A couple of weeks ago, I saw this great sign on the bulletin board at a church we were visiting...

Last time, we looked at the dangerous power of expectations. So many of us spend far too much time distracted and tormented by unrealistic or unmet expectations. Here on paper, that little word sounds harmless enough. How much trouble can something that only exists in the mind cause, after all? 

But we all know the answer to that by looking at broken lives all around us, sometimes even our own lives. Husbands and wives who were once so close and enchanted with one another drift apart, and entire families can be shattered just because of unmet expectations on one side or the other. Friendships can be frozen and severed. Feelings can be hurt, offenses taken, and unforgiveness can set in. Entire years or even decades can be missed by someone wishing for something that will never be rather than looking for the good in what actually is. Worst of all, a person's relationship with God can suffer terribly from doubting His character in the middle of trying circumstances. There are real-life consequences when someone holds tightly to their expectations. 

So what can we do to prevent this from happening in our own lives? It is wise to be aware of the patterns of thought that can lead to a dead or destructive end. We can always choose what we think. Here are two things that Jesus told us which can help us think rightly and manage our outlook on life in a healthy way...
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Isn’t it strange that we have such a high capacity to overlook our own faults while having such a very small tolerance for the faults of others? We seem to ignore the fact that we let other people down all the time, and that we frequently do not meet others’ expectations. There are many times we ought to be sobered at the end of a day to realize how our careless words, off-handed criticism, or lack of attention might have landed in someone’s heart. 

We are very good at giving ourselves the benefit of the doubt when we say or do something selfish and unkind: we had a headache, we didn’t get enough sleep, we were just getting over that bug…

Jesus points out that the entire Old Testament (the Law and the Prophets) can be summed up in one sentence. Hundreds and hundreds of pages can be boiled down to just a few words - treat other people the way you would like to be treated.

The terrible problem of sin that we all have can also be called selfishness - each of us truly cares about and loves only ourselves. Jesus is kindly and strongly telling us to get over ourselves and think about others, also. Think how different history could have been if we would just do this. Cain would not have killed Abel, Ishmael and Issac might have been friends, David would not have killed Uriah and taken Bathsheba, and so on, right up to the present time. 

This is why Jesus came here, and why He suffered the humiliation and shame of the Cross. He has broken the curse of sin and selfishness for us! Through Him, we are finally free to choose not to be selfish. As believers in Jesus, we can be like Him and always put others first, if we will. 

So much of the drama and heartache in life could be erased if we would just stop being obesessed with ourselves, our feelings, and our hopes, and simply treat people like we wish they would treat us. Aiming to live with Jesus as the center of our lives instead of ourselves as the center would radically change our perspective. As we strive to care about the other people in our lives as much as we care about ourselves and as much as Jesus cares for them, we would not find ourselves feeling let down so often. Our families, churches and towns would be much stronger and better for it.
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Yes, Jesus said this. He told us that the one thing we actually should expect in life is trouble, but we forget this every single day. We are constantly setting ourselves up for failure and disappointment. Somehow we manage to wake up every morning with the renewed idea that today, every single thing is going to go right. This is some kind of permanent amnesia that we all have, frankly because things were just not supposed to be this way. The fall of mankind changed everything; the entrance of sin into the world brought all kinds of terrible things, including disappointment and suffering. In this world, we will have trouble.

But how kind God is to take those troubles - now a very real and inescapable part of the human experience - and turn them into something that refines our character like nothing else can! The enemy aims to steal, kill and destroy, but God shields us and will use those same troubles to purify and perfect us if we will let Him. 

Many love to read biographies of great Christian people. But what made them great? These people went through some terrible things, and still testified to the goodness of God. Corrie ten Boom went through literal hell on earth in a Nazi concentration camp. Surely there is no worse experience, and this certainly does not fit into anyone’s expectations of what the life of a faithful Christian ought to look like. If anyone could have been bitter and mad at God for the way her life went, it could have been Corrie. But what a sad book that would be - no one would want to read it. We love to read her life story because she went through horrific suffering, through no fault of her own, and was beautifully refined by it. For the rest of her life she testified to the goodness and nearness of God even in the midst of unimaginable circumstances. With great conviction and power, she told everyone she could that there is no pit so deep that God's love is not deeper still.

Someday in heaven, every day will be perfect and everything will go right. But until then we have to learn to rejoice in what each day brings, for better or for worse. We can take heart, because Jesus has overcome the world! We can trust that, if and when things do not go like we expect, Jesus will help us learn and grow and become more like Him every day. In this world we can expect trouble, but in the middle of it we can have joy, peace, and abundant life in Christ.

Happy summer to everyone! In southeast Texas, we generally start bracing ourselves for the return of the very hot, humid days and nights starting in April. But this year has been surprisingly different so far. It has been relatively cool and quite rainy, and I consider it a welcome change from the expected. It also fits neatly with a subject that has been popping up all over my radar lately - living with and managing our expectations. Every now and then our expectations are pleasantly exceeded, like cooler summer temperatures in Texas. Far more often, they are disappointingly unmet. 

The last few weeks have been full of reminders about this subject. We have been walking alongside several friends through some difficult situations, most of which have been caused by this reality of unmet expectations: husbands and wives struggling to get along, new parents worn out from lack of sleep, parents who cannot understand the choices their young adult children are making, adult children caring for elderly and ill parents, and so on. From beginning to end, life is filled with obstacles to be overcome in the heart and mind. 

​On a lighter note, the last few weeks have also been full of pleasant reminders of motherhood for me - of course, Mother's Day and then both of my daughters' birthdays. Let me use this as a springboard for this line of thought concerning expectations...

Being a mother is truly amazing - the whole thing is a miracle. You take that test and hold your breath until the little purple line confirms your suspicions, and then you get several months to imagine what this new little life will be like. You dream of names, decorate the nursery, think of how many languages your child will learn, and maybe what doctoral program they will be accepted to one day - not to mention all of the wonderful things your grandkids might do. So many dreams and great expectations. 

