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...

This is not going to be the typical type of piece that I share. It’s a little longer (please be patient and humor me, and read all the way through) and maybe a little more “preachy” (again, please be patient…)  I was inspired to write this toward the very end of our church service this morning. It has taken me a while to sort out what exactly is supposed to be conveyed in and by these words – I pray that I get it right. It is no surprise to anyone that our world is in a strange kind of place these days. I can honestly say that they are unlike any of my previous fifty-plus years on this earth. For most of the last four months, this has been deeply concerning to me. But recently (and even more-so in the moments as I type this), I have started to have a little bit of a different take… Maybe, just maybe, all that we have been experiencing is not really about “them” taking away “our” freedoms, or “those people” not doing what “they” should have done years ago or “us” finally getting...

While reading one of the Advent devotionals through the YouVersion Bible app this morning, I came across this commentary… Luke 2 says that when the angels told the shepherds the Good News about Jesus’ birth, they “hurried off” to find Him. Instead of waiting around and letting doubt creep in, they responded immediately. This took great faith! Certainly, they wanted to meet Jesus, but they also had earthly concerns. What would they do with their flock? Should they tell their families first? Were they dressed appropriately? Were simple shepherds really worthy of meeting the King of Kings? They didn’t let any of the questions we might have asked in the same situation keep them from quickly responding to God. I immediately thought, what a great example of living unfiltered for God! It is this kind of behavior that I have been trying to practice myself and encourage in this space for a while now. How amazing was it that these shepherds heeded the call, no questions asked? It makes ...

Last week, Barbara and I spent our 25th anniversary celebrating with a little much needed R&R and “just us” time in Charleston, SC. There were several times in the weeks leading up to our trip, however, where it seemed we might not make the trip. Looking back, I’m sure it was the enemy trying to keep us from some very important divine appointments. While not everything went the way we planned, we made some new friends and came home with some wonderful “God stories”. This is just one of them… One of our main objectives for our stay was to visit the Charleston City Market. When we had been to Charleston years ago, we only had a little bit of time there and so we were looking forward to taking our time while we perused all the booths and wares. We were specifically looking for gifts for several grandchildren’s birthdays, while also looking for a special anniversary gift to, and for, each other. About an hour into our shopping, I noticed Barbara striking up a conversation with th...

We often hear the expression, “Be a light!” If you are a Christian, we are taught that we are to shine Christ’s light – to emanate His Light that lives within us to the world around us. Have you ever really thought about what that means, though? Or how to practice this on a day to day basis? He said to them, “ Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don’t you put it on its stand? For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open . ( Mark 4:21-22 NIV )   Several weeks ago, I was reading through a devotional with some others that posed a question I had never thought of before. In the “For Reflection” area, it stated the following: “There are different kinds of lights (traffic lights, flashlights, spotlights, florescent lights, candle lights, lighthouse, torches, lamps) - which one best describes you? Why?” This really got me thinking. Like anything else when it comes t...

In the last four posts, we have been studying some lesser-known, or at least less talked about individuals from the Bible. All of them have played an important role in the broader story that is HIS-story. Our final character though, Ananias, exhibits perhaps the best example of what it means to live unfiltered for God. That is, when we hear God prompt us to do something (however that may work for you), we do it. We all know the story of Paul. How he was originally known as Saul and made quite a name for himself by persecuting (and worse) any and all Christians that he came across. We also know of his “conversion experience” as he was on the road to Damascus one day. Scripture records it like this:   As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”   “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.   “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting, ”...

Have you ever wanted something so badly, that you prayed if God gave it to you, you would give it back to Him? Sounds a little crazy, doesn’t it? Yet, that is precisely what the individual we’re about to look at did. We’re almost done with our recap of what the Youth of Florida Family CFO discussed out on the dock early each morning. When Thursday came, it was time to study a little more about another great woman of the Bible… Hannah. Hannah was one of two wives of Elkanah. (A detail that required a little extra discussion that early morning.) His other wife had given birth to multiple sons and daughters, while Hannah’s womb, “was closed”, and had not produced any offspring. This was a constant point of irritation to Hannah, as her rival “provoked her.” Once, during their annual visit to Shiloh, where they worshiped and sacrificed, Hannah, while in the presence of Eli, the priest, started weeping and praying. In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the Lord, weeping bitt...

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...