Romans 5:15 – The Road (Rage) Report

May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. Romans‬ ‭15‬:‭5‬ NLT

I have a major intersection as part of my daily commute. I turn right. Sounds pretty easy, right? Well the right turn lane becomes it’s own lane out of the turn. Most of the daily commuters like me know this and don’t hold traffic up. Rookies or foreigners (like the guy today with Ohio plates – probably a rental rather than an Ohioan) don’t know, don’t see the signs, and back up traffic.

After I hit my horn twice to encourage the enlightenment of the aforementioned driver, I justified my frustration to myself by thinking, “I just have no patience for people who don’t pay attention.” God peeled back the scales from my eyes on my self-righteousness. I travel to unfamiliar areas reasonably often and I am the driver as often. Yet I have no patience or compassion for this out of town driver braving our roads at rush hour.

My traffic frustration, though, was a microcosm of how I’ve been feeling in general lately. What are you feeling when you drive? Is it a zoomed-in view of how you’re acting overall?

Does it reflect a thankful relationship with a loving God? Or like me this morning, does it reflect a selfish, subjective view of the world?

Keep this in mind when you drive, and observe other drivers this Christmas season. You’ll learn a lot about your personal condition with a little reflection on your behavior while driving.

Mark 9:24 – A Faith-Doubt Continuum?

The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!” Mark‬ ‭9‬:‭24‬ NLT

When I fail as a Christian, and take time to reflect, I often come at some point to questioning the depth of my faith. I remember what I could do with just a mustard seed and wonder if I really have any faith at all. I doubt.

So faith and doubt look like a continuum. This becomes a self-reinforcing (and faith-defeating) paradigm.

How do you snap out of this line of thought? Well, there once was a guy who said, “…if you can.” to Jesus. We need to remember His response, “What do you mean, ‘if I can’?” We need to cling to these words as our bodies cling to life.

Of course He can. He is in the business of ‘can’ and even more in the business of ‘does.’ We also need desperately to remember that God chose to ‘do’ through us. He’s already put more faith in us, in you, than He ever expects in return.

1 Chronicles 16:11 – #dad

Search for the LORD and for his strength; continually seek him. 1 Chronicles‬ ‭16‬:‭11‬ NLT

Yesterday I was mowing my lawn, and looked up to the front door of the house. There I saw my toddler and my dog with their noses pressed against the glass. Mom was inside. Big brother was inside. But these two had a shared, singular focus: dada.

Our MSM minister Taylor Start did an excellent job presenting the challenge to our MS students this weekend to change their hashtag to #God, so this image really set in for me. My son and my dog, if they had a hashtag that encompassed their lives, right now it would read #dad.

In this moment, the challenge of parenting was again beautifully clear: if I want the label on my kids’ lives to be #God, then the only way I can achieve that is to make sure that’s the label they, and everyone else, would put on me.

So what about you? What’s your hashtag? If you asked everyone around you to label you with one word, what would you hear?

I bet you got a good sense of a few words. I did when thinking about it. Are you happy with those results? What are you going to do about it?

Proverbs 3:5 – A Wasted ‘Best’?

Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Proverbs‬ ‭3‬:‭5‬ NLT

I’ve been fortunate lately to spend small amounts of time with several leaders of my church. We’ve got many great things going on, but I’ve found myself feeling drained from travel and other things, creating a nagging feeling that I wasted their time and my input has fallen well short of giving my best in those conversations.

And this worries me. The work of the church is the hope of the world. Literally, lives and eternity hang in the balance as church leaders gather input and use it to inform their decisions. So as this weighed on me this morning, I got a strong indication why: I’ve been trying to do this myself. I’ve been trying to give these leaders my best, not giving them the best God can offer through me.

In whatever you’re doing, you need to give your best. And that’s hard enough. But you have to be intentional, creating a schedule that allows you to be at your personal best when it’s time for God to tap in and use you.

I’ve got to make some changes, starting with more consistent prayer, scripture, and rest. I hope you will pray for those changes for me. I would be delighted if you shared your list so I can pray for you also.

Thoughts from the Street

Not my typical post, to be sure.

I am in New York City for a meeting tomorrow. After dinner with a colleague I had some documents to review, and with the nice seasonal weather, I opted to review them outside tonight. I’m a few blocks from Times Square, south towards the infamous Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood. I am sitting on the sidewalk because there are no benches near here.

I’ve noticed a pattern in the people walking down the street. While I walked around the block (literally) I encountered several individuals sitting like I am, asking for spare change. I notice them. I am prone to, knowing my Father loves them as much as He loves me. Right now, I look the same to passers-by as those asking for change. So far, people walking by have done one of three things when passing:

– seen me from a distance of 25 feet, and then refused to acknowledge me when closer;
– acknowledged me, some pitiously; or
– crossed the street to avoid me entirely.

In fact, one guy started to cross the street, got halfway across, and diverted back to the other side after getting a look at me.

In short, these are calculated actions. Most of them are intentional and risk-averse. All of them reflect degrees of superiority.

What about you?

Why did I write this? I want you to take time today. To notice the people around you. Do you let people you don’t know, maybe people who are different, blend into the pavement? Whether they’re asking for your change, making your coffee, emptying your trash, they’re as valuable to God as you are. If you’re in a position your culture would say is superior to them, then our Father would say you’re in a position to elevate them.

