Month: July 2010

Finally all is well at the world headquarters of the humble ramblings. The tens of readers are receiving sporadic joy and occasional wisdom delivered to their cyber mailbox once again. The server meltdown that deleted several articles (everyone is a critic) and shut us down for a few weeks is fixed. The new design is more friendly and I hope you will enjoy it more. So everything is back to normal except me.

Allow me to prove that. I get a frightening amount of spiritual fodder from the offbeat comic strip “Pearls Before Swine”. The title is taken from this admonition from Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew. The exact phrase is found in the King James Version.

Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you. (Matthew 7:6, KJV)

And if you have ever been rended you know that is not fun. The inspiration for the comic strip title comes from the cynical character Rat who believes he is smarter than everyone else. So he gets frustrated when he casts his “pearls” of wisdom before the not so smart character Pig. A recent strip featured Rat correcting the noble and thoughtful character Goat. Goat notes that “he likes a particular politician and he seems like a normal guy”. Rat quickly corrects him and notes that there are no normal people. He tells his friend to read his “Rat Maxim No. 9” which states:

There are only two kinds of people. Abnormal people and people you don’t yet know well enough.

I laughed and thought of my friend Bruce McNicol. He is a man who is very much full of grace and love yet he says a very similar thing.

“There are no together people. Just people with whiter teeth.”

His point is that we all tend to put up “appearances” that make us look better to a watching world. But we really don’t have it together. Sadly, there are few places that this performance dance is truer than in the church. That is the point that my friend Bruce and his merry men and women at Truefaced try to communicate to tired and frustrated churchgoers. No one has their act together. All of us need to trust God and others with what is true about us. We need to drop the masks and let trusted others know that we need them. There is no shame in needing community to get through this journey. We all do. If you have somehow missed my plea to read either Truefaced (read chapter one here) or Bo’s Cafe (the novel based on those truths) then I will ask you again. If you are sick and tired of being sick and tired in your faith then these books are for you. Read them. Don’t make me turn and rend you.

The following statement will make the leaders at Truefaced very proud. Bruce McNicol and the comic strip character Rat are exactly right. We are all abnormal (sinners) and none of us have it together in our own power. The part that Bruce gets a little better is the grace and redemption of Jesus. Bruce is also much better looking.

Jesus excoriated the “religious” hypocrites who were all about appearance and self-efforting righteousness.

“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and self-indulgence! You blind Pharisee! First wash the inside of the cup and the dish, and then the outside will become clean, too.”  (Matthew 23, NLT)

The anger of Christ was not that the inside was filthy but that they refused to acknowledge that truth while putting on a self-righteous display of piety. Here is what I am figuring out. I can’t clean the inside alone. I need to trust others to help me shine light in dark areas.

For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light! For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true.  (Ephesians 5, NLT)

I need to allow the Holy Spirit into every room. I need a community to encourage and walk with me. I need other believers in my life.

So here is my reality. I am abnormal. I don’t have it together. I am prone to go into hiddenness and shame. But I have Jesus. I have some really good friends who love me in spite of all of the junk that is true about me. And I have never been more alive and free as I live out my journey in grace.

(This week’s edition of the iPod Devotional from theFish.com)

I was driving along listening to the radio when a Billy Joel song came on. And my oddly functioning mind somehow conjured up Jesus picking the song and participating in karaoke at one of the many weddings that He attended. Perhaps He would have if only to further annoy the Pharisees. But past the weirdness of my thought process are a couple of things to ponder in the lyrics of the song “Just The Way You Are”.

Don’t go changing, to try and please me,
You never let me down before,

My personal belief is that one of the biggest and most damaging mistakes that the church makes with new believers is not teaching clearly and continually what happens when you put your faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. It seems that we too often get young Christians immediately into studies and activities.  We subtly (or in my own experience, not so subtly) program them to believe that growth is about doing more right things. That righteousness somehow requires busyness for Jesus. We imply that change can only happen when you are trying hard and being disciplined for God. The truth is that a complete change has already happened when you make that faith commitment to follow Jesus. Let’s just hit the highlights. Scripture tells you that you now have a new identity. You are literally a new creation. You have imputed righteousness of Christ. That is a nice theological term that simply means that God sees you as righteous because of your relationship with Jesus. That’s it. Nothing you have done or ever will do earns that righteousness. It is a gift of grace.

You are changed completely when you trust Christ. And I guess that is why I could imagine Jesus picking up the mike at the Cana Country Club and softly singing the words “don’t go changing to try and please me”.  I see Jesus putting His arm around me and explaining that I have been changed. I see Him telling me that my sins are completely forgiven. I see Him explaining to me that all of those things that used to be true about me are no longer true. That no matter what the Accuser might say those things are dead and buried at the Cross. I see Jesus telling me that I have a Comforter and source of strength. That I don’t have to grit my teeth and try harder to win favor and please Him. That sin does not have power over me anymore.  That if I trust Him and let God love me I will please Him. My faith and trust is what pleases Him according to God’s Word.

