Such an odd phrase!  It seems to have a strange origin and stranger application.  While the phrase “for goodness sake” is part of a translation of Plato’s Republic, it lives on in various places, including some Christmas songs to remind us of the quasi-omniscience of St. Nick.  But then, as now, it serves very little value in producing Goodness.  It is simply an exclamation to add flavor to an appeal.  “For goodness sake, women, bring me another Oreo!”  But the phrase raises some interesting questions.  If you have a minute, let’s explore them.

The idea of Goodness implies a contrast to something else – Badness!  And when you have a set of terms that create opposites, you must also have a standard that can be used to assess the amount or intensity of either extreme. 

• Is this thing Good or Bad? 
• Is this thing more Good than the other thing? 
• How Bad is this thing really, compared to another Bad thing?
• If I do a Bad thing so I can do a Good thing, is that good?

These hard questions must be considered when we talk about Goodness and Badness, or Rightness and Wrongness. Since analogies are Good, let’s play with one:

It is cold outside!  But who determines this coldness?  In this example, I do!  I think it is cold.  I think this because of some standard that I use to make this determination. It is cold because I am used to something warmer.  It is the middle of summer and it is 72°.  If I say it is cold then it is because I am used to or expect it to be 85°.  Let us jump forward 6 months to winter.  How ridiculous would I sound if I still said 72° was cold?  But wait!  This winter I took a vacation to the Bahamas so 72° is still cold.

Do you see the problem?  The standard keeps changing.  You want more ambiguity?  Ask my wife!  She will tell you that 85° requires a jacket, blanket or fireplace…no matter what season or county.  The only time we will get full agreement on this ever-shifting scale is in the extremes.  No one will argue that 72° below zero isn’t cold.  Equally, no one will argue that 105° isn’t hot – unless we are talking about your soup or coffee, that is only tepid.  Darn it!  There is that shifting standard again!

If we want to have a serious conversation about the coldness or hotness of something we have to start by applying a set of standards.  As long as don’t argue over Celsius or Fahrenheit, we at least have a common starting point.

So here you have it.  This is our world.  We have a habit of applying the standard of our choice to the world around us.  Miles vs Kilometers.  Pounds vs Kilograms.  IQ vs EQ.  The variables of what is hot & cold, tall & short, smart & ah…not-smart are subject to preference and malleable constructs.  Since this is how we approach nearly everything in our day-to-day life, it makes sense that we would keep this Play Dough view of good and bad…of right and wrong. Both “concepts”, goodness and badness, have been molded like putty into the image of our own experience or opinion.  This has become so common; our language has changed to include moral ambiguous phrases like “What is your Truth?”  Or “You do you and I will do me!”

With this approach to a critically important moral scale, I am now able to easily tell you that I am Good or that I am even better than you.  Actually, I am thankful that I am not like that sinner over there!  Sound familiar?  This fuzzy moral code is not new.  I would argue that it goes all the way back to the original Scale-shifter.  The serpent simply said, “Did God really say that?”  Question the standard and the next easy step is to create a new standard.  So what standard should we use to assess Goodness?  I thought you would never ask!

Jesus had a thing or two to say about Goodness.  When He was approached by the Rich young Ruler (Luke 18:18) “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”, Jesus responded, “Why do you call me good?  No one is good except God.”

Was this a reprimand for calling Him good?  Absolutely not!  It was an affirmation of His deity!  Jesus was drawing out the unknowing truth of what the man had said.  “I am God; therefore, I am Good – you have rightly said!”

This simple question/statement by Jesus solves our Shifting Scale problem.  WE are not the standard of Goodness.  Billy Graham, Mother Teresa are not the standard!  Jesus is the standard.  Jesus is God; Jesus is Good; no other.  If Paul says that part of the Fruit of the Spirit is Goodness, he is telling us to be like Jesus, not better than our neighbor; not better than a convict.

A final thought: Since Goodness is really all about Who God is and His character, it makes sense that Goodness is actually derived from Godliness and Godliness is really God-Likeness?  That means we are only showing goodness when we are acting like God.  This would be an impossible task if it wasn’t for the fact that God says we are to be like Him.  He commands it!  If He gave the command, there must be a way to begin moving in the direction of becoming good.  This is the point of listing the Fruit of the Spirit.  And since these are His fruits, He can help us bear them.  We don’t and can’t be Good on our own.  That would produce Pride, a fruit of the flesh.  

This brings us to a quick practical step that we can take to develop Goodness.  We should begin every thought and every action with the question, “What would Jesus do?”  Don’t know the answer?  Get into the Word and learn how to be Good for Goodness Sake!

OPEN MIC:  SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS

• What are some examples of when you thought you were being Good but it was really motivated by a self-focused agenda?
• What are some examples of seeing others showing Goodness, like Christ?

