Science & Creation-Outside the Box

I suppose we should all realize that this particular discussion is moot since regardless of what we may believe, we are here.  The world exists…unless you are a Philosophy major, and then you may ask the question of whether reality is really real.  But, I’m sticking with a real reality…we are here…and how we all got here really doesn’t matter all that much.

That confusion-inducing statement having been said, this subject interests me, and it is something that I’ve been thinking about for a long time.  Further, this is also one of those subjects where my thinking is outside of the mainstream. 

In fact, it is outside the mainstream of both sides of this issue.

Now, I’m not a scientist.  I’m just a regular guy who pays attention…likes Star Trek…is a little nerdy…is intrigued by science...and is a believer in God.  In some ways, my opinion isn’t worth two plug nickels, but I do write a blog and some people read it, so here are my random thoughts on the issues from the now famous Bill Nye/Ken Ham debate on whether Creationism is a viable explanation of how the Universe came into being.

First, let me say that I wasn’t going to watch it.  I just get tired of these arguments that solve nothing.  But, after I decided to share my views on the subject, I decided I should take a gander at it.  So, I spent a couple of hours watching it on YouTube the other night.  Actually, it was interesting.  I found some compelling things being shared on both sides, and I was pleased that overall it was a friendly exchange.

I agreed with some things from both, and I disagreed with some things from both.

Here are some of my random thoughts on the topic…not necessarily tied to the debate:

• The Bible says that “God created…,” but it never elaborates on the method used.  As a child, I envisioned that things just POPPED into existence.  But, couldn’t God have used a method…a process…a portion of which we now call Evolution?
• There are things we use in the world today (think technology) that only a couple of hundred years ago would have been considered supernatural.  The supernatural becomes the natural once we understand the process and the science behind it.
• The Bible is not a Science textbook.  It was not provided by God as a way to fully explain science.  That is just not its purpose…rather Christ was the purpose.  Everything was pointing toward Him.  If you wrote a cookbook and then found out some school system was using it to teach math, wouldn’t you question that school board’s thinking?  A cookbook has some math in it, but that isn't its purpose.
• In the debate, the biggest sticking point between Nye and Ham was the age of the Earth.  Nye believed it to be billions of years old while Ham holds to only about 6000 years.  However, the Bible NEVER directly says how old the earth is.  It does not ever…EVER…pinpoint a start date.  The method used by Ham and others to develop the timeline is by counting backward from Christ using the biblical genealogies.  If you start at Christ (2000 years ago) and then follow the genealogies based on how long each generation lived, you come up with about 6000 years.  I don’t believe that this is a viable way to date the Earth to the beginning point.  However, my main point here is that this is a MAN-MADE construct of how to date the Earth.  The Bible never says that this is the way to do it.  Mankind has come up with it on its own.
• Ham holds to a literal “Six-Days” of creation…meaning six 24-hour periods.  God created and things POPPED into existence, and He did it all in six literal days.  I no longer hold to that view, although I used to.  Rather, I believe that God employed an allegorical language that ancient people could grasp.  Why is it so hard to believe that God could use an allegory?  Do we think He is so limited in His literary skills that He couldn’t come up with something like that?  Frankly, I’ve come to the conclusion that the six days represent immensely long eons of time…periods in the history of the Earth where God brought about great changes using the processes that science is discovering through its ongoing research.  This in no way threatens my belief in the inspiration of the Bible.  Frankly, when facts are uncovered that challenge my interpretation of the Bible, I don’t start questioning the Bible…I start questioning my understanding of it.

Now, here’s where I’m going to throw out my own half-baked theory.  It’s half-baked because it isn’t fully developed.  And, it is a theory...not a doctrine that I've constructed.  I’ve been thinking about this for a long time, but I’ve not fully worked it all out.  And, I’m not going to assume that I’m the first to think about this either, but I’ve never heard anyone express the following concept before.  Here goes…

I am coming to the belief that the creation of man in Genesis 1 and the creation of Adam and his placement in the Garden of Eden in Genesis 2 are two separate events.

I believe that humans were created by God (through whatever process He chose to use) sometime in the ancient past, but the creation of Adam and Eve was something special…a special creation of a man and a woman that happened much, much later.  I’ve not come to a conclusion as to what was special about them…other than maybe it was God’s first step toward creating a people to whom he could have a relationship with…a people who were self-aware, creative, and/or carried within them a soul.  I’m still working on that.  But, if this is true, then it explains a couple of other things:

1. It allows for a much, much older Earth consistent with the evidence being uncovered by modern research.
2. It even allows for the possibility of a literal six 24-hour days of creation…just much longer ago…although I still think that it is an allegory.
3. It explains where the people came from that Cain was so afraid of when God banished him…and where he found his wife.

In this theory, Adam is still the first man, but he is first in a different way than the way the box that we’ve all been raised in explained it.  He wasn’t the first human, he was first in some other way that has then filtered down through all of mankind.

