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  34And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. 35“For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. 36“For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? Mark 8 “Christian” is meaningless. Forget it. Today anyone can call himself a Christian.  It’s a status word. It describes what someone says he is. It means no more than what the speaker intends. It doesn’t communicate a unique idea. It’s a non-action word with no universally agreed-to definition. “Follower” is an action word. It implies actions along a path determined by another. It implies a singularity that eliminates all other options. It means Jesus is a pilot, not copilot.  He doesn’t make our way possible or more comfortable. It’s all about His Way.  Followers were originally called The Way, not “a way” or “your own way.” Admit it. Don’t we want Jesus to make the life we want possible? Don’t we ask kids, “What do you […]

Don’t those old folks who drive around town 2o miles under the speed limit really irritate  you. I have blown my horn at them. I have driven around them and given them the “You don’t own the road look.” It’s sometimes an old guy by himself. My wife and I noticed he always seems to be wearing a baseball cap. Often it’s some old lady who probably is on her way to Walmart for no good reason. Whether it’s a man or woman driving,  they have both hands on the wheel and eyes cemented on the road ahead. Sometimes its a couple. Does it really take two of them to drive? I have summarized these types as the “old man in the baseball cap.” Recently, while trying to deal with my stress filled day, some jerk blew his horn at me. It was all I could not to shoot him “the bird.” Later some guy pulled along side of me and berated me for several seconds before speeding down the road. I imagined following him, pulling him out of his car and giving him the spanking his mother failed to do. That three hundred pound weight lifter is lucky I’m […]

If you can’t seem to hear from God, maybe you should just shut up. I know that sounds a bit rude, but you know you’ve been told nicely that you need to be quiet to hear from God and you just haven’t listened. It’s incredibly important, so, I believe, a little rudeness is completely justified. Don’t judge me. Just shut up. You can’t hear from God with  your mouth open. Whatever you are saying isn’t as important as what God is trying to tell  you. It’s the problem I have with fasting. Fasting becomes the topic of conversation.  Folks talk about how hard it is, or how easy it is or how much they are getting out of it or how they have manipulated the “rules” to make it not really fasting at all. Fast and just shut up. Think about it this way. By your constant mouth movement, you are not just making too much noise for you to hear from God. You are causing the same problem for those around you. We feel obliged to at least pretend to be listening so it stops us from hearing from God as well. Bless us by your silence and […]

31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8 There is no truth in Satan. It’s his nature. As Christians, we formerly had that nature, now we have the nature of Christ and all the truth that comes with it. But elements of untruth just seem to hang around and Satan clings to them to make, and keep, us useless. He drags untruth into every day life. Like this: If your friend Sue usually calls every day and on Tuesday doesn’t call, the truth is just a call was not made. That’s the only truth. It doesn’t mean Sue no longer loves you or that she has died in an accident. It doesn’t mean that she’s angry about something you said to her. It doesn’t mean she is no longer your friend. It doesn’t mean she is telling everyone what an awful person you are and that you are now friendless. It doesn’t mean, you never should have been her  friend. It doesn’t mean, that you are the kind of person who can’t really […]

Don’t those old folks who drive around town at 2o miles under the speed limit and seem to be driving in slow motion really irritate  you. I have blown my horn at them. I have driven around them and given them the “You don’t own the road look.” It’s sometimes an old guy by himself. My wife and I noticed he always seems to be wearing a baseball cap. Often it seems to be some old woman who probably is on her way to Wal-Mart for no good reason Whether it’s a man or woman driving,  they have both hands on the wheel and eyes cemented on the road ahead. Sometimes its a couple. Does it really take two of them to drive? I have summarized these types as the “old man in the baseball cap.” Yesterday while trying to deal with my stress filled day, some jerk blew his horn at me. It was all I could not to shoot him “the bird.” Later some guy pulled along side of me and berated me for several seconds before speeding down the road. I imagined following him, pulling him out of his car and giving him the spanking his […]

  Sue hasn’t call and there will be hell to pay. There is no truth in Satan. It’s his nature. As Christians, we formerly had that nature, now we have the nature of Christ and all the truth that comes with it. But elements of untruth just seem to hang around and Satan clings to them to make, and keep, us useless. He drags untruth into every day life. If your friend Sue usually calls every day and on Tuesday doesn’t call, the truth is a call was not made. That’s the only truth. It doesn’t mean Sue no longer loves you or that she has died in an accident. It doesn’t mean that she’s angry about something you said to her. It doesn’t mean she is no longer your friend. It doesn’t mean she is telling everyone what an awful person you are and that you are now friendless. It doesn’t mean that she never was your friend. It doesn’t mean, that you are the kind of person who doesn’t have friends because you are so worthless. The only truth is Sue didn’t call. All over a phone call that never happened. Once you’re convinced that there is now a […]

I’m only slightly ashamed that I was scared this morning. I was having breakfast with friends at Mel’s Diner when the thunderstorm many of us will never forget hit town. No one with me (and some were even older than I) had ever seen the sky that dark during the day. We watched hail through the security camera go on for some time. We couldn’t stop commenting on the ferocity of the wind. Being all men, we sort of laughed it off, but kept checking the weather radar on our smart phones and talked about nothing else. Finally someone suggested we adjourn to the men’s room. It took a few seconds before I realized he was serious. I don’t know if you have ever been to the men’s room at Mel’s downtown, but safety isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. For a few minutes this morning I was scared. I wasn’t the only one, but that doesn’t change the fact that I was. It kind of feels good to admit that. Maybe we would all be better off if we could admit that sometimes we are scared. Maybe it’s the weather. Maybe it’s an impending medical procedure. […]

“Now I will take the load from your shoulders; I will free your hands from their heavy tasks. Psalm 81:6 I suffered with my shoulders, particularly my left, for many months. When I would deal with a drive through window I could barely lift my arm to take the coffee, burger or health food. Okay, so no health food. I eventually couldn’t handle it any longer and went to the doctor. The doc is a friend so I trust his opinion very much. After two scary (to me) MRI procedures, my friend  recommended surgery on both shoulders. One at a time, of course. I had torn rotator cuffs in both shoulders.  After some prayer I decided to put off the surgery. I would like to say being a man of great faith I rejected surgery in favor of faith healing. That would not be true. Something from my last surgery messed me up bad. I am not a friend of pain. I have a lot going on. Oh, and I guess God could heal it. I turned it over to God, sort of, and hoped for the best. I applied the medication for pain my friend prescribed a couple of times. […]