Until delivery time comes! The entire experience is a shocking reminder that maybe this isn't going to be so easy after all. The nurses help so much for the first 24 hours - they take care of the baby's bath, shots, diapers, and they even let you sleep a little bit. But then they send you home - ALONE. Then the real work begins - a beautiful work - a lot like the love of God. Parenting is self-sacrificing, always striving to choose for their highest good, so that our kids can grow into wonderful men and women of God. 

But it is long work, not fast at all. It is sometimes frustrating, even agonizing, and honestly plagued by unrealistic expectations - of ourselves, from friends, family, teachers, and social media. We thought we knew ourselves, but stress and lack of sleep brought out a whole new side. We thought our babies were going to be all fluffy clouds and rainbows - but things are not always like we expected. 

A few weeks ago, one of my young friends had just read the book of Job in its entirety for the first time. The events in the book are some of the oldest stories in human record. It deals honestly and painfully with the account of a righteous man's suffering, and the backstory found in the first couple of chapters is stunning and thought-provoking, to say the least. Reading through, my friend was concerned about the things that Job's friends said to him - they really give him some terrible advice and counsel. "How can the Bible, which is said to be inerrant, have such false statements in it?" she wondered. This is a perfectly legitimate question, and one that has a beautiful answer.

This world is broken and infused with sin - the Word of God is very clear about this from the very opening chapters. ​The accounts of real men and women recorded in the Bible are unlike anything else in ancient literature. They are not heroic legends, like the Iliad and Odyssey, or morality tales like so many cultures boast. Rather, they are frank and unvarnished glimpses into the lives of regular people: sometimes faithful and lovely, sometimes selfish and awful. 

The Bible is honest and true. Sin is real, the enemy is real, selfishness is real, suffering is real - and all have to be dealt with throughout life. Bad things sometimes happen to great people. Selfish actions have terrible consequences that can go on for generations. Friends sometimes give horrible counsel and advice, just like Job experienced. The Bible does not sweep any of it under the rug - it openly and honestly lays out the human condition and experience.

The book of Lamentations is a haunting example of this. In it, the writer is pouring out his sadness and despair over his people and their sad plight, brought on by their own stubbornness and selfishness. He is honest with God about how frustrating and disappointing it is to have to live through such a time. ​Many who are going through a time of unmet expectations can find comfort in Jeremiah's words...

The best thing that we can do when faced with disappointment and unmet expectations is to turn our eyes away from our own situation and circumstances, and fix our gaze upon the Lord. That something deep within each of us that always cries out, "this is not the way things were supposed to be!' points to something real and true. This is the message of the Word of God: In the middle of all of the frustration and pain of life, there is yet hope. There is One who can be relied upon to never let us down. There is One who is faithful and true, and who can actually help. 

Unmet expectations do not have to derail our entire lives. Next time we will look into some practical examples of overcoming pain and disappointment in life. ​In the meantime, keep your eyes on Jesus - great is His faithfulness!

Though our modern world is filled with conveniences, many people find themselves exhausted.  We can’t seem to keep up with life and the curve balls it throws at us.  So many people - especially young people - are struggling with anxiety and depression. There is widespread suffering from a legitimate but unrecognized spiritual need.  
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The other night at a gathering of university students, our friend Jason was preaching and mentioned a documentary about a man who climbed El Capitan in Yosemite without any ropes or support of any kind. This was only a brief illustration to a point Jason was making, but my hands started sweating and my heart started pounding. I was sitting safely in a chair on the ground, almost 2000 miles from El Capitan, but just thinking about having to climb that thing with no harness or net made me feel anxious. 

This is similar to how many people are navigating life. We live in an era that is increasingly godless.  Certain members of society have been hard at work removing God from everything.  Because of this, we have nothing that we can count on or trust in, and no firm foundation to stand upon. People are hopeless - literally without any hope. They have believed in the lie that there is nothing to believe in; nothing to hope in, nothing to trust in or put faith in.  We, as a society, have believed the lie that God is not there. We have lost our joy and we have no strength. ​

Because of this, people have tried to put their hopes elsewhere: in marriages and relationships, in education and the government, in the prosperity of our nation, and even in the church.  But all of these things, though they can be wonderful, can also fail us.  When we have nothing true and right to trust in, we feel hopeless and afraid - like we are sure to lose our grip and fall.  Though most of us have more possessions and nicer homes than the world has ever known, we are not happy.  Fearful, anxious, and depressed, yes; joyful, no.

But there is good news!  God is real and true and trustworthy.  He is there, and He has created each of us with purpose and delight. He cares for each of us deeply, and wants the best for us. 
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God sees each of us and hears our hearts' cries. He goes to great lengths to order our steps and the steps of others to bring us to the right place at the right time.  I am reminded of an example of this in my own life as a simple illustration of this fact.  Many years ago, I had just dropped my husband off at the airport and was feeling a little blue about the prospect of not seeing him for two whole weeks.  On the way home from the airport, which is about an hour from our home, I decided to stop at a store to pick up a few things.  As I was headed out to my car, I realized I had forgotten one of my bags at the checkout. 

​I went back inside the store, and when I came out the second time I looked up to see a red minivan pulling up right in front of me.  To my surprise, it was my mom and dad!  Better than that, my two sweet little girls were in the backseat.  My parents had been watching the girls while I made the airport run, and had decided to drive to the mall for lunch and shopping.  Now, since I was in exactly the right place at the right time, I was able to spend a lovely day with my family.  If I hadn’t gone back in for the bag I forgot, I would have missed them and been alone all afternoon. 

I heard God speak to me that day. I was so touched by how kind God was to orchestrate such an encouraging "coincidence." God sees us and knows us. I truly believe that God orders our steps – on little things like this, and even more so on the big and important matters in life.  As we walk with Him, no matter where we are we can be sure that we are on solid ground. We might be climbing up the cliff, but God Himself is our support.  He is not like all of the other things in life that can be false and fail. We can trust Him, and be sure that He is with us and looking out for us. 

We are so blessed to live at this time in history. We can look back and see all that God has done, and know that He is so good and so faithful.  As believers, we are marked and can be filled with the Holy Spirit - the very Spirit of God! One of the fruit of the Spirit is joy, and this deep, sustaining, strengthening joy makes the difference between just making it through the day and really thriving. 

