Despite the fact today we live much longer than our ancestors and work shorter hours, we have one complaint in common: we have too little time! That’s not true. The playing field is equal when it comes to time. We all have 24 hours at our disposal every day. The choice is ours if we’re going to live it up and out as a full portion life in God’s Name, or not. Please buy out today’s 86,400 seconds in his honor!

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Somewhere I read the following line: “It’s happier to be sometimes cheated than not to trust.” Paul takes it even further in 1 Corinthians 13 when he writes that we should always believe the best about one another. These are not sentimental words that we agree to piously while we still affirm recent international research about South Africa. The researchers found that less than 20% of people trust each other. I don’t want to live like this. I want to expect the best from other people because the Lord also expects it from me. From when he saved me, I wasn’t treated as a sinner. He really doesn’t think that I’m unable to do good and tend to do bad. No, God treats me like a temple of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). He looks at me as part of his new holy nation (1 Peter 2:9-11) and as a child of our Heavenly Father (1 John 3:1).

I refuse to live with suspicion. I refuse to become toxic and to find fault from early to late. I refuse to know more about everything that’s wrong with the world than what is right before God. I refuse to protect my name at all costs like I am someone special. My life is in the Lord’s hands.

Thank God I have realized that there are precious people who are not end consumers of other people. Such people who still trust others are actually all over the place. They don’t abuse others and are still willing to carry your burdens, to pray, to give and to heal. Such people you can trust with anything, from your cellphone, laptop, car, finances, to your hurt and suffering. Thank the Lord for such people who also carry stickers on their foreheads.

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Man recovers after ‘deathbed’ murder confession

When James Brewer suffered a stroke and realized he was dying, the church-going Oklahoma factory worker decided it was time for an extraordinary death-bed confession.

Brewer is alleged to have then told them he shot dead a man he believed was trying to seduce his wife more than 30 years ago.

Detectives said Brewer, 58, told them he wanted to “cleanse his soul” and go to meet his maker with a clear conscience.

But in a bizarre twist of fate, Brewer survived the illness and now faces a new murder trial over the 32-year-old death of Jimmy Carroll in Tennessee — where the death penalty may await him.

Last week, a newly recovered Brewer and his wife, Dorothy, sold all their possessions in a garage sale and left their modest wood-framed home in Shawnee, Oklahoma, where they had reportedly been living under the assumed names of Michael and Dorothy Anderson.

They drove to Hohenwald, Tennessee, where he surrendered to the authorities.

Prosecutors claimed Brewer had confessed to shooting dead Mr. Carroll, a neighbor, because he thought the man was trying to have an affair with his wife, Dorothy.

After he suffered a stroke earlier this month, Brewer allegedly told his wife to contact police in Tennessee and identify him as the suspect who had been arrested shortly after Mr. Carroll’s killing but released on bail.

Police said that Brewer admitted that he evaded bail and, with his wife, fled to Oklahoma where they started a new life, living quietly and becoming pillars of the local church.

The officer who interviewed Brewer at his bedside said his wife had tried to translate her husband’s alleged confession because she thought he couldn’t speak intelligibly due to his stroke.

Brewer told her to stop interrupting and said he wanted to confess himself, said police. He allegedly told officers he bought a gun and shot Mr. Carroll twice, leaving him dying in a pool of blood outside a petrol station.

Detective Tony Grasso, who heard Brewer’s statement, said: “He wanted to cleanse his soul, because he thought he was going to the great beyond.” Now grandparents, they have a daughter, Kelly, who went to a local university and married a soldier.

Beverly Bailey, a neighbor, described them as “modest, hardworking people who never went anywhere”.

“She was real soft spoken, and Mike was real, real soft spoken. He went to work grave yard shift and come home, and they’d just sit in there and that would be it.”

The Rev Lawrence Guest, the clergyman at the Good Shepherd Chapel where Mrs. Brewer established a Bible study group, said: “I don’t know what their former life was but I do know they were both dedicated to the Lord.”

He told The Oklahoman newspaper: “They’ve been in their own prison for the last 30 years. I think they’ve done their time.”

But Brenda Buie, the murder victim’s sister, accused Mr. Brewer of opening “all kinds of wounds for us”.

“Why now come back? Is his conscience bothering him you know? Is it because he doesn’t want to die with this on his heart?” she said. “We just hope that something good comes out of this.”

Brewer, who has yet to offer a plea, was formally charged last Thursday and is due to appear in court in Tennessee, which still has the death penalty, at the end of this month.

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No, we don’t have to be full-time experts of everything that is wrong. Or about all the latest sins on the market. Indeed, Paul teaches in Romans 16 that we should be ignorant about sin and experts about God. But that doesn’t mean that we can rest on our laurels about what is wrong. We are called to be holy, like Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 4. A life well lived for God is equal to a life that flees from that which is wrong. A life that stretches to the honor of God is a life that is not at the same place on the same time as sin. Scared of a snake? No, only careful. The Lord is our only shelter and stronghold!