So, just let me leave that hanging out there….

You can tear it down…help me develop it…think I’m nuts…whatever.

I’ll leave you with some parting thoughts:

1. Scientific discoveries point to an Earth that is much older than 6000 years.  There are even some Biblical anomalies that remain uneasily explained in the young-earth view.  If we adamantly deny the evidence without giving deeper thought…even thought outside our religious boxes…, then we do begin to appear ridiculous to the rest of the world.
2. Scientific discoveries are not contradictory to the existence of God…at least nothing that I have seen says there is no God.  Bill Nye even acknowledges that science cannot disprove God.
3. Science does not displace God, it simply reveals His processes.  For example, if evolution is true, then it was simply the process created by God to bring things about…science has simply revealed something about how God made the Earth.
4. Finally, the Big Bang Theory…more than anything else…points to God.  Science theorizes that the Universe POPPED into existence sometime billions of years ago.  However, it cannot explain HOW that happened or WHERE that matter came from.  Scientists cannot really explain it, but we can understand that it came from God.  While we can be questioned on where God came from… and we have no answer beyond that He just always existed…, science can be questioned on where the matter in the Big Bang came from…and there just is not a satisfactory answer to that…other than God.

My conviction is that we Christians should stop fussing about evolution…stop arguing about the age of the Earth…and just start glorifying God with each new discovery our atheist friends in the science world uncover about the processes that God used when He brought the Universe into being.  Because, in their own way, those folks will find that God really was behind it all after all.  He is at the end of the string they are tugging on.


PS:  I in no way mean to say that there aren't any believing scientists.  There are.  And they make many, many discoveries of God's processes every day.

Inspiration from a Remarkable Man



Woody is in the center.

“I’m going to buy you a T-shirt with a target on the back,” said the smiling and imposing man.

“Why’s that?” I asked in response with a touch of trepidation.

“So I can hit you from long distance,” answered my new girlfriend’s father.  “Hahahahaha!”

Those were the first words that I can recall my father-in-law speaking to me, and they were the beginning of over 30 years of laughter, support, encouragement, advice, and….lots of friendly ribbing at my expense.  I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

The world has its share of bad men.  The majority of us are simply mediocre.  Only occasionally will you run across someone who is truly remarkable.  I found one, and I’ve been married to his daughter since 1985.

That remarkable man, Wendell (Woody) Vandivier…aka Boo Boo…, passed away on Saturday morning, January 4, 2014. 

The feeling is surreal.  On the one hand, his family is heartbroken.  On the other, we are celebrating the life of a man who has made such a difference in the lives of those around him.  Some in huge ways, and others in small ways.  And, I think the reason for this strange combination of feelings is his remarkable character.

Remarkable.

I’ve had that word force itself to the front of my mind ever since I learned of his passing.  In some small way, I want to share what made him so remarkable to me.  I’m going to try to at least give you a flavor of the man who became my second dad.  One of my daughters made a list of 10 things she will always remember about him.  That seems like a good enough format for me to copy.

1. He always met me with a smile and a joke.  ALWAYS.  The truth is that he did that with EVERYONE.  Family.  Friends.  Guys walking down Barth Avenue.  Waitresses.  Even nurses and physical therapists working with him as he neared his passing.  It was his job to put a smile on your face, and he worked at it tirelessly; sometimes planning his next trick or joke days or weeks in advance.
2. He loved his granddaughters with all of his heart, and poured himself into them whenever they were around.  They were his joy.  Whether it was holding them on his lap in his Lazyboy chair when they were little, or traveling to their chosen college for a visit as they grew up, he made the extra effort to show them how much they meant to him.
3. While I did see him occasionally get emotional and once raise his voice, I NEVER saw him lose his temper.  Ever.  He never demanded respect, but always somehow attained it.  I suspect that he earned his family’s deep respect by pouring so much love on them that they could not bear to show him any cause for disappointment.
4. He just loved life.  Whether it was traveling to see his family, working in his garden or Piddle Parlor, or helping me cut up a fallen spruce, he loved to be with people…especially his family…, and he lived in the moment.  He enjoyed life as it came his way, and that joy washed over onto anyone he was around.

Okay, so I didn’t get to 10 things on my list.  Maybe not, but I think I did get to the heart of what made him remarkable.  I haven’t said it yet, but it’s there…  It’s in between the lines…  It’s leaking out…  Did you catch it?

It was his Unselfish Nature.

He was always giving to someone.  His wife.  His boys.  His daughter.  His daughters-in-law.  His son-in-law.  His granddaughters.  His great grandchildren.  His extended family.  The guy who owned the gas station down the road.  The man who owned the property where he gardened.  The apprentices that went through his training program.  The myriad of waitresses that took his orders over the years.  The receptionist at the doctor’s office.  The nurses and physical therapists at Rosegate.  Basically, whoever was right in front of him at the time.

What made him remarkable, and someone I desperately want to imitate was that he was a GIVER.

