Other People's Opinions And Obeying God

I hate to admit it but I am often too concerned with the opinions of others.  So, the following challenge is for me as much as anyone else who may be reading this.  

Challenge: Be more concerned with pleasing God and being obedient to Him than with trying to please people.  (After all, we can never keep all the people in our lives pleased, anyhow.)  God’s opinion is what ultimately matters.  His opinion infinitely outweighs everyone else’s opinion!

Expressing A Contradictory Opinion In A Sensitive Way

There is a way of humbly disagreeing with a person without intentionally being divisive or contentious.  It is possible to express a contradictory opinion in a sensitive way without sneaking in a little insult.  It is possible to speak the truth in love.  This is what the mature follower of Jesus strives to do.

Rachel: I Don't Want To Be An Adult!

Sometimes Rachel gets in a melancholy mood and cries very real tears saying, “I don’t want to be an adult anymore!!!!!”

When this happens—in my imagination—I can hear about 90 percent of the adults in the world saying, “We hear ya’ sister!”

Adjusting To God's Will

Obedience involves having this kind of attitude toward God:  “If we come to some point in my life where your commands, Lord, lead one way but my inclinations and desires actually lead another way.  I will adjust to you.  I will not try to rationalize or deceive myself into believing that you need to come over to my way of thinking.”

We Know God Exists

Deep down in our heart of hearts we know God exists.  We know this because He has revealed Himself to us in several ways if we are willing to see.

When I write that He has revealed Himself I mean, for example, the universe came into existence and, ultimately, the only two options are that it came into existence as a result of random chance plus time or as the purposeful action of some type of powerful intelligence.

Time plus random chance, however, can never produce information.  An intellect, of some type, is always required to produce information.  Time and random chance can produce patterns, such as the ripple patterns we see in the sand.  But if we are walking along the beach, look down, and see “Dan loves Nadia” carved in the sand we know with complete certainty an intelligence of some kind produced that message which is conveying information.

With that in mind, consider that every living cell contains volumes of “information.”  They do not contain random data, they contain huge amounts of actual information.  Time plus random chance cannot do this.  If we will be completely honest with ourselves we know this to be true.

God has revealed Himself if we are willing to see.

So, the Bible contains a statement like this:  “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” Psalm 14:1

Someone might read this post and say, “You see, this is what I hate about guys like you, Dan, you always have to be antagonistic with this God stuff!”

Please know it is genuinely not my desire to be antagonistic.  I write this post to be thought-provoking.  To be frank, I am just a weak, flawed guy who looks around my world with a broken heart and a desire to see people find hope in acknowledging what they know to be true.

Baptisms Today -- We Are Celebrating!

I was at the church very early this morning.  At 5:30 am, I began filling a 4ft. wide, by 7 ft. long, by 4 and half foot deep tub with water.

You say, “You guys have a hot tub at your church?!?  That is so cool!!!”

No.  Not exactly.  It’s not a hot tub.  It’s a baptismal tank.

Eleven people will step into that tank today and—by participating in the ordinance of baptism—they will proclaim that they are trusting in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.

The response of the church will be cheering, tears of joy, wonder, excitement, great happiness, connection with God and gratitude to God.  We recognize their act of obedience as a wonderful spiritual victory.  It is a day of celebration!

You can’t see it, but I just had a moment of dancing and pumping my fist in the air!

Now, time to go check the water level.

E-Flash From Dan, March 22, 2014

Dear E-Flash Friends;

Baptism services are among my favorite services of the year.  Think about witnessing people stepping forward in faith and obedience to Christ, and participating with Him in His death and resurrection.

“…having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.”  Colossians 2:12

It’s extraordinary, encouraging, exciting and inspiring!

That will be happening in our services tomorrow, March 23^rd, 9am and 11am.  And guess what?  You’re invited!

Click on the link and you can check out a brief video invitation.

Link…   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAkS3_Ua4Ks

We’ll have some wonderful worship music and I am bringing a message on the topic of “Telling The Good News.”  I’m fired up about it.

Hope to see you tomorrow!

