We Choose How We Respond

For the most part, we choose how we respond to what happens in life. In other words, we are not forced by the circumstances of life to think, speak and behave in certain ways. Rather, we choose our response.

I realize there are some really bad circumstances which can happen sometimes. And I understand that when incredibly difficult circumstances occur this is not inconsequential. The circumstances of our lives matter. I have great empathy for this reality. However, it is still true that, in general, we choose our response.

This can be a difficult idea to wrestle with because it takes away some of our excuses. If we admit we have chosen our response then we cannot claim circumstances dictated that we respond in negative, hurtful, unwise and unhealthy ways. We must accept responsibility.

With God’s help we can choose—even in difficult circumstances—to respond to life with love, respect, grace, joy, patience and kindness. I want to make these kinds of positive choices.

Being Humble And Being Thankful

Real thankfulness requires a measure of humility because thankfulness involves the realization that we are receiving goodness from a source outside of ourselves. After all, if we are responsible for all the goodness in our lives thankfulness is no longer necessary. In this case, the only attitude necessary is a sense of amazement at ourselves for how incredible we are. (I’ve tried being amazed at myself a number of times and it never works very well. I find it disappointing.)

Are we willing to humble ourselves and recognize the wonderful blessings in our lives we did not create?

This humility will lead to thankfulness which will bring yet another blessing: Joy.

I humbly wish you a Happy Thanksgiving, lots of joy and God’s continued blessings!

With much love,

Dan

The Optimism of A Worst-Case-Scenario Thinker

I knew a guy who would always assume the worst case scenario was likely to happen when it came to the events of his life. This frustrated me because I thought he was too pessimistic. It seemed like he always had an attitude that threw a wet blanket on things.

But then I came to realize this fellow’s pessimistic worst-case-scenario approach to life was actually a coping mechanism he employed to keep from having his hopes dashed. Think about it: Most of the time something which is not as bad as the worst case scenario will occur. For those expecting the worst this will, therefore, wind up being better than they expected.

This approach would mean he would not have to deal with the kind of disappointment that might have occurred if his hopes were very high. So oddly enough, this worst-case-scenario type of thinking was my friend’s guarded attempt at being optimistic since his thinking typically resulted in outcomes which exceeded his expectations!

…But, to be honest, I still think he was too pessimistic.

Here’s a bit of biblical optimism for those who are trusting in Him: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28

Could God Do Something Profound In A Church Service?

Some people think of church services as stodgy, dull, boring, dry, predictable events at which very little of interest or value could happen. I’ve been to a lifetime of church services and I’m aware of that reality.

And it is why I sit here on Sunday morning thinking like this: Could God do something good, helpful, challenging, important, interesting and even surprising in the midst of a church service?

Of course, you already know my answer. I’m expecting something significant to happen in our services today. I’m believing God will be here and people will connect with Him. I’m trusting that our lives will be impacted and we will draw closer to God and to His truth.

Prayer: “Lord, surprise us today. May we know that in our time at the service this morning, we had a genuine encounter with you.”

You are invited to join us…

First Church of God

4600 W. 111^th Street

Oak Lawn, IL

Service times:  9am and 11am

Making The Important Connections Between What We've Sown And What We Reap

I’ve been working with people who have difficulties, problems, struggles and hurts for over 22 years, as a pastor.

I’ve noticed that occasionally there will be people who tend to have problems and troubles over and over again. It is possible this is not their fault. It may be they are truly victims in some way or another. It is not my intention to pile on those who have already had plenty of difficulty and struggle. I recognize that for some people, the troubles may involve issues which are genuinely beyond their control and unrelated to their own actions.

But I have also noticed in some cases there are people who see no correspondence between their constant troubles and their own attitudes, actions and choices. They only see themselves as victims and they see all the troubles as issues that are initiated outside of themselves.

“Someone else has done this to me,” they say. Every time.

“The circumstances of life are stacked against me. Poor me,” they say. Every time.

These are the people who cannot seem to understand why their problems and difficulties are never-ending. And they are unable to see their role in what is happening.

