In my younger days I was a running back on the football team. As I took the ball from the quarterback I rushed through the hole created by the hog-mollies, first running past the defensive lineman, along the way stiff arming the outside linebacker before outrunning the safety who was chasing me down, finally crossing the goal line for a touchdown, all to the cheers of the home crowd. Now that was as good as it gets.

However, on the next offensive series I took the handoff and quickly came face to face with that same outside linebacker, coming at me faster than an out of control freight train, who drove his helmet through my chest, causing me to fumble the ball, only to see his teammate pick up the loose ball take it to the house for six points. But this time, instead of cheers, that same enthusiastic crowd was quick to express a different kind of noise; their vocal displeasure at my failure to hold onto the football. If I wasn’t on the football field then you could find me on the track, using my speed to try and outrun the other sprinters.

I have a speech impediment and that left a void in my soul, one that I attempted in my youth to fill through athletic accomplishments. However, my football career ended prematurely due to a serious neck injury and several years after that I finally gave up on sprinting due to nagging lower leg issues. I felt like I was “left with nothing.” You might not have played football or run track, but I’m sure you had and have success in whatever you are talented at, and if you are honest, you’ll agree that none of that brings lasting contentment. No amount of fame or fortune can permanently fill what is intended to be filled by God.   

Not only is it fame and fortune, but also more stuff, washboard abs, larger breasts, more friends, the nicest car in the neighborhood, or the latest technology gadget, that we seek after to help us fill the void that is within us. Enjoying life and the trappings that comes along with it is not a bad thing. God wants us to enjoy life. In 1 Timothy 6:17, among other things, we are told that God “richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.” But Scripture also tells us that worldly “stuff” does not bring soul filling satisfaction that lasts a lifetime.

Scripture is filled with verses promising satisfaction to the discontented soul.

“Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty’” (John 6:35).

Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind, for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things (Psalm 107:9).

C.S. Lewis, in his book Mere Christianity gives us this answer to why looking for happiness in places other than God is hopeless. Here is what Lewis says – “The reason it will never succeed is this. God made us: invented us as a man invents an engine. A car is made to run on petrol, and it would not run properly on anything else. Now God designed the human machine to run on Himself. He Himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to burn, or the food our spirits were designed to feed on. There is no other. That is why it is just no good asking God to make us happy in our own way without bothering with religion. God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing.”  

So, enjoy your success and your stuff for what is it intended, but look for and find permanent peace, joy, and happiness only in Jesus. He is your lasting and living water!

Are you looking in the right place?

If you are encouraged by this or any of my writings, you can subscribe to be notified by email when I post something new. To subscribe, click here. Once you put in your email address you will then get an email confirming that you wish to subscribe. Thank you.

Are you a rebel? Do you consider yourself rebellious? Could you have starred alongside James Dean, Sal Mineo, and Natalie Wood in the 1955 melodrama film, “Rebel Without a Cause”? Throughout life we all at times oppose or resist family, friends, authority, tradition, the establishment, and God, yes, even God.  

In the 15th chapter of Luke, Jesus tells a parable of a rebellious son and his loving father’s response. This well-known story (vv. 11-32) is often called the Prodigal Son. The word prodigal can be defined as spending or using resources freely and recklessly. Think of the clothing and jewelry worn by celebs as they walk the red carpet.

The story begins by telling us that a man had two sons and the younger son asked his father for his portion of the father’s estate. By tradition the younger son would get one third upon the father’s death. For some reason the father acquiesced and gave this boy his portion. The story continues with this son going to a distant country and squandering his newfound wealth on wild living – maybe on sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll. We are told he hit rock bottom and soon found himself feeding the pigs; something he never dreamed he could, or would, ever do. Not only was this an unfavorable occupation but according to Jewish law, pigs were “unclean” animals (see Leviticus 11:7).  He spirals down to the point that he is also desiring to eat the pods of the carob tree; the very food that the pigs eat.

Have you ever found yourself in the pig pen?

At some point this young man came to his senses and decided to return home, humbled and broken, damaged and disgraced. When his father saw him in the distance, we read this – “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. (v.20)” In the ancient period in which this story takes place, no well-respected man would be see running in public. The story ends with the son admitting his rebellion and the father throwing a big party for his son.

Every one of us should be able to see ourselves somewhere in this story. If you don’t see yourself in the story, look again. We are told in Scripture that all have sinned and fallen short of what God desires of us (Romans 3:22-23). At some point, to one degree or another, we all rebel against God. We step outside of God’s good and perfect will and do things our way.

While prodigal certainly does mean wasteful, it also means extravagant, lavish, unrestrained use of resources. This parable is about our rebellion against God, but in my opinion, more so, it is about extravagance of our Father when we step back into His will. I believe in this story we see that God is prodigal – extravagant, lavish, unrestrained – in His love, in His patience, in His forgiveness, in His generosity, and in His grace and mercy.

