How Quickly We Forget

Recently I have been saddened by the all out sprint to judgement of people and institutions that have made mistakes. It often seems the harshest comments come from people who ought to tap the brakes before they go there. These are folks that have made their own mistakes. Big ones. And they were offered grace and second chances. My initial response was self-righteous indignation because, let’s be honest, I am good at that. Eventually the quiet voice of the Spirit reminds me that I am also that guy who is too often quick to judge. I am that guy who tries to argue with God about forgiveness and whether someone “deserves” mercy. A little snippet from my book Stay addressed this very issue after Paul threw down an incredible statement to the Ephesian church. Be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. (Ephesians 4:32, NLT) That is a very tall order
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Monday Musing – Do I Really Think I am a Bad Christian?

I am often blessed by really kind comments from you about my books or blogs. I truly appreciate the encouragement. But what I remind myself everyday is this simple truth. I would be impressed with me except for one thing. I know me. I know how often I am selfish. I know how often I judge. I know how often I have a bad attitude. The list goes on and on. I got a lot of feedback and some not so complimentary when my book “When Bad Christians Happen to Good People” hit the scene. Some where offended that I could suggest there are “bad Christians”. My answer probably didn’t help much. Bad Christians are all God has to work with. To be sure some are more productive than others. Some clean up better and some have whiter teeth. But when we measure our performance against God’s perfect law we are devastated. All of us fall short (from inches to
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Monday Musing: Redeemed. Believe it.

One of my phone apps offers new music that I can redeem from the app. Recently I went to download a song and this message came up. Already redeemed. I had already acquired the song. There was no need for further redemption. It was mine. How I wish I could trust that for my relationship with God. A song by Big Daddy Weave called “Redeemed” sums up my struggle and encourages me to know that I am not alone in this battle. Seems like all I can see was the struggle Haunted by ghosts that lived in my past Bound up in shackles of all my failures Wondering how long is this gonna last Then You look at this prisoner and say to me “son stop fighting a fight that’s already been won” That is the truth I have to remind myself just about every day. The fight has already been won. Yet I too often live as if my
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Done

One of my favorite songs from Tenth Avenue North popped up in the rotation recently. The song “You Are More” talks about a young woman lost in fear and shame. She says, “How did I get here? I’m not who I once was. And I’m crippled by the fear That I’ve fallen too far to love” That is a lie from the very pit of hell. The lyrics beautifully convey that no one has gone too far to experience God’s amazing Grace. But don’t you know who you are, What’s been done for you? Yeah don’t you know who you are? You are more than the choices that you’ve made, You are more than the sum of your past mistakes, You are more than the problems you create, You’ve been remade. Most of us have heard the passage from 2nd Corinthians preached over and over. So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time
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Need Another Gift Idea For Jesus?

I love Dave Barry. As long as he is alive I will not have the weirdest brain on the planet. Here is his take on the secularizing of Christmas greetings. Once again, we come to the Holiday Season, a deeply religious time that each of us observes, in his own way, by going to the mall of his choice. In the old days, it was not called the Holiday Season; the Christians called it “Christmas” and went to church; the Jews called it “Hanukkah” and went to synagogue; the atheists went to parties and drank. People passing each other on the street would say “Merry Christmas!” or “Happy Hanukkah!”or (to the atheists) “Look out for the wall!”  These days, people say “Season’s Greetings,” which, when you think about it, means nothing. It’s like walking up to somebody and saying “Appropriate Remark” in a loud, cheerful voice. But “Season’s Greetings” is safer, because it does not refer to any actual religion.
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Monday Musing: Can Santa Clause Influence Your Christian Journey?

(Today I am re-posting one of my favorite Christmas articles. Consider it “regifting” and feel free to regift to others!) Recently I poured over the new titles at the local Christian bookstore. The usual suspects dominated most of the shelf space. One of the most important books in my Christian journey was not displayed. And that is a shame. Because this book has a message that needs to be heard. The original version of the book was entitled TrueFaced and the newest revision is called The Cure.  I don’t think I have ever had a book (excluding the inspired one) impact me as much as this one. I am borrowing one little bit of content that is very timely during this month. John Lynch is one of the authors of the book and in this section he addresses how we are programmed from childhood to default to performance theology. He calls it the “Santa Claus is Coming to Town theology”.
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Monday Musing: A Truly Black Friday

I avoid Black Friday store shopping at all costs. There is not a deal good enough to get me to camp out and storm the doors to vanquish my shopping foes. I don’t even like the name Black Friday. It makes me think of a truly black Friday that we most often ponder at Easter. We have re-branded that day as Good Friday but there was nothing good about that day for the early followers of Jesus. Picture the overwhelming despair of those who had dropped everything to follow this amazing teacher and prophet. There could not have been a blacker Friday or sadder Saturday for those disciples of the long hoped for Redeemer. I cannot fathom their emotions. Crushed. Hopeless. Devastated. Leading up to that Black Friday I relate most to the blusterous and impulsive Apostle Peter. He talked a great game as I often do. He was absolutely sure about his steadfast devotion to Jesus. He knew he
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