Category: Purpose

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Traveling Partners

When we think about the concept that God has known us before we came into existence and that he created us for a specific purpose, it should give us pause. There is nothing we will face that will catch Him off guard. There are surprises in our life for us, but not Him. We were created for His purpose, not ours. Living our lives within His purpose brings us greater joy then living for ourselves. It is why we were created.

Psalm 139:16, “You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.”

If we are to become the person God created us to be, we must understand who that is. It is not a difficult question at the macro level but surprisingly tricky at the micro-level. At the big picture, blue sky level, we understand that God created all things for His pleasure.

MACRO LEVEL

God made us wonderfully complex and beautiful people. He has gifted us with all kinds of aptitude, resources, skills, ambition, and opportunity. All of this is for a straightforward reason; He wants us to glorify Him in all that we do. We are to do this from generation to generation. That implies we need to pass the word along to others to help propagate His Kingdom.

Colossians 1:16, “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.”

We know that we were explicitly created for good works.

Ephesians 2:10, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Those good works are to glorify God.

Matthew 5:16, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

Easy peasy, not hard to understand; execution is a little tricky.

MICRO LEVEL

Executing God’s plan is where I, and many others, get wrapped around the axle. There are two specific ideas that I need to keep in focus: influence and opportunity. God has given me a sphere of influence that changes over time. When I was younger, it was my playmates and schoolmates; as I grew, it became my place of employment, my children, and my community. But in each case, I was given a particular sphere of influence. I have come to think that my mission field is where God has me today. Opportunity is what I do within my sphere of influence.

Philippians 2:1-3, “Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves.”

Life is filled with opportunity. From an entrepreneurial perspective, the main difference between a successful person and a less successful person is not the idea but the execution. We lament that ideas are a dime-a-dozen, but a person with follow-through was as rare as hen’s teeth.  If your spirit is open, there is no shortage of opportunity within your sphere of influence. The key is both identifying these opportunities and then taking action.

Once I started praying that God would open my eyes to the opportunities around me, I was dumbfounded. It was like walking in a forest. It wasn’t like people were walking up to me asking to hear about Christ; it was people reaching out for compassion and understanding. As a high D, type A, personality, this was unsettling.  I didn’t want to engage people at a personal level. I didn’t want to get sucked down into their everyday issues. I wanted a fly-by. I wanted to drop goodwill packages from an airplane.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”

I found that I should take one moment to listen; no platitudes, no suggestions. I found that I did care, sometimes helplessly, but still caring. People don’t expect solutions; they want someone to travel their journey with them. They don’t want to seem alone. Sometimes that traveling partner has to be someone outside of their sphere; it provides a security level.

As a boss, one of my biggest burdens was not having someone to talk to when things got dicey. You can’t go to your employees and say, “I’m really worried about the company.” Sometimes inside our sphere of influence, we have the same issue; we can’t say, “I’m not sure this is going to turn out the way we want.” Our role, many times, is to be the cheerleader. When the cheerleader has lost their cheer, you can be the person to whom they can go to let off steam. You can be the pressure value that allows them to decompress.

As my career advanced, it no longer seemed strange that one of my employees would come into my office, sit down in a chair and unburden themselves. Sometimes they were people I never had anything more significant than a superficial relationship; it was just work. In some cases, my only contribution to the conversation was that Christ gave me hope in my life, and that was enough. I often told them to come back any time, let me know how it was progressing, keep me in the loop. They needed a traveling partner. My job was to take one more fear off of their plate, the fear of facing this alone.

We have a traveling partner; He is always with us. He will never abandon us. Not everyone has this. For those that do not, we become the surrogate. We are the bridge between now and eternity. In time we can help them become the bridge for someone else.

2 Peter 1:19, “And we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.”

Folks, becoming the person God made you to be is, on the one hand, extremely simple and, on the other hand, so complex and fearful. Remember, God has equipped you for this. There is nothing you will encounter that He has not already seen and prepared you for. We are aliens in the world. We were made for greater things to come. Don’t get stuck in neutral.

Pray for an opportunity, then enjoy a walk in the woods.

A wise man will walk across a bridge but does not build his home on it.

Ephesians 5:8, “For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.”

