All my heroes could transform

Growing up in the 80s and 90s provided me with many advantages – and one of the greatest advantages is that we had some of the best cartoons ever made.  With just a handful of TV channels to choose from, weekday afternoons and Saturday mornings were prime-time cartoon viewing as the networks put out their best efforts to captivate an audience.

Here is a short list of my favorites…see how many you recognize:

TigerSharks – A team of humans and aliens had access to the Fish Tank, a device that allowed them to transform from their humanoid forms into super-powered marine animals.  They used their abilities to defend the inhabitants of the planet Water-O from various evil enemies.

ThunderCats – The ThunderCats were cat-like humanoids who escaped their war-ravaged world to start a new life on a new planet.  They fought several groups of power-hungry, evil bad guys by calling on the power of the Eye of Thundera.  The Eye would grant the ThunderCats enhanced strength, speed, skill, or anything else they needed to defeat the evil Mumm-Ra and his minions.

He-man and the Masters of the Universe – Whenever the unassuming Prince Adam would hold the Sword of Power and say, “By the power of Grayskull, I have the power!” – he was transformed into He-Man.  Along with his friends, He-Man defended his planet from the schemes of the evil Skeletor.

Transformers – The Transformers were split into two factions: the noble Autobots and the evil Decepticons.  They crash-landed on earth and continued their eons-long conflict, with the Autobots defending humans and the Decepticons looking to either enslave or wipeout the humans.  Both groups had a robot form and could transform into a vehicle or other objects. 

You might have noticed a running theme in all my favorite cartoons…and while I didn’t make the connection when I was a kid, it is rather obvious now: Every main character was able to transform from their “normal” state into a super-charged version of themselves with enhanced abilities.  Of course, these enhanced abilities were crucial to defeating evil and winning the day. 

I’m sure you can see the same theme in some of your favorite shows, movies, books, and comics.  Us gravitating toward stories of transformation-leading-to-success speaks to our own desire to change and overcome.  But sadly, most of our stories about transformation are external changes – the TigerSharks became aquatic animals, the Transformers changed their outer form, and both the ThunderCats and He-man gained physical abilities.  By and large, the transformation stories we seek to tell about ourselves are also mainly external – we got a new job, we went to the gym, we bought a new car – and while those things are good…there remains a part of us that is unchanged.  It’s the part inside, at our core, we most want to transform…and that isn’t touched by any external changes.

This is our dilemma.  How do we find real, lasting, life-altering change?

Jesus offers us Himself:

John 10:10
I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.

The Greek word for life – zoe – describes a life real and genuine, a life active and vigorous, devoted to God, and blessed, in both this world and the next for those who put their trust in Christ.  Once we believe in Jesus for His gift of this zoe life, we are part of His family and we can begin to experience this life-change here and now, as well as in eternity.

While Jesus’ gift is free to any one (John 3:16, 5:24) and cannot be lost, we can participate in our own transformation and experience into abundant life.  But this transformation doesn’t start with the outside.  Instead, the Apostle Paul said it begins with how we think:

Romans 12:2
Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

Being able to know God’s will sounds like a super-power for living a life that conquers evil.  To get there, we need transformation of our minds.  What are we thinking about?  What are we spending our free time exposing our minds to?  Are we being conformed to this age or are we achieving the transformation we deeply desire?

These are hard questions, but ones worth wrestling over.  Don’t skip this.  Stop right now and ask God to renew your mind. 

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Flashback Favorite: The tunnel-vision trap

The tunnel-vision trap
Originally posted on June 13, 2019

Tunnel vision is almost never a good thing, and it can be an easy trap to fall into if we get wrapped up in the troubles of this world.  Politics, in all nations, is a mess – but we fret and twist and turn and argue about them.  Overall, humans haven’t taken great care of the environment, and we can get sole-focused worried about correcting our influence.  We inflict pain on each other, on a scale that ranges from our nearby neighbors and that reaches other countries – and they do the same back to us.  Watch any news broadcast, and it’s easy to get wrapped up in someone else’s tunnel-visioned issue being presenting at that moment.

Christians are also capable of falling into this tunnel-vision trap.  We can get so wrapped up in church issues, community issues, and even just the day-to-day grind that we forget about the larger picture God is painting.  God’s plan for humans started at Creation and stretches all the way into Eternity Future. 

Thankfully, God left us reminders.  During his letter to the believers in Rome, Paul discussed how our present identity in Christ relates to our Eternity Future:

Romans 8:16-18
The Spirit Himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God’s children, and if children also heirs – heirs of God and coheirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.  For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us.

