Really? Is this what we’ve come to in our Christianity?!? The best we can do to show we love the person who sacrificed everything for our filth is to spend some time with him throughout the day. Of course when it is convenient for us…. Is this just an American church issue or does the Church worldwide struggle with “spending time” with Jesus?

PLEASE hear me… I am not belittling the need to walk with Jesus daily. We are called to do that, but it is not culmination of our Christianity it is the genesis. When I read the New Testament, I fail to see how this is one of the options we can show Jesus we love him. This isn’t a great “way,” it’s assumed that we’d spend time with Jesus.

Why do we always have to remind ourselves to love Jesus? Are we not listening to the Holy Spirit that lives inside of us, because He tells us to do more than just spend time with Jesus? I get the need for reminders and instructions on how to love God and stuff. Life has a way of taking its toll on our priorities and such… Hey even the author of Hebrews (A book in the Bible) reminds us to not take our eyes off Jesus. I just feel that our commitment needs to be deeper and move us beyond the stagnation of “needing reminders” to spend time with Jesus.

The gospel beckons us to permit God’s radical and life-altering grace to transform us. If we fail allow it to happen then we have missed it. Jesus wants so much more for us than to just hangout. He wants us to live a vibrant and exciting life that challenges us and stretches us through seeing God’s heart for humanity and all creation.

I just wonder if we are not realizing the depths of what Jesus has done for us. Maybe we aren’t realizing the situation we are in because of the consequences of our rebellion and sin. We are in a desperate need to be rescued and God provided one for us in His Son Jesus. His life, death, and resurrection transforms us to be different and act differently. We become the healers, restorers, peacemakers, love-givers, and the truth revealers, empowered by Jesus to carry the redemptive qualities that come from the grace of God to a hurting and broken world (2 Corinthians 5:11-21). Jesus gives us purpose, passion, authority, and dignity.

Here’s the skinny – Jesus wants more from us than to just spend time with him; he wants us to live sacrificially by loving our enemies, serving the poor to the point that it costs us something personally. He wants us to forgo some special event or after work-hours activity and stay home and hangout with our neighbors. He might even ask us to die for him physically, and most definitely he wants us to die to ourselves daily…

The best way to show Jesus we love him is go find the person we least like or have nothing in common with and wash their fungus infected feet (literally and metaphorically) with love.

Do I sound too judgmental? Come on son! You know I was writing this to myself; I needed to here it. Thankfully we are a people of a second chance. Oh how I need grace daily in my life.

“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” – Proverbs 4:23

Thomas,

There are many thoughts I can say to you, many lessons I can teach you, but there are only few things that you must hold on to in order to live a life that you were meant to live – and that is an abundant life (John 10:10 ESV). If you do not to take these nuggets of wisdom that I am handing down to you, they could be the enabler of many tragic events in your life that can bring about pain, regret, remorse, and chronic stress that you nor any other human is not meant to endure. There are many types and many sources of wisdom, but there is only one type and one source, and that is everlasting and eternal which comes from our Heavenly Father – holdfast too it and impress it in your heart.

The first thing that I want to share with you is the need to guard your heart. For the heart is epicenter of who you are. Who you are and all that your are becoming flows from your heart. Your heart is the very essence of who your are – it is the lock box of your characteristics and values. Be careful to who you surrender your heart too! There will be many things and people in this world that will seek to entice you to handover your loyalty, your passion, your desires, your goodness, your purity, your faithfulness, and your love. It is through this forfeiture of these characteristics and values, the surrender of your heart, that they will seek to mold and shape you into what they want you to become – be who you want to be, not what others expect you to be. Son, do not set foot in the path of the wicked, or walk in the ways of evildoers (Proverbs 4:14). Their ways are treacherous and lead to death. Know who you are, remember where you come from, do not forget who you belong too, and understand where you want to go.

Below are only a four circumstances which you need to guard your heart from. There are many more, but these are the more prevalent ones that each man wrestles in his life time…

Women - Many women will seek to lay claim to your heart. Women will desire ownership of your heart and envision who you should become. Some for good intentions and others for bad (Read the story of Ahab and Jezebel in 1 Kings 16:29-22:40 & 2 Kings 9:30-37 ). Even the good intentioned women should never own your heart, for it should belong to God and to Him alone. Women are beautiful and amazing, the perfection of all of God’s creation, but they are still just humans like you and prone to selfish desires and misinformed intentions. When you find that one woman that you must become vulnerable with and reveal the depths of your heart too, make sure that her values and her purpose in life are similar to yours. Be diligent in finding out that she serves no one, but the King of kings, and then love her and serve her with humility and grace.