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Let Me Get Home Before Dark

Ephesians 2:10, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Joy and fulfillment come from being who God made you to be. It does not come from things you own, titles you achieve, political causes you support, children you raise, friends you have, or any worldly desire.

Paul tells Timothy, “In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom. I give you this charge” Think of this charge to Timothy and know it also applies to each one of us. The good works prepared for us in advance are a direct command from God before we came into existence. That is a critical thought. We are to chase His purpose in our lives, not get His buy-in to what we think it should be, based on our experiences, learning, desires, or self-actualization.

LOVE

I cannot emphasize enough that all that we do should be covered in love. The fundamental building block to being the person God made us to be is that we do it in love. We can have passion, but in that passion, it should not lead to sin. We should not put ourselves above others, even when we know we are right with God in doing so.

1 Corinthians 13:13, “The three most important things to have are faith, hope and love. But the greatest of them is love.”

If what you pursue is not cloaked in love, then put a big question mark after it. You might be going in the right direction with the wrong motive or the wrong direction; something is not correct. There needs to be peace about your daily walk. You should be more content with what you do than what you achieve by doing it. Being the person God made you to be is about obedience, not results. Western culture has driven us to believe that you can only gauge success by results; this is not true in God’s economy. God has His measure. Trust me, and I say this from experience, God will motivate you to stay on the right track. God will continue to reinforce your efforts if you are striving to be His person, not yours.

GRACE

Today, more than ever, we spend much too much time judging people by their worldly beliefs. Are they Liberals, Socialist, Conservatives, or Christian nationalists; are they pro or anti-maskers, or are they pro or anti-vaccine?  We all have quirks that distinguish us from those around us; some beliefs can separate us from others or minimize our Christian impact on the world. Grace is not just making allowance for others; it is also not letting our worldly beliefs stand in the way of our mission for God.

2 Timothy 2:23, “But refuse foolish and ignorant speculations, knowing that they produce quarrels.”

The world is watching us. We cannot be held responsible for others’ conclusions, but we are held accountable for our actions. If our efforts cast a shadow of God’s love for all of humanity, we need to back off. People of disparate backgrounds and worldly beliefs should all be attracted to the Gospel. We are to model to the world what the world needs to become. Please read all of Romans 14, where Paul cautions us about letting superficial worldly issues stand in the way of our mission and purpose.

Romans 14: 12-13, “So we will all have to explain to God the things we have done. Let us stop judging one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put anything in your brother’s way that would make him trip and fall.”

It is not enough to correct people with your mouth, but to compel them with your holiness.

HOPE

To be the person God made us to be, we need to change our focus. We need to stop believing that worldly events are the source of our hope. If you start thinking that your peace will come from the world aligning with your expectations, you will spend your life disappointed. I don’t care how noble or righteous your expectations are; the world will always disappoint. Your life will still be shrouded in fear, anxiety, and anger.

Our focus, yours and mine, need to be on advancing the Gospel while we have breath in our lungs to do it. Advancing the Gospel does not mean you need to take up a placard and stand on a street corner proclaiming the Gospel. It means being the person God made you be. For most of us, it means being the person who is not moved by current events. The Gospel has not changed. God has not changed His intent for humanity. Things will go well for the Christian community, and it will go poorly for the Christian community, but the end game has never changed.

The reason we can show love and grace is that the temporal environment has changed nothing. As an American, the capital riots shook my world. I had lived through the Cuban Missile Crisis when a nuclear war was minutes away. I lived through the assassination of President Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King, and Presidential candidate Bobby Kennedy. I lived through the Mississippi Burning murders, which lit the race riots of the ’60s; nothing questioned my resolve for this country more than the storming of our Capitol Building over the basic tenants of democracy. But, my hope was not in the political system or law enforcement, but my knowledge that God is and always has been in control.

In being the person God made me to be, my hope can only be in Him. I cannot divide my hope between God and man.

Matthew 12:25, “And knowing their thoughts he said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand.”

For too long, we have hitched our wagon to the principle, insights, and philosophies of man. To be the person God made us to be, we need to get back to God. Crawford Loritts uses the the poem below in the introduction to his book, “Make it Home Before the Dark.” Our time is limited here on earth; we need to use it wisely.  The link below will take you to the poem that inspired Crawford’s book, it is well worth your time to read it.