When we allow ourselves to be overcome by the cares of this world, we - even as Christians - can sink into depression and despair.  I am sure that most of us have experienced this at one time or another. 
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Through the work of the Holy Spirit, and by fixing our eyes on Jesus, we can have joy that helps us endure and overcome the hardships of life.  We will have joy to share with others around us, those who are despairing and hopeless. As the psalmist said in Psalm 5:11-12,  “But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy.  Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you.  For surely, O lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as a shield."

It is springtime! Somehow this spring feels even more special than usual given all that was happening at this time last year. This new season is one of hope and renewal.

Earlier this month we had the exciting opportunity to celebrate our grandson‘s second birthday. It was the perfect family party for our precious little man, and everyone was so aware of how special it was to have four generations represented. This little boy is loved and cherished, and we are all so thrilled to watch him grow and learn every day.

Those of you reading this who are also grandparents and great-grandparents know just what I mean when I say that I feel like just a few minutes ago, we were celebrating his mother’s second birthday party! Time does fly, but what a joy it is to watch your children grow into a wonderful young men and women. What an honor it is to sow faith, hope, and love deeply into their hearts as they learn and grow. 

We have been in New Mexico latetly, visiting our younger daughter and her husband. Outside the place we are staying is a beautiful fruit tree. The blossoms are just starting to burst into bloom, rich with the promise of a bountiful harvest to come. The tree was planted decades ago, and lovingly tended by people I will never know. I am so blessed to enjoy the literal fruit of their labor.

While here, I have been reading Edith Schaeffer’s classic The Tapestry. In it she recounts her family's life story, and beautifully captures the idea of all of history and all of mankind being woven together by God in a gorgeous and complex tapestry. Each of us from every generation is connected in ways that we do not understand - that we cannot understand until heaven. All of our lives are vitally important to someone else’s life.

​This flies directly in the face of one of the great lies currently floating around in our society - namely, that people are just a random chance of chemicals or evolutionary happenstance, and this accidental chance of existing is all there is to life. When we  take time to understand that this is really what many people believe (because this is what they have been taught!), it helps to make sense of some of the chaos we see all around.

​If your life doesn't matter, then getting drunk or high to numb the fear and boredom makes sense. If this life is all there is, then trying to find temporary pleasure in plentiful sex, drugs, relationships, and even food makes sense. If you are a random accident of evolution, then of course you might feel that you are in the wrong body, or that you have no purpose or meaning in life whatsoever. If there is nothing after this - no eternity - and if life has no meaning, then who cares if even have my babies let alone take good care of them? This erroneous way of thinking is bringing so much pain and suffering to so many. 

The Word of God clearly teaches that life is no accident. Woven throughout scripture and foundational to our faith is the truth that each of us in made in God's image, and that we are lovingly crafted with purpose and beauty by our very present and very involved Father in Heaven. One of the loveliest psalms states this clearly...

For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
    when I was made in the secret place,
    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed body;
    all the days ordained for me were written in your book
    before one of them came to be.
 
Psalm 139: 13-16

And considering the vast effects of the fall of mankind on this world,  what a miracle it is that any of us are here in the first place! It is possible that the fact some precious baby 400 years ago survived a childhood illness means that you are alive today. A battle which took place centuries ago on a different continent might have wiped out your ancestor, but did not - and here you are. Think of all of the generations that had to hold together for you to be born here and now. Life is such a wonderful gift!

In her book, Mrs. Schaeffer brings up the idea of each life planting seeds into the earth, bearing fruit that will impact the generations to come. Some people waste their entire lives in planting bitter, hateful seeds that will continue to hurt and harm for generations to come. For example, a father who abandons his family, or a mother who abuses her children. Or people like Karl Marx or Adolf Hitler writing their caustic books.

Thankfully, many more people that we will never know about spent their lives planting beautiful seeds of hope, faith, and love which grew into abundant, fruitful trees that we all still enjoy today. Some of us may see little fruit throughout our own  given years, but our life just might touch and encourage someone else who will be the very one to open the heart of a city or nation for Jesus. 

​This leads me to wonder what kind of seeds I am planting. Is my life and time only spent on myself and my comfort, or am I making sure to plant wonderful things into the lives of my family and neighbors that will bear healthy fruit for decades, even centuries?

What a wonderful privilege we have as Christian people to share what we know about life, supported with the knowledge that each of us was purposefully and lovingly created in the image of our great God. Too many people believe that nothing that they do matters. Some people use this to live selfish and destructive lives, but many are just trapped in sadness and despair. Instead of being frustrated at such behavior, we can reach out to hurting people all around us with truth and hope.

There are hundreds of people reading these words - if we would take this message to heart, we could have a great impact on this generation. Be encouraged today - your life is making a great difference and is vitally important to many others. The healthy seeds you are sowing into your family and friends and neighbors will bear good fruit for generations to come. 

It is the beginning of a new year, and we all know what that means… New Year’s resolutions! But here we are, already a full two months into 2021, and life experience tells me that most of us have already given up on any resolution that we might have made. My daughter worked at the local gym for several years - the staff and regulars of any gym cannot help but notice the number of eager people who buy a membership every January, only to stop coming well before February 1.

​We make all kinds of fun resolutions - to learn a new language, watch less tv, save more money, read more books, and so many more. One of the most common is the resolution to make better choices when eating. This is a good one to make with all of the wonderful options of healthy food most of us have access to. The problem comes, of course, in that there are also so many other delicious things to choose from. When faced with the choice between broccoli and brownies, very few people actually want to reach for the broccoli. When given the option of ice cream or iceberg lettuce, hardly anyone wants that watery green stuff. Choices in life are plentiful, and good choices are often really hard to make. We give up on tough choices too easily. 

One of the first things that we teach young Christians is a new definition of love. We do not subscribe to the modern definition of love - it is a feeling, it is fleeting, it is conditional, it depends…

​This sounds great, doesn’t it? We all believe this, and not one of us who claim to be Christian would say that this was not true. However, this is like our choice between broccoli and brownies - good intentions can only take us so far when the choices get real.