-Michael G

Further reading: Fruit of the Spirit

1939 was a pivotally important year. It marked the start of World War 2 in Europe, Lou Gehrig’s retirement from baseball and the birth of Cleavon Little and John MacArthur. (I never imagined putting those two in the same sentence but, there you go!) But most importantly, it was the year of COLOR. It was the year that our black & white, monochromatic existence was expanded to see things like Mauve, Puce and Chartreuse. That’s right! Before 1939 the whole world was only black and white. I have proof! Check your Prime, Netflix or Hulu accounts. Every movie, TV show, Newsreel and newspaper before 1939 was black & white. It was not until August 1939 when Dorothy landed in Oz that Color came into our world. The moment she stepped onto the yellow brick road, we have had Technicolor, Kodachrome and Jonas and Gillian’s eternal Blue & Red shirts. Can you imagine or do you remember a world where rainbows are only in grayscale? It was a world without Blue Moon ice cream or Multi-colored Teletubbies (not sure we needed those – whatever they are).

Now just in case you think I am completely crazy, this is the fun story I used to tell our kids. I tried to convince them that color was discovered in 1939 and was released to the world through the Wizard of Oz. (Just for the record, if you ask them about this now, they will assure you that I am crazy and they never believed me.) I stand by my delusions!

This whole idea of color versus a black & white world intrigues me. What if the world was really devoid of many of the sensory things we take for granted? For some, it is! What if instead of Color, we had only Grayscale – instead of 66 piano keys, we had only 4. What if our sense of taste was only Sour or lacked Sweet? Here’s the powerful truth: We don’t need the variety. We can exist just fine with 2 colors, 4 notes and 1 taste. You doubt me? Talk to the person born without this full range of sense and experience. Many will share with you that they can still experience a life full of enjoyment. Ever heard of Fanny Crosby or Nick Vujicic ? Look them up!

So why this crazy rant on sensory perception? It’s simple! The variety of senses we enjoy is a pure GIFT! It is a gift of grace and a measure of the great love that our Creator has for those He created in His image. Do you think an amoeba or a worm have these gifts? It is said that dogs cannot see color. Why then do we get this gift of diverse perception? Kindness! Divine Kindness! There is no other answer that makes sense.

So what is Kindness? Is it simply being nice to someone? What if I extend kindness to someone so as to curry favor with them? Is this really kindness? I would argue, “No!” That is selfishness. I would suggest that Kindness is the result of being Humble; it is the Action of Humility. Humility is a selfless position of the mind. It is a way of thinking about others first. A way of viewing people and situations. C.S. Lewis said that Humility is not thinking less of your self but thinking about yourself less.

So how do we model this behavior? “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ.” (Philippians 2:5). Kindness is the Action of this Mindset. The action is outward focused. It is the foot washing, it is the servant leader standing so others can have a seat. It is a choice to eat last so others don’t go without. It is silent, subtle; behind the scenes.

The moment Kindness goes public, it runs the risk of souring to pride. The quietness of Kindness means that it often goes unnoticed and uncelebrated – except to the object of the kindness. That honored individual is graced with a sense of value, worth and appreciation. They are bestowed the gift of seeing an additional color in the rainbow. When Kindness is withheld, it is a blessing denied to the giver. It is color lost, sound muted, taste soured for the intended receiver.

Do you recall how Jesus talked about Kindness? Walk the extra mile. Turn the other cheek. Return evil with good. A soft answer turns wrath. It was always the acts of Kindness that He highlighted and not the frame of mind. But we understand that frame of mind had to be like His – Humble. We need some tangible ways to apply Kindness.

1. Focus – Pay attention to the Needs of Others. Be intentional about looking for and meeting the need in the moment. That includes the comfort of others. Here is a good litmus test. As soon as I feel uncomfortable, that is my trigger to look around to see if someone else is also uncomfortable and find a way to help them. Kindness!
2. Listen – Listening is not the same as hearing. To truly listen is to pay attention to the person and the purpose of their words. Are they talking to share laughter or pain? Experience it with them. This is the point of Romans 12:15 “Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.” How can share in that experience if we did not listen to their words? Kindness!
3. Serve – It is our pride that gets in the way of service. If we have a sense of entitlement or an expectation of reward and recognition, we will not serve. If the Master of the Universe came without an expectation to be served, are we better then Him? “…just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:28 Kindness!
4. Smile – No doubt you have heard of an RBF: Resting Bad Face (I know, but this is a G rated channel). Suffice it to say that if you look angry, you will struggle to find opportunities to show kindness. “A man who has friends must himself be friendly,” (Proverbs 18:24) If Christians are supposed to be living an Abundant Life but we look like we were weaned on a pickle, no one is going to believe our acts of kindness. They will suspect an agenda or a bait-n-switch. If Jesus is on the inside, let your outside show it. Kindness!

Bottom Line: If Kindness is important enough to make it in the 9 Fruit of the Spirit, it is one we need to get better at developing and doing. Go spread some Color and Music for the world to hear!

OPEN MIC:  SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS

1. Who has shown you kindness?
2. How did you respond to that gesture?

-Michael G

Further reading: Fruit of the Spirit

There are two kinds of people in the world: Shoed and Barefoot!  Everyone in my family loves to go barefoot and they have the callouses to prove it!  I prefer to go “shoed” and I have the ‘smooth feet’ to prove that!  I like the comfort and protection that an old pair of shoes offers to my, otherwise, tender feet.  I once had a pair of loafers that served as my “anywear” shoes…lounging, going to the store, running to the mailbox, strolling through the mall…I could wear them anywhere…and I did!  My sister-in-law would always ask if I slept in my shoes…well, what if I do?  So what!

