I have been debating if I should write about this topic. I have started a number of times only to delete what I’ve written. But here goes…

My Personal Embarrassment

Nearly three months ago I tore my Achilles heel playing pickleball. One minute I was returning a serve and a volley, the next I thought someone had crashed into me from behind and hit me in the back of the leg. The pain felt like a sharp rubber band had snapped my leg. It was sudden and then I knew I could not walk on it. I finally realized there wasn’t a pickleball bandit behind me who had just assaulted me, but rather I had sustained an injury that would end my professional aspirations for pickleball glory.

The next few months were difficult. I openly admit to my defiant stubbornness. I was not fun to be around and I frequently got frustrated with my inability to walk and function. I was blessed to receive a knee scooter instead of using crutches to go anywhere. To put it bluntly I was temporarily handicapped and I hated. EVERY. MINUTE. OF. IT!

Physical Therapy

The first time I attended physical therapy I realized how much scar tissue I had on my heel and the pain, though good, reminded me of how much work I still needed to do to help me progress and walk normally again. I was taught exercises and stretches that would push me past my pain levels, and I fear I would potentially reinjure myself. Still I worked at it and my physical therapist reminded me that the pain I was enduring was normal and that it would help me get better faster if I just embraced it.

In a matter of two months my calf muscles had atrophied from lack of use and I needed to begin the process of restoring strength that would only be discovered through the pain of recovery. As I practiced my exercises and pushed my perceived limits of flexibility, I discovered that my limits were self-inflicted and not reality. The more I pushed my muscles the more the resistance of my mental blocks crumbled away. Through gritted teeth and a little bit of sweat, I began to make tremendous strides (pun intended).

Spiritual atrophy

As I continued my physical therapy I was reminded that my spiritual journey is a lot like these appointments. I have often faced spiritual deserts where I have willingly refrained from flexing my spiritual muscles. There have been times when I have become lethargic in my spiritual journey and have spent far less time in prayer and more effort spent in time-wasting activities that contained nothing beneficial to my soul.

Sometimes it is easy to fall into habits that edify nothing but our own inertness. I am not discouraging rest, simply pointing out that there is a stark difference between being overly inactive and resting. Rest provides much needed recharge to those who are actively working for a purpose. Inertness leaves muscles untested and leads to diminished abilities both physically and spiritually.

There are times where atrophy of the heart and soul freezes us in place and creates walls around our perceptions of growth and spiritual purpose. Be mindful of the traps. The father of lies would love to keep us in these spaces of inactivity and atrophy. When we are frozen in place we are no longer a threat to darkness and all the trappings of this world.

Embrace the Pain!

Be willing to have your plans disrupted. Be willing to allow the Holy Spirit to disturb your heart through conviction and revelation. In the spiritual stretching process, may we be able to work out the pain of growth as our wounds are exposed. The Lord seeks to heal, restore and stretch us – the only thing preventing us from expanding our faith is…us. Embrace the pain, the growing pains, the exposed hurts, the vulnerable spaces we have yet to surrender. When we embrace them they can no longer keep us bound by human reasoning and earthly limits. Instead we are exposed to an eternal perspective that will drive us into a deeper faith.

Something more to ponder today.

I admit that I inwardly cringe when politics is mentioned or brought up in social circles. I also admit that I have never watched an entire debate (Presidential or otherwise) because I cannot stand the vitriol, the barbs and the untruths being shared. I find most political campaigns distasteful and many times it turns into an outright smear campaign hell-bent on casting each other in the poor light of public opinion. Most campaigns raise millions of dollars and then spend those funds on nasty political commercials that push the boundaries of defamation of character and blurs the lines of reality as the political spin-doctors create a plethora of false narratives for the public to digest like a fast food meal eaten in haste and without much thought given to the consequences of long-term exposure. (phew, that was a run-on sentence)

Another reason that I cannot stand an election year boils down to how it effects the Body of Christ. I have witnessed numerous political posts on social media that devolved into name calling and petty childish behavior perpetrated by both individuals (sometimes more than two parties participated) who professed to be followers of Christ. To say that it was ugly is an understatement.

