Contentment

The meeting room full of people.

Don’t just do something; sit there.

By / 3 minutes of reading / , ,

Yesterday, I listened to a video about the difficulties of the Millennial Generation (the mid–1990s to early 2000s), also called “Gen Y.” I will write more broadly about this in the near future. Two comments that got my attention were: 1) It is wrong for other generations to deflect their difficulties back on Gen Y individuals. 2) The Gen Y addition to the instant feel-good release of dopamine that comes from seeing unknown people “like” their comments is the same amount that comes from addictions to eating, gambling, online shopping, and sex.

This social-technological addiction can be seen in the waiting rooms of doctor’s offices, bus stops, and parent/teacher meetings. Here is the one that got me thinking – If denied access to their smartphones, Gen Y people often learn more while waiting for a meeting to start than is in the meeting!

Not Just Gen Y

Our society seems to have learned to use social media for social avoidance. When people waited for a meeting to start, they used to talk with each other. “How’s your dad doing since he was released from the hospital?” “Did you buy that truck you were looking at?” “I’m going to need those TPS reports… ASAP.1“

No Quick Way

At the root of our social avoidance is risk aversion. We can get a quick “hit” of dopamine from a few “likes” on Facebook instead of the slow process of learning about other people’s lives and risking that we will “put our foot in our mouth.”

It is the long-term journey into personal relationships that provides us with deep friendships, lasting marriages, and reliable faith in Christ Jesus our Savior. A fulfilling life is achieved by learning to “not just do something but sit there.” God said it this way:

“Be still, and know that I am God!
I will be honored by every nation.
I will be honored throughout the world.”

Psalms 46:10 NLT.

Notice the two parts of the first sentence. “Be still.” This has almost become an antiquated skill. Few people are ever still. Few turn their music off, their TV off, go into their prayer closet2, and be still. The second part tells us, “And know that I am God!” It is nearly enough for us to do what my parents told me: “Sit down, shut up, and pay attention.” We need to know God. To know anything takes time, it takes effort, it takes commitment.

Repeating

We need repeated times when we come to God and don’t pray our “shopping list.” We need to be still. To listen. To be aware. During these times, we don’t just empty our minds; we learn to know God. We learn how God deals with nations (see verse six 3). We need to gain confidence from the knowledge that God will be honored throughout the world – we are not on the losing side.

Our spiritual “core strength” will become firm from our quietness with God. It will become beneficial. A life that contains joy, strength, and a deep, personal relationship with the God of our eternity comes from repeated times of quietness, being still before God. Our investment in this relationship must be greater and for a longer time than we spend with any video game, tik-tok™️, or social avoidance technology.

Image by Chelsea Ouellet from Pixabay

** No part of this article was produced by artificial intelligence (AI). **

Footnotes

  1. Judy, A. (2021, May 30). The 17 Best Quotes from Office Space that will Make you Laugh. AnQuotes.Com. https://www.anquotes.com/office-space-quotes/ ↩︎
  2. Bible Gateway passage: Matthew 6:6 – King James Version. (n.d.). Bible Gateway. Retrieved November 10, 2023, from https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%206%3A6&version=KJV ↩︎
  3. Bible Gateway passage: Psalm 46:6 – New Living Translation. (n.d.). Bible Gateway. Retrieved November 10, 2023, from https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2046%3A6&version=NLT ↩︎
Guitar Player Live Music Rock Guitar Music Player

Don’t Let the World In

By / 3 minutes of reading / , ,

The Blues

I enjoy some of Eric Clapton’s music, the Allman Brothers, Howlin’ Wolf, and B.B. King, but I cannot let myself “live the blues.” The blues is a genre of music that often expresses feelings of sadness, despair, and loneliness. While there is nothing wrong with enjoying blues music, it is important to remember that these are just feelings, not realities. As Christians, we should not allow our souls to be touched by these negative emotions. Instead, we should focus on the hope and joy that we have in Christ. B.B. King famously sang the line, “Even the air I breathe is used.” That’s blues. That’s worldliness. That’s not the mind of Christ!

We Must Not Be Cosmopolitan

Daily, during my prayer time, I confess my sins to God, asking His forgiveness[1] and praying for His strength so that I can genuinely repent[2]. The world we live in is insidious. It creeps into every nook and cranny that it can. Just as there are frogs in South America that, if touched, will kill a person[3], so it is with the things of this world. As the apostle John wrote, “Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions.[4]”

In John’s warning, the word he uses for the world is the Greek word κόσμον (kosmon), which is the root of our word cosmos. John is not writing about planets and constellations. Instead, John is writing about the world as a well-ordered whole. No part of the world is free from rebellion against God. Therefore, we must not touch the world.

