I hate resolutions

I hate resolutions. It’s like they are made to be broken. I prefer goals. Resolutions are like verbalized wishes; goals imply plans, objectives and action steps.


Where can Christians look for an example of goal setting? How about the book of Philippians 3:13-14.


“But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”




We have 3 simple choices


Release the past- When you hold on to the hurts and offenses of the past, they hold you back and hold you down. The Bible says do not have a root of bitterness. Jesus says to forgive as He has forgiven you. Without reservation…requirements…reminders. When you let someone who hurt you occupy your mind, you are giving them control. Why let someone you are mad at continue to affect you?


Release your falls and failures. Focus on who Christ is in you and not what you try to make of yourself.


Paul suffered shipwrecks, misunderstanding, rumors, gossip, beatings and rejection. What was his response? This one thing... forgetting what is behind, he pressed on.


Reach for the prize- Don’t wait for it to come to you, reach, strive strain to pursue God. Jesus says,” Seek first the kingdom of God ...” Matthews 6:33. It is having laser like focus and faith to pursue God despite all distractions. You become what you focus on. Focus on others...you become like them. Focus on Jesus...you become like Him.


Respond to the person of Jesus Christ. God is issuing an upward call. He invites us to be seated with Him in the heavenlies and see life from his perspective. It is amazing to be invited to the throne room of the universe. He tells us to approach the throne of grace boldly.


Three choices..release…reach…respond. Simple to remember, but hard to do.

Trauma about Teabow

Why the trauma about Teabow?


There is growing conversation and controversy about Tim Teabow, an NFL quarterback, and his public display of his faith. What a nice change.


For too long we have witnessed the self-idolizing by many athletes and public figures. The attitude that leads to many of our problems is selfishness and forgetting who God is and who we aren't.


Why does Teabow’ s public acknowledgement of God cause such discomfort? For non-Christians, I think it is because when darkness is exposed by light, it causes discomfort. Like roaches running when the light turns on. There is no doubt many non-believers are hoping that Tim will mess up in a public way. They are begging for him to have some public scandal like several TV evangelists 20 years ago.


The more telling discomfort is on the part of many Christians. They feel awkward about a believer taking such a public stance.


Let’s read God’s Word. In Romans 1:16 Paul writes “I am not ashamed of the Gospel…” Paul did not care about his arrest record or being thrown out of many “religious” places in his day. When Paul came to town it was always going to be either a revival or a riot. Sometimes both!


More confrontational are the words of Jesus Himself. Matthew 10:32-33. “So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.” Try to find the wiggle room in that phrase.


The holiday season is a great time to be more vocal in sharing your faith. In addition to “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays” why not add “God bless you” or “Jesus is the reason for the season.” You’ll be blessed for blessings others…God will see to it.

Slow Down

God spoke to Elijah in I Kings 19, “And after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. “

God was heard not in the spectacular, the loud praise and worship music or professional drama that permeates many of our services.   Nothing wrong with some of those expressions of celebration of one’s faith, but they can provide clutter or confusion as often as they provide clarity.

One of the rarest things today is silence and solitude.  We are so bombarded with media, music and messages our mind, much less heart has no time to settle down to listen.

Let me propose something radical.  Try a media fast.  Perhaps just shut off cell phones, avoid the internet and TV for an hour per week.   Then, as the withdrawals settle down, try for a half a day or even 24 hours. (If you try to use your waffle to send a ext message it is time for a break!)

Get  alone to see if you can quiet your mind and heart to hear from God.

“Be still and know I am God”, Psalms 46:10.

Know what you might hear from Him?  He knows you and loves you not in spite of your failings but because of them. He knows you need Him and His mercy and grace to get through each moment.  He may rejoice over you with singing.  Look up Zephaniah 3:17.

In silence you can find solitude…simplicity…the Savior.

Wherever (Fill in a credit card) is accepted

Hear this much this time of year?  “Look for where VISA is accepted”.

Romans 15:7 “Accept one another then, as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.”

If you use Blueletterbible.org to look up words, you can do  word studies with the click of a mouse. The word for accept in Greek is “Proslambono.”  Aren’t you impressed?

It has 3 levels of meaning.

First level means to receive one another as a blessing or gift.  Do you see others as burdens or blessings? Trials or treasures?

The second level  is to receive someone into your circle of family or friends.  One of the most accepting and intimate acts you can do is to have someone share a family meal with. To invite them into your home is like inviting them into your heart.

That bring us to the deepest level of meaning , “to grant access to one’s own heart”. This is the trauma of transparency. We build walls to protect our hearts at a young age.  By the time we reach adulthood we have walls, gun turrets, a moat with a drawbridge to keep others out.  We go to church and peer at one another from the safety of our castle windows.  We don’t dare get real or open up.  It could be painful or embarrassing to admit we are needy.

Yet, don’t we teach children from the earliest years Jesus wants to live in their hearts? So, if we are open to others, they should find Jesus there.  He is wants to use us to love them…care for them…accept them.

So next time you see a sign or hear a commercial about charge cards being “accepted”, ask God to open you to be accepting of others.

It is a gift where you get more back than you give.