This will be your greatest temptation and weakness; it is for every man. You will make mistakes in this area, but remember to humbly seek God’s grace and restoration when you do. Do not fall trap to despair, it is not then end; and God does have that special helpmate in life for you. Be patient and use discernment. I could say more on this, but this will do for now – The first woman you should chase after is Wisdom, she will protect you and watch over you (Proverbs 4:5-9).

Fame and Fortune - Many in their youth seek after the twin towers. Many see fame and fortune as the thing that will give them identity, purpose, and dignity. This is far from the truth! What many think they own ends up owning them. The desire for fame and fortune is never ending and never satisfying. Trust me my son, for I have sought both in life and have obtained both to some degree. Fame is nothing but a platform to be used for selfless desires or for kingdom purposes. Your heart will decide which one you will promote, so guard your heart. Money is a tool to accomplish the work of the kingdom, it is just a means to an end, never the outcome or the purpose of why you do something.

I leave you with the words of Jesus, “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” - Matthew 6:24

Power - “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men.” - John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton, first Baron Acton (1834–1902). Power in itself is not bad, it can be a change-agent that causes good and great things to happen for the betterment of people that need help and are less fortunate than you. It can also be a destructive force that brings nothing but sorrow and calamity to those who are defenseless and hurting. Son, there have been times in my life that I have had power and there have been times it has corrupted me.

My son, if you ever find yourself in a position of power, remember it is not for your personal gain or selfish desires, it is a gift from our Father in heaven to be used for the benefit of those who are powerless and in need. Unbridled power can cause even the best and strongest of men to corruption. Guard your heart and receive all power as a gift from God to be used to serve and not to be served. Do not lord it over people, but instead with love and humility, become a servant of all and think of the needs of others before your own (Mark 10:41-45 & Philippians 2:1-11). If you do this great will be your reward in heaven.

Success - Success can be defined in many different ways and with many different measurements. What one deems success another will call it a failure. Do not chase after succes as a way to define you or bring you purpose and value in this world. Chasing after success is like chasing after the wind, it is never ending and not achievable. Success has many flavors and I have tasted many of them and they are all different. God has already given you everything that you could ever need. If you desire what Jesus desires for you then you have already accomplished success.

What Jesus desires for you is to love God with everything that you are and all that you have; and similarly love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:34-40). Likewise true success comes when you seek after the things of God first and have faith that he will provide all that you need and deem your life a success (Matthew 6:19-34). Guard your heart from the allure of success and finding accomplishment from success. Work hard, give glory to God, and trust Him to define success for you.

In all that I have written in this letter, above all; act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God (Micah 6:8).

Love,

Dad

1. Thoughts On Boston

2. Duck Dynasty’s Phil Robertson On His Decision to Follow Jesus

3. Who Do You Want To Cry At Your Funeral

4. A Tribute To Brennan Manning

5. Fear and Loving Your Neighbor

Thanks for reading this blog. If your not a subscriber to this blog, I want to encourage you to do so. You can follow along or subscribe here… Please, comments and feedback about this blog are valued and appreciated.

I know it is a little morbid to think about, but I was asked this question yesterday. Seriously think about it for a minute, because the people that you would want to cry at your funeral are the people that you in some way shape or form have left a deep impression on their hearts / souls. These are the people that you did life with, the people that you poured into and they did the same to you. You laughed with them, cried with them, and even became angry or frustrated with them at times.

To be frank, I have struggled the last couple of years to open myself up to people in this way. Sure I have my wife and three kids, my two best friends in Oregon, and a couple of coworkers, and maybe a few others, but the reality is I have been hesitant to be vulnerable to people. It’s doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with anybody, but really with myself… Yeah I know I could put the blame on people, like they are shallow, or you just can’t trust anybody these days – the actuality of it is I struggle with being in the moment and enjoying it. When you struggle with being in the moment you can’t focus on building relationships with the people around you.

It took me a little bit to answer the question. I guess I would want my family, my friends, people that I may have had some type of impact on (former students, past and present neighbors, and etc…). Anybody from anywhere needing a meal, I definitely would want food there and food to feed an army. I would want people who need to hear a good story or two and needing a good laugh.