This passage of scripture could be of great value to them if they would be willing to open their eyes to the truth it conveys: “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.” Galatians 6:7

I do not write this to tear anyone down. Actually, I write this to express an unavoidable and very important reality of life. I write this as a caution and reminder to myself. I write this in love and out of a desire to offer helpful truth to those who are willing to recognize the truth.

Do You Want My Cinnamon Roll?

A man at the table next to ours got up to leave and he said to me, “Sir, I hate to throw this away, would you like to have it?”

He pointed to his plate on which there was half of a large cinnamon roll.

At first I thought, perhaps, he was joking. But I looked at his face and he seemed quite sincere and quite serious. I said, “No thank you. I appreciate it. I’m trying not to eat too many carbs. Do you see my problem?” I pointed at my stomach, shaking my head and laughing.

He smiled and said, “Okay. I understand.” But he seemed disappointed.

Then he turned to a group of three women at another nearby table and offered the half a cinnamon roll to them.

They looked slightly puzzled but quickly said, “No, but thank you.”

So, he took his plate over to the trash area and threw it away.

I’m divided in my thinking about this incident. On the one hand I have never had a stranger in a restaurant offer me food from his plate. It strikes me as an unusual thing to do. Please understand, I don’t see it as bad or wrong. It’s just an uncommon offer. I think most people would assume that strangers in a restaurant would be very reluctant to eat off of their plate.

On the other hand, I really felt like the man was being sincere and honestly attempting to be generous and non-wasteful with this food.

I happened to notice the man while he was sitting at the table next to ours before all of this occurred and part of what I noticed was that he looked like a comedian I have seen on television a number of times. So, if it turns out I was being pranked on one of those hidden camera shows and you see it pop up on TV or the Internet one of these days, now you know the story behind the story.

Terrorism, Fear and God

Terrorism has a certain measure of effectiveness because fear is such a potent emotion. A terrorist group knows if they create enough fear they can exert control over people. Sometimes people will even surrender values they hold dear, such as freedom, in order to avoid the incredible discomfort of fear.

Sadly, surrendering these values—in the long run—will not stop the fear because no matter how many values we surrender it will never be enough for the people who advance their agenda through fear. So they will never actually discontinue their fear tactics. Why would they stop doing something which gives them power over others?

Why would they stop using a tactic which, from their perspective, works?

I do not want to live with fear. More importantly, God does not want us to live with fear. A genuine sense of God’s presence in our lives is one of the most certain ways to experience true freedom from fear.

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me…”  Psalm 23:4

Why is it possible to walk through this valley with no fear? Because “thou art with me.” God’s presence matters.

It is one thing to pretend, when it comes to God. It is another matter to cultivate a genuine relationship with God in which there is true assurance of His presence. Pretending provides no relief from fear. A genuine relationship opens a whole new way of living with confidence and power.

Taking God Seriously

Spending time in solitude and prayer is an act of taking seriously the idea that God is real, that He is available to us, and that He is capable of being with us in a meaningful, personal way.

Does The Truth Exist?

If a person tells you “the truth is not knowable” a great question to ask would be this: “Aren’t you claiming something is true with your statement? Aren’t you claiming to know that what you just told me is true?”

You see, if we consider the matter logically, this statement is self-defeating: the truth does not exist.

It’s actually sort of amusing in a way. In order to deny the existence of truth you have to claim to know something true.

(Okay I admit, I’m easily amused.)

Jesus believed in the existence of truth.

Sometimes the truth is hard to hear, acknowledge and confront. The truth can be inconvenient and uncomfortable, but it is what it is, nevertheless. I agree with Jesus, the truth exists.

"I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” [Jesus] John 14:6

Loving Those Who Are Not Easy To Love

There are people with whom we do not naturally connect. In fact, there will be some people in the course of life who will just simply rub us the wrong way. We may not even be able to explain why we feel the way we do, we just recognize that certain people are irritating to us.

The love of God alive in us can help us to love these people.

You might be thinking, “Well, here we go. Dan is really losing it, again.” And I will grant this is not easy. This love of God for those who are not easy to love involves a level of maturity and wisdom that—I regret to admit—some Christians never attain on this side of eternity. (Wisdom does not come automatically with age and it is not inevitable. Unfortunately, it is possible for a person to grow old but never become wise.)