Dr. Robertson McQuilkin – Let Me Get Home Before Dark

2 Timothy 2:15, “Do your best to present yourself to God as an approved worker who has nothing to be ashamed of, handling the word of truth with precision.”

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Lessons in Love

“Love is an irresistible desire to be irresistibly desired.” – Robert Frost

I was thinking about the essence of love. If I expected that being loved is the salve that heals all wounds, my life has been disappointing. I know what it is to love, and I know what it is to not be loved. Here is what I have learned:

LOVE

Love is the grandest experience God gave humankind. It is a drug so powerful that it can drive us to ecstasy or total despair. Love can make your brain forget to breathe.  Poets and musicians have tried to capture that feeling in words and verse since we first learned to communicate.  Zelda Fitzgerald  said “Nobody has ever measured, not even poets, how much the heart can hold.” There is a reason we fall in love; it is a sense of weightlessness, a sense of being out of control.  The most confident man can feel inadequate; the most accomplished woman feels insecure. 

You, or I, can’t make someone love us; they must choose to love us. We can make that easy, or we can make that hard; that is our choice. If we genuinely love them, their happiness comes before ours; we would sacrifice ours so that they might have theirs. That’s the paradox of true love; to truly love is to let go. I know that from experience. I’ve had to make that choice.

John 15:13, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”

CAMELIA TOLSON

Accepting that we can only control ourselves and not others present us with another choice: taking the risk to love again. As we mature, we go through many cycles of love and loss. Some of those cycles teach us tough lessons about choices; others teach us lessons about life. Each of those lessons leaves a scar on our hearts. I have a special scar; Camelia (Isky) Tolsen. The Isky nickname comes from Iskenderian Camshafts – Camshaft – Cam. Guy thing. She had a twin sister, Pam, who shared a made-up language that they talked to each other when the comments were private. It was fun to watch them do it, even when it was about me. Her parents had the audacity to pack up and moved to Texas around 1966. I remember the year because it was the year of my first heartbreak. It has been over a half-century, and my heart still remembers. Love leaves that type of indentation. It is one of those scratches you can’t buff out; it’s crazy the sadness that my heart can conjure up just thinking about it.

Trust me, that wasn’t the worst; it was just the first. The nasty ones came later in life when I should have known better. I spent most of my life thinking that love was a transaction; you give, you get. It was a commodity you traded on the open market. As I matured, it started to look more like an investment with an expected return. My heart became scared and disfigured, each blemish with its own story.

Proverbs 10:12, “Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses.”

THE LESSON

Leo Buscaglia stated it this way “Love is always bestowed as a gift – freely, willingly and without expectation. We don’t love to be loved; we love to love. “

Here’s what I know today; the way I have lived my life has left scars on God’s heart. All the times I have been unfaithful, chasing other idols, thinking there was someone or something better, left scars.  I now understand that I have caused God great pain. But I still receive unconditional love in return. God does not live in the past; that is forgiven, He looks to the future. He loved me even when I didn’t want to love Him. He loves me because He understands why I shy away at times. My goal is to love as God loves; that’s a tall order.

When we live our lives trying to avoid pain by not fully committing to love, we rob God of one of His most precious gifts, not to mention what we do to ourselves. We have a choice to look at our scars and remember the pain we went through to get them, or we can remember the relationships that made them possible; they‘re the ribbons and medals of past skirmishes that show we have lived a life worth living.

1 John 4:8, “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

Choose to love; choose not to look for or expect a return. Revel in the euphoria of love.  Choose not to avoid the joy of loving to avoid the pain of loss. Accept that the greater the passion, the greater the pain. When your heart retches in despair over a lost love, it remembers the great joy that proceeded that pain. Don’t look at it as a transaction or a commodity, but a gift you give yourself.

Erich Fromm said it this way, “Immature love says: ‘I love you because I need you.’ Mature love says ‘I need you because I love you.

1 Peter 4:8, “Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.”

God leaps with joy when we connect the dots. He beams with pride to know we figured out that love is not about getting but giving. And in that giving, we get a gift far beyond our expectations; we get a glimpse of heaven.

