Miracles

 Miracles come in all shapes and sizes. But maybe not exactly what we expect.

I'm a Bible guy so when I think of miracles I think of things like the parting of the Red Sea, Jesus feeding 5,000 with a boy's sack lunch, an axe head floating in water, Jesus walking on water (Peter, too), Lazarus brought back to life. There are a lot of them in the Bible.

But what is a miracle? It's something supernatural. It's something that can't really be explained - although today's sport-of-choice seems to be explaining away the miraculous. My simplified definition of a miracle is: something that can only be imagined within the context of God, something only God can do.

While miracles of biblical proportion haven't happened since...Bible times..., miracles do still happen today. Let me qualify that statement by saying that I haven't experienced miracles of biblical proportion. I fully believe it is possible. Here are some examples of miracles I have experienced or witnessed.

Tumors detected in scans just weeks earlier are no longer present. It's a miracle.

Ends that simply do not meet in the spreadsheet somehow work out so that the bill gets paid before the lights are shut off. It's a miracle.

The people in the car survived although the car sitting in the ditch would try to tell a different story. It's a miracle.

Sometimes, somehow, for some reason, God intervenes so that something happens that we cannot explain except to say that God intervened. It's a miracle.

One of my favorite songs is called "Miracle In Me" performed by the Greenes. The chorus says:

I have never seen the thousands fed or the blind made to see.
I have never watched him raise the dead but I know when he lifted me
There's a wonder right before your eyes close enough to see
In my heart is where this wonder lies, there's a miracle in me.

I wrote a song some years ago with a similar theme:

He gave the sight back to the blind, made the lame to walk again.
When only one leper gave him thanks, still he cleansed all ten.
But best of all he took my heart and washed away all sin.
It's no trick - the things he'll do, what he's done for me he'll do for you.

The most wonderful miracle I can imagine is that a sinner like me can be saved and made to be in right standing with the holy God. What he's done for me he'll do for you! It's a miracle!

Bookshelves

In February 2018 I packed up my library and moved from one church to another. The church I left had a spacious office. The church had bookshelves in the office. I had bookshelves I put in the office. A deacon donated some shelves he had been using in his home office that he no longer needed.

I had plenty of space for my library. And the library grew and flourished over the years I was there.

At the new church, I was an associate pastor. My office was in a space where renovations had started but weren't finished. No shelves. My library stayed in boxes along the walls of the office.

When I left there a couple of years later (budget-related down-sizing), I moved my boxed-up library to a corner of a storage facility that a friend let me borrow. Deana and I lived in small apartments for five years so we didn't have space to unpack my library.

But we moved into a house in January 2023 and I now have space. But no bookshelves. I found exactly what I wanted from IKEA. But had to wait to get them.

One of the things Deana and I did when we found the house and realized we would need some things to make the house more homey was to make a list. We had 20 or more things on the list. Things from a bed to a chair to lamps to rugs to patio furniture to a grill. And bookshelves.

Then we prioritized the list and set out paycheck by paycheck working our way down the list.

The last thing on the list was bookshelves. Not because of the price but because of the necessity. My library had lived in boxes for five years. They had forgotten what daylight looks like. They shuddered at the thought of freedom, like Red and Brooks in Shawshank. They were used to the spiders. Honestly, they were probably just as touched and used in a box as they would have been on a shelf.

You understand, don't you? We have things we treasure but don't use or can't stand to part with. I have books that remind me of people. Some that remind me of places. Others that remind me of principles. Just seeing the title showing on the spine of the book sitting on the shelf takes me places I might not otherwise go. Even a stack of twenty-five boxes - boxes that are starting to crumple from being on the bottom of the stack, boxes that have a number written on the side so I can have an idea of what's inside them based on how I packed them - stacked against the wall in the garage (behind other stuff that's been stacked in front of them over the sixteen months since I unloaded them from the bed of my pickup) can take me there.

I'm a bit OCD and have a memory that will sometimes kick in and run like a cinema. I remember Riley and I packing up the library six years ago. We started from the left-most bookshelf, worked top to bottom. Shelf after shelf. Around the corner. Numbering the boxes as we filled them. Putting them in the truck, taking them from the church office to the garage of the parsonage. Later we'd pack them up and take them to the new church. Then pack them up and move them from storage unit to storage unit until finally (lastly) stacking them along the wall of the garage in the house where we now live.

And Saturday IKEA delivered the bookshelves. We had worked our way down the wish-list as we could and had energy and desire. Deana and I began the task of assembling the shelves. The last one was much easier than the first one. Now they are in place exactly as we envisioned when we moved in. It is very satisfying.

But the shelves are empty. Not yet "book"-shelves, just shelves. That will change soon. We've started looking through the boxes, one by one. Unfortunately, tragically, the boxes are no longer in numerical order having been shuffled and reshuffled with each move. Please allow me pause to shudder. Thank you, I can go on now.

I have more books than shelf space. That's not a mistake; it's by design. Most of my pastoral library is duplicated on my Logos software. While I'm old-school enough to prefer listening to a baseball game on the radio rather than watching on TV, I do like my e-books. Between Logos and Kindle, I have quite the e-library.

So I'm culling. I felt all you bibliophiles shudder when I said that. But I'm culling. I'm OK giving away the books I don't keep. I'm also good loading them one more time in the pickup and taking them to the dump. If you think you may want the books or just can't stand the idea of them being cast away, let me know and we can arrange for you to come by and pick them up. They'll be in the crumpled boxes along the wall in the garage.

So I'm culling and that means I have to make decisions. Have I ever read the book? Do I remember why I have the book? Might the book ever be useful to me? Is this a book I want visible on my bookshelf?

Shortly after we were married, Deana and I bought a house. We had an open house soon afterward and a guest stood at my bookshelves for a lengthy time then turned and said, "You can tell a lot about a person by the books in their library."

