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Archive for the ‘Thought for the Day / Quotes’ Category

Thought for the Day – Boldness

Posted in Commentaries, Opinions, Social / Political, Thought for the Day / Quotes, tagged , , , on October 26, 2015| 1 Comment »

In times of turmoil there is often a renewed cry for “boldness” within the church, but what that means isn’t always clear.  I would submit that instead of boldly proclaiming the gospel, we need to be boldly living it; and instead of boldly standing for Christ, we ought to be boldly standing in Him.  After all, it is Christ “in us” that is the hope of glory.

 

We have no hope of convincing the world of the truth of our principles if we ourselves don’t believe in them enough to live by them.

 

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Thought for the Day – Non Linear

Posted in Commentaries, Opinions, Social / Political, Thought for the Day / Quotes, tagged , on October 19, 2015| 2 Comments »

As I prepare to spend another night on a hospital room couch, I must admit that this isn’t how I envisioned my weekend playing out.   Yesterday’s game was going well, both Patrick & AJ were making plays, and we were winning.  But then, on a fairly simple looking tackle, Pat came up clutching his arm, and even from the stands you could see that his forearm was badly broken.

 

Even then, I thought we’d spend some hours in the Emergency Room, and be home in time for dinner.  I wasn’t counting on the fact that his arm wouldn’t reset, or that they’d keep him for surgery, or that he’d need a second surgery.  But isn’t that how life goes.   We can make our plans and try to prepare, but the days unfold on their own terms.

 

Our society seems to perpetuate the myth that if you’re smart & proactive, you can avoid all the potholes in the road; and that if you’re a conscientious  parent, you’ll be able to protect your kids from all harm.  But the truth is that sometimes, despite our best efforts, difficult things happen.  Life is anything but a linear equation.  Though we like to think of it as a classroom, it’s a lot more like a football field, where adversity can rise up without warning.

 

Though we aspire to carve out an existence filled with glorious highlights, it is how we respond in those difficult moments that ultimately defines us.  We can get angry, or become frustrated, or live in denial, but that only increases the struggle.  Even in times of  profound trouble, there is beauty, and meaning, and life to be mined.

 

In the last 36 hours, we’ve watched our kids have both highlights and crushing moments on the field.  We’ve had people rally around us and have suffered unexpected setbacks.  But tonight, as my head rests on the hard vinyl of a hospital couch, I find myself feeling grateful.

 

Grateful for my amazingly strong son, who was more worried about letting his team down than the seriousness of his injury; who insisted on sending out a video to let friends and family know that he is OK; and who, in a drug induced state, felt the need to thank all the doctors & nurses for their good work.

 

Grateful for the family, friends, church, school, and community that have been so loving and supportive.  Thankful for teammates & coaches & youth pastors & dear friends who came to see Pat; and for all the great care he’s received from the staff at the hospital.  More than anything, I am grateful for Gods nearness, especially in times of trouble.  In the non-linear equation that life can be, He is the variable that makes it all work.

 

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Thought for the Day – Purity

Posted in Thought for the Day / Quotes, tagged , on October 8, 2015| 2 Comments »

Purity is forged in the fire of adversity.

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Thought for the Day – The Prototype

Posted in Commentaries, Opinions, Thought for the Day / Quotes, tagged , , , , , on October 7, 2015| 2 Comments »

I’ve heard many people use the first century church (described in the book of Acts) as the model for what the Body of Christ ought to be today.  And while there are certainly principles that we can derive from those early believers, I don’t sense that they were ever meant to be the prototype for the church.  As you read through the New Testament, you see that they immediately began to have many of the same kinds of problems that we have today (e.g. arguments about doctrines, rituals, & traditions; factions, sexual immorality within the church…), and more importantly, they never became the glorious bride that Jesus returns for.

All of the metaphors and analogies used in scripture point to a relationship between an initiator and a responder (e.g. a head & a body, a groom & His bride, a master & His servant).  So it follows that the model for the church must be rooted in someone who demonstrated this right relationship with God.  And though the Bible is filled with stories of people who got it right in one situation or another, there is only One character who walked this out perfectly within their lifetime.  Jesus said, ““Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. (John 5:19).”  I believe this is the model for every believer, and ultimately for the “Body of Christ”.  Anything less will likely result in another structure that the Lord needs to knock down.

