I have a confession: I am tired of negativity. Much of our daily dose of news is negative. Every "breaking story" has its own ominous sound track and gloomy graphics. Gloom and doom. Unfortunately, some of this gloom and doom mentality has crept into the Body of Christ. Not Jesus himself, mind you -- his church. The group of people also known as the second incarnation of Christ. We are living in difficult days. There is no question about that. But to hear some believers talk, we seem to be living in a day and age where God is acknowledged but noticeably absent. In other words, they still believe in God; they just may not believe he can (or will) make much of a difference. I disagree. "Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith…
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On this first day of 2013, let me encourage you to live each day of this new year with intention and decisiveness. Choose to not be one of those people who drift through life like a pinball in a pinball machine -- bouncing from bumper to bumper, at the mercy of circumstances. One of my favorite Bible verses that describes living with purpose is Acts 13:36. The Apostle Paul is speaking in a synagogue in Pisidian Antioch. As he is building his case for the authenticity of Jesus as Messiah, he drops in this commentary regarding King David: "For when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep." I love that verse! You only have one life in which to serve God's purpose -- and that is the life you are living now. We can build on the generations that preceded us; we can pave the way…
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Well, hello 2013. We're officially entering that time period where we will write the wrong date for about a week or two. Even typing 2013 seems odd. Today marks the end of one year; tomorrow begins a new one. At the stroke of midnight, the year will change. But will you? I've never been one to make New Year's resolutions (I've tried once or twice). Even though I don't make resolutions doesn't mean I just stumble into a new year unprepared. Instead of resolutions, I try to find reflections. I try to reflect on what went well during the previous year ... and what didn't. I try to find time to think deeply about who I am and who I want to be. I spend time going through my relationships. I dust-off my mission to see how closely I am still aligned with it. Reflecting is one of the many…
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You 2.0 Did you know the first smartphone was not an iPhone? For people who belong to the cult of all things Apple, I know that is hard to believe. The first smartphone was the Nokia Communicator and it was released in 1996, eleven years before the first iPhone. There are now one billion smartphones in use. It took sixteen years to accomplish, but one out of every seven people in the world owns a smartphone. Analysts predict it will take only three more years to double that number. Besides being able to make an actual phone call, I can use my smartphone to read the Bible, write a novel, check the weather, or fling angry fowls across the sky. These are called apps. And one of the things I love most about my apps: they update themselves. Unless I choose otherwise, I don’t even have to know when they…
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Socks and underwear. There's a good chance that either socks or underwear will be in my Christmas stocking (again) this year. My mom gave me socks and underwear as a child. Tonya has continued the tradition. If I weren't married, there's a good chance I would buy myself socks and underwear. The reason? I need socks and underwear. When I was a child, my Christmas list was filled with things that I wanted. Bikes, baseball gloves, or the latest game. I don't remember ever putting toothpaste on my list, although it had a way of showing up in my stocking (and still does). At some point, Christmas became about getting what you want, not what you need. Retailers exploit this through sales that begin before Thanksgiving. Five and six-year-olds put iPads and iPhones on their list. So do forty and fifty-year-olds. Maybe you'll get a Lexus wrapped in a bow.…
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