Sadly, my leather topsiders began to lose their souls soles and I had to throw them out.  There was a small funeral, a brief eulogy and a burial under a shrub in the flower garden.  Ugh!  Breaking in a new pair – still trying!.  There is a lot to be said for the familiar, the comfortable, the reliable.  These things become the best gifts of life and are often enjoyed for their memory as much as for their reality – the summer weekends at grandma’s cabin, aromas from the kitchen at Christmas time, cleansing rain showers in mid-spring – these things endure, they inspire, they provide solace.

When my Great-Grandpa Keddy died in 1975, Grandma gave me his old Scofield Bible. As a 10 year old, I did not fully appreciate the value of the notes and comments Grandpa had scribed in the margins.  However, as I grew older, I began to add to his notes and found that this relic from the past was becoming my guidepost for the future.  Forty plus years later, I still pick up Grandpa Keddy’s Bible and carefully thumb through the pages. The pearls of wisdom and lessons of truth that have been immortalized on its pages come back to life and give me both memory and direction.  His Bible has become familiar, comfortable, reliable.

In an age of multiple translations, Pew Bibles and Power Point Slides, I think we have lost an important element of our faith.  God’s Word is meant to be woven into our daily experiences, our final decisions, our first consideration.  Moses told the people that they should bind them as sign on the hand and write them on the door posts (Deuteronomy 6:8-9).   Are we any different?  Should we not have such a familiarity with God’s Word that we find ourselves driven back to its pages every time we make a decision or come to a fork in the road?

Let me challenge you to re-think how you approach your copy of God’s personal letter to you:

1. Bring your own

   The next time you go to church, take your own copy of the Bible.  Don’t rely on the Pew Copy or the overhead screen.  See what God has to say in your OWN copy of His letter to you.  When the pastor/speaker gives a reference, look it up.  It’s good to check his ‘reading ability’ and it is helpful to see the words yourself.

2. Invest in Quality

   Find a copy of the Bible that will endure many years of wear and tear.  Grandpa’s copy was genuine leather and that has allowed me to continue to use his Bible for over 35 years.  With that long-term investment comes an accumulation of three generations of wisdom.  I cut my teeth on the King James Bible but now I prefer the New American Standard Version, but the New International Version is another good one to consider.

3. Mark up your Copy

   Don’t be afraid to underline. mark up and write notes in your Bible.  The day will come when you are discouraged, depressed, lost in your faith.  Looking back through these notes will encourage and motivate you to grow in your faith and share these lessons with others.

4. Transfer your notes

   When you replace your Bible, spend some time transferring the notes from the older Bible to the newer one.  This will remind you of all the lessons God has taught you over the years and it will allow you to add to those valuable truths.

5. Set an Example
   Graduation, wedding, birth, anniversary…these special moments can be your chance to offer the greatest gift of all.  Consider giving a good quality Bible as a gift.  Write a personal message in the front cover with a verse that has impacted your life.

I have not found a pair of topsiders as comfortable as my originals; and I have yet to find a Bible as comfortable as Grandpa’s.  But I continue to add to the notes and look back at the lessons that he penciled in the margins and every time I look through Grandpa’s Bible, I feel as though I have been re-souled.

Open Mic:  Share your thoughts

1. Do you have a Bible that holds special meaning?
2. Will you commit to finding a copy of God’s Word that you can call your very own?

-Michael G

The picture is from 1971.  I was 6 years old (#4 in picture) and my sister was 9 (#1 in picture).  We were having Christmas with our best friends, Rhonda (#5), Wendy (#2) and Brock (#3).  Our families were so close, we referred to their parents as Aunt Pat and Uncle Ron but we were not related in any way.  We just did everything together.  Our dads preached together; our moms sang together.  I’m pretty sure us kids were even spanked together – by whichever parent happen to catch us (that was allowed back then).

Many summer weekends we would go to their house and spend most the time playing under the branches of the weeping willow tree in the front yard.  The tree was a house; then a castle; then a fortress.  It’s branches became whips, swords, ropes and crowns.  It all depended on the moment and our imagination – the days were magical!

On one of these weekends, I was learning to ride a bike.  Unfortunately, the only available two-wheeler was a girl’s bike.  It was probably Wendy’s…I only remember the banana seat and curved handlebars.  Somehow, while wobbling down the driveway, I managed to fall forward and hit my shoulder on the curved handlebar.  I felt a funny crack and after one more failed attempt to ride without training wheels, I ended the day at the ER getting a brace for my broken collarbone.

Ah!  The good ole’ days..great memories…good times!

The house was probably built in the days of the Pilgrims but when we bought it in the early 1970’s, it seemed like a new mansion! It was really just a small 2 bedroom house that the previous owners expanded with an extra bedroom and bath.  We lived there for more than 10 years and never added steps to go up to the front door.  I think dad did this on purpose to confuse the Jehovah’s Witness…they never knew how to approach ‘the house with no steps‘.  