So, today I ask – are you willing to repent and reverse your direction (Acts 3:19), either for the first time or even the umpteenth time, and return “home”? When you do so, God promises that He will be extravagant in all he offers you!

If you are encouraged by this or any of my writings, you can subscribe to be notified by email when I post something new. To subscribe, click here. Once you put in your email address you will then get an email confirming that you wish to subscribe. Thank you.

Have you ever found yourself no longer passionate about something that in the past was what excited you? Has your once raging fire almost totally burned itself out? Think about marriage. A man and a woman get married, they go on a honeymoon, the passion burns strong for a few years, but over time, unless they work hard to keep the spark ignited, the flame soon begins to burn less and less brightly. Maybe today you find yourself simply going through the motions in school or in your job. Or possibly for you, life in general as become mundane

In my football playing days, the season was long and draining. Two hot weeks of preseason camp followed by ten weeks of practice, games and film, and several times, and hopefully a few more weeks of playoff games. By the end of the season, the excitement that was ignited right before the opening kickoff of the season’s first game had been replaced by a mind and body wondering if all the pounding was worth it.

That childhood enthusiasm you once had, maybe these days it is nothing more than a distant memory. Admit it, life is hard, and sometimes we find ourselves simply going through the motions. We get up in the morning, do whatever it is we do during the day, fall into bed exhausted, and tomorrow, the same old same old. There is no time or energy to get passionate. That glow you once had, it has long faded away. I do acknowledge that many life situations, possibly one you are facing right now, make it hard to find joy or passion. You are simply in survival mode.  

After a long week at work, and now that fall weather is here, one of the things Robyn and I love to do is sit by our fire ring under a starlit night. We enjoy roasting sausages and hot dogs, sharing a nice bottle of wine, listening to music, engaging in good conversation, while allowing the heat from the fire to warm us as the temperature drops. With each new log put on the fire its intensity increases, but if we fail to tend to the fire, it will burn out, leaving us sitting in the cold night shivering and staring into the darkness.  

Our relationship with Jesus often follows that same path; the fire that started out burning brightly, if left unattended, soon becomes nothing more than a smoldering pile of ash. When you first become a Christ-follower, you burn red hot, wanting to know and grow in this new relationship. But over time, that passion begins to fade. You still pray, read your Bible, attend church and small groups, and serve the needy, but it has become more about doing all the right stuff, checking all the right boxes, than falling more in love with Jesus and becoming more like Him in the process. You’ve become lukewarm.

The Bible warns against that very thing. In Revelation 3:16, these words are spoken to the church at Laodicea: “So, because you are lukewarm – neither hot nor cold – I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” Contrasted to that, the apostle Paul tells us this, found in Romans 12:11 – “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.”

So, today, if you find yourself lukewarm, or even cold, begin taking steps to re-orient your perspective, and ask God to ignite a new fire in you, not just for the things of life but also in your relationship with Him. And passion also attracts others; it has a way of being contagious.

If you are encouraged by this or any of my writings, you can subscribe to be notified by email when I post something new. To subscribe, click here. Once you put in your email address you will then get an email confirming that you wish to subscribe. Thank you.

Think back to the last time you needed to make a big decision. You most likely put a lot of thought into that decision. You might have made of list of pros and cons to see which column outweighed the other. Or maybe you did some research on the Internet. We never make “big” decisions without first sleeping on it, thus allowing us time to think through what we are deciding on. Or it could be you asked friends or family what their opinion was, hoping they would provide valuable insight. Sometimes we think and re-think and overthink to the point where we have so much information it becomes paralysis by analysis and it becomes difficult to even make any decision.

Regardless of what method you use to make important decisions, the reality is that for most of us, big decisions do not come easily, and they require us to logically think it through. Auguste Rodin’s famous sculpture, “The Thinker,” shows a nude male figure sitting on a rock with his chin resting on one hand as though he is deep in thought, possibly contemplating some big decision.

On the flip side, faith in God requires us to simply trust Him, even when logic might say otherwise. Just let say, I know this one well! Hebrews 11:1 tells us: “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” That runs so contrary to the way most of us make decisions. We want some proof, some evidence, before we finalize our decisions.

I am not saying that sound judgment does not ever have a role in faith. God created us with the ability to think and reason and He expects us to use the gift He has given us. Later on, still in Hebrews chapter 11, verse 19 begins this way: “Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead.” There will be times that we are called to act solely on faith because from our vantage point we do not see the whole picture, as was the case with Abraham. But based upon his life experiences, Abraham knew that God could be trusted. 

We are called to act in faith as Abraham did, and we do it from a place of trust based the knowledge we have of God’s character, based upon His promises found in scripture, and based upon experience of walking with God and seeing Him keep His promises 100% of the time.