Wholeheartedly.  Without reservation.  With joy.

In our world today,… with all that we see around us,… all the mess that is mankind,… when you run across a person like Woody Vandivier,…someone who is an unselfish person with a mind to give joy to those around them, the only word that can describe it is:  REMARKABLE.

And, I’ve been lucky enough to be his son-in-law for nearly 30 years.

I have truly been blessed.

Quacking Up the Wrong Christmas Tree

Quacking Up the Wrong Christmas Tree

Two weeks ago, I thought I’d write an article about “keeping Christ in Christmas.”  This week, the story is all about Ducks.  So, I guess I’ll mix my messages and say that I think in both cases we Christians are quacking up the wrong Christmas tree.

What was it the angels said?

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”  Luke 2:14 (KJV)

Peace on earth.

Good will toward men.

How does that jive with all the angry words that seem to dominate my Facebook feed?  In my mind, not so well.  Consider these thoughts from your friend, Caaamper….

CHRISTmas or Happy Holidays?

A good number of my friends are adamant about saying “Merry Christmas!”  Almost to the point that I’m afraid that if I happen to slip up and say “Happy Holidays” to the wrong person, I might end up being shunned.  It’s like walking on egg shells just to pick out a Christmas…um…er…Holiday card. 

“We’ve gotta keep Christ in Christmas!” they shout.  “Those left-wing liberals are trying to scrub the ‘reason for the season’ right out of the holiday!”

Well, amen brother.  In response, let’s consider the scriptures that discuss the Christmas holiday…. 

Well….um….hmmmm. 

That’s right.  There aren’t any.  You see, Christ didn’t come to earth so we’d name a holiday after Him.  But, maybe we could consider some of the things He said:

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”  Matthew 5:7

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”  Matthew 5:9

“But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven.”  Matthew 5:44-45b

“Give, and it will be given to you.  A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap.  For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”  Luke 6:38

“Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back.  Do to others as you would have them do to you.”  Luke 6:30-31

Personally, I don’t see a lot of room there for Christians to be writing nasty Facebook posts….but, that’s just me. 

I think if we want to keep Christ in Christmas, then our best method to do so is to keep Christ in us.  We are his hands, his feet, his mouth in this broken world.  We should reflect Him in our very words and actions, and by doing so Christ will very much remain in Christmas…regardless of what we call it.

Here are some suggestions:

Feed a hungry person.  Put a coat on the back of a homeless person.  Buy someone some groceries.  Listen to someone who needs an ear.  Put your arm around someone in pain.  Buy someone a tank of gas.  Forgive someone who has hurt you.  Be Christ this Christmas.

Ducks and Boycotts

Ever since Phil Robertson’s words whirled into a firestorm, my family has been telling me to keep my mouth…and my keyboard…to myself and stay out of the fray.  And, frankly, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to say anyway.  The whole spectacle has actually been painful…painful to watch…painful to read…and painful to think about.

That said, even though I’m tip-toeing into the subject, I’m not going to discuss what Phil said.  I’m not going to talk about the reactions from GLAAD or A&E.  If you want my thoughts on those things, we’ll need to know one another, and then we can sit down and have a discussion.  Instead, I’m going to share my view that as Christians, I think we are reacting all wrong.

Christians all across America are up in arms about the attack on Phil’s 1^st Amendment right of free speech, and angry about the infringement on our rights to freely practice our religion.  Hateful words are flying through cyberspace faster than light travels from the Sun to the Earth.  Nasty letters…nasty posts…nasty tweets.

We Christians may deny being homophobic, but we sure can be hateful when our rights are stepped on.

The problem is that Christ never guaranteed we’d enjoy those rights.  And, the way we are pursuing them flies in the face of some of the things He did want us to do….see the verses above.

Are people saying things about Christians that aren’t true?  Yes.  Are they misconstruing Bible verses to suit their agendas?  Absolutely.  Are some even attacking our God?  No doubt.

Well, shouldn’t we stand up and fight?

No.

Consider these words:

“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.  Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”  --Jesus.  Matthew 5:10-12

“But I tell you, do not resist an evil person.  If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other also.”  --Jesus.  Matthew 5:39

“Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult.  On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.”  --Peter.  1 Peter 3:9

“For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”  --Jesus.  Matthew 6:14-15

Rather, I think we should be about the business that He left us here to do.  He ate with sinners.  He drank with sinners.  He died for sinners.  And frankly, that is what we are.  Let us pass that example through and befriend those around us that still remain outside the Grace we’ve found.

We weren’t commissioned to defend God, or judge the world.  God can pretty well defend Himself, and the judgment seat is where He sits.  We were told to love God, love our neighbor, and urge a lost world to reunite with the Father.  Period.

The problem with judging is that when we do it, it gets in the way of loving. 

No more strife.  No more anger.  No more hateful words.  Rather, let us love with the love of Christ.  Selflessly.  With sacrifice.

