I recently ran across a letter that my dad wrote me in 1994. Yes, that 1994. Five years before Prince set the standard on partying. Six years before the predicted end of the world (Y2K). Seven years before the 9/11 attacks that changed…well, everything. Twenty-six years before the global pandemic known as Covid.
I was working as an Army Recruiter at the time. I was killing it! I had just been selected as the New Recruiter of the Year for my Battalion and Brigade and went on to rank third at the US Army Board. I also had a 13-month-old son and a wife of almost six years at home.
My dad was working as a Probation and Parole Agent for the State of South Carolina. He wrote me a personal letter and included a poem that he said he wrote to keep him humble in his work. I am not sure if he wrote the letter prompted by nostalgia as he considered my new stage in life as a dad, or if he was just saying hello…or if he was doing a little dad coaching given my recent successes…but as I read it a few times in recent days, I found it to contain some of that “dad wisdom” that he became really effective at sharing through our latter years together. (Or maybe he always was…and I just became a better listener.) I chose to maintain Dad’s voice throughout, complete with his choice of words (which seemed a little forced for the sake of rhyme) grammar, etc. They make me smile. While Dad was a pretty important man most of my life, he didn’t let it go to his head. Not even a “wee little bit.”
As we begin a new year, an opportunity lies before us. We can choose to live with a perspective like this–one of humility and empathy. We live in days where “zingers” and caustic tweets are rewarded with likes and shares. Our culture celebrates the bombastic tones of impertinent people more than calm, considerate, and understanding interactions. We can do better. We can choose better. It begins with perspective. Thanks, dad! From the other side of the desk…
Have you ever considered the response of Israel’s religious leaders to Jesus’ birth announcement. After four centuries of prophetic silence and even longer of foreign occupation and subjection under their nation’s enemies, the most well-versed leaders of ancient Judaism, glossed right over the birth of the Messiah.
1Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet: ‘And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, Are by no means least among the leaders of Judah; For out of you shall come forth a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ”
Matthew 2:1–6 (NASB95)
From their own recitation of the prophet Micah, they knew the facts of the anticipated King. The Messiah of the nation, the promised descendent of David, the King who would deliver His people…and the inquiry from the men from the East…yet no curiosity. No concern. No urgency. Simply an answer to the question and back to business.
Was it apathy? Possibly. Could they have been distracted? Not likely…after all, if the governor commands an audience of all the religious scholars and experts of the land, it is doubtful that the singular question would be a source of distraction. Perhaps it was something more subtly sinister. Perhaps, they did not like the implications.
The religious leaders were in charge. To the people, they arbitrated the relationship between God and man. They had respect. Their status, their perceived value, their pride… all was at risk if the King actually did appear. If God sent a deliverer, what would change for these men? But, more than that. These men would go from being sought to seeking. They would shift from pronouncing terms of deliverance to pursuing it themselves.
Therein lies the reason that Jesus is often rejected. It is not because of His power or the promise of being delivered, but of the implications of His Sovereignty. If He is a delivering King, then He must be King as well as Deliverer.
Luke records a story of a “wealthy religious leader” who approached Jesus (Luke 18:18-30). The young man desired eternal life but rejected it when Jesus lovingly articulated the demands. Turn loose of this world and live for the world to come and you will have eternal life. Reject the world where you have pride, prestige, and power. Choose instead the world where Jesus is King. Jesus said the man walked away from the encounter despondent…because the perceived loss eclipsed the man’s value of the desired gains.
Is that you today? Do you love the idea of King Jesus more than the implications of having a King in your life? Have you evaluated the loss you’ll incur as greater than the benefit you’ll receive? What if, though, Jesus is precisely what you need and now is the perfect time? Why not receive the greatest gift ever…today. Confess your rebellion to the Lord asking for forgiveness. Trust His response that the debt is settled. Walk in new life, with a new leader, and newly understood love. Come to Jesus today.
A report published by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) in August 2023, indicates that the suicide rate for Americans has increased to levels not seen since 1941. This marks a 1% increase over the previous year and translates to nearly 50,000 Americans taking their own lives last year.
The numbers are shocking.
Suicide among females increased at 4% while males increased by 1%. Still, men are nearly four times more likely to commit suicide than women.
Rates of suicide for younger Americans decreased (under 35 for men and under 25 for women) but saw a sharp increase above those ages. The largest increases occurred above age 75.
Why? Certainly, data points do not tell that part of the story, but I do believe they suggest possibilities that can be categorized by three words: Identity, Purpose, and Ownership.
