Dave Burchett's Blog, page 69

Wildcard Weekend : Where Does Healing Begin?

I interact with a lot of wounded people. My books and a big hunk of my writing have been directed toward those who are beaten up by life, religion and too often by other people in the church. There is a better way. A song titled “Where The Healing Begins” by one of my favorite groups, Tenth Avenue North, describes that way.

So you thought you had to keep this up

All the work that you do

So we think that you’re good

And you can’t believe it’s not enough

All the walls you built up

Are just glass on the outside

All of those years of working hard (and then harder) to be Godly and I found out to my great sadness that it wasn’t enough.  Not only was self-effort not enough it was counterproductive to my desire to experience God’s presence and love. The walls so carefully constructed were, in fact, see-through to those who really knew me well. I picture that in my sadness and tiredness God smiled. He didn’t smile because I was suffering or sad. He smiled because I was finally ready for grace. At the point of brokenness I was ready for the healing to begin.



So let ‘em fall down

There’s freedom waiting in the sound

When you let your walls fall to the ground

We’re here now

This is where the healing starts

When you come to where you’re broken within

The light meets the dark

Coming to the point where I was broken and realizing my own inability to walk this journey of faith is where the healing began for me. Letting the walls down and trusting God and others with who I really am is where the healing continued. Understanding and trusting that I am completely forgiven and my past is completely forgotten is where the healing became real. Knowing that Jesus loves me desperately on my worst day is where the healing began to translate to the daily walk.

Afraid to let your secrets out

Everything that you hide

Can come crashing through the door now

But too scared to face all your fear

So you hide but you find

That the shame won’t disappear



For too many years I danced that awkward and ugly dance of hiddenness and shame.  For so many anguished years I thought that if I was a better Christian this wouldn’t, this couldn’t, be happening. If I prayed/studied/fasted/read/attended more church events I would be more Godly. I was depending on the wrong source.

When you come to where you’re broken within

The light meets the dark

Sparks will fly as grace collides

With the dark inside of us

So please don’t fight

This coming light

Let this blood come cover us

His blood can cover us

This is where the healing begins

I love the image of grace invading the darkness and sparks of healing flying as the truth about me was set free. I am a child of God who is deeply loved. For decades I lived with a God who I suspected had a contractual obligation to love me because of Jesus but who was generally disgusted with me. I fought grace because it seemed too easy. Not spiritual. Not enough sacrifice. Not enough obedience. Not enough…me. Paul wrote this to the Church at Ephesus.

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.   Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. (Ephesians 2, NLT)

My fear of punishment led to strained and inconsistent compliance with a law I couldn’t possibly keep. Grace and forgiveness have led to joyful obedience nourished by gratitude and love. That is the product of the healing power of grace and I second my brother from Taursus. I can take NO credit for this.

Hump Day Hope : Come on. Say it! Say it!

The use of Hump Day to describe the midweek turning point has been around for awhile. It became a bigger part of the national lexicon thanks to a commercial and a camel.

 

I wish I was mature enough to say I was only mildly amused by the Geico commercial featuring the overbearing camel wandering through an office. I can’t. I stopped whatever I was doing every time it came on.

The hope of this humble rambling each Wednesday is to provide a little hope to get you to the weekend. This is how hope is defined as a verb by dictionary.com.

…to feel that something desired may happen.

Example: I hope that the Cleveland Browns will play in a Super Bowl before I die. It is interesting that the next meaning of the verb hope is noted as archaic.



…Archaic. to place trust; rely (usually followed by in)

Call me archaic (my sons and workmates often do) but that definition is what I need this Hump Day. In a world gone crazy I need some place to put my trust that is trustworthy.


Billy Graham summarized it beautifully.

“God’s mercy and grace give me hope – for myself, and for our world.“

Well played. I believe that ultimately God’s sovereign plan will be completed in this world. What I need on Hump Day is hope for myself to be able to deal with the cards that life is dealing. Pastor/writer Rick Warren has a helpful reminder.

“What gives me the most hope every day is God’s grace; knowing that his grace is going to give me the strength for whatever I face, knowing that nothing is a surprise to God.”

So instead of trying to figure out why I am going through a trial with something or someone I should turn to the One who offers hope that I can persevere. Paul talks about hope in his amazing letter to the church at Rome.

