Neil deGrasse Tyson Keeps Stealing My Keys, or Looking

“The keys were just here! What the world? They can’t have just disappeared…or could they?” I said. If I’ve learned anything from the Discovery Channel, it’s that physics can get weird, and all sorts of weird things happen every day.

Maybe I’m not forgetful. It could be that some weird Neil deGrasse Tyson astrophysics wormhole opens up, zapping my keys to some far off location for mere moments, only to return them when my wife starts looking for them. Or, more likely, the keys were in my pocket the whole time. I’ll let you decide.

Honest Sharing Time: I lose stuff. A lot. The laptop that I was just typing on, the book I was just reading, my water bottle I was just drinking from, the elastic band around my notebook. Funny enough, I always know right where my cup of coffee is. Peculiar.

On average, studies have shown that I lose something every 30 minutes, only to find a previous object while I’m looking for something else. More often than not, the car keys are in my pocket. I think someone is playing a trick on me. I really do.

Matthew 28:5-6 (CEV) “…Don’t be afraid! I know you are looking for Jesus, who was nailed to a cross. ⁶He isn’t here! God has raised him to life, just as Jesus said he would…”

We’re in daily contact with people looking for something- our next door neighbor, our cashier at the grocery store, the people driving with you in traffic, maybe even our own friends and family. Bono penned the line, “but I still haven’t found what I’m looking for,” and I think that sums up the lot for a multitude of people. They’re looking for something.

They’re looking for an answer, or a way to ease the pain, or a way to forget, or a way to just make it through another day. They’re looking for the reason behind all this. They’re looking for a friend just like you who can help them far beyond what they ever imagined.

We see a world turning to everything under the sun; they’re looking. And we are blessed to know what they’re looking for. The answer to every question I’ve ever had, every pain I’ve ever felt, every desire that’s ever gripped my heart- the only thing that ever satisfies is Jesus. Will you show them Jesus today?

One Moment Can Last an Eternity, or Generational Blessing

I hate meetings.
“Hello, everyone. Before we begin today’s meeting, I’d like to go around the room and get everyone’s status report,” he said.
Why is this guy on video for this call? Nobody else is on video, and he’s clearly eating a breakfast sandwich. Does he know his video is on?
“Donnie, let’s start with you.”
I’m not a morning person. Bob should know this by now. I’m not a meeting person. Bob should also know this by now.
“Well, Bob, yesterday I spent three quarters of the day in meetings, and the other quarter scrambling and trying to get some actual work done so we could meet about that and discuss it. I hate this and I hope you spill your coffee and scald your genitals. And by the way, your camera is on, and you should chew with your mouth closed.”

Ok, I didn’t really say that. But I really wanted to. I really really really wanted to. Seriously, people. Why are we meeting so much when we could be actually working?

I think this is what hell would be like for some people. Kidding. Eh, mostly kidding. I hate meetings. The worst part is that nine times out of ten, that hour and a half long meeting could be summarized into one paragraph and sent as an email.

There’s also some weird time paradox that occurs in meetings. Some Einsteinian spooky physics that causes time to actually slow down the minute you enter a meeting room, or Zoom or Teams call. I call this phenomena ‘spooky meeting time.’ The more trivial the subject of the meeting, the more time slows, and the longer the meeting will go. I’ve literally died of boredom and needed to be resuscitated on three separate occasions in meetings. In my defense, one of those meetings lasted the real world time equivalent of 1,278 years. Spooky meeting time. Some meetings last forever.

Numbers 25:12-13 (CEV) “…So because of the loyalty that Phinehas showed, I solemnly promise that he and his descendants will always be my priests.”

Some things last forever. We often hear about generational curses. Well, in our denominational church world, that’s a phrase or concept that gets thrown around from time to time, and I think it’s a real thing. But what about generational blessings.

One moment in time setup setup Phinehas’ descendants for blessings and honor before God. He made a decision, acted on it, and forever his family line was changed. I’ve seen it in my own life. In my post from yesterday: one prayer, one cry for help- it forever changed my life, it changed my future and probably the future of my children and maybe even their children.

Bottom Line: There are no small actions. You never know what small act of faith will bring about untold blessings in your family. You never know what small act of faith or prayer will bring about for someone else. Stay faithful, my friends.

Too Far Gone, or Nobody Has Arrived Yet

“I can’t stop, man.”
I remember that night, still clear as last week. Which is kind of amazing since I wasn’t in a clear state of mind at the time and it’s been over 22 years since it happened. Honestly, I’d been in a daze for months at that point. I couldn’t stop.

