When I became elder chairman at Waterbrook Bible Fellowship I had to learn Roberts Rules of Order. Not exactly my fastball but having that protocol in place helped the meetings proceed in an orderly fashion. Recently I have been pondering publishing the “Grace Rules of Order”. Seems a little odd because grace doesn’t depend on legalistically following rules and law but please hear me out. I made a conscious decision a few years ago to focus on communicating the message of grace and identity in Christ. With that I decided to avoid the polarizing path of politics. Some have told me that is cowardly but I can honestly say there is no message more important to me than the liberating freedom of grace. I want to share the joy of living out of what Jesus has already accomplished and what God says is true about me. I feel called to be a messenger of hope and grace. Plus I feel
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I encourage you to turn off the news for a day and concentrate on what you have to be thankful for this holiday. I think you might be surprised at how many good things you take for granted everyday. I love the concept of Thanksgiving. The idea that we collectively take a day to concentrate on the abundant blessings we have in this country. Thanksgiving Song by Mary Chapin Carpenter captures the intimacy of this wonderful holiday. Grateful for each hand we holdGathered round this table.From far and near we travel home,Blessed that we are able. I have so much to be grateful for this Thanksgiving. I am grateful for another year with my wonderful wife Joni. I am grateful for three wonderful sons, three amazing daughter-in-laws, and seven heart stealing grandchildren. I am blessed that our family is able to be together this Thanksgiving. I am grateful for good friends. I am grateful to be an American. Grateful for this sheltered placeWith
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I made a conscious decision a few years ago to focus on communicating the message of grace and identity in Christ. With that I decided to avoid the polarizing path of politics. Some have told me that is cowardly but I can honestly say there is no message more important to me than the liberating freedom of grace. I want to share the joy of living out of what Jesus has already accomplished and what God says is true about me. That I am a saint. A new creation. A beloved child of God. I relate to the mission statement of Paul when he wrote these words. But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God. (Acts 20:24, NLT) I feel called to be a messenger of hope and grace. Plus I feel like
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Real growth in relationships, faith, and maturity usually doesn’t just happen. It is so simple to blame circumstances or others for our mistakes. Rationalizations for wrong behaviors are frighteningly easy. “Officer, I didn’t mean to speed and break the law. I was just going with the flow of traffic.” Think about that. My defense is that everybody else is breaking the law. Therefore, I am innocent. Since the Garden if Eden the automatic answer to sin and shortcomings is that it is someone else’s fault. That may be true at times. But that thinking will never result in becoming like Jesus. So I have to be intentional about confronting my own heart. Change is hard. Sharing my need to change with others is even harder. Several years ago I took the risk to trust three men with everything about me. We call ourselves the Redwood Brothers based on a unique characteristic of California’s redwood trees. A redwood alone in a
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I encourage myself and you to turn off the news this week and concentrate on what we have to be thankful for this holiday. I think you might be surprised at how many good things you take for granted everyday. I love the concept of Thanksgiving. The idea that we collectively take a day to concentrate on the abundant blessings we have in this country. Thanksgiving Song by Mary Chapin Carpenter captures the intimacy of this wonderful holiday. Grateful for each hand we holdGathered round this table.From far and near we travel home,Blessed that we are able. After the pandemic Thanksgiving last year just the simple ability to gather around a table holding hands is a huge blessing. I have so much to be grateful for this Thanksgiving. I am grateful for another year with my wonderful wife Joni. I am grateful for three wonderful sons, now three amazing daughter-in-laws, and six heart stealing grandchildren. I am blessed that our family is able
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Recent news headlines and Old Testament daily readings generated today’s musing. I read the story of the Israelite people turning again and again from the God who had faithfully provided for and protected them. They decided to take control and follow man-made gods and worthless idols. I immediately flexed my judgement muscle and wondered how they could be so foolish? Then a quite voice in my head said “not so fast my child”. Followers of Jesus in this country have been blessed with freedom of worship and expression for decades with very little push back. That is changing and I fear we are reacting a lot like the Israelite people did in the desert. We want to take control. We are prone to take our eyes off of God and put our hope in other places. Nothing that is happening is a surprise to our Sovereign God. His plan for mankind will be accomplished and He is our only reliable
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After listening to a few minutes of depressing news I needed a little soul nourishment. Rich Mullins is one of my go to songwriters for that need. The first song that played was very timely in this season of sadness and uncertainty. “We Are Not As Strong As We Think We Are” shows how our relationships can be fragile in the best of times. Well, it took the hand of God AlmightyTo part the waters of the seaBut it only took one little lieTo separate you and meOh, we are not as strong as we think we are. If only we could acknowledge that we are not as strong as we think we are and then live accordingly I believe we would see an amazing difference. I need God and the community of believers to be spiritually and emotionally healthy. Yet pride tells me that I am able to handle the situation. Fear tells me that revealing the needs of my
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