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Impossible to Unbelievable

Ephesians 2:10, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

God wants to take you from the mundane to the impossible to the unbelievable.

I grew up in a small town in the Midwest. I kidded about a GED being our diploma and an actual High School diploma being an advanced degree. There wasn’t and still isn’t much opportunity in small-town America. It seems like the only path to real success is either being born into the family business or starting one. I was a kid like everyone else in my class; my future wasn’t bleak; it was confining.

Somewhere along the line, I started to understand that impossible was just a word. It wasn’t because I looked at the impossible as something to be done, as it was that I looked at my past and saw that I had done things that I would have thought impossible; the impossible became unbelievable.

Joshua 1:9, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”

I was the kind of kid that people would say; he might get out of High School, but he will never get accepted into college. If he does somehow get accepted, he doesn’t have the tenacity or ability to graduate. Graduate School, not a chance he could get in. I was average, and dreams were bigger than me. I looked at these achievements as impossible, but other people had done it, why not me?

FULTON’s FOLLY

The great thing about chasing the impossible is there is no shame in failure; it is almost expected. In the early 1800s, there was a painter named Robert Fulton. Robert studied art in Paris and London but wasn’t successful in getting commissions to paint. He married the daughter of the American Ambassador to France, Robert Livingston. Mr. Livingston had seen one of Mr. Fulton’s drawings of a submarine and suggested that he go into the business of designing steamboats.  Robert Fulton then had a vision of building a steamboat that would carry passengers up and down the Hudson River. The problem was that no one had ever done that; it was impossible. Steamboats were dangerous and unstable; they were in the realm of hobbies and toys. They had novelty value and nothing more. Fulton had not invented the steamboat; he would be the first person to make it commercially viable.

On August 17, 1807, the Fulton steamboat the Clermont made history. The small, snub-nosed boat made the 150-mile run from New York City to Albany in 32 hours. Regular passenger service was inaugurated, and a new era in water transportation began.

Robert Fulton’s great quest is now known historically as Fulton’s Folly. How would you like to fail on a scale so large that your name becomes a historic by-word? But his name is not a historic by-word because of his many failures; it was his one great success; the impossible became unbelievable. Robert Fulton went from a failed artist to the father of water transportation.

DREAMS AND VISIONS

Dreams are things you see in your sleep and dissipate like the morning fog once you arise. Visions are those haunting thoughts that won’t let sleep come quick enough.  Visions are ideas do delicious; you can’t stop thinking about them. Visions are not always impossible, but many seem that way. To change a vision to reality, you need resources, time, and chance. Visions of greatness start as impossibilities. They are long shots beyond our reach. There is so much that has to go right and so little that needs to go wrong that the prize is scarcely worth the effort.

2 Timothy 1:7, “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.”

THE POSSIBLE

Well, I did graduate from college, then I did it again, then I graduated from graduate school. I didn’t get to go to Frat parties or throw a Frisbee across the quad; I worked nights as an Orthopedic Technician in Surgery at a trauma center.  I did it because I had this vision in my head that said this was the direction I was to go. God had a plan for me before I knew what life was about. As a result, I ran companies and built companies; I traveled all over the world. Impossible was a thing I hadn’t done yet. I have never done anything that has never been done before me; I have only done things that I thought I could never do. Now I look back at my life and shake my head; unbelievable. If my sixteen years old self could see me now, what would they think?

Matthew 19:26 “Jesus looked at them and replied, ‘This is impossible for mere humans, but for God all things are possible.”’

All things are possible to those that believe. God made each of us amazing creatures, capable of accomplishing almost anything to which we set our minds. The major constraint before us is not an opportunity, or resources, or chance; it is the will to live the life God created us to live. Something is impossible until you do it, then it becomes unbelievable. I am always amazed at things that I would never have expected I could do that seem mundane once I have done them; mountains do not look as tall from the top as they do from the bottom.

Stop fearing the impossible and start chasing the unbelievable. Become the person that people say, “If they say they are going to do it, it might be unbelievable, but not impossible.” Be the person God made you be.

Matthew 17:20, “And He said to them, “Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; nothing will be impossible to you.”

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New Years – God Said “It was good”

Genesis 1:31, “Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good!…..”