So I'm culling and making decisions. So far we have opened about a third of the boxes and kept about half of the books. I can't put them on the shelves yet because, like I said, I'm a bit OCD and the books have to go on the shelves a certain way. So I'll have to know what all is going on the shelves so I can put them in the right groupings and order.

This morning I got out of bed before 7:00, made a cup of coffee, and headed to the back porch with a book in my hand. Not my iPad, but a book. A physical book.

Any guesses what the book is that I picked to read first? After six years without my library, I chose "Lord of What's Left" by Vance Havner.

What a delight. Maybe today will be the day that my library is set free from the boxes to live again in the daylight on beautiful bookshelves. As I walk through the house in the early morning hours I expect to hear the books singing the old gospel song "He set me free! He set me free!" Up to now I've been hearing, "Nobody knows the trouble I've seen," by Potsie Weber.

Give Credit Where Credit Is Due

I've not tended to my blood sugar over the years so now I'm on medicine. Today was the follow-up visit after getting the first prescription last Fall.

The last time I was at the doctor's office, she had a med student in tow. Today she had another one, a different one. I think I must be a fine specimen, or something.

I had lost a few pounds since the last visit. We all celebrated. Then the two of them talked among themselves about how the medicine was responsible for that. I thought we were celebrating me losing weight. Turns out, we were celebrating the medicine peeling the weight off of me.

I think I should get some of the credit. No, I think I should get all the credit. I wonder if I had eaten like I'd always eaten if the weight would have come off just because of a prescription. I think not. Further, I think even without the medicine I would have lost a few pounds because of how I've made better food choices.

Give credit where credit's due!

Notice how this happens too often? God works overtime in your life and when the breakthrough comes you take the credit. And God is ignored.

I think we should give credit where credit is due. I want to thank God for all he does for me. Some I know about; some of it I simply have no idea what he did. But I believe he loves me and works in ways that are always for my good. Thank you, Lord!

I'm glad God worked in my mind and body to help my A1C go down. The scales, too. I gotta tell you, I stepped on those scales with confident expectation today - swagger, if you will - because I knew what it would say. I was almost prideful. Almost.

God may have even used a pharmaceutical to make this happen. Maybe.

Human Dignity

This week marked the fiftieth year since the Supreme Court's decision Roe v Wade. That decision was overturned by the Supreme Court last year and I am thankful for that. At the core of the abortion v life debate is the issue of human dignity.

A friend was let go from his job this week. I understand and agree that businesses must make decisions that sometimes negatively impact people. I tend to side with Business over Labor. This situation was particularly marked by poor communication. Patrick Lencioni says that firings/layoffs must consider the person's dignity in the way those things happen. Poor communication revealed a lack of respect for human dignity, in this case. At least a lack of consideration of respect for human dignity.

Worshippers in Jerusalem were fired upon last night in a synagogue. Several people are dead. Just a few days ago a shooter opened fire on a celebration in Los Angeles killing several including himself. Google the word "shooting" and see the results. The frequency of such things is incredible. Crime is, at least in part, an issue of human dignity.

Human dignity is important because all humans are made in the image of God. The Christian faith and the Christian Bible are clear on this. The issue is in the first few paragraphs of the Bible. The first mention of humans in the Bible is that we are made in the image of God.

EVERYTHING about people from that point forward must be considered in light of the fact that humans are image-bearers of God.

As image-bearers, the individual has responsibility to follow God.

As image-bearers, each person has the responsibility to treat each other person with dignity.

As image-bearers, each person's sin distorts how God's image within him comes out in his attitudes and actions.

Not long after the Bible mentions the image-bearers it tells us of sin and the destruction sin brings to the relationship between God and man and between man and man. Not long after that, the Bible tells of the hope of restoration and reconciliation that God provides through Jesus Christ.

As I understand what the Bible teaches about eternity, all creation will be redeemed - or brought back to a right standing with God, a standing that was marred by sin. The only exception to that are the image-bearers. Not all image-bearers will be redeemed.

God has made the way of redemption for the image-bearers a little different from the redemption of the rest of creation. The heavens and the earth, the waters and the land, the plants and the animals will all be redeemed. Image-bearers - human beings - will be redeemed if they choose to accept the salvation promised from the very first pages of the Bible.

The entire Christian Bible is the revelation of God creating all things including humans; humans bringing sin into the picture; God purposing to redeem all creation and all humans who will believe; the Incarnation of the Savior - Jesus Christ; his death, burial, and resurrection; the life of believers within the community of the Church and in relationship to the world; and the return of Christ and consummation of the redeemed.

I believe the issue of abortion must be seen in light of the human dignity due all image-bearers.

I believe the issues of Human Resources must be conducted in light of the human dignity due all image-bearers.

I will extend that statement to include marriage and family, crime and punishment, community and government. Really, I can't think of any arena where the dignity of image-bearers is not important. Sometimes I might think that the person who isn't doing a good job of image-bearing doesn't deserve to be shown dignity and respect - but I'd be wrong.

I don't get to place value on life, a life, or a person - God already did.

I want to be

Lots of folks make New Years Resolutions. Do you? What kind of resolutions do you make? Do you want to lose weight, eat healthy, and get in shape? Do you want to be less critical and more understanding? Do you want more followers in your goal to be an influencer?

Since when was "influencer" an occupation? I think that is particularly an Instagram and TikTok thing. I'm sure I left out the newest and most attractive social media app and all of you young enough to be my children sighed heavily, noticeably, demonstrably. If you have no idea what I'm talking about you might as well also admit you color your gray hair.

But I've noticed young men and women on these platforms listing "influencer" in their bio. Where I would list "pastor" or "husband" or "father" or "accountant," they list "influencer."

