alienating my colleagues, I agreed to be the “chosen one.”

As I crouched down and felt about 15 pairs of hands grab me, I thought, “Well here they go, lifting me up. Now they’re flipping me over, and now a see the ground getting closer, and now I’m back down.” The whole thing lasted about 10 seconds and was somewhat surreal, almost as if I were happening to someone else.

There were two reasons I was able to be so calm:  

·       I knew the group chose wisely

·       I knew that short of freaking out and refusing, I couldn’t wiggle out of the situation

When I accepted the Leadership Atlanta invitation, I agreed to abide by the group’s decisions, and them selecting me was part of the deal.

This “package deal” mentality plays into what I’ve taught about decision-making for years. When it comes to important decisions, after much prayer, thorough research, and input from reliable advisors, I have no choice but to conclude that whatever decision I feel God has led me to has “become” his will. James 1:5 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” Since he knowns about and is completely sovereign over all things, I can know that ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING – both the good and the less-desirable – that flows from the decision is part of God’s will.

Lately, I’ve had to remind myself of this. As I reported a couple of months ago. God clearly led us to sell the Georgia house and move fulltime to our Wrightwood, CA house. Of that we have no doubt. But this has meant leaving a 27-year-long comfort zone and stepping into a whole new set of circumstances, most of which are great but some of which I hate.

There’s lots to love:  living near the kids, having a great set of neighbors, finding an awesome church, etc. But then there’s the other side. Our house is at the top of a steep hill on a private road that is not maintained. When it snows, the road becomes a toboggan run free-for-all. I’ve already experienced several white-knuckle descents. Additionally, both the California gas prices and taxes are crazy. But what I hate the most is not being able to regularly see my many Georgia friends. I wish we didn’t have to deal with these situations.

But guess what? We wouldn’t have to if God hadn’t led us here. But he did. So all the negatives are part of the “package deal,” and I can’t change any of it.

You shouldn’t judge the “rightness” of your decisions based on how positive or negative the subsequent circumstances turn out. Instead, you should interpret your circumstances in light of the fact that you have followed the Lord’s leading through the decision-making process.

Submitting to the Leadership Atlanta flipping exercise was the right thing to do. So was moving to Wrightwood. And just as I was able to lean into the flipping – and even to some extent enjoy it – so should I embrace our downhill ice slide and the other issues, recognizing them as part of the “package” God gave us. So instead of resenting the negatives, I can appreciate them for what they are and perhaps learn some things I didn’t even recognize I needed to learn.

How about you? If you are convinced God has you just where he wants you, are you able to accept and even celebrate the speed bumps in your path?

Responding Like a Brat

During my five years in the Cru music ministry, it was always a special treat to visit the home areas of someone in the ministry, and one time we happened to be playing for the Sunday morning service of the music ministry assistant director’s home church in Ohio. And, it just happened that Larry and his family were in town that same weekend. And, it also just happened to be his four-year-old daughter Ashley’s birthday that Sunday.

Admittedly, there might have been a slight “kiss-up” motive in doing this, but we decided to present Ashley with a birthday gift – a cute little kids’ china teapot with matching tea cups. So right before the service, we told Larry we had a gift for Ashley. Larry located her in the elementary kids’ play area where she was fully engaged in cooking a pretend meal – so engaged, in fact, that she didn’t want to stop, even after being asked repeatedly to do so.

“Ashley, can you come here?” Larry asked.

Nothing.

“Ashley, please stop playing and come see Daddy.”

Still nothing,

“Ashley, look at me.  Come here now.”

This time, she looked up and said, “I don’t want to.”

The scene escalated to the point of anger on Larry’s part, tears on Ashley’s, and embarrassment on ours to have to witness this scene. She finally settled down enough so we could present our gift to her, but the joy of the moment had clearly vanished for all of us.

Later that morning, out drummer Stuart connected the dots and wondered out loud how many times we react to God’s gifts the way Ashley did to ours. Here we were, offering her a free gift of something we had picked out especially for her, something we thought she would particularly enjoy. But she was so wrapped up in playing with borrowed toys that she wouldn’t stop long enough to receive a gift she would be able to keep forever if she liked.

