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SERVANTHOOD 2
In the first chapter of Colossians, immediately after describing himself as a servant of the Gospel, Paul reveals yet another “master” in verses 24-27: “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions for the sake of His body, which is the church. I became its servant by the commission God gave me to fully proclaim to you the word of God, the mystery that was hidden for ages and generations but is now revealed to His saints. To them God has chosen to make known…
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OUT OF THE SHADOWS
First, I should say that my family had a wonderful Thanksgiving day. Good food and good company and so much to be grateful for. But this evening my mind is with another local family whose reality collapsed yesterday. It was not a sudden death, a terrible accident, or a bad medical prognosis. Instead, it was a husband’s massive moral failing. Yesterday that failing was brought out of the shadows and into the light, and an arrest was made. Today video evidence was “shouted from the rooftops” of social media. It is tragic. Lives have been ruined. Out of respect for…
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SERVANTHOOD
In Colossians 1:21-23, the Apostle Paul writes: “Once you were alienated from God and were hostile in your minds because of your evil deeds. But now He has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy, unblemished, and blameless in His presence— if indeed you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope of the gospel you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.“ There’s a lot going on in these 3 verses, but let’s focus on one aspect easy to overlook: Paul…
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HOLDING ON
“Your mind is for having ideas, not holding them.” – David Allen. One of the clearest lessons I have learned in the past two years of writing on a daily basis is this reality. Writing daily has trained me to pay greater attention to my own thinking. An idea will often pop into my head during the day – while in the shower or walking the dog or studying the Bible – and if I don’t write it down immediately, it evaporates, disappearing as quietly as it came. But even writing an idea down doesn’t guarantee that I will “hold…
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SIGN OF THE TIMES
Melissa and I were in Target the other day, browsing the Christmas section to see what’s new and interesting this year. This display was not what I was expecting, but it is certainly “new and interesting”: Do better, Target!
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END GAME
I continue to struggle with modern “worship songs”. The lyrics are shallow. The songs contain plenty of metaphors but little poetry. And, most importantly … Instead of being lost in worship, I often find myself lost in thought – questioning the validity of the words I am meant to be singing. When words are projected on the screen in the sanctuary for the congregation to sing in unison, it is implied that we are singing Truth. So I think the screening process should be stringent. Right? Maybe you will say I am being nitpicky, but this one we sang this…
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HEART AND HEAD
I always linger over the prayers the Apostle Paul records in his letters, because they represent his greatest desires for his fellow believers. Take a look, for example, at Paul’s prayer for the Philippians in 1:9-11 and imagine him praying for YOU what he prayed for them: “I pray that your LOVE may abound more and more in: SO THAT you … Filled with the FRUIT of RIGHTEOUSNESS That comes THROUGH Jesus Christ To the glory and praise of God.” If you were to summarize this prayer in one sentence, it might look like this: “I pray that your LOVE…
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STRENGTH TRAINING
“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way as to take the prize. Everyone who competes in the games trains with strict discipline. They do it for a crown that is perishable, but we do it for a crown that is imperishable. Therefore I do not run aimlessly; I do not fight like I am beating the air. No, I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.“ I Corinthians 9:24-27 Serious athletes train…
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SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINE POLL
This past Saturday, my boss Dave and I were given the opportunity to speak to the Men’s Breakfast group at our home church about the work of Mission Resource. Since I had fresh photos from my recent trip to Ghana, Dave let me do most of the talking. The breakfast is held at 7:30 am on the first or second Saturday of each month. Almost 40 guys showed up, the majority were in their 60s, 70s, and 80s. I took the opportunity to survey this unique group about their spiritual disciplines. They tended to be strongest in their prayer lives.…
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GUILTY PLEASURE
Today, I confess my guilty pleasure: Anything created by Weird Al Yankovic. One of my great regrets in life is that I was a late comer to the Dr. Demento Show, taping each Sunday night broadcast when I was supposed to be sleeping. So I wasn’t there for Weird Al’s radio debut with “Another One Rides the Bus”. By the time I had become a “dementoid”, Al was already gaining renown in the world of novelty music. I almost got to see Yankovic in concert at the Indiana State Fair in the summer of ’84. He was supposed to open…