Living Unfiltered for God

  From the time I was a young boy (when I first started playing competitive sports) I remember hearing the words, “You have to be in the right position!” Playing baseball, as a Shortstop, it was vital that I placed myself in the most advantageous position between second and third base. (Fortunately, this was before “the shift” became a thing!) It varied from batter to batter, how many outs there were, if there were runners on base, and so forth. To be the best shortstop that I could be, I had to pay attention to my physical location.             This continues today, as I’ve recently started playing tennis competitively with my daughter. If you watch Mixed-Doubles on TV, it may seem innocuous enough, but let me tell you – there is A LOT going on and to keep track of! Not the least of which is placing yourself in the proper position on the court. Michelle (possibly the world’s most patient daughter) is forever telling me to, “...

On this day before Easter – Holy Saturday – Christians all over the world are anxiously awaiting Sunday. Easter Sunday. The day that our Lord and Savior defeated death once and for all and walked out of the grave. Alleluia!             But on this day, we wait. We know what comes next, though. We’ve read the book! We know we just have to get to tomorrow for the celebration to begin. Those who witnessed Jesus’ death, though, did not know then what we know now. They watched Jesus be crucified on Friday and then didn’t know what was next. Many of them probably thought there was no next. Even though Jesus had said He would rise in three days, not one really understood what that meant. They had been waiting for centuries for the Messiah’s return and they thought Jesus was it. But now what?             And they began waiting again. Some near the tomb. Not thinking He would walk o...

  Today marks the beginning of what we call Holy Week.   It’s Palm Sunday and hopefully today you’ve already had a chance to attend – in person or virtually – a worship service. It’s important that we celebrate Jesus’s “triumphant entry” as it is referred. His riding into Jerusalem on a donkey. The Jews and others of His day thought He was doing so to attend the Passover Feast. They weren’t wrong, but they were only partially right. He was also going so that He would be in position to perform the single most meaningful, unselfish and world transforming act in history: Voluntarily going to the cross and being put to death, not for what the Jews accused Him of, but rather, for all our sins. Your sins. My sins. All of them. It had to be that way. No one understood it. Many still don’t. But on the third day, when He rose, He did so so that we no longer had – or have – to be slaves to those sins ever again. Last night I had a very interesting dream. I’ve been having a lot of them...

Lately, I've started reading parts of the Bible with a little more intentionality.  It's so easy to see a verse somewhere and just take it at face value. Usually it's fine, but I've found that, as with so many other things, context is king. And what's interesting is that while, sometimes, reading what takes place before and after  the verse of interest actually changes the interpretation, more often, reading the context makes the point even stronger. And frequently, there is an entire other lesson (or two... or more!) living in and among the surrounding verses! For me, this is part of the reason reading scripture is so fascinating. This happened recently while looking at John 14:6 (NIV), " I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me".  This is a very popular verse that many people can at least say that they have heard before, even if not able to quote it. As I read around it, though, it became like the proverb...

What is your favorite day of the week? Is it Friday? The end of the work week (for many), time to get ready for the weekend! Or maybe Saturday? You can sleep in perhaps. Spend the day with your family and maybe get some things down around the house. What about Sunday? You get to go to church in the morning and perhaps have a day of rest before the new week starts. Or, if you're a little different, Thursday is your favorite day. The whole weekend is still in front of you. There's a spring in your step on Friday, then Saturday and Sunday have all the benefits and goodness about them that I mentioned above. The best time of the week for me is actually Thursday night. I love looking forward to things so Thursday night puts me right at the precipice of all these good things to come. Given this is Easter weekend, though, I've been thinking a little differently about this. During Holy Week, Thursday night was rough, to say the least. That was when Jesus was betrayed with a ki...

On this Easter morning, as we rejoice in celebration of our risen Savior, let's be grateful for the obedience that Jesus displayed to make this day a reality. It really was the ultimate act of obedience to God. Three times Jesus prayed in the garden of Gethsemane, three times asking God if there was another way, and hearing from our Father that there was not, three times said, "may Your will be done." ( Matthew 26:36-42 )  I've often wondered of the significance of the number three here. The number three typically represents divine completeness. It is used often in scripture. For example, Peter denied Christ three times (after the rooster crowed three times), and Jesus later reinstated Peter by asking him three times if he loved him. For me, an even closer parallel for the garden prayer is found in John's account of what took place right before Jesus was arrested. Jesus prayed three times - once for himself, once for his disciples, and a final time for all...