The troubles of this world and the suffering we all encounter – personal, health, and for being a Christian – can really bog us down.  We can easily become tunnel-visioned on all that is wrong with the world and wonder if any of this “Christian stuff” is worth it.  But when we keep this glory-filled future in mind, our perspective changes and we begin to see the world around us differently.  If fact, Paul also tells us that the creation itself is also looking forward to the revealing of that glory in us:

Romans 8:19-21
For the creation eagerly waits with anticipation for God’s sons to be revealed.  For the creation was subjected to futility – not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it – in the hope that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage to decay into the glorious freedom of God’s children.

When Adam and Eve introduced sin into the world, all of creation was frustrated, muted, and corrupted – and it hasn’t been fixed yet.  At times in nature, we seem to get a glimpse of a deeper beauty, or the potential for something greater…but that notion is fleeting at best.  However, when God brings humans back to the perfection we were created for, the creation will be liberated as well.

Romans 8:22-23
For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together with labor pains until now.  Not only that, but we ourselves who have the Spirit as firstfruits – we also groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.

Both the creation and Christians are yearning for this future renewal.  This longing for newness will be fulfilled.  Until then, it is good to recognize our desire for our eternal home with Christ.  It keeps today’s difficulties in perspective:

Romans 8:18
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Flashback Favorite: I don't know what to read next

Sometimes, we just need a little guidance.

I don't know what to read next

Originally posted on July 15, 2021

One morning, a guy got up early, made coffee, and sat down to read his Bible.  The problem was that he didn’t know where to start.  After a few moments of staring at the unopened book sitting on his kitchen table, he still didn’t know what to do.  So he prayed, “Lord, I don’t know what I’m doing here.  Please give me direction on what I should read and what I should do today.”

Not knowing where to turn, he decided to randomly open to a page and point at a verse.  He hoped God would guide him.  Not wanting to end up in the Old Testament, he veered towards the right side of his Bible.  He landed on Matthew 27:5, Then he went and hanged himself.  “That’s…weird,” he muttered. “God, I’m looking for guidance here…” So he flipped a few pages forward and stopped at Luke 10:37, Then Jesus told him, “Go and do the same.”  Feeling a bit unnerved, he sought safety in the book of John.  Quickly turning there, he stopped at John 13:27, So Jesus told him, “What you’re doing, do quickly.”

I joke, I joke.

Randomly opening our Bibles, hoping God will direct our flipping around so we land on a piece of wisdom is never a good idea.  However, wondering what part of the Bible to read next is a very common concern for Christians who choose to spend time and effort seeking God.  There are lots of blog posts, study guides, and other plans out there.  Which one to choose?

You could treat the Bible like one big book and read it cover to cover.  In fact, many people do that – only to get bogged down in Exodus and then quitting at some chapter in Leviticus.  Read-the-Bible-in-a-year plans also take this approach.  You’ll end up reading 3 or 4 chapters a day, every day.  I have finished a yearly plan like this once.  It certainly had its benefits – knowing exactly how much to read, seeing some familiar New Testament references in Old Testament passages that I don’t routinely read – but you have to be aware of the drawbacks, too.  The challenges with this approach is that you’re mainly reading for information and not life change; also your daily chunk of chapters could easily become an anxiety-driven checkbox for your day.  All in all, I’m glad that I completed a full read of the Bible, because getting a 30,000 ft view of Scripture was great – but I do not have any plans to do it again.

Over the years of reading/studying/teaching the Bible, I have found that the slower approach is better.  Take the text in smaller pieces…think about it, pray about it, and then take what you learn into your daily life.  To help with that, I offer 3 suggestions:

·       Proverbs – Whatever day of month it is, read that chapter of Proverbs.  This is my go-to if I’m not sure what to read next or if I just want to read the Bible while I eat breakfast.  Chapters in Proverbs are easy to drop in anywhere and not lose any context.  Read through each proverb and look for truths you have experienced, perspectives you might not have considered, or situations you can trust God with.  It’s ok to linger on a proverb and just think through it.  Since this blog is posted on the 15th, when I turn to that chapter, I’m immediately challenged with the first verse:

Proverbs 15:1
A gentle answer turns away anger,
but a harsh word stirs up wrath.

 We can easily see the truth in this statement, but let’s dig a little deeper, shall we?  Allow yourself the time to think through questions like:

Why do I immediately recognize this to be true? 
How do I respond to gentle answers? 
How do I respond to harsh words?
Which one am I more likely to give at work? to my spouse? to my kids? to strangers?
Where in my life can God help me to be intentional about giving others a gentle answer?