For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope, because who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with endurance. (Romans 8:24-25, NET)

And what is that hope?

For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all of God’s people, which come from your confident hope of what God has reserved for you in heaven. You have had this expectation ever since you first heard the truth of the Good News. (Colossians 1:4-5, NLT)

I have wasted a lot of time trying to figure out why. That is a waste of precious time. My hope and my trust is in Jesus. Together we have this. Or as Paul more eloquently wrote.

Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. (Romans 12:12, NLT)

It is okay to be archaic. You can be old school if that makes you feel better. But remember where your hope is today. I give the last word to my friend the camel. “Awww, come on! I know you can hear me!”

Monday Musings : Reminder. It is just a game. It is just a game.

I have been known to be a bad sports fan in addition to being a bad Christian. I suspect those confessions could be related. I grew up a rabid Cleveland Brown’s fan and that is, unfortunately, a lifetime condition. You try and manage your Brown’s addiction while hoping to lead a somewhat productive life. I completely related to a story about a Brown’s fan who passed away last year. Scott Entsminger placed this request in the Columbus Dispatch obituary. 

He respectfully requests six Cleveland Browns pall bearers so the Browns can let him down one last time.

I became a Baylor Bears fan (thanks to my boys) much later in life. Incredibly, the Brazos Baptists have become a national football power. So I geared up for a big game last Saturday against forever power Oklahoma. During the game I agonized over missed opportunities. Fumed over momentum changing penalties. Expressed frustration when a defender missed a tackle. Baylor overcame a tough first quarter and played well to gain a big win.

But a fourth quarter incident reminded both my bad sports fan and bad Christian sides that this is just a game played by non-professional young men. Outstanding Oklahoma quarterback Trevor Knight was sacked and hit hard. He did not get up. Concerned medical personal gathered around as a medical cart pulled up. And then the TV cameras caught a scene that has stayed in my mind since Saturday afternoon.

Knight’s twin brother and fellow Sooner player Connor Knight watched his brother with obvious concern. Baylor star QB Bryce Petty and linemen Spencer Drango and Tyler Edwards approached Connor Knight. A few words were exchanged and then the Baylor players and their Oklahoma foe knelt together to pray for Trevor Knight. Moments earlier the two teams had competed ferociously. In a moment of crisis they put that aside to join in prayer for an injured brother.

                                                           


It was a sobering reminder that sports is a good thing but far from an ultimate thing. Four young men forgot that they were competitors and remembered they were first and foremost followers of Christ.

Thankfully, Trevor Knight gave a thumbs up and pointed heavenward as he was carted off the field. After the game he was walking around and Sunday received a favorable MRI result. Knight posted this on Twitter.

“Thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who prayed for me! Thankful for good results and a God who is completely in control!,” Knight posted.

A couple of thoughts from Paul’s letter to the Ephesian church fit in here.

Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future.  (Ephesians 4:2-4, NLT)

And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. (Ephesians 4:30-32, NLT)

This morning I am humbled by twenty-something (or younger) athletes that put aside differences to pray together. And I am challenged by an athlete who believes his God is in control even during a trial. Good reminders for those of us who may be more experienced in our faith but perhaps not always as mature.

Weekend Wildcard – Who Are You Serving?

Bob Dylan wrote some powerful songs about his faith journey in the late 70’s. One song he composed popped up on the iPod recently. “Gotta Serve Somebody” simply says that no matter how independent, self-sufficient or in control we might try to be we still serve something or somebody.

But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed

You’re gonna have to serve somebody

Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord

But you’re gonna have to serve somebody

That lyric struck a spiritual chord because it reminded me of some seriously head and heart messing stuff I have been reading from Tim Keller. Keller wrote a thought provoking definition of idolatry and how we can substitute even good things for God.

“Sin is building your life and meaning on anything, even a very good thing, more than on God. Whatever we build our life on will drive us and enslave us. Sin is primarily idolatry.” (Tim Keller, “Talking About Idolatry in a Postmodern Age,” www.thegospelcoalition.org)

That is disturbing for a guy who was taught from childhood that sin is a list that included but was not limited to movies, liquor, cigarettes, dancing, long hair and rock and roll.

Tim Keller’s definition of sin takes all of the fun out of self-righteous comparison and judging. As I read Keller’s examples of idolatry I saw how these subtle traps have played out with my family, friends, and colleagues. Most convicting of all I saw how chasing good things more than God has caused pain and brokenness in my own life. Here are Keller’s thoughts from his book, “The Reason for God”.

