Think About It

Do you ever just get to feeling tired?   I am not talking about the tiredness that comes from doing a day of hard work or staying up late at night with a sick child – I am talking about that emotional exhaustion that comes from overthinking life.   If you are like me, there are times when you are just so emotionally worn-out that all you want to do is crawl into a corner and pray that some sort of peace and quiet will allow you to relax and enjoy life.   The other day I was having one of those days and I was led back to one of the most beloved and best known Scriptures of all time.   In the 23 rd Psalm David wrote, “ The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.” (Psalm 23:1-3).   Wow, what an incredible vision!   The ability to rest while being surrou...

          A while back I came across an editorial attributed to Paul Harvey that started something like, “If I were the devil ...”.   For those of you who might not remember (and for the growing number of you who would have never known) Paul Harvey was a syndicated newsman, philosopher, story-teller and historian.   Paul was known for his ability to blend news and commentary (and pepper in a bit of encouragement along the way).   In his heyday, he may have been one of the most “trusted people” in America.   Considering this background, it is little surprise that any commentary bearing his name would get a lot of attention.   While there is some debate about the original source of this story, it did get me to thinking about what I would do if I was looking to destroy our world.   Now, before I go on, I have to hope that I am a rank amateur when it comes to perpetuating evil, but I do have an idea of one thing th...

         Do we ever feel like we are alone?   There have been times in my life when I may have been surrounded by lots of people, even by people I thought cared about me; but, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was all by myself.   Loneliness is not defined as the absence of human beings – it is the lack of meaningful relationships.   Interestingly, loneliness can be felt by someone even when the people around them feel that things are going well.   Loneliness isn’t necessarily based on “reality” it is an emotion fueled by perception.           One of the great things about the Bible is its theme of the love of God.   No matter what is going on around us – the good, the bad – we can be certain that God cares about us.   Not only does He love us enough to feel a kinship with us, He loves us enough to be involved in our lives and provide whatever we need to feel His security.   Th...

          When Jesus was establishing His church on earth, He reminded His disciples of a danger of human nature.   In the Sermon On The Mount He said, “ Do not judge so that you will not be judged.” (Matthew 7:1).     Through the years this passage has taken a beating when we feel like we are being unnecessarily critiqued, but I am not sure that is the focus of the admonition.   Yes, we need to be making assessments of people’s actions based upon the objective standards of things like law, ethics and Scripture; but when it comes to judging the motives or evaluating superficial elements of people’s lives we need to be very careful because it is natural for people to return kind for kind.   If we demonstrate grace and mercy we can hope that we might benefit from that same standard; but, we can count on harsh criticism to be applied to us when we do it to others.   When we are caustic of others we should expect i...

In one way or another I have been involved in leadership for the last several decades.   I would like to think that I am getting better at it, but sometimes I wonder if I am making much progress.   The other day I sat down and thought about some of the things that I have learned through the years – in particular those things that tend to diminish my ability to lead.   Here are a few things I need to make sure I am doing: 1).   Listening :   Maybe the thing that is most misunderstood about leadership is that effective leaders tell people what they need do.   In all honesty, my best times in leadership have been when I am willing to listen to people.   Sometimes, what people need the most is just someone to listen to them and acknowledge them for where they are and who they are. 2).   Communicating :    Leaders tend to have more trouble when we don’t say anything than when we are transparent.   People are much more willing to giv...

When we envision Jesus, what comes to mind?   Many of us who grew up when Bibles came with zippers (if you are old enough, you will know what that means) are familiar with the image of Jesus as the frail, pale, long-haired figure in one of the artist’s renditions found in the middle of our Bibles.   Others of us might have been influenced by the phrase of the “suffering servant”.   Some might reflect upon the battered and beaten image of the humble Man on the cross.   While there might be merit in these images, I heard a song the other day that brought another image to mind.   The chorus of the song stated, “The Lamb became the Lion and the Lion became the King!”.   I really like that!   All of a sudden, the image of Jesus changes from being helpless to being matchless! Sometimes the Book of Revelation can be a challenge, but there is one thing for certain – Good Wins!   As the Apostle John relates his vision he mentions an interesting occurren...

Are we serious about our Christianity?   Back when people were first called “Christians”, not only did it have a very specific meaning, it also carried with it some potentially serious consequences.   Those who called themselves Christians did so with an understanding that this description might cause them to be castigated by their families or disciplined by their religious or secular communities.   Christianity in today’s world is not as narrowly defined nor does the name carry the same consequences.   In our land of free religion, Christianity has become more of a category than a commitment.   Yet, the truth is that there is a responsibility that comes with the name.   Those who casually accept the moniker of “Christian”, then don’t follow through with the expectations, create some serious issues: 1.   First, they lose their own integrity .   People expect a certain lifestyle from Christians, so when it isn’t followed, their reputation is tai...