This doesn’t mean that I don’t have my own opinions on political matters, but I tend to keep my opinions private. Most of the time I do this because, as already mentioned, even Christ-followers get sucked into divisive political debates that serve no purpose other than to start arguments and dissent among Christians and non-Christians alike. Others start these toxic conversations just to sound superior, or because they like the sound of their own voice in the need to win the argument for the sake of pride and being right. I find such behavior distasteful and, at times, sense that it is doing more harm to the Kingdom and in our ability to share the Good News of Jesus Christ than good.

Living Above Reproach

1 Timothy 3:2-5 New International Version (NIV)

“Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?)“

This passage in 1 Timothy speaks primarily to those wanting to be in church leadership, but it’s not too much of a stretch to expect Christ-followers to also possess “self-control, respectability…” In the ASV version they use the term ‘of Sober-mind’ and I think that fitting when applying wisdom of thought and one who possess emotional intelligence enough to avoid the trappings of social arguments.

When we get drawn into such frivolous and pointless arguments, our emotional intelligence and our Christian integrity diminishes. Thus, there is the need for all of us, who profess to be a Christ-follower, to become masters of our own emotions and possess a wisdom far beyond the wisdom offered in our society today. That is why it is so important for Christians to maintain and expand our walk with the Lord on a daily basis. If we profess Christ with our lips but our actions in public (or on a social media platform) declares the opposite, we will have become useless to the Kingdom. As a matter of fact, we will have become worse than useless – we will have unwittingly become ambassadors of Satan and will help to usher people to hell through our divisive talk and hateful attitudes.

Does that sound too harsh? Good. It should be sobering to all of us.

Kingdom Living = Kingdom Perspectives

Colossians 3:12-14 (NLT)

“Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.“

Romans 12:16-21

“¹⁶ Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. ¹⁷ Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. ¹⁸ If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. ¹⁹ Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. ²⁰ On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” ²¹ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.“

Hebrews 13:14 –

“For this world is not our home; we are looking forward to our everlasting home in heaven.“

I firmly believe that if we claim to be Kingdom people who have been gloriously saved, then we need to starting living that proclamation while refraining from dipping our toes into the waters dissention and brokenness. Kingdom living ought to bring consistency of Christian living, character, hope, love and redemption into a world so devoid of these things. Kingdom wisdom elevates our emotional intelligence to refrain from devolving into pettiness and choices of words that divide and cause pain instead of healing.

I don’t write these words to sound superior or to judge others. I write these words first and foremost for me. It is as a reminder of the calling that I have claimed in my life. If, by chance you feel some kind of conviction or that these words resonate with you, then Praise the Lord! I also acknowledge that these words will fall on deaf ears. And dare I say, there are some who claim Jesus with their lips, but denounce Him in their living. Be aware of the pitfalls, dear friends. Often times, we may think that this could never happen to us, and then we discover such pitfalls are much closer than we originally realized.

So, dear Christ-followers, be of sober mind this Presidential election. Remember first and foremost God’s Kingdom supersedes any human establishments of authority and He will provide, He will tear down, and He alone will be our source of truth and redemption.

-Something more to ponder today.

“Sing and Make Music in Your Heart To The Lord!”

(Ephesians 5:19)

There is something about music that has a way of capturing our emotions that words could never do.
I can still remember as a young child hearing my favorite song being played on the radio. It stirred my heart and I felt joy hearing those powerful refrains in the chorus. Music can evoke a wide range of emotions and, at times, usher us into the very throne room of heaven. Hans Christian Andersen once said, “Where words fail, music speaks.” As a life-long musician I know those words to be especially true.