Winters are brutal in northern Michigan.  They are cold and long.  And when you live in a house that has newspaper and straw for insulation, cold mornings mean “every kid for himself“. I remember getting up for school; taking my bowl of cereal and sitting on the floor in the dining room next to the only register that produced heat.  I prayed ‘hallelujahs‘ every time the heat came on and uttered Christian curse words when it would turn off.  I think my sister went to one of the registers in the living room to eat her cereal – I did not know and did not care!  I had my hot spot and that’s all that mattered.  My brother is 7 years younger than me.  By the time he was school age, I had already staked a claim on the Dining Room Register…he suffered hypothermia for the first 12 years of his life.

Ah!  The good ole’ days..great memories…good times!

But why?  Why do we always look back and see the past through these rose-colored glasses?  I was there back then and they did not seem extra special and “good ole‘” at the time.  So what changed?  Time?  Has enough time gone by that I have forgotten how difficult life was or how much I hated school and homework?  It is like labor pains…once enough time goes by you forget how bad the pain was…and you are willing to have another kid?  Maybe.

Perhaps we all just employ a bit of ‘selective memory’ when we tell old stories or look through the picture albums.  There is probably an aging or ‘fermenting’ process that makes these memories rich with emotion and fondness.  Whatever it is that creates this altered or selective view of our own past, I think is is a gift from God!

I have another thought about our sepia-toned pasts that bears a few moments:  Could it be that when we were living those moments of our past, they did not seem like the Good Ole’ days because we were more focused on the problem of the moment and sure that every problem we faced was the biggest and worst thing possible.  It is in the Now, 20+ years later, that we realize that our worst fears never happened; our tendency towards pessimism didn’t pan out; our assured destruction never took place.  We are now able to look back and see that the bad things weren’t really that bad and the good things were actually quite wonderful!

So here is my prediction:  In 20 years, you and I will both look back to this time in our lives and say, “Ah, those were the Good Ole’ Days“.  Why wait?  Let’s see today as the good ole’ days NOW:

• The sleepless nights from that newborn
• The angry boss that won’t let you do your job
• The appliances that keep breaking
• The sickness that won’t heal...

…it will become part of your past and you will realize that (in most cases) it was not as bad as you thought or at the very least, you survived it when you thought you could not.

Elijah was hunted by the king and in the midst of a famine.  I wonder if he looked back at the Brook Cherith (1 Kings 3:3-6) as part of his good ole days?  Or did he recognize protection and provision in the moments they came?  If he did, then he lived each moment as the “Good Ole Day”.

Don’t wait to have fond memories or live forever pinning for the pleasant past.  Enjoy today…these ARE the good ole’ days!

Open Mic: Share your thoughts

1. What are some of your current struggles that need to be viewed from a more heavenly perspective?
2. What are some blessings that you have today to make this a Good Ole’ day?

-Michael G

There have been times when I wake in a cold sweat, heart pounding and eyes wide open, staring into the darkness of my room.  The fear is real. The pursuit is relentless.  The enemy is within inches of pulling me down when I am rescued by wakefulness.   The nightmare continues in my mind as I lay there – awake – but thinking
about how I could have survived the attack.

These are the the images of being pursued!  It is scary, exhausting, filled with danger.  I experience the gazelle being chased by the cheetah…it is a race for life!  Every dodge and turn can spell survival or death…my chest constricts – I hate this feeling!  Can you relate?  Have you felt this sense of looming doom?  The constricting grasp of financial disaster; the oppressive pressure of unrelenting illness; the suffocation of loss and death.  It pursues…it seeks to cripple and destroy!  Can there be anything good about being pursued?

Would it surprise you, then to know that God pursues you?  Would you be afraid to know that He desires to not only pursue and catch you but to devour you?  We are marked by the Creator and sit squarely in His sights and are the object of His pursuit.

I suppose your view of God and His intentions will determine if this image scares you or thrills you.  For me, it is both.  God is both loving and good .  He is both holy and just.  His goodness and love fill me with the hope that He has nothing but my best in His plan.  His justice and holiness send shivers down the spine of my selfish form.  I don’t want to be pursued and captured by the One Who defines good and evil.  I want to be engulfed by the One Who creates and gives life.  I don’t have a choice – He is both!

How else can we explain His demotion to Earth?  He, the Supreme Ruler, in the comfort and grandeur of His perfect Holy Place stoops to become mere man…to pursue us!  How can we grasp the notion of Him walking among us and experiencing our smallness so that we would be able to see God with skin!…He pursues us!  How can we justify our selfish pursuits for importance, success and significance when He willingly surrendered His life and power to the hands of hateful mob…He pursues us!

• God comes to Adam & Eve…to commune with His creation – He pursues them
• God comes to Cain; warns of sin at the door – He pursues him
• God comes to Abraham; shows him a Promise, a Plan – He pursues him
• God wrestles with Jacob, maims him, calls him Israel – He pursues him.
• Jesus comes to a lake, calls them to be fishers of men – He pursues them.
• God meets Saul on the road, blinds him, calls him Paul – He pursues him.
• God brings road block, pain, discomfort, blessing, joy, trial… – He pursues us.

Pursued, caught, conquered.  It seems this is what we expect and yet, an almighty hand grabs hold and the glint of cutting steel catches our eye.  The knife is not at our throat; it is at our side.  We are helpless before the sheers and our Maker is removing the weight of our own overgrowth.  The very things we hold closest to us, He lovingly cuts away and the unexpected result is a new sense of freedom…relief!

