Amazing Grace

I've come to realize that no matter the amount of righteous a man garners, he still requires a greater amount of grace. I'm sitting on a plane 36000 feet above civilization and it is bouncing around in the turbulence. In this moment, I recognize that it's not the righteousness of Christ that will save me if my plane crashes to the ground but, rather, the grace of Christ.

You see, it is difficult task to understand that I don’t have to DO anything but simply believe. I want to earn His love. To, in a sense, become worthy of His love. Thankfully, I was recently reminded that worthiness can never be obtained! I am worthy of His love because He chose to give it to me; nothing else. It is because of His grace alone I am saved.

Does this mean that I shouldn't strive for Christ's sake? No way! But rather strive because of the grace I've received and to show the grace

I've received.

If my plane is to go down, my life as a 27 year old that is engaged to be married to the most incredible woman in the world is not judged on

how much I've done for Christ. But simply that I've recognized Him for who He is and what He's done for me.

Only Christ saves lives - we can either choose to revel in His victory or toil for a battle that's already been won. Grace, as I'm learning,

is giving someone what they haven't earned and, even harder, accepting what you haven't earned.

The plane is now slowing creeping towards the runway for a smooth landing. My prayer is that I, and all other Christians, recognize that

the grace of Christ is what will change others life's; not our own righteousness.

Marriage Conundrum

In recent weeks, there has been a furor over gay marriage; either the allowance or a ban. There are radical extremists on both sides of the issue that spew violence and hate. After some thought, there appears to be some confusion on both sides.


First, let me state this clearly for all my Christian brethren, if two people of the same sex want to be in a relationship, no amount of condemnation or judging is going to change their mind. Furthermore, telling them about their damnation to a fiery hell isn't exactly going to work either. While heterosexuals, such as myself, struggle with the reasoning and morals behind the lifestyle; it's not our life to live. As clear as Jesus was about eternal condemnation for those that sinned and didn't come to believe in Him, He was equally as clear about loving sinners. You see, no one is going to listen to you unless they feel that you like them. So, to the extremist that stands on the street yelling at gays to repent, try listening to your own advice. Repent of the hateful rhetoric and fill yourself with love.


On the flip side, to the flamboyant homosexual, the institution of marriage is an institution of the Lord. The same God that says that marriage is meant to be between a man and a woman. Do you see where that leaves you in somewhat of a conundrum? How can you expect to be granted a blessing from the same God that you choose to ignore? Doesn't that seem a little silly? This is not to say that you shouldn't be able to live with one another or get tax benefits; however, there is no way that you should expect God to bless your union. He specifically says it's a sin!


In closing, we are called to love each other regardless of circumstance. By doing that, we bring glory to the God that made us. Let's stay away from the hateful condemning rhetoric of "hell, fire and brimstone." Additionally, let's not make marriage something it isn't.

Take refuge!

In recent weeks, I have given considerable thought to the way people act with each other relationally. It seems that some of the smartest and most logical people I know tend to be the antithesis of themselves when it comes to this arena.

There is a principle that is laid out by King Soloman in bible that speaks to us regardless of our religious beliefs. It goes something like this, “The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it.” In more straightforward terms, a smart person sees trouble coming and ducks; a simpleton walks in blindly and is clobbered.

On the surface, every person that reads that would associate with the prudent and could probably think of at least one situation of seeing a “simple” person suffer for their decisions. However, we all fall on the side of the simple more often than we care to admit.

A very basic example is choosing to procrastinate from activities. How many times have you told yourself that you would just study or clean later on because your favorite TV show was on? Or how about the times where sleepiness won over doing tasks? While you may have actually been able to make up the difference, we have all experienced the suffering associated with not getting stuff done.

The missteps and, as a result, the suffering becomes even more poignant when it comes to relationships though; instead of just a slap on the wrist, it shatters hearts. How many couples have you seen that deal with infidelity time after time? How many women have you seen that continue to degrade themselves by allow men to take advantage of their body? How many men live for online images? These are only the obvious examples; there are many more that appear in our lives and the lives of our friends.