Jesus said that “He would build His church”, and that the gates of hell would not prevail against it.  And in my years of following Him, I’ve come to believe that He means this quite literally.  Since the church that we have built in His name doesn’t seem nearly that powerful, here are some thoughts on how “He” means for it to happen.

  • He draws us to Himself – He may use people in this process, but it is ultimately a supernatural transaction between Him and the person He is reaching out to (John 6:44).
  • If we succumb to His drawing, He reveals Himself to us.  He told Peter that He would build His church on the foundation of those who’ve had the revelation of who He really is and who hear the voice of the Father (Matthew 16:18).
  • Once we’ve come to understand who He is, He then reveals to us who we were made to be.  We were never meant to simply be the by-product of our experiences and upbringing.  He had something in mind when He knit us together in our mother’s womb (Psalm 139:13), and in scripture, this revelation of our identity is often accompanied by a name or title change (e.g. Abram became Abraham, Sarai became Sarah, “the least of these” became a “Mighty Man of Valor”, Jacob became Israel, Simon became Peter, Saul became Paul).
  • With our identities firmly rooted in what He says about us, He begins to allow us to see others through His eyes, and with His heart.  This quite naturally draws us into fellowship with other believers, and into community with those who are lost.
  • As we allow the Lord to weave our lives and ministries together, it is His Holy Spirit that orchestrates the unity (1 Corinthians 12:13), and holds everything together (Colossians 1:17).

I believe that if we miss any of these steps or attempt to accomplish these things in our own strength, we will continue to fall short of becoming the “church” that Jesus spoke of.

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Thought for the Day – Just My Imagination

Posted in Thought for the Day / Quotes, tagged , , on October 6, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Too often, what we imagine our life ought to be keeps us from embracing the fullness of what it actually is.  Likewise, what we imagine ourselves to be often stands in the way of our becoming who we were created to be.

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Thought for the Day – Hypocrites

Posted in Commentaries, Opinions, Thought for the Day / Quotes, tagged , , on September 29, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Though both be branded hypocrites, I believe that there is a worthy distinction between the man who pretends to be something he is not, and the man who aspires to be more than he has been.

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Thought for the Day – Time is Short

Posted in Commentaries, Opinions, Thought for the Day / Quotes, tagged , , on September 28, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Regular church attenders often hear of the need to be good stewards of the things God has given them.  This reminder generally comes right around offering time, and usually refers to how their money is spent.  But in my lifetime, I’ve found that there are things which are far more valuable than money, and two or those are time and energy.  And while we wouldn’t dream of feeding dollar bills into a shredder, I would submit that within our culture we frequently do this with our time and energy.

 

We’ve long been a society that spends a significant amount of resources on recreation and our hobbies (e.g. hunting, fishing, boating, motorcycling, skiing, classic cars, season tickets…).  And with all of the advances in technology, we have a created a million new ways to keep ourselves distracted and non-productive.  Estimates indicate that roughly 40 million people will spend almost two billion dollars, and countless man-hours, to play Fantasy football this year.  While industry metrics indicate that almost 165 million people will spend a measurable portion of their day playing video games on their smartphones (or other electronic devices).  In the 2nd quarter of this year, over 304 million people spent an incalculable amount of time broadcasting their reactions, opinions, and comments on Twitter.  And Instagram recently reported that they now have over 400 million users, filling cyberspace with selfies and other superfluous material.  All of this, while marriages, and children, and communities, deteriorate from neglect.

 

The Apostle Paul said that a good soldier doesn’t involve themselves in civilian affairs, and as children of God, we must remember that our days on this earth are numbered.  We can ill afford to piddle away that time on useless distractions, while the work of the kingdom goes undone.  To whom much is given, much is required.

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Thought for the Day – In Person

Posted in Commentaries, Thought for the Day / Quotes, tagged , , , , on September 22, 2015| Leave a Comment »

In our search for truth, we look for words and principles.  But the truth is more than just an ideology, it is a person.

In our search for love, we look for feelings and gratification.  But love is more than just an emotion, it is a person.