We always like to give a few real-world examples of what we mean when we teach that love is an unselfish choice. For instance, we tell the story of our friend who was a campus minister, and who spent his twenties pastoring university students. One particular year he had a young man in his discipleship small group who became like a brother to him. Time went on and our friend, who was still single at the time, began to have his heart grabbed by one of the young ladies in the college ministry. He thought she was beautiful and godly, and he could really picture himself spending the rest of his life with her. So imagine his surprise when one day his small group guy, his little brother in Christ, came to him and said, “Big brother, I need your advice. You see, there’s this girl. She is beautiful, she is godly, I really think I would like to get to know her better. What do you think I should do? “

At this point in the retelling of this story, all of the oxygen has been sucked from the room, and all of the students are leaning forward in suspense and anguish. This is getting real now!  Of course, it was the same girl. What do you think our friend did?

If we were honest, almost everyone would have to admit that in a similar situation, we would choose the thing that is best for me. "Nobody would even know," we could rationalize to ourselves. "It is not going to hurt my friend to not date that particular person - there are plenty of other great people out there," we would think to comfort ourselves. But in reality, how is this kind of selfishness any different from any other kind of selfishness?

As Christians, we know that real love which brings real power is unselfishly choosing for the highest good of God and His kingdom. That is the kind of love that will actually change a piece of the world from selfish and broken to lovely and whole. I am glad to say that our friend made the very difficult decision to encourage his little brother to date the girl. Now, many years later, they are both happily married to their own beautiful, godly wives and living wonderful lives.

​Another real example of rightly choosing is the time that one of our friends  said something about another friend in front of a large audience. It was not said in a malicious spirit, but was nonetheless quite embarrassing and hurtful, and caused great duress to the one it was said about. That friend suddenly had a very real choice to make. They could become justifiably angry with the other, and bear a burden in their heart towards them that would make a rift between them forever. They could entertain many conversations with others about how they were wronged, and how they could not believe anyone would do such a thing. They could hold onto that hurt for years, and feel justified in doing so the entire time. Sadly, situations like this happen all the time.

But Jesus teaches something altogether different than this. One of his disciples asked Him how often he had to forgive his brother, and thought he was being very generous when guessed the number to be seven times. Jesus was kind, but blew his answer out of the water by saying, "Not seven times, but 70×7 - when you get to 490 times of forgiving that same person come and talk to me, but until then keep forgiving." (my paraphrase of Matthew 18: 21-22)

​Much of what is wrong in our world stems from this very real choice that all of us have to make at one time or another. Whether we mean to or not, all of us hurt other people with our words or with our actions. So much strife, from within one household to between nations, comes from the fact that people will not choose to forgive or to act unselfishly towards one another.

Why do marriages implode, why do families break apart, why do churches split? Because when faced with the choice of broccoli or brownies, most of us go for the brownie every single time. It is easy, it tastes and feels good, and it just seems right. But it is not what is best.

I am so glad to say that our friend who was wronged was able to forgive his brother by the help of the Holy Spirit. He was able to recognize that in front of him was a very real choice, which could lead directly to life or death - for himself and for many others watching him and his reaction. He chose life, and forgiveness, and to walk the path that Jesus Himself walked for all of us. "While we were still sinners, He died for us." (Romans 5:8)

Christianity is not a trend, or just another self-help lifestyle. It is a very real and very powerful relationship with Jesus Christ, who changes our hearts and helps us to make a difference in our hurting world. Sometimes the power of God plays out in a large geopolitical way, and that is what we always hope for. But much more often, the power of God in the world is made manifest through our everyday choices.

May we never grow tired in our resolve to choose rightly!

Recently my eye was caught by a news headline that said something about a particular industry that has been hit hard by the lockdowns. Thinking that it might be about the service industry, or retail, or any number of important layers to the fabric of our communities, I was struck to realize that the industry highlighted in the article was the Influencer Industry.


Those of you reading this who are of a certain age (myself included!) might now be wondering what in the world the Influencer Industry could be. Those of you who are Milennials and Gen Z know exactly what it is, and could name several actual Influencers. To use a modern phrase, this really is a thing. 


As best as I can explain, an Influencer is someone who has a large media and/or social media following, and is known for knowing what is desirable in a particular area such as fashion, travel, or decorating. They may or may not be creators of a product or brand, but more likely they are simply curators of what is cool. When they wear something or do something or go somewhere, their followers encourage them with “likes” on social media and emulate them.
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​Influencers actually shape society. Hold on to that thought…

We are starting on a long road trip today. In fact, I am one in a train of four cars headed west since our daughter and her husband are moving to be a part of a new campus ministry in New Mexico. So I am following along behind the U-Haul, with my emotions all over the map. Still, what a joy it is to know that they are following God’s plan for their life, and there is nothing greater we could want for them.


A few miles back, we passed by what used to be a rest stop on the side of the road. We have lived in this area for a long time, so I can remember when it used to have a large building that served as a restroom facility and break area. Many cars and trucks and trailers could pull off the road and take a break, whether it be in the middle of the day or the middle of the night.


At some point during the last few years, the state of Texas decided that they needed to build a new rest stop. So just a few miles up the road, there is a beautiful new facility and now all the cars and trucks stop there. Somewhere in the process, they came and bulldozed the old building, but the old parking area and grassy fields remained. It has been so interesting to watch the old rest area as the years go by. Since no one has been maintaining it or paying attention to it in anyway, the very earth is reclaiming the space. Now, after about five years, you can hardly tell that anything was ever there. You can barely see the remnants of the once-kept road, the parking spaces, the park area - when no one has cared for it, the whole place has gone back to its natural state.


Isn’t this what happens to our families and cities and even our country when we forget to pay attention? It is plain to see that our society is not currently in its best place. Though we are all well-aware that our 24/7 news cycle keeps everyone in turmoil since it is such a good business model for them, it is still evident that many people are confused and hurting and lost.


