Have you ever stared into the eyes of a lion? I did once at a zoo. Even behind the bars, his glare was fierce. He sat atop his hill truly the king of his now miniaturized domain. I was the only person there. He looked down at me and stared right into my eyes. Within moments I wanted to look away, but I didn’t. I remember the intimidation I felt but suddenly memories of staring into my dog Rex’s eyes soon washed it all away. It was the lion, that only knew the zoo, who looked away first.

I know there are those who don’t know the love of the Master. Leave the zoo of this world and come among those who do.

The American community is a very consuming community. Sex is huge over here. It is one of the greatest powers given to us by God through which we, mysteriously, take part in His divine role and create life. The American community has been at work destroying that life confusing the gift of God with its tragic obsession over lesser things.

Sex is a power we can harness in the role God created for it, which blesses a community by establishing a strong foundation of identity: this is a family, here is a father and a mother honoring marriage (the image of God), with boundaries in place that keep order to the chaos of passions and desires. It is by wantonly giving over to such elements of degradation that the erosion of the strength of our vows, our spoken word, by which God created the heavens and the earth, begins.

Think of it like a plot of land or a city with walls built around it. The walls create definition; here is inside a city, here is outside a city. Inside a city, there is protection. Outside its walls there is no authority or agreed state of terms and laws put in place by which to protect against the warring opinions of control. Inside a city there is a government/leader who creates identity- this is who we are and what we do, this is who we are not, and laws are kept in place to solidify that identity by taking away freedoms to those who don’t adhere to them.

Family is a microcosm of the city definition as stated above. The agreed set of terms were stated in the vow ceremony upon which the couple embarks the great adventure of establishing a new city, a new plot of land defining who they are and what they do.

Evangelism is the act of communicating a better way to build. People don’t know by and of themselves that there is a better way. It is foolishness to think a child knows better than a parent before their mind is even awakened. It is by education that we learn, and being educated in the ways of God, the ways set by the Creator, we are made complete in a world that is perpetually fallen and incomplete.

LORD, I don’t want to be that guy. I don’t want to be filled with fear because of a past I can’t shake. I don’t want to bury mine because I’m afraid I’ll lose it again. The servant buried his because ‘life isn’t fair’. Do I do it for anything less? I don’t want to be that guy. I don’t want to watch for others to fail. I don’t want to speak poison into those who have not experienced my past like a dead leaf trapping a Mayflower. I don’t want to be that guy…

Oh Jacob Marley, why did you only warn Scrooge about one side of greed? Surely you knew more. Surely you saw others floating in the afterlife, those who because of sorrow have robbed the rest of the world of that which the LORD sought to give. What chains of burden shackle them?

Oh Greed, in each hand you grip those who have gained and those who have lost. They both, in turn, grasp onto that which they cannot bear to lose and can never keep. And for those who spread only the ashes, those Keepers of the Ash, like Shimei son of Gera, they proclaim of the palaces of faith they once had now burned to the ground. They curse God and choose not to build anymore, neither on the rock or sand. It made no difference before. In their greed, they believe ash is all they can cling to. Ash can’t be destroyed, it is destruction.

“One can’t lose if one doesn’t have”, like a Muddy Waters’ song it speaks a dark comfort to the bereaved and the cowardly. Such a twisted lock the devil has made: if you are advanced, you willfully take a step back. An evil doubt and fear-driven Hokey Pokey. A bit of madness keeps them dancing. Fully manifested they will target those who are blessed and tear at them with all their strength. For them, the ones who are blessed are the lie. They would crucify again the perfect One to satisfy their rage at this imperfect world.

Oh Marley were you too afraid to mention the bonds crafted on those Scrooge neglected? His misdeeds did more than cause deprivation. Your story fails to mention that they also gave rise to a lust rivaling that of Jezebel’s. Naturally one cannot be responsible for another’s actions, unless it is as an avalanche caused by a small stone. Marley, you wicked witness! You are in death what you were in life. Ever closing your eyes to the truth and only seeing that which will change your name in the history books. Did you see Hezekiah there, casting small insignificant stones upon a mountainside just waiting to crumble?