Love and blessings,

Dan

Baptisms This Sunday... You're Invited! -- Brief Video

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Lucy Hiding Under The Bed

Our new puppy, Lucy, is incredibly curious (I think she may have some cat in her).  Earlier tonight, during her exploration, she crawled under our bed.  This was a little bit of a problem because there are lots of boxes of stuff under the bed, so, I couldn’t even see her.  But I knew she was under there because I could hear her scratching and chewing on things.

I called her numerous times to get her to come out from under the bed but she is still working on the concept of responding when she is called.  She will come, sometimes, when she is called but other times she completely disregards this command as if she can’t even hear it.

“Is it possible she is stuck under there?” I wondered.  “How long will she hang out under the bed?”

I was concerned because I don’t even know what is under the bed.  I’m pretty sure the last time some of those boxes were opened was just prior to the Beatles’ appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show.  I didn’t know if what she was chewing on was dangerous in any way.

So, I grabbed some of her treats and I put one under the bed.  When Lucy retrieved the treat she was still under the bed but now she was in a spot that was visible to me.

I put another treat under the bed.  This time it was a bit closer to me.

Sure enough, Lucy came closer and ate that treat.

I continued placing treats in front of Lucy but closer and closer to myself.  And she continued to move closer and closer as she retrieved the treats.

Finally, she didn’t even realize it but she was no longer under the bed.

I picked her up and said, “Aha!  I’ve got you.”  And she licked my face as if this were a fun game we had been planning to play for days.

“Why don’t you come when I call you?”  I asked her. 

She just smiled and—I have a feeling—thought this: “How am I going to train you to provide all kinds of new, fun and interesting ways to give me treats if I do that?”

The People Who Think They Are Always Right

There are people who see the world like this:  “I’m always right and anyone who disagrees with me is—by definition—wrong because they are disagreeing with me and I’m always right.”  In addition to being incredibly tiring, people like this are immature no matter how old they are.

Nurturing Believers -- Audio Podcast

Ephesians 4:11-16

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An Important Way of Understanding God Is To Walk With God

Laughter can be defined in a fairly accurate way by describing the action of air moving across our vocal cords and detailing other physical processes.  But that type of explanation does not help a person to know or appreciate the truth and reality of laughing.  The best way to know what laughter is, is to laugh.

   

In a similar sense, a relationship with God can be described with theological terms and accurate doctrinal statements.  But the best way to understand what it means to have a relationship with God is to enter into the reality of intentionally walking with Him every day.

It's Helpful When People See The Truth of Jesus Through The Way We Live

There is a time and place for offering a rigorous, spirited, intellectual defense of the Christian faith.  Christians are challenged, in the Bible, to be prepared for those times. However, it is always time to allow people to see the truth of the living Jesus through the loving, gracious, joyful, Christ-like way we live our lives.

The Good Pudding Samaritan

Well, I went back to Jewel food store this morning and guess what?  The lights were on! The power was working.  I didn’t need a flashlight. 

(Yesterday, when I was there I wandered around in the dark because the power was out.)

While I was there, today, Nadia sent me a text requesting that I pick up pistachio flavored instant pudding.  So, I went to the pudding aisle.  They had chocolate, vanilla, butterscotch, lemon and a few other flavors but no pistachio.

I called Nadia and said, “I don’t see pistachio.  They have all the other flavors but not that one.”

While I was talking to her, a little elderly woman standing next to me reached down to a space on the shelf I hadn’t noticed.  She pulled out what appeared to be one of the last remaining pistachio instant pudding boxes.  It was down low and far back on the shelf.  I did not see it.

I thought, “Hey, what’s going on?  She must have heard me talking about the pistachio pudding.  Is she, now, grabbing the last one?!?”

In fact, she did hear me talking about the pistachio pudding!  I know this because she turned, smiling and handed the box to me.  “Is this what you’re looking for?”

“Yes, it is.” I told her.  And then on the phone to Nadia I said, “A nice lady, here, just helped me find it.”

“Do you want two of them?” the nice lady asked.