There is such an interesting misconception about the way things work. Many people seem to be under the impression that left to our own devices, humankind will automatically rise to sparkling, alabaster cities of harmony and prosperity. Many people seem to believe that the natural state of human beings is peace and perfect brotherhood. This is actually completely backwards! Our natural state is chaos and confusion and turmoil and strife. Just remember the story of Cain and his brother Abel. Community always starts from that same place of strife and selfishness, and needs some sort of help even to become a functioning society.
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Many modern people in the west have lost sight of what made our society work in the first place. The influence of Jesus and His Way are what gave civilization such concepts as equality and freedom and democracy - without the Judeo-Christian influence, none of these concepts would exist. This is why removing the foundation of Christianity from our society and replacing it with a religion in which man is the center is causing such chaos. When no one is paying attention, we just return to our natural state, like the rest stop. Without anyone carefully tending the gardens, our children just go right back to the natural state of selfishness, confusion, and turmoil. 


They need some help to think and live rightly, and this is our job.
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We do need some influencers to shape our society. The people of Instagram are not wrong in this sense, they are just wrong about where to look. In fact, the best influencers probably will never be on social media, yet they are the unsung heroes of our culture and society. We need many, many more of them to step up.


These are the husbands and wives that take their marriage vows seriously, and live to create a home that is safe, stable, and God-fearing. These are the grandparents that choose to invest not only in their own children, but also their grandchildren, reinforcing in them what is right and true and valuable. These are the teachers that put their students’ best interest at the forefront. We hear so many horrible stories about wicked and abusive teachers and coaches - we need thousands of godly Christians to step into this role to help the next generation on their way safely. No one is going to make a lot of money teaching, but there are some things far more valuable than money.


These influencers are the pastors and youth pastors that are not in the business to make a name for themselves, or to have some sort of platform, but who are in faithful service to help men and women and young people know how to walk with God for their whole lives. These influencers are people in every part of society who live not for their own gain or for their own fame, but simply to help others know God and thrive.
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Every Christian should be an influencer. We no longer live in a society fully undergirded by Christian principles - if we do not help people understand that there is real justice, truth, love, and hope, no one will. Jesus is the best thing that ever happened to any of us, and we must share the good news from whatever vantage point we have.


Just the other day my daughters and I were talking about how brilliant God’s design for society is. Every generation has to start all over again with the basics of teaching and training. Our babies don’t know anything and cannot do anything for themselves. We have to teach them how to eat properly, how to walk, how to talk, how to read and think,  and how to live. No one can ever get very far away from the basics of life, because it is always time to start teaching a new generation. This is all the more true with our faith. We cannot ever become lax and neglect to teach the next generation how to feed themselves on truth, how to walk, how to talk, how to read and think for themselves, and how to live. We have come dangerously close to doing this as a church, but thankfully it is not yet too late to start again.
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This new year of 2021, how can you and I become Influencers?  There are a thousand different ways, starting right inside your own home and community.

Evaluate your spare time - your "me" time - and give a good chunk of that away:

-Look around in your own family and circle of friends and acquaintances - who needs help and encouragement? Start there and give generously of your time and support.

-Volunteer at your church, in the local schools, and in local kids' programs.

-Find organizations that help disadvantaged kids and work to give them some encouragement and hope.

-Run for office, pay attention to the school board and curriculum choices, be a voice of truth and justice in your community. For too long have we let others with suspect agendas choose the direction we will all go. 

We have to work hard and be purposeful to hand things off well to a new generation. We cannot just go on without thinking and expect the rest stop to stay tended. Jesus has forgiven us and given us the message of real life, joy, and peace - let's do everything we can to share it with our hurting world. 

Looking for a good resource to use in your small group or Sunday school class? Kingdom Minded is a great help in learning the basics of walking with Jesus and influencing those around you for the long haul.
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Follow the link below to order your copies today! 

Merry Christmas from our home to yours! It truly is the most wonderful time of the year, especially this year. Relax and put your feet up for a minute, and remember the goodness of God...

You might not have heard that adding to the drama and mystery of 2020 is the fact that on December 21, Jupiter and Saturn are going to come within .1 degree of each other, creating an exceptionally bright glow in the night sky.  This is the first time this phenomenon will be visible to the naked eye in 800 years, and scientists call it the Bethlehem Star. It may or may not be the same thing that happened so long ago in Bethlehem, but it is still amazing. 


This extraordinary glimpse into the vastness and orderliness of the universe is timely. How great God is to create such wondrous things as solar systems, and planets that appear to converge every 800 years or so without colliding - how powerful and brilliant and thoughtful He must be!  Much moreso than we understand.
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One of my favorite books explores this line of thinking, and that is The Everlasting Man by G.K. Chesterton. In it, Chesterton invites the reader to zoom out from the here-and-now to take a broad look at the relationship between God and mankind for all of human history. From the very beginning, our art and later our writing proves that religion has always been a central part of the human experience. Since the beginning, religion has been comprised of many ways different peoples had of viewing and explaining the human experience as well as the supernatural. Why is there evil and selfishness in the world? Why does it hurt so much to love and be forsaken? How do you explain all of the things we experience in life - disease, war, pain, love, family, hope? 


Think of all of the religions that have existed. Of course, there was one tiny group of people who always claimed to know and worship the One True God, but they were so small and insignificant on the stage of world history that most cultures did not even notice them. There have been so many other attempts to make things make sense:  the mysterious eastern religions seeking to purge mankind of selfishness and desire, the myriad mythologies that emerged in different corners of Europe (Chesterton calls them "imaginative paganism") which sought to explain the actions and existence of humankind, and the vast dark religions across the globe that involved human sacrifice to appease some vengeful spirit. Every culture has tried to understand and explain both the human experience and the supernatural, and every culture has had the innate need to express this through some form of religion - as though, Chesterton points out in his inimitable way, men and women were designed for worship.


GKC draws attention to the first climax in world history, which occured a little over 2000 years ago. Back then, Carthage (modern day Tunisia) was the seat of the mighty Phoenecian empire,  abounding in wealth and power. Everyone feared them, and many paid tribute to them - still, the empire had an insatiable desire for power and kept forecfully taking more. It was arguably the most highly civilized cutlure of its day, and its vast wealth enabled much luxury and innovation.