This kind of love which goes beyond our natural inclinations will also involve a work of the Holy Spirit in us. We don’t muster this up through our will power. In the book of 1 John 4:19, we find these words: “We love because he [God] first loved us.” God is the initiator of love, He is the source of real love.

When God’s love is alive in us, however, then the love of God can be experienced and expressed through us, even for those who would not be easy for us to love under natural circumstances.

All Of This Goodness Is Happening Today!

We will be having an unplugged type of service today with acoustic guitars and candlelight. This is an approach we take from time to time to present the music with a different feel. (A few times we have taken this approach when the power has gone out in the building, but sometimes we do it intentionally. Today it is intentional.) It is our desire to express our worship for God in fresh and creative ways. He is deserving of our best efforts.

I will be talking about an interesting interaction Jesus had in which He talked about belonging to God. People got mad at Jesus when He told them about this but, of course, He always spoke the truth.

Then after the 11 o’clock service we will be having our Annual Chili Cook-Off. This is a chili competition which serves as a fund raiser for our Youth Group. Do you like great chili? Yeah, me too. There will be lots of it at the Chili Cook-Off!

You say, “Wow! All of this goodness is happening at the services today? How cool!”

Yep. You won’t want to miss it.

Join us at 9am or 11am at…

First Church of God

4600 W. 111^th Street

Oak Lawn, IL

Fascinating Interactions Everywhere I Go

Two elderly women were sitting at a nearby table at a restaurant this afternoon and I began to notice they were pointing at me and whispering. This continued for close to a minute or so… pointing and whispering and occasionally nodding, as if they knew something.

Finally, one of the women asked me, “Are you retired?”

I said, “No, I look a little bit older than my age, but I’m not retired yet.”

The other woman said, “See? I told you!”

I smiled, chuckled a bit and nodded my head.

Then one of them said, “Just wait until you get on Medicaid. It stinks!”

The other one said, “Yeah! I don’t like it!”

I nodded to indicate I heard her but she thought I was nodding to agree that I did not like Medicaid, as well.

She said to her friend, “See? He doesn’t like it either.”

I quickly said, “No! No! I don’t know anything about it. I just nodded to indicate that I heard you!”

They both looked at me suspiciously and that was the end of our conversation.

I seem to attract these kinds fascinating and insightful interactions everywhere I go.

Spider On My Head

As I was leaving the office this evening, I closed the door behind me and sensed a tickly but undesirable feeling of movement in the hair on my head. When I reached up I felt something which I quickly pulled from my hair and threw to the ground.

It was a spider!

I stomped on the spider and honestly felt creeped out by the experience. I don’t like spiders. I have no idea if this spider was harmless or not but it still bothered me. And, frankly, even if he was harmless he had no business messing around in my hair. Right? (Come on! It’s as if he had no understanding of the concept of “personal space.”)

As a result of this unpleasantness I have had the feeling, all evening, that something is in my hair or on my neck. All night, I’ve been reaching up and scratching, swiping, slapping at the spiders and bugs that are, of course, only crawling around in my fertile imagination.

If, however, I wake up tomorrow morning with amazing spider-like powers I will be forced to admit my spider experience has been pretty cool, after all.

We Can Know God Exists, If We Are Willing

Jesus spoke of people who closed their eyes to the truth. He spoke of people who closed their hearts to understanding. He was quoting from the book of Isaiah when He made these remarks. He was talking about people who… well, He put it this way: “[T]hey look, but they don’t really see. They hear, but they don’t really listen or understand.” Matt. 13:13

The evidence for God can be there right in front of us. It can be available for us to see and yet we can choose not to see it. (Let’s be honest, sometimes people are living in such a way that a Holy God can be downright uncomfortable.)

In order to see God as He reveals himself in our world we have to be willing to see God. There is a measure of choice involved on our part. God gives us enough evidence that we can see him and know He exists. In fact, we can have assurance that He exists…if we are willing.

The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
    The skies display his craftsmanship.
 Day after day they continue to speak;
    night after night they make him known.
 They speak without a sound or word;
    their voice is never heard.
 Yet their message has gone throughout the earth,
    and their words to all the world.

Psalm 19:1-4