Category Archives: Seriously

Good or Bad Trade

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We are faced with so many decisions in life. Most have minimal consequences, but some have huge ones. What do you consider when you make a decision? Is it, “What’s in it for me?”, “I know this is the best long-term choice.”, or “I’m confident this is consistent with God’s will for my life and family.”?

Teri and I recently had a conversation with a wife that highlighted the importance of what you use as a basis for decision making. Her husband LOVES motorcycles. For many years he has ridden one. He isn’t riding motorcycles now nor can he live with her because he is in a longterm rehabilitation care facility. Over a year and a half ago he was involved in a serious accident while riding his motorcycle. Even now it is questionable when he will come home and what sort of longterm care he will require. Think about it – eighteen months and counting. 

Would he have chosen to ride motorcycles years ago if he knew it would end in this? Likely not. The risk of serious injury is much greater when in an accident when riding a motorcycle compared to a car. He also made the decision not to wear a helmet. He didn’t like to wear them. I’m guessing that the fun/enjoyment factor is what tipped the scales for him. I understand. I LOVE the motorcycle experience. However, concern for my family weighed in as I made my decision about riding motorcycles, and motorcycles lost. 

I pray that we would put obedience to our Lord, along with love and concern for wives and families as factors to be weighed in on every decision we make. 

“Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). 

“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her” (Ephesians 5:25).

“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (Psalms 119:105). “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him” (James 1:5).

What If Obit

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You will have read obituaries of people you have known over the years. I think of it as a summary of a person’s life for people who knew them but might not be aware of various aspects of their life including accomplishments, family, and activities. Obituaries I read paint a glowing picture of the person to be hung on our wall of mental memories. 

More than once I have wondered if the defect-free, near-saint person I just read about was the same person I knew. I then wondered what if our all-knowing God, the One Who knows our every thought and hidden motive, was to be the One Who wrote the obituary. Certainly, a different picture could be painted.

What a great motivation that thought should be to us to live every moment with the desire to be pleasing to our God, our Rock, our Savior. The pleasing isn’t to be just our actions but our every thought. What joy that should be. Oh to hear the words, “Well done.” Sure we will fall short, but may pleasing Him be the desire of our hearts. 

“The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me. For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God. For all his judgments were before me, and I did not put away his statutes from me. I was also upright before him, and I kept myself from mine iniquity. Therefore hath the LORD recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight” (Psalms 18:20-24).

It Is Everywhere

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This week, there was a tragedy only three blocks away from our house, just off of our daily walking route. We didn’t know the husband or wife. We had seen her outside their house a couple of times, but never close enough to have a conversation with her. His photo looked familiar, but I couldn’t figure out where I’d seen him. Apparently they had marriage problems, and his solution was to eliminate her and then himself. Friends reported that she was planning on leaving him. What an unnecessary tragedy. 

People are hurting everywhere, and likely some of you dads reading this have marriage problems. Men tend toward ignoring a problem, hoping it will go away.  That seldom solves anything. Closing our eyes and pretending it doesn’t exist will not yield peace and joy.  

Dads, if your marriage is in trouble, I plead with you,.Don’t ignore it, Seek a proper solution. The Lord is very aware of it. Don’t wait until it is in deep, deep trouble, Be proactive now. Whatever the status of your marriage, build it up, nurture it, and be determined to make it the best it can be. God put the burden of it squarely on your shoulder. 

“Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish” (Ephesians 5:25-27).

Fear 

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Fear is so popular these today. “Scare them to death. Oh man, that will be so fun!” I understand the lost possibly doing/thinking these things, but even professing Christians? Really?  

When people divorce themselves from the truth, and promises, of God’s Word, then evil might be fun. In all my years, I have yet to see a Halloween display that celebrates the people who live in that home as the victims of some evil crime or as headed for hell. The most horrific Halloween display could never capture the horror of hell, an eternal hell. 

What does God call someone who doesn’t abhor evil? He calls them wicked. “The transgression of the wicked saith within my heart, that there is no fear of God before his eyes. For he flattereth himself in his own eyes, until his iniquity be found to be hateful. The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit: he hath left off to be wise, and to do good. He deviseth mischief upon his bed; he setteth himself in a way that is not good; he abhorreth not evil” (Psalms 36:1-4).