You don’t have to approve of what people do in order to love them.  Good grief, I don’t even approve of my own actions a good deal of the time, but I don’t have any trouble maintaining affection for myself.  Paul said in Romans that we “all have sinned.”  God gave us Grace before we deserved it, so why shouldn’t we give it to others before they do?

We can make a difference in this world, but it won’t be our angry words that does it.  It will be something truly remarkable. 

Love.

A Muncie Boyhood-Murphy's Law and a Stapler

“Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong.”

That’s known as Murphy’s Law, and it’s true of many things. 

You never have a flat tire in the garage…nope, it will obviously happen on the interstate highway.  And, then, it won’t happen when you’re dressed in jeans and a work shirt.  No.  Rather, it will only happen when you’re dressed up in a nice suit.

If you drop a quarter on the kitchen floor, it will automatically roll under the stove.

The guy in front of you will only hit the brakes when you look down.  BOOM!

If one tiny chicken bone is left in the pot of chicken & noodles, It will end up with it on my plate.  FACT!

And, if the seam of your pants rips from front to back, it will only do so in public, and in a crowd.  EXPERIENCED!

I’ve officially ripped out my pants four times…every time in front of a group.

Event One

Sometime late in my high school career, I attended a Fairlawn Church of Christ youth group event at Prairie Creek Reservoir.  Often I would have driven myself, but thanks to Murphy and his law, I had decided to ride with the group in the church vehicle.  So, when I bent down to catch that softball someone tossed my way and I heard (and felt) that seam tear in my jeans, I had no choice but to retreat to the back of the Chevy 15-passenger van.  I resigned myself to social self-seclusion.  I was sitting dejected on the rear seat when I was rescued by one of the girls.  She handed me her hooded sweatshirt and I tied it around myself; then returned to the festivities.  Problem solved.  I may have looked like a giant teenage baby with a cloth diaper, but I still managed to hit a homerun or two in the softball game.

Event Two

I’d gone off to Williamstown Bible College in West Virginia, and each spring and fall, the ministry students traveled to another city to participate in a week-long “campaign.”  In the spring of my second year, we held a campaign at the Lindberg Road Church of Christ in Anderson, Indiana.  On the last night of the event, after all the official programs were over, the whole crew gathered at a local family’s home for a party...a local family with three teenage daughters.  At this point, I’m twenty years old…and still enough of a kid to enjoy hanging with all the teens.  So, there I was in my gray dress pants…my fairly old gray dress pants…out in front playing basketball.  The ball went up.  The ball went down.  I bent over to get it.  RIP!  Front to back!  There I was, undies to the wind, in front of all the guys…and more importantly, in front of all the girls.  Luckily, I had an extra pair of pants in the car, so I jumped in and slipped the extra pair over the ripped pair and returned to the party.

Event Three

After college, I returned home to Muncie and involved myself with the college-age group at my home church.  Among the many various activities was an annual bus trip to Chicago for a seminar.  It was March.  There was snow on the ground.  It was a long bus ride, and we stopped at a rest area along I-65.  Now, before I go on, you need to know that all of the luggage was piled up in the back five rows of the bus.  It was just thrown in there in no particular order.  Anyway, the whole group of passengers…goofy college boys and cute college girls…, well they all piled out to go take a leak.  Boys being boys, and snow being on the ground, a snowball fight naturally ensued.  I bent over to get me a good frozen missile when I heard (and felt) the opening of my rear window.  RIP!  Front to back!  I quickly retreated to the men’s room and sent a friend to retrieve my suitcase.  Of course, people started to ask: “Where’s Mike.”  My friend, being the honest guy he was, replied: “Oh, he ripped his pants out, so we’ve gotta get his bag for him to change.”  Of course, my return to the bus was met with more than one giggle and snicker.  My face was as red as my frozen butt.

Event Four

A couple of years later and I’m all grown up.  I have a full-time job slingin’ bearings at Bearings, Inc at the corner of Liberty & Willard streets.  I spent my days answering the phones and helping customers at the counter.  There were eight or nine of us in the branch plus a constant flow of customers.  A guy came in and asked for something we had in the warehouse.  I headed back to get it.  It was on the bottom shelf, so I bent over to get it.  RIP!  Front to back!  My fanny was in the breeze again!

So, I called to the warehouse guy:  “Hey Terry!  Can you help me out?”

“What do you need?” he replied.

“I’ve ripped my pants out.  Can you take this up to the guy at the counter for me?  Just tell him that I got tied up with something back here, so I asked you to take care of him.”

“Sure,” he says with a sneaky grin.

I grabbed a stapler and headed to the bathroom.  He grabbed the stuff and headed to the counter.

A few minutes later, I emerged from the bathroom with a pair of pants that you couldn’t get through the security gate at the airport to find an office full of sneaky smiles and a guy at the counter that was belly-laughing.  The information was too good for my warehouse guy to keep to himself. 

