Category Archives: God

12.22.16
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“Finishing is better than starting”

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In between my sophomore and junior years of high school I quit playing soccer so I could focus exclusively on becoming a better wrestler.  I decided it is better to be great at one thing than to be average at two, so I threw all my energies into wrestling training that summer, and it really paid off.

As the first big tournament of the season approached in the winter of that year, I was confident I was going to make a splash despite entering the tournament unranked and generally unknown.  I knew how much hard work I had put in leading up to that season, and I was ready to roll.

I won my first match easily, if I remember correctly, but in my second match the tournament organizers paired me up with the number one seed, the guy who was supposed to become the tournament champion.  I was nervous, but I knew I was going to put up a fight.

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Photo credit: washer_dreier on Flickr (No, that’s not me in the picture.  It’s just a generic wrestling photo for flavor.)

I went out on the mat, faced off with my opponent, and boom!  He started kicking my butt all over the place.

By the end of the second period I was losing by a score of 8-1, and when I went over to get advice from my coaches between periods I don’t think they had much to say.  The kid was just too good.

The third and final period started out much like the other two, with my opponent grinding my face into the mat.  All seemed lost, until for a split second I looked up and saw that he had made a mistake.  He had put himself in a bad position to where I could put him on his back, and a moment later I had him pinned — I won!  Despite the fact that he had gotten off to such a great start, he made a big mistake and failed to finish well.

Recently God has been teaching me a lesson from Ecclesiastes 7:8, which says,

“Finishing is better than starting.  Patience is better than pride.”

Starting off strong is great, and important.  The momentum from a strong start to anything can carry us far.  But so many people don’t finish well because they aren’t patient enough to see their work through!

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Photo credit: Jeff Weese on Flickr

Christmas is coming up in just a few days, and Christmas is all about fast starts and big-time beginnings.  It’s about the beginning of Jesus’ life here on earth, and the beginning of our greatest hope.  It’s truly a spectacular story, filled with prophecies, miracles, angels, and grown men and women praising God for the newborn Savior of the world.

But if the only spectacular thing about Jesus’ life was his birth, we’d all still be screwed.  He was welcomed into the world with great anticipation, yet the real success of his story is that he stayed faithful to God and to his mission all the way through the cross, where he died for the sins of the whole world.

If Jesus doesn’t stay sinless, if he doesn’t make it to the cross, we have no hope for eternity.  Because of sin we are all born into a place of spiritual disadvantage, but thank God for Jesus whose death opened the door for our victory!  He didn’t just have a spectacular beginning.  He finished well too.

Don’t give up.  Even if you feel like you’re down 8-1 in the final period of your life, Christ has opened an opportunity for you to be victorious.  No matter how you started, I encourage you to finish strong, because “Finishing is better than starting.  Patience is better than pride.”

12.09.16
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Five awesome quotes from Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol”

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If you’ve never had the opportunity to read Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, I want to encourage you to do so this Christmas season.  We’ve all seen this story in one form or another on TV (my favorite version features the Muppets), but there are corners of the heart books seems to touch that films simply cannot.

Here are my five favorite quotes from the book:

1.

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That last part really hits me in the gut.  It’s both sad and encouraging.  We’re all “fellow-passengers to the grave,” so why show favoritism toward one person over another?

2.

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One of the things I’ve been really learning from the Bible lately is that it is better to be content with what you have than to constantly want something else.  I mean, if you’re happy with what you have, why spend so much time and energy struggling after something you don’t need, something that won’t bring you satisfaction?

3.

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This one’s all about personal accountability.  We can choose what we want our lives to be, and what our lives consist of in this life will ultimately impact what our lives are like in the next.  We’re either building chains for ourselves, or breaking them through the power of Christ.  Which are you doing?

4.

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I love this thought!  As long as we have breath in our lungs, it’s not too late to change.  It’s not too late to become a better parent.  It’s not too late to change how we treat our spouses.  It’s not too late to put your faith in Jesus.  It’s not too late, and though you may have built up many chains for yourself, if you change course and turn to Christ you can leave all of those chains behind, forever!

5.

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This is an attitude I aspire to have.  Who cares if people laugh at you for doing good?  Who cares if people mock you for turning down a better path?  Do what is right, what is best, and let men chatter while you live at peace.

12.05.16
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A new (and better) way to work

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It’s pretty audacious for me to proclaim I know of “a new way to work,” especially since Solomon, the wisest man to ever live, teaches us that “History merely repeats itself.  It has all been done before.  Nothing under the sun is truly new” (Ecclesiastes 1:9).

Yet just because something isn’t new to the world doesn’t mean it isn’t new to us.  I like to go shopping at a second-hand store located just outside a wealthy community.  Why?  Because it gives me a chance to glean gently used, high-quality clothing for a fraction of the original cost, and that which was deemed “old” by its original owner suddenly becomes “new” in my possession.

The same is true of wisdom.  The most valuable insights are of ancient origins, yet when applied to our condition they become fresh again in our lives.

How does this apply to work?  Well, let’s look to the wisdom of Solomon once again.  Ecclesiastes is a book he wrote about his search for meaning on this earth.  Early in the book, Solomon details how he “had everything a man could desire” (2:8), and how he had become greater than all his predecessors, yet at the end of it all he was still disappointed.

In Ecclesiastes 2:9-11, Solomon writes:

So I became greater than all who had lived in Jerusalem before me, and my wisdom never failed me. Anything I wanted, I would take. I denied myself no pleasure. I even found great pleasure in hard work, a reward for all my labors. But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless—like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere.