However, all of this came with a steep price. The god of Carthage was Molech, and his preferred form of worship was receiving human sacrifice. Imagine everyone today - doctors, lawyers, bankers, teachers - putting on their Sunday best to go throw their children into the fire. The raw power and prestige of Carthage came on the back of great evil, and the whole world knew it. 


Meanwhile, a ragtag group of rural people saw this evil for what it was and dared to face it. These were country people - not sophisticated like the Carthaginians - and their system of worship was an elaborate polytheism, driven by the basic hope for good crops and fertility of every kind. There is no way in the world this backwoods bunch should have been able to band together to defeat Carthage and their genius general Hannibal, but they did.
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History testifies that mighty Carthage fell, and the wicked and perverted worship of Molech with it. The brave bunch who dared to face evil became Rome, which soon rose into its glorious ivory towers. Most historians would agree that the Roman Empire was the finest effort of mankind to make sense of the muddle of the human condition - a great attempt to bring peace and justice and unity. Yet this finest human effort immediately began to decay from within. The best that mankind can do still proves rotten at the core.
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So in a tiny town at the back corner of this vast Roman Empire, a very young woman gave birth to a precious baby boy. There was not even room for the little family in the town inn, so the baby was born in a rude stable, surrounded by animals. 


The coming of the greatest King the world will ever see was nothing like any of us would have imagined. His Kingdom is entirely different from anything we could attempt to create.  That beautiful baby was born, not to set up a yet another fleeting earthly kingdom or system of worship, but to one day be the true and sufficient sacrifice to finally remedy the terrible problem of sin. Injustice and selfishness can never be settled by human efforts or systems;  Jesus alone brings hope, healing, and salvation to this broken world. 


When Emmanuel (which means God With Us) was born, angels lit up the sky and notified the shepherds nearby to come worship the newborn King. A bright shining star in the sky beckoned wise men from far away to come seek this new King, who would bring hope and salvation. With the coming of this King, the deep human need to worship could finally be fulfilled.
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This Christmas, take a moment to look up for the Bethlehem Star. Watch for this once-in-a-lifetime glimpse into the heavens and remember that a second climax to human history is coming. The same Bible that so faithfully and accurately foretold the first coming of the Son of God also tells of His second coming, at the end of all things. The same God who painstakingly arranged the movement of the vast planets of our solar system to shine the wonderful news of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem is still moving and arranging all things towards the day when all that is wrong will finally be made right.


May the love and peace of Jesus fill your heart and home this Christmas. Joy to the world, the Lord is come!

Happy Thanksgiving! After one of the longest years in memory, the holiday season is finally upon us. Every time I sat down to write for much of this year, I felt compelled to begin with something like, “This has been such a time of uncertainty,” or, “Surely things will be settling back to normal soon.” Then I have been continually surprised by how many surprises this year has contained! More than ever, I am looking forward to our annual Thanksgiving feast - a day where we can gather together to thank God for His goodness and to enjoy a wonderful time of good food and great relationships. 


My brother-in-law is smoking a turkey, and he has spent much of this Covid year honing his excellent meat-smoking skills. My mother is bringing that delicious ham she makes and her chocolate-pecan pie that all of us spend all year dreaming about. No one can make cornbread dressing and dirty rice like my mother-in-law, and the rest of us will be supplying all of the other delicous things we love to eat - cheese trays, sweet potatoes, green beans, salads of every kind, breads, pies, cookies…what a wonderful day we will have!


Not only do we have a great feast to look forward to, but also such a wonderful time of fellowship together. It is always so much fun to linger for hours and hours, laughing and telling stories old and new, just enjoying each other. Our branch of the family has added a new son-in-law and a new baby granddaughter to our ranks since last year, and what a joy it is to see our family grow. God has seen so many of us through illness and difficult circumstances this year, and He has been so faithful.
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We truly have so much to be thankful for. Our faith sustains us in good times and bad. As Christians, we believe that God is good and loving. We believe that He is never out of control or suprised by world events. We believe that this life is not the end of everything; those who trust in Christ will spend eternity with Him in an unbroken and beautiful place. We believe and experience the truth that even in the midst of life’s chaos and storms, God is with us and brings hope, peace and love. 


With every day that passes, it is becoming more clear what is real and trustworthy and what is not - especially this year with a pandemic swirling, political drama boiling, and uncertainty looming. The false idea that families or nations or anything at all can be built on a foundation of nothing is being shattered.  Thank God! 


We can look around and see how confusing it must be to not have such a firm foundation to stand upon. How terrifying the thought of a pandemic would be if you believed that this life is all there is to reality. How confusing world events would be if you believed that men and women alone were in control with no outside intervention. How depressing life would be if you thought it was impossible ever to see real justice. 


Everyone around us is so hungry for truth and hope. People are desperate to know whether their life matters or has a purpose, and furious to think that life might be meaningless and irrepairably broken.  Kids are starving for attention and loving care. Men and women of all ages wonder if there is anything at all that can satisfy their tremendous hunger. 


How beautiful it is that Jesus tells a story of a great banquet that has been prepared...
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Most of the time this whole passage from Matthew chapter 22 is cited to focus on the many excuses that people make to not come to the banquet. This is certainly important, and we should be aware of those things creeping up in our own hearts. 


But today I am stirred by how lovely it is to know that the King of Kings recognizes a hunger and longing in every soul, and that He painstakingly prepared a great feast for everyone who will come to honor His Son! 


​Many of us have been thinking of our own Thanksgiving feasts for some time now. There is so much work to be done in advance to make it perfect - careful shopping for just the right ingredients, thoughtful planning for the most beautiful place settings and decorations, seating charts, dietary restrictions of some guests, preferences of others, and the perfect music for the playlist. Those are just a few of the decisions and preparations to be made -  and we haven't even started cooking or setting the table yet! 