I overcame the embarrassment within a few minutes, but sitting at my desk was precarious the rest of the day.  There is a great reason that clothing companies do not use staples to make trousers.

So, take it from me.  Murphy’s Law will guarantee that if you wear your pants until they are threadbare, the butt seam will split at the most inopportune time.  Of course, maybe it wasn’t Murphy’s Law…maybe I was just a clothing dork.

Grace and the Soldering Iron

Many years ago, I did a message on how guilt is like the sense of touch.  I said it was kind of like when as a kid, you put your hand on a hot stove…that burning pain warned you that you were doing something that you shouldn’t.  I said that guilt was the same way.  It was something that God put on our conscience that taught us that doing wrong was bad for us so that we would stop doing those things.

However, I was off-base.

For example, once in high school I took a shop class on Electricity.  As I was working a little soldering project, I inadvertently reached up and grabbed the wrong end of my soldering iron.  After I stopped screaming and got done rinsing my burning hand under the cold water spigot, I had learned to never do that again….and I haven’t.

For another example, as a kid of about 18 years old, I had a moped; one of those old Batavus mini motorbikes that had goofy pedals sticking out of the sides.  I took off on it one day and rode over to a friend’s house.  I didn’t go far…only a half mile or so…and I happened to wonder if the muffler was hot after such a short ride.  Now, I know that right now you’re thinking:  “He couldn’t be that dumb!”  Well, I WAS that dumb at eighteen years old.  That’s right.  I reached down and touched it.  That hot, searing pain taught me to never do that again, and I never have.  Lesson learned.  I’m not that dumb any more.

But, guilt doesn’t seem to have that effect.

I seem to be quite capable of doing the same dumb, sinful things over and over again…feeling guilty…then feeling guilty again…without ever seeming to learn to avoid those things in the future.

I’ve finally figured out after all of these years that beating myself up and feeling all guilty…while it does serve the purpose of driving me toward repentance…does nothing with regards to preventing me from doing the same stupid things over and over again.  (Of course, maybe it’s just me.  Maybe I’m the only one who seems to fall into the same self-imposed temptation traps over and over again.  Would you tell me if I’m not?)

Anyway, guilt is simply not effective in teaching me anything useful in breaking that cycle.  Guilt is really kind of like burning your hand on the soldering iron, then forgetting how much that hurts a few days later and doing it again....and again...and again.

But, I think I’ve finally found something that is effective…

For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.  (That’s you, me, and even that goofy kid with his pants hanging around his rear and the nose ring poking out of his nostrils.)  It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, (That’s all those stupid things you, me, and that goofy kid seem to keep doing.) and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope – the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.  Titus 2:11-14

Did you catch it?

The grace of God TEACHES us to say no.  It’s not the guilt…it’s the grace.

I have decided that from now on, if I’m falling short….no…wait…scratch that…WHEN I fall short, it’s not that I need to feel more guilty….I don’t need to have a deeper understanding of how messed up I am.

Nope.

What I need when I fall short is a better understanding of how deep, how wide, how incredibly amazing is the grace of God.

Only through a deeper knowledge of grace can I hope to LEARN to say no…and to live a godly life.

Maybe you knew that all along, but I’m just glad the light bulb finally lit up for me.

My Achilles Heel-An Update

Back in August, I posted an entry about my recovery from several years of health issues that stemmed from an initial tear of my right Achilles Tendon.  At the time, I had finally been back on my bike and riding consistently for about two months.  I was feeling good.  I'd lost four or five pounds (I'm unsure of how much I'd really lost because I suspect I had maxed out my digital scales.)

Then, I went canoeing with my wife and daughters.

It was a nice day.  I'd taken a vacation day, it was during the work week, and it was after school had started for the fall, so we nearly had the river to ourselves.  The sun was shining.  It was hot.  Our girls were in one canoe, and Nancy & I were in the other. 

Well, I'm not particularly a skilled canoeist.

About halfway though our journey, we hit a rapids and got sideways.  Where the rapids emptied into the calmer part of the river, it sort of spilled under the calmer water, so when we hit it sideways, the rushing water flipped our boat.  In turning it back over, it filled with water.  In trying to empty a full canoe, I lifted on the side...I lifted wrong.

And, something popped out of place in my lower back.

I couldn't move for almost a week.  The pain was tremendous.  I stopped riding.  I stopped doing much of anything.  Finally, nearly a week later, whatever was pinched popped back into place, but I was still sore for several more days.

That episode interrupted my riding habit and I don't do well when a habit is interrupted.  In essence, while I have ridden occasionally since, that ended my focus on the bike for the year.

But, that wasn't the end. 

A few weeks later, I decided to spend some time focused on my diet.  Specifically, I decided to avoid most starches for at least a solid month and see if it would make any difference.  I cut out breads, potatoes, rice, and cereals.  I replaced those items with more fruits, vegetables, and meat (with a focus on chicken and fish). 

