Think About It

Several days ago I was thinking about the events of the past couple weeks and I was struck with a question – why me?   I would imagine this is a pretty common question for people who experience sudden changes in their lives, but this came to me in a bit of a different way – why was I blessed in the way that I was blessed?   The way the events of the past several days unfolded were highly unusual, but the result was more than I could have expected.   Things worked out well – exceedingly well.   As I processed through these thoughts I was led back to something that someone(s) had recently said, “God must not be finished with you, yet.”.   In essence, the events I experience could have been a reminder for me to refocus or an intervention to allow me to continue on a journey designed for me.   (I wish the answer would have been provided to me in bright lights – but for now, I just need to accept that my purpose has been reconfirmed.) Why does God bless us in...

On May 31, 1970 an earthquake struck the area around the Peruvian community of Chimbote.   The earthquake measured 7.9 on the Richter scale and killed over 65,000 people while leaving three-quarters of a million homeless.   The earthquake, which could be felt some 400 miles away in Lima, created landslides and avalanches that devastated entire towns. As I read about this devastation I got to thinking about the influence we have on people.   Just as an earthquake can shake the foundations of the areas around it, our actions can have an impact on our family, friends and community.   The certainty is that we are going to have an influence – the question is will the impact be positive and spiritual or will it be negative and evil?   Most of us have heard the adage – we don’t live in a vacuum – and that saying is also true of the people around us.   Just as they influence us, we influence them. King Solomon used an illustration that I think is particularly ...

I will try not to bore you with all the thoughts and experiences of the last several days, but I did want to mention a couple of things.   First, thank you to everyone who encouraged me and our family during my stay in the hospital.   Your words of kindness and encouragement meant (and continue to mean) a lot to us! Also, as I look back on my surgery, one of the things seems to stand out to me is the peace I felt going into it.   I am sure that a part of my relaxation had to do with how quickly they pumped the drugs into me, but I am mindful of another moment that set the tone.   In my pre-op visit with my surgeon I asked him if he saw anything in my situation that caused him concern – to which he responded that he did over 200 of these surgeries in the past year, he wasn’t worried!   I can’t tell you how relieved I was to hear this.   His history produced a trust for me that made the whole experience much more peaceful. As I thought about this little ...

I was reading John 14 the other day and saw something that I had never really noticed before.   Now, I have to tell you that I have John 14:1-3 on several occasions, including at a lot of funerals, but never really felt comfortable with its continuity.   No, the issue wasn’t with the message Jesus was providing, rather it was in the way it was written in English – it just didn’t “flow” very smoothly.   As I was trying to wrap my mind around the grammar of the verse, I was struck by something even more important.   When Jesus was preparing His disciples for His departure He said, “ In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.” (John 14:2).   As I looked at this verse from a bit of a different perspective I noticed that Jesus was not only promising hope for the future, but also staking His reputation on the truthfulness of His claims.   He was not a dreamer, He was not a ch...

I was visiting with a couple of friends that other day when the discussion turned to dealing with an interesting Old Testament passage.  Proverbs 26:4-5 notes, “Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you will also be like him.  Answer a fool as his folly deserves, that he not be wise in his own eyes.”.  A superficial reading of this passage may prompt us to want to ask Solomon, “What should we do with fools – challenge them or not?”.   Over the last couple of days I have pondered this quote it and it has given me an interesting thought – maybe this issue isn’t the foolishness of the person, rather in how we deal with them.  Yes, we should address folly and foolishness, but we must do it in a proper way.  In essence, we shouldn’t be foolish in addressing fools.  I don’t know about you, but there have been too many occasions when I have allowed myself to get sucked into insignificant discussions about things that weren’t worth my time....

         Last November, Polly Crews passed away at the age of 93 years old.  On the surface there isn’t really much newsworthy in this observation – but, it is what lies beneath the story of the Crews family that is remarkable.  Prior to her death Polly was recognized as the oldest living “Gold Star Mother” in Florida.  If you aren’t familiar with this organization – it has one of the toughest initiations – you become qualified for a Gold Star Mother when you lose a child in battle.  Unfortunately, Polly’s initiation was paid on May 22, 1969 when her son, Robert, was killed in Vietnam.          I have been blessed to know the Crews family most of my life.  They have been special to us throughout the years for a variety of reasons, but there are two that stand out to me:  The first is service.  Bobby’s death In Vietnam was the result of a seed that was planted in the Crews children early in their lives....

As Jesus prepared His new disciples for their work in the world, He reminded them that just being on “Team Jesus” wasn’t going to be enough for them.  In laying the foundation for His people He warned, “ Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.” (Matthew 7:21).  Merely claiming to follow Jesus wasn’t going to cut it – they were going to have to be accountable to His standards.  As we look around at the world today, we can see a tendency for some people who claim to have a relationship with Jesus to preach a message that is not in line with the words of the Master.  They call themselves “Christians”, but their message does not mirror The Christ.  Whether it comes from a malicious intent or unintentional error, we must make sure that we do not follow or propagate their misleading message.  Following Jesus previous warning He went on to note, “ Many w...