Think About It

I don’t know if the show is as popular these days as it was in years gone by but a lot of us know the story of Pinocchio.  If you aren’t familiar with the tale of the puppet who became a boy, I am sure you can tune into Disney+ account and watch the show.  In all honesty, I have never been a big fan of the show and can’t tell you too many of the details about it, but one character I do know is Jiminy Cricket.  One of the roles that this insect plays in the story is to remind the boy to let his conscience be his guide.  In essence, when the new kid faced a challenge, he could rely on his knowledge of good and evil to guide him.  (And since it was a Disney movie from a while ago, the implication was for Pinocchio to choose good.)   Wouldn’t it be good to have a cricket as our moral leader and guide – someone who could help us know the good we should do and encourage us to do it?  Interestingly, we have something (or Someone) much better than insect....

One of the more common words used in Christianity is “conversion”.   Often times it references the process by which someone enters Christianity or goes through the process of becoming a member of a church.   While this is an appropriate use of the word, I think that this concept can have its greatest impact when we understand that conversion should mean more than a minor adjustment – it is represents the reshaping of a life.   In essence, if you want to learn more about Christian conversion, take a look at the time of the Apostle Paul.   Early on in his life, Saul was committed to Judaism.   He was a Jew’s Jew.   He was deeply embedded in the Hebrew religion.   Not only did he support his like-minded believers, he also opposed – and even oppressed – those who left Judaism to follow Jesus.   Then, one day, on his way to persecute defectors in Damascus he met Jesus and within a matter of days he converted to Christianity.   The one who had arre...

Do you ever get discouraged because you don’t get the results you expected (or hoped) to get?   As a minister, trainer and teacher I face this discouragement on a regular basis.   The problem is that no matter what I do, there is only so much I can do.   Sure, maybe I could work harder or develop better skills; but at the end of the day, I can only control with I can control – and I have to be okay with that.   Interestingly, I believe that there gets to be a point of diminishing results when it comes to effort.   There needs to be a point in time when we believe like we have done all we can do and unless we come to grips with that reality, we will keep pushing ourselves to the point of discouragement – and that can lead to the temptation of giving up.   The other day Jeane sent me a saying, “We control the effort, not the outcome.”.   As I tried to get to the source of this thought, I realized a lot of people are credited with it (including Bryant M...

How does the world look at Christians?  It is easy to become defensive about the perception the world has of us and, while sometimes it is unjustified, there are other times when we bring some of the negativism on ourselves.  Take, for example, their perception of us when it comes to politics.  I get the feeling that some of the American public looks at believers in Jesus as being out of touch … blinded by certain issues … filled with vitriol aimed at those who disagree with them.  While most of us usually have a good handle on our emotions, it is easy to get riled up in political arguments.  The problem with this is that our critics have trouble justifying our message of love when we are intolerant of certain social and political segments.  Now, please do not misunderstand me – I believe there is a difference between right and wrong and we must always stand on the side of what is good and righteous – however, when it comes to the game of politics, we need ...

I recently read about a friend of mine who had passed away.  I call him a friend even though the miles and years had separated us to the point that I read about his death through an online obituary.  Yet, through the years, his underlying influence has inspired me and has been a teaching point in many of my presentations on dealing with crisis.  My background has a connection to emergency services while he came from the mental health world, but together we worked with First Responders who were dealing with difficult situations.  We would travel miles to meet with people who had been a part of something horrific and it was on one of those trips where I learned that when we would finish with one of these interventions, he would have to live with the images presented in the discussions for hours or days later.  I was wired to be able to leave the stories in the room, he carried them with him.  Yet, the thing that impressed me was his willingness to keep going ...

Do you binge?   Most of us have heard of binge-watching (spending hours at a time watching shows, movies or podcasts).   Unfortunately, too many of us have been guilty of binge eating – sitting down with massive amounts of food and just going to town.   I would imagine that there are even a few of us who are binge-exercisers – spending hours lifting, running or cross-training.   Now, you might be surprised that I lumped a notoriously healthy thing (like exercise) in with a couple that aren’t considered good for us.   My point is that there is a part of many of us that can become so focused that we can become obsessive.   Interestingly, this is not always a bad thing.   When Jesus was introducing His new movement He challenged His believers, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” (Matthew 5:6).   When I read this the first thing that comes to mind is someone who sits down with the Bible and becomes...

I know absolutely nothing about a book called, “You Can’t Hide” that was supposedly written by someone named J. D. Bradford.  (I have to be honest with you, I did some research and can’t find the title or the author listed together – but, I digress.)  Anyway, the reason I bring up this obscure book is a quote that I came across the other day.  According to the book review the writer makes the observation, “The greatest prison people live in is the fear of what other people think.”.  Wow, when I read this, it stopped me right in my tracks because I think about how many years I have personally lived with this type of incarceration.  Yes, what people think of me is important to me – often too important to me.  As I have thought about this through the years a couple of realities have become clear.  First, I don’t mind failing as much as I fear letting other people down.  I realize I am not perfect, but I worry people will find out about it and will fe...