I walked through the doorway to my dorm room. Stumbled through the doorway is more accurate. My roommate stood there staring at me with a look that I hadn’t seen before or since. We had been friends since elementary school. We’d been in rock bands together. Met girls together. Hung out at the mall together. Went to church together. Now we were roommates in college. But the look on his face: fear is the closest thing I can describe it as. Fear of what was happening with me.

“I can’t stop, man.”
I was never a big dude. I was thin, 150 pounds on a good day when I graduated high school (and it wasn’t a muscular 150 pounds), but by this point, I had lost around 30 pounds. I was gaunt. I was losing this fight, and it was obvious. Some days I was too out of it to even remember to go to the cafeteria and eat. I couldn’t stop.

It had started innocently enough. I look back now and see clear as day that I was trying to find an escape. Something to make the hurt quit hurting. And if I’m being completely honest, it worked for a while. For a while the hurt quit hurting, the scary stuff in life quit being so scary. For a while, I had escaped being me. But it was a trick. A trap. “It’s a trap”- in my best Admiral Ackbar voice. The enemy of your soul won’t come in full view and try to slap chains on you. He knows that won’t work. So he tricks you. He tricks you into putting the chains on yourself. I couldn’t stop.

“I can’t stop, man. I need you to pray for me.”
That’s all I could say. What else can you say? I knew there was something true in Christianity. I had seen enough, experienced enough, read enough. I won’t go into all the reasons why I rebelled against Christianity. I guess everyone who has rebelled has their reasons. With that, I stumbled from the foyer into our room, collapsed into my bed, and passed out.

And he prayed for me.

Proverbs 8:4 (CEV) “I am calling out to each one of you!“

That prayer changed the course of my life. I went from a drug addict (just shooting straight with you) to…well, still a deeply flawed man, but a flawed man following Jesus. I share this kind of ugly part of my life simply to say: no one is too far gone. God isn’t calling to just a couple people, or one group of people. He hasn’t written off drug addicts, the uninterested, the rebellious, the group you disagree with the most, that other political party, this race or that one, or even those engaged in alternative lifestyles. Don’t give up on them or turn ‘them’ into your enemy. Our enemy isn’t flesh and blood. They’re not too far gone that a single prayer can’t completely change their lives.

Also, no one has arrived yet. You and I haven’t arrived. We’re not at a place where we can sit back, rest, relax, and pat ourselves on the back. God calls to each of us. Calls us to a deeper experience with Him, a deeper holiness, a deeper devotion: if nothing else a deeper love for Him. I certainly haven’t arrived, and I suspect that anyone who reads this hasn’t either. It’s ok. God hasn’t given up on us either.

Quick Bites: Good Things

No matter what the circumstances look like today, remember that good things are in your future. There is an otherworldly goodness available for your yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

Hebrews 9:11 (NKJV) “But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation.“

Christ came not to condemn, but to give good things. Pick your head up. Good things are your inheritance.

Quick Bites: Uttermost, or It’s a Trap

There’s a great scene in Star Wars where this fish looking dude exclaims, “It’s a trap.” The enemy had set a trap for those who dared rebel against the forces of evil and darkness. Our enemy does the same thing.

God could never forgive me of this.
There’s all kinds of variations of that sentence that the enemy tries to bind you with. Maybe it’s just me, but I can start to think that God forgave me of those sins, but not this one. Or, God saved me, but then I did this, so I’ve still got red on my account.

Hebrews 7:25 (NKJV) “Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.”

But I want to remind you that Jesus died, was buried, and ascended to heaven, and He made the way for all your sins to be forgiven. The Uttermost. Every single tiny little bit. Not just some. Not some sins from a specific point in time, or of a certain variety of sin. All your sins are covered by the blood of Jesus when you confess them and ask for forgiveness. Stop living in condemnation. That’s a trap. And you don’t have to fall for those shenanigans.

Quick Bites: Buffered, or Jesus

Most of my posts are a bit long, but I’ve decided to keep this one short and sweet. I may start a series of ‘Short and Sweet’ posts called Quick Bites. We’ll play it by ear. With that being said, here we go:

2 Timothy 1:1-2 (NKJV) “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus,To Timothy, a beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.”

2 Timothy 4:22 (NKJV) “The Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Grace be with you. Amen.”

At the beginning of 2nd Timothy, there is Jesus and grace. At the end of the book, there is Jesus and grace. The whole thing has Jesus and grace as its bookends. That got me thinking: my story is much the same.