His pursuit is not to end my life but to fulfill it.  His pursuit is not to devour me but to consume me.  His pursuit is not to remove what I want but to give me what I need.  His passionate pursuit of love stuns me; fills me with wondrous fear and finds me in my darkest hour.  Without His pursuit of us, we would all be forever lost!

May you know the pursuing & consuming love of your Creator.

John 10:14-16

Open Mic: Share your thoughts

1. How has God pursued you?
2. How have you resisted His pursuit?

-Michael G

It’s a perennial favorite!  Every Christmas Eve, we gather the family, go to church, come home, open one present and then watch “It’s A Wonderful Life”.  We always laugh at Uncle Billy tripping over the trash cans and re-quote the line, “This is a very interesting situation!!”   Mr. Potter seems to be more evil each year and a small lump forms in the throat when George re-discovers Zuzu’s petals.  While the main theme is the value of one life lived in sacrifice to others, there are many smaller themes that run throughout the movie.  These sub-themes are potent, profound and enduring.

ZuZu has come home from school with a temperature and is sent to bed to rest and look after her new gift, a  flower.  Her father, George Bailey (Jimmy Stewart), comes home and goes up to check on young Zuzu.  As she lifts up her flower to show to her daddy, a few of the petals fall off.  With memorable cuteness, Zuzu says, “Paste it, daddy!”  George than pretends to re-attach the petals, only to carefully hide them in his pant pocket.  He then urges her to go to sleep so she can dream of a whole garden of flowers. The flower was “broken” and she asked daddy to fix it.  Her beautiful flower was fading and dying and she could do nothing to repair it except offer it to her father.  Granted, my analogy is about to become flawed, but this image has a pearl of wisdom for us.

We have each been given a gift – a talent, a position, a friend, a Life!  There comes a time for all of us when we look at that gift and realize that we have broken it.  Either through abuse or neglect, we all eventually find ourselves sitting with tear-streaked face, watching petals fall to the floor.  Eager to fix it and make it new again, we search for paste and glue, tape and string to re-fashion the forming disaster that is growing before us…and more petals fall!  In helpless abandon, we hide our gift and pretend it never existed.  “If I ignore my failure, it will go away!”

Adam & Eve are the first to take a perfect gift and squander it on a moment of risk and excitement.  They, too, ‘pasted’ leaves to hide their shame but the petals continued to fall. Eventually, God came and asked why they hid in the shadows.  Only He could truly “paste” everything back together as it should have been…through His Son!

Peter claimed to follow Jesus all the way to His death.  But when the moment of courage came, Peter took his gift of discipleship and pulled 3 petals off and tossed them on the floor – “I don’t know Him!”.  A few days later, Jesus pasted him back together with a question.  “Do you love me?”  He then challenged him to “Feed My sheep.”  Judas Iscariot also made a choice to betray and destroy his gift, but he never came back to the Father for forgiveness and love.  He died at the end of his own rope.

This is what I think happens:
I know I have screwed up!  My shame is deep.  My guilt is complete.  But it is too complete and too deep for any hope of recovery.  There is no one strong enough to fix what I have done.  I will forever be this old broken flower with falling petals.  After several attempts to fix myself, I give up and settle for dreams of gardens of flowers instead of the real thing. George Bailey is a good guy; a great dad; but he could not paste the petals – he could only pretend to fix it…sort of like you and me!

I believe that this song helps to capture our fear of surrender; our fear of letting God heal and restore.  The question is simple: Is God Strong Enough to Paste you – for good? Listen and read the words as Stacy Orrico sings…

Until we understand that only God is strong enough to forgive and restore, we will always be looking for reasons to condemn ourselves to a life of second-best and “if-onlys”.  It’s time to come to the True Father and simply say, “Paste it, Daddy!” (I John 1:9)

OPEN MIC:  SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS

• How have you tried to fix yourself instead of relying on your Father to paste it?
• What is a lesson that you have learned from your brokenness and God’s restoration?
• Share your thoughts below for others to read.  Someone needs to hear your story!

-Michael G

In the mid 90’s, we moved away from our family in Michigan to a very strange place called “Wisconsin“. This whole new world of fried cheese curds and Brat Fests  was exciting but the rabid Packer Fans made us nervous and often homesick. For the first several years, as we adjusted to being so far from family, we would make frequent trips back home.  The 8 hour trek through Chicagoland and then on through to the eastern side of Michigan would often begin at the end of the day.  Once the sun set, my wife and kids would soon fall asleep and I would be left “alone” to navigate through endless toll booths and dark highways.

Driving in the wee hours of the night, the mind and the body come together to do crazy things to stay awake.  However, after I had exhausted all of the traditional methods – loud music, lowered windows, making obnoxious sounds, biting my knuckles or smacking my own face – the family’s “need” for sleep required me to resort to the most effective SILENT method of staying awake: pulling nose hairs!  (It is at this point that my wife denounces me and cancels all of her social commitments until her disguise is complete).  Those of you who have done the long, late-night haul know exactly what I am talking about.  The physical pain of trying to stay awake is brutal but eventually the cool air from the lowered window or the loud music become the pesky minions of Mr. Sandman.  It is only a firmly pulled nostril follicle that will snap you back to reality.  The searing pain and watering eyes from a single severed strand is good for at least 20 miles…pray that you have enough follicular growth to last the journey!  The painful process may save your life.