Let me just say that cutting starches is a real wake up.  You just don't know how much of that is in your diet until you decide to exclude it.  Folks, I ate a lot of it!

That little (huge) change made a difference.  I lost another couple of pounds pretty quick and dropped down to 266 pounds.  That was a good start, but the real change came about three weeks ago.

My wife introduced me to a website/app tool that I began using on my smart phone and via my laptop.  It is called My Fitness Pal.  Here's the link: www.myfitnesspal.com

Through this little tool, I was able to set up a daily allotment of calories, and I am able to track what I eat on a daily basis.  I can either enter calories/foods manually, or I can scan bar codes on food containers with my phone.  As long as I stay under the allotted calorie goal, I lose weight.  I combined my elimination of starches with the use of this website/app, and the results are wonderful.  I've already lost another ten pounds, and am now down to 256. 

That is the lowest in three years!

For over two years, I have been unable to get below about 263 pounds no matter what I did, but those days are behind me.  We're coming up on the holidays, and that will be a challenge, but I'm going to hang with it.  I do take a day off from tracking once in a while to give myself a break and I'll have some bread or rice once in a while, but I'm going to see just how far down this will take me.  I'd love to see 210 lbs again.  I think I can do it as long as I don't get burned out or give up.  (Encouraging words help.)

If you've been stuck, this might be a good way to go.  Cut the starch, increase fruits, vegetables, chicken and fish, and track your calories on My Fitness Pal.

It's worked for me...so far.  Wish me luck.

The Driving Force

The other day, a friend returned an old USB flash drive to me that had fallen out of my computer bag inside his car.  As I looked at it, I realized that I had no idea what was inside.  Eventually, my curiosity got a hold on me, and I opened it up.  Well, it was mostly a bunch of old work files that I'd archived out of an old computer.  But, among the haystack of Word documents and Excel files, I found the following.  It seems that back in 2006, I was contemplating writing a book on Christian motivation.  Now, after re-reading it, I have found myself re-intrigued with the idea.  So, what do you think?  Read the intro below and let me know.  Should I do it?  Should I write this book?  Do you want to see it?

 

Leave me a comment on the blog, or post your thoughts on the Facebook page, but let me know what you think.

 

The Driving Force

 

Introduction

Why do you do what you do?  What gets your motor running?  What gets the juices flowing?  What is your motivation?  More specifically, what is your motivation as a follower of Christ?  I have seldom noticed this question given much more than cursory coverage, but I think it is an extremely important factor in the longevity of our walk with God.

To begin, let us define our terms.  I consulted the online dictionary of Merriam-Webster:  To motivate means to provide with a motive or to impel.  To impel means to urge or drive forward by the exertion of strong moral pressure.  In boiling it down, it creates the question of what is the moral pressure that impels us to live as a Christian.

I intend that final question to cover more ground than just orally claiming to be a Christian.  I mean to refer to the life of a Christian to be, as the Apostle John said, walking as Jesus did. 

“Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did.”[1] 

What motivates you and me to live out our lives walking as followers of Christ?

There can be multiple motivations for the things that we do.  Some are good, positive, and healthy.  Some, on the other hand, are bad, negative, and destructive.  Some, in my personal experience, can have the appearance of being good, but in the end are quietly destructive and sometimes spiritually debilitating.  We will explore together several motivators, and what I have come to call “de-motivators,” and examine them in light of how biblically sound they are, as well as their practicality.  Some of the motivators/demotivators that we will look at include: faith, hope, love, accountability, guilt, and grace.

As a means of introduction, I want to share two personal stories that I believe illustrate the opposite extremes of good motivation and bad demotivation.  Both of these stories involve my father, and have had a lasting impact on me.

My father was a Midwest boy, born in 1912 and raised near Lima, Ohio.  He traveled the west in his twenties, and fought in WWII in his thirties.  After the war, he settled down in Muncie, Indiana; got a job at the local Chevrolet plant; and married my mother.  A few years later, I came along.  By then my dad was 50 years old.  He was a blue collar, no nonsense factory worker that had a son when many men his age were having grandchildren.

One night, when I was somewhere around the age of two or three, I remember lying on my dad’s chest as he was putting me to sleep.  I remember that I loved to do that.  There was something safe about lying on his chest.  I was secure, and loved.  All was right with the world in that moment in my life.

As I laid there, he told me something that I have never forgotten.  It stuck with me all through my childhood, adolescence, and adulthood.  It has never left me even as I struggled to build a career, raise my own children, and work through my church relationships.  He said, “Mike, the most important thing you can ever do in your life is to love God.”

That’s it.  It was that simple.  It was not a long, drawn out sermon on the doctrine of salvation.  It was not a directive to obey the church leaders.  No exhortation to avoid sin.  It was just “love God.”  That simple message whispered into a toddler’s ear has kept me going when I wanted to quit.  It has prevented me from giving my life over to the temptations that are everywhere around us.  It has impelled me to get up and get going when I wanted to stop and throw in the towel.  Somehow it stuck in my heart, and I have made it the driving force in my life, and I hope to make it the driving force in the lives of my children.