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.  (Hebrews 11:6, NIV)

I see Jesus reminding me to simply live out of those truths and He can use me in amazing ways that He has already plotted from the beginning of time. Then He reminds me of the truth of the next lyric.

I would not leave you, in times of trouble,
We never could have come this far,
I took the good times, I’ll take the bad times,
I’ll take you just the way you are.

I am generally pretty good about remembering that God will not leave me in times of trouble. But I still have to stop and remember that Jesus will take me “just the way I am” no matter what that “way” is. I have to remind myself that I don’t have to be hidden or defensive or weird. He loves me. Just the way I am. And I love the spiritual tie-in of the next lyric.

I don’t want clever, conversation,
I never want to work that hard,
I just want someone, that I can talk to,
I want you just the way you are.

We just try too hard don’t we? We come to Jesus with awkward formalities and attempts to sound righteous in our contrition. And Jesus is simply saying “talk to Me”! Let Me love you. Live out of what is true about you. You are forgiven. Righteous. Changed. Free. A new person. Believe it. Believe in Me.

What will it take till you believe in me,
The way that I believe in you?

I am beginning to see why Jesus picked this one for karaoke night. And the final lyric really confirms the choice.

I said I love you, and that’s forever,
And this I promise from the heart,
I couldn’t love you, any better,
I love you just the way you are.

So maybe my weird brain fantasy is a little silly. But I love the imagery. Of Jesus softly singing to me and a few saints in the room. I love you forever. That’s a promise. Nothing you can do can make me love you any better. I love you just the way you are.

(The latest iPod Devotional from theFish.com. A new one is available each Monday at theFish.com)

It is summer in Texas and that means one thing. It is hot. In fact, it is so hot that…

…farmers are feeding their chickens crushed ice to keep them from laying hard-boiled eggs.

…you learn the hard way that a seat belt makes a pretty good branding iron.

…you discover that in July, it takes only 1 finger to drive your car.

…hot water now comes out of both taps.

All of those are true because someone’s uncle checked them on Snopes. Really. Some guy told my friend that and somebody else said he was trustworthy. So forward those “facts” to everyone.

When summer hits it is always nice to be able to retreat from the heat. This summer’s escape was to Southern California to take a little sea cruise and hang out with some dear friends. And while I acknowledge that it was refreshing to drop thirty degrees from the Texas temp it was more refreshing to be with friends who are grace-misters. Yep, our friends Ed and Judy Underwood are like those giant misters you see at ballgames and amusement parks except they spray out acceptance, love and grace.

The time with them brought back memories of a song from Big Daddy Weave. The song is titled Fields of Grace and I love the imagery of the lyrics.

There’s a place that I love to run and play
There’s a place that I sing new songs of praise

Dancin’ with my Father God in fields of grace

Being with fellow believers who love you as you are and not for what they want you to be feels like running in a field of grace. Telling trusted friends everything that is true about you and being loved even more is running in a field of grace. Sharing impossible dreams without fear of ridicule is running in a field of grace. Feeling the freedom to be exactly who you are all of the time is running in a field of grace.

There’s a place where religion finally dies
There’s a place that I lose my selfish pride

Maybe that is why the time with our friends is so special. It is about Jesus and not about agenda. It is about relationship and not about religion. It is about giving and not about getting. It is about community and not about control. Those are the things that make you want to dance and run through the fields of grace.

I love my Father, my Father loves me
I dance for my Father, my Father sings over me

And nothing can take that away from me

I am sure I will soon crash from this spiritual high. I know that life and broken washing machines (currently waiting for the repair guy) and other mundane hassles will try to steal my joy. But I hope I remember the joy of running through the fields of grace with our friends. The Message puts a little different twist on the familiar words of Jesus from the tenth chapter of John.

My sheep recognize my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them real and eternal life. They are protected from the Destroyer for good. No one can steal them from out of my hand. The Father who put them under my care is so much greater than the Destroyer and Thief. No one could ever get them away from him.  (John 10, The Message)

So that is my focus this day. Life happens but I know this to be true. I love my Father, my Father loves me. No one can take that away from me because it is promised in God’s Word. And even in this Texas heat I can worship and run through fields of grace. Even after someone e-mails to tell me sternly that those statements above are not confirmed on Snopes.com.

Digging through some photos reminded me of a wonderful trip to Captiva Island a couple of years ago.

As I remembered the week in paradise one memory kept coming to mind. We were blessed to be on the beach when a couple of folks pulled up to a marked sea turtle nest one morning. To our surprise they began to dig into the nest. Having an inquiring mind I asked what they were doing. I learned that the eggs in this nest had hatched seventy-two hours earlier. These dedicated volunteers had marked the nest over fifty days earlier and monitored the site every day since then. Every single day! Volunteers watch over hundreds of sea turtle nests each season. When the eggs hatch the men and women dig up the nest, count the hatched eggs and also the eggs that did not hatch. An average nest contains about 120 eggs.