In our search for life, we look for endeavors and experiences.  But life is more than just a journey, it is a person.

In our search for the way, we look for methods and formulas.  But the way is more than just a process, it is a person.

God is not simply loving, He is the embodiment of love.

Jesus does not just point us in the right direction, He is the way, He is the truth, and He is the life.

If we do not encounter the person of God, we only know the shadow of these things.

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Thought for the Day – Helpdesk

Posted in Commentaries, Thought for the Day / Quotes, tagged , on August 9, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Microsoft Helpdesk:  “This is the Microsoft Helpdesk, can I help you?”

 

Computer User:  “I sure hope so.  I just bought one of your computers last week, and now it’s not working for me.”

 

Helpdesk:  “Can you describe how it’s not working?”

 

User:  “Well, when I first hooked it up, it was fast and did everything I asked it to do.  But every day since then it seemed to get slower, and all of these things kept popping up on the screen.   Now I can’t seem to get anything to work.”

 

Helpdesk:  “Can you tell me what kind of anti-virus program you’re using?”

 

User:  “I’m not using any anti-virus program.  It’s a brand new computer, it shouldn’t have any viruses on it.  The salesman did try to sell me some sort of expensive software package, but I didn’t fall for that.”

 

Helpdesk:  (After a silent pause) “So how did you handle those things that kept popping onto the screen?”

 

User:  “I clicked on them, and if they looked suspicious, I deleted them.”

 

If you know anything about computers, and the internet, the scenario described above probably made you cringe.  In this day and age, you can hardly afford to connect anything to the internet without some form of protection, and everyone knows that you shouldn’t just click on “pop-ups” or e-mails from unknown addresses.  There are all sorts of things floating around cyberspace that can, and will, do harm to your system.  And most people try to be prudent about what they let into their domains.

 

Unfortunately, I’m not so sure that we exercise that same diligence with our thought life.  Like the internet, our minds can be crammed full of information, stimuli, ideas, experiences, opinions, memories…, which all have the potential to move us intellectually, emotionally, spiritually, and ultimately into some sort of action.  The power of our thoughts cannot be overstated.  The most heinous acts in human history began as a thought or idea in someone’s mind.  I recently read a story about a teenager who murdered a little girl in his neighborhood; and when he was questioned about his motive, he stated, “I just wanted to know what it would feel like to kill someone”.  I would suggest that this thought was like a pop-up, that just needed to be deleted upon arrival.  Instead, he decided to open it, and it eventually became a life altering reality.  While this example may seem extreme, I’ve watched “Christian” families destroyed by thoughts as simple as, “I wonder what my life would be like if I hadn’t married my spouse”, or “When is it my turn to have some fun?”

 

The Bible warns us to take every thought captive, and make it subject to Christ.  And it also says that we should test everything by the Holy Spirit.  Like a firewall, and anti-virus software, these principles are meant to protect our operating systems, so that we can be available for the eternal work of God’s Kingdom.  While we don’t always have control over what might pop-up on our screens, we have ultimate responsibility for what we choose to click on, and open.

 

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Thought for the Day – Choosing Life

Posted in Thought for the Day / Quotes, tagged , , on August 5, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Early on in scripture we learn that God sets before us, “life and death, blessings and curses.”  And even though it may seem like an obvious choice, He encourages us to “choose life”.  I would suppose that some might wonder who in the world would choose death/curses over life/blessings, but as we read the balance of scripture, I sense that most of us unwittingly do it almost every day.

 

The book of Proverbs tells us that there is a way that seems right to a man, and that it ultimately leads to death.”  If we accept that as truth, we’re saying that living life by our own sense of what’s right is essentially choosing the way of death.  In the gospels we learn that Jesus is the way, the truth and the “life”, and that He came that we might have “life”, and have it to the full.  From this, we can derive that choosing life equates to following Jesus and His ways.  And while that may bring on a big sigh of relief from those who count themselves as “Christian”, I would submit that there is a world of difference between believing in Jesus, and following Him and His ways.

 

The reality check here is that scripture tells us, “small is the gate, and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”  In the end, we must choose to take that narrow road in order to choose life.

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