I’m sure you could follow this train of thought with a few more questions of your own.  Just one verse…and a lot of good applications that can come from it.  These are easily found when you look at the Proverbs chapter that match the day of the month.

·       Psalms – Where the Proverbs are steady, logical life-principles, the Psalms are dripping with emotion and relationship.  The shortest one is just 2 verses (Psalm 117) and the longest is 176 verses (Psalm 119).  There are 150 Psalms, so you could easily read one Psalm per day and have a five month plan laid out for you (maybe spread out Psalm 119 over a few days).  What you’ll find is a lot of raw emotion, especially in David’s psalms.  He wasn’t afraid to tell God exactly how he felt, for better or worse, and in vivid detail.  Don’t get caught up in any graphic details or cultural references you may not understand…instead look for the theme of each psalm and think about why the Israelites would have sung these lines to God.  You might be surprised to find out that ancient people and modern people aren’t all that different in their struggles, concerns, and aspirations.

·       John – The book of John is THE place to start when reading the Bible.  John’s gospel is the only book explicitly written to non-believers to explain who Jesus is, the purpose and result of His mission, and – most importantly – how to obtain eternal life from Him.  The apostle admits that he could have written about any number of scenes in Jesus’ life, but the specific ones that he selected were to convince his readers that Jesus is the Son of God and that by simply believing in Him, anyone can have eternal life.  John gives no additional conditions or requirements.  In this gospel, you’ll find that in order to obtain eternal life, you don’t have to confess all your sins, believe certain facts in a certain order, promise to live better, repent, or make a commitment to follow Jesus – while all those are good things, they are not pre-conditions of eternal salvation.  The only requirement for eternal salvation is that you believe in Jesus for it.  Don’t believe me?  John’s gospel has 21 chapters – read one per day for the next three weeks, and ask God to show you exactly what He requires.

The main thing is that we continually get into our Bibles.  There are too many things that clamor for our attention every day, and this is the book that God has crafted over the centuries in an effort to reveal Himself to us.  Don’t get hung up on what to read next…just take the next step and don’t be afraid to take your time.  It’s more important that you grow in your relationship with God than checking the box on a reading plan each day. 

The focus isn’t on how many times you’ve been though the Bible…instead, how many times has the Bible been through you?

Keep Pressing,
Ken

I've got nothing

When I was a teen, my mom struck a deal with me: She would buy as much junk food as I wanted to eat, but before I had any of it, I had to eat my 5 fruits and veggies for the day.  She had read about a study that said a lot of the hormonal stresses and body changes a teenager experiences can be made worse if their diet was poor.  But then, why offer me junk food?  Because that same study found that the junk food wasn’t necessarily the problem – instead, the lack of nutrients in the junk food was the contributing issue to a teen’s health.  The study found that if the teen was eating proper macro and micro nutrients, then the junk food didn’t really cause much of an issue.  Bonus, too, was that the teen study participants actually ate less junk food after eating good, healthy food.  Essentially, they were so full of the good stuff that sweet stuff wasn’t as appealing to them.

The result of this bargain with my mom still impacts me today.  I don’t have a strong affinity towards candy, ice cream, or soda.  Sure, I’ll have them at times – but I don’t feel the urge to binge on them when they are available.

What I’m realizing now (much later in life, mind you), is that the study’s findings can apply to other appetites, as well.  Especially given the events of my last week…

I’ve been a little distracted lately.  A pastime I enjoy has crept in and taken up even more space in my life.  There’s nothing wrong with hobbies or sports or interests – most, if not all, of them are not morally right or wrong.  We do them to relax from our work, temporarily distract us from issues or stress, or find connection with others.  And for me, that pastime is NFL football…specifically, my favorite team since childhood, the Kansas City Chiefs.

Now, if you’re not into football, hang with me for a minute…there’s an application in this for you, too.  But if you are a fan of any sport, you may recognize what I’m going to describe.  After watching my team open the season with a victory over one of their biggest rivals (winning literally by an inch) last Thursday night, I stayed up even later to listen to all the post-game commentary where people said nice things about my team.  Over the next several days, there were many sources of commentary and interviews to watch.  There are also several YouTube channels we’ve found with extremely talented content creators that were pumping out hilariously entertaining material.  This whole week, I’d listen to something before work, watch a video during lunch, and then my wife and I would have more to watch nearly every evening.  It’s all good stuff (especially nice on my ego since my team won!) and doesn’t really hurt anything…other than being a bit time consuming.

