World War 2 officially ended on September 2, 1945 when the Japanese surrendered to the Allied forces on board the USS Missouri. Unfortunately, not everyone got the memo. On March 10, 1974, Lieutenant Hiroo Onada became the last WW2 Japanese soldier to surrender. He had been left on one of the Philippine islands in December of 1944. For 39 years he kept up the fight – killing at least 30 Filipino nationals. All efforts to convince him to surrender or to capture him had failed -- including broadcasting messages over loudspeakers and dropping leaflets from the air. When he finally handed over his rusted sword to President Marcos, he described his 29 yrs of unnecessary fighting as “complete unhappiness.” Before we laugh too much at Lt. Onada, are we much different? Have you ever fought a battle that’s already been won? For example, I believe all of us were created…

Intentions are powerful. Whether good or bad, intentions reflect a sense of purpose and speak to motive. By its very nature, something that happens intentionally did not happen accidentally. If I intentionally drop my coffee (which, trust me, I would never do), that is different than if someone accidentally knocks it out of my hand. The difference lies in motive. One person wanted to knock my coffee out of hand -- for whatever crazy reason! That's why trying to understand someone's intent helps us understand what happened. Intent speaks to why -- why did that person knock the coffee out of my hand? Why did my child act out? Why did that employee miss a deadline? Why did the coach run that particular play instead of another one? Intentions can also be tricky. Unless someone tells you their intention, you're left to piece it together from their actions. That's not impossible, but it…

On the cross, Jesus shows us the kind of person he really is and the kind of person he wants us to be. Much of who I am today I owe to the influence of my parents – especially my dad. Although he never served as an elder or deacon, his influence led 3 out of 5 sons to serve in ministry at one point or another. Picked up my love of bluegrass music from my dad. He modeled unconditional love for my mother. He instilled within me a love for the local church. This is one of the main reasons my wife and I are committing $5,000 to Mountainview's EnVision campaign. A good example of my dad's influence and impact came at one of the most difficult times in my life. When it came time to discuss whether or not to leave my mother on life support, I’ll never…