Lost?

This road doesn't look right with all these old houses. And the new houses? They were not here yesterday. Where are the curves on your old road? And the speed bumps and potholes?

But this road is so smooth, straight, and easy to drive!

You check Facebook to see if your friends have noticed the changes. You check your text messages. Has anyone alerted you? 

You don't check your smartphone's GPS app. You don't look at a paper map to see where you are. And heaven forbid you would be so 'old school' as ask the man in his front yard for help.

The fact is you are on the wrong road.

But how could such a good road be wrong. It feels so good. You are not working hard at driving. On this road you can go fast. There is no need to be alert or careful. How could a straight road without speed bumps be wrong?

The Bible tells us of good roads and bad roads. It tells us the best way is a challenge.  The road to great living (and ultimately eternal life) has curves, bumps and potholes. You must be cautious and controlled. Some of it may not paved and muddy. It tells us of the easy, fast, interstate-quality drives that go to the bad life (and ultimately THE bad place). 

Why should you check the electronic Bible app on your smart phone, or the 'old school' printed Bible that warns us? Be careful: You might discover your are on the wrong road.

So, where are you going?

Whatever is .... (2)

He writes to his infant grand daughter, posting it on Facebook. He gives her simple advice, and then lists pieces of 'useful' (??) information. A sample: “1) The Bee Gees sound an awful lot alike; 2) Don't notice that the presents from Santa and the gifts from your parents are the same paper. 3) Count your blessings and not your presents.” Each of the 20 pieces of info are considered by every reader, albeit ever so briefly. Some are entertaining. Others actual encourage. But ALL are evaluated.

To self-control your mind so as to make it functional for God's plans necessitates considerations. It is crucial to conscientiously analyze Whatever is TRUE.

Jesus is the 'way, the truth, and the life', and Paul wants each and every one of his students at Philippi to become like Him. But how? How do you take people entrenched in Judaism and change them to be Christ-like. How do you take a pagan, idol-worshiping person and create a masterpiece for the Lord?

The answer starts with spending ample time examining the effects of whatever is true. Consider these:

• What happens as people come to love truth?
• Is truth profitable? Why?
• Since God is always truthful, are people who love truth acquiring a love for God? Are they more like God?
• When we tell the truth are we looking for something lasting?
• When forming opinions, should we evaluate with truth?
• Are God's methods a highway to an exceptional life?
• If truth reveals to us we lack His qualities, should we be glad or sad?
• Is hunting truth noble?
• Will truth-lovers be called into question or resisted?
• Would life be simpler if you do not need to remember all the lies or deceptions?
• Can deceit, cheating, or insincerity be part of us and still be a lover of truth?

Once a love for truth is established, then consistent truth-telling becomes habitual. People will trust you. Friends believe you will not harm them, but will direct them to ways that are factual, informative, and accurate. 

Truth is derived from unbiased facts, solid information, and accurate, complete reports.

Truth allows the mind to rest. Gossip's agitation is gone. Worries are whipped. Direction is determined. Goals are gathered. Progress is possible.

Becoming a lover of truth opens opportunities. Let's search for truth in EVERY THING we do, say, or see.

Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.”

When I Grow Up...

Yes, you have heard me ramble about some tricks in commercials, and how producers control your thinking. But not all commercials are sinister. One by an investment firm begins with individuals, at work, saying, “When I grow up, I want to….” One hopes to repair old houses. Another will work with children.

As a Christian, I have recently discovered three areas where 'growing up' would be useful. See if you need these same three.


I need to grow up, mature, in my RELATIONSHIPS. Jesus spoke with authority in Matt 5:43-48. He reminded the people on the mountain what they had always heard – to love your neighbor and hate your enemy. Then, with godly authority, He said, “But I say to you, … Love your enemies.” He added pray for the persecutor.


I need to practice loving those not lovable, and being persistently prayerful for the persecutor. How? The same way Jesus loved me when I was His enemy, a sinner (Rom 5:8 ). He loved sacrificially. He loved firmly, demanding the best from his disciples. He loved, taught, and prayed for those Pharisees and Sadducees, in spite of the unending death schemes.


Tell me this. When should I start growing up in my relationships?


I need to grow up, mature, in my DISCIPLESHIP.

Paul informed the Ephesians (4:11-14) of the responsibility members have to each other. Members should actively mature other Christians. Maturing disciples are found serving other members of the body (church). They continue until the entire group is “no longer infants,” tossed around by everyone’s religious opinions and tricks.

How do I become a mature disciple? Using the same method I used to mature as a teacher. While at Henderson State University learning to be a biology teacher, I was constantly told, “you will not thoroughly learn your subject, until you try to teach it.” They could not have been more truthful! It was after my second attempt to teach a cells that I began to understand cells. Now, the basics make sense to me and are easy to explain.

I will not mature as a disciple until I start serving fellow Christians. It takes me more than one attempt (I never get anything right the first time.) After I have taught other Christians, after I have visited dying Christians, after I have sit with them in the bleak days after a family loss, after I have humbly corrected their life-errors, after I have spent my life for them will my discipleship mature.


Tell me, when should I begin maturing my discipleship?

When I grow up, I will mature my FOCUS.

The Apostle Paul demonstrated his singular focus. It is in Phil 3:12-15. He had ONE goal in mind. To achieve his goal, he put aside his past as a persecutor, and strained (NIV) toward the goal of obtaining the resurrection from the dead.

Have you watched a lion tamer? He takes three things into the cage: a pistol, a whip, and, most importantly, a stool. Holding the stool by the seat, he points the legs toward the lion. The multiple legs distract the lion. The lion cannot decided which one he will attack. Lions are dangerous when focused, but when distracted, they are no threat.

Is the devil entering our cage with a stool? Has he learned distracted Christians are no danger to him? Let’s see. Tomorrow you get up early, fix breakfast while getting dressed. Then there is work. Then pee-wee ball practice. Then supper fixed. Then persuading kids to do their homework, while you do laundry. Get your teenager to stop texting long enough to answer your questions, find out tomorrow’s schedule, and tell everyone it is time for bed. Finally, you have time to get on Facebook and update your status ("I am drained.") and see what others have done. A quick look at your email. And sometime, somehow, you were taken by how Abney was stalked by a man on NCIS.


Hmmmm??? Distracted?


Christians lose their focus. Our focus should be in changing our family and society. We lose our focus of showing the power of Jesus to friends. What happened? Those all-consuming activities in life.

Again, tell me. When will I set my focus on the author and finisher of my faith (Heb 12:2)?