If someone self-identifies as an influencer - you see, they weren't born that way, they just say they are that way. I doubt anyone came up to them and said, "Wow, you sure have a lot of influence. Are you an influencer or something?" No, they self-identify as an influencer.

If someone self-identifies as an influencer, I'm stubborn enough to refuse to be influenced by them. I don't have enough hair to wear mine like they do anyway. The clothes they wear don't come in my size.

"Creator" is also an occupation. It means you post a lot of videos of yourself.

But the rush of our culture is to be like everybody else. That specifically means to be as different as possible while fitting into the pop culture mold of uniformity. A conundrum, huh!

Influencers have to - at the same time - be unique, just like all the other influencers. The more unique they are, the more they fit into the cookie cutter.

The outside might be as different as day is from night when you put two influencers side by side, but the inside is pretty much the same. "I want to be famous." "I want everybody to know my name."

They should go to Cheers.

Here's a true truth if there ever was one: Jesus knows your name and he wants to be your Savior, Lord, Friend, Brother.

My New Years Resolutions are more about being and becoming. I have always had a list of things I wanted to do. But this year, I have a list of things I aspire to be.

I want to be a friend my friends consider a friend they can count on. I've not been that very often.

I want to be an encourager. Too often I'm just the opposite.

I want to be generous. I tend to be stingy.

I want to be helpful, kind, joyful, patient. I know me better than you do and that doesn't sound much like me.

I want to be more like Jesus. His Spirit works within me to make that a reality, but I get in the way way too much.

If I yield to the Spirit, he will make me more like Jesus. And all those other things will be part of the package.

Then if I am a good influence on others, so be it.

photo cred: forbesindia.com and shutterfly

Christmas Songs

 Christmas songs churn up memories. Any time of year, too.

"Gather 'round and I will tell the story of a Christmas bell..." I can hear Lynn Anderson singing that just as clearly today as when I was a kid at my grandparents' house. For those of you unfortunate souls who don't know, "Ding-a-ling the Christmas Bell" is a classic. It's on Spotify so do yourself and your family a favor and play it...today!

It's hard to beat Burl Ives singing anything related to Christmas. Can't you see the animation when he sings "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"? And "A Holly Jolly Christmas" is top-shelf.

Several years ago I was sitting in a Starbucks working on a sermon. They were playing Christmas music - a CD you could buy in the shop, "Under the Mistletoe." I bought it. Bob Dylan singing "Here Comes Santa Claus" is worth a few minutes of your time.

The Cathedral Quartet did an a capella Christmas album years ago - in the 80's maybe. Outstanding arrangements, vocals, song selections. I hear this in my head often and with my ears occasionally.

When I was a radio DJ playing Southern Gospel music, I loved Christmastime because of the really good music the groups released. I still have many of the CDs the record companies sent out to the DJs.

Y'all know that I love the Statler Brothers. The Statlers' Christmas albums are outstanding. "Who Do You Think," "Old Toy Trains," and "Somewhere in the Night" are songs I love to hear and love to sing when I get the chance. Many-a nursing home resident has endured my renditions.

For a year I was interim music director at Second Baptist Church in Russellville. My job was to keep the church singing and keep the choir together. I'm so glad Al Ray Taylor came along when he did! I loved that season and have fond memories of it.

One memory is from the Christmas musical of 1996. One of the songs told about John the Baptist preparing the way for Jesus. "Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord" I think was the name of the song. Like many choir songs do, this one had a spot toward the end with a key change and I thought a punch in intensity would be appropriate. We practiced and the choir did great.

When that place in the song came up, I gave the choir the signal to punch it. And they did. I think I kept waving my hands like music guys are supposed to do. But I know I was sobbing uncontrollably. I was so overwhelmed by the message, the music, the performance. Much like I am right now. Can I get a hankie, please.

So this is Christmas Eve. Surely nobody will object to you playing Christmas music today. Sing along. Sing loud so I can hear you.

Word Count Ploys

My average daily word count is likely way below the human average. I don't even know if that is calculable but it sounds deeply contemplative. What I mean is that I probably talk less than most people I'm around each day.

In full disclosure, I must say that Sundays don't count. I'm a preacher and a Sunday School class teacher.

But Monday through Saturday... Well, to be repetitive moves me closer to the other side. The dark side.

Some people run up their word count as if a championship is to be won. Imagine a bracket with two people pitted against each other and the winner advances to play another day. Some days the winner barely gets by with a buzzer beater flurry. Other days highlight a blowout...no contest.

The bracket will grow. That's what brackets do. Am I right, NCAA Football?

And the bracket grows larger over time because lucrative financial benefit looms large. Apparently irresistible. Am I right, NCAA Men's Basketball?

So I'm out at Round 1. Unless it's Sunday.

Some people run up their word count by talking nonstop. Deana and I work together and take one vehicle to work each day rather than two. I'm pretty sure that when I mentioned Deana in this context that you immediately thought I was going to give my basis for choosing her to win the bracket.

But this is not about Deana. Sometimes she can be quiet. Very quiet. That's usually when I feel the need to talk...to defend myself. (**crickets** from the other side of the room.)

On our drive home the other day I began talking about my day - which was rich with things to talk about. Excuse me, you should not end a sentence with a preposition. My day was rich with things about which to talk.

Do grammatical corrections count toward the overall word count?

The drive from work to home - and, similarly but not oddly, from home to work - is about 30 miles and 35 minutes. I've noticed several lawbreaking citizens who make the trip a bit quicker. Very few drivers respect law to the point of taking a longer period of time to make the drive.

In the past, I drove with the lawbreakers. Is it necessary to say, "In the past" if I use the past tense verse "drove"? There is no possibility to use the past tense verb to refer to any other time. That's why language has verb tenses. So people will run up their word count by saying things like, "In the past, I drove with the lawbreakers."

