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As I have grown older,  have developed the habit of checking the obituaries. This practice has provided me with significant life lessons. I’m still alive.  The first thing I do when checking obits is to look for my name. So far I have been pleased with what I have found. It would be terrible to die and not know it. I have lived longer than many. Lately there are lots of people younger than me listed in the obits. Many  never lived to get married or have children, I have. I even have grands and great grands. I have had a great family and a life filled with great experiences. If I died today, it would have been enough. Lives are very different.  Although there is a certain commonality to obits, there is enough difference to show the great variety of life. Many obits are long and full of “achievements.” Others seem to struggle to come up with something, “He was an avid television watcher.” “He loved a good joke or a great meal.” “He was  liked by some.” I think I will start drafting my obit today. Don’t tell the whole story.  Obits are not really very helpful […]

The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.” Genesis 12:1 And Abram said, “I’m really pretty much in the zone here. I’m really comfortable. What new land are you referring to? What am I going to be doing there? Do they speak my language there? Do you have a map? Do they have the kind of foods I am used to? The wife isn’t going to be happy about this. I’m a bit old to be resettling. How long will it take to get there? Are there giants in the land? Is this really the Lord? You sound a lot like the devil?” When a player is doing great, all his shots are going in and he can’t seem to do anything wrong, we say he is “in the zone.” When we kind of lose control and contact with reality we say we are “zoned out.” Did you ever stop to think that the Lord is trying to get you out of your zone, your comfort zone? When we are “in the zone” we are satisfied and pretty pleased with ourselves. We are in […]

We tend to think of grace in the past tense. We were blind, now we see. We were lost, now we’re found. Grace is the basis of our wonderful entrance into the Christian walk, but it’s much more. It’s the fuel for that walk. As we struggle to follow Christ, grace remains crucial. It’s by grace, that we are able to focus on our Lord as we seek to follow Him. It’s by grace, that we confess and return when we wander off the path. It’s by grace, that we are able to forgive when others harm us or those we love. It’s by grace, that the written word becomes alive in our hearts. It’s by grace, that the Spirit comes to us to comfort and lead us. It’s only by grace, we are able to love unconditionally, in the way that Christ said would identify us as His. That kind of love is beyond natural. It gives without quid pro quo. It’s by grace that sin in our lives is revealed, layer-by-layer and it’s by grace that we are freed from its chains. It’s by the continuing infusion of grace in our lives that we will walk confidently […]

I have been critical of the modern church. It doesn’t resemble the church that Jesus called us to. It has divides that he did not create or envision, like the separation between paid and unpaid. It’s way too spectator oriented and designed to create individual kingdoms. It does, however, provide on a weekly basis opportunities which we should take complete advantage of. Worship. There is something very special about group worship. It lifts the soul, encourages and comforts. It forces us to consider the two most important truths of our spiritual lives. Who God is and who we are. A little truth provided to both issues goes a long way in moving us forward. God is all-knowing, all-powerful, all just, yet all loving. Glorious inconsistencies to our human minds. We are weak, self-centered, in need of help and a savior. Only God can provide all we need. We need at least a weekly, though preferably daily reminder of these truths. An Opportunity to Hear.  Here I’m not speaking only or even principally of the sermon. I am speaking of the spiritual silence that allows an opportunity to hear from God. When I go to bed at night I turn on […]

Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. 1 John 3:18 Rosemary and I spent Thursday afternoon delivering copies of the February issue of Covenant Spotlight. It was a great time of fellowship for us and exercise for me, much in and out of the car and carrying of boxes. Rose mostly supervised. 🙂 Magazines are heavy, especially when boxed 100 at a time. It also was a reminder to me of Jesus command to “Go” and spread the good news and make disciples. I have done a blog for years and had the opportunity of teaching on many occasions, but there is something different and special about “going.” I remember learning years ago that “going” implies a change of place. That was certainly true as we travelled from Crowley, though Rayne and Duson, down into Milton and Maurice, Youngsville and Broussard and, finally, this morning to New Iberia.  There was much “going” involved. I was also reminded of the parable of the Sower and the Seeds. At some locations, all the magazines we left last month were gone. At others, almost all the ones we left were still there. It […]

Last time we considered how God is indescribable. When Jesus came in human form, we saw God as fully human. A form we had some chance of understanding. It’s important that we realize Jesus isn’t a lesser form of God. He is as fully divine as he is fully human. If we spent every moment of our lives, getting to know Him, we would still fall short of complete knowledge. That’s why heaven will not be boring. It will take us full eternity to have any real knowledge of God. We should not miss the opportunity to know Jesus in this life. Our knowledge is principally based on our experience. In my life I have known Him as provider. He has healed me of a damaged knee and of the pain of a lossed child. He has revealed Himself to me in the beauty of His creation and in the move of His Spirit among the lost, particularly those in prison. I have learned of Him through the experiences of others. I have seen addictions melt away. I have seen lives of complete self-centeredness become useful instruments of His love. I have been blessed to witness the power of […]

In March I will be doing another Kairos Retreat weekend at Angola State Prison. I am really looking forward to it. I thoroughly enjoy each of these retreats for many reasons. 1 It’s a chance to see God work. I’ve never attended one of these without seeing a great move of God. 2 It’s a chance to visit those in prison. That’s one of the things that separates the goats from the sheep. Me, I would prefer to be a sheep. 3 It’s a chance to be with friends. Some of my closest friends are the volunteers in Kairos and the prisoners at Angola who have gone through Kairos weekends in the past. 4 It’s a chance to minister with the whole church. Kairos draws its volunteers from different denominations and races. It’s a chance to act as the church as God intended, universally. 5 It’s a chance to minister. Sadly, Christianity is too often a spectator sport. Kairos allows us to actually minister, one-0n-one. The great commission isn’t just to pray for the ministry of others or to write checks. It’s a call TO GO. Why not join me Saturday? We have our first training in Baton Rouge. […]

No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the LORD. Jeremiah 31:34 Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. John 14:9 Jeremiah’s prophecy that one day we would all know God has not been perfectly fulfilled. It’s not possible now to know God completely and therefore accurately describe our God. If you need a reminder, watch Louie Giglio’s video. Or listen to Chris Tomlin’s song. One problem is trying to describe the eternal with natural words. For example, we call Him, Father, but we are limited by our own, sometimes negative, experiences with fatherhood.  Jesus told His disciples that if they had seen Him they had seen the Father. Jesus is Divine, but packaged in human form so that we might in some small way be able to comprehend and to relate. Since Jesus, we can know God like never before, but still not perfectly. Our God is indescribable. Our experiences of Him are spiritual and incredibly personal. We can best, and only, describe Him as He has affected us, as we have experienced Him. Because […]