Think About It

Do you really believe that God loves you? I think if we asked the intellectual question, most people would say, “Yeah, I think God loves me.”; but do we believe deep down in our souls that He really loves us? Again, I hope the answer is “yes”, but sometimes I wonder if our doubts get in the way. We start from the premise that we believe in God’s overarching love, but then we apply our human worries to the equation. How could Someone so great love someone so sinful? How can God – who sees all – forgive me of something that embarrasses me to the point that I do everything I can do to hide it from others? While it is easy to be derailed by guilt and doubts, let’s keep in mind that the failure is in our understanding of the depth of God’s love, not the limitations of His affection for us. The Bible is filled with reminders of how much God loves us, but one of the most descriptive is, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us...

I never really knew much about Aeneas Williams – but a recent show about him made me wish I had paid more attention to him.. Williams may be one of the lesser known members of the NFL Hall of Fame, but he is moving up on my list of players I respect. Again, about all I know about him comes from what the people at NFL Films showed me, but I was intrigued by what I saw. I was especially captivated by one of his signature quotes, “Begin with the end in mind and die empty.” Interestingly, I don’t think he was talking about a financial philosophy. He wasn’t advocating that the “haves” should go out and spend all their wealth on themselves. Rather, his point seems to be to exhaust all the opportunities and talents we have before we leave this earth. We all know that we can’t take our stuff with us to the grave and the same should be said about the blessings and talents we have. No good advice, no words of wisdom, no acts of kindness can be willed to the next generation, so we might a...

I had never heard the term, “Mr. Irrelevant” applied to an NFL player until this year. Mr. Irrelevant is the name given to the final player taken in the NFL draft. Most “Irrelevants” just fade off into the bone pile of wishful NFLers, but this year something happened – that something is named Brock Purdy. Purdy, the Iowa State Cyclone quarterback, was drafted last in 2022, but come on to become the starting quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers and has led them into the NFC Championship Game. We won’t know what the future holds for the 2022 Mr. Irrelevant, but for this week, he is making the most of his opportunity. It is always fun to shine at a particular endeavor and it is even nicer to regarded near the top of the class but that doesn’t always pan out. What matters isn’t what you have achieved as much as what you will do with the opportunity you are given. It is fun to look at the awards of recognition we have amassed, but the idea of “what have you done lately” keeps us sh...

As I drove to work recently I noticed the flags at half-staff. Unfortunately, this is becoming way too common in our nation. This occasion was prompted by the murders in Monterey Park, California. While I appreciate the nation mourning the loss of life, I believe we are missing an important aspect of change. You see, things won’t become more civil just by demonstrating national grief. Things will not improve merely by saying “our thoughts and prayers are with you”. What we need is for us – you and me … and everyone else in this nation – to go back to the basics of civility. Collective mourning and praying for each other is noble, but the most important thing that will turn the tide is one of the simplest answers we can find and something most of us already know. It was spoken several centuries ago when Jesus said simply, “In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 7:12). We can have all kinds ...

The older I get, the less I know – especially when it comes to new and cutting edge stuff. Not only are they creating new concepts, I feel like I am more and more out of the loop. I was recently introduced to an interesting concept, “Virtue Signaling”. If you are as much in the dark as I was, let me see if I can enlighten you, too. Virtue signaling is defined as “the public expression of opinions or sentiments intended to demonstrate one’s good character or social conscience or moral correctness of one’s person on a particular issue”. From a surface perspective, this phrase seems to have a functional aspect, but the more I think about it, the more I realize applying this tag to someone’s character might not always be used as a compliment. Interestingly, the introduction of this concept came during a Bible Class that dealt with the parable often referred to as the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. As a part of the story, Jesus stated, ”The Pharisee stood and was praying this to hi...

My heart surgery was about three and a half years ago. Other than taking a handful of pills each day and visiting my cardiologist periodically I feel good – I feel normal – except when I look in the mirror. Each day I look into a full length mirror I see a “zipper scar” where they opened my chest to fix my heart. I must admit that after three years I don’t always see it, but when I do, it takes me back to a time and place that probably saved my life. It’s a good reminder for me. Some people may wonder why we take communion every Sunday. I know there are some churches that don’t, but we do. To me, the idea of remembrance is why we do it. It is natural to get busy with life and so concerned with our affairs that the sacrifice of Jesus gets set on the back burner – it shouldn’t, but it does. By observing the communion weekly, we are focused back on the scars and sacrifice that Jesus made and what it means to us each day. Not only does it remind us of where we have been, it also p...

Are we optimists or pessimists? (No, I will not allow you to substitute “realist” for “pessimist”.) Do we tend to look forward to what is possible or do we live in fear of the dangers and failures the future holds? I used to think of myself as an optimist, but if I were completely honest with myself I am probably leaning more towards the other end of the scale. Interestingly, neither optimism nor pessimism has anything to do with reality or fact. Since, by definition, they deal with something that hasn’t happened, they are based on perception so we get to choose how we will look at life. It’s not about “facts”, it is a manifestation of “faith”. There are a lot of elements that factor into our default perspective – including personality and past experiences – but in the end we get to decide our general attitude. So, if we get to choose optimism or pessimism, why should we choose to be negative? Wouldn’t it be more fun and more exciting to perceive the glass as half full? Imagi...