In Matthew 7:9-11, Jesus asks:

“Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?  If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”

In Ashley’s case, she wasn’t even asking for anything. We were the ones initiating the gift-giving. God gives each of us good gifts every single day:  life, health, food, clothing, relationships, the chance to help others, etc. And then there are the times he blesses us with extra-special little reminders of his presence, things he’s orchestrated to bless us in specific ways, tailored for each of us. 

But you have to be willing to lay down your “borrowed toys” long enough to accept the unique gifts he’s selected just for you. How closely are you listening? How willing are you to respond without hesitation?

When You Get a Preview of Your Own Funeral

Two months ago, Phillip Oh, a fellow church elder, died unexpectedly. At his memorial service three weeks ago, so many people offered loving, heartfelt tributes highlighting Phillip’s impact on their lives that the service lasted two hours.

Eight days later, our pastor Craig Bowler unexpectedly called Annette and me to the very same stage from which Phillip’s friends spoke to pray over us. After 27 years in Georgia, we were about to move to California to be near our kids and grandkids. I don’t typically stand before a couple hundred people boo-hooing, but Craig’s very kind words and the realization that we would be leaving so many dear friends caused both Annette and me to lose it.

Over the last few weeks, people have showered us with incredible expressions of love. I knew how my close friends feel about me, but I was surprised by similar comments from people I barely know. I had no idea that anything I had ever said or done had any impact on them whatsoever.

And as we sifted through boxes of files and keepsakes collected over the decades preparing for the move, I came across some letters from people I hadn’t thought about in years. These notes recounted specific times when God used me to help someone grow in their faith or offer a word of encouragement.

Coincidently, while all this was going on, Pastor Craig hosted a men’s fellowship breakfast to encourage our men to develop solid relationships with other men. To that end, he taped a conversation I had with my best friend Billy Burke. Here’s a link to our brief discussion:

  https://vimeo.com/766626339/bee8d319b4 - Copy and paste into a browser

Billy’s generous words further primed the “encouragement pump,” prompting others who saw the video to come forward with additional words of affirmation.

I’m thankful I didn’t have to wait to die to hear so many encouraging thoughts 😊. Some of you reading this are among the people who offered kind expressions, and for that I sincerely thank you.

As I reflect on the last few weeks, I realize that many loving words are often left unspoken while someone is alive. However, in my case, I was blessed by getting a glimpse of what my funeral might look like.

Here are two takeaways:

1. Be encouraged. Your impact on others is probably greater than you realize. You may never get any specific feedback from that neighbor you helped over the years, those fourth graders in your Sunday School class, that coworker you helped introduce to Jesus, or countless others you have affected over the years. But you have undoubtedly made a difference in many people’s lives.

2. Reach out right now to those who have helped or encouraged you in some special way to thank them. I can’t tell you how much it means to me to learn how God has used me in ways of which I was completely unaware. Don’t wait for that person’s funeral when it’s too late.

Of course, I have no idea when my funeral will be, who will be there, or what they will say. And the fact that Annette and I moved 2,200 miles away from our Georgia friend base means it’s unlikely that many of my old friends will attend. But they don’t have to. They have already blessed me by telling me face to face what I have meant to them. I urge you to go and do likewise.

I Know You Can’t Read It, So Let Me Tell You What This Card Says

The ink has almost completely faded from this somewhat-crumpled, yellowed, water-stained 3x5 card dated September 5, 1972. You can barely make out the important words I wanted to share with you on the card’s fiftieth anniversary. (I missed the actual date by a few weeks because of our unexpected decision to sell our Marietta, GA house several years earlier than we thought. The last month has been a whirlwind!)

The card reads:

Lord Jesus,

Anything

              Anytime

                              Anywhere

  I relinquish all control of my life to you.