So, today, as God calls you to His service, are you stepping out in faith, or do you find yourself with your chin resting in your hand, trying to logically think it through?

If you are encouraged by this or any of my writings, you can subscribe to be notified by email when I post something new. To subscribe, click here. Once you put in your email address you will then get an email confirming that you wish to subscribe. Thank you.

We live in a world full of choices, often choices we can pick and choose from, like from an à la carte menu. Sometimes when we go out to eat, we want to order individual dishes from the menu rather than where a set menu at a fixed price is offered. Those restaurant meals offered at fixed prices are called table d´ hôte, which comes from the French phrase, “the host’s table.”  

Many times, we want to follow God à la carte. We want to pick and choose which of God’s commands we embrace. God has given is free will to choose between good and evil, right and wrong, love and hate, etc. Paul tells us that we have freedom in Christ. In Galatians 5:13 we read this, “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom in indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.” This freedom we have is a liberty (free from restrictions) not a license (permission granted to do something). What I mean by that is our freedom is not a permission granted (since God freely forgives our sins when we repent, Acts 3:19, 1 John 1:9) to indulge our flesh. Galatians 5:19-21 gives us a list of the sinful acts of the flesh.

Today I want to focus not on the acts that our sinful nature is capable of, but rather, I want to look at the fruit that comes by living in the Spirit. This “Fruit of the Spirit” consists of attitude and actions that should be evident in followers of Jesus. The word “fruit” is in the singular form, meaning it is not an à la carte menu to pick and choose from. These varied fruits are like a bunch of grapes that are one cluster as compared to separate pieces of fruit, ones you can pick and choose from. This singular fruit is contrasted against the plural “acts” of the sinful nature. Just what is this fruit? In Galatians 5:22-23 we find, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there in no law (NASB).”

These virtues need no classification, but to help understand them, let me offer three categories. The first three can be viewed as habits of our heart, the second three as social values, and the last three concern how we are to be in ourselves.

Ask God to help you grow His fruit in your life. And begin to picture yourself as the delicious juice squeezed from grapes. Who doesn’t like a glass of juice or wine made from grapes?

If you are encouraged by this or any of my writings, you can subscribe to be notified by email when I post something new. To subscribe, click here. Once you put in your email address you will then get an email confirming that you wish to subscribe. Thank you.

Have you ever been someplace where it was so loud that it was impossible to talk to the person next to you? In fact, after leaving, you say to that person, “It was so loud I couldn’t hear myself think.” Just curious, what does thinking sound like anyway?

Now, picture meeting your college roommate, whom you have not seen in many years, for coffee. You get to the coffee shop early and immediately look for a table in the corner, away from people, near the fireplace. My wife and I do date night every week, usually going out to one of our favorite restaurants. If we can, we look for a table away from the constant flow of people. Does the coffee or the food taste better at those faraway tables? Of course not. But to have quality time with the other person, without too much distraction and background noise, we often need to look for quiet places.  

The same can be said of our conversations with God. While it is true that God can speak to us in noisy rooms, in crowded coffee shops, in busy restaurants, and just about any other place, we often struggle to hear Him due to the endless distractions and interruptions. The problem is not God’s ability to speak, the problem is us being able to listen. Most often, God is not the loudest voice in the room. (Read 1 Kings 19:1:13, pay particular attention to vv.11-13.)

Throughout His life, Jesus withdrew from people, daily life activities, and the demands of his ministry to be alone with the Father and pray. After He heard that John the Baptist had been beheaded, we are told “he withdrew privately by boat to a solitary place” (Matthew 14:13). In Mark 1:35, here is what we read – “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” And on the night before His death, in the quietness of the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus said to His disciples, “Sit here while I go over there (to a quiet place) and pray” (Matthew 26:36).

Even as the crowds grew, and He got busier and busier, Jesus knew he still needed to regularly get away from the noise and the people, simply to be alone with His Father. We find this in Luke 5:15-16 (GNT) – “But the news about Jesus spread all the more widely, and crowds of people came to hear him and be healed from their diseases. But he would go away to lonely places, where he prayed.”

Quiet time is also simply being silent and still in God’s presence, listening, meditating on His Word. We read this in Zechariah 2:13 – “Everyone, be silent! The LORD is present and moving about in his holy place.” Psalm 46:10 begins like this – “Be still, and know that I am God.”

If you want to hear God and allow Him to lead you, guide you, and direct your steps, then it is imperative to carve out time to be alone with Him, without interruption, without distraction.

So, where is your table for two?

If you are encouraged by this or any of my writings, you can subscribe to be notified by email when I post something new. To subscribe, click here. Once you put in your email address you will then get an email confirming that you wish to subscribe. Thank you.