If you center your life and identity on your spouse or partner, you will be emotionally dependent, jealous, and controlling. The other person’s problems will be overwhelming to you.

If you center your life and identity on your family and children, you will try to live your life through your children until they resent you or have no self of their own. At worst, you may abuse them when they displease you.

If you center your life and identity on your work and career, you will be a driven workaholic and a boring, shallow person. At worst you will lose family and friends and, if your career goes poorly, develop deep depression.

If you center your life and identity on money and possessions, you’ll be eaten up by worry or jealousy about money. You’ll be willing to do unethical things to maintain your lifestyle, which will eventually blow up your life.

If you center your life and identity on pleasure, gratification, and comfort, you will find yourself getting addicted to something. You will become chained to the “escape strategies” by which you avoid the hardness of life.

If you center your life and identity on relationships and approval, you will be constantly overly hurt by criticism and thus always losing friends. You will fear confronting others and therefore will be a useless friend.

If you center your life and identity on a “noble cause,” you will divide the world into “good” and “bad” and demonize your opponents. Ironically, you will be controlled by your enemies. Without them, you have no purpose.

If you center your life and identity on religion and morality, you will, if you are living up to your moral standards, be proud, self-righteous, and cruel. If you don’t live up to your moral standards, your guilt will be utterly devastating. (Tim Keller, The Reason for God (Dutton, 2008), pp. 275-276)

Ouch. I mean seriously. Ouch.

Paul wrote these words to the Church at Colossae on the topic of idolatry.

“Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world.” (Colossians 3, NLT)

It is a hard truth to admit that we often worship the things of this world because they really can be good things. God in His loving grace does not desire for us to be deprived of good and pleasurable things. He simply wants us to place them in proper order. Later in the passage Paul gives one key to avoiding idolatry.

Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like Him. In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and He lives in all of us. (Colossians 3:10-11, NLT…take a moment to read verses 12-17 to see what the results of this action might look like)

Another key is to remember a campfire song from the Jesus movement that was, to borrow the approach of Law and Order, “ripped” from the Gospel of Matthew. (Matthew 6:33)

Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness;

and all these things shall be added unto you.

Allelu, alleluia

Everybody is going to serve somebody or something. Who (or what) are you centering your life on today? If it is anything other than Jesus you are off center.

Hump Day Hope – Dealing With the Newly “Elect”

Last night may or may not have been good for you politically. I am hopeful that real change can happen in this country. Just know that I do not put my hope in parties or political action groups or rising political stars. Been there, done that, using the t-shirts to wipe up messes.

My hope is in revival through grace inspired communities that serve and love and make a difference. In a recent article I touched on how a bunch of disadvantaged and essentially powerless believers truly changed the world with a new movement called Christianity. An article about the early church from Christian History Timeline had some answers.

The earliest Christians did not have church buildings. They typically met in homes. (The first actual church building so far found is at Dura Europos on the Euphrates, dating about 231.) They did not have public ceremonies that would introduce them to the public, and they had no access to the mass media of their day. So, how can we account for their steady and diverse expansion over the first three centuries?

After the Apostle Paul, we do not run across many “big names” as missionaries in the first few hundred years of Christian history. Instead, the faith spread through a multitude of humble, ordinary believers whose names have been long forgotten.

Early Christianity was primarily an urban faith, establishing itself in the city centers of the Roman Empire. Most of the people lived close together in crowded tenements. There were few secrets in such a setting. The faith spread as neighbors saw the believers’ lives close-up on a daily basis.

It is too often true that careful observation of modern Christians on a close-up, daily basis is a reason to turn away from faith, not toward it. The article goes on…

And what kind of lives did they lead? Justin Martyr, a noted early Christian theologian, wrote to Emperor Antoninus Pius and described the believers: “Before we loved money and possessions more than anything, but now we share what we have and to everyone who is in need; before we hated one another and killed one another and would not eat with those of another race, but now since the manifestation of Christ, we have come to a common life and pray for our enemies and try to win over those who hate us without just cause.”

In another place Justin points out how those opposed to Christianity were sometimes won over as they saw the consistency in the lives of believers, noting their extraordinary forbearance when cheated and their honesty in business dealings.