The second story involves my father’s childhood.  When he was a boy of about twelve, he had begun to attend a local church.  It was a rural, farm community, and he was not in a position to have much that wasn’t considered a necessity.  He was one of nine children, whose father had recently disappeared.  He had a couple brothers and a sister that were older than him, and several siblings that were younger.  They were scraping by, but extras were rare.  However, he must have had a least one set of “Sunday” clothes, and he was enjoying church.

One Sunday, a neighbor boy who was worse off than he was, and a few years younger went to church with him.  However, this boy did not have anything to wear but his usual farm clothes.  After church, the minister and an elder of the church pulled my dad aside and told him, “Don’t bring that boy back until he has decent clothes to wear to church.”

My father, the same man who told me the most important thing I could ever do was to love God, never went back.  And, I don’t mean that he never went back to that particular church.  I mean that he never went back to any church, anywhere.  Even as I grew up and began to attend church, he would not go.  After I went to Bible College and spent some time as a ministry intern, he would not go.  Even up to the time he lived with me prior to his death, he still could not bring himself to go to church.

My father had been demotivated.  He still loved God, but the pain of someone’s ridiculous, unbiblical standard used as a legalistic tool to bring about an appearance that was “acceptable” destroyed his desire to worship with others.  Again, it wasn’t a long dissertation.  It wasn’t a fiery sermon on sin.  It was just a few simple words.  They probably were not even meant to be hurtful.  However, they had a lasting, negative motivational effect on an impressionable young mind.

I hope you will join me in the following chapters as we explore the various ways and means of Christian motivation.  Hopefully, together, we can come to understand the concepts that will truly motivate us for the long-term to be people that are “after God’s own heart.”[2]  Together, we can find the “driving force” that will move us along in an enduring relationship with the Father of us all.     

---

[1] 1 John 2:6

 

[2] 1 Samuel 13:14

A Voice in the Wind-A Book Review

Truth hidden inside a parable.  A story with a moral.  Hope in the pages of a novel.

Those are the concepts that flood my mind as I think about Francine Rivers’ A Voice in the Wind; the first novel in her Mark of the Lion series.

The series was recommended to me by my wife and daughters, and being the guy that I am…a guy who loves novels with gun battles, car chases, or monsters that threaten suburban communities…, I was a tad reluctant to pick it up.  Boy, am I glad I did.

The story of little Hadassah, a teenage Jewish Christian girl is captivating.  But, more than that, it is on the one hand inspiring, and on the other hand challenging.  It will both inspire and challenge your heart of faith.

Hadassah is captured in the fall of Jerusalem by the Roman army.  She is taken as a captive on a long journey to Rome where she becomes the personal slave to a rebellious and petulant Roman girl who is close to her own age, but is bent on the selfish pleasures found in first century Roman society.  The girl’s parents are kindly, but lost in the emptiness of idol worship or the pursuit of financial wealth.  The girl’s older brother is lost in his pursuit of personal pleasures.  Her “owners” know that she is Jewish, but are unaware that she is a Christian.  She keeps that fact a secret while she faithfully and lovingly serves both the girl and her family for several years because Christians were routinely sentenced to death in the Arena.  All the while, her devotion, humble service, and extraordinary affection for her captors begins to cause ripples in the waters of their lives, and ultimately her true faith begins to come to the surface. 

Over time, her quiet faith becomes both a balm and a thorn to various members of the family, and the story culminates with a climax that is both devastating and at the same time incredibly inspiring.  Tears of both joy and sorrow will flow as you read the last several pages.  You will feel so many conflicting emotions, and it will make you reconsider what you really believe, and just how deep your own convictions go.

While some may view this book as a Christian romance story and there is some romance to be found, it is much more and much beyond that simple categorization.  This book will challenge you to your core.  It will make you reexamine your faith at a level you didn’t realize needed to be reexamined.  It will inspire you to new highs of love, service, and selfless devotion.

I recommend this book to every Christian, every person who is thinking about becoming a Christian, every person who used to be a Christian, and any person who is remotely curious about what it really means to be a Christian.  This book depicts Christianity as we rarely see it in 21^st century America, and the core of our faith is found in the parable it contains.

Well done Francine.

Now, on to Book Two.

Thorns and the Grace of God

Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.  Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.  But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.  –Paul  2 Corinthians 12:7b-9

I’ve been contemplating writing this post for some time, but it just never seemed to be the right moment.  I’m still not sure that this is the moment.  But, I’m going to give it a go and see what happens.