And in the upper right-hand corner, I wrote:  “Baptized Sunday, September 12”

This was the fall of my senior year at Syracuse University. (I’ll save you from having to do the math. That makes me 71 years old.) Several of our church’s college students had responded to an invitation to be baptized on September 12, 1972. Initially, I didn’t plan to move forward because I felt I would just be doing it because it was the “thing to do.” However, on the Tuesday before the baptism service, I felt the Lord specifically tell me this was the time.

This card has followed me around the country for the last fifty years and was thumbtacked to a couple of different bulletin boards before finding a more permanent home on the inside lid of the box that holds my keys, coins, and other pocket-paraphernalia. It’s somewhat shocking to see what fifty years does to a formerly crisp, white 3x5 card and solid blue ink. I hope time hasn’t taken a similar toll on my body.

But it’s incredibly encouraging to see what God has done in my life during those same fifty years. I shudder to think where I would be had Jesus not singled me out from among my dysfunctional, emotionally abusive family members to transform me into a (more) stable, healthy person. Although I didn’t have any major self-destructive habits, I certainly had little idea of what loving, selfless living looks like. And I was not on track to find out.

I don’t want to imply that the last half century has been constant bliss characterized by rainbows and butterflies or that I have always instantly appreciated all God was doing in my life. Along with incredible blessings on many, many fronts – including marriage, children, health, ministry, friendships, career, and finances – I have also experienced periods of confusion and disappointment. He has done some things I still don’t understand or particularly like. But, he is God and I’m not, and he sometimes orchestrates things to put me off balance to help me see how I need to trust him in new ways. And for the record, my behavior over the last five decades hasn’t been exactly without question either.

In the end, I have learned what’s truly necessary is trusting God and accepting his will, even in those situations that may not seem to make total sense. Since what I REALLY deserve is condemnation because of my sin, how dare I think that God owes me anything, including justification for his actions? Absolutely everything good thing I have comes from his grace and love, and he has filled my life with great joy and even some miracles.

On this anniversary, I wanted to communicate to you that I have absolutely no regrets about having told God so many years ago that he can have it all. And, if you have never done this, I urge you to consider doing the same.

Is This How You Want to Be Remembered?

Aunt Martha was my mother’s sister’s husband’s sister. Did you follow that? Because she lived fairly far away, we didn’t see her all that often. She passed away many years ago, but here are the three things I remember about her:

• She was a big woman, both physically and personality-wise – the type you didn’t miss when she entered the room.

• ·She drove an early 1960s, fern green, boaty-floaty Chrysler Imperial with rounded tailfins.

• ·When her parents died, she manipulated things so that she cheated the rest of her family out of about $10,000.

The story goes that Aunt Martha took her mother to lunch one day in the late 1960s and on the way home stopped at an attorney’s office to have her mother change her will, making Aunt Martha the sole beneficiary of her estate. Aunt Martha’s brother exploded when he learned this, and he refused to ever speak to her again and forbade the rest of his family to have any contact with her.

Ten thousand dollars was a lot of money back then and would be equivalent to several times that today. I wonder what she did with that money and if she felt her unethical behavior was worth the cost to her relationships and reputation. I’m guessing her financial “mental model” focused almost entirely on trying to maximize money coming in, and she saw changing the will as a way to enhance that.

We often interpret an unanticipated bonus, a surprise birthday check, or an unforeseen class action settlement as a godsend. But God also blesses us by NOT allowing potentially bad things to happen. For example, that time your slammed on your brakes at 65 mph and just missed hitting the car in front of you by four inches could have easily ended in financial loss or, worse, personal injury. Did you acknowledge that as an example of God’s grace?

My point is that people like Aunt Martha can so focus on getting all they can – sometimes by unethical means – that they fail to see the bigger picture how God provides in other ways beyond the cash that makes its way to your checking account. And remember his blessings extend well beyond the monetary to include relationships, enjoyment of his creation, and countless other pleasures of life.

You should also acknowledge that it’s not just money that corrupts. Many people go to great lengths chasing power and prestige. There is nothing inherently wrong with money, power, or influence as long as you pursue them in healthy, appropriate ways. But there is a definite line you can cross when you drift into scheming and selfishness.

