21 Connect: Day 4 – The Owner’s Manual

Today’s chapter examines the role of the Bible in our culture and how there is a movement to diminish the importance of Scripture. Many are quick to find ways that unloving and graceless misapplications of biblical texts have done harm, while dismissing the incredible positive impact this same book has had on history. Commandments against murder, stealing, and lying are the basis of our legal system. The teachings of Jesus lived out by His early followers radically changed the status of women and children. Biblical stories and characters flow throughout great literature and art. Much of the true humanitarian work in medicine was born out of biblical conviction. Pastor Tim Keller had this insight about Scripture. If the Bible really was the revelation of God, and therefore it wasn’t the product of any one culture, wouldn’t it contradict every culture at some point? Therefore, if it’s really from God, wouldn’t it have to offend your cultural sensibilities at some point?
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21 Connect: Day 3 Busyness is Not Next to Godliness

My personal belief is that one of the biggest and most damaging mistakes that the church makes with new believers is not teaching clearly and continually what happens when you put your faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. It seems that we too often get young Christians immediately into studies and activities, suggesting that change can happen only when you are trying hard and concentrating on the spiritual disciplines. That was my struggle for forty years before I realized a simple truth. Dramatic change took place the moment I made that faith commitment to follow Jesus. Scripture tellsme that when I decided to become a follower of Christ, the following things happened immediately: I was given a new identity.I became a new creation.I received the gift of the righteousness of Christ. I struggle with that concept because I am not always righteous in my behavior. That may well be the biggest understatement in this volume. Here is the
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Up for a 21 Day Journey Together?

My book Waking Up Slowly was written to be used as a 21 day journey to become more connected to God and one another. Since many of us just picked up some extra time I wondered if a few of you would like to join me on a three week quest? You don’t need to buy the book but if you want to here is the link. I will post an excerpt each day with a quick devotional. I will ask for your comments on that day’s topic and how God is using this worldwide storm to bring us closer to Him. I noted in Waking Up Slowly that we are the most connected culture in history but arguably the most disconnected from God and one another. Our three week journey will cover actions and attitudes that cause us to become more or less connected to God. We will discuss things like fear, pride, gratitude, doubt, busyness, kindness, grace, regret,
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Which Voice Are You Listening To?

The number one Christian recording for 2019 was Lauren Daigle’s song “You Say”. The lyrics perfectly describe the battle that most of us fight to believe that what God says about us is true. Here is a sample of her powerful lyrics. I keep fighting voices in my mind that say I’m not enoughEvery single lie that tells me I will never measure upAm I more than just the sum of every high and every low?Remind me once again just who I am, because I need to know… I wrote about this topic in my book Stay: Lessons My Dogs Taught Me about Life, Loss, and Grace. I am drawn to wounded and dysfunctional people like a moth to light. When I hear their stories, I see a familiar pattern. They tend to believe that all the old junk in their lives is still true about them in God’s eyes. Too many followers of Jesus cannot believe they are a new and holy
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A House Divided Cannot Stand…The Choice is Ours

I used to joke that it is hard to find a good Evangelical math teacher because the only thing they completely understand is division. I am not sure I think that is humorous anymore as I watch the heartbreaking division in the body of believers that I love and call family. My head explodes when I allow myself to wade into the discourse between followers of Jesus Christ on Twitter and other social media. I will stipulate that often the topic being discussed is valuable and important. I get frustrated that the threads that gain traction are rarely the most important message we should be proclaiming as ambassadors of Christ. For example, a dust-up between author/speaker Beth Moore and pastor John MacArthur exploded on social media last fall and continues to be contentious. Beth Moore and many other women that I deeply respect have advocated for the increased role of women in church leadership and as expositors in the pulpit.
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Is Civility On Life Support?

This was a culturally depressing week for most of us. The events in Washington led to heart wrenching rounds of name calling and hate. My thoughts today are focused on how a follower of Jesus should represent His amazing grace in the often graceless medium of social media. We have a higher calling that should be taken seriously and prayerfully. Inflammatory rhetoric has debate in America on life support. I wish I could be more optimistic about its recovery. Guests on television news shows yell over one another. Hosts interrupt. Debaters mug with condescending smirks in the other TV box while a guest makes his or her case. Heaven forbid that we listen to those we disagree with to understand their point of view. Social media makes cowards courageous and the anonymity of cyberspace can make the mean spirited downright evil. I have watched with sadness as Twitter tyrants have destroyed or severely damaged people and institutions. Sometimes the venom is
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When Trying to be a “Good Christian” Feels Like Groundhog Day

Every year they rudely awaken Punxsutawney Phil long enough for the prognosticating rodent to let us know whether six more weeks of winter awaits. Phil always looks about as happy as I do when when I am disturbed in the morning. Nearly 30 years ago a funny and underappreciated movie came on the scene. Groundhog Day told the story of a self-absorbed news reporter (redundancy alert?) that finds himself stuck in an endless repeat of the same day. Bill Murray is perfect in the role of reporter Phil Connors. Reporter Phil is less than thrilled that he has been assigned to cover Punxsutawney Phil’s annual peek outside to predict winter’s duration. He feels he is “above” such an inane assignment. Connor’s looks into the camera and cynically reports: “This is one time where television really fails to capture the true excitement of a large squirrel predicting the weather.” The premise of the movie is that Phil Connors realizes he is doomed to live the
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