He isn’t implying that we can’t hug a sinner or purchase food from worldly grocery stores. He is telling us that the world is a poisonous frog; we mustn’t allow our souls to touch the cosmos. We must not allow the darkness of the world to come into us. God is light[5], so our light must extinguish all darkness that attempts to come into us.

Good News

Jesus told us our Good News:

“I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.”” John 10:28–30 NLT

Image by Malachi Witt from Pixabay

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[1]: 1 John 1:9 NLT
[2]: 1 John 2:15–17
[3]: Poison Frog | San Diego Zoo Animals & Plants. https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/poison-frog Accessed 5/18/2023
[4]: 2 Corinthians 7:10
[5]: 1 John 2:15–16 NLT

Travel Airport Boarding Pass Boarding Luggage

Fellow Sojourners

By / 2 minutes of reading / , ,

Sojourner means, “one who stays in a place as a stranger or visitor.” The word sojourner elicits our emotions. Perhaps, for you, it brings to mind adventure, exploring, and discovery. Traveling to new places and living there for a while to be immersed in another culture. Or, you may feel just the opposite. This word may stir a sense of instability, danger, and poverty. Either way, this word speaks to each of us in a way that stirs our emotions.

Jesus was a sojourner during His earthly ministry. When a man asked if he could join Jesus’ disciples, Jesus said, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” (Matthew 8:20) He was a stranger to the very people He created! “He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.” (John 1:10)

Strangers

There are many places in God’s Word that tell us that as children of God we are strangers in this world. We can go back to Abraham, “For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.” (Hebrews 11:10) So, we know that it is the will of God for us to be uncomfortable in this world, to have a longing for heaven, to know that our home is in heaven; it cannot be found here.

“Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.”

1 Peter 2:11

Liberty

There is liberty when we understand that this world is not our home. First, we focus on work that has eternal value. Who would deposit their paycheck someplace where they don’t bank? Secondly, we are free from comparing or coveting houses, cars, or vacations with anyone else. None of those are part of our inheritance and all will be left behind when we get home. And, thirdly, we have camaraderie with fellow sojourners. We are all on the same road, looking forward to the same destination, eager to “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.” (Hebrews 12:1)

Therefore, fellow sojourners, let’s live with joy and anticipation, as we look forward to “the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.“

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folding ruler

An Improver

By / 4 minutes of reading

When I look at this image, I quickly picture Dad’s hands pulling it from a pocket and measuring whatever it was that he was going to improve. Dad was an improver. That was his calling.

Improving soldiers in WWII

While a young man, Dad learned to be an electrician at Coyne Electrical School in Chicago – it’s still in business. Later, he became an instructor there, improving the lives of his students; teaching them a trade that was in high demand.  While in the army, during WWII, Dad taught soldiers how to use the newest technology, the teletype. He improved the military’s ability to communicate critical information and imparted to his students’ skills that they carried into the post-war economic boom.

Still later he became a professor, earned his doctorate, eventually becoming the chairperson of the School of Technology, at Indiana State University. His mission was to improve how to teach technology; and he always taught. Professors and students alike gained technical skills and life skills through his work. Eventually, a scholarship was created in his and my mother’s names.

Improving houses

Being an educator was never enough. Dad always improved whatever he touched. Growing up, as a family, we moved at least fifteen times, and Dad never stopped. Before he passed, he had remodeled more than twenty homes. At age eighty-four, improving the last house he would own, he built an entire bathroom which successfully passed the city’s building inspection.

Anyone that knew Dad, knew Dad. He was the same person, whether participating in the faculty senate, teaching in a classroom, or handing me this folding ruler. I remember who Dad was when I was young. Now that I’m old, I realize that few people are the same, always and in all settings. And in all his roles he found ways to improve the lives of those around him. My wife also has this rare gift.

Improving the people around him

Now Dad loved Jesus with all his heart. So, everyone knew that Dad was completely dedicated to serving Jesus, his Lord and Savior. There were no dirty jokes or crude words used around Dad, not because he forbade them, but people just felt guilty, sullied when they tried these worldly actions in Dad’s presence – I witnessed this first-hand, many times. Dad’s walk with Christ improved those around him

It’s true, this rickety old tool holds no value to anyone but me, and someday it will get tossed in a trash can. But, for now, when I want to see Dad’s hands, I reach for this folding ruler out and let my memories get the best of me.

