Everything I Need to Know About Marriage, I Learned at High School Graduation

1. Achievement ought to be celebrated! There is a time to dance. Don't go on to the next thing until you've rejoiced some. Before you ask for future blessings, express your gratitude for what you've had.
   
2. Change, sometimes difficult change, is the only way to the next big thing! Jesus, "for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God" (Hebrews 12:2). Making the decision, making the move, and adjusting in the transition are difficult, but there is glory on the other side. Press toward the goal of a "full life" kind of marriage!
   
3. It's not just a piece of paper. It is very important! A diploma represents the learning you've experienced. A marriage license represents the commitment you've made – legally and spiritually. Don't skip that step and don't treat it with contempt once you've got it.
   
4. Knowledge must lead to wisdom and action! Quoting Ephesians 5:33 and walking it are not the same. Husbands, love your wives! Wives, respect your husbands. Want to know how? Check out Love and Respect in the book, on CD or on DVD.
5. Friendship is essential. God was right when he said, "It's not good for man to be alone." Friends were critical in high school and celebrating with others is better than celebrating alone. Friendship is critical in marriage. Be a friend to your spouse and have other Christian Couple friends. It makes life better! Much better!

My Crown at His Feet

Interested in the perspective of a queen? Elizabeth I of England (1533-1603) thought about her own death and the return of Christ and said, "I wish I could be alive when Christ returns because I would like to be the first earthly monarch to take my crown and lay it at his feet."

Elizabeth I never married. Some suggest that one of the reasons was that she would have relinquished royal power if she had a husband next to her; and she didn't want that. If that's true, it wasn't any man, or any love, that could compel her to relinquish her power. Christ alone compelled her.

Jesus has been given the name that is above every name that at his name every knee should bow. Our dream of humbly bowing to his feet when he returns reflects our heart of humility before him while we are waiting for the return. Give him your crown, your attention, your heart, and your love now. Then when you bow before him at his return, both of you will be smiling. That's Life at Work!

Changing Church

Two men sat on a park bench, eating lunch and talking about their church experience. With an expression of consternation, one said to the other, "My congregation is becoming more Christ-like… the same yesterday, today, and forever." (Leadership Journal, Fall 2008, p. 82)

Some of you will read that and immediately think, "What is he complaining about? The church should be just like it was yesterday and should stay like it is into the future!" Others of you will read it and think, "I understand that frustration. The only thing my church has changed in twenty years is the number of people who come. We've been in decline for ten years!"

So, should the church change?

Absolutely not!

And Definitely yes!

When the Hebrew writer said that Jesus was the same yesterday, today and forever he was warning the readers to guard against departing from the new, better covenant. Those who had taught them had led godly lives following Jesus. If they followed the same way, they would live godly lives, too. The consistency of Jesus confirms that truth. "Stick with what you've learned from those who taught you," the writer contends! Grace is much more beneficial than ceremonial foods!

Few people actually believe though that the church should not change in any way. I say "few." I don't know of any, but I don't know everybody.

We meet in buildings with padded pews. We sing songs from books or screens. We evangelize via Facebook, blogs, or church websites. We print material, we purchase advertisements, we have bank accounts (perhaps blank accounts right now), we own property and pave parking lots, we drink our fruit of the vine from tiny plastic cups, and we stare at the back of the head of the person in front of us during the communion. We baptize people in chlorinated water circulated through filters. We have Bible Classes and Children's Bible Hour. We wear suits on Sunday mornings (at least the real Christian men do) and jeans on Sunday night. The readers of Hebrews didn't do any of that. The list could go on and on.

Change? No way! I'll take God's grace over my filthy rags!

Change? Yes! How can we become all things to all people so that we can save some?

Believing is Seeing

Thomas saw, so he believed!  John reveals in his gospel account how Thomas came to believe in the resurrection:

"Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it," he said.

A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe."

Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!" (John 20:25-28)

We haven't seen the nail holes, but we believe.  Thomas saw and believed. What can we see because we believe?

Paul prayed that the eyes of the hearts of the faithful in Ephesus would be enlightened (1:18). He wanted them to see what they could see because they were believers.

First he wanted them to see their hope; namely, the riches of their glorious inheritance. Paul had already mentioned our inheritance when he wrote about the deposit of the Holy Spirit and the guarantee he represents (1:14); so I really believe that Paul is saying that we can see, through the eyes of faith, our salvation that will be seen when Jesus returns! Language like "streets of gold" and "gates of pearl" are is used to help us picture heaven. We also love the language of victory, eternal life, and glory! Our faith gives us the ability to see that the spiritual blessings of redemption, adoption, and forgiveness with culminate in Heaven! Can you see it?

Then Paul mentioned that he wants us to be able to see with the eyes of our heart that the power God used to raise Jesus from the dead works for us as we live our lives for God. We are the "fullness of him who fills everything in every way!" (1:23). Accomplishing the work of Jesus who will accomplish the work of God seems like an impossible role until we see by faith that God's incomparably great power is at work in our lives! We can accomplish the dream of God because we are empowered by God! The hungry can be fed! The enslaved can be set free! The oppressed can be rescued! The lost can be saved! Can you see it?

That's Life at Work!

Who Is This?

You're staring out your window watching a tornado in the distance. The sirens have been going off for the last fifteen minutes. The helicopters from the news channels are broadcasting video of this destructive beast and the predictions are that it will be in your neighborhood in five minutes. A man walks across your line of sight. He's in your yard. You wonder, "Doesn't he know? Doesn't he care?" He's looking at this storm. He seems to have no fear. You rush out to warn him; perhaps even to bring him inside to whatever safety you can offer. Instead of running back inside to safety, though, he looks at the tornado and… now get this… he rebukes the storm and says, "Quiet. Be still." Then the wind died down and it was completely still (Mark 4:39).

There are tons of parents who can't even say that to their five year old and it actually happen, but Jesus spoke to the storm and it obeyed! The storm obeyed Jesus!

Who is this? Read that with a voice of terrorized amazement! That's the question that the disciples in the boat asked. Who is this that even the winds and the waves obey him?

Frankly, Jesus seems somewhat surprised. Could he be annoyed, even? Did Jesus get annoyed?

Anyway, Jesus asked them, "Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith? What does he mean by, "Do you still have no faith"? Well, remember what Jesus has already done. He's gotten the "thumbs up" from the great, yet decreasing man of God, John the Baptist. He has cast out demons and amazed people with his teaching. He has cleansed a man of his leprosy, restored health to a shriveled hand, and gave walking ability to a man flat on his back. Why are they afraid? Don't they know their traveling companion by now? Haven't they figured out who he is? Don't they realize that they can put their trust in him?

What about us, though? Here we are on this side of the exorcism of Legion, the healing of the woman who just touched his clothing, the resurrection of Jairus' child, the feeding of the thousands, the walking on water, and his own resurrection and ascension to the right hand of Almighty God! And when somebody asks for the reason for our hope, we have doubts as to whether we'll really be saved? When we're hurting we question whether he is "with us?" When we're in financial straits, we wonder if we can stay devoted to his kingdom and righteousness? Really? After all that? Including his resurrection?

You can trust him! You can have faith! You can rely on him! That's Life at Work!

 

Devise a Plan for Reconciliation

Have you booted anybody out of your life? Whom have you banished from your presence? Anybody? I'm not necessarily asking who literally is not welcome around you anymore. Perhaps that's true of someone; but who can't get close to you? Are you so angry with a wife, disappointed in a child, irritated at a parent, or hurt by a former friend that you have shut them out?

King David had a son named Absalom who had killed his brother Amnon because Amnon had raped his sister Tamar. It was a horrible chain of events fueled by lust, lying, and unbridled anger. The result was that one son was dead, a daughter was in mourning, and Absalom was banished. David longed for Absalom, but he couldn't move beyond his torment.