"I drove with the lawbreakers" and "I have driven with lawbreakers" and "I drive with the lawbreakers" and "I will drive with the lawbreakers" and "I will have driven with the lawbreakers" each give us a timeframe through which to consider when I might speed. Or might have sped. Or will speed in the future.

Was it necessary to say, "in the future"?

Actually, was it necessary to start this post with this sentence: "My average daily word count is likely way below the human average"? Humans are the only beings that use words so I could have, should have, simply said, "My average daily word count is likely way below the average."

Do you see how people can run up their word counts in subtle ways? Or in ways of grammatical error?

Or from lack of understanding? Here's what I mean. VIN number. ATM machine. PIN number. 8:00 A.M. in the morning.

My friend (he's actually my hero because he and his wife foster and adopt!) recently shared that he told his son it was time to go to bed. After a bit of debate, the boy headed to his room. A couple of hours later my friend checked in on the boy. He found the kid sitting in bed watching TV. The debate that followed ended with the child explaining to the father that he was, in fact, in bed. The boy did exactly what the father said to do.

That reminded me of my first day in seminary. The professor introduced himself then asked each student to introduce themselves. When I said what town I was from he interrupted and asked where that town is. I said, "About an hour and a half from here toward [a larger town further away]."

"Where is that?" the professor said. I gave a direction. I probably even pointed in the direction.

The professor kept asking for clarity. Everyone in the class was snickering. I was the only newbie and the other students had seen this happen before. (Sorry. When else would that have seen this happen!)

At the end of a very discouraging and embarrassing episode, he said, "You need to tighten up your language." I've come to consider this episode one of the most hilarious things that I have experienced. And the advice is something I've handed out to others (who else would I have handed it out to...I mean, to whom else would I have handed this advice?) with glee. My glee, not theirs.

Advice is that way. The giver often does so gleefully. The receiver might not experience such glee.

So I reminded my friend - who was in that seminary class - that he should tighten up his language. My friend, by the way, excels at reminding people not to end a sentence with a preposition.

Another seminary professor (perhaps my favorite of all the profs I had) spent a large amount of time on the topic of word economy. My favorite lesson relates to listing or making points. If something is "First of all," it's first. Tighten up your language.

One time I was talking with a friend about the time I smashed my fingers between the sections of the garage door. How likely is it that I would talk with a friend about this more than once. "One time" was totally an aggressive word count ploy. But when I mentioned the garage door I said (using hand gestures), "You know how it goes up and down..." She interrupted, "Thank you, Bob, for describing how a garage door works."

So on the drive home from work the other day, I used up a couple of weeks worth of words.

My favorite version of the Christmas story in the Gospels is found in John 1:14. "The word became flesh and made his dwelling among us."

As you can tell, I appreciate economical word count.

Order Beyond Death

 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1).

Prior to this nothing had existed except the Triune God. He made - out of nothing - all that is. It was good. It had order.

But sin made its way into humanity’s existence; death reordered everything. Prior to death - prior to sin - God’s order was the norm. Beyond just being the norm, order was all there was.

You and I live in the reordered world marked by sin and death. Men and women from my childhood pass away. The frequency of these announcements seems to be increasing; three in the last few days. We live without them. We even live without some of the kids from our school years. Even some of our own children are gone.

Each time someone who has an imprint on our lives, our lifestyles, or even our memories dies, life is reordered. That’s what death does: it reorders. First, death reordered the perfect order. Now death reorders how we’ve grown accustomed to the previous reordering.

And the cycle repeats itself again and again. Will it ever end?

Yes.

The order broken by sin and the resulting death will be restored. Jesus Christ came from heaven and was born into this world just as you and I were. He lived in this disordered life experiencing all that you and I do. However, as the experiences of this life result in sin, suffering, and death for us, it was not so for Jesus.

He lived, he experienced, but he did not sin. Yet he still suffered and died. He suffered because the world has been reordered. So when his close friend died, Jesus wept. When he saw people wrongly treated, he agonized. When he was beaten and crucified, he suffered.

His suffering was quite real and personal, but his suffering was not because of anything he had done. Likewise, his death.

His death was real and it was personal. But where death is part of the reordering brought about by sin, Jesus did not sin yet still experienced death - the death we should experience.

Why? So the cycle of reordering would end and all things could be restored as God intended his creation to be.

My family, my friends’ family members, my friends, and I will all experience the reordering of God’s good creation. We will die. But something waits beyond death.

Jesus lived and died so that any and all who trust him for salvation from the penalty of sin (which is death/separation) can live again. This time we’ll live in a place of restored order. A place where sin can no longer bring death. A place where chaos is not known.

A place where any and all who trusted Jesus for salvation will reunite.

Heaven.

I have many family and friends and heroes already there. I’m looking forward to being there, too.

But the greatest thing about heaven is being forever in the order our Creator intended and being with our Creator: the Triune God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Thoughts On Speaking Out and Listening and Anger

Lead with your ears,

follow up with your tongue,

and let anger straggle along in the rear.

We live in a time when everyone wants to be heard. And we have the technology that facilitates the longing. Have you watched...sure you have...the video of recent protests? Most of what you see was captured by a participant using a mobile phone. And pay attention to the people in the background...how many of them are holding up a phone capturing the same thing so they can post it on their social media pages? The days of getting your news late in the day on the network broadcasts or the next morning in the local paper are long gone. Those of us who actually remember those experiences (broadcast news and local papers as the first source of information) are in the minority.

Everyone wants to be heard and everyone can be heard. But that doesn't mean the playing field is level. Because you want to and can be does not mean you are heard. Communication is the transmission of a message from a sender to a receiver. I suspect that many messages being sent are not being received. Like those NASA transmissions into outer space looking for extraterrestrial life. Messages being sent but not received.