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What about the second line in the call of Jesus? Yes, that would be to love the Lord with all of our hearts and with all of our souls. And to love our neighbors as ourselves. Jesus did not say we should build big static memorials and monuments for worship, or turn our buildings into worship warehouses (thanks Len Sweet for the image from your new book: I am a Follower, 2012). His emphasis was and still is on calling people in to follow Him and then to immediately send them out into the world as disciples to serve and love Him in whatever ways He called them to do. Only by being sold out to Christ and through loving Him with every nerve cell, heartbeat, breath and wink of our eyes, can we become real worshipping followers on the roads of life. Otherwise, if we get the lines mixed up, we’ll live our lives according to our own preset courses and programs. Then we’ll only head to those worship warehouses that suit our own consumerist religious needs. Hear the call of Christ, all three lines… and follow Him!

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Years later some of Karsh’s portraits were on exhibition in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. There the curator noticed an elderly man who came to see the exhibition day after day. Every time he stopped in front of the photograph of Casals and stood there for what seemed to be ages. One day the curator walked up to this gentleman and kindly tapped him on the shoulder to find out why he came to see this picture every single day. Irritated the man frowned at the curator and said: “Hush, young man! Can’t you see I’m listening to the music?”

Beautiful! It reminds me of John Keats who, in his well-known poem “Ode on a Grecian Urn” wrote the following words:

“Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard
Are sweeter; therefore, ye soft pipes, play on;
Not to the sensual ear, but, more endear’d
Pipe to the spirit ditties of no tone.”

The secret of life is to dance to different drums and to hear music that no one else hears, or listens to. I think this is what the first verses of Revelation 14 convey to us. Followers of Jesus hear different music. They hear the sounds of heaven. The bandwidth of their lives is set to the victorious notes of the Lamb that was slain. They sing songs of praise and joy in sync with all the occupants of heaven. That’s why they also train their ears to hear this divine music more clearly day after day.

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No, God is not a Funspoiler. He is not out to try and spoil your fun. The Lord’s route is really packed full with joy. He leads us on the route of happiness… but then it’s on his terms! On Christ’s route we are always followers. We don’t take the lead. That’s why we don’t have the “luxury” of deciding when we want to pray and when we don’t. Or when we want to care about others and when we want to be rude. We serve God full-time, like Jesus explains in Luke 17:7-10. We all have the same calling: to be his disciples! Take note, not his admirers, fans or supporters!

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However, there’s good news. Every one of us who belongs to the Lord is still under construction. We are life-long sculptures in progress in the hands of our heavenly Sculptor. We are under permanent construction of the Holy Spirit. He’s the Master Builder from heaven. He transforms human ruins into living temples who honor God. Sometimes we play owner-builder and chaos ensues. Thankfully God starts over with us on a daily basis. That gives me hope to keep walking every day.

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Far too many times I got involved in debates or discussions that left me with toxic feelings and thoughts afterwards. Perhaps it’s because I have a permanent sticker on my forehead that reads: ‘Sucker for punishment.’ Or perhaps it’s because of my eagerness not to let a good debate slip through my fingers. In any case, it’s not wise to get involved in verbal discussions with bullies, especially those religious or non-religious bullies who see you as their next human target to beat up through verbal abuses and one-sided rational arguments.

The solution — well, it’s as simple as staying away from bullies. Avoid them as far as possible. They’re everywhere — on the Internet, at the office, in church… Never get involved in their game. They only play according to their own rules and game plan. They have no plans to listen to you, or to be open to suggestions, ideas or any other viewpoints. Once you allow them to pose their questions and get into their ‘fighting stance,’ they’ll dictate the conversation. You’ll only end up as the accused who must always answer to them.

Secondly, choose your battles well. You can’t sidestep all conflicts. Sometimes you have to face people that disagree with you. But choose wisely how, where and when to respond. Remember that you don’t have to play on the same field as those who oppose, challenge or threaten you verbally. Choose some good questions of your own. Yes, and also learn from Proverbs 26:4-5 that sometimes silence is a far better answer than words. To answer a fool could change you into a fool as well.

Thirdly, walk away from any discussion that turns into a verbal skirmish. You don’t have to win all debates. It’s a sign of immaturity. Only school kids want to win all fights at all costs. Admit you’re too weak to play on the verbal battlegrounds of your superior competition and get away from there.

Lastly, always choose to bless and uplift others through your words and interactions. Sidestep toxic words. Choose words that create oxygen and safe spaces for others.

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We’re all travelers, and that doesn’t only apply at the beginning of the year with all our plans and resolutions. All of life is a journey, one with a starting point, a direction and a final destination. The art of a well-lived life is to know who is your Traveling Companion and other fellow travelers, on which route you find yourself, and where you’ll encounter the end of the road. By the way, if your most important Traveling Companion this year is not God Himself, then you’re going to get lost along the way. Then you aren’t really traveling… No, then you’re merely wandering around from day to day. Ask Jesus to be your permanent Traveling Companion. Then He’s also the Way and the real Destination like He says in John 14:6.

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