A wise woman approached David with a sad story of her own, but it turned out her story wasn't true. Instead it was designed to help David think outside of his own circumstances. She illustrated David's need to let Absalom back in with these powerful words: "But God does not take away life; instead, he devises ways so that a banished person may not remain estranged from him" (2 Samuel 14:14).

God creates a way for shut out people to come back in! Is it time for you to let somebody get close again? Isn't it time to end the pain with reconciliation? That's Life at Work!

Tell me, what's the most important part of the plan on your part when you want to reconcile with someone who has been banished from you?

Somebody Better Say Something!

The demons identified Jesus as the Son of God, and Jesus gave them strict orders to keep quiet about his identity (Mark 3:11-12). His family thought he was out of his mind, and the Pharisees used their words of doubt as an occasion to accuse Jesus of being possessed by a demon himself (3:20-22). The demons knew the truth, but didn't need to be speaking it. Jesus' family and Pharisees didn't know the truth, so their doubts and accusations were detrimental to the cause.

Somebody needed say something! And Jesus found the somebodies. He found twelve men and appointed them ambassadors. We usually call them "apostles." He called them so that they would spend time with him; and then be sent by him to preach, and to show that he was not possessed by demons, but had power over them (3:14)!

The doubters are still talking. Believers better say something! That's Life at Work!

Passing the Torch

My blog buddy, fellow-servant, MBC grad, and friend John Dobbs is asking about preachers who influenced us. He wants to know who Passed the Torch to others. One of the preachers who passed the torch to John was my Dad, Cecil May, Jr. He passed to me, too.

When I was born, Dad was preaching for the Fulton Church of Christ in Fulton, MS. When I was 6 months old, he got a job at Columbia Christian in Portland, OR; but that was on the left coast in the late 60's, and we didn't stay long. By the time I was three, we were already back in Mississippi, and dad was preaching at the Vicksburg Church of Christ, high on the hill on the north side of I-20. We stayed there until I was in the 5^th grade, so I began listening to sermons while in Vicksburg. I heard some great ones. I can't tell you the title of one of them. I couldn't give you an outline or the name of series he preached. What I know is that I grew there and I know other people grew; and I believe that was a result of his preaching.

When we moved to Florence, AL, in the middle of my fifth grade year (and I only had one 5^th grade year), we went to the church that met on the campus of International Bible College, now Heritage Christian University. There were some great preachers there. Great preachers already, and others who would be great preachers. Charles Coil was powerful, and his way, if you know what I mean, was something to be respected. James Long was preaching a sermon about dying to self on the day that I was baptized. He was a great preacher. Jim Martin was there. He's a great preacher. But the preaching that I remember the most was the preaching I heard from Dad as we travelled all over Alabama and Mississippi. One sermon he called "Husbands, Wives, and Tongues." He preached that in a lot of meetings. I was never sorry to hear that I was going to hear it again. It was the most practical sermon. I wonder how that sermon played a role in my passion for marriage ministry now.

Even after we moved from Florence, then, Cecil May was the preacher who most often had my ear. That changed finally in 1989. Another preacher got my ear then. I've heard this guy nearly every Sunday since. He is me. But I like to think, that in all of my sermons, I still get to hear a bit of my dad.

I've got to say that the most significant lessons I learned from my dad, I learned watching him. I could write about what a good pastor he was. I think you know what I mean. But he was, and is a great family man. He loves my mother, and I never had reason to wonder if I would live in a broken home. He is also a great dad. If I had a dollar for every time he told me that he was proud of me, I could have funded Magnolia Bible College for the next hundred years. I preach a lot of grace, and I learned grace from him – from his sermons certainly, but moreso from his home-life – from the way he treated me.