But as I have been thinking about what to write for THE WORD this week, I have been struggling.  I even had a thought I’ve never encountered before – I’ve got nothing.

Nothing to share has really come to mind.  Nothing new I’m learning from God or something He taught me a while ago to write about.  Just kinda…meh.  Tonight, I’m realizing that I’ve happily filled up on junk food, and I have not been consuming what my spirit needs for nourishment.  I’ve prayed less, read the Bible less, and thoughts about doing either have been pushed aside by my steady diet of Chiefs-related content.

Which leaves me with nothing to share.  How can I speak for God, if I’m not talking with Him?  How can I “think God’s thoughts after Him” if I’m not reading about the things He thinks about?  How can I walk in His footsteps if I’m not looking for the path He’s walked ahead of me?

For me, the NFL has crowded out my time with God.  For you, it could be something else entirely.  Are you a “political junkie”?  Or do you binge-read novels?  Or has TikTok taken too much of your time?

How can we expect the Holy Spirit to remind us of what Jesus said, if we’re not reading what Jesus said?  (John 14:26) It’s tough to be reminded of something we haven’t looked at.  And how are we to expect God to meet our needs, if we aren’t seeking first His kingdom? (Matthew 6:33)

I suspect that you, like me, need to eat better.  We need to prioritize feeding ourselves on God’s Word and sustaining our souls by time spent with Him.  The answer isn’t to completely cut out our hobbies…instead we need to use our time to put life’s emphasis where it truly belongs. 

It will be a sacrifice to do so…we won’t get as much junk food as we’ve been binging on lately.  But, once we’re filled with good food, we’ll find that life is better this way.  Paul laid this out clearly to the believers in Rome.  These two verses are often quoted, but that doesn’t dilute the power and wisdom found in their application:

Romans 12:1-2
Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship.  Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

Let’s not miss the opportunity to know and live the perfect will of God because we’re too distracted by our hobbies.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Panic cleaning and God

At some point in our adult lives, we’ve all been there.  Someone is on their way over to your house, and dread sets in as you look around the house and realize that it looks a bit more “lived in” than what you care to show to the world.  The house might not be a disaster, but the level of clutter and unfinished tasks isn’t how you want to welcome someone into your home.  The unexpected drop-bys might be the worst moments for this.  How many times have you been in a conversation and something like this has been said:

·       Oh good, you’re home.  Do you mind if I swing by right now to borrow that thing from you?
·       Hey, just to warn you…a couple of coworkers are going to swing by later tonight.
·       My parents said that they want to stop by on Saturday. (you’re told this on a Friday night)
·       I told my baseball team that they can come over after practice.

And what do we do when we are thrust into these kinds of moments?  In our family, it’s called a “panic clean”.  We frantically run around the house tidying up anything and everything that we can in whatever time we have left before the unexpected guest arrives.  How familiar does this sound:

A quick sweep of the floor (not enough time to mop), if you’re lucky – run the vacuum, definitely get a load of dishes going (and shove some of the dirty ones into the oven), every stack of paper that you’ve been intending to get to is shoved into one stack and taken to a room you’re certain the guest will not go into, and on and on and on.  And, of course, there is the obligatory statement when the guests finally arrive (even if you managed to do a decent clean up job):

Sorry the house is a mess.

However, the “panic clean” is only a surface cleaning; and, at best, it is a coverup of how we actually live.  Running around like that, to either “save face” or make a “good impression”, never really addresses the root issue of how and why we live cluttered, messy lives.

If we’re honest, we tend to treat God the same way.

We think that we have to clean ourselves up before God will accept us.  We tell ourselves that God would never want someone who numbs themselves with alcohol, binge-watches bad reality TV, uses profanity, or has lost track of their body count.  We convince ourselves that we’re unworthy of God’s attention (let alone His love), and that God has better things to do and better people to spend time with than us.

But when we’ve hit our rock-bottom, and we have nowhere else to turn…we start to bargain with God:

I’ll dump all the alcohol down the drain and start going to church again.  God, if you help me here, I’ll stop cussing and saying mean things to my coworkers.