Therefore, the question becomes, “How do we become the prudent man that recognizes danger?” I think the answer is that it depends. If you are not a Christian, then this may not even be an issue for you. As long as you are able to avoid those situations by taking care of yourself first, it doesn’t matter. And, if this principle happens to catch you, then you’ll deal with the issues as they come.

However, if you do profess to be a Christian, then the answer is rather obvious. By definition, Christians desire to bring glory to their heavenly Father. So, it becomes about His goals, not ours. In addition, God has promised in almost every book of the bible that He loves us. He loves us more than my words can do justice. Therefore, as long as we have His goals on our hearts, then He will ensure that we are on the path of the prudent.

To bring it to a practical level, an everyday living kind of level. We need to pray for guidance, we need to surround ourselves with a community of people that love us and love Jesus, and we need to listen to the advice of both of those.

No one would put heartbreak on the top of their Christmas list; however, how many people around you suffer from it? Think about your previous failed relationships, were there any signs along the way that were directing you to duck and cover? This is not to say that the greatest danger in the situation is heartbreak; far greater than that is the danger turning your gaze from your Savior!

Please listen to the God of the universe as He is calling out to you today. He doesn’t just sit from afar and watch but, rather, is there every second with His arms around you...take refuge

A dream is a wish your heart makes

Often times I sit in busy airports or office buildings and day dream about a variety of things; Sometimes it’s something coherent, sometimes it just an assortment of random ideas.

I think dreams offer a tremendous insight into a person. Dreams are the blueprint for the plans of your heart. Think for a moment about your dreams. Do they not speak to the things that you want most? What’s even more interesting about that concept is that once we know the desires of our hearts we can pursue them.

Harkin back to your childhood; do you remember being asked what you want to be when you grow up? Those dreams you had? As you got older, you stopped dreaming and starting paying a mortgage or a car loan. Life stopped being about what you wanted it to be about and started being about paying bills, work, etc.

This is not to say that you can’t have a great life like that; surely you can! However, I feel that something is lost when you stop dreaming about the impossible.

If there is a point to this rambling, it is to not allow reality to dictate your dreams. Let your heart shine through your dreams and maybe….just maybe…they’ll come true.

Mission Statement

In recent weeks, a realization has become rather clear to me. If I don’t understand my purpose or mission in this life, how can I ever succeed in it? Without a purpose, there is no destination to guide my decision-making. Let me pose it to you this way. When you apply for a job with a company, one of the first things you need to review is the company’s mission statement. A mission statement is a brief description of a company’s fundamental purpose. A mission statement answers the question, “Why do we exist?” Without this statement the company is going to flounder around without a clear direction and, ultimately, fail; no matter how good the product or service is.

The same applies to you and I, “Why do we exist?”

I can only speak for those of us that proclaim to be Christians (Although, I would be most interested to hear the other viewpoints.). As Christians, Jesus said that the greatest commandments were, “’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." - Matthew 22: 37-40

This is the cornerstone of our purpose as Christians. Simply put, love God with every ounce of yourself. By doing this, you bring the deserved glory to God. Nothing else can fully be done right until this one is satisfied. Notice the order in which Jesus puts the commandments as it is significant. You must love God before you are able to love others. Not to belabor the point but, to be clear, this means surrendering all that you are as well as all that you have to God to show Him complete trust.

The second part of that sentence refers to loving others as you love yourself. Specifically, this means putting others before you. We have been called to love others as Jesus loved us. This means love people undeservedly and selflessly. This idea is counter-intuitive and quite counter-cultural. Nevertheless, it is part of our purpose.

The last part of our mission statement comes from Jesus’ last words before he ascends to heaven. "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 29: 18-20

This is the hardest part. This verse is the center of many great debates. There are people on both sides of a fence here and neither one can overwhelm the other with proof. The debate of when Jesus said “go and make disciples of all nations,” did he mean that I had to leave the area that I live? I struggle with this debate myself. It is quite clear SOMEONE has to go. The real question is, who? I feel that the answer is simply, whoever feels that God wants them to go help.

However, let me be clear, that doesn’t leave everyone else “off the hook.” We may not be called to leave the country but we are still called to “go.” Whether that be to the poor and needy or to the rich and helpless, we are still called to make disciples of them.