What did your toddlers do when they said something to you but you didn't respond? They got louder. Eventually, they got angrier. Why? Because they didn't think you heard them. And it didn't matter if you heard them or not. It didn't matter if their requests or complaints were valid or not. They wanted to be heard.

People want to be heard today. Many have valid requests or complaints. Many messages are not being received. So they speak up. I would, too.

The messages piercing the silence are about injustice. They are about scary health issues. They are about uncertain economics. They are about not knowing what is going on or what will happen next. If they think their messages aren't being heard, they get louder. Some get angrier.

I would, too.

Have you noticed the amount of counter-messages that are out there? "For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction" seems to be a maxim pertaining to communication, too. As I hear messages from any side of any issue, I want to respond the right way. I'm talking about both my content and my tone.

I look to the Bible for guidance in all things. Here's what I found regarding the content and tone of my messages.

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart

be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

Psalm 19:14 ESV                    

With the tongue we bless our Lord and Father,

and with it we curse people who are made in God’s likeness.

Blessing and cursing come out of the same mouth.

My brothers and sisters, these things should not be this way.

James 3:9-10 CSB                    

Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt,

so that you may know how to answer everyone.

Colossians 4:6 NIV                    

Post this at all intersections, dear friends:

Lead with your ears, follow up with your tongue,

and let anger straggle along in the rear.

James 1:19 MSG                    

Do You Ever Wonder

Do you ever wonder what God is doing? Me, too. I'm in another season (just look at my last post) where it seems God is up to something but I have no idea. That seems to be a pattern.

Maybe that's the way God works. Not to be cruel or aloof by not letting me know what's going on, but to build my faith so that I can trust that he loves me and wants to do what is best and can do what is best. And he will do what is best.

And instead of working to bring me comfort (physical, emotional), he is working to build my character.

So why is God not clearly laying out for me his plans for the future? Why is the end of one season of life approaching (quickly) and I don't know what the next season holds? What's next?

Better questions may be these: What can I learn during this period of uncertainty? How can I better trust God right now? Where am I trying to control my life rather than yielding to the Holy Spirit?

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." That is what Paul describes as Christ-like character in Galatians 5:22-23. If God is working to build my character - even now - then I must have room for growth in these things. If you know me, you have probably already picked out a few that you would like to suggest I work on. Me, too.

More than having a place to serve, I want to be like Jesus. I need to let him work out where I will serve next. I just need to focus on him and on being like him. Would you pray for me about that?

Practice What You Preach

I've spent years preaching, teaching, and counseling with this truth undergirding it all: You can trust God because he loves you and always does what is best.

Now I'm in some tough times and I have a hard time trusting God.

I've been leading the Sunday Night Bible Study at church for the last few months. We are studying Genesis and just finished a lengthy section on Jacob's life. He is a great example of someone who looks a lot like me. Trusting God one day; panicking the next. Building an altar to Almighty God one day; grasping control of his life the next.

Jacob is unique because God chose him and his family to bring the Messiah into the world. And God chose me and my Christian family to take the Christ to the world.

God never gave up on Jacob even when Jacob was living as if God didn't exist. The promise God gave Abraham (Jacob's grandfather) was for Jacob, too. God would bless his family. God would use his family to bless the world. God would bless those who bless Abraham and curse those who curse Abraham. That applied to Abrham's grandson, yet Jacob lived a life marked by fear and deceit.

When we take our focus off of God we live like that. But we don't have to. We can live with confidence and assurance because…because you can trust God because he loves you and always does what is best.

God kept speaking to Jacob. He kept guiding Jacob. He chose to use Jacob for the awesome task of bring the Messiah into the world.

So take heart, Bob! God keeps speaking. He keeps guiding. He chose you (and you!) for the awesome task of taking the Christ to the world. In hard times, trust God.

Live By The Golden Rule

I've been observing, both near and far. It's time I said something. I hope you hear it.

Treat people as you would like to be treated.

You name the realm of life…this applies.

Politics. Do politicians want to be treated the way they treat their colleagues or constituents? Surely not.

Business. Do corporations, business-people, and consumers was to be treated the way they treat other corporations, business-people, and consumers? Surely not.

Work. Do employers and employees really want to be treated the way they treat one another? Co-workers, do you really want to be treated the way you treat your co-workers? Surely not.

Marriage and Family. Do we really want to be treated the way we treat our spouse and family? Surely not.

Must I go on? I can. You can, too, because you see all this going on around you.

The problem is we don't see it going on inside us.

Here's the problem. We are all broken people, broken by our own sinfulness. "Wait a minute," you say, "I'm not a sinner. I've never done anything really bad." Can I just cut through the nonsense and tell you that even you are a sinner. You may not understand what sin really is but that doesn't change the fact that you are a sinner. I am, too.

A big problem with sin is how it impacts our ability or willingness to treat others with kindness. So we are cold, rude, mean, vindictive, hateful, bitter, ugly, hurtful, manipulative, inconsiderate. And we often like it. We like it so much that we don't think about changing.

As I read the Bible I don't find accounts of men and women who realized they needed to change and willed themselves to be better. I see just the opposite. Like you and me, the people in the Bible don't see their sin-fed problems and just continue in them unless something outside of them happens.

In our world, an addict has to hit rock bottom, a family has to fall apart, and business has to go bankrupt, dreams have to come crashing down, etc., before we put much serious thought into changing.

In our world people are valued and praised and rewarded for using people rather than loving people. Listen to the lyrics of popular music. Listen to the chatter in your workplace. Listen to the sounds at the local athletic event. Listen to interviews of pop culture icons. Listen to the speeches and soundbites of the politicians.

Sin impacts how you relate to others and there is nothing you can do about it.