People who connive and maneuver for ill-gotten gain live as if God isn’t real. He wants his people to trust him, live in a way that reflects well on him, and bless others. Among the 12 characteristics of people who please God as recorded in Psalm 15 are those who:

• Have a blameless walk

• Do what is righteous

• Don’t wrong other people

• Keep their oaths even when it hurts

Unfortunately, when I think about Aunt Martha, I don’t think she lived that way.

How about you? How well do you live up to Psalm 15’s model?

What Happens When You Put Gas in a Diesel Car?

During our fourth or fifth trip to Spain, my wife Annette and rented a car at the Madrid airport and over the next two weeks drove to nine smaller cities north and west of the capital city.

As we were eating dinner one night, we met two Catholic nuns who were completely frazzled. Like us, they were motoring through the countryside in a rental car, but they made the fateful mistake of filling their vehicle with gasoline instead of the diesel fuel it required. As a result, their car became totally inoperable, and in addition to bringing their trip to a dead stop, they faced a potentially huge repair bill.

I’m taking a hard turn here, but stick with me. What follows will tie into my story about the nuns.

In my last blog post, I reported that a high official in a large Christian denomination expressed strong opposition to the recent Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade. Let me repeat one of her comments:

The right to choose is part of our God-given inalienable rights. As a Christian, the creation story says it’s the right of every human being to have choice – that God gives us choice. GOD DOESN’T EVEN MANDATE WORSHIP. GOD DOESN’T EVEN MANDATE OBEDIENCE TO GOD. Human beings have the right to make these decisions for themselves, and women shouldn’t have to jeopardize their lives because they make such a decision (emphasis added).

One thing that pops out like a flashing neon sign is the way she appeals the creation story to justify choice. The story of how God created the world appears in Genesis chapters 1 and 2. In the very next chapter, Genesis 3, we read how the serpent lured Adam and Eve into disobedience by asserting that God is deceptive, selfish, and not to be trusted. Did God really say, “You must not eat from any tree in the garden? . . . God knows that when you eat from [the tree in the middle of the garden] your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God . . .  (Genesis 3:1, 4).

Do you catch the irony in this church official’s logic? She appeals to the creation story and celebrates the fact that we have the “God-given inalienable right” to make choices, including the right to defy God.

But the entire point of Genesis 3 is that Adam and Eve’s horrendous choice to disobey set into motion all the calamities, destruction and heartache that have plagued the world ever since. There is an obvious parallel between her logic that we don’t have to submit to God and the serpent’s enticement of Adam and Eve to rebel against him. Should a person whose job it is to represent Jesus and God actually be applauding people’s ability to walk away from God? What the author fails to recognize is, although we are not required to worship and obey God, we were designed to do so.

There are two things I hope you take away from this post:

1. Not everyone who claims to represent God necessarily gets the message right. First John 4:1 says, “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” It pains me to feel the need to criticize a church official. The purpose of my blog has always been to offer positive encouragement to my readers. This is the first post that includes critical comments about anyone, but I believe her position is seriously misguided.

2. Back to the nuns. Just as their car was designed to run on diesel fuel, so, we were designed to love, worship and obey God. The sisters certainly were free to put either gasoline or diesel into their car. Unfortunately, they unwittingly chose poorly, and the consequences were disastrous for them.

When it comes to your choices, the best way to avoid shipwrecking your life is through choosing to remain faithful to our loving God. May God empower us to grow in our worship, obedience, and trust!

The ABSOLUTE BEST Bible Passage for Resolving an Age-Old Debate

NOTE: Since this message from January 24, 2018 is one of my favorites, I am repeating it .

God has blessed me with wonderful Christian friends from various faith traditions:  Presbyterian, Methodist, Catholic, Baptist, Charismatic, non-denominational, Wesleyan, and others.  Although we all agree on the central issues of the faith – what C. S. Lewis would call “mere Christianity” – we sometimes have different “takes” on certain principles of Christian living.  

A core issue for believers concerns how “demanding” we can be in prayer.  Jesus himself promised several times that we can ask anything of God and expect him to answer as long as these prayers are “claimed” in the context of God’s sovereignty.  After all, he is the God of the universe, and I’m not, so he may have outcomes I can’t see from my limited perspective.