Before King David became king of Israel, he was a shepherd boy. The role of a shepherd was not a desired role. It was often assigned to the youngest child or hired out to a lowly servant. No one wanted that job and often the one serving in that position would miss important religious feasts and celebrations because they would have been considered ceremonially unclean. Still, David was a shepherd and while he watched the family flocks he composed songs to the Lord. Even in his lowly state, David was content in his role and sought to sing heart-felt melodies to God. David is said to have composed 75 of the 150 Psalms that we now have in our bibles. In Psalm 27 David declares “The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear?“ Later on in the same Psalm he says that despite the difficulties of life and enemies surrounding him, he would continue to “sing and make music in his heart to the Lord.”

Life can often be very difficult. Sometimes we lack resources and at other times it seems as if the whole world is against us. But we, like the Apostle Paul, can declare “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31). Perhaps like David, we can lift our voices and our instruments to the Almighty despite the obstacles and challenges we face in life. We are called as Christians to declare the Good News of Jesus in every corner of the world. But how do we begin such a monumental task? First we pray and seek God with all of our hearts, minds, bodies and souls. Then, as we allow His presence to fill and transform us – we can lift our voices and joyfully praise Him by singing and making music to the Lord Almighty.

Dear musician, as you sing or play every note – allow the love of God to flow through you. If you don’t approach music as a conduit of worship to God, it can become a performance that draws the spectacle on you instead of drawing others to the worship of our Father in Heaven.

Performance Or Worship?
I have played in some worship bands that were very talented. They exuded confidence and could hit every note with precision and masterful grace. Some of these worship ministry teams carefully planned worshipful and meaningful sets that invited others into sacred spaces of praise to God, while other teams selected pieces that they were comfortable with and often times displayed their enormous talent but the songs were performance-driven and were not singable by the congregation.

Be mindful of the trap of performance over worship. Performance can lead to pride and arrogance while worship keeps us centered on the Author of our talent and the notes we sing. Approach worship ministry from a place of humility and honor and keep the discipline of prayer as you select pieces that will lead others into the presence of God.

Something more to ponder today.

“…Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit…” John 20:21-22

What exactly is a “dangerous prayer?” Does it have a fuse and a countdown clock? Will it spontaneously ignite the bed I am currently kneeling next to?

No, dangerous prayers are not like any of that imagery, instead, dangerous prayers have the power to transform our lives and assist us in aligning our motives with the Author of everything – God himself.

What is a Dangerous Prayer?
First, let’s explore our everyday, ordinary prayer. A lot of the time it goes something like this, “Dear Lord, I pray for my day and my job, I also pray for my coworkers. Lord, be with my kids in school and protect all of us as we travel from home to school and work and back again. In Your name, I pray all of these things. -Amen.” Now, don’t get me wrong, these are great prayers to pray. We want to have good days at work and school, and of course, we want our kids to be safe and everyone back under one roof at the end of the day. But is this the only kind of prayer that we pray? Do we actually invite Jesus along with us in our day? Do we converse with Him within each hour of our day?

What would it look like if you were to begin to practice an intimate and ancient type of prayer life as an act of a spiritual discipline of practicing the presence of Christ? I am sure that it would be hard to do at first. We often get busy and distracted during our chores and duties of work and leisure. How drastically would our prayer life change if praying began to become less of a scheduled time beside our bed and a continual conversation with Jesus throughout every moment of the day?

Why is it Dangerous?

There are spaces in our lives that we like to keep separate from our “Spiritual” lives. We can create these divisions intentionally or unintentionally and they separate “daily living” from “church behavior.” Dare I say that it is not that we put on masks to cover up the image of Christ in us, but rather we subconsciously create these divided spaces. Essentially what we are saying when we do this is, “Jesus you can have my life and all that I am when I come to you on Sundays and maybe Wednesdays, but when I’m at work or out on my leisure time I wish to exclude you from these behaviors, thoughts, and practices.”

But what if instead of maintaining these divided spaces, we tore them down and invited Jesus to journey with us during every moment of that day? What if we treated prayer like a continual conversation with an Omniscient and omnipresent God? He already knows me, so why do I fail to include Him in the majority of the hours of my day?

