Thursday, March 14, 2024

Faith Proclaimed

 


John Crawford is one of my closest friends, my financial representative and my wife's boss.  He has four sons which are each amazing in their own way.  One of his sons, Josh, works at Passion Church.   Three years ago he was leading the students there and his message was recorded and posted at YouTube.   Last year, I was blessed to hear Josh speak at his nephew, Nathaniel's funeral.  Nathaniel was able to meet his family, but only lived a few hours after birth due to a developmental condition.  Josh showed an unbelievable amount of empathy and love for his nephew and his family.   But he also expressed complete confidence in God's plan for him and the impact that he had on the world in the short time he was here.  I know Josh is having a huge impact on the students in his church, and I can't wait to see his impact on the world.  Join me in praying for Josh and his ministry.




Thursday, March 7, 2024

Well Done

 

Women have been fighting for fair treatment since the beginning of time.  Some would say that we have made some progress and others would say the problem is worse than ever.  Christians should be the ones leading the charge, but regrettably, there are plenty of us who have either offended women or not taken a strong enough stand for them.  Shining a light on our shortcomings cannot dim what Jesus did.  On a hot day, Jesus sat by a well as a woman approached and asked her for a drink.  She was surprised because she was a Samaritan - and she was a woman.  Jewish men would not typically start conversations with either.  Also, Jesus knew that she had been married 5 times and was currently living with a man she was not married to.  None of this would keep Jesus from talking to her with the goal of helping her, not condemning her.  Dear God, please help me to be more like Jesus today.

Click here for a short video illustrating the story.

Thursday, February 29, 2024

Choose Wisely

Two weeks ago I posted that I was turning off the TV for 40 days with one exception.  Caroline and I had been talking about watching The Chosen for a while, but never started it, so we decided that could be our one cheat.  We are now near the end of Season 1, and I have enjoyed it.  The Chosen is about the life of Jesus, but one of the things I was surprised by is how the writers have blended in supporting stories from the Old Testament.  I have seen this done in books before, but this is the first time I have seen it on the screen, and it is very effective.  Also, this is the first multi-season series about the life of Jesus, so the writers have more time to develop the characters and the storyline than in a 2 hour movie.  Season 1 is on Netflix, and we are moving over to Prime for Season 2.  I believe that all three seasons are on Peacock or can be steamed through The Chosen app which was free the last time I checked.  If you have watched it, I would love to hear from you.  If not, please join us!

Thursday, February 22, 2024

Babeling Nimrod

 

After the great flood, one of Noah's grandsons, Nimrod, became a mighty hunter and then a king.  He had everything a king could want, but whatever that was, it wasn't enough.  He ordered his people to build a tower from bricks and tar that would reach the heavens, not as a monument to God's power, but as a monument to themselves.  Everyone could gather there in one place so they could each tell one another how great they were.  Sound familiar?  4500 years later we have our own Tower of Babel.  

Social media has a lot of different faces, but one of the most common is that it provides a place where we can all gather and tell one another how great we are - getting the perfect photo, on the perfect vacation, in the perfect location with the perfect family.  I recognize that many times these posts are innocent, but when a person becomes obsessed in building their image to be as good as, or better than someone else, that image building has become an idol for them - just like the Tower of Babel.  

Now when God saw the Babylonians gathering to build the tower and worship themselves, he confused their language so that they couldn't understand each other, forcing them to separate and populate new regions.  God could have a similar plan for social media, but in the meantime, I want to do my best not to be a babeling nimrod.  I hope you will join me.

Thursday, February 15, 2024

Good Morning Jesus

 


I was 19 years old when Joan Lunden joined Dave Hartman as the host of Good Morning America.  It was 4 years later when I married Caroline that I started watching GMA regularly.  GMA became a part of my morning routine.  Joan and Dave are now long gone.  I like some of the current hosts more than others, but I continue to watch.  It's a habit - a 40-year habit.  I am going to try something new for the next 40 days.  No television with two exceptions.  I can watch while I exercise.  I don't need any new excuses not to exercise.  Also, Caroline and I have been wanting to watch The Chosen.  So, we are allowing that as the one other exception.  I am two days deep into this, and I can't tell you how many times I have reached for the remote control.  I hope to replace the TV habit, with the habit of thinking of Jesus.  So far, it is working.  Who knows, maybe 40 days will turn into 40 years.

Thursday, February 8, 2024

Control Freak


Our ConnectGroup from church gathered at our house for our first meeting of the semester last night.  We are reading "
The Cost of Control" by Sharon Hodde Miller.  In the first chapter, Sharon explains that our desire for control is so strong, that if we don't have control in a situation, we have a tendency to create an illusion of control.  That illusion may help to reduce anxiety in the short term, but if the illusion is not based in truth, the damage can be severe.  One of the most graphic examples of this happened leading up to May 21st 2011.  You may remember that as the day that the world was going to end - according to Harold Camping and his followers.  Luckily for us, Harold's illusion did not come to fruition, and our world is still intact.   There are at least two things unsettling about this.  The first is that Harold had already been wrong once when he predicted the world would end in 1994.   Apparently, people's memory was short.  The second is that the Bible clearly states that we will not know when the world will end, so people making a claim that they know are misinformed.  There were people who burned through their life savings expecting the world to end, and others that committed suicide when the story didn't unfold as Harold had predicted.  Sharon promises to deliver solid advice on what we can do to manage our desire for control more effectively.  I look forward to learning more.

Tuesday, January 30, 2024

The Fitz

 


We got some sad news this week.  Richard Fitzgerald, one of my closest friends passed away.  I have known Richard, his wife, Kris, and much of their family for 35 years.  We first met them when we moved into our home in South Gwinnett in 1987.  We played on the same ALTA tennis team for many years and attended the same church.  Richard was a deacon at the church, always holding leadership roles, and has taught Sunday School most of his adult life.  Richard and Kris bought a second home at Lake Hartwell and then moved there full-time when they both retired.  We have experienced our kids getting married, grandkids being born and grandkids learning to ski and love the lake.  Richard was diagnosed with Cancer and has been going through treatment for the last few years.  At times it seemed the Cancer was under control,  but it continued to reappear.   Richard endured the treatment with an amazing attitude and unbelievable faith.  Richard will be remembered by many as a great husband, and a proud father and grandfather.  But I will remember Richard as one of the most faith-full friends a person could ever ask for.  I am glad that Richard is now fully healed with his Father in heaven, but I will miss him dearly every day.