A few weeks ago I called Randy, a very good friend of mine.  We now live in North Carolina but Randy still lives in Wisconsin (sorry, buddy!).  He is a successful business owner and I wanted to ask his advice on an important business decision.  True to his nature, Randy’s initial response was supportive, excited and affirming for our project.    But then he says, “Can I ask you a few questions?”.  Without much thought, I agreed – and he began to ask questions that seemed to call into question my judgment!  He asked about my motives; my reasons for certain decisions and whether I was prepared for this or that.  For about a millisecond, I was vexed!  But then it hit me…he just pulled a nose hair!  I was “falling asleep at the wheel” of life and had not fully considered the hard questions.  Randy not only knew the right questions, he was willing to ask them; even if it was uncomfortable or difficult for me to hear!  A True Friend…I am truly blessed!

There is a Proverb that says, “Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but deceitful are the kisses of an enemy.” (Proverbs 27:6)  Why would a friend wound you?  Because he loves you too much to see you make stupid choices!  Randy was being the truest of friends because he chose to ask the hard question and allow his trust in the relationship to provide the support.   The “pain” was temporary and short-lived but well worth the insights that eventually came from that conversation.

I wonder?   When you have the chance to stand in the gap for your friend and make them accountable for their decisions or question them on the direction they are heading, what do you do?  We are called to be Salt and Light to the world (Matthew 5:13-16). It is correct to apply this analogy to being a witness to the lost – a good thing, for sure!  The world needs to have us share the Gospel in a way that makes them thirsty for Truth and provides a clear view of that Truth.  I wonder, though, is there an alternate application to this command to be Christ to those around us?  Are we being Salt and Light to our closest friends and loved ones?

• Salt burns in the open wound!  It cleanses and drives out infection.  It forces us to look at the gaping sore and address the need.
• Light exposes the slightest flaw! It causes us to inspect the small details that may be ignored in the dim glow of our own ‘self-centeredness’.

If we are to be the ones who “bear one another’s burdens” (Galatians 6:2), perhaps we should throw a little salt, shine a little light and pull an occasional nose hair for those we call friend or family!

OPEN MIC:  SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS

• Who has been the friend you needed to jolt you back to reality?
• Have you been able to be that friend to someone else?
• Share your thoughts in the “Reply” section below.

-Michael G

I worked my way through college – odd jobs, newspaper loading docks, selling plasma (only once – it was too vampire-like for my taste).  One of my jobs was at an architects office.  Oh, it sounds plush, I know.  A budding architect?  An apprentice in the architectural world?  NO!  A lacky!  I ran errands, filled water coolers and made “blue-prints” – but it paid the school bill!

‘Back in the day‘, blueprints were made by taking specially treated paper and running it through an ultraviolet light chamber and then through ammonia vapor bath to turn the chemical treated paper “blue”.  Each page would have to be run through the ammonia vapor and if

you had several sets of blueprints to run, it could mean several hours in the “blueprint room” with those ammonia vapors.  There were exhaust fans but this time they could not keep up with the hole in the transfer tube as ammonia fumes slowly filled the blueprint room!  Within 2 days, I started to develop a cough and severe congestion.  Later I would discover that I had ammonia burns to my lungs.  At that moment, all I knew was I was miserable and thought I was going to die.  I was 600 miles from home and had only a few days before the end of the school year.  I had one thought – I need to get home to mom.  She would know what to do!

The drive home seemed longer than normal but when I finally arrived, mom had already set an appointment to see the pulmonologist – she didn’t waste time with the family doc or physician referrals.  It was straight to the expert!  Was I surprised?  NO!  This is what mom does…she goes straight to the top.  Principals, Mayors, Governors – even presidents would know my mom on sight and snap to attention as if Queen Elizabeth had just arrived.  Oh, don’t kid yourself, my mom understands the “Chain of Command” but in her world the chain has only 2 links – The Boss…and her!  As I sit here and write, I can still hear her saying it, “I don’t fool around!  If you want something done, go straight to the top!”  I am convinced that if it wasn’t for the Secret Service, mom would be on a first name basis with every President since Eisenhower!

As kids, we would be afraid to come home from school and complain about some minor injustice or issue with a teacher because we knew that mom would NOT be content with a word of caution or kind note to the teacher.  It would be a full-on assault on the principal’s office with ‘humble teachers’ in tow!  She is always gracious – but a force to be reckoned with!  We have often teased mom about this trait and simply say, “Be careful – Mom is going to Call the Marines!”  (If you want a job done right – Call the Marines – The Few, The Proud…)  Even though my mom’s direct approach has offered us many punchlines, the truth is, when it mattered, we knew mom would get to the bottom of things and go straight to the top!