When I hear the question, “Who do I want to cry at my funeral?” I don’t really want anyone crying, I would rather have them laughing, either at me or with me… That’s my goal now – I hope to focus on the moments and work on the relationships around me, and have a good laugh.

I read this post today from WIRED Magazine and it brought back some memories of growing up in the late 70′s and early 80′s. The article titled “Why Amazon Could Start Taking Business Cues From the ’80s” brought up memories of when I was a wee little boy of 8 years old growing up in Santa Rosa, CA.

As a kid growing up in the late 70′s and 80′s time was simpler, by yet fascinating at the same time. Star Wars was in full swing and action figures were in their heyday. The only place I knew where to get them was at the Consumers Distributing catalogue store on 4th St; there was no such thing as online shopping, the internet hadn’t been invented yet. I remember walking into the storefront with my mom, grabbing a short stubby eraser-less pencil, an order form, the “bible” a Consumers catalogue, and frantically mark away on the order form as if I didn’t hurry all the Star Wars merchandise would be gone… Whew… I would then march up to the counter, turn in my form only to have my mom take it back and tell me too pick only one! I’ll never forget the time I got Han Solo and the Darth Vader Action Figure carrying case, both at the same time… I got TWO – I’ll always cherish March of 1983, I turned 10 years old…

I could look at the Consumers Catalogue for hours… Read the WIRED article and get ready to ride down memory lane…

What memories do you have going to a Catalogue store as a kid? PLEASE share… Rock on 80′s! My first two Star Wars figures were Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader, I was partial to the darkside as a kid

When I think of Boston several things come to mind, the Boston Red Sox, a colorful fall, and the 80’s TV show called Cheers, the 70′s & 80′s band Boston just to name a few things. We can also think of The Boston Tea Party, Paul Revere, and The battles of Lexington and Concord (The first military engagements of the American Revolution that set in motion the creation of this great nation). In a sense, Boston is an American icon, the genesis of an American break from tyranny and the cradle of American freedom.

Monday’s tragic event will also put one other thing in our memory bank of Boston; the tragic bombings at the Boston Marathon. So much is going on right now in all our thoughts. As I write this blog post, authorities are still try to piece together what happened today. While we all speculate who, what, and why this horrific event occurred, we must all remember that there is evil in this world and evil desiring humans bent on causing destruction and mayhem.

THREE things immediately come to mind that I would like to share with the readers of this blog: 

Evil does exist… There is a malicious and murderous war of rebellion going on against the God of all the universe, the Author and Creator of all life. It is a rebellion against all that is good, lovely, true, and right. We can blame any number of people, places, and things, but the reality is it’s a treacherous rebellion against a God who loves us and wants nothing but the best for us. Sin, Death, and Satan are no respecters of men…

It will not always be this way… While God did not set the wheel of destruction and decay in motion; It was our ancestors (Adam and Eve) inability to be satisfied with all that God provided for them, and our own sinful rebellion to be fulfilled with all the Creator has intended for us. This rebellion demanded to be dealt with; and God took it upon Himself to right the wrong and set in motion the redemption and reconciliation of the universe and humankind. He sent His Son Jesus to pay the full price of our sinful rebellion against God, by dying a criminal’s death on a cross. And he, Jesus, won the victory over such and led a triumphal entry provided through his resurrection from the dead.

While we can’t fully understand why God allowed this tragic event in Boston, we can know and trust that God cares for each and everyone of those hurt by this tragedy, and that He is committed to the ultimate vanquishment of Sin, Death, and Satan. Through Jesus Christ we have the guarantee that God will follow through on His promise that all the corruption, brokenness, wickedness, and death in this world will be done away with once and for all (The victory has already been won) and that through Jesus all things will be made new (Revelation 21:5)… It will not always be this way.

Prayer is our lifeline to mourn and receive comfort… There is no better outlet for us to voice our fear and concern than prayer. No one has the matchless desire or power to comfort and satisfy our fears and concerns than our Father in heaven, and He does hear us and answer us… Let us lift our voices to God, who wants nothing more than to meet us at our time of need and provide all that we can hope or imagine for, especially in times of mourning over crisis and tragedy. Jesus is our hope and our salvation (Hebrews 9:28). God is a God of hope desiring to fill us with joy and peace. He wants nothing more than to fill us with a hope that is overflowing.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” – Romans 15:13

Not too long ago one of my neighbors had surgery and while he was on the road to recovery, he had a landscaping project that he needed some help with, especially with moving heavy rocks and dirt. Of course I offered to help him and told him so. My only caveat was that I couldn’t help him until the following day to which he agreed; three days later I noticed that the work he needed help with was already accomplished. In-fact he was finishing up with what was left of it. I went over to him and asked him why he didn’t get me to help him. His response haunts me to this day… He said that he would have, but he noticed that I’m busy all the time and I’m never home – “you know” he said, “your always busy with that church stuff.” I just took a straight punch to the gut, a right-cross to the jaw, and was finished with a swift upper-cut.