God does not waste time making second rate things or moments without meaning. God did not create a person or moment on this earth that He did not say, “it is very good…”. Anytime you start to believe otherwise, you don’t understand the nature of the God of the universe.

CREATION

Colossians 1:16, “For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.”

Before God created the universe, he sketched out every molecule. He detailed every man, woman, child, plant, animal, every cell, every microcell,  every nano cell, and the billions of planets and stars that will ever exist. God knew that we needed a Savior, and God knew exactly when we would need Him. Then He created; then He started everything in motion. And He said, “that is very good.”

Colossians 1:15, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.”

The complexity of the world we live in is enormous. I met the brother-in-law of a friend of mine over Thanksgiving. He is a cardiovascular research scientist working with the Lymphatic system, a subsystem of the circulatory system. He works in an invisible world that is essential to human health. God created proteins that provide for the health of tiny valves within that system required for our existence. When I tried to visualize how God can scale down the laws of physics to such a microscopic level and still have everything work as it should, it’s inconceivable. 

John 17:24, “Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.”

CHRIST IS BORN

When I think about the importance and timing of Jesus’ birth, ordained before the world was born, the lymphatic system becomes mundane. When I think of the significance of the arrival of our Savior and the birth of you and I, as being very good in God’s eye, I get a chill. Christ saved all of us from permanent separation from God. God created each of us to save someone from that same fate.

Do you not look at your birth with the same importance and reverence as you do Christmas? No, we could never match the glory and majesty of Christ’s importance here on earth. We were not born to save all of humankind through the gift of forgiveness. But we do have a mission, and that mission is just as important to someone out there. God, through Christ, created the building block of our redemption. God gave us a path, through Christ, back to Him; we, all of us, must choose that path. It is this last part that makes your creation so important.

OUR ROLE

Romans 10:14, “But how can they call on someone if they haven’t trusted in him? And how can they trust in someone if they haven’t heard about him? And how can they hear about someone if no one is proclaiming him?”

We cannot save as Christ saved, but we can lead someone to Him so that He may save them. Just as there is not a moment wasted by God, there is not a moment in our lives that is insignificant. People are always watching us to see God’s glory. When He created us, it was good; the act itself was good, not the person. That person was tainted as a byproduct of the fall. But we were created with a purpose of great importance to God; He desires that we live out that purpose.

Job 42:2, “I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted.

As Christian, we need to recognize and accept that we were created for a purpose, and that purpose is to glorify God from generation to generation. We accomplish that purpose by spreading the gospel both in actions and words.

Have you ever thought of celebrating your birthday with the same significance as you celebrate Christmas? You cannot save the world, but you can save it for someone. Remember throughout 2021, when God created you, he said, “it was very good.”

Matthew 5:16, ”In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

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Christmas – The Story of a Promise and Patience

Psalms 9:10, “Those who know your name put their trust in you. For you, Yahweh, have not forsaken those who trust in you.”

Waiting for the Good News

Daniel prophesied the coming of the Messiah over 400 years before Jesus was born. Daniel thought it was 70 weeks after the temple’s destruction, but Gabriel used a turn on words to say it was 70 sevens. By the way, Biblical writers say that Jesus arrived a full 1,500 years after God gave Moses The Law.  Remember, I am a layman and in no way pretend to know the scriptures well; so, let’s say Christmas came later than expected and leave it at that.

For children waiting for Christmas day, excitement crescendos from Thanksgiving day until December 25th; as each day passes, the wait becomes almost unbearable. The anticipation of getting just the right gift, but not knowing if you will, is overwhelming. Christmas day comes, and the bubble burst into excitement.

Israel thought the Messiah’s coming was right around the corner, but then there was another corner. Corner after corner came and went with no Messiah.  Did their anticipation crescendo or faded away? From what we know from the scriptures, I would have to say anticipation faded away for most. When He came, not only did they not recognize Him, some actively denied it was Him.

Matthew 12:14, “But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him.”

Receiving the Good News

Jesus was the answer to a great promise God made before creation, but many missed its blessing because it was not in their timeframe. One of the messages we should take from Christmas is patience. Remember Simeon, the man that God promised he would not die until he saw the Messiah. Simeon was late in years but had not lost faith that God would keep His promise. God rewarded his faith, for he recognized the Savior when he saw Him. Had he lost faith that God would keep His promise; he might have seen Jesus and not recognized Him.

