Drive Carefully!

Well, it's official. Winter has begun in lovely Rochester, MN. No, it's not because of the weekend-long snowfall we've recently enjoyed (it's still early enough in the season that I actually enjoy it!). And, it's not the fact that my wife has switched out her extensive summer wardrobe for her "Man, it's still cold" winter wardrobe. The telltale sign that winter has officially come are the number of cars I see that have skidded off the road, or into the highway barricade.

That's right; Minnesotans sure know winter, but it takes a yearly reminder, it seems, to say, "Hey, you can't drive like that anymore" (and not for another six months, typically). Thankfully, I'm still new enough in town that I don't trust my instinct. I putter along like a nervous teenager, or an aging senior. But, I'm sure, like many of my Northern brethren, I will grow overconfident with each passing winter, and end up in a ditch somewhere.

Isn't that the way God works in our lives? We get a little overzealous, start to think we've got this thing figured out, and He allows circumstances to remind us, "Hey, this is My show." And, I don't know about you, but I'd much rather He pilot my life than keep bouncing against the guardrail!

My prayer is that you and I will "trust in the Lord with all our hearts, not relying on our own understanding," but, rather "think about Him in all of our ways, that He may guide us on the right paths;" that we "not consider ourselves to be wise, but fear the Lord and shun evil" (Proverbs 3:5-7). My prayer is that you and I will be so grateful for His care and providence over our lives (1 Peter 5:7-8) that we would never turn to the right or to the left (Joshua 1:7), but would follow faithfully His Word. The true disciple is the one who follows His Lord, even when he can't see through the snow.

The storms will come, whether you're in wintry Minnesota, or tropical Florida. The question is, will we confront them "sober and alert," ever vigilant to keep the faith, or will we succumb to that danger ahead, and all around?

Just Be Patient!

I'm scared. I"m scared for the number of Christian girls I know, or have known, who are mixed up in relationships with unbelieving guys. What gives? Why does this seem so prevalent and reoccurring? I'm sure I'll come off as an old dote in this, and will probably garner more negative feedback than anything, but, some things beg to be said, in the hopes that my true concern shines through, and defenses aren't automatically put up.

And, I'm not preaching here, people; far from it. I've just seen too often, and too close to home, what such relationships can do for a great Christian girl. My heart breaks at the prospect of such long-term relationships getting started on such unequal footing. I suppose it's easily enough done; guy shows girl interest, girl enjoys said interest, girl gives guy a chance. Guy may even make assurances of a walk with Christ, but, if there's one thing I know about being a man, it's that we'll do anything to "get the girl." We'll say stupid things, do stupid things, make up things; whatever it takes.

I'll never forget what my father-in-law said to me when he officiated my wedding. He said, in so many words, that guys enjoy "the hunt." And, it's so true; we are validated when we win someone's heart. And, girls--I'm no expert here, but...--girls seem to find validation in being accepted. In a way, both guys and girls are seeking approval, and we'll jump at the first "nice" guy or girl who will give it.

All I'm saying is this: I'm tired of watching people I care about settle. I don't know if we grow impatient for affection, or that we want to believe someone knows the Lord so badly that we convince ourselves that they do; I don't know. What I do know is that it's a recipe for disaster, and the Lord truly does have our best intentions at heart when He says not to be "unequally yoked." Our faith is tested when we decide whether we'll "seek first His kingdom," and if we'll truly believe that "all of these (other) things (joy, happiness, companionship) will be added" to our lives. The truth is, "He will supply all of our needs," including relationships, "according to His riches in glory."

For anyone who's reading this, know that I write this with all love and affection. With a daughter now of my own, I can think of little else that is more heartbreaking than the prospect that, one, she wouldn't know the Lord, and, two, that she wouldn't trust Him for providing the perfect mate.

You're worth waiting for, and so is he (whoever he is).

Book Review: Do Hard Things

Alex and Brett Harris say there is nothing extraordinary about themselves. They don’t think that there exists such a thing as an “average teenager.” But, as the title of their book suggests, they want to challenge youth to Do Hard Things. “At age sixteen, we interned at the Alabama Supreme Court. At seventeen, we served as grass-roots directors for four statewide political campaigns. At eighteen we authored the most popular Christian teen blog on the web. We’ve been able to speak to thousands of teens and their parents at conferences in the United States and internationally and to reach millions online. But if our teen years have been different than most, it’s not because we’re somehow better than other teens, but because we’ve been motivated by a simple but very big idea.” (pg. 4,5)

Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations is written by teenagers primarily for teenagers, but everything said in it is applicable to adults as well. In a time and culture where youth are expected to ignore responsibility and simply have fun, this book is a challenge to use the teenage years to prepare for adulthood. “The teen years are not a vacation from responsibility,…they are the training ground of future leaders who dare to be responsible now.” (pg. 13)

The book is separated into three sections with the first considering the modern expectations of young people and what the Scriptures expect of young people. “People today view the teen years through the modern lens of adolescence – a social category of age and behavior that would have been completely foreign to men and women not too long ago…The term adolescence literally means ‘to grow up.’…The problem we have is with the modern understanding of adolescence that allows, encourages, and even trains young people to remain childish for much longer than necessary.” (pg. 33) “You won’t find the words teenager or adolescence anywhere in Scripture. And you won’t find any reference to a period of time between childhood and adulthood either. Instead you’ll find the apostle Paul writing in 1 Corinthians 13:11, ‘When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.’” (pg. 42) The Harris’ describe the “Myth of Adolescence” as being influenced by evolutionary thought and changing our mindset of youth being important producers in society to being largely only consumers who are expected to only have fun.

Transitioning from this challenge to the current thought of adolescence is the dare for Christian youth to be different from the world. Do Hard Things presents five challenges to youth to take on tasks that God is calling them to do and that nobody expects them to do. The “Five Kinds of Hard” that are explained in the second section of the book are:
1. Things that are outside your comfort zone.
2. Things that go beyond what is expected or required.
3. Things that are too big to accomplish alone.
4. Things that don’t earn an immediate payoff.
5. Things that challenge the cultural norm.
This is the meat of this book and a great message that not only should teens take to heart, but many Christian adults too.

The final section of Do Hard Things is basically a collection of inspiring stories of “ordinary teens” doing extraordinary things. It is hard not to be motivated by the stories of faithfulness of kids who desire to be obedient to Christ and not fall back on excuses that are supported by their humanistic culture. From kids who have raised thousands of dollars to feed starving children across the globe to other youth who decided to give up video games to be more committed to learning Scripture, these stories represent a future of Christianity that is ready to outshine the current generation of leaders in the church.

Do Hard Things contains a message that all teenagers and their parents need to understand. God gifted young people with much more ability to serve Him than we expect from them. Too often we don’t expect our children to be able to handle our adult ministry challenges, so we create separate youth ministries for them that are simpler. Instead of taking them along side us in big tasks, we send the youth to the mall or put a video game in front of them to keep them busy until they are old enough to step into adult ministries. This book dares youth to prove that God gave them potential to Do Hard Things and challenges adults not to expect anything less.

A Gospel that atTracts

My yard and I are in a grand battle of the ages. It's me vs. the weeds, and it's to the death (preferably theirs)! And, like any other Christian person, I started wondering how that related to my walk with Christ. So, here goes:

In sharing the Gospel, we must first sow the seed. We will never reap a harvest if we don't first sow the seed of the Gospel. It's a very simple truth, but we all so often fall into the routine of expecting that, if we do the right programs, if we're nice enough, etc., that people will be attracted to the Gospel. They can only be attracted to that which we clearly and verbally demonstrate to them.

And, you have to know the Gospel before you can throw, or sow, the Gospel, right? So, stay in the Word; commit it to memory; allow it to inform your witness. And, know something about your soil, too, which would be the person with which you're sharing. Find a point of common interest with even a total stranger, even something as simple as the weather, or the insanely high gas prices. And, if you know the person, there's all the more context from which to share.

Now, if someone has gone before you and sown the Gospel into someone's life, then you may have the opportunity to hoe that Gospel, nurturing it and stirring it deeper into the person's life. You may even be graced with the privilege of bringing that person to the Lord. Either way, both "the sower and the reaper may be glad together" (John 4:36-37). Never discount the role of the sower, as they are afforded equal honor to that of the reaper (compliments of Dr. Roy Fish).

We must be mindful, however, of the role that merits no honor whatsoever, which is the role of the mower. These are those of us, and we've all done it at some point(s), who in some way have ruined our witness and disgraced the glorious name of Christ. We may have spoken wrongfully, or with mal intent. Perhaps we grew impatient or hostile or angry. Whatever it is, we must be careful never to mow down the seeds that have been planted for the Gospel.

That brings us finally to growing. Let us not make the mistake of thinking that evangelism and discipleship are two mutually exclusive things. No, we must constantly be reminded as Christians of the Gospel, and the change it has wrought in our life, as we are so prone to otherwise give in to sin. The Spirit is at work in both the unbeliever and the believer to woo them to repentance and application. We must work, then, to make disciples, be disciples, and grow disciples.

I pray this is an encouragement to you all. May God commend our efforts, unto His glory alone.