Time away.

 

There are times we need to recharge and refresh. For the next couple of weeks, that is what I will be doing. It is long past due, but I'm taking it. The question for you is are you taking the time off you need? If you don't your mind and body will shut you down. Your family and friends not to mention your work will suffer. 

God gave man sabbath because we need it. It doesn't have to be a Sunday or a Saturday now under Christ, but we still need times to recharge. Jesus took time away and I know you and I aren't better than He is. 

See you later.  

Would you run for office?

 

All it takes for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing.

This is a question we must ask is, but also what are we to do. Often if we do have these thoughts, we can get bogged down with what options we should follow. With so many good things that need doing in the world, we can get overwhelmed and end up doing nothing.  

Recently, I was asked if I would consider running for political office. The person reminded me that Christian men and women are often leery to enter this arena, but if true people of true Christian conviction don’t run who will. I couldn’t argue, too often the extremes are willing to run (on both sides). The people who are willing to work out issues don’t want to run unless things have gotten unbelievably bad.  

Side Note: There are a lot of areas of concern which don’t cross moral lines but only people who don’t care who gets the credits can work in those areas. These would be people who are humble, and those people usually don’t run for office.

There is the thought that ministers shouldn’t be involved in politics, but if his ministerial position isn’t full time, what is the difference between being a part-time public servant or part-time insurance or used car salesperson? I don’t honestly believe there is. These positions can be honorable and offer a public service. These positions can be reprehensible and, I’ll use the word that comes to my mind, these jobs can be filthy. The difference is how they are done and what the motives are by the people who are in them.

You might argue to get elected you will have to compromise your Christian principles? But to return to my illustration, for a person to be a successful salesperson one could argue you have to lay aside some of your Christian principles. This is a weak argument though a valid concern.

You could argue a Christian running for office gives the church a bad reputation. Again, if they are doing it in an honest way, why?  People are going to say bad things about Christians, the Bible promised it. The key is to not do anything to deserve it.

One could argue an honest person can’t really get elected. To which I could ask that doesn’t mean one shouldn’t try. How many people in the past have done what was considered impossible?

So, am I going to run? No. I consider my position as pastor full time or at least be available to be full time as COVID has shut down part of my ministry. I am also a writer. I don’t desire another job.

However, do I wish honest Christian people would run? Yes.

? Maybe, my wife should run? …..

This of course isn’t a treatise on the subject. Perhaps it isn’t something worth putting on my blog, as if some of my other ramblings needed to be published. I hope that it causes you to think, even disagree.

Forget the Pain

 CS Lewis in his book The Problem of Pain said, "But pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world..."

The problem I thought of is that today we have Tylenol and Advil, not to mention a host of other things to help us forget our pain. We have a struggling marriage but that's okay we have the pain reliever called divorce. We are facing hardship at work or at home but instead of dealing with it, we grab the pain reliever called alcohol.  People face trouble in their finances because they don't save, overspend, or both and we have the pain reliever of government bailouts, bankruptcy, and credit cards. 

Yes, I realize there are problems we don't cause ourselves and we do need the help of God and others to pull us through. This also isn't an excuse to not reach out in compassion. However, there are times the most compassionate thing we can do is to let someone suffer until they reach out to the one who can help with all our pain, Jesus. 

Don't look at others, but look at yourself. Is the pain you are facing a result of something that needs to be attended to by you or by surrendering to God? Then don't try and forget the pain or cover it, deal with it. It's probably time to wake up to the reality God is trying to show us.  

Planning and living in the moment.

I asked God today what is the plan? How do I need to organize my day to be efficient? It was then it hit me what if life wasn't always about planning and efficiency? It was at this moment I remembered that God is so much bigger than we are. He created a world where there are very efficient creatures and some that aren't. There are well planned out people and people who don't plan anything. These people aren't bad (whichever you aren't) they are normal. We need both the planned and the spontaneity for our lives to be their fullest.  

I am wondering does God both have a plan and lives in the moments? I believe he does and though those seem completely incompatible maybe they are for us, but God is more than we are. 

How does this apply to our lives? Perhaps it is a reminder that we need to find the balance between these two both have a plan but don't be afraid to have spontaneity. Or if you are great at living in the moment maybe you need to start using a plan too. Let's find the balance. 

To use another illustration if you're a hammer, remember there are screwdrivers out there too. 

Just ask!

YES! 

 Our youngest daughter got an article written about her book in the newspaper, the front page continued to the top of the back page (almost the entire top of the back page). It isn't the New York Times but it is still great. 

How did this take place? I mentioned what she had done (published as a senior in high school) and said it might be a feel-good piece. I thought it would be just the thing for a small local paper. They could have said no and the results would have been the same as a no if I had not of asked. 

This reminded me again of the power of asking. Now, I'm not saying we need to be annoying but there is a time and a place to ask, so ask. The worst that usually can happen is they say no. However, a yes might bring more than you expected. It did here. 

Not only did she get a very thorough article, but when we talked to the reporter he told us she was the best interview he had ever had. He went on about how great she was in her answers and in her demeanor. He also praised us for supporting her and being good parents. (I'm smiling)

Why? Because I asked.