As we celebrate Christmas, let us not lose sight that God’s timing is not our timing. When God makes a promise, He keeps it. God didn’t create the universe and say, “Let’s see how this plays out.” He wrote the complete story, end-to-end, before it even began. He loved us then, and He loves us now.

Lamentations 3:22-23, “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new  every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

Acknowledging the Good News

Patience is one of the great virtues. Patience not only serves us well when dealing with each other, but it is essential to seeing God in action. Many times we ask God for things that we think are right and good, and for the most part, they are. But we are finite, and God is infinite. God sees solutions we could never dream of seeing. He wrote our story and knows our path.

Be patient in looking for your blessings. God will keep His promises to you. You need to stay obedient to His will and be patient. We wait 364 days every year for Christmas to arrive; Israel waited over 400 years. Those that lost faith missed the blessing. Don’t miss your blessings.

Gabriel heralded the significance of Jesus to Mary; it was the start of God’s promise to redeem His people. Jesus came for all of us. His patience with us and His love for us endures forever.

Luke 1:31-33, “You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

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Christmas 2020 – A Year of God’s Favor

Luke 4: 18-19, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and the regaining of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

In one of the most dysfunctional years that I can remember I find that this year is the year that God challenges us to proclaim His favor in all things and proclaim His glory to those in which He has put us in contact.

I have a big request for this season of celebration; reach out to those who are hurting and offer them a lifeline. Don’t try to cheer them up; love them. Quiet desperation is the most suffocating emotion one will ever face. We are not the solution, only God is, but He can work through us. 

The fortunate among us, myself included, see what God has done in our lives and are thankful. We enjoy the relationships God puts in front of us, the opportunities we have been privileged to experience, and hope of a greater future. We may reminisce about good times, maybe even better times, but we are grounded in the moment. That moment, this moment is ours to make what we choose. God gave us that choice. And at this moment, we choose hope.

Psalm 100: 4-5, “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good, and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.”

There are those around us that, for various reasons, see the holiday season differently. They have broken relationships, their opportunities are few, and the future is bleak. Their minds are clouded by what could have been, but never will be. What they have experienced in their life darkens the soul and grieves the heart. Their life is not a glass half empty; it is a glass too small. 

Psalms 34:18, “The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”

I have compassion for these; I have been there. I have known the darkness of despair. Evil lurks for a desperate heart. No matter how bad life is, it finds a way to bring it further down. Christmas is not a time of reflection; it is a time to try to forget. The joy of others amplifies their pain. The light at the end of the tunnel is a train. Salvation is a myth. Comfort and joy a fairy tale. 

I have prayed not to wake and for tomorrow to never come. I wanted all the endless pain to go away and leave me in peace. But peace does not await the person without Christ. Their destination is not something to be desired no matter how cruel life has become.

Matthew 25:45, “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.”

This Christmas, invest in another. Don’t try to “fix” their life, instead give them hope. Let them know there is someone who will travel their journey with them. Be that person. Be the one that God weeps for joy over. 

One last thing; We all have broken connections. We have people that have hurt us, or we have hurt them. Extend a kind word. It will change the world for both of you.

Romans 8:28, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

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Your Christmas Story

Ever wonder what the essence of a great story includes? There must be three or four critical components. There has to be a protagonist and an antagonist; you know, the good guy and the bad guy. Then there has to be a great adventure, an adventure that draws you in and captivates you. There has to be a dark moment; when the hero seems to be on the brink of destruction. Then there is the ending, a wonderful, thrilling, defying-all-odds moment that takes your breath away.

We were listening to a Robert Ludlum audiobook on the long drive to and from Missouri over the Thanksgiving holiday. Dr. John Smith was the protagonist, surviving death over and over again. Time and again, Ludlum had him in impossible situations, just to be saved in the nick of time. It got me thinking of my life and the most incredible story of all time; The Christmas story.