We think that we have to “panic clean” to cover up enough, so that God might listen to us and send a little compassion our way.  We do this because we’ve forgotten what Paul told the believers in Rome:

Romans 5:8
But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

He’s already accounted for your sin – all of it.  What you did in the past, what you’ve already done today, and sins you’ll commit in the future.  For us modern believers, ALL of the sins we’ve committed were in the future when Jesus died on the cross.  He took humanity’s failings upon Himself, so that we can come to Him, without the “panic cleaning” and bartering.  There is no negotiation needed, our sin-penalty has been paid.

Instead of bargaining, Jesus offers this:

Matthew 11:28-30
Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take up My yoke and learn from Me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

He didn’t say “Come to Me, all who are full of energy and have their lives together.”  If you’re weary from trying to pretend that you’ve got it all under control, and if you’re burdened by the fear of someone finding out you’re not as great as you appear – there’s no need to “panic clean”.  Just as you are, Jesus says, “Come to Me.”

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Flashback Favorite - Help! I married my opposite.

Help! I married my opposite.
Originally posted on September 23, 2021  

At one point, I was very interested in personality traits and tendencies.  I read up on different personality assessments and took a number of assessment quizzes.  The results of one particular Myers-Briggs assessment included pairing of your personality type with others, so that you would know what type of person would be your “best friend”, “marriage material”, or “likely competition”.  Curious, I convinced my wife to take the test.

Three of her four traits were opposite mine…and I couldn’t find our pairing in any of their categories.  Not friend, not foe, not hiking buddy, not marriage partner, not even preferred acquaintance.  Finally, after bouncing around multiple pages on their website, I found their one-word description of a relationship between my set of four traits and her set of four traits: novelty.

According to the personality typing, she thinks I’m oddly intriguing.  I see her the same way.  “Opposites attract” – it’s a culturally accepted norm that all of us have plenty of experience with.  We certainly came from different families, and we’ve had our share of differences to work through over the years.  When you boil it all down…she’s an artist and I’m a nerd…and a prime example of our differences is in how we express and receive love. 

If you’re familiar with the Five Love Languages (Gift Giving, Acts of Service, Quality Time, Words of Affirmation, and Physical Touch), you’ll probably empathize with what I’m about to say.  My love language is not the same as my wife’s love language…in fact, hers is probably my lowest ranking choice and mine is probably her lowest ranking choice.

I think I’m quite simple to love…after all, as an Acts of Service lover, just do something for me and I feel loved by you.  A clean home, laundry done, and dinner on the table makes me the happiest person on the planet.  Whereas my wife desires Physical Touch – hand held lovingly, hugs, cuddles, closeness.  Problem is…I’m not a touchy-feely person.  If you initiate a hug, I’ll reciprocate, but don’t expect me to go seeking one out.  On the flip-side, my wife’s clue that dishes are today’s priority is when we’ve run out of cups or skillets.

So we run into the constant problem: if I’m not reaching for her hand, giving hugs, etc. then she’s even less inclined to do something for me.  And if she’s not helping me out, I’m even less inclined to initiate loving contact with her.  It’s a vicious cycle, really.  It doesn’t start spiraling down out of spite or meanness…just the normal everyday busyness pulls us away from actively thinking about how the other person receives love.  When we’re distracted, we default to acting out in the way we want love to look like…I keep busy doing things around the house “for her” and she reaches for my hand “for him”…and those actions are easily misinterpreted. 

So, the question is…Who gives in first?  Who makes the first “loving move”?

When writing to the church in Ephesus, Paul spent the first two-thirds of the letter describing the relationship between Jesus and the church.  This relationship was previously a mystery (Ephesians 3:3-4), there is unity (4:4-6), there is diversity of gifts (4:11-13), and it results in a new way of living (4:17-5:21).  Paul wraps up his main discussion by giving the highest earthly example of the relationship between Jesus and the church – marriage. 

Ephesians 5:21-22, 25
Submitting to one another in the fear of Christ.  Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord…Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her

To answer our question, it would be easy to quote the above verses and say “See!  We both should swallow our pride and selfishness.  We need to think of the other person first.”  And I understand that sentiment.  I see the verses above.  Who should make the first move?  Whichever of us is more mature and humble in the moment.

However…I can’t help but notice two things.

1.       When I read the entire marriage section in Paul’s letter (5:22-33), he talks a lot more about how us men need to love our wives than he does about wives loving their husbands.  Paul places the burden on us to love our wife just as much as we love and care for ourselves.

2.       If I look at the timeline of when the church loved Jesus vs when Jesus loved the church – I find that Jesus loved first.  And if I’m to love my wife just as Christ loved the church…again, Paul is placing the first-step responsibility on me.