I think, however, mom may have it right!  There is song by Tamela Mann called Take It To Jesus.  The lyrics point us back to when Lazarus fell sick and Mary went to see Jesus for help (John 11:1-3).  She should have gone to the priests or the local rabbi.  No doubt there were doctors and healers who had helped the family in the past, but she went straight to Jesus.  Mary came with more than a desire for help; she came with an expectancy for help!  Mary approached Jesus with the full confidence that He could and would offer UNLIMITED aid.  Little did she know how unlimited His help would be!  Oh sure, I know! Abraham, Moses, the prophets; they all talked directly to God but the average, everyday-person had to go through a priest.  But Jesus changed that.  Mary’s direct approach to Jesus was more than the fact that He was flesh & blood and visible. So where does Mary’s boldness come from?  How is it that she felt she could ‘take it to Jesus’ immediately?  Hebrews has an answer:

For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:15-16

Mary had seen the full humanity of Jesus and knew He would understand.  To borrow a phrase…He’s been there, done that!  And she had a relationship that gave her this confidence.  Note that Hebrews does NOT say, “Come first to a priest or pastor and if they cannot help, then come to Jesus.”  We are to come BOLDLY to the throne.  Direct access is not offered – it is expected!  Take it to Jesus!!!  But did you see the scope of our access?  We can come for both Mercy AND Grace!  That means we should come directly to our Father when we need help AND when we screw up!

Even Jesus offers a template for our pleas and petitions that assumes direct access to the Father – “When you pray, say, ‘Our Father, which is Heaven..” (Matthew 6:9-11).  We are to go straight to the Top.  So the question is:  If God expects us to come to Him first to “ASK, so it can be given to us”, why do we try so hard to solve and fix our problems without Him?  I think there are at least 2 possible reasons:

• Pride – I  can figure it out myself and I can do it faster than God can/will!  This is our pride-on-parade and the end result is always prolonged pain.
• Ignorance – I don’t know if God is really capable.  After all, I really don’t know Him well enough to trust that He would or could help me in my unique situation.

I am guilty of both!  But I believe that the more I surrender my pride and the more I develop my relationship with Christ, the easier it will be to go straight to the Top and not mess around with counterfeits and substitutes – like my own wisdom and intellect.

Little has changed over the years with my mom.  She doesn’t fool around!  She goes to the source and finds answers and solutions.  I can still be guaranteed that she will take an issue straight to the boss; whether it means on a chair in the mayor’s office or on her knees in the Throne Room of her Father.

Thank you , mom!  Lesson learned – and striving to live!!!

OPEN MIC:  SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS

• How hard is it for you to take your struggles straight to God?
• What are some excuses that you use to try to handle life on your own?
• Share your thoughts in the comment section for other to read and grow.

-Michael G

I really enjoy hunting! Deer, turkey, pheasant, small game…anything to get out into the woods – away from the things of man!!! I’m not very good at it; I just enjoy it.  The truth is, my wife would be a better hunter. She can go for a 3 mile run on a busy city street and see a half dozen deer, a family of pheasant and stray chicken! I go sit in the woods for 15 hours and only see 2 squirrels fighting over a big nut (yes, I mean me!)

There is one experience that I remember very clearly. It was a frosty November morning in southern Wisconsin and I had settled into my deer blind at about 5:30am. Nothing is awake at that hour – including me!  My multiple layers of flannel and

fleece kept me warm enough to dose off a few times as I waited for the “official” start time for the hunt.  At about 6:50AM, I happen to awake from one of my little naps and slowly looked around.  As I panned back and forth through the trees, I finally gazed straight forward and was shocked to see a deer staring back at me, not more than 10 yards away!  I KNOW I had looked in that direction several times and yet, I had missed seeing this deer every time until now.  All of the sudden, he was there.  He slowly turned and moseyed away into the gray light without me being able to even raise my gun.  How is it that I did not see what was right before my eyes – even though I was looking for it?

Elisha is an interesting prophet.  Although, to most people’s memories, he seems to take a back seat to Elijah even though Elisha received a double portion of the power of the Holy Spirit that had filled Elijah. (II Kings 2:9) This increased presence/power of the Holy Spirit was dramatically seen in the following situation:  Elisha and his servant were staying in the town of Dothan and the King of Aram, who hated Elisha, found out about it and sent his armies to besiege the city.  These sieges would often go so long that people would result to cannibalism. (II Kings 6:24-29)  It was serious and Elisha’s servant was scared.

And it was told to the King of Aram, saying, “Behold, Elijah is in Dothan.” He sent horses and chariots and a great army there, and they came by night and surrounded the city. Now when the attendant of the man of God [Elisha] had risen early and gone out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was circling the city. And his servant said to him, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” So he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Then Elisha prayed and said, “O LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” And the LORD opened the servant’s eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. (II Kings 6:11-17)

Do you know what this means?  At any given moment, we could be surrounded by heaven’s armies and never know it!  They could be waiting in the wings to bring support and comfort or even to destroy the Enemy!  It is only the measure of our Faith that seems to make us see or miss such power and protection.  But this is not the reason I am sharing this story.

I am amazed by a couple of things:

1. The Blindness of the Servant
2. The Calmness of the Prophet

When the Servant looked out of the city, he saw the Enemy!  His reaction was Fear and his solution was himself; “What shall WE do?”  This servant had been with Elisha to see many great miracles and works of God.  He knew that he was on the Good side of this battle and yet he defaulted to his own solution to a problem that was clearly larger than himself.  While, I believe that his “blindness” to God’s answer can be used to teach us a thing or two about Faith, his blindness may also serve to show us something about God’s timing to grow our Faith…more on that in moment.

