How God Sees Me Is Hard To Accept

Perhaps it was my early church teaching that causes me to struggle with the concept that God loves me. I believe He can love others. I believe He loves the homeless person on the street and the struggling inner-city mom trying to hold her family together. But I am less sure that He always loves me. I know me. I know what lies hidden in my heart. I know my reactions. I know my thoughts. God knows all of that too. So in the sad and difficult moments I wonder how He could possibly love me. Perhaps that is your struggle as well. Philip Yancey wrote these thoughts in What’s So Amazing About Grace. “Sociologists have a theory of the looking-glass self: you become what the most important person in your life (wife, father, boss, etc.) thinks you are. How would my life change if I truly believed the Bible’s astounding words about God’s love for me, if I looked
Continue reading...

One Of The Worst Days Ever

There is much written about Good Friday. The sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the Cross is incomprehensible to my puny human intellect. There is much written about Easter Sunday. Christians around the world rejoice and proclaim that “He is risen!”. But there is not nearly as much written about one of the saddest and most confusing days in history. The Saturday between the Friday horror of Jesus on the Cross and the Sunday mystery of the resurrection. Some churches do observe Holy Saturday but it was never a tradition in my faith upbringing. I have been thinking about what that day must have been like for those who dropped everything to follow Jesus. How crushing those events had to be. I imagine the fear they felt that they would also be killed. And for what? On Saturday they feared they had given their careers and their very souls for a false hope. I think in particular of Peter. I identify
Continue reading...

The Lessons of Team Unity

It looked shaky for a bit but we learned this week that baseball will be back. I love the joy of spring training. I love the hope of Opening Day. On that day every team is undefeated and united by the common goal of winning. Perhaps the church can learn a thing or two that winning baseball teams understand. The first thing that winning teams understand is that every teammate brings strengths and weaknesses to the team. A great team celebrates the strengths of each player and works together to offset the weaknesses. I pondered this as I was reading about the career of Joe Gordon. In 1942 Gordon led the American League in strikeouts. He made more errors that year than any other second baseman. He hit into more double plays than anyone in the league. By dwelling on those stats we could surmise that the New York Yankees were looking for a new second baseman for the following year. But there was
Continue reading...

Kindness Truly is Contagious

The apostle Paul laid out the challenge for followers of Jesus in his letter to the church in Ephesus: Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. (Ephesians 4:32) I used to be impressed by talent and prestige. Now I find that I am more impressed by kindness. Billy Graham observed how we all—especially children—benefit from a little kindness: “Often the only thing a child can remember about an adult in later years, when he or she is grown, is whether or not that person was kind.” Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by the sadness and problems around me. Sometimes I think it is a hopeless world we live in. But I can do something. I can be kind. Edward Everett Hale once said, “I am only one; but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; I will not refuse to do something I can do.”
Continue reading...

Finding Peace in Dark Valleys

No one gets through this journey unscathed. We will all face sadness, struggles, worry, sickness, and death. When I face trials I default to a song titled “Hold Me Jesus” from Rich Mullins. He is with Jesus now but Rich Mullins’s ability to capture our faith journey in lyric form was remarkable. Well, sometimes my lifeJust don’t make sense at allWhen the mountains look so bigAnd my faith just seems so small Right now I am in a pretty good place in my life and journey with Jesus. But a heartbreaking number of my friends and loved ones are going through agonizing struggles and can relate completely to those lyrics. Rich Mullen’s words do not exaggerate the pain. And I wake up in the night and feel the darkIt’s so hot inside my soulI swear there must be blisters on my heart I used to respond to troubles by thinking it must be my fault somehow. God must not be pleased
Continue reading...

Life Is Too Short To…

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about quitting negativity. It’s hard to stop griping cold turkey but I am doing better. Recently I have had some honest conversations that showed me the debilitating impact of a negative spirit. One person shared his deep hatred for people of one political persuasion. Another felt totally hopeless about the divisions in our culture. I shared with both that my hope was in Christ and not in Washington. I pray that I planted a seed of hope in their hearts. Those conversations generated two strong emotions. I was deeply saddened that my friends did not share my hope in Christ. And I was more convinced than ever that I want to be a positive light in this increasingly dark world. Last year I became aware of a very talented songwriter/singer from my hometown of Chillicothe, Ohio. Jerry Salley writes songs that inspire and give hope. One of my favorites is titled “Add More
Continue reading...

I’m Done!

I have reached and exceeded my saturation point. I’m done. Done with what? I am done with negativity. Our leaders, the media, and social media platforms spend a ridiculous percentage of their energy on what is wrong with this world. Their solutions are often soul-sucking condemnation, judgement, and summary dismissal of people who simply ask questions. Perhaps the most distressing thing is that many in the church have fallen into the same dark space. Christian social media responses to cultural and doctrinal issues may be slightly less profane but not much, if any, less negative. Brothers and sisters, we are supposed to be light! But please don’t take my word for it. Your argument is with Jesus. “In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.” (Matthew 5:16, NLT) What I see too often is this very sad paraphrase of His words demonstrated through social media platforms.
Continue reading...