You can read the beginning here: Luke 2:1-20

The Beginning

Jesus was there in the beginning. He knew our fall, He knew our struggles, and most of all, He knew we needed a hero, not just an ordinary run-of-the-mill hero, but the Savior of all Saviors. The story of our lives is an epic battle between good and evil. We get to choose the part we play, just like when we were kids playing cops and robbers or cowboys and Indians. This time the playing is real, and the consequences of our decisions last for eternity.

John 1:1-2, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God….”

John 1:14, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”

In the story of my life, I am not the protagonist; I’m not the good guy or the hero; I’m the one needing rescue. The antagonist isn’t life or the decisions I’ve made; it is the dark force that hides the consequences of my choices. Unlike John Smith trying to save the world from diabolic biological weapons, my story is God trying to save me from myself.

The God of the universe looks down on weak humans being buffeted by the plans and schemes of evil. For the average person, evil does not present itself in situations that reek of sulfur. Evil presents itself in everyday decisions that seem right in the moment. Many times sin will even give us a Bible verse to comfort us in our weak moments. Evil knows the story and knows the ending but pushes on anyway.

The Rescue

The story of Christmas is the defying-all-odds over-the-top ending to our impossible predicament. You see, we cannot save ourselves from destruction; we haven’t the power. I would go as far as to say some of us still don’t know we need saving. Without God’s intervention through Christ on the cross, we fail. We cannot be good enough to overcome the impact evil has on our lives. Christ is the only one who can reach down and pull us up from the abyss.

Romans 5:8, “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

This Christmas, we celebrate the birth of our Savior. Our happy ending starts in a room no one wanted and ends on the cross. It is not the ending we think of in a novel. It is not the hero living with honor and residing on an earthly throne. It’s bigger than that. Our protagonist not only saves us from ourselves, but He also conquers death itself. Through Him, evil is defeated, and we are saved for eternity.

Hebrews 12:2, “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author, and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Epilogue

This Christmas spend time with friends, listen to the music of the season, exchange gifts, and eat great food, but take some time to play out your story. Take time to understand that you are not the hero of your story. I am one of the most fortunate men on this earth. I was born in a country of opportunity. God gave me everything a person could want. I have had position, power, and wealth, but I could not save myself. For all that I was, I was helpless. Christ saw me, loved me, and saved me.

Ephesians 2:8, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.”

Christmas is a time of great joy, do not let that pass you by, but take the time to replay your story; you get to choose your ending, make it a good one.

1 Peter 3:18, “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit.”

Share your story of great joy and peace with all you encounter throughout the year, for we are truly blessed.

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Thanksliving

At Thanksgiving, we give thanks for all that God has done in our lives. We thank Him for our family and our friends and our everyday living. We give thanks for all the worldly things he has bestowed upon us. Then we turn our thoughts to Christmas.

1 Corinthians 1:30, “Everything that we have – right thinking and right living, a clean slate, and a fresh start – comes from God by way of Jesus Christ.”

Thanksgiving is an special day because even the secular world stops for a moment to give thanks for their blessings. If even the non-believer is thankful for their gifts, so how much more should we be grateful? Can you think of a single good thing in your life that was not provided by God?

Giving Thanks

For a moment, just a single moment, bask in pure adoration for the miracle of your life. Lift a prayer before you eat that reaches down from the pit of your soul and truly gives thanks that God created you, wrote your life story, and provided for you throughout your journey. Unfortunately, it is after that point that we then turn back to living our lives. Most of us will overeat, enjoy the companionship of family and friends, and then it’s back to the daily grind. Wouldn’t our lives be better served if we lived in that moment? How do we stretch that moment into the lifelong glorification of a life well lived?

God made us perfectly crafted for our journey ahead. Although we see deficiencies, wrong turns, and rabbit trails, God sees the essence of our perfection. Perfection that will not be achieved this side of Heaven, but is real all the same. We tend to silo our blessings as individual answered prayers rather than view them as a continuum of our story. God does not work on a checklist or a to-do list that is characterized by point-specific blessings. He is always blessing us if we ask Him.

James 1:17, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

In Dire Circumstances

But what if my circumstances are dire? What if I have strife and conflict and pain that drives what feels like a life unfulfilled and purposeless?  If you are on this side of the dirt, God is not done with you. As long as you have breath in you, God has a mission for you. From personal experience, I can say that the only thing that got me to tomorrow was knowing God had something for me to do today, even in my most dark days. I didn’t always know what it was or why, but I did know it was greater than my pain. I would not go to meet Him unfinished.