“Yes, I do.”

“Here you go,” she said and handed me another box.

I said, “Thank you.”

She said, “My husband has trouble finding things, too.”

And then she went on her way to, no doubt, provide comfort, guidance, nursing and assistance to other confused and troubled shoppers.

Now I know the legends are true.  There is such a thing as “The Good Pudding Samaritan.”

Talking With The Dentist

My dentist (who is a great guy) hung that suction device on the corner of my mouth, you know, the one which vacuums up all the fluid.  Then he began scraping and poking at my teeth with the sharp pointy hook instrument while utilizing the little round mirror on a stick.

(I mention that he is a great guy just in case he happens to read this.  First of all it’s true that he’s a great guy.  And second of all, I want him to think that I think he’s a great guy because he is in a position to inflict a lot of pain on me while making it seem like this: “Gee, I’m sorry, did that hurt?  Oops, that pain was an accidental and inevitable result of the standard dentistry procedure.”  So, once again, for the record, he’s a wonderful fellow.)

While all of this activity was happening in my mouth he began talking to me about some issues and stories that invited my response.  But how was I supposed to say anything?  I couldn’t actually form any words with my mouth hanging open and several instruments at work on my teeth.

But I managed to make some rudimentary sounds that communicated simple responses such as:

“Yes.”

“No.”

“Not sure.”

“Wow!”

“Really?”

“I guess so.”

And this one...

“Frankly, there are a number of ways of looking at that statement and a nuanced response is probably in order.”

I’ll be honest, that last one requires a whole series of grunts and guttural noises.

We had a pretty good conversation without me actually doing any talking.  Funny how that can happen, huh?

By the way, I mentioned that he’s a terrific chap, right?  …Okay, just making sure.

Talking About Baptism and Communion -- Audio Podcast

1 Corinthians 11:27-29, Colossians 2:12 and Matthew 28:18&19

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Pursuing Peak Experiences

Researchers have studied what are described as “peak experiences.”  These times are now also known as

“flow.”  If you’ve ever been engrossed in something, looked up and a significant amount of time went by and you barely noticed it, you were experiencing flow. 

If you have ever been engaged in a sport or perhaps some other type of performance and everything happened just right, you were in the zone, and you almost felt as if it was—in a certain sense—effortless, you were experiencing flow.

Times of flow are happy, satisfying, deeply engaging, meaningful and significantly positive experiences.

Ground-breaking research in the study of flow was done by a psychologist named Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.  One of the aspects of flow that Csikszentmihalyi has noted involves this question: what were people doing when they had these peak experiences?

This is what he writes:

“The feeling [flow] didn’t come when they were relaxing, when they were taking drugs or alcohol, or when they were consuming the expensive privileges of wealth.”

This is somewhat counter-intuitive because based on what we see in our culture, one would think that many believe those behaviors listed above are exactly what someone would do to have a peak experience, especially a peak experience of happiness.  But that is not what the research has revealed.

Continuing with Csikszentmihalyi’s quote:

“Rather it often involved painful, risky, difficult activities that stretched the person’s capacity and involved an element of novelty and discovery.”

In other words, peak experiences in life, or times of great happiness do not tend to come when we are sitting around doing nothing.  They are more likely to occur when we are involved in something challenging that requires our complete focus and attention.

If you will stop to ponder these findings, they actually make a lot of sense.

Waking Up In Paradise

When I woke up yesterday morning I opened the shades, looked out the window and the scene you see in the photo is what I was gazing upon. 

I thought, “Yep, it’s great living in the Chicago suburbs because it’s almost like paradise here.”  Then I chuckled.  You know, the kind of chuckle that people emit when they’ve got it totally going on and all is right with the world.

Then I told Nadia, “I think I’ll get in a half an hour, or so, of jet skiing before breakfast.  You know how that limbers me up and gets me ready to face the day.”

She said, “All I know is this: it’s thrilling for me to be living this extraordinary life with you, man of my dreams.”

As I smiled I heard a strange buzzing sound.  It was almost imperceptible at first but it grew progressively louder until I suddenly sat up in bed, looked around, groggily and realized that I had been dreaming.  The rude buzzing sound was my alarm clock.