As my dad grows older, he is still doing some great preaching. He spoke at a church leader's event for Oklahoma Christian two years ago. He did a great job! I'm still hearing about it from leaders from around here who still tell me that they heard it and appreciated it.

When I think about the preachers dad has influenced, including me, my brother, and my brother-in-law, this verse comes to mind with a little adaptation for the circumstances:

"The leader of the band is tired and his eyes are growing old, but his blood runs through my instrument, and his sermon's in my soul; my life has been a poor attempt to imitate the man. I'm just a living legacy to the leader of the band."

Thanks to Cecil May, Jr., my Dad, who is still educating and training preachers at the V.P. Black School of Biblical Studies, for passing the torch to me!

UBU - Any Rapper Writers from Churches of Christ?

I doubt that all preachers from Churches of Christ are immune from the temptation to imitate a favorite preacher? Watch this video from Ed Young and then write a lyric or two about us. Be cool about it. This could be fun.

Why Does He Talk Like That?

I've had people tell me that I don't have a strong Mississippi accent. That seems unusual. The first half of my life was lived in Mississippi and Alabama. There was a short, short move to Oregon when I was 6 months old, but I don't think my accent changed there. When I think about the question, "Why doe s he talk like that," I picture an eight year old Mississippi boy hearing a Bostonian for the first time in his life." "Why does talk like that?"

The Pharisees were not concerned with Jesus' accent. It wasn't the way he said, forgive." Their concern was that he said he could do it! "Why does he talk like that? He's blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?"

Why does he talk like that? Jesus says the things he does because he has the authority! He's got the power! He proved that he has the power by telling the paralytic to get up and walk. Actually, to be precise, he proved that he has the power because when he told the paralytic to walk, the man did!

When the man walked out in full view of everybody, the people were amazed. They said, "We've never seen anything like this!" Mark tells us this story, because he wants to be amazed at Jesus. We didn't see the paralytic walk, but, no doubt, we can still say with the people, "We've never seen anything like this?"

Is there a counter-cultural teaching of Jesus that Mark would include right after a miracle like this if he were writing just to you? What amazing teaching of Jesus would be important for you to hear right you were amazed at the way Jesus spoke and the way he healed the paralytic?

Would Mark try to show you that people are more important than rules to God? Is there a need for you understand that message about Jesus being accessible to sinners because they really know they have to have him? Would he tell you to let your light shine and be courageous in faith? Would he tell you to commit to your marriage? Do you need to be amazed at his teaching about the dangers of loving money or how real leaders serve?

Jesus has spoken about your life! What amazing teaching do you need to take into your heart right now? That's Life at Work!

 

When They Leave

He was a devout believer. He was saved by God's mercy. He had eternal life because of his faith in Christ Jesus.

He was a loving husband, a dedicated deacon with an evangelistic fervor. He passed his faith to his children. His wife was strong in faith, too; largely because of his spiritual leadership in the home.

And then an unbeliever at work asked him a question. It was a difficult question with philosophical and theological crossings. The devout believer knew there had to be a good answer, but he didn't know it immediately. He was an engineer. He spent 50 hours a week at a nuclear plant, so he did what most of us do when we need an answer to a question like that; he asked someone who he thought would have studied the issue. But he wasn't taken seriously; and the answer he received was puny. It didn't make sense to him and it sure wasn't going to make sense the unbeliever.

As the unbeliever half-heartedly delivered the puny answer, he was asked another difficult question – and another, and another, and another. Over a number of months, as he tried to discover for himself answers to questions and as he was offered measly answers from others who didn't understand the importance of moment; the believer's faith weakened. To make a long story sad, ultimately he didn't believe at all.

The experience of the readers of John's first letter was different from mine – to state the obvious. But even regarding those who leave, there is a difference.