Then, I am reminded of other verses like these:

1 John 4:19
We love because He first loved us.

Romans 5:8
But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Jesus loved us before we could do anything to deserve it.  He loved us when we thought ourselves unlovable.  He continues to love us, even when we are unlovely. 

So, fellas…I have to break it to you: we are the ones who should move first and show our wife the love she needs in the way she needs it.  Even if you don’t understand why she likes the kind of love communication that she does.  Get her a little gift, run the vacuum, block out your schedule to do something with her, compliment her, or – as I need to do – take her hand and give her a hug without being asked to.

It’s not wrong if she beats you to the punch and speaks your love language first – just speak hers back.  Opposites do attract, but they stay together only when we’re intentional with how we show our love.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Flashback Favorite: Watching with purpose

It’s far too easy to get distracted.

Watching with purpose
Originally posted on January 31, 2019

Back in the dark ages – before we all had our phones constantly in-hand – I had to pick up my wife and boys from the airport.  The three of them were returning home after visiting her parents for few weeks.  I knew the flight number and expected time of arrival, and so I parked the car and waited in baggage claim.  I was there early and with nothing to do – because nobody stared down at their phones back then – I decided to do some people-watching while I kept an eye out for them.

It doesn’t matter how eclectic your social circles are, when you’re at an airport, you will see all kinds of people you don’t normally run into.  However, one cannot simply “watch people” when they are “people-watching”; there is a certain level of discretion that has to be maintained.  The trick is to observe without others catching you doing what really amounts to some short-term staring.  Locking eyes with an observee can be awkward at the very least, and depending on the person (or their companion), being caught could lead to an uncomfortable scene in a public place.

Between the clothing chosen, the style of walk, and the expression on their faces, each person was making some sort of statement about who they were and what they were about.  There were fashion statements, financial statements, sports statements, political statements, attitude statements – a sweeping variety of stories were being told as I watched them all walk by me.  Some people treat the airport like a catwalk runway, others do their best to go unnoticed.  Some people obviously chose to wear too many clothes, but as this was summertime, many others decidedly wore too few.

As my eyes bounced from person to person and from story to story, I quickly became lost in this time-killing activity.  I hadn’t forgotten why I was at the airport, but watching for my family was no longer my primary task.  After some time, my situation dawned on me.  What would happen if my wife and kids found me and walked up before I even saw them?  Simply missing them because I was watching others would be embarrassing enough, but imagine the kind of reception if they walked up while I was distracted and observing someone who had chosen to wear as little as possible?

With that revelation, I quickly snapped back to the task at hand.  I wasn’t unaware of the other people around me, but my focus was now on what was most important to me.  A short time later, they came down the escalator and toward their baggage carousel.  I was greeted with hugs from my boys and a kiss from my wife – and I was thankful that I had made the right choice before it was too late.

We, as Christians, also have a return to watch for.  Jesus said He will be coming back, and He told many parables alluding to His future return.  However, by our reckoning, it has been many years since He said that, and there are many distractions in this life – fashion, finances, sports, politics, attitudes, and numerous others.  It’s easy to lose focus and start living selfishly. 

So let’s take a look at something Jesus said about His return:

Luke 12:43-46
Blessed is that servant whom the master finds doing his job when he comes.  Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions.  But if that servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ and starts to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and get drunk, that servant’s master will come on a day he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know.  He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unfaithful.

While being afraid of getting “caught in the act” should not be our main motivation to avoid selfish behavior, there are certainly consequences to how we spend our time while we wait for Jesus’ promised return.  There are significant opportunities and honors available for those who continue to do the work God has given them; but there are equally dire punishments for the servants of God who neglect their responsibilities and abuse others.

Notice that the servant never forgot that His master was returning, but doing his job and watching for the master’s return was no longer his primary task.  He convinced himself that his master’s delay would continue, so he selfishly took advantage of those around him.  He probably believed he had plenty of time to clean up his mess before the master came back.  He couldn’t have been more wrong – and there wasn’t a chance for a do-over.

We certainly don’t want to end up like that!  We want to be like a soldier found at his post, faithfully trusting the promise of the one who said He would return.  But with all the distractions we face, how can we keep our focus?  Our best option is to take the Apostle John’s advice:

1 John 2:28
So now, little children, remain in Him so that when He appears we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.

When we intentionally spend time with Jesus, we remain in Him and keep His priorities.  Doing so means we will avoid the embarrassment and shame of the wicked servant.  Instead, Jesus’ return will be a joyful occasion, one where we can be confident that He will approve what we have been doing while we watch for His return.

