The long way around

My wife and I are never closer to divorce than when she is right.

Just kidding. We’ve already ruled out divorce as an option, but homicide… well.

Once again, just kidding.

Seriously, it really peeves me when my wife and I are engaged in passionate discourse (aka fighting) and in the midst of the battle it becomes abundantly clear that she is right.

The one time that happened was really rough on me.

You know that feeling that you have been missing the obvious? That the answer has been right there all along and you’ve just been too blind, busy or bored to pick up on it.

Tags: Bible, decisions, Exodus 13:17, maturity, ministry, obstacles, Spiritual Growth, struggles

Feeling a little withered?

This holiday season or any season that we find ourself drained, it’s important to try and find God’s answer to our days.

Let’s turn to the first Psalm and see what God’s answer is for a life that thrives!

Tags: Bible, obedience, Psalm 1, restoration, Spiritual Growth, tired

You talkin’ to me? You talkin’ to me?

Dealing with conflict.

Everyone deals with it, but the question is how do you deal. There are constructive and destructive ways to deal with almost anything including conflict, criticism and stupidity.

Hmm… that last descriptor is less from my Bible Study and more from the movie I just caught last night: GI JOE.

I so loved it. I was 11 again.

If one of the JOEs ran into conflict they’d blow it up, punch it in the face, or just kill it.

And, as machismo and testosterone driven as that is (and, oh so appealing for so many situations), I don’t think it’s the answer for the Christ follower in conflict.

Tags: Acts 21, anger, Bible, conflict, GI JOE, maturity, obedience, relationships, Spiritual Growth

Lessons from the Little Piggy gone to market

One Body, Many Parts

12 The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized bya one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.
14 Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
a Or with; or in

The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (1 Co 12:12-27). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

I am learning a lot from my body lately. Not by choice, probably because I was never a willing student in the first place. Nonetheless, I have some valuable lessons being heaped upon me.

Suffering from these chronic chiari headaches, I have learned how to try and cope and push through the day to day stuff even when you’d rather just lay down. It’s helped me cinch up a couple of notches on my baby belt and quit pegging out my wuss-o-meter.

That is, unless Kathy’s around and then I lay it on thick because she is awesome with the neck rubs. No one forward her this article… don’t ruin this for me!

Tags: 1 Cor 12, Bible, Chiari Malformation, inspiration, leadership, maturity, ministry, obedience, servant, Spiritual Growth

A Storm Is Coming…

WARNING – Don’t watch this video if you aren’t willing to change

Malachi
1 An oracle: The word of the Lord to Israel through Malachi.a
Jacob Loved, Esau Hated
2 “I have loved you,” says the Lord.
“But you ask, ‘How have you loved us?’
“Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” the Lord says. “Yet I have loved Jacob, 3 but Esau I have hated, and I have turned his mountains into a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals.”
4 Edom may say, “Though we have been crushed, we will rebuild the ruins.”
But this is what the Lord Almighty says: “They may build, but I will demolish. They will be called the Wicked Land, a people always under the wrath of the Lord. 5 You will see it with your own eyes and say, ‘Great is the Lord—even beyond the borders of Israel!’
Blemished Sacrifices
6 “A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?” says the Lord Almighty. “It is you, O priests, who show contempt for my name.
“But you ask, ‘How have we shown contempt for your name?’
7 “You place defiled food on my altar.
“But you ask, ‘How have we defiled you?’

Tags: Bible, choice, Malachi, obedience, repentance, Spiritual Growth

I Knew I was right

I love validation!

We all do.

Validation is that moment when you are proven right and you get to jump up and yell, “Booya, in your face, I knew it, that’s right, who’s your daddy, I own you, YES, I… AM… THE… MAN!”

And, your wife just sits there and rolls her eyes, again, because you have once again bested her in your knowledge of Star Wars Trivia. Even though she hates those movies and can’t tell the difference between a Jedi’s Padawan and a Sith Lord, you still sit there smugly in your moment of triumphant validation… you dominate.

I admit it, I am a validation junkie. I remember once being in an argum… er… discussion with my betrothed about an actor on a sitcom in which I was so sure of myself and desiring validation that I ordered it at a drive through:

Tags: Acts 15, Bible, creativity, freedom, Jedi, legalism, standard

Set apart, or SET apart

Barnabas and Saul Sent Off 13 In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. 2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3 So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off. The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. Ac 13:1-3 This is where I was studying this morning for my own devotional time. I thought I’d be clever (this almost never works out for me) and do a quick word study. I know that the word ‘holy’ means to be set apart, so, I thought maybe that the Holy Spirit’s command to ‘set apart’ Saul and Barny (yeah, we’re that tight) was a derivation of that Greek root for holy. If it is, then cool, I’ll look super smart someday preaching that and very insightful to boot. Problem is, it’s not the same word. DRAT! Even when I used other English versions, the Greek never changed, how can this be? Apparently my clever reserves are running low.

Tags: Acts 13, Bible, called, Isaiah 43, Matthew 7, ministry, mission, set apart

For Richer or Poorer

Today I was asked to speak to the students of Hesston College for their chapel service and interpret their theme verse of Luke 4:18-19 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (Lk 4:18-19). Grand Rapids: Zondervan. I always love speaking to college students, but I thought this theme would be challenging to all of us. My apologies to the diehards in our faith community. While the message is new, I’m sure you’ve heard all the stories if you’ve been in our church for years.

On Vision

Last night I had the opportunity to speak to a small group of college students called Christian Challenge (check them out on line http://www.hutchchallenge.net/.

They meet every Monday night at Venue 302 in Hutch and it’s always awesome to be with them. On this occassion I had the opportunity to teach on the issue of vision (or God-given direction in life).

Hope it’s helpful to some of you. Many blessings.

(By The Way… this was recorded with my little FLIP camcorder sitting on the front row… so, sorry about the quality)

More than you know…

God is doing more in our lives than we could ever possibily know about, and Joseph is the poster child for this in the book of Genesis.