When I opened the shades and looked out the window that chuckle I mentioned earlier was gone.

Trying to make the best of the situation, I put on my swim trunks, ran outside, dove into a pile of snow, and began a swimming motion.  I learned, once again, that “wishful thinking” only goes so far.

Making Life Harder Than It Has To Be

There are people who seem to have a very difficult time seeing certain connections between the things that they do and the results that are being produced.  This tends to make life even harder than it has to be.

Why He Doesn't Go To Church

I read a blog a couple of weeks ago in which a fairly well-known Christian author wrote about choosing not to attend church services very often.  The reasons he gave for not going to church primarily had to do with himself and whether or not church provided a benefit to him.  He had determined that it was not enough of a benefit so he does not attend church very often.

Obviously, it’s a good thing for participation in church to have some benefit.  I understand how that would be an issue for everyone who attends church.  It’s pretty hard to argue with that point.  However, our participation in a church is not just about whether there is something in it for us.  It is also about God and gathering with other believers to worship Him.  It is also about our encouragement of others and our service to others.

A Christian faith primarily focused on “what’s-in-it-for-me?” is not what I find when I read the Bible attempting to understand what the church is all about.

Why Don't Protestors Make The Connection?

Sometimes when I see news stories about angry protestors, I notice the group of people who are protesting

are complaining about policies which are completely consistent with the values and political objectives of the people they voted for and supported. 

This is when I yell at the people through my TV (I know, I know, they can’t hear me but it makes me feel a little better) and say, “What are you complaining about?!?  Why are you protesting?1?  Don’t you recognize that you are now reaping exactly what you intentionally elected to endorse?”

They almost never answer me.

After I take a few deep breaths and calm down, I think, “I hope Jesus comes back soon.”

Surviving A Fall With My Marshmallow Coat

Yesterday on my way out the back door of my house, my foot hit the step just outside the door and slipped out from under me.  I did not see that the step was covered in a thin layer of very slick ice.

It was impossible to catch my fall in any way and I dropped directly onto my back with the upper part of my back slamming into the concrete step and taking most of the impact.  I was immediately shocked and scared.  Of course, it all happened very quickly.  And it’s strange because the nature of a fall like that is such that it’s incredibly surprising.  It’s like a really bad practical joke only it is, initially, not very amusing.  It’s later—in the full-body cast at the hospital—that lots of hilarious laughter about the whole matter can ensue.

I knew I had hit my back very hard and was concerned that I may have injured myself badly because the impact of the fall was hard.  I laid there for a few moments taking some deep breaths, intentionally moving very slowly.  Again, I was uncertain whether or not I was injured.  I wasn’t feeling any immediate pain but I know sometimes the pain does not happen right away.

Rachel was standing nearby and she asked me a couple of times, “Should I call mom?”

“No, don’t call her just give me a few moments,” I said.

“Okay.”  And she went in the house to watch some television.  (Notice that she didn’t panic?)

After a minute, or so, I got to my feet and picked up my computer which was thrown to the ground in the fall.  (Hey, when are they going to come up with some useful technology like a “keep-from-slipping-on-the-invisible-ice” app?)

I happened to be wearing a winter coat that my friend, Pam, had recently been teasing me about.  It’s a big, puffy coat that looks like I’m covered in large strips of marshmallow—except it’s not white, it’s gray.  I’m not sure about this but I think, perhaps, that coat may have softened the blow to my back.

This morning I woke up thinking, “Okay, let’s see how things are going to work.” 

I feel fine.  I don’t notice any pain in my back.  Thank God!

Time to put on my big marshmallow coat and head out into the unknown.

Should Rachel Canning Be Suing Her Parents?

Rachel Canning, who is 18 years old, is suing her parents.  According to a CNN article I read today Rachel is asking the court to: “have her parents pay the outstanding tuition for her private high school, pay her living and transportation expenses for the foreseeable future, use money from an existing college fund to pay for at least some of her college education, and pay her legal bills.”