The readers of 1 John could name people who had left their community of faith. They left because they had never believed. They denied that Jesus had come in the flesh. They had never bought into the truth of "the Word became flesh and lived for a while among us" (1 John 1:14). And to be honest, Jesus was quite clear, "If you don't believe I Am, you will die in your sins" (John 8:24). Those who didn't believe that Jesus was God incarnate left, and John says about them, "They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us" (1 John 2:19). His declaration about them not ever really belonging is about this situation where these anti-christs who left had never believed the truth about Jesus, so they were never really one of his disciples; they were still in their sin.

Most of the people I've seen leave the community of believers have been people who had believed, and were saved; but had lost their faith, lost hope, and forfeited their eternal life because they gave up the faith by which we are saved.

Either way, spiritual tragedy is the result

I've thought about these realities as I've thought about this story and 1 John over the years:

1. There are faith-building answers to your questions that you can pursue and discover.
   
2. Jesus really was God in the flesh and you must believe that to be saved.
   
3. True believers can lose their faith.
   
4. We have to take all questions seriously.
   
5. Untruths can sound convincing.
   
6. We have to be on our guard for our sakes, and the sake of others.
   

That's Life at Work!

The Pot and the Potter

You turn things upside down,

as if the potter were thought to be like the clay!

Shall what is formed say to him who formed it,

"He did not make me"?

Can the pot say of the potter,

"He knows nothing"? (Isa 29:16)

Isaiah got two important messages across to the people of Judah in this short comment about a relationship with God:

1. You can't make God what you want him to be. You can't turn things around claiming that he didn't form you; instead, you formed him. He is the original. You may form something that you worship as if it were God, but it won't be God. God Almighty existed before the world and he'll be ruling after you're dead.
   
2. If anybody perishes because they don't get it, it won't be God; it will be people.
   

And the best thing about this potter is that he loves his creation! He's not a tyrant out to destroy you. He is your creator, he understands everything, and he is your Father! That's Life at Work!

Don’t Tell Me you’re Famous

I'm famous.

I'm talented.

I'm healed.

Some things are so obvious, they don't have to be said; they just have to be shown. You can pass by the magazine stands at the book store or watch the TV and know that Taylor Swift is famous. She wouldn't have to tell you she was famous if you met her on the street in Nashville.

He had leprosy. There was no hiding that. And since he had it, when it was miraculously gone, there was no hiding that, either. Jesus told him, "See that you don't tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them" (Mark 1:44).

A healing speaks a thousand words! The priests would be challenged to believe because the unclean man could quit coming to see them. Jesus touched him, and removed his disease. What does that say about Jesus?

What does it say to you? That's Life at Work!

What is This?

What is This?

I remember when we got a glimpse through the trees on that eastern end of the Grand Canyon. We were travelling along and knew we had to be close – we were in the park after all. I wasn't prepared, though, to see this huge canyon! We were thirty feet from the biggest hole in ground we've ever seen, and we didn't know it until that little gap in the trees!

What is that?

I don't know if I actually said those words; but I said something like them.

When Jesus began to preach and work his miracles, the hearers and witnesses had my reaction to the Grand Canyon times a million! (Mark 1:27)

What is this? This new teaching and with authority! There has never been anyone like Jesus! We're catching a glimpse of Jesus on Sunday mornings at South Yukon. Want to see something so spectacular, you have to question what you've just seen? Come look at Jesus from the gospel of Mark with us. That's Life at Work!

Crazy People and a Faithful God

The two opposing commanders sat on opposite sides of the pool discussing the fight in which they were about to engage. They decided that each would choose twelve men and let them fight it out first. Twenty-four fighting men were chosen, and the account says that they grabbed each other's hair, drew their daggers, and stabbed their opponent in the torso. All twenty-four died right there, in the same way.

There is purpose behind telling stories like that. The first five chapters of 2 Samuel contain a number of crazy stories; crazy because they are about people and we act boneheadedly pretty often. Despite the craziness and inconsistency of people, though, God worked out his plan to place David, his choice for king, on the throne.