Ownership. Who is responsible for your life? There are many things about our lives that we should take responsibility for. Our coming into being is not one of them. Each person reading this (yes, both of you), is on this planet as the result of the choice of another. You were sustained in your earliest and most vulnerable days by the care of another. Someone chose you. You may say, “Not me! I was a surprise to my parents…an inconvenient consequence of passion…a product of a terrible set of circumstances.” Others may resist this idea, clinging to some American ideal of autonomy; but, the greater consideration should be authority. If someone created you and cared for you, then they had and have some authority over your life. That is…ownership. The issue of authority or ownership is at the forefront of the Apostle Paul’s teachings:
…you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.
1 Corinthians 6:19–20 (NASB95)
Paul, not immune to his own teaching, most often referred to himself as a slave/bondservant of Christ. A doulos in the original language…referring to someone under the authority and care of a master…as an act of willful submission. Paul’s identity as a bondservant makes no sense apart from the authority and status of His Master. (More on this in a moment).
Purpose. Everyone needs purpose. This is one of the fundamental ingredients to joyful living. It is the WHY that gets you out of bed, fuels you in times of peace, and sustains you in times of trial. Purpose is also inherent in every person. The Lord spoke this to the Old Testament Prophet Jeremiah:
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
Jeremiah 1:5 (NASB95)
Long before Jeremiah could form a thought or make a choice, the God of heaven had a plan for Him. A reason for existing. A “Why” for his life. That’s not only true for Jeremiah, but for all of us; and, not only in our creation, but for the Christian, in our reconciled relationship with God through His Son, Jesus.
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
Ephesians 2:8–10 (NASB95) italics added
This purpose is not a product of our doing and it is not distinct from God’s purpose for us before we were created in the womb. You have a WHY! It has eternally existed in the mind of God. If we buy into the American ideal of autonomy, then the purpose is up to us, but if we are under authority, then we do not have to conjure up our reason, only discern our assignment.
Identity. With Ownership and Purpose comes Identity. We are, in some ways, instruments of God’s divine will. But we are more than that. Yes, He created us for a purpose, but not in the same way that a blacksmith makes a horseshoe, or an architect draws a blueprint. We are not merely the marks on a canvas by a master Artist. We are far more. We are adopted children of the great God who purposed our creation…if we are born again through His Son Jesus.
“See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are…Beloved, now we are children of God…”
1 John 3:1-2 (NASB95). italics added
Growing up in my hometown, I was known to many as “Big Boy’s” son. My dad was a policeman in the town and well known. Because I was his kid, I had an identity. The same became true for me when I joined the Army. When I enlisted, I came wholly under the authority and care of the Officers appointed over me in service to the nation. I made very few decisions for myself except whether or not to obey orders. In this relationship, I gained a new identity: a Soldier.
Implications. I think that part of the contributing factors to the increase in deaths by suicide relate to these three issues. There is a rebellion against authority. I get it. No one taught me to be a rebel either. It is part of my nature…my fallen nature. It’s important to remember though, that my rebellion does not negate the reality of authority. You can speed down the highway but that doesn’t change the speed limit or cause the Highway Patrol to vanish. The authority exists and it works best when you and I embrace it—not only as real but as good.
The authority informs purpose. You are not a mistake or a surprise. You are not the product of mere human reproductive processes. You are purposefully made. Even if your parents had no idea what they were doing, there is a good God with authority who willed your being into being and used the means He saw fit to do it. He wants you to live out that purpose. Yes, you and I mess that up and, at times, stray far from it…but through God’s redemptive actions in Jesus, He restores us to the potential of fulfilling that purpose. Fueling God’s acts of creation and restoration is a relationship. You are more than a number and more than a means to an end. You are a precious and loved son or daughter of the reigning King. He did not just bring you onto the ranch; rather, He set you a place at His table.
I imagine that the missing hope in the lives of everyone who took their lives comes down to one or more of these three things. If so, that means the ultimate answer to a climbing suicide rate is not more counseling, more hotlines, or more controls on social media. It is not new legislation that provides greater restrictions on the means employed to end one’s own life. The ultimate answer is hope derived from Ownership, Purpose, and Identity. The way people come to understand this…is through the intentional telling and retelling of the story by those who live out their purpose, under the authority of God, as His children…made possible by the precious sacrifice of Christ on our behalf which settles the debt of sin and restores the hope of pursuing God’s good design again.
If hope is waning for you, would you let me know? I’d love to pray for you and share with you more about God’s design and how it informs our Ownership, Purpose, and Identity. Until then, know that you matter. Your life matters. And the One who graciously gave those to you wants you to experience the benefits of them to the full!
As we approach the Thanksgiving season, many of my thoughts have run in the direction of gratitude. This is not a new consideration; rather, it is an outworking of a process of God’s gracious and sanctifying work in my life.
in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 5:18–20 (NASB95)
… but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father;
Psalm 97:12 (NASB95)
Be glad in the Lord, you righteous ones, And give thanks to His holy name.