How tragic!  To spend so much precious time and energy, only to look back disappointed at the meaninglessness of the your work!

But later in the chapter (verses 24-25) Solomon the Wise comes to an interesting conclusion.  He states:

So I decided there is nothing better than to enjoy food and drink and to find satisfaction in work. Then I realized that these pleasures are from the hand of God. For who can eat or enjoy anything apart from him?

Here’s what I’d like to draw out of this text: he says it is from the hand of God that we enjoy our work, not the product of our work.  It is a blessing to find pleasure while working, not just in our off time after our money has been earned.

In other words, it is a blessing to enjoy the process, not just the product, of your work.

As a writer, sometimes I just want my work to be finished.  My projects are becoming longer and longer, because I used to almost exclusively write articles and now I’m writing books.  But God has blessed me to do something that I enjoy, and it is crucial that I don’t overlook the process when writing longer works, because it is in the process that we grow, and it is in the process where he grants us joy.

The same is true of our lives in general.  Sometimes we just want to give up on ourselves, on who we’re becoming, because we just want God to transform us, to make us like him, instantaneously.  But I think he often keeps the destination out of reach, at least for a while, not because he’s cruel or unloving, but because it is the journey that prepares you for the destination.  And if you can find joy in the journey–with all of its hardships and struggles–then know that joy has been given to you by God.

One final thought: There is a limit to how much we can enjoy the things of this earth, because we were not made for this earth but for the Kingdom of God.  If you find your work to be meaningless it is probably because you, like Solomon, have learned it will not last.  But those who serve God faithfully can know their lives are a ministry that is making an eternal impact.

Here is my word of encouragement to you, words Paul wrote to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 15:58:

 So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.

11.28.16
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5 Bible verses that explicitly state the will of God

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As I mentioned in my last post, Christians are constantly seeking after the will of God, so anytime the Bible plainly states what his desire is for our lives we need to perk up and pay attention.  I believe we all have a specific calling–God’s will for our individual lives–but in trying to understand our special purpose we shouldn’t ignore the things he has called every believer to.

With that said, I did a little more digging to see what else the Scriptures had to say about God’s will for the life of every believer.  Here are five Bible verses that explicitly state the will of God:

1. 1-thessalonians

This is the verse that inspired my last post.  We’re called to always be joyful, always keep praying, and always be thankful, no matter what is happening in our lives.  It is God’s will that we should always do these things, but how many of us really do?

2. hebrews-10

This verse from Hebrews is a great reminder that our holiness flows from Christ, not from ourselves.  His single sacrifice was potent enough to cover all of our sins–past, present, and future!

3. 1-peter-2

In context, Peter is calling believers to live honorable lives in the face of persecution, no matter who holds political office (a timeless lesson, one I hope we’ve learned in the wake of the most recent election).  Our honorable actions can quiet, or at least discredit, the talk of our most ignorant critics, and it is God’s will that this would be the case.

4. 1-peter-2-21

In this passage Peter addresses slaves, telling them they don’t get any credit if they are beaten by their masters for doing wrong.  But if they are beaten despite their good works they are being Christ-like, because he suffered though he was only good all the time.  It is God’s will that we do good, even if it means we suffer for it.

5. 1-peter-3

Okay, I know there are a lot of 1 Peter references in this post, but I just pulled on the thread, I didn’t knit the sweater.  This is a beautiful reiteration of what Jesus said in telling us to love our enemies.  When people insult you, don’t seek revenge.  In fact, do the opposite.  Don’t exchange evil for evil, but exchange blessing for cursing.  How would your home, your church, and your community be transformed if you truly lived this aspect of the will of God?

11.14.16
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Be Helpful, Not Just Clever

welcome_to_fight_club_14317627100Pastors are tasked with shepherding the flock, equipping the saints, and evangelizing the lost, but there’s an additional pressure we often feel that has nothing to do with our calling.  We often feel like we have to be clever on top of everything else, offering a performance that is as entertaining as it is thought-provoking, and when we can’t come up with just the right tweetable phrases we feel like our sermons are somehow inadequate.

That feeling reminds me of the scene from Fight Club (the movie) when the nameless protagonist (Edward Norton) meets a rebellious soap salesman named Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) on a flight.  Norton’s character is an empty shell of a man who tries to fill the void in his soul by attending various therapy groups and by shopping from catalogs, and when he puts on a facade for Durden (who sees right through him) he gets called out for it:

Narrator: Tyler, you are by far the most interesting single-serving friend I’ve ever met… see I have this thing: everything on a plane is single-serving…

Tyler Durden: Oh I get it, it’s very clever.

Narrator: Thank you.

Tyler Durden: How’s that working out for you?

Narrator: What?

Tyler Durden: Being clever.

Narrator: Great.

Tyler Durden: Keep it up then… Right up.

[Gets up from airplane seat]

I want to ask the same question to pastors: How’s that working out for you?  Lately, I’ve been asking myself the same thing.  I will say this: there’s nothing wrong with being clever, as long as it isn’t our end-game.  Jesus was insanely quick on his feet and delivered some strong, punchy statements that are definitely clever, but he was also helpful, so that is what we should all strive to be too.

His words were not empty.  They weren’t powerless.  They were marinated in meaning, and ours should be too.

The delivery is imp
ortant, but even more so is the substance.  So let’s be people of substance, in our lives and our words.  Whether we’re a pastor or a plumber, let’s make sure our voices are saying what matters, not just what sounds good, interesting, or entertaining.