What a beautiful thought that the Maker of Heaven and Earth would take such care to see the weary and famished guests at His table so lavishly fed and filled. Jesus told us that this is what walking with God in His Kingdom is like - sitting down at the most sumptuous and satisfying meal, one that fills every hunger and desire. And it is a time of rich and satisfying fellowship with one another as we gather in honor of the King's wonderful Son.  The very best of our celebrations we can put together  here and now are just a glimpse of how good and satisfying it is to enter into God's Kingdom - where the feasting and fellowship never ends. 
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May the Lord bless and keep you, your family, and those you love this Thanksgiving. May the joy and hope of our great God fill your hearts and home as you gather together, and may the ones among you who still hunger for God be filled. I pray that as the smells of so many delicious things fill your home, that the aroma of Christ in you will lead those around you to life and peace. 

What is to be done when one campaign uses an enormous war chest to peddle constant lies, confusion, and chaos? 

No, I am not talking about our forthcoming elections in the United States, as important as they are. I am talking about a much bigger campaign, with a world-wide scope and a much longer game in mind - the real battle for the eternal souls of men and women. There truly is an enemy who longs to topple God from His rightful throne as Creator and Ruler of the Universe. All of us are constantly bombarded with propaganda from this slick campaign. 

Recently we had a too-typical encounter with a university student who is struggling with deep depression, confusion, and outright despair. You might have seen this student or many others like them about town. Young people like this will often act and dress in such a loud, brash manner as to purposely push back against everything around them. For so many of these souls, their boldness belies a deep secret...their worldview does not bring any hope or peace in life at all. In fact, it delivers just the opposite. 

Some Christian students tried to befriend this particular person, and spent much time trying to really listen and help. They shared the hope and purpose they each personally found in Christ with their new friend, but to no avail. Though drowning in despair and fear, from their vantage point Christianity seems so burdensome and restrictive that this troubled young person refuses to even consider God.  

This situation is quite familiar on the college campus, and is becoming more common everywhere. Many of us long for things to “go back to normal” - but this is the new normal in a society plugged so deeply into media. Students on high school and college campuses all over the world have been soaked in this worldview 24 hours a day, 7 days a week since they got their first phone or device in grade school. They know no other reality.  Worse, culture also demands that no help be given to anyone who struggles or despairs. In the name of tolerance, all of us are pushed to just sit back in silence and watch as soul after soul is devoured by the idea that there is no God, and that all of life is just unstoppable, bitter, random chance. 

Our enemy's campaign strategy is quite effective. So many Christians today find themselves confused or wondering if maybe they are not a little off-base and intolerant, like everyone is accusing. Maybe we shouldn’t be so rigid and uptight about sin and selfishness. Maybe it really does not matter how anyone chooses to live their life. But if we would only look and see the despair and self-destruction of these precious, real people who are being consumed by lies...

This is the perfect time for Truth to be proclaimed! Those of us who stand on solid, sure ground cannot sit back and watch others sink into quicksand, no matter what pushback we have to endure. 

But what can we do - how can we make a difference in such widespread confusion, and fight back against this terrible campaign?

We must go back to the very foundation of our faith.

In Theology class with our interns, the discussion last week was the concept and foundational doctrine of the Trinity. Christians are unique in worldview because our God is unique. Other sytems of thought and worship have many gods and godesses, or just one all-powerful god, or no god at all - just nothingness. Every other religious system is, in one way or another, humankind’s search for God and meaning. Christianity alone is God’s search and rescue of men and women. 

The Trinity is so hard to understand and explain. We believe that God is one, but three; a beautiful, perfect triune. We make stabs at explaining it with analogies such as, “It is like a woman who can at once be daughter, mother, and sister,” or, “It is like H2O which can be water, steam, and ice.” However, none of these analogies are perfect. We can also try to explain the Trinity by saying what it is not. “The Trinity is not a hierarchy, as in God the great Father, Jesus the less-powerful Son, and the cleanup crew Holy Spirit.”

But why is the very fact that our God is three-in-one so vitally important? 

Simply stated, because of love.

Read the words of Tim Keller, who explains this so well...

"If there is no God, then everything in and about us is the product of blind impersonal forces. The experience of love may feel significant, but evolutionary naturalists tell us that it is merely a biochemical state in the brain.

But what if there is a God? Does love fare any better? It depends on who you think God is. If God is uni-personal, then until God created other beings there was no love, since love is something that one person has for another. This means that a uni-personal God was power, sovereignty and greatness from all eternity, but not love. Love then is not of the essence of God, nor is it at the heart of the universe. Power is primary.

However, if God is triune, then loving relationships in community are the 'great fountain at the center of reality.'

When people say, 'God is love,' I think they mean that love is extremely important, or that God really wants us to love. But in the Christian conception, God really has love as his essence. If he was just one person he couldn’t have been loving for all eternity. If he was only the impersonal all-soul of Eastern thought, he couldn’t have been loving, for love is something persons do. Eastern religions believe the individual personality is an illusion, and therefore love is, too. Chesterton wrote, 'For the Buddhist…personality is the fall of man, for the Christian it is the purpose of God, the whole point of his cosmic idea.' It is the purpose of God because he is essentially, eternally, interpersonal love.

Ultimate reality is a community of persons who know and love one another. That is what the universe, God, history, and life is all about.“     

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This is what our enemy so desperately wants to hide from everyone.  This is what we bring to the table as Christian people. We know and have had our lives transformed by our God who is Love and who created each of us with delight and purpose. We also know that His great love is for everyone who will accept Him, for all eternity. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16) 

Our hope rests on this firm foundation, and our job while we live is to share this Good News with everyone we can. People all around us are desperate to know if anyone sees them or knows them or cares for them. The answer is yes! Love is real. Hope is real. Redemption is real. Our God is real and can never be voted out of office, no matter how slick and seemingly-efficient the opposing campaign.

Be encouraged today, and let's share the love of God with someone who needs to know. 

Do you believe that anybody can change the world? Do you think it is even possible, and do you think it has ever happened before?  

I mean, yes, we all know and believe that Jesus changed the world.  But what about His people; can an ordinary Christian person change the world?

Let me introduce you to a group of people that you might never have heard of that did just that.  