But what happened next amazed and inspired me. While digging deep in the nest the volunteer pulled up a struggling but very alive baby turtle. Moments later another turtle with legs flailing was brought to the surface after being buried in two feet of sand just moments earlier.

Our new friend Sam explained how this happens.

“When the eggs hatch the baby turtles climb on top of the other eggs and each other to reach the beach. These little guys missed the ‘elevator’ to the surface.”

I was amazed that they could breath for three days underground.

“They found pockets of air among the shells that kept them alive. Now we will keep them safe until tonight and then we will release them into the sea. About one of one thousand will make it to adulthood. And if they do make it they will use a natural GPS to return from the sea to this spot to lay eggs.”

In an earlier blog I wrote that I often find sacred moments in unlikely places. This was one of those moments. Later I thought about the miracle of those two little turtles surviving despite very unlikely odds.

I thought about how it related to the message I tried (so far nearly anonymously) to communicate in my second book, “Bring’em Back Alive”.

That every believer is a precious part of Christ’s body. When even one is missing, the church lacks power and is less than whole. Whether we’re victims, perpetrators, or innocent bystanders we’re called by God to seek restoration. And when one of God’s sheep goes missing we have no choice: We are called to Bring ’Em Back Alive.

That message was demonstrated admirably by the sea turtle rescuers. Part of the survival of the turtles was related to their created will to live. But for those two baby sea turtles that we witnessed survival was entirely because two people cared enough to volunteer their time to pursue them. They cared enough to dig deep into the sand with no assurance of success. They cared enough to care for the babies and then give up more of their time to return to the sea that night to release the turtles to their destiny. And I suddenly felt saddened. Sad that really cool people like Sam will do that for baby turtles and that so many followers of Jesus can’t or won’t find the time to do that for fellow believers buried deep in the hole of despair and woundedness.

I was awed by the amazing drama of nature. Touched by the goodness of many people on this earth. And challenged by the thought that someone may be gasping for spiritual air today just waiting for me to care enough to dig a bit into their story and heart to help them survive.

Someday I will enjoy paradise that will make Captiva look shabby (what a thought!). But in the meantime I pray I will have a tender spirit that will seek, rescue and restore God’s wounded lambs with the same commitment that Sam and countless others rescue those plucky baby turtles.

Welcome to my website! We have a new look but the same commitment to you…

“Bringing sporadic joy and intermittent wisdom to tens of readers several times a week.”

Grace and peace to you, Dave

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Since millions and millions of Americans have not bought my books I continue to make my living as a television sports director. My main gig is directing the Texas Ranger’s baseball telecasts. This has been a fun year for Ranger fans and one of the biggest treats so far has been watching the amazing hitting talent of outfielder/DH Vladimir Guerrero.

As I have marveled at Guerrero’s talent I thought back to some comments by Texas hitting coach Clint Hurdle. Clint talked to our announcers during a recent telecast and commented on some of his players. He talked about some things that he was doing with different hitters. But when the talk turned to Vlad Guerrero he chuckled and said something very simple.

“Vlad was struggling a bit in the spring so we sat down and looked at some video of him when things were going well. That’s all it took.”

I keep thinking about that process. Reviewing how things looked when things were going good got the talented Guerrero back on track. And I wondered why I don’t more readily adopt that strategy for my spiritual slumps? When I am going through a tough stretch I tend to try harder and worry more. I tend to concentrate on the giant and not the One who can defeat the giant. Maybe I should remember to sit down and cue up the memory videos of how my relationship with Jesus looked when things were going well. I know I would see a few consistent things when I recall times when I was living in joy and freedom.

I would see that I was resting and trusting completely in Christ and not in myself during those good times. I would note that I lived out of my new identity in Christ each day. I would recall that I served out of gratitude and joy as I lavished in His grace. I would realize that I did not live in hiddenness and shame because I believed there is no condemnation in Christ.

If I cued the memories back to the beginning of my journey with Jesus I would remember how absolutely and completely awed I was by God’s love. I would remember how I felt like the weight of the world had been lifted off my shoulders. I would remember how grateful I was for unmerited grace.

I could even cue the memories back to past difficult seasons and remember how God was faithful to give me grace, peace, wisdom and strength for each moment of the trial. And I would remember how I got through that time that I thought I could not get through. I might remember how I had grown during the trial and God had redeemed those struggles in my life and the lives of others.

King David certainly had his moments when he was deep in the valley of despair. Yet he still penned wonderful psalms of praise to remind himself of God’s love and mercy. Here is a fresh look at a familiar passage from Psalm 145.

God is all mercy and grace—
      not quick to anger, is rich in love. 

God is good to one and all;
      everything he does is suffused with grace. (The Message)

It is a good exercise. Remember what your relationship with God looked like when you were on the mountain top. It may be all it takes to get back on track.