Jesus the Creator

Though Dad was an improver, our Savior, Jesus, doesn’t improve things, He creates things. There’s an adage that says, “Jesus didn’t come to make bad people good. He came to make the dead alive!” This adage is true. None of us needed Jesus to help us be better. We all needed to be born again, born as a child of God, born with the Holy Spirit within us. (Romans 3:23) Better just isn’t good enough for God’s children.

This old, folding ruler helps me to see the hands of my dad, and someday, I’ll again see his hands because both he and I are true believers in Jesus. But before I seek to see Dad’s hands, I will seek to see Christ’s hands. I long to see His nail-scarred hands, to see the One who decided that better wasn’t good enough. Jesus “bought me” from death to life. He is the One I want to first see, “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.” (1 Corinthians 13:12)

I pray that each of us are improvers in whatever role God calls us to. But more than that, I pray that you have given your life to Jesus. Amen.

Photo by me 😀

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a car kicking up dust

Is It Dusty In Here?

By / 2 minutes of reading /

“…By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” – Genesis 3:19

Today my in-laws are attending a funeral for a middle-aged man that, over a number of years, became something of a son to them. They recently visited him one morning, and later that same day, he unexpectedly died. It’s been a big blow to them, like burying one of their children.

One of the things I’ve become acutely aware of, as I’ve aged, is the increasing frequency of funerals of people I love, people I know, people I know of. This observation has caused an awakening within me of how brief our time truly is for our walk within God’s Creation.

Stories of Dust

At birth, we each step into a story that has already begun. Siblings, cousins, parents, grandparents, friends, all are in our story, but we also step into their story. Wars, famines, conflicts, and more were all underway before we were a twinkle in our mothers’ eyes. Yet when we come upon the stage of life, we somehow feel that we “own” our time, not appreciating that our time is on loan from God. 

Within God’s divine plan, spanning thousands of years for the progeny of Adam, most of us are simple accouterments to His design. Dust we are and dust we shall return to. 

Our story in human history will close. Nevertheless, we are much loved by God. We are offered eternal life in God’s kingdom through Jesus. And out of His love, we are given and provisioned with a role designed just for each of us. How wonderful is our Father, how faithful is our Savior, how trustworthy is the Holy Spirit! Indeed, even as dust, we are greatly blessed.

Photo by Nico on Unsplash

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A picture of Earth from space

This is the way you should go

By / 2 minutes of reading /

As we draw closer to a new year, I hope each of us will find a time when we can be alone with the one true God. Through Jesus, our Lord and Savior, let us draw near to God and worship Him, praise Him, and, through the Holy Spirit, listen to Him. 

Has the World Lost Its Mind?

We live in a time of significant changes and great challenges. Powerful countries are redrawing their borders, engulfing other sovereign states as they reposition themselves to carry out their agendas.

America is fractured; even many family members hate each other because of their political views. The UK wrestles with Brexit, its most divisive issue in decades. Countries in Central and South America struggle economically and politically. Europe, too, struggles with many of their EU countries experiencing minimal economic growth and social issues that expose old wounds and old hatred (i.e., anti-Semitism). India, Asia, and many countries in Africa are experiencing political strife and regional violence.

Peace and Good News

Nevertheless, through Jesus, we always find peace and good news. And we should remember that, in His own time, God moves rapidly. We see this in Isaiah 48:3 (ESV), “The former things I declared of old; they went out from my mouth, and I announced them; then suddenly I did them, and they came to pass…“

As the prophet Isaiah spoke God’s Word, let us ask God to say this to us, also: Your own ears will hear him. Right behind you a voice will say, “This is the way you should go,” whether to the right or to the left. (Isaiah 30:21 NLT)

Photo by The New York Public Library on Unsplash

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people walking in downtown as it snows

Soul Insulation

By / 2 minutes of reading

As I recently mentioned, we bought a shed for my office. Getting the electrical installed was easy-peasy because we “have” an electrician that is reliable and affordable. However, we have struggled to get my office insulated and drywalled. It seems that my project is too small for anyone to bother with.

My wife and I are about ready to do this work ourselves. When we were younger, we’d already had the job finished. However, time is catching up with us, and our strength is waning. Still, I’m confident that God will make a way for this work to be accomplished.

Just as a house or office needs insulation to keep out the extremes of weather, so we as Christians need insulation to maintain a barrier between what the Holy Spirit is working within us and what our society is attempting to stifle within us.

Soul Insulation

One of the best spiritual insulators for our minds and souls can be purchased for free. It is be found in 

Philippians 4:8-9, Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

This passage of scripture gives us the insulation that we need to keep the world from chilling the Holy Spirit’s fire within us or overheating our passion for the work God has given us, which can lead to frustration and anger. 