For those of us who have believed on His name, behind us and before us we are buffered by Jesus and by grace. It’s the beginning of our story, and it’s the end of our story. It is our current present, our redeemed past, and our sure future. Where Jesus and grace are present, there is hope and life. Enjoy the overflowing life that He brings to you.

Bruce Willis Sent Me Off a Cliff Like Wile E. Coyote, or I Got Bruce’d

“Bu..wha…I mean…it…..,” I stammered.
Bruce Willis was a ghost? A ghost? He got me. That rascal got me, and I was speechless.

I’m not a ‘figure out the whole movie five minutes into it’ kind of guy. I don’t put that much effort into it. When I’m watching TV or a movie, I’m there to turn off my brain and see the pretty pictures. I want to be surprised. I fall for plot twists like Wile E. Coyote falls off a cliff. Bruce Willis had sent me off a cliff like I was Wile E. Coyote. You got me, Bruce. (Insert slow clap here) You got me.

You can act cool like Bruce didn’t fool you, but I’m pretty sure he got you, too. It’s in the name of the movie, for goodness sake, and he still got me. My thinking and my perception about what was taking place was all twisted up. I was convinced to believe something that was not in line with reality. I got Bruce’d.

Zephaniah 3:16-17 (NKJV) “…Do not fear; Zion, let not your hands be weak. The Lord your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.”

It’s not just movies. I do the same thing in everyday real-life. You do, too. We all do. Man, I can be tricked. I can fall for a clever scheme. I can get twisted up even about who I am and what I am in Christ. I can get convinced of things that do not line up with the reality of God’s word. I’ll even Bruce myself.

I can be my own worst enemy and my harshest critic. Our words and our thoughts can be our greatest asset or our greatest hindrance, so, every so often it’s good to revisit what God’s words and thoughts are about you. Every so often, it’s good to stop and ask yourself, “Wait, is this true? What does God say about this?”

God’s word says you don’t have to fear. God’s word actually says ‘do not fear.’ Don’t fear or give fear a place in your heart or your mind. Why? Because God is with us! For goodness sake, if ever there was a people who should be immune to fear, shouldn’t it be us? But we fear. We fear about health, relationships, family or loved ones, and our finances. The same God who conquered death, hell, and the grave put His spirit in you, if you have accepted Him as your savior. Your future is locked up. You are bullet proof. You don’t have to live in fear.

God’s word says you don’t have to feel weak and ineffective. Death defeating strength is yours. You are strong. God is your strength; not only are you strong, but also you are mighty.

You are not alone. God’s word says you are not alone. You’re not in this on your own. He is in your midst. The Shepherd goes before His sheep. Don’t freak out if you’re stepping in mud and it feels like you’re going to get stuck and on your own. If you’re stepping in mud while you’re following Him, He stepped in it first to make a path for you to get through it. You’re not stuck in the mud and on your own. You may not be able to see Him; you may not feel Him nearby, but He is in your midst. He will save. He will lead you out.

And the biggie: God is not angry with you. Honest Sharing Time: In the church I was brought up in, everything was a sin (especially movies like The Sixth Sense) and God was ready to zap you at any moment. Honestly, that kind of messed me up on what God is all about. Now, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, but let me tell you, God’s plan for you is not to destroy you. His plan is not to crush you. God’s plan and will for your life is for Him to rejoice over you, to sing over you, to quiet you with love. His will and plan for you is gladness.

Are you getting Bruce’d? Are you Bruce’ing yourself: fooling yourself into believing something that doesn’t line up with God’s word, something that doesn’t line up with reality? Don’t buy it. You have a bright and a good future.

Mount Everest Cloaked in Chlorine and Sunscreen, or Intervene

“Don’t go out too deep,” she said as they walked off into wild blue yonder of the wave pool.

It was a beautiful day. Late summer. Hot but not sweltering. You could hear kids laughing…it’s not really the sound of laughing though, is it? It’s this instantly recognizable high pitched chattering, like a flock of birds singing. That sound is the sound of kids having fun, and cheating death at the water park. There’s that unmistakable scent of chlorine, sunscreen, and cocoa butter in the air.

Let’s take a time out and be real for a second: Parents, why do we say silly things like “don’t go out too deep?” When presented with a challenge like a wave pool, I don’t know many kids that won’t head straight for the deep end. That’s why these places have life jackets at every turn. When a child hears a parent say ‘Don’t go to deep,’ that’s practically double dog daring a kid to do it. But I digress…

My son is fearless; my daughter is 8 ft tall. Ok, she’s not really 8 ft tall, but that girl is tall. They make a great picture: a tall beauty, and a fearless child-king ready to lay claim to conquest and victory, marching off into the deep to prove their mettle.