Keep Pressing,
Ken  

We all want something new

This week is always a weird one.  The world seems to breathe a sigh of relief after the Christmas craziness is done and it won't gear up for the New Years hype for a few more days.  It’s a great time to take a breath, find some rest, and think about bigger questions than we normally have time for, due to the hustle and bustle of our normal rhythms.

Is this life-stage different then you thought it would be? 

That’s a pretty loaded question, isn’t it?  I mean, after all, this is the first time you’ve been the age you are now.  If we’re honest with each other, we’re all just kinda figuring it out as we go along.  So, let’s take a minute and think through this together.

Any time I have thought through where I’m at in life, I am also challenged with thoughts of the things that I would like to be “better” or “newer”.  And I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing – while comparing ourselves to others can lead to jealousy and envy, there is no harm in wanting aspects of our own lives to improve.  When things are better…or better yet…when things are new, there’s opportunity for growth and enjoyment that wasn’t there before.

Living in a fallen world means that everything is tainted by sin and its decaying effects.  The brokenness, the fear, the death…they all are drenched in the feeling of “it’s not supposed to be like this” but we know we can’t fix it either.  The Apostle Paul wrote about this feeling in his letter to the believers in Rome:

Romans 8:22-23
For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together with labor pains until now.  Not only that, but we ourselves who have the Spirit as the firstfruits – we also groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.

We, along with all of creation, long for the day when everything is set right…when the redemption and rescue that only God can bring finally arrives.  Until then, we groan in eager anticipation of that day.

And that day will come.  Jesus promised He would return.  I know it’s been nearly 2,000 years since He made that promise – but time passed doesn’t negate His word to us.  When God gave the Apostle John a glimpse into the future, a vision of what Eternity Future would be, John heard the words that we all long to hear:

Revelation 21:5
Then the One seated on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new.”

Everything.  New.

That sounds so good.

Take advantage of this "different" week.  Do the one thing you've been putting off for so long... take some time and think about where you are in life right now.  What new things can you partner with God to do in 2024, while you look forward to His promised return?

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Flashback Favorite: Misplaced thankfulness

Misplaced thankfulness
Originally posted on November 22, 2018

Today is a day set aside for giving thanks.  It is a wonderful tradition we Americans have carried on for decades (even as Black Friday shopping deals encroach on the day).  Despite all the turmoil going on in the world, we have much to be thankful for.

But I feel the need to issue a warning:

The contents of our thankful sayings will reveal what we hold most dear.  More specifically, which person(s) we hold most dear.  So when grace is said before dinner tonight, or as everyone goes around the table to say what they’re thankful for…listen not just for their words, but listen for their heart.  Above all, we should listen to our own words and consider our motives.

The shift is subtle, but it is so easy for our prayers and thankfulness to become self-centered.  One of Jesus’ parables dealt directly with this:

Luke 18:9
[Jesus] also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and looked down on everyone else:

Now before we ignore this parable because we think that we don’t fit Jesus’ target audience…let’s think back over our prayers for the last week.  Maybe you’ve prayed only once, or once a day, or even multiple times a day, but what has been the content of those prayers?

How do our prayers compare to these two individuals?

Luke 18:10-14
“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.  The Pharisee was standing and praying like this about himself:

‘God, I thank you that I’m not like other people – greedy, unrighteous, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.  I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of everything I get.’

But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even raise his eyes to heaven but kept striking his chest and saying,

‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner!’

I tell you, this one went down to his house justified rather than the other; because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Can you hear the bragging tone of the self-centered Pharisee?  He’s so thankful that he doesn’t do the wrong things and that he always does all the right things.  Certainly, God should be impressed by his actions.  In the Pharisee’s mind, he has earned his place with God by doing everything better than everyone else.

The tax collector doesn’t bother to look at what he has or has not done.  Instead, his focus is entirely on God.  He recognized that God was the foundation of their relationship.  Without God’s participation and mercy, there was no chance for this tax collector – regardless of what good things he does or has.

So let’s avoid being thankful for “things” and “stuff” simply because “things” and “stuff” are enjoyable.  Let’s not be thankful in comparison to other’s situations and life choices.  It’s ok to enjoy blessings and good moments in life; however, the amount of blessings we have is not proof of how close we are with God.

