While standing on the creek bank recently, I realized something about myself that I never knew.  The fishing was slow, and I closed my eyes for a moment and said, “Lord, please let me catch a fish soon.”  It was a half-hearted prayer, but I heard something in those words that I am not proud of about myself. 

I want God to bless me every day in every way.  I want each day to have something good happen to me.  I want my lesson or sermon to go well and people to like what I have to say.  I want to catch fish or have a successful hunt. I confess to you that I desire for God to bless my life, and I would like him to do it TODAY! NOW! SOON!  Let the good things flow into my life.  

Theologians through the years have used this simple analogy to describe this type of thinking.  They say the temptation is to seek the hands of God and not his face.  We are like children who run to dad after a trip to see what he is holding in his hand for us. What gift does he have for us?  We love what he gives us more than we love him.  We want the blessing more than the person. 

As believers, we are surrendering our life to God because he is God.  Sometimes that will bring us great blessings as we follow him, but that is not always the case.  There may also be trials and tribulations.  We may have to suffer to learn to love him.  Dark seasons may come to teach us to trust him completely.  Some days the skies will be dark and foreboding so that the needed rain can come for our souls. 

All of us want God to bless us, and the harsh reality is that numerous blessings come dressed as hard work, seasons of pain, and closed doors.  Maybe our desires as believers should be for his leadership and love more than the blessings.  But that would require great faith in a benevolent God, and I would rather the fish bite now.   

My pastor groups on social media exploded with posts.  In the past ten days, the events in the United States have prompted many preachers to say something about the headlines they are reading.  Yet, I remain silent on the issues, even in private conversations.  Why? A person might wonder.  It seems like this is the time to address this issue, so I have to say something.

I have specific reasons I do not do “current issue” preaching, speaking, or writing very often.   

One, we do not know the whole story.  Often, we only know what the media is reporting, and over recent years it has become clear that media sources are incredibly biased.  It is easy to stand up and say, “this happened, and that happened” and be completely wrong.  Most of the time, there is a back story, ignored activity, and poor research. 

Two, everything I say about Jesus is a statement about the current state of affairs.  When people come to follow the way of Jesus, they will love one another, pray for their enemies, turn the other cheek, give up all anger, rage, bitterness, and slander.  Everyone who comes to be Jesus disciple will find a new life as a new creation with a unique point of view.  Calling people to follow him is a political statement as he forms his kingdom on earth. 

Finally, I do not have to say something about everything.  My calling is to lead people to a life-changing relationship with Jesus and disciple them in his ways.  Think of all the things Jesus did not teach his followers.  He said nothing about governmental policies, Roman oppression, slavery, and the liberal leadership.  He spoke to individuals to help them change their hearts.  When their heart was right, the appropriate actions will follow.   Not sure why everyone has to have strong opinions on everything. 

I guess that the people in your world are asking you, “What do you have to say about that current issue?”  It is fine to say, “I am keeping my opinion to myself.”  The world needs more totally committed Christ-followers and less of us talking ourselves to death. 

I have said the line thousands of times, “Don’t be surprised when non-Christians act like non-Christians.”  The scriptures ground us in the concept that God has standards for the way people are to behave.  When you remove those moorings, people are left to their feelings of right and wrong at the moment.  The unchanging standard is gone, and people will do whatever feels right, no matter how wrong it might actually be.  No amount of evil should surprise us by those who do not follow the way of Jesus. 

Jesus was more concerned about how his disciples behaved.  It was those who called themselves believers whom he instructed to act differently than the world around them.  Their lives were to be guided by God’s will, standards, and word.  Christians are to live according to the desires of God alone.  Jesus does not get angry with the Romans for their treatment of one another; instead, he is incensed at the behavior of the people in the temple and the Pharisees who knew the scriptures.  Their lives should have been unique when compared to the Roman culture, and they were not. 

The Church should be full of people whose lives are remarkably different than the rest of the world.  They live according to a moral standard set by God above.  There is no place for murder, adultery, theft, lying, or coveting.  They see the value of every human life. Believers love one another, and even love and pray for their enemies. They do good things for each other no matter what their background story may be.  When the world is full of chaos, the followers of Jesus should stand out as shining examples of faith, hope, and love. 

It is easy to throw stones at those outside of Christ and be sickened by their behavior.  But are we willing to look inside of our own lives and confront the evil that lives in there?  Change in the world will only come through Jesus, and it will only happen one believer at a time.  That means you and me.  