That's important because God had also promised that many years after David, one of David's descendants would reign. God had to work through many more whacked out human decisions to bring Jesus to his throne, too. But he's had lots of practice and he gets the job done! He is faithful to bring about what he has declared; including eternal life for the faithful. That's Life at Work!

Drop the “E”: From Feasting to Fasting

Had your fill of turkey yet? Hope not. You've got a week of reruns. Marshmallows from the sweet potatoes coming out of your eyes? They stack inside in you, you know. Have you ever thrown a clump of marshmallows in the back yard? They stay forever. They are not biodegradable. They take a while to digest, I bet, too. Have you already been to Braum's for their annual Egg Nog assault? I have. It's been out a couple of weeks now! Finishing off a Thanksgiving meal with Egg Nog is like wrapping your full tummy up in 4 quilts and a thick down comforter. On one level, you feel pretty comfortable and satisfied. On another level, your belly is saying, "It's pretty stuffy in here."

For bigger reasons than balancing out the diet, I want to suggest that in the next month – at least one day between Thanksgiving and Christmas – fast… and pray.

World-wide, we are producing more food than ever, but nearly a billion people still do not have enough to eat. Crop failures, fuel prices that consume about 65% of every food dollar shipped to many remote places, and higher demands for grain for non-food purposes have hurt efforts to battle world hunger. You probably know that hunger isn't just a foreign phenomenon. There are hungry locals, too. Be aware of them. Fast and pray for a God honoring mass feeding of the world.

I'm encouraging you to do some type of food fast – to connect the prayer to the problem. Talk to your doctor before you fast! Some of us have some diet necessities that we must consider. Getting hungry to prompt prayer, to get the focus off of yourself, and to let God know that your heart is serious and your mind is open to his wisdom could be fruitful. If you just can't do a food fast – take something out of your daily diet that makes an impact – a computer fast, as wireless fast, a dessert fast (ought to be more than a day), or a "eat out" fast. Take the money you would spend in a week of eating out and send it to a hunger-fighting faith-based organization. And pray! Did I say talk to your doctor before you fast?

Soldiers and Christians

What are the common concerns of Christians and soldiers? When I was first contemplating what I would write here and asked that question in my head, I thought, "That doesn't sound good. That could be understood to mean that I don't think there are Christian soldiers." So please understand, I know that there are Christians who are also soldiers. I'm thinking about the principles we follow about giving honor where is honor is do. From the vantage point of a Christian, what are some of the honorable motivations behind the actions of a soldier?

The pursuit of justice is a soldier's and a Christian's concern. God will one day "pay back with trouble those who have troubled Christians (2 Thess. 1:6). Why will he do that? Specifically because he is just. God put government in place to provide justice. Government is an agent of wrath to bring punishment to the wrongdoer according to Paul's inspired word (Romans 13:4). When evil doers are active, Christians and soldiers are right to be eager for justice to be accomplished. God sure is – twofold. He's got punishment for evildoers set up here after-here!

Another pursuit of both soldiers and Christians is the drive for an end of oppression. God cares for widows and orphans. He knows full well that both widows and orphans are the targets are greedy idolaters who will take affair advantage of others to fill their pockets. He knows that wicked men in position of power will abuse, steal from, and kill those who cannot protect themselves. God himself will be the witness and the judge of those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive aliens of justice (Malachi 3:5).

Soldiers and Christians have equal concern to bring justice to the evil doers and to rescue the helpless from the wicked who unmercifully oppress them.

But we go about it differently, as ordained by God and his son Jesus. As a soldier, including a Christian soldier, I am part of a force given authority by God to provide justice and protect the oppressed with force – you might say sword.

As a Christian citizen, I have the responsibility of attempting to end violence and oppression through the spreading of the gospel of peace. God would prefer that we reach the future would- be wicked men first, because he doesn't want anyone to perish.

Let's honor veterans; and especially for us, Christian veterans. And let's keep pushing forward to win the world for Christ with the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God!

