Living in light of eternity

There is the story of the Indian tribe stuck in a prolonged blizzard in the dead of winter. The chief sends out some scouts to forage for food. After three days they return with the report, "Well, there's good news and there's bad news. Which do you want first?" They want the bad news. "There's absolutely nothing to eat except buffalo chips." "Well, what's the good news?" the chief asks. "There's lots of it." I think worry is a lot like buffalo chips , there's lots of it. There will always be something to worry about. For the person prone toward anxiety, there seems to be an almost limitless supply. Whether it's the economy, politics, world events, or more personal things like school, job, family, children, grandchildren, or health, it's always something. When I was younger I didn't seem to have as much trouble with worrying. Maybe I had youthful optimism. It seems that after you have a few more lumps and...

I have recently noticed a tendency among many Christians. I would call it "moralizing". The Collins Essential English Dictionary defines this as "to discuss or consider something in the light of one's own moral beliefs, esp. with disapproval." Certainly we, as followers of Christ, are called to be moral. But I wonder if we are called to "moralize". I think we fall into "moralizing" when we interpret almost everything in light of its moral meaning. Many things in life should be interpreted through a moral grid, but not everything. There is white, there is black, and there is gray. Not everything in life is either black or white. And just because I deem something as black, doesn't mean I necessarily need to speak out about it or criticize others for not seeing it my way. Job's counselors could be described as moralizers. They could perceive all Job's faults, but could offer no real help. They could speak for human cond...

I recently had an interesting experience talking with a young 5th grade teacher. She had just graduated from a university in Texas and secured a good teaching position. In today's economy, that's quite an accomplishment. She liked the students but was extremely frustrated. I asked her what the problem was. After very little thought, she said, "I just want to reach people for Jesus Christ." As she shared these thoughts, she started to cry a bit. I was listening intently and I got teary eyed also. I know that passion. Frankly, I was thinking, " I remember feeling that way." It was so moving to see a person with a compassion for the lost, and a passion for sharing Christ; that deep concern you feel when you consider the destiny of someone who does not know Christ and the future that awaits them if they don't rectify their situation. I believe that deep feeling of compassion is one of the hallmarks of the Spirit-filled life. Matt 9:36 36 When h...

This time of year my mind always goes back to the 6T Ranch and Charles and Anne Towery . Charles passed away on January 1st, then several years later Anne went to join him on January 29, 2003. That particular New Years day was one I'll never forget. We got the call that Charles had passed. We were invited to come up to the ranch. So we loaded up our three children and headed up the Katy Hockley Cut-Off. Several friends of the family were there, and Anne greeted us in an unusually warm and gracious manner, considering she had just lost the love of her life. Although "lost" is not exactly accurate. After a bit Anne asked, "Do you want to see Charles?" At first I didn't understand what she meant until Nona whispered, "He's laid out in the sunroom ." I don't normally like to go to funerals, and "viewings" even less. There is something about a dead person laying at the other end of the room. But this was different. Anne escorted our f...

Johnny could hardly believe it- he was finally in High School. All through his long career in Junior High, he had dreamt of going to South High- the big hallways, the spacious lockers, and the new pride of being one of the “Mustangs”. He’d always thought it would be so cool to be a “High School Student”…But now it was his first day, and as he walked up those stone steps and entered the giant doorway he had to admit, he was a bit scared... And he should be! South High, like many schools had a “caste system”. The first thing Johnny noticed was how much smaller he was than most of the guys- and a lot of the girls too. I guess they were right when they said he hadn ’t experienced his “growth spurt” yet. Most things went along pretty well that first day except two- navigating the halls, and lunchtime. Johnny never could have guessed how much the freshmen could get pushed around trying to get into their lockers. And he found a group of older guys that you just had to steer clear of. He calle...

My wife and I learned something very early about our youngest. If we didn't keep him busy, we were in trouble. Drew was blessed with an extra dose of energy, initiative, and drive. Great if you are an entrepreneur, not so great in a young boy soon to be a man- full of testosterone and spit. When he was in sports, everything was fine. When the season was over, we found ourselves driving all around town to malls and sports shops to buy action figures, basketball cards, or whatever the next hobby or craze demanded. Actually this was true for both of our boys. We devised a very simple plan-- keep them in sports. As many sports as they could stand-- and it worked. By the time they got home from practice they was too tired for anything except studying, snacks, and bed. The beautiful thing about youth sports was that they were such a constructive way to siphon off all that extra energy. Energy that could have been misspent left un-channeled. Nothing good comes from boredom. It'...

My Father has the most interesting skill of saying things in a way you will remember. For most of our adult life, my wife Nona and I have lived far away from our parents. This meant that when we did get together, every moment counted. There would be great times of intense dialogue. Dad would often watch, listen, then make his point- with a zinger. As the children grew, they really grew- especially the boys. Kelli was a normal, cute, little blondie. Mark and Drew must have gotten all my large genes- there were none left for me. As they grew, Dad came up with one of his home-spun proverbs: "Big Dogs Need Hugs Too" Here's what I think he was getting at-- small puppies are cute and easy to love on. As they get older and bigger it's easy to forget their need for physical affection and affirmation, especially as they get much larger than you. Nancy Devlin, Ph.D., a practicing child psychologist, put it this way. "It is unwise to assume that children are secure i...