Perhaps the main reason the early church exploded is contained in the lyric of a simple song we used to sing while we were on staff with Campus Crusade many, many years ago.

They will know we are Christians by our love, by our love.

They will know we are Christians by our love.

But will they? Those exposed to the early church knew the people called Christians were different. Very different. Good different and not creepy weird different. We need to read the scouting report from Justin Martyr often. Read Colossians 3 a few times.

I will pray for the newly “elect” heading to Washington. Maybe they will make a difference. But as for me, my hope is firmly rooted in Jesus. As I see the state of our world I resonate with Peter who responded to Jesus as many deserted Him.

Then Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked, “Are you also going to leave?” Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. We believe, and we know you are the Holy One of God.”  (John 6:67-69)

Agreed. My hope is in you Lord.

 

Monday Musings – Looks Can Be Deceiving

We had the privilege of hosting our dear friend Deb Johnson this weekend. Since she and hubby Brad moved to Nebraska those opportunities are too few. She told us that they dodged disaster when a massive tree limb crashed into their back yard and somehow managed to miss everything. Thankfully no one or no thing was damaged. Pictures showed the enormity of the fallen limb.

An arborist estimated this magnificent Oak was a century old. Deb told us his observation about that towering tree. “No one could have known this tree was sick or weakened just by looking at it”. The arborist pointed out evidence of diseased wood on the fallen branch. Even though the tree itself still looked healthy and vibrant it was dying from the inside out. The bark and leaves looked fine but the core was dying. Soon another great branch would be weakened enough to crash down.

Deb told me how that tree seemed to parallel our spiritual lives. “We can look great on the outside and be dying inside,” she noted. “Do you think that is a good spiritual analogy?”

No Deb, I don’t. I think that is a great spiritual analogy! That is exactly what Jesus was talking about when He excoriated the Pharisees. They looked fantastic. They dressed in beautiful garments. They had the best education and they could articulate the Scriptures. They could embarrass the average person with their extraordinary knowledge about details of the law and what it took to be holy. They were the cultural creme de la creme when it came to righteousness.

That is until Jesus came along. Can you imagine the looks on their smug faces when Jesus looked deep into their hearts and saw the disease of sin growing under the prayer boxes and tassled robes.

 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and self-indulgence! You blind Pharisee! First wash the inside of the cup and the dish, and then the outside will become clean, too.

 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity. Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness. (Matthew 23:25-28, NLT)

We are no different. We like to look good to other people. We like to act like all is well and we are doing fine. We don’t want to admit that we are failing or that we need help. But inside we are slowly dying. No one can see it but sin is rotting away our strength. How many times has a respected person crashed into significant sin as unexpectedly as that giant branch crashed into our friend’s yard. The response is usually the same. “I had no idea they could ever do that. I never saw that coming.”

That is how sin works when we try to manage it or cover it with activity and self-striving. I know me. I know that I must seek the illuminating light of the Holy Spirit to help me see the filth and greed and self-indulgence that lies within or I could fall with a sickening thud as well. There have been times when I read those verses and felt smugly superior to those uptight spiritual leaders. Forgive me for my arrogance. As I get older I have learned a sad truth.  I am just like the Pharisees.

I need to lean daily on grace and my identity in Jesus. Knowing who I am in Christ gives me the freedom to look into my heart without risk of condemnation. And that identity also gives me the freedom to let trusted others know that I am not always healthy and clean and vibrant. I am often dry and wounded and filthy. I need Jesus and I need you. But I have to be honest with both Jesus and my community to stay healthy. And the crazy thing is that when I am honest with others about my desperate need for grace the power of the Gospel becomes real. It truly is Good News!

But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. (John 1:12, NLT)

I hope your week is full of blessings and grace.

Weekend Wildcard – Vanishing Grace?

Philip Yancey always challenges me with his writing. He is the writer I want to be when I grow up. I have recently started his newest book Vanishing Grace : Whatever Happened to the Good News?. As usual, Yancey does not disappoint.

I learned about the book from an interview in Christianity Today. Philip Yancey has written over a dozen best selling books and one of those is What’s So Amazing about Grace? I found the first question of the interview fascinating.

Why did you choose to revisit the subject of grace?