As I sit and ponder the world in which we live and the events that are going on in our country, I was reminded of a quote by G.K. Chesterton. If you are not familiar with him, he is a profound writer and thinker of the late 1800s and early 1900s.

In his book Orthodoxy published in 1908, he writes this,

“The new rebel is a skeptic and will not entirely trust anything… [T]he fact that he doubts everything really gets in his way when he wants to denounce anything. For all denunciation applies a moral doctrine of some kind; and the modern revolutionist doubts not only the institution he denounces but the doctrine by which he denounces it… As a politician, he will cry out that war is a waste of life, as a philosopher, that all life is a waste of time. [He] goes to a political meeting, where he complains that savages are treated as if they were beasts; then he takes his hat and umbrella and goes on to a scientific meeting, where he proves that they practically are beasts. In short, the modern revolutionist, being an infinite skeptic, is always engaged in undermining his own mines. In his book on politics he attacks men for trampling on morality; in his book on ethics he attacks morality for trampling on men. Therefore the modern man in revolt has become practically useless for all purposes of revolt. By rebelling against everything he has lost his right to rebel against anything.”
G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy (Haddonfield, NJ: Dodd, Mead & Co, 2013), 28-29.

Numerous people you meet every day are carrying a heavy burden.  Life is hard in multiple ways. People struggle with finances, family, marriage, careers, health, past, failure, sin, and a thousand other possibilities.  Each time we put something new in our emotional bag to carry, it gets more massive, and we begin to lose courage.  Often these issues move people away from God and the hope and light they need. 

As a follower of Jesus, we are called to encourage.  The writer of the New Testament book of Hebrews says, “But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today…” (Hebrews 3:13 – NIV 2011) When we encounter people who are turning away from God because of some difficulty, we are instructed to offer encouragement.

The English word encouragement is defined as, “To inspire with courage.”  The main idea is that life issues can take away a person’s courage, and they need someone to come and inspire them to continue when it is tough.  We spur them on by offering help and hope.   

The harsh reality is that you are going to spend time this day and this week with people who are floundering through each day without the courage and strength they need.  Jesus followers are to meet these people and offer them the words and actions that will keep their lives moving in the right direction.  Hebrews says it will be a daily job for those who take the work seriously.

Let me encourage you today.  Don’t ever cease being a light in the darkness.  You might be the person God uses to inspire someone else in ways you never imagined. 

Most of us want that one big thing that is going to change everything.  If we could win the lottery and have a large sum of money, it would make life better.  If my wife and I had enough resources to take an extended vacation together, it would help our marriage thrive.  If we could spend a couple of weeks at Disneyworld with the kids, we would all feel so connected.  If we could spend time in a sabbatical reading and prayer, we would be closer to Jesus than ever before. 

The truth about this type of thinking is that it usually does not work.  Life doesn’t get better for the rich; vacations make us more distant; the kids care little about whether we were in their lives at a theme park, and a nap sounds better than prayer.  

What does work to change our lives is doing small things often. Give a little money in the name of Jesus and save a little for a rainy day, and things feel better.  Talk to your wife every day for fifteen minutes, and be sure to tell her that you love her, and you start to feel closer.  Spend an hour of quality time with your kids five days a week, and they start looking forward to you coming home.  Take ten minutes daily to read the Bible and pray, and your spiritual life will deepen.  These little investments will reap a far greater reward than one big event. 

The good news in this truth is that it is available to anyone.  It is not just a solution for the rich or retired.  Each one of us has the power to change our lives simply by doing small things.  What are you doing today that will make your life better in the future?  It doesn’t have to be big, but it does have to be often.   

Most people are guarded emotionally. One challenge for a believer is to let their guard down and allow a few people into their souls. There must be a willingness to share our past struggles, our present issues, and some of the craziness that goes on inside of our heads. Otherwise, all relationships in your life will be surface level and lack the depth you need to grow and mature as a person and a believer.

Here is the flip side to this truth: The more you share of yourself, the more people will feel connected to you as well. Now, everyone knows that one person who shares everything immediately, and we usually avoid them because they are emotionally draining. That is not what I am writing about today. I am telling you that when you get to know someone, you must be willing to share your life with them entirely to have a healthy relationship.

Think about the people you are closest to in your life. Do they know more about your personal issues or less? Are they people who have heard your crazy stories or people who only know the happy ones? Have these people listened to you share your emotions or been kept at arm’s length? Are they the people who know you have failed miserably or those who only know your victories in life?

The people with whom we connect our lives the most are those with which we share the most. It bonds us to them and them to us. When the walls come down in our lives, there is an open opportunity to develop the kind of relationships we need and our hearts long for with each season.