FEAR AND SELFISHNESS… I couldn’t believe it! My neighbor was kind enough to give the out I needed… In all seriousness, I felt really bad that he had to finish the project with the help of our other neighbor and himself, but I also was relieved that he allowed me to hide behind the excuse that I’m a very busy person and rarely home during sociable and functional hours of the day. I got to tell you though that after much thought, busyness isn’t an excuse, or at least one that holds weight with my neighbor, myself, and especially Jesus… No, my real issue isn’t busyness, but it is fear and selfishness…There is nothing more Satan wants than to distract God’s people from loving Him and their neighbors. He will use the church as an excuse, our kids, our jobs, and yes even our spouses, but the reality is that none of these are good reasons to not be the best neighbor our neighbor has ever had. I contend that fear and selfishness are the culprits of this. Don’t get me wrong, I believe busyness is an obstacle for sure, but it is not the root cause of us not loving our neighbors to Jesus. The burden of busyness that people strap to their backs can be debilitating, but it is still not an excuse. It is just a symptom of fear and selfishness. Fear causes us to pull up to our driveway, pull into the garage and shut the door behind us without talking to any of our neighbors. Fear gives us the mindset that we might or do have awful neighbors so it is best not to associate with them. Fear causes us to think that our neighbors won’t like us for who we are or the other way around, and the list could go on… Selfishness, well lets just say that selfishness drives us to avoid our neighbors. No one really wants discomfort, pain, unplanned disruptions, and all the other hard things that come with relationships.

If you say you love God then you must love your neighbor (Matthew 22:34-40).

As daunting as it can be to meet your neighbor and begin to love them the way God does, there are THREE initial easy steps you can take to start the process of being the best neighbor your neighbor has ever had.

1). Talk to God before you talk to your neighbor… Ask God to give you insight to your neighbor. Ask Him to reveal to you little things about your neighbor, things that are easy for you to pray about and engage your neighbors in conversation – talk to God before you talk to your neighbor… God knows your neighbor and their circumstances – ask Him to give you insight into their lives.

2.) This is a real simple one – wave and smile at them and say hello… I know their are some people who aren’t receptive to a smile and a friendly hello wave (I’m from California, I completely get that). However over time, and with repeated effort your hard work will pay off. You will eventually get that returned smile and wave or maybe even a Duck Dynasty Phil Robertson Thumbs Up.

3.) Simply get to know your neighbors names. Everyone has a name and everyone wants to be known! I truly believe everyone likes to hear the sound of their name called. Asking someone their name is one of the most disarming things a person can do. It actually helps give them dignity.

A thought to ponder: Would your neighbor and neighborhood miss you if your were to move away?

*Some of these thoughts find their genesis from a friend of mine named Brian Mavis and in the ministry of LifeBridge Christian Church

“We are all just counting time.” – Phil Robertson

I know I’m a little late to the show, but my family and I just started watching Duck Dynasty a few weeks ago. We have only seen the first two seasons and can’t wait to catch up on the current season underway.

This is probably one of the best TV shows I have ever seen. It’s type of humor has become a lost art in the television industry. There are few if any shows out there like it. I didn’t start watching Duck Dynasty because I heard that the main characters are Christians; I viewed the show because it was all everyone was talking about and I felt like I was missing out on all the laughs. To find out that they love Jesus is icing on the cake…

I found this video on Donald Miller’s blog, through his tweet this morning. Please check out what Donald Miller has to say about Phil Robertson and Phil’s faith in Jesus. Donald Miller is one of my favorite author’s, so be sure to explore his blog and check out some of his books… I recommend reading his best selling book Blue Like Jazz…