Prayer becomes dangerous when we begin to pray to a friend rather than an all-powerful deity.
Prayer becomes dangerous when we begin to treat prayer like the very breath in our lungs instead of a genie in a bottle doling out wishes and granting us “good days”.

If you feel called out, get in line – so do I.
I feel convicted by this notion.
I feel as if I have attempted to live this life with a drained battery and a reduced amount of power.
Is it no wonder that we often feel defeated and powerless as the world seems to crush our dreams and deprive of us joy? It isn’t because our prayers went unanswered it’s because our conversation with God has been sporadic and devoid of relationship. Relationships require work, and Jesus has done all of the heavy lifting, but at some point, we have to meet Him halfway. There must come a point at which within this relationship we have to mature in our faith and get serious about talking to Him.

From Dangerous Prayer to Living by Faith

I write these words fully recognizing that I have not, nor am I even close to reaching entire sanctification nor full maturity in my faith. Perhaps you are further on that road than I am, or perhaps you are just beginning. Regardless of your mile marker, it is not too late to begin to practice dangerous prayers in your life. It is not too late to tear down the divides that separate “Spiritual life” for “real life”…it’s all “Life”, or it really should be.

How Do I Start?
It might sound overly simplistic, but here’s how you start: First, invite Jesus along for your daily commute to work, then invite Him into your office or workspace and attempt that continual conversation. It will take some serious discipline but do not give up, keep at it. Also, there is one caveat: talk to Jesus, but also listen and do what He says.

For the Road:

This is just a primer to a much deeper pondering on this topic of continual conversations with God that turns ordinary prayer habits into a dangerous prayer relationship. The key is that last word: relationship. God is near. He isn’t some distant God imparting knowledge from afar but rather desires access to our hearts and experiences moment by moment. The real questions isn’t “Will He show up?”, the real question is, “Am I willing to pray dangerous prayers and begin such a life-changing discipline of prayer?”

So, what do you think?
Is this just some fantasy thought or will you take up the challenge?

-Something more to ponder, until next time!

I am still processing the loss of a friend this past week.
If the dictionary had a description of a faithful servant with rough edges it would be my friend Billie.
He didn’t care what position you held or the title you used. He didn’t treat anyone any differently based on social status or education. He never pretended to know everything nor did he wear a mask to hide those rough, street-smart edges.

He was the kind of person I admired.
There weren’t any false pretenses or ulterior motives and you always knew where you stood with him because he never held back on his opinions and suggestions. He had a quick sense of humor and often could give it as much as he could take it.

But do you know what I admired the most about my friend?
It was his ability to care about others. You see, that’s the mark of a good and faithful servant of God. Billie would often go the extra mile for the youth at his corps. He would pull a troubled teen aside and lovingly, yet firmly, tell them the error of their ways. It was never done with the judgment of a pharisee, but rather the love of a person who had gone down some of those same roads in his younger years. He understood the heartache of young people who didn’t have the adult parental role model that they needed at home. He often took it upon himself to call wayward teens who had made poor choices and he often became their voice of reason. He did all of that because he cared.

Billie served right alongside former drunks, drug addicts, the homeless, mentally ill men, and women. He served the marginalized and did it all without any kind of need for recognition. I admired that about him. He was driven by a love that far exceeded his own capacity to love because He knew the Author of love – God.

Long after Shanais and I had left the ministry there in Evansville, where he lived, Billie would still call me and text me to check in. He would often call during the Christmas kettle season, saying something like, “Don’t you miss it?” (meaning the chaos and the craziness of driving around unique bell ringers and all the stories that came with it). Sometimes Billie would call me up to ask for advice about reaching particular young people he felt were drifting from their faith in God. Other times I would receive a text from him after my Chicago Cubs had lost another game or his St Louis Cardinals had gone on a winning streak. I’m going to miss his ribbing and humor. I was thinking about texting him on the same day that I received the sudden news of his passing. I had a whole text message drafted in my mind containing some ribbing of my own as the Cardinals were in a slump – truth be told so were the Cubs, but I didn’t care.

