Practice makes perfect was a mantra in my household, and practice I did. I can remember shoveling snow off of the driveway, and eventually the basketball court out back, in order to shoot basketball. It could take twenty or thirty shots before the ball would fall through the frozen net without help. I would imagine being at the free throw line needing to hit two shots to win the game, or shooting half court shots at the buzzer. Sometimes I would even practice the celebration after one went in.

While I keep resisting the fact that I am getting older I am afraid that my basketball playing days will soon be behind me, sadly, but my kids still can play sports. One year my kids needed a soccer coach, and I knew very little about the game, but I was willing to learn. Now I enjoy playing and I even enjoy watching. I appreciate the technical difficulty of the game as well as the physical fitness necessary to play. Having five children all playing the sport I continually try to encourage them to practice. When I see a kid do what Iya does in this video I can only imagine how many hours went into perfecting each trick.

When I think about the effort it takes to draw near to the Lord, and how often when people need to experience His presence they struggle. Many times it’s because they expected to play the game of life without practicing life with Christ. We try to call upon the talent of faith without ever trying to perfect it. It’s like stepping up to the line with the game tied and time expired, but we’ve never shot a free throw before. What might we expect the result to be? Where in your life are you failing to practice?

Why do you work?

It may seem like a simple question, but there are multiple layers to the answers we give.

Answer 1: Because I can. I work because I can work. Somehow someone saw me as valuable and they hired me to do a job that was worth doing.

Answer 2: Because I should. God interpreted man’s existence quite simply in Genesis 2:15. He was to work and care for creation. A few thousand years go by and God commands a nation of former slaves, who undoubtedly worked long days every day, to work six days and rest on the seventh (Exodus 34:21). And in Thessalonica Paul instructs the church that he who does not work should not eat (2 Thessalonians 3:10). I earn a living and this should be a testimony to the redemption that has taken place in my life.

Answer 3: Because I am. I am an ambassador of Jesus Christ. I am an adopted son of the Most High God. I am bought by the blood of Jesus to do good. I have been reconciled with God to do what God originally intended. So, in the use of my skills, gifts, and talents I glorify Him who gave His life for my sake. Creating, serving, working are acts of worship because I am Redeemed.

Thoughts inspired by Ann Voskamp’s Do You Feel Broken And Fragmented?

Lately, I have been meditating on that word…normal. What does it really mean?

Why are so many people pursuing it?

Why are so many more running away from it?

When life exits a crisis why are we in search of a “New Normal?”

Normal is a word you want to hear after a medical exam, and is a word you hope to never hear in show business.

What about all of the normal people in the Bible? People unlike Joseph who was sold into slavery by his brothers and eventually rose to be second in command to Pharaoh, or David who killed Goliath with one shot and became King of Israel only to eventually commit adultery and murder a friend.

What about the men who fought with Gideon? Or the men who were sent away because they chose to drink from the stream instead of from their hands?

What about the elders of the churches that were started by Timothy and Titus and Paul? What about the people Peter, Paul, Jude, James, John and the writer of Hebrews fail to mention?

In the day and age where great leaders are celebrated and even worshiped I find myself wondering if everyone is supposed to strive to be great, or are most of us just supposed to figure out what it means to be normal Christians?

I read three books in three days.

It required going on a retreat of silence and solitude to make that happen, but it may be the first time I have ever read three books in three days.

I actually read one book over three days. The Power of Blessing by my friend and mentor David Timms required some reflection throughout the book. So, I would finish a chapter and think about it a while. If you struggle to encourage people with your words and you find that most of the time you are pointing out the negative stuff in people’s lives then you must read this book. I probably need to read it every year for the next few years.

I read, What the Spirit is Saying to the Churches by Henry Blackaby. It’s a small book, but if you want to see what the Church is capable of doing with humble servant leadership then read this book. The potential of the Church must be recognized, and leaders must lead out of the conviction that we’ve been given a tremendous gift!

I read, no, I devoured this book, Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo. It is without a doubt the best book on the afterlife I have ever read. If you have questions about what happens after you die, then read this book. If you need a dose of hope that will give meaning to the trouble of this life, then read this book. Or if you know of someone who has experienced the loss of a loved one, had a miscarriage, or lost a child then give them this book. You won’t be sorry.

I spoke with a few people after preaching this weekend, and I have gotten a whole lot of feedback so I wanted to take a minute and address a few of the issues that were raised that I did not have time to touch on.

First, while we are supposed to engage in conflict, and embrace conflict in a way that leads to peace we cannot expect peace to immediately replace what we had before. We may have a peace that we are finally facing this issue, but some of us have a lot to work through before we are even able to forgive other people for the sins they have committed. We just need to be willing to walk through the process while holding onto the promise that peace is on the way.

Secondly, when we hold out an olive branch and allow ourselves to be vulnerable we may get rejected. Just because we are pursuing peace doesn’t guarantee that others will join us. It is definitely a noble thing we are doing by offering and seeking forgiveness, but there will be some who will try to knock us down. Some people will choose to hold onto the grudge, and then we are faced with the choice as to whether we get angry or feel sorrow toward them.

Lastly, take baby steps. Get involved with a group of people who will walk you through the steps you need to take in order to forgive or seek forgiveness. You may have lived with this issue for years, so give yourself time. Don’t be discouraged if you just aren’t at the place where you can offer or seek forgiveness. Be confident that as long as you are moving toward the conflict God will eventually get you there, and He will give you PEACE.

Thanks for sharing with me. It was a pleasure sharing with you. Let me know if I can help.

I just finished Philip Yancey’s Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference? It’s the first book I have read on any e-book reader, and I liked it so well I just started my second and third book on the Nook. The Nook for PC and Android are pretty cool too.