I know why the interviewer made the inquiry. You want “new” material from an author. Why plow the same ground? But I think that question is a mirror to one of the big problems in the Christian community. We never get past our daily need to revisit grace and the Good News of the Gospel. Martin Luther said that “you should preach the Gospel to yourself daily.” Why? Because you and I forget the depth and the power of grace everyday.

Yancey’s response was thought provoking.

Sociologist and researcher Amy Sherman has said that Christians tend to have three models for interacting with society: fortification, accommodation, and domination. To put that in layman’s terms: We hunker down amongst ourselves, water down our witness, or beat down our opponents. For many reasons, those aren’t New Testament models.

So what should we be? We need to create pioneer settlements that show the world a different, grace-based way of living.

That is brilliant both in diagnosis and prescriptive cure. Can you imaging the power of truly grace-based living in this wounded and desperately thirsty culture?

His next observation parallels the message that I have awkwardly been trying to communicate in my decade plus of writing.

We hear nowadays about Christian groups losing university recognition or public prayers and Christmas displays being banned. We feel on the defensive and that we’re the outliers. But much of Christian history has been lived this way, like it was during the Roman Empire, when a small number of Christians modeled another way to live. In a culture like ours, we need to demonstrate first how faith in Christ makes a difference in how we live.

Simply put, when we encounter people resistant to our message we must show them grace and the source of that grace, Jesus. I wrote about how this ragamuffin band of Jesus followers went from cultural curiosity to world changing movement in my book When Bad Christians Happen to Good People. One key component was selfless service.

Remember that the early Christians lived in a pagan culture that featured infanticide and gladiator combat. The early church’s revolutionary view of the value of life was sacrificially demonstrated during the two great plagues that devastated the Empire in the second and third centuries. While pagans avoided any contact with the sick and even cast them into the streets while still alive, Christians nursed and cared for the sick even though it cost some their lives. The selfless service of the early church won many converts to the fold.

Against all odds and with no cultural advantage the early followers of Christ made a difference. Yancey concluded his interview with this thought.

We’re tempted to rely on passing laws and winning arguments, but in the end, they’re not the greatest powers. The greatest power is what Jesus did. He died and rose again. That’s where it all started. The more we act like Jesus, not beating people down but showing a better way to live, the more outsiders will look back and say, “Those Christians are different.”

There is a better way to live. Lord Jesus, give us the grace to show it.

Hump Day Hope – Mercy Me!

This week has had some challenges. That hardly makes me unique. I remember my Grandmother saying “Mercy me!” when she encountered something difficult. I had a variation of that response today. I cued up some MercyMe. I would guess that many of you who have stumbled onto my blog are familiar with the uber successful Christian band MercyMe. Their signature song, I Can Only Imagine, is a compelling ballad about Heaven and what it might be like when we see Jesus someday.

But I am praying that their legacy will have really started with the release of “Welcome to the New”. This new album is the most amazing, encouraging, moving and upbeat packaging of grace and identity in Christ that I have ever discovered. My favorite track on the album is Flawless. Here is a sample of the lyrics.

Could it possibly be

That we simply can’t believe

That this unconditional

Kind of love would be enough

To take a filthy wretch like this

And wrap him up in righteousness

But that’s exactly what He did

The power of song lyrics amazes me. Talented writers can say more in a stanza that I can say in a thousand words. Think of that image. I was (and am) a filthy wretch. What is God’s response? Clean up and I will give you righteousness? That was the theology of my youth. Nope. The image is the father of the prodigal son. He takes off his beautiful and expensive robe and wraps it around his shivering son covered with filth. That’s exactly what the Father does for us.

The chorus is powerful.

No matter the bumps

No matter the bruises

No matter the scars

Still the truth is

The cross has made

The cross has made you flawless

That is your Hump Day Hope courtesy of my friend Bart Millard and Mercy Me. The Cross has made you flawless. No matter what else is going on. No matter how tough your week might be. No matter how much you are being buffeted by the Enemy. The Cross has made you flawless.

In the first chapter of the Letter to the Colossians Paul writes this reminder.

Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.

But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News.     (Colossians 1:22-23, NLT)

Today I feel a little beaten up. But the truth is I stand holy and blameless before God without a single fault. Because of Jesus the Cross has made me holy.

Mercy me!

 

Postscript: I rarely suggest how you spend your money but I do recommend “Welcome to the New” . I have found the album to be a wonderful encouragement that reminds me daily of grace and who I am in Christ. And the truth is I need to be reminded daily.  I think downloading this album would be one of the better ten buck investments you will make this year.