This is, obviously, troubling in a number of ways and I suspect there are two sides to the story.  There always are.  But I’m bothered by the lawsuit factor in this matter.  We are creating a culture in which it seems like people quickly run to lawyers and initiate lawsuits every time they are upset about something.  Apparently people do not understand that often the only ones who really end up winning in all of these litigations are the lawyers.

You say, “Well, what’s she supposed to do, Dan?”

I know this will sound harsh to some—I’m really not a harsh guy—but here’s what she should do: Behave like an adult and figure out a way to deal with the circumstances in which she finds herself without running to a lawyer and bringing a lawsuit.

If it comes out that her parents are irresponsible, mean and immature—and they created a dysfunctional home life—that will not be a surprising aspect of the story.  We can all feel sympathy for Rachel, if that is the case.

(If it comes out that Rachel is a spoiled and entitled young woman who feels like the world owes her a special place in its orbit that will not be very surprising either.)

But, guess what?  Lots and lots and lots and lots of parents are imperfect, irresponsible and have created dysfunctional home lives.  That’s not a reason for lawsuits.  We all know people who grew up in dysfunctional homes and had strained relationships with their parents but it would never occur to them to bring a lawsuit regarding the matter.  Every bad thing that happens in the world cannot be remedied by lawsuits.

I can imagine the late night comedians will find some funny ways to joke about this story.  We’ll get a good laugh because it is pretty funny…except that in many ways it is sad.

Rightly Preaching the Word -- Audio Podcast

2 Timothy 4:2-4

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The Discipline of Intentionally Doing The Hard Things

It is often harder to do what’s right than to do what’s wrong.  (You’ve already made that startling discovery, right?)  This means there will be times in which we will have to be willing to do what is hard if we want to do what is right.

So consider this:  Many people, for obvious reasons, resist and avoid difficult things whenever possible.  This is understandable because hard things are… well… they’re hard.  And that’s not fun.

However, wise people willingly enter into the discipline of doing slightly less challenging hard things on a regular, consistent basis because that allows them to build the capacity to handle the more challenging harder things when they, inevitably, come along.

What About Lucy's I.Q.?

I recently discovered that dog I.Q. tests exist.  Does that make anyone else laugh, or is it just me?  Part of me thinks I should be surprised at the existence of dog I.Q. tests and, yet, another part of me thinks, “Well, that sounds about right.”

The book in which I read about dog I.Q. tests mentioned one of the test exercises is to put a towel or blanket over your dog’s head and see how quickly she can free herself from the towel.  I couldn’t help myself, I had to do a Google search and I found a dog I.Q. test which mentioned the towel/blanket exercise. 

The test provided this information:  If she [“she” would be the dog] frees herself in less than 15 seconds, that’s good.  She receives 3 I.Q. points.  If it takes 15-30 seconds, not bad.  She receives 2 I.Q. points.  If it takes her longer than 30 seconds, that’s less impressive.  She receives only 1 I.Q. point.

If the dog simply wanders around the house never really freeing herself from the towel you will probably have to strongly consider holding her back a grade.

[NOTE:  If the dog’s owner cannot seem to remove himself from a towel over the head then it’s imperative that the authorities be contacted, ASAP.]

So, with all that in mind I’ve been impressed by our new puppy, Lucy.  She has a little red doggy sweater we put on her when she goes outside because it’s been so cold.  Recently, we have discovered she can take the sweater off, all by herself.  I don’t actually know how long it takes her to remove the sweater but I know we have put her in her cage, wearing the sweater, and we have come home and found that she has taken the sweater off.  Sometimes it is in the corner of the cage, nicely folded.  Other times, she has hung it up in the closet next to her assortment of silk bow ties.

I know this post probably sounds like the mutterings of someone who is so excited about his new puppy that it’s obnoxious.   In fact, you’re probably thinking, “Settle down, Dan.  She’s an ordinary dog.  Sheesh!!!  Go get a hobby or something, bub!”

I know.  You’re right.  I’m sorry.  I am going to stop acting overly enthusiastic about this simple animal.