Now you got to understand I never met Brennan Manning. I never heard him speak at a conference or sat in a lecture by him, and I never attempted to meet him. His influence on me was through his writing. I first started reading his books while I was in Bible college. One of my professors made a couple of Brennan’s books required reading, and once I cracked open the pages of his books, it was no longer required reading for me… Brennan Manning also taught me to depend on God’s grace day by day and moment by moment. He purposed me to live a life defined by having an awareness that I am deeply loved by Jesus. My true identity is found in Jesus and that it was a gift, not anything I deserved or could buy, but it was offered to me for free – The Father’s grace…

Brennan Manning’s influence profoundly molded my view the reconciliation of my old life to the new life I have in Jesus. Even to this day when I struggle with the demons of my past, I reflect on not only the words of Jesus, but also on thoughts written by Manning, such as…

“My deepest awareness of myself is that I am deeply loved by Jesus Christ and I have done nothing to earn it or deserve it.” - Brennan Manning, Ragamuffin Gospel

“To live by grace means to acknowledge my whole life story, the light side and the dark. In admitting my shadow side I learn who I am and what God’s grace means.” – Brennan Manning

Becoming aware of my need for redemption from the dark shadows of my life, one that is given not earned, reminds me that it is through this painful life that we find love and acceptance from Abba, Father. In turn, Manning spoke of this grace being something that is not selfishly kept, but desperately shared. In his book The Wisdom of Tenderness, Manning speaks of the true measure of our love for God is seen in our love for our neighbor. Our understanding of God’s love for us is when we seek to have our heart broken and concerned for the things that God cares about. Grace is something to be shared not something to keep. Manning wrote that The Father’s grace is for the hurting and not for the well. Manning states in his book Abba’s Child: The Cry of the Heart for Intimate Belonging, “Our hearts of stone become hearts of flesh when we learn where the outcast weeps.”  May we all have a heart like The Father’s and take life moment by moment like Brennan Manning.

Thank you Brennan Manning you have shaped my life through your writing! You have shown me I am loved by my Abba, Father and the need to live gracefully.

Here are my reflections on a six day vacation I took back in mid-March:

1. I truly believe that everyone needs to plan a vacation for their vacation. What I mean by this is that I went back to the office the very next day. What I really needed was sometime to rest from the traveling and time to reflect on my time away. Basically I needed to ease my mind and body back to the grind of the work place and pace, so I can be the best worker and person I can be to those I do life with on a daily basis…

2. The grass is always greener on the other side – and sometimes it is. Honestly, Oregon is definitely greener than Colorado… The two friends that I went to hangout with, work in the same profession as I do. And after spending sometime at my their workplace, I was able to see and experience a similar type of work environment that functions slightly different than the one I’m a part of. There were some aspects that made it a healthier environment and visa-versa. They have a smaller organization, with a lot fewer staff and less oversight than the one I’m a part of; so there were times I needed to remember to put things into perspective… Needless to say, there were times I wished I worked at that place. If for any reason alone they are a hop, skip, and a jump from the Pacific Ocean… Don’t get me wrong, the Rocky Mountains are awesome, but I’m a seafaring fella.

Anyways… Instead of feeling like I need to find a new job; I came away with the idea that I needed to help precipitate sea-change within the organization that I am a part of – basically help be a part of the solution… I love my friends and I love what they are accomplishing in and through their organization, but I must say that I am equally fond of what we are accomplishing as well. I am fortunate to serve alongside the people I get to each and everyday. They are some of the best and hardest working people I know. God has definitely blessed me to be at LifeBridge… I look forward to see what the future holds for us and to what God will be doing through us in the years to come through our focus on neighboring and neighborhoods.

3. When coming back from vacation always come back with a sense of humor. What could go wrong usually does while your away, and to top it off the work load gets bigger not smaller. I have found that laughing at these things make the transition from vacation to work easier. For-instance, when trying to enter into my work place in the morning of my first day back, my keycard didn’t work – someone had to let me into the building. Once inside, everyone was looking at me as if I shouldn’t be there or as if they hadn’t ever seen me before. There was a new person on staff (Possibly my replacement which was the first initial thought… JK). As if these two items weren’t enough, I couldn’t login to my email, file folders, and calendar. It was as if I didn’t exist anymore on the payroll. So instead of being completely frustrated, I thought to myself they could have at least told me I was fired while I was in Oregon so I could have stayed there… Long story short, people thought I was suppose to be gone longer than I actually was, my keycard and login passwords were expired and the new person on staff, well that theory is still debatable…

Finally I realized that vacations are good and I need to take more of them.