I believe that strong faith brings confidence.  Not confidence in ourselves, but in our outlook on life.  “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”  Holy Chariots, Batman!  That is a goose-bump moment!!!  If I were standing on that wall and saw fiery chariots and angels, I would probably have to change my Jockeys!  But Elisha was calm, confident and supportive – “Lord, open his eyes…and the Lord opened his eyes and he saw!”  God rewarded Elisha’s faith with vision; He responded to his prayer with sight; He reduced his enemy to blindness.  Oh, ya, we haven’t looked at that yet.  In the next verse (2 Kings 6:18), Elisha asks God to blind his enemies – and He does!  It was almost as if Elisha was asking God to take the blindness of his servant and cast it on to the armies of his enemy.  Now that is confidence in your God!

There is one other place we need to look before we leave this discussion of Spiritual Sight: The Road to Emmaus.  In Luke 24:13-32, the resurrected Jesus joins two men walking towards the town of Emmaus.  Verse 16 says that their eyes were “prevented from seeing Him”…strange!  Intentional blindness!  Later, when their eyes are “opened”, they are amazed at how their hearts burned within them as the unrecognized Jesus spoke to them.  Could it be that God sometimes intentionally blinds us from seeing the whole picture (as with Elisha’s servant and these 2 men) so that He can draw out of us some measure of growth and understanding that our own sight would have prevented?

This question begs another: when we cannot see clearly the road ahead; when we are unsettled and blind to the answer, is your blindness due to the size of your faith or God imposing blindness to teach you something in your faith?  As you look into God’s Word for the answer, be prepared to have it suddenly stare right back at you – just like my trophy buck!

OPEN MIC: SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS

• Is there a time when God has brought support or defense to you that you did not expect?
• Do you pray for God to protect or defend you?  More importantly, do you ask that others see how God has helped you?

-Michael G

The Sleeper, Walk the Dog, Around the World, and the Lindy Loop/Double on a Trapeze! It doesn’t matter which yo-yo trick you try, it always ends with the yo-yo coming back to you – even if you have to re-wind it by hand, like I always do!  I had a cheap plastic yo-yo when I was a kid and after several failed attempts to produce a Sleeping Something-or-other, I gave it an extra hard toss.  The string broke and the yo-yo did not come back.  I suppose it was just a yo!

It is unfortunate how many cliches we seem to have in our modern churches.  Have you ever heard these?

• Let go and let God
• God has a plan for you
• I’ll pray for you
  
• God helps those who help themselves
• Born again Christian
• I’ve come to know the Lord
• God always has a purpose…
• Put it in the Lord’s hands

It’s not that these statements are wrong or misleading – they are just overused or undervalued.   We find comfort in being able to offer something that sounds positive.  If you don’t know what to say, use a cliche!  However, the classic “I’ll pray for you” is barely off our lips before we have completely forgotten what was just told to us.  It would be better to say nothing than to offer empty or forgotten promises.

So what’s the answer?  Changing the words will only replace one cliche for another.  The answer is in the heart.  When we offer or receive a cliche, we must do something with that statement to make it come alive.  Here’s one I heard recently and the more I thought about it, the more I wondered what it really meant.  “Give it to God”

When we “give it to God‘ – whatever “it” is – are we just supposed to forget “it” and never think of “it” again?  We pray and tell God all about our problem or issue and then go right back to worrying about it and trying to solve it on our own.  We are like the yo-yo – we throw “it” at God and then pull “it” right back. That’s what makes this a cliche – we say the words but we don’t do the deed.  “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves…” (James 1:22).

5 Things to Consider – What we can do to “Give it to God“

1. Pray – Tell God all about it and ask for His intervention.  He wants to hear it from us – constantly!
2. Gain – Expect to Gain something from the situation.  This is the ‘purpose‘ or ‘plan‘ that Christians always talk about.
   • growth, perspective, maturity, humility, grace, patience
3. Lose – Look to Lose something from the situation.  Here is the infamous ‘pruning‘ that ‘removes the dross‘.
   • pride, arrogance, control, anger, bitterness
4. Stop complaining or having a Pity Party.  Neither God or the rest of us want to hear it (sorry, a tad harsh!)
5. Start remembering past blessings and answers to prayer.  If you can’t remember any, try reading Psalm 136 or 139.

This is not the final answer on how to deal with the difficult issues of life, but it should be a starting point.  Perhaps we should replace the Yo-Yo with a Wishing Well.  When you drop that coin into a wishing well, it is not only gone forever, but there is the hope that something better  – something greater is waiting for you.  This is not to say that “giving it to God” is equivalent to a magic wishing well or a lucky charm (No!  Not the magically delicious kind!).  God is not sitting idly by waiting to grant our wishes, but He is eagerly waiting for us to surrender our will to His and invite Him to do a great work within us.  So maybe the image we are trying to create is to throw our whole-selves into His care and trust Him to know what is best for us.  More cliches?  Perhaps, but if we really do them, maybe God does have a plan for us after all.

Open Mic:  Share your thoughts

1. What are some cliches that have not helped or some that have?
2. How do you turn a cliche into something of worth and value?

-Michael G