The verse above is one of those highly intriguing passages in scripture.  What was the thorn?  That is what we all want to know, right?  It’s been debated for centuries.  In Bible College, it was strongly suggested to me that the thorn was a physical issue; particularly Paul’s poor eyesight.  I read and article recently that suggested that the thorn was the “Judaizers” who were afflicting Paul by influencing the Gentile believers to embrace the Jewish Law in the face of the freedom of God’s Grace. Personally, I tend to think that he had some personal battle with a sin that he couldn’t quite conquer.  (See Romans 7:14-25) 

Maybe it was a real thorn.  Maybe in some of his travels he walked through a thorny shrub and got a big one stuck in his flesh and couldn't get it out.  Maybe.

In this life, we will never know.  And, that’s okay because what it was doesn’t matter nearly as much as what the Lord told him about dealing with it: 

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

My grace is sufficient for you.

Whatever the thorn was, it wasn’t going away anytime soon, and the Lord wasn’t going to take it away.  Paul was going to have to rely on the grace of the Lord.  Grace was just going to need to be enough.

The question I’m asking myself…and you by extension…is this:  Is God’s grace sufficient for me?

Is grace enough?

You see, I…like so many others…live in a vicious cycle.  I do pretty well with a spiritual life for a while, and then I fall short in some way.  Falling short leads to guilt.  Guilt leads to beating myself up mentally.  Eventually, I feel a little better…get a little spiritual streak going again…and then the cycle starts over.

Will I ever change?  Will I ever beat these issues?  Did I really do that again?  You’ve got to be kidding me!  What is wrong with me?

Guilt.  Shame.  Embarrassment.  Discouragement.  Depression.

My grace is sufficient for you.

So, then, I remind myself that God loves me.  I remind myself that Jesus died for me and my sin…which, by the way, makes me feel even more guilty…, and I remind myself that nothing that I can do will make God love me any less.  After all, he orchestrated all of history to bring about my redemption.

Still, the words of David from Psalm 51 bounce around in my mind:  “For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.”

Somehow or another, even after reviewing all of the pertinent facts of the Gospel, I just don’t seem to be able to accept that the Lord’s grace is enough.  Somehow, grace isn’t good enough.

I want the Lord to just take this mess away.  I want Him to fix my errant ways and make me a good person.  Paul pleaded three times.  I’ve pleaded many more than that.

My grace is sufficient for you.

Ah, but there’s the second half of that sentence.  Jesus said a little more:  “…for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

Paul’s thorn was manifested in order to keep him from becoming conceited.  He hated it.  It was a burden; a discouragement.  He wanted it gone.  He pleaded.  It stayed.  Why?

…for my power is made perfect in weakness.

Apparently, if the Lord had removed this “thorn” from Paul, he would have grown exceedingly proud, and in doing so, he would have limited the power of Christ in his life.  As a result, Paul needed to embrace his weaknesses.

Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.     

Sometimes, I wonder if God allows certain struggles we have with sin to remain a burden on us so that we remain useful to Him.  Does that sound like a paradox?  An oxymoron?  It does to me. 

But, hear me out.

If I, with the Lord’s assistance, were to snuff out the struggles and the sins in my life completely, the result would be a wonderfully righteous and pious life for me.  Fantastic!  I would begin to feel so good about myself.  No guilt.  No shame.  No discouragement.  Boy, that sounds just wonderful.  After a time, I’d start to feel so good about how I’M doing.  I’M such a great example to the world.  They should just follow MY example.

Pride.  Conceit.  Judgmental Attitude. 

I become unapproachable…unrelateable…Unuseful.

…for my power is made perfect in weakness.

Now, let me say what I’m NOT saying.  I’m not saying that we should just go out and sin with abandon…have a fantastic time driving the nails into His hands and His feet.  Nope.  I’m not saying we just give in to the temptations that come our way.  I'm not saying any of those things.

What I am saying is that we should just stop beating ourselves up.  We should stop feeling like God has abandoned us.  We should stop feeling like we are worthless…or maybe less than worthless.

…for my power is made perfect in weakness.

Maybe we should embrace our weaknesses as a tool to demonstrate the grace of God to a lost world.

Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance:  Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners – of whom I am the worst.  But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in Him and receive eternal live.  –Paul  I Timothy 1:15-16 

Paul said that the above statement is a trustworthy SAYING that we should all accept.

When we fall short, it gives God an opportunity to show His patience…His love…His grace.

My grace is sufficient for you.

If we accept that the Lord’s grace is enough, and we embrace our weaknesses as a tool in God’s toolbox, we can be the way He makes His power manifest before those who are lost. 

We can be the vessels of God’s grace to a hurting world.

I think Paul’s thorn was always a burden to him.  Our struggles will always be a burden to us.  That said, I feel confident in saying that God’s grace was sufficient for Paul, and once he ascended to be with the Lord, his thorn was removed.  The same awaits us.  We will always struggle in this life…in one way or another…but, once we cross that border into the New Jerusalem, our thorns will be removed as well.

And, then we can say with confidence that His grace was sufficient for us...and also for all those who have that eternal life with us because we were willing to let Christ display his power in our lives.