Notice that last thing in the list is that the wicked don’t abhor evil. Evil is to be loathsome, despised, and cast away from us. We are to have absolutely nothing to do with what is evil. 

Could I encourage you that anytime you see something evil, use it as a stimulant to increase your sharing the gospel with those who are headed for their worst nightmare, an eternal one. 

“And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned” (Mark 16:15-16).

One Second

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I have heard of several tragic car accidents lately where lives are forever changed in the blink of an eye. There is no preparation. In an instant, everything is changed. However, there is actually preparation that can and should be done to prepare for any tragedy that might befall us. 

Brothers, is your “house” in order? First and foremost to consider are your spiritual affairs. Are you truly saved? Are you trusting in Jesus shed blood alone? “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). 

Are you “walking” with your Lord and Savior? “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sins” (1 John 1:7). Our walk/works don’t save us, but they are certainly a good indication of whether we truly are His children, not to mention a proper example for our own children. 

Then, we must trust. Our God is always good, always. “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). “Lord, if you allowed this, then we trust. You have a purpose and will use it for good.”

Never Have Imagined

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Most reading this will have lived long enough to encounter a person whose life is a disaster. Given a chance to dialogue, this is what they say, “I never thought I would come to this.” In expressing it, they are objective enough to realize they are not in a good place. How does this happen? It begins with one compromise, then another, next is a bad decision, and then others follow. The smaller the compromise and decision, the more likely it will go unnoticed. 

David, a man after God’s heart, took another man’s wife and then had her husband killed. (2 Samuel 11:1-12:23). Could it have been the first time he watched Bathsheba from his roof at night? Frankly, I doubt it. That night he was particularly vulnerable and bad choices followed. 

What about you? Are you making good decisions or possibly on a path of compromising? Consider these questions for starters: 

What are you looking at? 

When you got up this morning, was it a consistent time based on a set bedtime for how much sleep you need? 

Is your bedtime and wake up time such that you WILL have a special time with your Lord in His Word and prayer daily? 

It is SO easy to make and justify a poor decision. How much better to follow what Proverbs 3:5-7 tells us. “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.”

Wise decisions don’t earn us special merit with the Lord. We make them because we desire the good fruit they produce. Certainly, one excellent fruit from wise decisions is the great example that is for our children. “And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up” (Deuteronomy 6:6-7).

Stinking Rotten Trash

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Whew, does it stink. Not all trash stinks, but in general it is what is rotten, good for nothing, and fit for the landfill. This may sound weird, but I have such a high regard for the “trash men” in our town. Why? Because it is an AWFUL job that they do. They ride on the back of the garbage truck, go from house to house, take a large step down from the truck, walk over get the trash cart and bags if there are some, and wheel it over to the back of the truck, connect it, dump it, then walk it back to where it was, and big step back on the truck. Next they ride the truck 25-50 feet to the next house and repeat. In the winter it can be bitterly cold and it the summer VERY hot. And then there is rain and snow. There are no convenient bathrooms or water coolers. It is amazing anyone does this work. That is why I am so grateful for them and endeavor to express it.

Have you noticed the similarities between stinking, rotten, trash and our sin? For proper health and well-being, both need to be removed. If left, both contaminate what is good. I’m grateful for our local trash crew, but I’m eternally grateful for Jesus Christ the One Who lived a sinless life so He could die a horrible death to carry my sin and die the death I deserve. 

“Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth” (Isaiah 53:4-7)

Two Better Than One

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Living next door to Nathan I often see him working with one of his sons. That gives me great pleasure because I know it is an investment in their futures. Years ago, I was doing that with Nathan. Now I see the fruit in his life reproducing in his sons. 

Nathan’s confidence and willingness to tackle repairs, projects, automotive work, and yard work has doubtless saved him a lot of money. Additionally, and maybe more importantly, it provides quality time with his sons. Teaching sons to enjoy work projects with Dad pays dividends throughout their lives. 