In fact, I have to wrap up this story, anyhow, because I just got a text message from Lucy.  She’s buying some new slacks, online, and she needs the credit card info.

*NOTE:  In the photo, Lucy has her arms freed from the sweater and has it down around her waist, partially removed.

A Minute And A Half of God Stuff Podcast - No. 36

We are made in the image of God!

                                    Click here for podcast!

Acknowledging That There Is Something Transcendent

For many people there comes a point where we realize that there has to be something bigger and more significant than our own wisdom—something transcendent.  It usually requires courage to genuinely admit this truth but when we do we begin to make progress toward help, hope and healing.

[*Hint:  If you seek Him you will find Him.  See Jeremiah 29:13]

Why Did Matthew McConaughey Bring Up God?

Many people who believe in God will say they can look back at the events of life and see what they

recognize to be the hand of God guiding certain events and experiences.  God’s involvement appears to be unmistakable.  If we are ready and willing to “see,” He is there to be found.  I thought about this last night when I heard Matthew McConaughey making his acceptance speech for the Best Actor Oscar.

This is the first portion of his speech:  “First off, I want to thank God, because that’s who I look up to. He has graced my life with opportunities that I know are not of my hand or of any other human hand.”

At the very least, that was an interesting thing to say in a room filled with Hollywood power players.  His gratitude to God was not greeted with thunderous applause.  (I’m guessing you’re not too surprised?)

Like many people I know McConaughey, obviously, sees God’s activity in his life.  He had the rare opportunity, however, to testify to that reality while 43 million people happened to be watching.

Taking The Time To Listen

People love it when we take the time to really listen to them.  It is a tremendously respectful action to listen and genuinely attempt to understand what a person is saying.  If we extend this form of dignity to a person, then sometimes, even if we disagree, we might still be able to maintain an authentic friendship that involves courtesy and mutual esteem.

You Can Go Ahead of Me

Today, at the grocery store, someone standing in line said to me, “You don’t have very many things, you can get in front of me.”

I said, “Really?”

“Sure,” she said.

“That’s so nice of you, thank you,” I said.

“No problem.”

I got in front of her in the line but then noticed there was a possibility I actually had more things in my basket than she had in hers.  I suspect she probably didn’t notice a couple of the items.  So, I thought about telling her to go ahead and go before me, after all, because she really didn’t have very many items, either.  But wouldn’t that be kind of weird and awkward?  I just switched places in the line with her.  And she suggested it.

I decided to go ahead and keep things the way they were rather than trying to do a reverse line-switching maneuver.

“This shouldn’t take long,” I reasoned.

When my purchases were being rung up by the cashier she couldn’t find the price for some of the fruit I was buying and she had to do a price check.  While we were waiting for the price check—for what seemed like an extraordinarily long time—I looked at the lady who let me go ahead of her.  I smiled and shrugged my shoulders as if to say, “Well, it’s crazy how things happen, huh?”

But she was leafing through one of those gossip magazines and she didn’t seem very happy. 

I felt really uncomfortable.  “How long can a price check take?” I wondered.

My guess is she was thinking, “Why did I let this guy get in front of me?  He looks like he actually has more stuff than me.   Why didn’t he tell me he had so much stuff?  Well, I should have known better.  No good deed goes unpunished.”

Several hours later my purchase was finally rung up (hey, it seemed like several hours while I was standing there) and I paid for my items.  As I was leaving the cashier’s area I turned back and said, “Thanks again, for being so nice.”

The lady waved a gossip magazine and said, “Uh huh.”

How is it possible that even a basic trip to the grocery store can become strangely unpleasant?  I don’t know.  I sure hope that fruit tastes good.

Consuming Information Carefully And Intelligently

We live in a culture where much information comes to us cleverly packaged, poll-tested and carefully spun.  There’s no point in fussing about this reality because it’s not likely to change.  However, the manner in which our information is disseminated means that it will be good and helpful for us to consume it with intelligence, caution, thoughtfulness and prudence; giving mindful consideration to the source from which it comes.