Anyway, back to the book. The short answer is, yes.

You’ll have to read the book to get the long answer.

So, as with any book that I typically read I am forced to think about some things, confess some things, and even repent of some things. In the end, a book worth reading is one that will point out how much I suck, and then point me very gently back to Jesus.

This book, while not Yancey’s best, is definitely worth reading. The Jesus I Never Knew is, in my opinion, his best.

I was confronted by the fact that God, my heavenly Daddy, typically views my prayers like my trips to the grocery store with my Ugandan kids. Every five seconds they point and yell, “Daddy, I want!” I was confronted with the fact, that if that was the extent of the conversation I had with my kids, then my relationship with them would be void of any depth or meaning. The repentance involved with this revelation is going to involve me praying differently. I am not supposed to quit telling Daddy what I want, but those requests should be embedded in a sea of other conversation.

How I am going to create that sea is still up for grabs, but I think it will have something to do with intentionally indicating that I want God to listen in and give me feedback on every thought. I want to invite Him to have input on those little conversations I have inside my head.

How about you?

How would God describe your conversations with Him?

How would you describe a relationship you had with someone if the only conversation you had was one way and included a laundry list? As a pastor this is often why we struggle to build relationships with others because we are often only sought out because people want something.

If you want to borrow the book just let me know, or if you have a Nook I can lend it to you.

The season of Lent begins today, Wednesday, March 9th. Lent is a spiritual season that is a spiritual winter of sorts. Symbolized with ashes and being reminded of our need for repentance Lent calls us to die to the desires of the flesh in order to prepare for the new life we have in Christ as is represented by Passover and the Resurrection. It is a time for those of us who may be struggling emotionally, maritally, and spiritually to recalibrate. It is a time to reflect on who we are and who Christ is calling us to be. It is a time to be sobered by the wickedness that still resides deep inside of us, and to be overwhelmed by the grace of God that caused Him to save us anyway. It is a time to re-certify our commitment to allowing God to finish the work, eradicate the wickedness within, and reconcile us to Himself.

Many people already struggle at this time of year emotionally that often lead them to make life altering and destructive decisions in order to help themselves feel better. Statistics show that divorce lawyers are sought more often in January and February than at any other time of year. It may be the lack of sunshine, as it tends to be with my lovely wife Kristi, or it could be that we are unprepared to fight against the wickedness within. Whatever the reason for our unhappiness the reality is that our faith, in order to grow, must experience the perseverance of making it through Spiritual Winters.

I pray that you join me in doing so intentionally until Easter by picking up a new habit that helps you reflect on Christ or getting rid of an old one that is ultimately destructive to your mind, body or soul.

There is much of my life that has disappeared over the years. One moment it was there and then the next it just crumbled into a pile of dust. Some of it I destroyed intentionally, some unintentionally, and some just happened without any effort or neglect on my part.

Living in a sin infected world, and being myself infected with this disease of rebellion, dust piles lie all around us and in and around the lives of everyone we meet. 2010 leaves numerous piles in my life. I have a choice to either be overwhelmed at the mess or live in anticipation of what the Beauty Maker might make to rise up out of it. While I am tempted to live in despair I strive to live in wonder as I wait to see the Potter add water to my dust and begin to mold and make something new. This is what Advent is all about.

In the most dirty and desperate of environments, the Stable, the most splendid and pure living being, Jesus, arrived. And the lives of the despised and dejected have never been the same. I will miss those people, especially Mom and Grandpa, and ideas and things that used to be, but today I look forward to something beautiful becoming of their departure, because in Jesus I can.

Many of us are familiar with Jesus’ words in Luke 14:34, “Salt is good, but if salt loses its flavor, how can its flavor be restored?” But until today I have never understood what in the world that meant.

I won’t bore you with chemistry, but as a chemist I know that sodium chloride will be salty unless one of two things happen; either the consumer loses the ability to taste or sodium chloride becomes something else and ceases to be sodium chloride.

What made reading this verse today different from the numerous other times is circumstance combined with context. The circumstance is that I happened to be reading The Great Omission by Dallas Willard, and more importantly Chapter 2 entitled, “Why Bother With Discipleship?” while at the same time I read Luke chapter 14.

In essence Dr. Willard says that being a disciple of Jesus is not something a Christian aspires to be, but being a disciple of Jesus is what a Christian is supposed to be. People, saved by grace through faith, will not excuse their unwillingness to participate in the life of a disciple of Jesus, but repent of that unwillingness. People, covered in the supernatural shed blood of the Lamb of God, are not called to some life that is less than a completely devoted, eternally convinced, supernaturally inspired student of the God-man, Jesus of Nazareth.

Simply, if you are not enabled to and compelled to live your life in deed, thought, action and speech after the life of Jesus as exposed in the Bible and led by the Holy Spirit, then you really are not…dare I say it, a Christian. If you are trying to be a good person, or trying to earn God’s favor by studying your Bible or praying or going to a worship service and you are not compelled to do those things then we need to talk.

Back to the Luke 14:34 passage. In the context of all of Jesus’ teaching there is no “almost salt.” You can’t be an “almost adopted” child of God. There is no such thing as an “almost disciple.” What are you or have you been excusing in your life because “almost” has been enough for you?

Chocolate Chip Cookies, Sex and Beer are three things that, until recently, I would have said “I love!” But a recent post by my friend and professor Dr. David Timms has challenged me with a quote from In Hope, “When we say “I love chocolate cake!” we deceive ourselves. We don’t love it. We want to eat it! If we loved it, we’d care for it.”

Thanks to David Timms for sparking this post.