Just what does it mean to “follow” Jesus? Not long ago, for many it just meant being an American. That day is done. Obeying God? That’s important, but being good is not good enough. Telling people you follow? That expression is crucial, but not central. Going to church? Nope, going to church makes you no more of a Christian than going into a barn makes you a horse. Years back I came across a verse that began a change process in me.Jesus proclaimed...
Read MoreAchieving
For the last five years of my teaching career, I had the privilege of teaching Advanced Placement English Language and Composition, a course that had the most practical significance of all I taught over several decades.It had two portions—a semester examining style, or how to use words for the best effect, and another semester on persuasion, or how to analyze or craft political speeches, sales pitches, or asking your folks to borrow the car. Regardless of your political leanings, these ...
Read MoreWhen Pigs Fly
Don’t let those wings deceive you, that pig will remain earthbound. It represents the impossible, like when Hell freezes over. So let’s consider if the impossible exists. Absolutely, and here’s one—me being drafted to play center on an NBA team. In my prime I had white man’s disease to the max, with a vertical lift of six inches, and even at 5’11” my speed just exceeded the normal turtle. Now add 50 years, and clearly the impossible does exist. But perhaps it’s not as pervasive as we often think...
Read MoreA Tale of Two Patios
Not long after moving back into our Temecula house, we totally rebuilt our back yard. A contractor put in a covered patio, then I took out the lawn and added pavers, took out dead trees and pathetic plants and put in fruit trees and other plants along the perimeter, added a garden shed, a waterfall, hanging lights, and a fire pit. Honestly, for this retired pastor/teacher, our backyard became a paradise I likely won’t exceed until I experience the final one.But we noticed the temptation...
Read MoreBack to Our Future
Satchel Paige, star of the old Negro League and Major League Baseball, once advised, “Don’t look back, someone might be gaining on you.” Like most “rules,” that too possesses an exception. I experienced that yesterday. Jim Price, a friend from 50 years back retired from pastoring a church for the past 37 years, and the organizers of the celebration asked me to share five minutes. Condensing 50 years into five minutes forces a lot of recollections and refining and focusing. Here’s my take—Jim is ...
Read MoreWeed and Feed
Spring arrives with blessings and curses. Daylight lasts longer, days warm up, plants grow. Consider those not only as blessings but also as curses. Why? Undesired weeds abound along with desired plants. While I put in a front patio with pavers and a lattice cover and pots and a drip system and plants, the weeds on our south bank took full advantage of my neglect and spring’s blessings. The curse of spring. Four days of weeding on a steep slope moved the undesired plants into four wheelbarrow loads, like the one above. I couldn’t avoid...
Read MoreGive It Up
If Jesus asked you to give up your biggest obstacle to following him, what would it be? No, that’s not rhetorical, but real. Here are some ...
Read MoreI Am The Greatest!
When we hear the line, “I am the greatest,” many think of Muhammad Ali. Even before some current politicians. He crashed into our awareness when he took the Olympic gold medal in 1960 and smashed the invincible Sonny Liston for the heavyweight championship in 1964 (above pic). This remarkable athlete and poet described himself as “pretty,” loved the limelight and adulation, and even took on the US government and won. Quite a man, who later fought Parkinson’s until his death in 2016. But before we mourn his and other’s lack of humility, maybe we need to look inward a bit. Don’t we all face the same issue? What caused Adam and Eve to change the outcome of the world? They wanted importance and power. What caused Cain to kill Abel? He wanted to do things as he desired. And as I studied “Just Jesus” this week, another example crushed me.
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