Sure, there is a risk in being vulnerable whenever you drop your guard. The pain of betrayal can hurt, but it will not hurt as much as keeping the walls up and people out of your life. The challenge for today and this week is not to keep from being hurt; it is to keep from becoming cold and guarded. Following Jesus includes sharing your life and pain, not avoiding it.

Recently I read a devotional written by another preacher. As I read it, the hair stood up on the back of my neck. What troubled me was that over thirty people had “liked” the post. My heart sank because people did not see all the flaws.

First, the whole thought was built on a false analogy. It was comparing two things that are not similar, although they might appear to be at a casual glance. Second, it used an unreliable Bible translation (this is a pet peeve of mine). The author must have searched all around to find a verse that was stated just the right way to fit their analogy. Third, the verse used was from the Old Testament, and we ripped entirely out of context to make a point about America, making it a violation of proper Bible interpretation. Finally, it took a concept that is about the people of God and applied it to non-believers who were represented in the false analogy.

In a few seconds, I noticed four big issues with this devotion that made me uncomfortable as a preacher and a follower of Jesus. His disciples are to be people who “correctly handle the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). On top of that, we are to keep watch for “false prophets” and “false teachers” (2 Peter 2:1). Here was an attempt to use the scripture in a way that violates the meaning of the author and the will of God. Christians must be wise about such things.

One aspect of being a believer is that we need to learn critical thinking skills. We are required to listen to the words of others and then use the proper tools to analyze what was said. If we are not able to do that, then we will fall for every wind of teaching (Ephesians 4:14).

Here is the final significant step, though. There is a difference between being a critical thinker and being a critical person. When I finished reading the post that was made, I made a note of it so that I could write this blog, and then I moved along.

The temptation for many of us is to jump into the comment section and tear this person apart. Anyone who disagrees with me will feel the burn of my righteous indignation. I can post links and arguments that will put this person in their place and anyone who chose to listen to him. These are the actions of a critical person.

I hope that every person learns to be a critical thinker without becoming a critical person. I pray that you can process ideas and not be led astray. Once you have done that essential first step, then you will not feel the need to let everyone know you are right. A good brain is a gift, but a good attitude toward those with whom you disagree is a blessing to everyone.

It seems like an obvious thing to say, but it needs to be said. Through the years, I have lost grandparents, friends, and my dad. In the past two weeks, the loss has continued. A dear, sweet, kind man from the Church in Alaska where I served, passed away from a heart attack. Then a few days ago, Ravi Zacharias, a national speaker who helped to strengthen my faith enormously while I was in college, died of cancer.

All these losses have created moments that took my breath away. Even though death comes as no surprise since we are bound for it, there is still the pain of letting go of those with which we have a connection. I know these reports will not be the last I will receive, and that possibility alone sends me reeling with anxiety if I think about it for too long.

While I stand in stunned silence at the loss of people I know, I also take these times to reflect on the meaning of faith. The single biggest reason I am a follower of Jesus is because of his resurrection. Jesus died, was buried, and then rose to live again on the third day. He is the only person in all recorded history to walk out of the grave under his own power. He defeated death and turned the cemetery into a place of victory. There is no other religious leader who accomplished what he was able to do.

I hate death and the emotional pain of separation that it brings. I love Jesus more. In dark moments like these, his light shines the brightest. In the place that seems hopeless, he brings hope. We grieve loss but cling to the savior who gives us life. I HATE death. Thankfully, I serve a God who hates it too. He hated it so much that he did something about it. Jesus came to bring us resurrection and life. For that, I am eternally grateful.

Scrolling through social media, I see pictures of families putting together puzzles, going on hikes, playing games, and fishing together. Often, they post photos that demonstrate how proud they are of their achievements. I want to pause for a moment and ask you not to miss the point.

May the goal of our lives never be accomplishing tasks off our to-do list. Instead, I hope you use your moments to connect with other people in meaningful ways.

It is not who wins the board games, but the time you spent together.
It is not the puzzle you assembled with your kids, but the conversation while searching for pieces.
It is not the fish you catch; it is the memories made with people.
It is not the vacation and the places you have seen, but the people with which you see them.
It is not about the trophies earned at the sporting event, but the time of celebration with those who love and support you.
It is not even about your team winning the big game but connecting to people of like mind.

Every day presents you with opportunities for new experiences and achievements, what makes those precious is the joy of doing it with other people. We were created for community. We are relational beings. The point is not to spend your life alone accomplishing great things but to enjoy this life with people and find joy both with and in them.