“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6). 

There is, however, a cost to count when you include your son in a project. In the early years, every project with him takes longer than if you did it by yourself. Your son shouldn’t merely watch you but be hands-on himself in the process. He will do some things incorrectly, even when you are instructing him, and those will have be be redone, which will require your patience. (Good growth opportunities for Dad, too.) 

What if you, Dad, don’t know how to do something? Years ago, I had a number of “how to fix-it” books that I referenced frequently. These days there are so many additional “how to” resources available. Learn to do it with your sons.

Don’t miss the precious opportunities you have as a dad to spend time with your boys, mentor them in the qualities needed to be a worker, and to learn practical skills they can use through out their lives. Go get your sons, and find a project to do with them. 

“He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich. He that gathereth in summer is a wise son: but he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame” (Proverbs 10:4-5). 

Two Extremes

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A while back I encouraged you to make it a habit to greet everyone you encounter with a smile while looking into their eyes as you do. Even if you don’t feel an emotional love for strangers, I believe that this simple act will grow that love and your confidence. Remember, most are likely headed to hell. Do you care enough to try to engage them?

After that the next step was to engage in casual conversation based on something you notice about them and can bring up. Of course the desire would be to move it to spiritual things if possible. Here are two recent examples from one grocery store trip. Both moved spiritual quickly.

Teri and I parked next to a woman unloading her cart. I asked if I could return her cart for her. She said, “Yes.” As I went over to grab the cart, I noticed something about witches on her T-shirt so I asked if she was a witch. She said “Yes.” 

With a sad expression, I said, “We are all dying.” She agreed. Then I said, “There will be no witches in Heaven.” She gave me a funny expression and got into her car. Hopefully, that was a small pebble in her shoe to cause her to think about her sad hopes for eternity.

Then as I entered the store, a middle-aged man was briskly walking up behind me. As he approached, I said, “I’d better get out of the way of a man in a big hurry.” He replied, and I continued a conversation with him. He had an amazing story that came out quickly with a few leading questions. He had lived a life of drug and alcohol abuse, was saved after a divorce, works seven days a week with two jobs, is barely surviving financially, and now is passionate for Christ. He desperately needed solid biblical teaching but relied only on YouTube for that. I encouraged him to try a local church but he didn’t seem interested in that. Within sixty seconds I encountered two extremes. 

How are you doing with your conversations? In the first example, I could quickly go spiritual based on the words of the t-shirt. With the second one, I simply guided it with a few leading questions.  

“Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men” (Matthew 5:13).

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Posted in: Seriously

Don’t Be an Og

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Og was the giant, godless, Amorite king of Bashan. He was a mighty warrior who inspired fear in those who heard of him. He was mentioned approximately seventeen times in the Bible indicative of his reputation. Yet, God told the Israelites, “Fear him not: for I will deliver him, and all his people, and his land, into thy hand; and thou shalt do unto him as thou didst unto Sihon king of the Amorites, which dwelt at Heshbon. So the LORD our God delivered into our hands Og also, the king of Bashan, and all his people: and we smote him until none was left to him remaining” (Deut 3:2b–3). 

We have a picture of a man, a giant, who was highly successful in his endeavors due to physical and mental gifting. He was therefore respected by those who knew of him. His success led to pride, greed, over confidence, and no fear of God. Consequently, when he moved to attack God’s people, the Lord removed him, his children, and all his people from the earth, like cleaning a dirty dish. God then gave Og’s land to Israel.

Even for those professing Jesus as Lord, it is easy to take pride in our abilities (God’s gifting to us) which can lead to overconfidence and then chastening. One consequence of pride is that God takes from one and gives to another, as we see happened with Og. Look around you—your home, your car, your wife, your children. In a blink of an eye, another could be living in your home, driving your car, embracing your wife, and caring for your children. 

Oh my brothers, it can happen in what seems like an instant. We must be the men of God He calls/commands us to be. No excuses. In the Word, loving/leading our families in the Word daily, and part of a Christ-honoring fellowship. We live for Him Who died for us. 

“But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up” (James 4:6-10).