1 Thessalonians 5:18, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

The way to rise above your struggles is to distract yourself by immersing yourself in God’s overwhelming love. Remember that God is most gracious to those who are struggling and call on Him. Every moment of every day is a blessing for which we should give thanks.

Isaiah 66:1-2, “This is what the Lord says: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house you will build for me?  Where will my resting place be? Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?” declares the Lord.

“These are the ones I look on with favor: those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word.”

Living With Kingdom Purpose

We live in a broken world. It will serve up bitter fruit at times. Some people seem to get a larger portion than others. I don’t get it. I don’t get it in my own life, and I certainly can’t advise you. I do know this when I take my eyes off of the prize, the struggle intensifies. Living a purposeless life magnifies the difficulties. Knowing that there is a kingdom purpose in all things gives me the strength to move forward. Moment by moment, thanking God that I still stand and that God is not done with me yet, gives me purpose. And with that purpose, I have hope. Commit yourselves to not meet God face-to-face unfinished.

In Revelations, we read what should be our final words.

Revelations 7:12, “ Blessing and glory and wisdom and Thanksgiving and honor and power and strength belong to God forever and ever amen.

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An Apology

When I first started writing, I wanted it to be about the passion of living for Christ. I wanted to help people live the life that God had planned for them.  I thought, like all human plans, God intervened, He now wanted me to spend my time trying to help people cope with today. I was wrong.

I took my eye off of the ball; I got distracted by everyday issues and became nearsighted. Like a bout of vertigo, I thought the world had shifted, but it was all in my head. It wasn’t God who intervened to change my thinking.

“The best-laid schemes of Mice and Men oft go awry, And leave us nothing but grief and pain, For promised joy!” – Robert Burns

One of the things I have become acutely aware of is that everything on the front page of the news today is temporary. Our next President will not be in office 100 months from now. COVID-19 will be a history note as we deal with whatever is new. Unfortunately, new injustice, lurking in the dark recesses of society as it has been for all of written history, will replace today’s injustice. All of our contemporary concerns will dissolve. But one thing will remain constant, God’s love for all of humanity.

Back to Basics

Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

God’s plan for our lives is the point on the horizon to which we should all navigate. This promise is the guiding light in the world of darkness. Anything that distracts you from this path is not from the Lord. Anytime you start to believe evil is winning, or even making headway, you have taken your eye off the target. We aren’t the ones that handle overcoming the sins of the world. We are not capable. Our job is to be the person God planned for us to be. If each of us achieves that goal, we will change the world.

Matthew 6:33, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

 Seek first – God did not give us suggestions or guidelines. He gave us commands. If our thoughts and conversations do not follow His command, then we are on the wrong track. If we put contemporary issues in front of seeking God first, we have fallen into a trap. We have allowed ourselves to be shanghaied into serving another. Dark forces use worldly issues, crafted in Biblical principles, to distract us. They divert our passion away from chasing God.

Matthew 7:15, “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.”

It is all too easy to give in to worldly fear. We live here and must cope with what it throws at us. I know, my life is no different than yours. I yearn for security here on earth until the day that God takes me home. I forget that I have that. God commands me not to fear for my life and worldly comfort.

Matthew 10:28, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Our Reality

The foundation of our thinking is also a command. God does not give us the latitude to pick and choose. He makes it perfectly clear.

John 14:15, “If you love me, keep my commands.”

How can God command that? Does He not understand the world in which I live? Yes, He does, He created it. He understands it’s weaknesses, it’s flaws, and it’s darkness. But he also created the light. He promised us that if we discard all of our worldly concerns, he will cover us and protect us.

Philippians 4:6-7, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

I got distracted, and I apologize for that. I don’t want you to be distracted. If the issues don’t directly affect God’s plan for your life, let it go. Maybe this is the time that will open doors that have previously been closed. God can, and will, use this time. But He will use it for His Kingdom, not anyone else’s. He will use it to forwards His message of peace and reconciliation to Him, not the latest talking head. He will use it to encourage and build, not break down and divide.

Chase God, not man.

John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

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