First, a little background to remind us of some British history.  England went back and forth between being Catholic and Protestant for about a hundred years after the Reformation, and sometimes things got violent. For a brief time in the 1630s, there was a Civil War in England, where people actually killed the king and were ruled by Protectorate. When the monarchy was restored twenty years later in 1660, the new king (who happened to be the son of the murdered king) wanted very little to do with an active Christianity. By the early 1700s, England was really tired of the back and forth fight of “Are we Protestant or Catholic?” People wanted the debate to end, so they could get on with their lives.

Not surprisingly, then, it did not take long for morality to tank.  English society got really, really bad.  We can make a good argument that it was even worse than our own society is today. In the 1730’s, the infant mortality rate was seventy-five percent. The favorite public sports were dog-fighting and bull-baiting; animals were killed in awful torturous ways for fun and sport. One out of every five women were prostitutes. Alcoholism was rampant - people were afraid of the water because of the plague, so they drank gin instead, and they gave it to their kids! By law, poor people were not allowed to learn to read or write; the government was afraid that if they were educated, there would be revolution. Society was horrible, without hope. This was a nation that called itself Christian, but forgot to act like it. 

But then, a couple of brothers named John and Charles Wesley came along. They actually had read the Bible and got very serious about living out their faith. They got very serious about holiness, about reading and knowing the Scriptures and praying, about sharing their faith with people who did not know God, and about living life in community with other believers.  Slowly, the tide actually began to turn as they shared the true good news. 

By the time the Wesleys were elderly in the late 1700s, thousands and thousands of people in England and America had been influenced by their teachings and methods. It is a particular grouping of these people that I want to introduce us to.

They were various individuals who believed that Jesus was real, and that His power could change one person’s heart as well as the heart of a city, a nation, and the whole world.  They were called by God to take part in doing just that.  They were politicians, writers, preachers, actors, singers, teachers, bankers, and artisans who dared to believe that real Christianity could be lived out. They all had huge dreams individually, dreams to make a real difference.  God had empowered each of these people with incredible creativity and skill in their respective fields.

Meet Hannah More, a best-selling author, also a teacher by trade (yes, both were unusual for a woman at that time), who believed that all children should be able to read.  She had the incredible idea to invite all the children of her village to church on Sundays, the only day the children did not have to work, and then invite them to stay for school all day.  She gave them a meal and reading lessons. 

Meet Henry Thornton. He was a banker and economist, and was quite wealthy.  Before he married, he gave eighty percent of his income away to help the poor and to spread the gospel.  After he married, it was about fifty percent, which is still incredibly and challengingly generous.
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Meet William Wilberforce, a member of parliament by age twenty-five. He had hundreds of good ideas to improve society.  He started the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, so people could be informed to treat animals kindly and not cruelly, as was the fashion. He wrote a best-selling book called A Practical View of the Prevailing Religious System of Professed Christians in the Higher and Middle Classes in this Country Contrasted with Real Christianity, which is a great title.   He also had a personal conviction and agenda that the slave trade must end.  

In 1790, Henry Thornton bought a house in a town some five miles outside of London called Clapham. Within a few short years, Thornton, Wilberforce, Hannah More and about thirty others had bought or built homes all around this first house so that they could live in proximity to and in community with one another, to pool their talents, ideas, and resources, and get serious about changing the world.  They never gave themselves a name, but people noticed them and their absolutely enormous influence and called them the Clapham Sect. 

So, when William Wilberforce’s first bill to abolish the slave trade was defeated in 1791 (when he was only thirty-two!) the Clapham bunch decided to band together to change the earth. 

-Hannah More wrote books and plays about the evils of slavery and about the dignity of every man, woman and child.  

-The poets wrote beautiful poems; the singers sang catchy, memorable songs about the evil of the slave trade; the actors staged plays.

-The potters crafted gorgeous vases and plates and porcelain brooches with the image of a slave and the captions, “Am I not a man?” which were best-sellers.  Ever hear of Josiah Wedgewood, famous for Wedgewood pottery?  He did that.  

-The painters made posters depicting the evils of the slave trade and sold them to shopkeepers for their windows. 

-Olaudah Equiano, a freed slave who had been blessed to learn to read in captivity, wrote his life story, revealing the horror of slavery from the inside. It was a runaway best seller.  

-The politicians worked together tirelessly to get the votes.  
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-Essentially, they commandeered popular culture with anti-slavery sentiment.  And they pooled their own money together to pay for all of this.

It took thirty years of organized effort, but we know today that slavery is a thing of the past for most of the world.  In 1826, the slave trade was abolished in the British Empire and these are the people who made it happen - ordinary Christians who dared to live their Christianity and do extraordinary things.
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Is taking down the slave trade - an ancient, wicked practice - not enough for you?

-They started and financed the missions movement and effort into India. 

-They reversed the rampant alcoholism problem.  

-They started Sunday schools and regular schools and made the literacy rate go through the roof.  

-They reformed prisons.  

-They started orphanages.  

-They organized homes and shelters for the poor. 

-They helped return dignity to women.  

-They fought for better conditions for workers. 
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-They brought back decency to popular music, literature and the stage.  

They were a passionate few who lived in community on purpose, and who changed the entire Western World.   

Now, what about you and me? 

It actually says in Genesis 11 that if we work together, there is nothing we cannot do.  How powerful it could be if we all took our faith seriously, and determined in our hearts to make our lives count for eternity! The social justice issues that frustrate so many would be naturally eliminated if the good news of Jesus were really proclaimed again.  The poor would be cared for, the overlooked would be welcomed and encouraged, the broken and confused would be set free, and the evil practices of greedy, selfish people would be eliminated.  

​Not only could our own communities be transformed, but we could band together to send missionaries to the ends of the earth.  There are millions of people who have still never heard the gospel, and we can no longer hide behind the excuse that it is impossible to get there; the world is more connected than ever.  The reason so many have never heard about Jesus is because we do not give enough money or prayer support to send those who are willing to go, nor will most of us go ourselves. We could be the generation who finishes the task of letting the whole world know about the saving power of Jesus, if we just will. History tells us that a passionate few, living in community and on purpose, can change truly the world - will we accept the challenge in our generation?