Keep the Precepts of Philippians

Daily we need to keep the precepts of Philippians 4:8-9 at the forefront of our thoughts. If we do this, then the storms of life may buffet us, but we will remain warm and snuggly with God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Photo by Matthias Kinsella on Unsplash

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Good to me

By / 2 minutes of reading /

When your favorite sports team wins you want to call a fellow fan and replay the great plays of the game. My son-in-law is this way. When you buy car and get a great deal you want to tell someone; talk about how the deal came down, how you got more for less and all the of the car’s cool features. When you plan your marriage anniversary and for the first time get it right you want to tells someone, everyone, post it on Facebook.

The sports fan will acknowledge their team’s mistakes but will gloss over them because, hey, their team won. This same process is true with the new car purchase and the anniversary celebration. Sure, it might have been tough but victory was won.

The fact is, we all need to celebrate the good things that happen to us. So, it shouldn’t be surprising when our eyes are opened by the Holy Spirit and we see what God has done for us. God loves us and Jesus intervenes for us with our heavenly Father. We see this in Psalms 13:6 which proclaims, “I will sing the Lord’s praise, for he has been good to me.”

Without a relationship with Jesus we have little hope for answered prayer for we will have ignored God’s greatest gift to us, How sad my life would be without God’s goodness to me.

Photo by Tom Grimbert (@tomgrimbert) on Unsplash

Well worn paths

By / 2 minutes of reading /

Growing up in Indiana, one of the fun things we used to do is go to Turkey Run State Park. The park is full of walking trails, some quite easy but others difficult with ladders to climb, steep hills, narrow valleys plus lots and lots of mud. For a young person, it just didn’t get any better for a Saturday in the summertime than to spend the day walking these trails.

On the tougher trails we always looked for the well-worn paths, handholds, and footholds since, before us, these had proven their value to many that had tackled those difficult trails. The same goes for our walk with Jesus. Sometimes, Christ, has us hiking over flat land or rolling hills, but other times Jesus will put us on paths that are demanding and exceed our physical abilities; ways that can only be completed by Jesus holding or carrying us.

When we’re walking a tough, slippery trail in life its good to remember Colossians 2:6-7 which reads, “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.”

  • We must get our footing, so we don’t fall – rooted
  • We must have established the skills – built up in Him
  • We must have strengthened ourselves – strengthened in the faith
  • We must look for well worn paths – as you were taught

And, we must be as overflowing with thankfulness as kids on a summer day on their way to Turkey Run.

Commitment

By / 3 minutes of reading /

My wife and I will soon be celebrating our 40th wedding anniversary, over 30 years of marital bliss. 😉 Actually it’s much better than that, but we have been through a few challenging times in our relationship.

Commitment carried us through when nothing else seemed to be there. This provided us with time for our love to return. That’s the way it can be in our walk with Jesus. Something may or may not happen that we earnestly asked of our Lord but we were denied. What then? Christ’s disciples faced a similar situation which caused Jesus to ask:

“You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve. (John 6:67 NIV) Many left but some stayed, including the twelve.

I’ve heard it said that life is just solving a series of problems. There are times when that statement seems true. From, “Do I switch from whole milk to 2%?”, all the way to, “Dad is dead but he seems alive on the ventilator, so do we have them pull the plug?” I’ve lived both of these.

Remember, our battles, our tests, are not against people, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 6:12)

Just as in boxing, we must always face our opponents head-on. And, when we seem to be on the precipice of disaster let us stand our ground for our God is able, His right arm is not weak. God expects us to remain committed to Him and do as King David wrote in Psalms 3:3-6

A psalm of David. When he fled from his son Absalom.

3 But you, Lord, are a shield around me,    
my glory, the One who lifts my head high.
4 I call out to the Lord,   
and he answers me from his holy mountain.
5 I lie down and sleep;    
I wake again, because the Lord sustains me.
6 I will not fear though tens of thousands    
assail me on every side.

Photo by Quino Al on Unsplash

Personal Comments:

Many of my recent posts have been about commitment, perseverance, knowing what you believe, and so forth. This is not because there’s nothing else to write about. Rather, people around the world are in a spiritual battle the likes of which haven’t been seen in hundreds of years.

Our struggle is not against individuals. We are not the “negative” group. We want to uplift people. We want morality and human rights. Our struggle is a spiritual one.

If we allow ourselves to get caught up in hating or disparaging individuals then we will lose. Only as we battle on our knees and dare to speak what is true with our voices will we be found standing with Jesus. It is a time when we all must be bold.

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