But God can. All the people in the Bible who changed did so by the power of God, not their own. God can do the same for you and me if we'll stop living by our own desires and look to Jesus Christ for help and leadership and change.

We are all sinners and our sin is between us and God creating a gap that we cannot cross. We are separated or alienated from God. But God loves us and demonstrated his love by having his son Jesus Christ die for the penalty and punishment of our sins so we don't have to stay separated from God but can be reconciled to him through the death of Jesus. Anyone who calls upon the name of the Lord Jesus will be saved from their sin and its penalty. They will be accepted into God's family.

And each day you can get out of bed with the thought that today you are going to follow Jesus in your thoughts, actions, and attitudes. You can't do it yourself, but God can do it in you.

One of the changes you'll see in your own life will be in how you treat others. When you see the change in your own life you'll realize that Jesus is the answer to other sin-fed issues you have. God can change them, too.

You'll also realize that following Jesus Christ is the answer to the sin-fed problems people around you experience. I'm not saying that by following Jesus Christ nobody will treat you bad, but you won't treat others that way. And a lot of the problems I experience are brought on by the way I treat others.

I hope the right people hear this. Especially me.

"So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets" (Matthew 7:12).

Breakfast

I'm sitting across the table from Riley. He's eating cereal. I'm drinking coffee. Deana is still in bed.

It's 7:30. AM. I've been awake since 4:00 and up since about 4:45. AM. A!M! In the morning.

We bought melatonin last night. A couple of friends talk about it. Maybe it will help me sleep a little later. I forgot to take it last night.

But really, I wake up at moderate noise and since we now experience apartment life, moderate noise happens a lot. I wake up to moderate light, too. If I wake up and it's fairly daylight, I can't go back to sleep. Our apartment complex is well lit. And a light on a building across the way shines perfectly through the slot in the blinds where the cords go…right into my eyes if I'm sleeping on my left side.

I know, the fix is easy. Don't sleep on my left side and put a pillow over my head and play some white noise and… And I've tried the PM meds but don't want to take acetaminophen or ibuprofen so often. Maybe melatonin is the key. Or getting back to my high school graduation weight. Or even my college graduation weight. Or, hey, my seminary graduation weight would be an improvement. I have a Master of Divinity. Too much candy, I guess.

Riley just refilled his cereal bowl. Maybe he'd eat just one bowl of cereal if he had a Jethro Bodine bowl. Raise your hand if you know what that is.

Deana's still in bed.

I like to grind coffee beans and did this morning before 7:00. It didn't stir anyone. Not that I did it on purpose to stir them, of course.

My breakfast was an English muffin with peach preserves and a banana. And a cup of coffee. Or two. Half a pot, actually. Maybe the caffeine is why I sleep like I do!

Riley's breakfast is fueling him for a baseball game. The Baptist Prep Eagles are playing in their regional tournament today. They have already qualified for the state tournament. Today's game will determine their seeding.

(I've been meaning to look this up. Is "seed" the proper term? Or is it "cede" or something else?)

The Eagles have had a 5-year drought with no appearances in regionals or state. These are exciting times. Worth getting up early for. Worth an extra bowl of cereal. Worth the 2-hour drive.

I don't get to have breakfast with Riley very often but today is special. Because of the baseball but mostly because I get to have breakfast with Riley.

When Believers Pray

I have to share with you what God did over the last few days. Riley's truck is not new. OK, it's old. But he likes it and it is what we have. He needed front brakes and rotors so we took it to a trusted mechanic who has worked on this vehicle and others of ours.

After doing the brake job the mechanic took it for a spin. It overheated quickly. Pretty good leak in the coolant system. Pretty good bill, too. We had some money saved up so we spent it all on that. We rarely have money saved up so the timing was good.

But that wasn't the end of it. The engine was missing - not gone, but not running right. Cylinder 6 was the culprit. The mechanic discovered this at 6:00 Friday night so we left the truck there (we had come by to pick it up thinking the work was finished) and he would look at it Monday.

Possible solutions ranged from $50 to $1500. And we had just spent all we had.

We spent Friday night through Monday morning praying. We could pay the $50 bill but not much else. We asked others to pray with us. At church Sunday afternoon our pastor and his wife joined Deana and me for a prayer meeting. We needed God to do something.

So Monday comes and I expect a call fairly early giving me the news. No call. Finally, I called just before lunch. He said it wasn't either of the problems he would have guessed so he was still searching.

Monday afternoon I called again. He said he tweaked a thing or two and all is well. As well as a 20 year old truck can be, I guess.

No extra charge.

We needed God to either heal our truck or somehow get the work paid for. I don't know which happened - and I'm OK not knowing. But I do know that we needed God to do something and he did.

I will ever praise him because he met our need, and even more - he loves us enough to do it.

When believers pray...they are blessed.

Things Change

Today I announced to my church family that I have accepted a staff position with another church. That is harder to do that it seems. I have served Cross Road Baptist Church for eleven years. That is 20% of my life, more than half of my married life with Deana, and almost two-thirds of Riley's life. This is the longest job I've ever had. The next closest is six years.

God works in mysterious ways. That means I don't always understand why God does what he does. And I believe this is the work of God in my life, the life of CRBC, and the life of the church I'll soon serve. But I don't really understand it.

God is good all the time. That means that even if I don't understand (even if I don't like) what God is doing, it is good. God can do nothing else. Goodness is his nature so everything he does is good.

My time here is filled with great memories. We've seen many people give their lives to follow Jesus and have baptized them. Those are precious memories. We have travelled the globe engaging in God's work. I have fond memories of those who have gone with me and those who supported us in prayer and resources. We have mobilized to serve our community and almost every member has been a hands-on participant. I won't forget those people and mission moments.

I've worked alongside and prayed with some wonderful Christians. They have helped me mature as a Christian and as a pastor. Whether it was a challenge or a victory, we did it together. I'm glad the Lord works like that.