But some evidence of our relationship with God will be heard in our prayers and words of thanks.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

He who dies with the most toys

When I was a kid, a popular bumper sticker read, “He who dies with the most toys wins”.  The thought process behind it was the natural result of the massive corporate growth of the 80’s and the “greed-is-good” mentality many fell into.  After you make all this money, what should you do with it?  Well, a lot of folks started buying “toys”.  Bigger and bigger toys.  Sports cars, trucks, 4-wheelers, boats, jewelry, vacation homes, bigger TVs, the latest electronics…anything that was for their own enjoyment and would also broadcast that they had the wealth to pull it off.  We even had a TV show about the ultra-rich called “Lifestyles of the rich and famous”.

Now, when “He who dies with the most toys” actually dies…his stuff is still here.  And something needs to be done with it.  I’ve never dealt with inheritance situations, but I know several people who have.  Many of them describe the process as rather touchy – there are all the emotions that come with a loss, but there’s also a tension between family members about how to handle the stuff left behind.

This is not a new tension.  In fact, in the middle of a teaching session with His disciples in front of a large crowd, someone interrupted Jesus, asking Him to help sort out a family inheritance issue:

Luke 12:13
Someone from the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

This person wanted Jesus to play the part of the community magistrate and mandate a solution with his brother.  Jesus is a popular teacher and this is in a public forum, so I can understand the reason why he would have asked.  However, Jesus was not interested in stepping into this family dispute:

Luke 12:14-15
“Friend,” He said to him, “who appointed me a judge or arbitrator over you?”  He then told them, “Watch out and be on guard against all greed, because one’s life is not in the abundance of his possessions.

That’s a great lesson the crowd received.  Family drama and individual attitudes can be hard to deal with, but dividing up a parent’s possessions after their death is incredibly stressful.  In their hurt and pain, people often get greedy with their potential ownership of property, and it can show up in a variety of different ways – looking for revenge, controlling another person or situation, or by finding validation through how much stuff they own.  Notice Jesus’ warning was to be on guard against *all* greed.

Since He answered the person’s question, Jesus could have left it there and got back to teaching what He had planned to talk about.  Instead, Jesus continued with a parable story to help them understand just how dangerous greed can be:

Luke 12:16-20
Then He told them a parable:

A rich man’s land was very productive.
He thought to
himself, “What should
I do, since
I don’t have anywhere to store
my crops?

I will do this,”
he said.
“I’ll tear down
my barns and build bigger ones and store all
my grain and
my goods there.  Then
I’ll say to
myself,
‘You have many goods stored up for many years.
Take it easy; eat, drink, and enjoy
yourself.’”

“But God said to him, ‘You fool!  This very night your life is demanded of you.  And the things you have prepared – whose will they be?’

Twelve times, this rich man referred to himself as he thought through what to do with his abundance.  Zero thoughts about other people and any needs he could meet.  Zero thoughts about God and how He expected him to manage the things he possessed.

Then Jesus closes out his teaching on greed with this statement:

Luke 12:21
“That’s how it is with the one who stores up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

Although a person’s greed can be expressed in a variety of ways, all greed comes down to a heart-level problem – selfishness.  Jesus did not say it was wrong for the man to be rich.  Jesus didn’t say that it was wrong for him to make plans on how to handle his abundance.  Where the rich man went wrong was that he saw his abundance as treasure to be stored up for himself.  He wanted that life of ease.  His end game was a life where he could take it easy; eat, drink, and enjoy himself.  But Jesus said the rich man’s plan was severely flawed.

That can sting a little, can’t it?  We make plans for retirement – but what, exactly, are we planning on retiring to?  Some people want to golf all day, every day.  Some want to travel.  Most of us just envision life being easier without having to do this pesky “work thing” each week.  All those thoughts are focused on one person – ourselves.

Since retirement is a ways off for most of us, perhaps we should consider a closer example: We daydream all week about our weekend plans, which almost always revolve around us or, at most, our immediate family.  When was the last time we planned some of “our” weekend time to intentionally help others?  Do we make plans for how to spend “our” money with thoughts of how God would desire us to?

Within a few years of seeing the “He who dies with the most toys wins” bumper sticker, I saw another  bumper sticker in response.  Not to be outdone, many Christians put this on their cars: “He who dies with the most toys still dies”.  The rich man in Jesus’ parable story was not able to fully experience the richness of his abundance…because he was focused on himself.  The point from the story is that we are rich toward God when we are rich toward others.  We don’t know when our time on earth is done, so let’s make sure we’re using our abundance the way God would want us to…and not giving in to all forms of greed as we squabble with our brothers and sisters.  Because one’s life is not in the abundance of his possessions.

Keep Pressing,
Ken