When you got a pet and it was time to pick a name, how long did it take? Seriously.
Our dog is named Bailey. He came to us named Whiskey, and we thought, “No, no… he’s not Whiskey.” So, we thought of about 5 other names. He’s Bailey.
How about selecting a name for a child? Even if you do not have children, I expect you have come across one or two new parents who agonize over this task. Why is naming important to us?
Read MoreThere is a phrase some use. “That’s my baby!” We apply it to our boats, our cars, the latest creation we’ve made…even our…babies. It communicates our deep connection, our deep investment, our deep love—for whatever is crowned with that phrase. When you pour yourself into something—your sweat, your energy, yourself—it is natural to become deeply committed.
Read MoreFamily is where we should Flourish. Family is where we should be able to Fail. The operative word is “should.” Our families don’t always work out the way they should. In fact, sometimes we feel like our families are failures.
Read MoreThe daily and weekly grind—the grind—that is how many refer to their jobs. Work is... well, it is work. It is why we’re usually paid to do it. How do you feel about work? For me, my struggle is the other way. Too much of my identity is tied up in my work. If I am successful at work, then I am successful. If I am not successful then, somehow, I allow my failures to infiltrate my sense of worth.
Read MoreFrom John Legend, to Christi Perry, to Agnus & Julia Stone, to Bo Donaldson and the Haywoods… to the Spice Girls and more… artists have written poems and songs with the title "Who do you think you are?"Knowing who we are, or rather, who we are meant to be—our identity—drives our lives.
Read MoreBang! That loud sound is not simply the Universe exploding into being—something from nothing—no, if we can hear past the noise, we will hear an even deeper SOUND. We will hear WHY we were born—WHAT FAMILY we are a part of—in fact WHO, at our core, we are! But first, we are going to learn about God.
Read MoreThanks for reading the Gospel of John with me! We’ve come to the end of our journey, walking with John, through his Gospel about his best friend, Jesus. I tried picturing myself in the various scenes John described, thinking about what his reaction might have been. I imagined his jaw dropping as he watched his friend Jesus, who he thought was a mere mortal, do things only a god could do.
Read MoreResponsibility—yikes! I am not sure how many of us wake up in the morning saying, “I can’t wait to be super-responsible today!” However, I want to suggest that from our relationships flow responsibilities. I am a dad. I have father-son relationships. As a dad, I have responsibilities. Those responsibilities are not random, they have an aim, a purpose.
Read MoreFishing has an interesting hold on many people—they love it. Today, at the end of John’s Gospel we hear Peter saying, “I’m going fishin’” (verse 3), and the gang joins in. I don’t believe recreational fishing is what Peter and the gang were aiming for, when they went fishing. They were returning to their livelihood. They knew that Jesus had risen from the dead, but they did not understand their role in the plan.
Read MoreWhen something doesn’t make sense, we often analyze and re-analyze the situation. There are times we must dig and dig in order to understand. There are other times however, that all our digging is because we are rejecting what we have been told over and over again. Or we dig because while we say we “just need a little more” information, the reality is, we’re delaying decision time.
Read MoreHow a situation impacts us is affected by our distance from it: our physical, chronological, and relational distance.
Take war for example. How we remember it is affected by whether or not it happened in our back yard. How we feel about it is changed by how long ago it took place. And if that event happened to someone we are close to, then no time or distance will lessen its impact upon us.
So how do you think Jesus’ best friend felt and reacted to and remembered Jesus’ crucifixion?
Read MoreHave you ever been out with some friends, at a place you all very comfortable, and yet you have this feeling that the conversation you are involved in, is it really about something else? Or maybe you didn’t have that feeling at all, but it became abundantly clear after the whole mood of the evening shifted. Now envision this is happening with your best friend. That is John’s situation. How close are John and Jesus? Just a few hours earlier, Jesus confided in John who would betray him. Now, in the garden, this BFF is bewildered.
Read MoreWe live in a sex-crazed world. We have traded intimacy for something much shallower. Please don’t misunderstand, God created sex. It is good when enjoyed within God’s design. It has a very special and unique place in the world. It just isn’t the whole of intimacy.
Intimacy is very special, very rare. We knit our hearts, our beings, to few people. It has to be that way. In fact, God has designed specific biblical relationships to house intimacy.
However, to stay with the text we are reading, let me ask a question: for those people with whom you are intimate, what is the most intimate thing you do together?
Read MoreIn the 1984 classic “The Karate Kid”, Daniel suffers at the hands of bullies—that is, until Mr. Miyagi enters the scene. Who wouldn’t want a strong friend standing at your side?
Do you have such a friend? Someone who not only wants you to become all you can be, but someone who walks with you through life.
As we've been reading John together, Jesus has more than hinted at someone who is going to help. In John 3, 4 & 7 he talked about the Spirit, and in chapters 14-17 he has talked about the Helper. I haven't said much...
Read MoreThe company you keep deeply affects your life. It does. Countless experts advise us to specifically surround ourselves with the “right kind" of people. I like the phrase like-valued people. Do you consciously put this advice into practice? Or are you more of a “go with the flow” sort of person, choosing along the way those you will spend time with? Jesus has just said, “I call you friends” (verses 14-15), and now he says, “And because you are my friends, the world will hate you!” Choose your friends wisely.
Read MoreLayers: they are everywhere. We look at something, take a new car for example. It is shinny and clean. It looks great. Underneath the hood is a wildly complex machine. There are days we, or an expert, need to get under that hood. However, most days, we simply enjoy driving it. In each of our lives, there are things we are the experts at. Our jobs, a hobby, maybe cooking, or something else. When necessary, we can “get under the hood”, but most days, we simply enjoy the drive. Where can you “get under the hood”?
Read MoreJack, aka Humphrey Bogart, chides his longtime friend and piano player: “Play it again, Sam.” Sam resists. He knows hearing that melody, hearing those notes, will conjure up old feelings in Jack. But sometimes it is good to conjure up earlier thoughts. I spent 7 Blog Posts going through Chapter 14. Before we jump into chapter 15 today, let me ask you to “play it again”. Here are the points I was trying to invite you to see in Chapter 14...
Read MoreLiving in a flesh and blood world, laboring each day, conscious of our health, finances, and more—naturally results in a “this world” focus. Jesus, while on earth, was very immersed in the physical world. And yet, reading the Gospels leaves a person with the sense that he was also deeply connected to something bigger. Are we Spiritual OR Physical, or Spiritual AND Physical?
Read MoreObey? Why? Obey what? Today the idea of obeying something “outside of yourself” might be an antiquated notion. Yet how are you with conforming your actions (those things you do) with your will (those things you know you should do)? Are you a “try harder” kind of person? Or perhaps you take your cues from Yoda: “For my ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is.”
Read MorePerhaps you think I have fallen down the Rabbit Hole of John 14:12-14. Hang in there. I am wrapping them up today. I have put us in this Rabbit Hole because I believe finding our way through these verses just might unlock your understanding of Jesus’ hope for you.
Read More