May I leave such paths behind, may they ever remain ‘the road not taken’. May any bond, any shackle, any chain that has ever been forged for me by my own actions, be loosed in Jesus’ name. I want to be born again. I want to be free from a past that mocks hope. I want to run and jump like a deer. I want to “taste and see that the LORD is good”. I want to see Scripture fulfilled in my days. I want to witness the good plans He has for me. I want to become the man with 5 minas turned to 10. I want to have to build extra barns to hold the incoming harvest.

Yes LORD, I want to believe again in Your goodness. For You alone are God, whether or not any of this ever makes sense. May Your Name be praised.

The practice of memorizing Scripture has often been joked about along with soccer mom’s, home schoolers, and minivans, (of which I’m 3 out of 4). Recently I’ve heard popular preachers make fun of the idea, comparing ‘memorizing Scripture’ vs. ‘living it out’ as if to say they aren’t in agreement. Pictures of The Simpsons’ Ned Flanders comes to mind as the ‘type’ of person who memorizes parts of the Bible, but from my own personal experience there is very little that compares to its ability to sear the mind.

There is such an extreme amount of thought-traffic out there with a youtube video for each one that it can be hard to hear your own let alone His thoughts. Trying to find some time to quiet it all down can be challenging enough and is probably one of the main reasons people refer to it as a joke. Whatever and why-ever the idea that memorizing Scripture has become a joke, again, I have never come into such conflict in my mind as I do when I try.

I remember when I started memorizing Scripture, it was literally like crossing a highway. Every thought screamed for my attention, they were all so important, I had to fight each of them off and get my mind to zero. I would lay the Bible open on my lap and, like trying to use dental floss when you have tremors, the battle would often get fierce. At times I’d even have to bust out the big guns and start calling things out in Jesus’ Name. This became evidence enough to me that I needed to do it.

Since attempting it, I have noticed that my thoughts have become more in line with Scripture. I began to train them to submit to His living and active Word and they did eventually quiet down. Facebook and other social networks, let alone everyday life, can often become a battleground. I’d read comments so offensive or so lacking in hope I’d be prone to worry for people. Instead of reacting, my thoughts would find their way to zero and He would be there giving me better ones.

Am I saying memorizing Scripture leads to perfection? No, but I am saying that along the road He leads me on there is no better radio station for my heart, soul, and mind than His Word. Memorizing it made it that much more readily available to me. Waiting in lines or in traffic became opportunities to recite, and when thoughts would demand my attention I’d tell them to wait their turn, and they would.

Memorizing Scripture may still be a joke to many, but one more thought, consider actors, if they don’t memorize their script the play is ruined. I would say you owe it to yourself to try. Start with whatever you want, maybe John 3:16 or Genesis 1:1, then attempt chapters and eventually entire books. The Psalms can be very rewarding as well as the New Testament often sites/quotes them. You get to have an entirely different level of intimacy with His Word when you do. It becomes what you think and talk about. His Word begins to have a prominent place bringing order to all of the endless traffic in our minds.

Memorizing and speaking His words is no joke and will endure long after Facebook is forgotten, let alone after heaven and earth pass away. It is powerful and will help to keep us focused on eternity.

Due to Betsy mistakenly putting her ATM card in a snack machine, only to have it eaten because the slot was for cash not cards, she quickly called the bank and had it cancelled. A couple of days ago we were finally able to go to the bank to get a new one. On our way out, the bank teller reached into his wallet and gave us a $50 gift card to Applebees. He said he just felt God wanted him to give it to us. We had only met him that day. We decided to go with the blessing and ate there right after the bank. We found out kids eat free on that day. Our bill came to $40, and we left the rest as tip.

So what started as a snack tragedy ended up as a feast for free. God cracks me up, amen.

What else is this life for
if not to know Him more?

There is a path in a forest in Fitzgerald Park of Grand Ledge, MI that provided me with a journey spiritual in nature. I know that may sound a bit weird, but if you go there to see it, and provided that things haven’t changed too much since I’ve walked it years ago, I think you may find it helpful.