I challenge you to take some time today to make them feel more human, more loved, more valuable. Let someone know today that God loves them. It is as easy as acknowledging them.

“…and whoever wants to be first must be your slave.” Matthew‬ ‭20‬:‭27‬ NIV

Proverbs 6:8 – Summer Ends?!?

They labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter. Proverbs‬ ‭6‬:‭8‬ NLT

Image courtesy Slate

For the northern hemisphere, today is the last day of summer. We have to acknowledge the chill in the air, the shortening of the days, all the signs we’ve worked to ignore. (I wish it were like that and the pumpkin flavored everything would’ve waited until tomorrow!)

I thought I would take a look at when God references summer in the bible, and saw pretty much one theme: harvest. Plant life references the coming of the season. Harvest and the following winter, which ought to have been prepared for, follow.

I think there’s only one thing we need to take from biblical references to summer: this life is the summer. We are to spend this life preparing for the next, tending to the Father’s fields. We are to diligently look for signs from others of their openness to God’s truth and, when we see this openness, to work diligently in the Lord’s fields cultivating this potential new brother or sister.

It may be the last day of summer for half the planet, but it’s always summer in the our Father’s fields. Work diligently everyday to bring His salvation to those showing signs of thirsting for it.

Mark 4:24 – First Time Listener

Then he added, “Pay close attention to what you hear. The closer you listen, the more understanding you will be given —and you will receive even more. Mark‬ ‭4‬:‭24‬ NLT

Image courtesy All Talk Radio

If you’ve spent any time listening to talk radio (whether intentionally or under duress), you’ve probably noticed this phrase repeated by callers introducing themselves:

Hi there, this is Chris, long-time listener, first time caller.

These folks are trying to provide some context for the hosts and other listeners about themselves. (Or they just don’t know what to else to say.)

What would you say if you needed to start your prayers to God this way? I imagine many of you, like me, would probably have to start with something like, “long time caller.” As I pondered that, that when I pray I talk a lot and listen very little, I became embarrassed, ashamed, and frustrated.

How often did Jesus tell us to listen? How often did he demonstrate listening to God?

Maybe today you need to start a prayer one of these ways:

Long-time caller, first-time listener…
It’s been a while since I’ve called in…

Maybe even this one?

First-time caller

Wouldn’t that be an amazing day, regardless of which you can apply?

Whatever you do, remember you’ll learn more listening to God than He will listening to you.

Call in today, but practice listening before and after you speak.

Hebrews 4:15 – The Culture For Forgiveness

This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. Hebrews‬ ‭4‬:‭15‬ NLT

I was super excited, to use the teen colloquialism, to get back to leading a MS guys small group last night. Trying to get a dozen 8th grade guys to understand what Jesus wants from us. “How do you sum it up?” I asked them. “Be perfect,” was the first response.

While that would be nice, because that would mean it is achievable for us, that’s not what Jesus expects from us. He experienced everything we do in this life, depending on where you live, in a drastically less forgiving culture.

The culture, though, was perfect for His message of forgiveness, of reconciliation. This is what makes Christ different than the other gods worshipped today: he lived this life so he could save us from ourselves.

We will be tested. We will fail. We will repeat the process daily until our flesh returns to the dust. Jesus is the only one who asks us to follow not His rules, but his footsteps.

Who are you following?

If you need a reminder of this question throughout your day, save this image for your phone’s lock screen. Remind yourself often to check who you’re following.

Image courtesy NECC MSM

James 4:17 – The Sin Triangle

Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it. James‬ ‭4‬:‭17‬ NLT

Image courtesy UC Merced Controls and Accountability

Every accountant or accounting student is overly familiar with the image above. The fraud triangle explains the conditions necessary for fraud to occur. The thought is that if you can remove one of the sides, you can prevent fraud.

Thinking through sin in my life, trying to figure out how I let it happen, I flashed back to undergrad. This image plainly explains sin the same way it explains fraud.

With the Sin Triangle, Christians would change opportunity to temptation, but the other sides stay the same. Temptations aren’t as much in our control when they arrive. But we can arm ourselves against the other two sides.

Drawing nearer to God won’t remove temptation from your life. But it will significantly decrease your motivation to act on the temptation. And the more you talk to God, the harder it will be for you to rationalize the sin, even in the moment.

Arm yourself against yourself. Draw near to God, talk with Him often, and sins that plague you will seem to fade. As they lost their luster, you’ll notice only God taking their place.

Matthew 16:24 – This!

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me.” Matthew‬ ‭16‬:‭24‬ NLT

Several days ago, this tweet popped up in my feed:

Clearly, if you’ve read many of these posts, you can see I find personal meaning and learning I can share from many verses. I had to sort through my mind which verse has been most influential to me. After some discerning, I can say without a doubt, this verse wins.

This is the kingdom we’re called to bring to this world, the one in which we submit our lives as our King did to build his kingdom. While it is a kingdom of love, it is only built through sacrifice. Through daily submission. Through constant refinement.

I try to die daily. I strive to put my humanity and sinfulness into submission to God. I fail as often. I struggle, as Paul did, with one particular temptation I fear will haunt me all of my time here. But I don’t fear that these sins will keep me from God’s kingdom or that they will lead others away. Only because I die daily.