Psalm 136:26 (NASB95)
Give thanks to the God of heaven, For His lovingkindness [He-sed] is everlasting.
These and dozens of other passages instruct us to give thanks to God. There are no qualifiers listed such as “If you are experiencing blessing, or have good health, or have not been a slave, or have not been fired.” Rather, in every command you find a party who has been, is, or soon will be experiencing difficulty. And they are told to give thanks.
How can you give thanks when you struggle to be grateful for your circumstances? Let me suggest reasons why gratitude is the faithful response of your life:
First, gratitude by faith is a Response to God’s Sovereignty. We can be grateful because God is in absolute control and reigns completely over every situation and circumstance including yours. Psalm 46 opens with a call to Rest in God in the midst of earthquakes, landslides, and natural disasters.
Psalm 46:1–3 (NASB95)
1God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. 2Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; 3Though its waters roar and foam, Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Selah.
None of these things deter the Lord. None overwhelm Him. Nor does He deliver His people from them; rather, He protects His people through them. This means that even if we cannot see it, God must see the circumstance of our lives as purposeful and good, even better than whatever alternative we might suggest. He also promises that in the end, all of these circumstances will be overshadowed by His glory (Psalm 46:10).
Second, gratitude by faith is a recognition of God’s activity. If God is Sovereign (and He is) then He has the power to accomplish anything in any way He likes. Yet, He chooses this. This job loss. This medical crisis. This difficult relationship challenge. This grief due to a loved one’s death. He is using it purposefully and specifically. Every. Single. Solitary. Situation.
Romans 8:28–32 (NASB95)
28And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. 29For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; 30and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified. 31What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? 32He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?
And, just in case, we might argue that the difficult things of life are the work of the devil, and the pleasant and comfortable components are God’s will…let us not miss verse 32 where we see that God chose the worst experience for His own Son so that we might experience the best through Him.
Third, gratitude by faith is resting in God’s Sufficiency. He was sufficient in the past. He is sufficient in the present. He will be wholly and solely sufficient for the future. Jesus doesn’t need to level up His game to pull out a clutch victory for us. He already secured it and if it was secured, it is secured, and it will be secured forever. It is as certain as He is certain. Jesus never equivocates about the future. He doesn’t use “lawyer language” to buffer His liability. “If I go,” Jesus said, “I will come again and receive you…that where I am, you will be also.” That’s the promise of John 14. There’s no “maybe/might/possibly” language in that. This is why Paul could instruct so boldly in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, God WILLS that you give thanks in EVERYTHING…in Christ Jesus.
You, nor I have suffered or will ever suffer like Jesus. And the story did not end there…but on day three He arose to give us hope in His claim as Messiah. By faith, we rest right there.
So, this season, no matter your circumstance, by faith in Jesus…give thanks. And, if you don’t have that kind of personal intimate knowledge resulting in that kind of personal dependent relationship…you can. He is not running or hiding…but inviting. If you want to know how to possess that kind of faith that responds with that kind of gratitude, I’d be honored if you contact me on this site and let me tell you what He did for me.
Happy Thanksgiving friends…old and new. Jodi and I are grateful for you.
Conflict. The very word causes some to break out in a cold sweat as their anxiety level skyrockets. Others smile because their day just became more interesting. Some see conflict as evidence that things have gone awry while others determine it to be an obstacle that must be quickly traversed.
We have all met someone who can cause a riot in a monastery and we may also know someone who runs at the first sign of disagreement. I want to make the case that both ends of the spectrum are unhelpful and even unbiblical. I am suggesting that conflict is a sign of progress and, when properly approached, results in Kingdom advance.
Recently, I was speaking with a man who told me about conflict in his place of work. He related that it seemed that the game du jour at the office was to find a way around processes because the processes were broken, antiquated, and prohibitive to progress. This worker had decided to take on the establishment and call out the real issue, a bureaucratic system that, while effective at creating multiple levels of safeguard reviews, created unnecessary security risks due to its restrictive effect on innovation. In a similar fashion, I read about a new breakthrough technology in treating a debilitating disease. The news report ended with a disclaimer that it would take a decade to get the treatment through the government agency’s oversight and approval process for safe treatment regimens. To simply accept the status quo is to cause harm to countless individuals under the auspices of protecting people from harm.
In both cases, what is needed, is CONFLICT. There, I said it. I do not mean that there should be flipping of tables and chasing people around with whips…though there is a time for such things (See John 2:14-16, Matthew 21:12-13, Luke 19:45-46, Mark 11:15-17). I am suggesting that conflict is not always bad, or sinful. In fact, it is one of God’s chosen means for sanctification and sharpening. It is, when God initiates it, a pathway to His glory.