The path in mention was West of the parking lot, on the left side of the park as you come in. There was a small wooden bridge that marked its entrance. As you walk in you’ll notice that soon the path comes to a crossroads. Many of the paths there were used for a frisbee golf course which was a lot of fun, but for this journey, I saw more than par 4’s and par 5’s. It was at the first major intersection that the journey became clear. The path to the right went down a steep grade and then disappeared around a bend leading behind me. This spoke to me of where you leave and let go of the past, similar to where Christian let go of his burden at the cross in the story “The Pilgrim’s Progress”. Here I pictured it clearly as I laid down whatever burden I carried, and because of what Jesus accomplished on the cross, it rolled away and was forever gone beyond sight.

Then there were 4 more different paths to choose from. The one to the right as I said before goes downhill, but the next one which also angled slightly to the right continued straight, deeper into the wood. This spoke to me of the clear path Jesus leads us on separating us from a destructive life. Then as with all metaphors, you have the choice to let it end or let it continue. If you let it end here, that’s fine, maybe you’ll see some wildlife or hear a wood thrush, one of my favorites, or go play some disc golf, but if you continue maybe you’ll see what I saw.

The path then after the straightaway clearly took a turn downhill and continued to the right, but if you saw it, there is also a small relatively unused path that went uphill briefly to the left. The path to the right spoke to me of the life of faith that slowly returns to the destructive call of this fallen world. But the small unused path to the left spoke to me of the “still, small voice” of God in 1 Kings 19:11-13 and of Jesus’ “narrow path” in Matthew 7:13-14. When I followed it, the path was no longer as clear as the wider one. I really had to pay attention to stay on track, but when I did, that path eventually lead to one of my favorite places on the trail.

After a small jump, it intersected with a larger path. It is along this larger path that I was afforded a sight that will ever stand out in my mind in regards to the change given to us by the leading of the Holy Spirit. There was a platform that gave a grand view of the surrounding landscape full of low points and high. It spoke to me of a hindsight view of life in all its variety. There was then a staircase that leads down to paths which eventually ended near the Grand River.

Now part of the wonder of that platform and stairs was the fact that I hiked it back before they had fixed it. The platform back then was old, worn, and falling apart, and the stairs were collapsing off the edge of a 10-foot drop into a shallow creek below. Old pieces of the stairs still remained and were left behind as a memory while the new staircase was built further in from the drop and on surer ground. This spoke to me of the old and dangerous path that once was and of the new one that we who follow Jesus now walk. It reminded me of the wise and foolish builders in Matthew 7:24-27.

As I followed the path to the Grand, I thought of the trail blazed by Jesus that leads those who follow to their new life in Him. If you go there may you be reminded of the freedom you now have through His work on the cross. He paid the price for it, and we are to leave our burdens there and believe in Him.

There are many other things I saw on those paths, but hopefully, you’ll get a chance to walk there and wonder yourself.

The layers of prayer: (I know there are countless other layers, but this
consecutively develops with the belief that there is a core.)

“Lord I give You everything I am…” (Said as if to barter)

“Lord I love You…” (As if to convince Him of your authenticity)

“Lord I want…” (As if He doesn’t already know)

“Please…” (Begging begins)

“I am sorry… (An attempt to make yourself worthy)

“I declare…” (Pretending you must not have done it right the last time)

“Your Word says…” (Begin debating)

“Where are You…?” (Emotions begin to take over)

“Are You deaf…?” (Begin accusations)

“I’ve done everything I know to do…” (Frustration, anger, and doubt in His covenant begin)

“Did I miss it/lose it…?” (Blame game)

“How long…?” (Begin to surrender)

“Prepare me for whatever You are doing…” (The end, usually said in bitter
frustration with a tinge of hope that there’s an end in sight)

No, I don’t pretend to understand what He’s up to, and no this is not the path of everyone. I believe He is good, and that it is not my faith that makes Him so. He is alive.

If He answers your prayers exactly as you have prayed them, amen. For the rest of us, after you’ve done everything, keep praying. I believe He wants to bring us in beyond the formulas and recipes. Perhaps He wants to show you something, or is preparing something- this, the “tinge of hope”.