But this raises a vexing problem.  How can I pray confidently, expecting an answer not knowing if what I’m asking is really God’s will?

Some Christians stress our unfettered access to our loving heavenly father and boldly ask for miraculous interventions.  If you extrapolate this position to the extreme, it can almost border on the “name it and claim it” false theology – insisting that God apply one of his promises exactly the way I want it to look.  

Other Christians are more reserved and, following Jesus’ example in the garden, stress prayer’s “nevertheless, not my will but yours” aspect.  Taken to an extreme, this position approaches “practical deism.”   That is, although I ask God to intervene on my behalf, I really don’t expect him to do anything, so he more or less becomes a non-entity in my daily life.

How do we resolve this tension between perhaps being presumptuous on the one hand and being “of little faith” on the other?  

There is no better Bible passage to address this than Daniel 3:17-18.  Enemies of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego ratted them out to Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar for not worshipping the golden image the king had set up.  The penalty?  Incineration in a furnace hot enough to instantly kill the soldiers who threw the three into it.

Given one last chance to reconsider, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego answered:

“If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it . . . .  But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”   

That’s it!  The perfect blend of believing God’s power and a willingness to continue trusting him even if his will doesn’t match my personal agenda.  If God could make the Milky Way and the Grand Canyon, and if he could bring Jesus back from death, certainly he is able to suspend the laws of nature to preserve the three from the flames.  But will he?  I can and should ask for the miraculous, but God may be after other things.  That’s his business.  My job is to trust him even if my prayers are not answered precisely as I think they should be.  So ask away, and rejoice regardless of the outcome.  

Thank you for this transformational insight, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego!

Is God Paying You a Compliment?

I’m not a gardener. So many things can go wrong that when a plant is struggling, and I have no idea what the problem is. Is it getting too much sun? Not enough? Does it need fertilizer? Is the ground too sandy? Is there too much clay? Did I overwater it? Underwater it? Are there bugs?

A couple of years ago, we had some shrubs in front of the house that were on death watch, and given the complexities of plant science, we decided to just start over. The challenge was finding a single shrub variety that could thrive in conditions ranging from full sunlight to full shade. Very few are that adaptable, but we finally settled on a specific type of hawthorn that prefers sunlight but does reasonably well in shade.

Although all twelve plants were healthy, when it came to planting them, I made sure to put the very best and strongest specimens in the least favorable (that is, most shady) conditions. 

As I was planting them, it occurred to me that my placement decisions might parallel the life circumstances God allows in different people’s lives. Some seem to have it made. Everything consistently falls into place:  good health, great jobs, smooth family lives, few financial problems, etc.  Others experience just the opposite.

Chris, a friend I’ve been meeting with monthly for several years, seems to be a problem magnet. His family of origin was a total nightmare. His wife of two decades suddenly left him for another man, triggering a very expensive years-long custody fight. He experienced other issues with his adult children. And just when I thought things couldn’t get worse, he had a serious car accident that has left him with significant medical issues that threaten his ability to work.

I can only speculate about why God has allowed this tough, tough series of circumstances.  But my experience with planting the hawthorns makes me wonder if perhaps God is paying Chris a very high compliment. Just as I made sure to place the very strongest plants in the most demanding locations, could it be that God does the same and allows the most severe circumstances for those he knows can handle it the best? Remember Job and how God singled him out because of his righteousness?

This is consistent with the spirit of what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10:13 – God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.  

I’m sure there were many times Chris was tempted to despair, but God has been faithful to sustain him in his faith. And he has not only endured but grown greatly. In fact, he is almost unrecognizable as the same man I started meeting with a few years ago. And it’s because of the adversity God has allowed in his life. Others might have crumbled but Chris hasn’t, and he serves as a powerful testimony to God’s grace.  

So, the next time you encounter a particularly rough spell, perhaps it’s God way of paying you a big compliment by recognizing the inner strength he has built into your life.  

NOTE: This post is an updated version of my post from May 17, 2018.