I've been their pastor as they welcomed babies into the world, married their children, reached milestones, and mourned the loss of loved ones. I've celebrated and mourned with them. Some of the best people I have known are part of the CRBC family.

There is a lot I don't know but this I do know: Following Jesus with others who follow Jesus is worthwhile.

Thank you, CRBC, for letting me be part of your lives. Thank you, Lord, for calling me here and keeping me here for these eleven years.

What Happened?

It must have been the late '80s because I was working for a company traveling from town to town selling industrial safety products to different types of businesses. Highway 80 is a quite road I was on between Waldron and Danville in western Arkansas. There wasn't much going on this late afternoon. Hardly any traffic competing for my space on the road. And hardly any thoughts competed for my brain's attention. I was zoned out headed home.

Then all of a sudden…out of nowhere…I thought my car was about to vibrate off the road. Could it be the Second Coming? Could it be an earthquake? Could it be a nuclear attack? No. It was an airplane.

Not far from where I was toodling along on Highway 80 is the Fort Smith airport which serves as the training facility for the Arkansas Air National Guard 188th Wing. I've read that in 1988 the 188th acquired the F-16. My guess is that a pilot was out with the new ride having a little fun. I might have done the same thing! He spots a lone vehicle on a secluded roadway, drops down to treetop height, and punches it right over my head.

My immediate thought was, "Oh no!" A second later, "What was that." Another second later I looked up in time to see the jet disappear. An hour later my heart rate returned to normal.

The only other experience I've had with something like that was several years ago on the weekend of the air show at the Little Rock Air Force Base in Jacksonville. Deana, Riley, and I were about 15 miles away from the base, it was an cloudy day, and we were headed to get some lunch. Just toodling along with hardly any traffic around us.

Then the clouds opened up and a black disc swooped down, then right back up. For just a moment we saw what could only be explained as a flying saucer from outer space carrying aliens to attack us and carry us off into an alternate universe. That was the only plausible explanation.

The next day's newspaper carried a story about the new stealth bomber making an appearance at the air show. The pictures in the paper looked a lot like the spaceship we had seen the day before.

Oh.

Add to these two events the time the army helicopter landed in our backyard and you have the three times I've had weird things happen to me involving the United States military. Each time I asked myself, "What happened?"

Many more times in my life have I asked that question when something goes wrong or I'm hit by something unexpected. I just don't understand. Maybe you feel that way, too. A divorce. Losing a child. Getting fired. An expensive repair. Blown up friendships. Repossession. Foreclosure. The diagnosis.

"What happened?" Most often the answer is, "I don't know." But in every situation you can add to that, "But God does."

Have you come to the point where you can trust that if God knows that is good enough? You'd like to know but you don't have to know?

Here are a couple of verses from the Bible that help me when I'm wondering what happened.

For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him (2 Chronicles 16:9).

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 (Romans 8:28).

The promise of these verses is that God acts in the lives of those who love him to help them when they aren't sure what happened.

'Twas Three Days Before Christmas

Way down deep, I'm a kid. My favorite memories of Christmas revolve around times spent at my grandparents' house in Paris, Arkansas. I never remember not having a sister and two cousins. Carri, Steve, Teri, and I were the first four of ten grandchildren. Steve and I are just eight months apart in age. If I had lived in Paris we would have grown up more like brothers than cousins.

The Christmas tree with the frosted tips to look like snow. The jillions of colored lights on the tree. Andy Williams singing in the background. My favorite Christmas song was "Ding-a-ling the Christmas Bell" by Lynn Anderson. I bought it on iTunes a couple of years ago. The kitchen counter was always loaded with food. The kitchen table was where the men would eat and later play dominoes.

I remember the gas wall heater we'd back up to then turn around when our backsides were too warm. And I remember the "cold room." Heat never reached there, not even when central heat and air was installed years later. Even the closed in back porch where the kids always ate was not as cold as the "cold room." I'm not sure why, but I always think of the "cold room" when I hear John Denver's "Grandma's Feather Bed." When my grandmother passed away a few years ago, it was in that room that we spent hours looking through boxes and albums of family pictures.

At the heart of our family's Christmas celebration was the true meaning of Christmas. We didn't read the Christmas story but many of us were coming from a church service. I knew I was loved and love like that has just one source. I've grown up to realize the importance of letting the people you love know you love them. The Christmas gatherings for my side of the family were last weekend. The whole, big, extended family still gets together on Christmas Eve but I haven't been able to attend that in a while. I haven't seen my big kids on Christmas Day in many years. But the day we get together isn't as important as letting them know you love them.

And I do. It is a rare occasion that I speak to my big kids or my parents and not tell them I love them. Christmas is part of a grand love story that tells us that God loves us and gave his Son to die for our sins. Easter is part of the same story. And the story never ends because God's love for us never ends. I want my love for my family to never end. Memories help. I see my cousins mostly at funerals these days - like the one earlier this month for my uncle. He was the one who would put on a Santa Claus outfit and walk by the living room window on Christmas Eve. (I think it was Ricky! Maybe it was…)

Was Jesus born on December 25? Does it matter? What matters is that Jesus - the eternal Son of God - entered our world as a human to make a way for sinners like you and me to reunite with our loving creator. That changes this life and eternity. So I will celebrate and pass along the greatest love story ever told.

I still love a Christmas tree decorated with colored lights. Blinking. Because when you sit in the dark living room the lights on the tree will all blink off at the same time once or twice a night. Keep your yuppie white lights; take me back to an old farmhouse with wood floors, a wall heater, a cold room, presents under the tree, food in the kitchen, a domino game, and family.

God's Already Here Doing Things We Can't Imagine

Have you ever heard someone say, "I really need God to show up"? Sometimes that is in the form of a prayer request. It's important to believe that the presence of God is essential in our lives. But does he need to show up?