Billie was a good friend to so many people.
He loved deeply, warts and all.
Perhaps someday I’ll be brave enough to love so unabashedly as he did. To call out the “crap” when he saw it, without being embarrassed to “call it like it is.” Sometimes the truth hurts, but people need to hear it from a source of care and love. He had the marks of the “good and faithful” and, despite the fact that I know Billie is with the Lord today, I know his church family (Which went far beyond the walls of any church) is greatly missing him, just as I am.

My heart wants to find some sort of lesson in all of this, but I think Billie’s testimony and life speak for themselves.
“Well done good and faithful servant, you have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master” Matthew 25:21

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” –Galatians 6:9.

Living a cynical and distrustful life can rob us of the joy of serving God and others. Imagine going about our lives day in and day out always questioning the motives of other people. How exhausting that kind of living must be. I cannot imagine always judging others, and living life with a grudge or chip on one’s shoulder.

The Christian life was never only about doing good works. The good works component is the evidence of spiritual fruit from an enriched relationship with God. If the relationship with God is only surface and shallow, the fruit produced (works) will be limited and heavily reliant on a person’s physical strength. When we have a healthy relationship with God we discover that the power to accomplish acts of faith (works) are opportunities to display the power of the Almighty to those around us.

I think Church (and Christians in general) often get faith and works wrong.
Yes, we cannot have one without the other (James 2) but many times we attempt to force the works on empty resources of faith. Without filling the tanks of faith and a daily journey with The Father, our good deeds become devoid of meaning. Don’t get me wrong, good deeds are wonderful gifts to give to others, but the purpose of such extravagance of faith is to enrich the soil of evangelism, fellowship, and the Kingdom of Heaven. When we exclude the most important ingredient we are left with a shallow shell of “what could have been.” That is not to say that the Holy Spirit still can’t use such fruits, in fact, He certainly can and does, but rather we would miss out on the opportunity to become participants in this continued miracle of holy presence and transformation in other people.

Proper Time:

I must mention one last component of “doing good”. It is no secret, but sometimes in our fast-paced lives and instant gratification-driven society, we as Christians might forget that the reaping of harvest and the realization of our hard work and good deeds was never done according to our mortal schedules. Dare I say that we vainly attempt to become God when we force our temporal and fallible timeline and agenda on the production of such spiritual fruits. I think this is where our exhaustion becomes evident: in the doing, we expect to see immediate results and when they do not always come we become salty and cynical and tired of the effort. Is it no wonder, given our limited timeframes and short attention spans that we lose sight of the eternal possibilities and the miracle of divine intervention?

These words were written two thousand years ago to a fledgling group of Christ-followers in house churches. Their efforts were often rewarded with persecution, imprisonment, and death, but still, James encouraged them to not give up. Many of these early apostles, leaders, and teachers died before their good works and the good news could take root and spread throughout the world. Still, they persevered.

May I ask a difficult question?
Ok. Here goes:

Are we doing good works for our own applause? Is it about ego? Are we more concerned about what others (our leaders included) think?

If our answer (even in our own heads) is ‘yes‘ then perhaps we need to realign our relationship with the Almighty before we haphazardly build “good work” monuments to ego and self. The fruit of ego is shallow grounds of faith and will often produce limited and bruising fruit.

“But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” Matthew 6:3-4.

Perhaps this pondering finds you worn out and desperate for rest. Do not keep serving when you are drawing from an empty tank. Go back to the true source of power and provision and be refilled and recharged. Burned-out pastors and exhausted Christ-followers need rest too. It’s okay to find space for yourself from time to time. Even Jesus went away and communed with the Father. Don’t neglect self-care and sabbath days.

Do not become weary in doing good and may you find the restoration and rest you need to persevere in this faith journey at this very time and chapter in your life.

-Something more to ponder today, until next time.