Monday Musings – Forbidden Topics

Nothing like starting out the week by discussing two of the three forbidden topics: politics and religion. In just a few days far too few of us will cast a vote to elect representatives and pass or discard new laws and initiatives. The ramp up to election day is predictable. Nasty television spots with ominous music and apocalyptic announcers dominate the TV lineup. Tasteless mailers full of half-truths and hysterical predictions of doom arrive in our mailbox.

What should a Christian make of all of this? I used to be a rabid political guy. I once believed that with the right political leaders we could change the culture. I was wrong. Getting certain political leaders in place might help with some issues that matter to me. But even if I get my “dream team” elected we will still have a problem in our culture.

Sin.

Politics and law don’t change that inconvenient truth (apologies to Al Gore) that we have an inherent problem that I believe can only be addressed by one solution.

The Gospel.

Jesus gave us a perfect example of what it looks like to be a good citizen while recognizing what really changes the heart of man. The religious legalists (the Pharisees) were trying to trick Jesus and get Him in trouble with the Roman government. Nice try.

“Teacher,” they said, “we know how honest you are. You are impartial and don’t play favorites. You teach the way of God truthfully. Now tell us—is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay them, or shouldn’t we?”

Jesus saw through their hypocrisy and said, “Why are you trying to trap me? Show me a Roman coin,[c] and I’ll tell you.” When they handed it to him, he asked, “Whose picture and title are stamped on it?”

“Caesar’s,” they replied.

“Well, then,” Jesus said, “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.”

His reply completely amazed them.

So I am no longer rabid political guy. I am a concerned citizen who studies issues and candidates and always votes. I love this country and believe in this country but revival will not come from Washington D.C. It will come from heart changes in every nook and cranny of this land from people who understand their deep need for grace, forgiveness and redemption.

Christians should certainly understand that lawmakers can only restrain a culture at best. Only “Grace-makers” can change a culture.

Tim Keller brilliantly identifies what happens when we make politics an ultimate thing.

If you center your life and identity on a “noble cause,” you will divide the world into “good” and “bad” and demonize your opponents. Ironically, you will be controlled by your enemies. Without them, you have no purpose.

Both sides of the aisle believe they have a noble cause. And we have seen the devastation to our political system when we demonize our opponents. We must not fall into that trap as representatives of Jesus.

So I will vote. I will trust God and His Sovereignty. I will believe what Paul wrote to a church in Rome that certainly had to deal with some political issues

Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God.  (Romans 13:1, NLT)

So be a good citizen next Tuesday and vote. Be grateful for that freedom. But remember that the real power for change comes not from state capitals nor from our nation’s capital. The real power to change our broken world comes from the finished work of Jesus and the transformational power of the Gospel.

Weekend Wildcard…Big Announcement!

I guess you run a risk when you title something a big announcement. I hope you are not disappointed when you hear the news. Those who have followed my humble ramblings over the years know that I love dogs, grace, my family, baseball and Jesus. Probably not the best ordering of those but you get my point.

The big announcement is a new book that combines all of those loves. The title might explain why I slipped “dogs” in first on my list above. Next February Tyndale House Publishing will release Stay: Lessons My Dogs Taught Me about Life, Loss, and Grace.

When my best canine friend Hannah was diagnosed with cancer I decided to start writing about the lessons I had learned and was learning from her. When I shared those journals with friends they insisted I put them into a book. To be honest, I resisted. When we rescued a second Labrador I continued to write about lessons of faith from my new canine buddy Maggie. I put them into a manuscript and Tyndale graciously decided to back the project.

I suppose every writer thinks his or her latest project is the best one yet. But I believe that this book really outlines the journey of discovery and grace that God has led me through in the past seven years.

If you pre-order the book just let me know in this thread and I will pick one person to get a personalized copy prior to the actual release date. You are on the honor system not to cancel your pre-order!

The rules are simple. Comment publicly or privately that you pre-ordered the book. I will write down all of the names, put them in an spiritually approved Texas Ranger’s hat and draw out the winner. Deadline for this promotion is December 1st. We will be doing some other fun stuff as the book release gets closer.

Thanks to all of you who encourage me in these ramblings. You bless me with your grace and kindness.