Forgive Your Neighbor

Owen Schmitt, Seattle Seahawks fullback, beat his head with his own helmet in pregame warm-ups recently and split his head. He was on the sideline with an open wound and blood running down his face. You have to admire a guy like that…. Not!

We know people do that kind of thing. There's no denying that. It's not as if people don't hurt themselves sometimes, but when they do we don't overlook their behavior as if it is normal. We know something is not right. Without thinking, the word "bonehead" comes out of my mouth every time I see the video of Schmitt whacking his noggin.

C. S. Lewis asserts that the same tendency we have to protect our head instead of hurt it is the same tendency we have to forgive ourselves when we do wrong (Mere Christianity, "Forgiveness"). You don't have to write me telling me that some people don't forgive themselves for shameful acts. However, when people don't forgive themselves, we usually know that something is wrong and we try to convince them that they should forgive themselves.

Upon what principle do people usually forgive themselves? In the context of loving their wives like they love themselves, Paul wrote about husbands, "… no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it…" (Eph 5:29). People forgive themselves because they love themselves.

Jesus said that the second greatest command is to "Love your neighbor as yourself." There are many things involved in love, and one of them is forgiveness. How would Paul say you can love your neighbor like yourself? Feed him like you feed yourself. Care for her like you care for yourself. Here's a key application: forgive your neighbor like you forgive yourself.

Here are two reasons why we find it easy to forgive ourselves out of love for ourselves: (1) We know the pain that accompanies blame and bitterness and we don't want to make ourselves live with it; and (2) we judge ourselves by our intentions rather than our actions.

What would happen if you began to let those principles of self-love begin to work in your unforgiving heart for others? What if your neighbors, those who need your mercy, were to be loved by you like you love yourself? Could you, in order to love your neighbor like you love yourself, determine that you are not going to make them continue to live with the blame of what they did to you? Could you, in order to love your neighbor like you love yourself, assume the best about them instead of the worst – judging them by intentions rather than actions?

You can forgive them. That's Life at Work!

When Someone Turns to the Lord

"When someone turns to the Lord…." Isn't that a great line?

Turning is about change. A sinner is headed in one direction. Jesus calls it the road to destruction. Then, the sinner determines there is a better direction, and she turns to the Lord! Jesus says that this is the way to life, and though it is difficult, though it's the road less travelled, this turn is a great turn!

Scripture tells us that some turned from idolatry (1 Thess. 1:9). Others turned from Judaism or The Law (Acts 3:18-20). Everybody turns from death to life when they turn to Jesus. I've made a lot of wrong turns in my life. That's why my family got me a Tom-Tom GPS for Christmas. One turn I made a long time ago, though, was the perfect turn. I turned to the Lord.

When someone turns to the Lord, they follow him where he leads. He leads to green pastures and quiet waters. He leads us to restoration. He also leads us in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Since he leads us in the paths of righteousness and as we walk his way, as we add to our faith the character of Christ we know him better and we become more like him (2 Peter 1:5-9).

"But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory…" (2 Cor. 3:16-18).

In what ways are you more like Jesus than you were twenty years ago? Or ten? What about three? Are you more merciful? Do you practice greater patience? How have you grown in generosity? How much more zealous for God's will in this world have you become? Are your more prayerful? Are you filling up with love for God and for your neighbor? Turn to the Lord and follow his lead! God will transform you with ever-increasing glory! That's Life at Work!

They Got to Sleep

My friend John Dobbs reminded me of the "Held" video. "Held" was the song that a friend here introduced us to when our family friend Brad Skelton was killed in his car wreck. It was important to me then. I listened to it a lot when John Robert, John's son, died. I'm not sure how I would describe what it does for me. Comfort? Not sure. Explain? Don't know. Challenge? Maybe. "Can we not wait for one hour watching for our Savior?" Yes, I can; but it hurts while I'm waiting. At least the disciples got to sleep. And at the end of the song something is better. Maybe closer. Maybe.