You see, a wave pool or a water slide isn’t just a wave pool or a water slide when you’re a kid. It’s the equivalent of Mount Everest cloaked in chlorine and sunscreen. It exists purely as a challenge, nay, an affront to your abilities. That wave pool or that water slide just screams out, “I bet you can’t conquer me!” There’s no way they’re not going out as far as they can. I know it. They know it. I’m sure my wife knew it. The water park certainly knows it, hence- life jackets at every turn. As they had no other option, the kids headed straight for the deepest part of the wave pool.

Zephaniah 2:7 (NKJV) “…For the Lord their God will intervene for them, And return their captives.”

You guessed it; they went too far. In a matter of seconds, they’re three quarters of the way up the pool, and the waves are eclipsing their tiny-beautiful little heads.

“Oh my gosh, they are tearing my nerves up! Will you go rescue them?” my wife pleaded.

Will you rescue them? Will you intervene? I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone out too far, gone too deep, and found myself in desperate need of intervention. I’ve thought, “I’ve got this,” and then- boom. I’m in trouble. Sometimes it’s just life and the troubles that come with life. But sometimes it’s pride; it’s sin calling out, “I bet you can’t conquer me!” And time after time we fall for that trap and need God’s intervention.

I braced myself against the chill of the water, and headed in to drag them back to safety. I grabbed one little hand, and then grabbed the second, and I pulled them back to a reasonable depth where they could stand again under the assault of the waves. No fuss. No biggie. That’s life at the water park. That’s life.

I want to encourage you today. God isn’t going to leave you hanging out to dry. You’re not in this alone. You’re not stuck in the deep end. You haven’t headed out so far that God can’t take you by the hand and lead you back to where you need to be. Do you really think you’re in the pool all by yourself? Nah.

I wasn’t going to let the waves overwhelm and destroy my kids. No way. Not going to happen. Likewise, you can be certain that God will intervene on behalf of His children. And, if I’m being honest, it probably didn’t surprise Him that you needed His intervention.

I mean, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,” right? He saw this coming from a mile away. He’s not shocked when we need His intervention, because the truth is we always need His intervention; we just don’t always recognize or acknowledge it. You need His intervention so that you can take one more breathe, for your heart to beat one more time. The water park has life jackets; they get it. God has the fountain of living water; He gets it. He came to this party prepared.

In Zephaniah, we see a nation that has strayed from God. Have you strayed? As a result, we see a people hounded by chaos, and held captive. Are you bound and battling? Trust me, I get it. But, in the midst of their circumstances, in the midst of their turmoil, God calls out to His people, “I will intervene for them, and return their captives.” There is no chaos or turmoil in your life where God can’t intervene and see you through. There’s no captivity that He can’t deliver from.

I want to encourage you today to let God take you by the hand. He wants to take you by the hand. He wants to intervene for you. ‘Oh, but I did this and that and then I did it again.’ Yeah. I get it. But, the truth is, God wasn’t surprised by any of that, really. At some level, we’re all just kids in the wave pool. You’re not in the wave pool by yourself. You and God can do this.

Of Course Jesus was an Optimist, or Mr. Jerk B. McJerkface

Of course Jesus was an optimist, you jerk! He was the Son of God. I’m just me.

There I was. Early morning. Not yet highly caffeinated, though I was giving it my all to get that way. Reading a textbook on ministry. It was a recipe for disaster from the start.

Ministers. Ministers, I think, have to be optimists. They have to see the good. They have to see the possibilities in everyone and everything, even in the early morning.

As some of you may know, I’m not really a morning person, and I don’t think I’ve ever been accused of being an optimist, except maybe in jest. Nothing will annoy a non-morning-person-pessimist more than an optimist early in the morning. The nerve of this guy. The Author and Pastor- Mr. Jerk B. McJerkface.

There I am. It’s not a good look. Grouchy and having an imaginary conversation with a man that I’ve never met. This is my life at 6am. I was on a roll:

It’s like saying, ‘Bill Gates doesn’t worry about money, so you shouldn’t either.’ I hate to draw attention to the obvious, Mr. McJerkface, but Billy G has ‘The Money Problem’ pretty well covered. Of course he doesn’t worry about it. It’s the same with Jesus; Jesus is the Son of God. Of course He’s an optimist. He’s pretty well got it all covered. I’ve read the end of the book. He wins. He can afford to be an optimist.

And that, my friends, is when I got the slap down.

He can afford to be an optimist.
I felt a check in my spirit. Two words. Two word reduced me to rubble.
‘Oh, really?’
That’s it. That’s all I got, but that’s all it took to put me in check.