Conflict cannot be categorically resisted or rejected as counter to God’s purpose. A man once told me that he was a peacemaker. This man may have had intentions to make peace; however, his actions were more akin to what Alfred Poirier calls “peace faking.” The win for this man was to squelch what he saw as conflict so that peace and unity were all that people saw. In reality, this man created more long-term suffering because he refused to examine the cause of conflict before closing the door on it.
One of the biblical responsibilities of leadership is to create conflict. If you were in a car with someone driving toward the edge of a cliff unaware of his circumstances, the only “right” move is to challenge his course of action and even to grab the wheel to avoid the destructive consequences ahead. If organizational culture were destructive, the only proper response is to confront it.
Through the prophet Jeremiah, the Lord himself calls out both people and priesthood for this very thing and even identifies their errant motives:
Jeremiah 6:13–14 (NASB95)
13“For from the least of them even to the greatest of them, everyone is greedy for gain, And from the prophet even to the priest Everyone deals falsely.
14“They have healed the brokenness of My people superficially, Saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ But there is no peace.
Superficial solutions to conflict are not good stewardship but ghastly subversions.
So, what is the answer?
Seek to Understand the Context. Squelching conflict without searching it out is like placing a piece of tape over your illuminated “Check Engine” light so you won’t worry about the mechanical condition of your car. As the wisdom writer reminds us: It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter (Proverbs 25:2, NASB95).
Seek the Lord’s Counsel. It is foolish to set a plan without seeking the Lord. Proverbs reminds us, “Many plans are in a man’s heart, But the counsel of the Lord will stand (Proverbs 19:21, NASB95).
Submit to the Lord. The life of faith is one of choosing to place the Lord’s agenda above our own. It is accepting His wisdom over our own. Oftentimes for me, the sign that a course of action is proper is that it is incredibly difficult.
Strive for Peace. Peace is still the goal. The Apostle Paul admonishes us to seek peace with all men (Romans 12:18. See also Hebrews 12:14, Galatians 6:1-2). This objective is glorious and fulfills the purpose for which Christ came (Luke 2:14).
We do well to consider that nothing surprises the Lord who sovereignly and actively reigns in the world today. God has not abandoned His people to their own wisdom or to chart their own paths. He is a Counselor, our loving and good Father, and a constant Companion. It takes courage to follow the Lord. Courage. So today, ask the Lord for wisdom and respond with courageous faith, trusting Him to work sovereignly. Peace.
At times we look at our circumstances as trials. As moments of suffering. As some price we pay for living in a broken world and among broken people. We see economic conditions as consequences of poor judgment and inept policies. We may even look at our difficult upbringing in contrast with the seemingly effortless blessing of someone else and feel as though we have been harmed.
What if, perhaps, our perspective is wrong? What if the difficulty is not the consequence of sinful people and a sinful world, but were sanctifying agents of a Holy God?
In Moses’ address in the waning hours of his life, He rehearses and reminds the people of God that a great opportunity is before them. He reminds them of the gracious kindness of God in working to gain their release from more than four centuries of slavery in Egypt. He also gives them some instruction on perspective. This section gripped me today:
2“You shall remember all the way which the Lord your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.
3“He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord.
4“Your clothing did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years.
5“Thus you are to know in your heart that the Lord your God was disciplining you just as a man disciplines his son.
Deuteronomy 8:2–5 (NASB95)
Having instructed God’s people in verse one to obey God’s commands as they take hold of God’s promises, Moses now gives them some instruction on why they can and should trust the Lord. He brings their circumstances into perspective.
Notice in verse three how God humbled his people with hunger, so that He could provide for them, so that they would know that they could never make it without Him. God presents HUNGER as a GRACE from Him for their ultimate encouragement! This is not inconsistent with the way God had been at work. The preceding verse spoke of God’s testing over forty years in the desert. In verse four He points to the fact that in addition to the food of verse three, there was the physical provision of health and clothing during the forty years as well. The intended effect is found in verse five, that they would know on a soul level that God had cared for and would care for them as a father does his son.
Perhaps hunger isn’t your thing. Maybe it is a low paying job. Maybe it is unemployment. Maybe it is some other out-of-control situation that has your back against the wall. What if, instead of viewing this difficulty as God’s judgment, you saw it as God’s grace? Is He providing for you? Perhaps in a way you did not intend or would not have preferred, but His provision, nonetheless. Maybe you asked to never have cancer or to be supernaturally healed from it, but God chose to provide health through treatment? Maybe that dialysis machine is God’s humbling grace…
I know for me personally, when I see the circumstances of my life that are most trying, my self-talk is critical to my attitude and resulting action. If I think God has forgotten or forsaken me, it is more difficult to trust Him. But if I can rely on His loyal, covenant-making and covenant-keeping love…I can praise Him for the trials because I recognize that the sustainment through the trial is just part of how He trains my heart to trust Him in love.
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