Therefore, in summation, our mission statement as Christians seems quite clear: Give glory to God by loving Him with all that you have. Then spread that glory by loving others and making them disciples as well.

Now that the destination is defined, let’s begin moving in the appropriate direction.

Ode to aberrations

Did that really happen?
Were you really here?
Is my memory just slackin’?
Please talk to me my dear!

That night was breath-taking,
You image is still burned on my brain,
Now you’re playing with my decision-making,
How am I to refrain?

As I lay here reminiscing,
I can almost see your figure in the dark,
I’m certain that it’s you I’m missing,
I wish my position wasn’t so stark!

When I am asked how I am doing,
The honest answer, I do not know,
Could it be worth still pursuing?
I can only hope your feelings grow.

The Church of extremists for Grace

The more I read about the early Christians the less I feel like them. Not because of theological differences; in fact, we’re on very much the same page. However, their faith was raw and revolutionary. They didn’t dress up in coat and tie on Sunday morning to sing a few hymns. They went to people that no one wanted to go to and loved them. Along the way, they were beaten, imprisoned, abused and, ultimately, died for their love in Jesus.

The most I can say is that I have had a few awkward conversations. And, to be honest, they were only awkward because I stumbled over my own words.

I want that faith though. I want the kind of love with my Savior that will drive me to do reckless acts of love in His name.

This morning, as I still in a steamy warm Starbucks drinking my cinnamon dulce latte, I’ve read a few stories of people that had that kind of love. They are the kind of stories that evoke emotion. However, I pray that isn’t all they do. I pray that they give you the same desire to love Jesus with reckless abandon as they gave me.

“The story of James’s death has been passed down for hundreds of years. To give a little context, James along with his brother John were Jesus’ cousins, and a bit of a zealot. As they were walking through Samaria one day, some Samaritans were giving them a hard time, so James offered to take care of them by calling down “fire from heaven” on the Samaritans. I’m not exactly sure what it meant back then, but Jesus was not happy and rebuked him. The story of Jesus’ life continued, and James watch Jesus love people and then die. So eventually James faced his own execution for having followed the one that loved his enemies to death. He was imprisoned and was set to be executed. Before his execution, he spoke to his executioner about God’s love and grace. The executioner was so deeply moved that he asked for forgiveness and surrendered his life to Christ. James forgave him, and they embraced. Then he and his executioner were killed together.
Then there’s another story, centuries later, of Dirk Willems, the famous Anabaptist martyr of the 1500s. He was imprisoned and was set for execution for standing against the corruption of the church during a dark age of ecclesial history. But he managed to escape and was pursued by guards. (Just because the Bible says we are to love our enemies doesn’t mean we can’t run from them!) He ran through the winter fields of Holland, with one of the guards in hot pursuit. As Dirk crossed over a frozen pond, he heard a deep cracking of the ice behind him, and looked back to find the guard fallen through. In that moment, he faced a critical decision. He turned around and dove into the water, saving his pursuer’s life, only to be taken back to prison. Despite the guard’s plea for Dirk’s release, he was soon burned at the stake.” – Irresistible Revolution

But these are stories of people of the historic past, right? Who knows if these stories are even true? If we are to follow Jesus to that extent, shouldn’t there be stories of more recent times? I mean, not all of us can be James, Dirk or Mother Teresa.

“During the recent war in Iraq, there was an Iraqi woman whose son and husband were wrongly killed by a police officer. Eventually, they caught the police officer and dragged him before the court. In court, as the judge considered the sentence of the police officer, the woman spoke boldly: “He took my family away from me, and I still have a lot of love to give, and I think he needs to know what love and grace feels like – so I think he should have to come to visit my home in the slums, twice a month, and spend time with me, so that I can be a mother to him, so that I can embrace him, and he can know my forgiveness is real.” – Irresistible Revolution

Please join the movement, Jesus’ movement of revolutionary, life-changing love. Dr. King said it best, “To our most bitter opponents we say: Throw us in jail and we will still love you. Bomb our houses and threaten our children and we will still love you. Beat us and leave us half dead and we will still love you. But be ye assured that we will wear you down by our capacity to suffer. One day we shall so appeal to your heart and conscience that we shall win you in the process, and our victory will be a double victory.”