Mark 11:24 (NKJV) “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.”

Honest Confession Time: I’m not the smartest guy, and probably not the best at reading a room, but I can tell when I’m in trouble. True story. And let me tell you, my friends, I was in trouble. Sometimes you just know. Did you get ‘The Look’ from a grown up or parent when you were a kid? You just know, I’m in trouble. For all my grouchiness, I was immediately reduced to being a petulant child.

‘Oh, really?’ Those two words brought to mind another petulant-grouchy son who raged at his father’s provision and his own perceived lack. In Luke 15, Jesus gives us a glimpse into God’s heart:
‘All that I have is yours.’
Like the son who had it all, but wouldn’t use it, I’ve been living like I believe that the resources of the Father are for others, but not for me. It’s not a conscious thing. If you asked me point blank if that’s what I believe, I’d say no. But it slips out from time to time. Instead of trusting in God to provide for my every need, I revert to believing in my lack and limitations.

Maybe I’m the only goober who does that? Eh, maybe. But, if that’s you, too: If you find yourself believing more in your lack and limitations than in God’s heart, His Word, and His provision, I want to encourage you to do two things:

Ask
Believe

Two words. Over and over in the scripture God tells us His heart; He lays it all out there on the table. His heart is to provide for you and take care of you. His will and plan is for you to live in a state of blessedness and as an agent of blessedness for others. That was his promise to Abraham. That’s his promise to us as His heirs.
Ask.
Believe.
We’re encouraged to ask. We’re commanded to believe. And we’re warned of the consequences of failing to do either. So, my fellow Grouchy T. McGroucherfaces: it’s ok for us to be optimistic about our future, our present, and our past. We can be optimistic because our Father in Heaven has it all covered. Ask. Believe.

Adventures in Everyday Life, or Brothers

My brother. I love that dude. He’s a funny guy. He’s a fun guy. We have some interesting stories of the adventures we’ve shared. We’ve seen each other at our best and celebrated those victories; we’ve seen each other at our not so best and somehow lived to tell the tale, or not tell the tale, thankfully.

To date, our adventures include:

Installing multiple dishwashers and ceiling fans with varying levels of success- Why does it always take all day and four trips to the hardware store?
Moving multiple times with varying levels of success- He lived with us for a while and we moved from a big town, to the country in the middle of nowhere, and then back to the same big town. Pro tip: hire someone to move your stuff. It’s worth it. And never carry a washing machine up three flights of stairs. It’s not worth it.
Tearing apart his box spring mattress to get a cat out of there. True story.
Cleaning up after a possum assassination- It happened. In front of my kids. It was like a Tarantino movie. I’ve never seen him more panicked. Hilarious.
Being sprayed with fecal matter while trying to unclog a toilet- Pro tip: only buy single ply paper. It’s funny now, but just barely.
Helping a neighbor get her dogs and getting cussed out for our efforts.
Seeing him graduate nursing school with honors and high achievements.

When you’re brothers, I think it’s only natural that you get into some exploits and have some stories to tell. My brother and I tend to have funny adventures of every day life. Adventures in laughter. Man, the apostles had stories to tell. Stories that we’re still telling. Still learning from those stories of ordinary dudes with an extraordinary brotherhood.

Micah 5:3 (NKJV) “…then the remnant of His brethren shall return…”
Mark 3:35 (NKJV) “For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother.”

Brother can mean ‘related to each other’, but it can also mean a deeper connection, a fellowship that exists deeper than mere acquaintance or ancestry: A shared Father.

Our Father, who art in heaven…The beauty and mystery of the gospel is that despite ourselves, despite our past or our ancestry, we can get into some brotherhood level shenanigans with Jesus, with the God who spoke and caused all that is to exist. Don’t forget to include Jesus in your adventures of every day life. There’s no telling what stories will come: laughter, tears, real things.

I’ll probably never forget my brother and me hanging some ceiling fans, and me dropping a mounting screw into the fan housing. Twice. The first time, we manage to tear the fan apart without destroying it. It took forever. We put it all back together, went to hang it again, and boom. I dropped the screw down inside the housing again. We lost our minds. Hysterical laughter. One of those things where you couldn’t do it on purpose if you had to, but I’ll never hang another ceiling fan without taping up the vents on the top of it first.

Even when you mess up, there can be laughter and joy and a funny story to tell when your brother is there. Brothers. Brethren. Our Father. Take Jesus with you today; reach out to one of your brethren and get into some kind of adventure. Share your stories with others.