Churchy people sometimes say, "God really showed up and showed out today." Really? God isn't already here? Maybe they don't mean what they say but what they say.

The Bible tells us that God is omnipresent - he is everywhere. Psalm 139 says that if I go to the highest peak in the mountains, God is there; if I go to the lowest valley under the ocean, God is there; if I fly through space, God is there. Where can I go that God is not already there?

Where you are today…God is there. Where you will be tomorrow…God is already there. He'll be there when you get there. The problems that tomorrow will hold are no surprise to God…he's already there. Can you find a bit of peace and comfort in that? Even in the turmoil that accompanies your trek through this life, God is there and he knows and he is in control.

Christmas reminds us that God is with us. That's what the name Immanuel means. Prophets and angels said Jesus would be Immanuel - God with us. When Jesus was about to return to heaven he told his followers that when he leaves the Holy Spirit will come. For all who believe and follow Jesus, the Holy Spirit is not only present in this world but present within us.

What about God showing out? Again, I think it is important to believe God does amazing things. In fact, according to the Bible, everything God does is "showing out" because his ways are higher than our ways. Not only is he omnipresent, he is also omnipotent! He has all power! Amazing power! He can part the waters of the Red Sea. He can turn water in pots into wine. He can raise the dead. He can take on human flesh and become a man.

Paul says God does things that are our ability to imagine. We can't even accurately ask for what he can do. From our perspective, everything he does blows our minds. If not, we aren't really paying attention!

For where you are now and what you need from God, he is present and powerful. Christmas reminds me that God is omnipresent and omnipotent. That's what I really need…all year long.

The Gospel, Sin, and Shame

I've just started reading The Imperfect Disciple by Jared C. Wilson. He spoke at a seminar I attended recently and we all got a copy. Jared writes with a style that makes me feel like we are sitting around the table drinking coffee and eating pie.

Here's what he wrote that I want to share with you. "Jesus found it imminently agreeable to air out people's shame that he might cover it for them. You cannot vanquish what you cannot expose."

Take a second and read that again. The difference between the way Jesus deals with sin and shame is so different from the way most of us deal with sin and shame. We want to deny we've sinned and hide the shame that accompanies sin. We want to keep our image pristine. Never let them see you sweat.

But the truth is that sin has already made an ugly mark on our lives. Each of us is marked and marred. Many of us put make-up on to cover the shame. We may hide behind a false front hoping nobody notices. We've learned to be proud, so the shame is embarrassing. I know, I've been there. At any given moment you could look at me and you'd be looking at a person marred by sin and shame.

But Jesus wants no part of hiding our sin. He wants no part of covering up our shame.

Jesus died for your sins to vanquish them from your life. Jesus offers forgiveness and restoration so you can be free from the shame. But Jared Wilson points out that you cannot vanquish what you cannot expose. Keep you sin and shame hidden. Don't let anyone know. Convince yourself that it's not that bad. Do that and you'll forever miss the love and joy and peace and freedom Jesus wants you to know.

Or confess you sins to Jesus. He will forgive you. Admit your shame and Jesus will restore you. The gospel is the good news that Jesus died to make right what is wrong in your life.

Wilson also wrote that we turn the gospel into law when we take the good news and turn it into practical, self-help advice. The gospel is not "3 Steps to a Better Life," the gospel is that Jesus died to make right what is wrong in your life. The only steps you must take are to follow in his.

I encourage you to pick up a copy of The Imperfect Disciple by Jared C. Wilson. I'm sure it's available at Christian bookstores and online retailers. Or you could've attended the seminar I did and got yours for free, too!

God Directs Our Paths

I'm looking for a job. The church I serve has to cut back the budget and that includes salaries. I've been bivocational before so this is not too big a shift for me.

I used to think that the goal of every pastor should be to get a church that can fully support him financially. But the truth is that most churches are small and therefore cannot fully support a pastor and/or staff. This brings to life a biblical reality for both the pastor and the church that gets hidden in our modern concept of the church.

Many churches - mine included, according to a seminary students research - rely on the pastor and staff to do the ministry. And pastors should be involved in the ministry of the church. But one man, in the case of a smaller membership church, cannot do all the ministry that ought to be done.

The Bible shows us a church where all the Christians are involved in ministry. In fact, this is necessary for the church to be what it is to be. Paul illustrates this by comparing the church to a human body. Each part of the body is important and has its own functions. The whole body suffers when one part of the body suffers.

So the church needs all the believers doing what they are designed and gifted to do in order for the church to function properly. What typically happens is that when one believer does not do his part somebody picks up the slack. But that person isn't necessarily designed and gifted for that task. So although the task gets done it gets done with less effectiveness - perhaps efficient but not effective. And the body of Christ suffers for it.

Churches need to see that each person has equal responsibility for the ministry. The pastor and staff are to lead and equip. And they are to do their part of the ministry but not all of it. Having a bivocational pastor often positions the church to have a broader participation in ministry.

From my personal experience, not having a job away from the church has sheltered me from many people who need a Christian's ministry. Let me say that more accurately: I let myself become sheltered from people outside the church. Not every pastor does this but I did.

At the last job I had outside the church I had opportunities everyday to shares God's love and the gospel with people who did not attend church. They were all around me. Sometimes they even sought me out for spiritual help. Honestly, very few - almost none - come to the church office looking for spiritual guidance.

It's been easy to become isolated. That's not good.

So working outside the church will help me overcome the tendency toward isolation. And that's good. The substitute teaching I am doing now is a great way to be around people who really need to know God's love and hear the gospel.

But the opportunity to make what I need to make is not there, so I'm looking for a job. This will be good for everyone: the church, me, my family, and people outside the church. I believe this is God's direction for his glory and my good.