What are you chasing?

Some dogs chase cars. Some dogs chase bikes. Some dogs chase other dogs.Some dogs will chase after anything you throw at them. A stick, a frisbee, a can. Eager they are.

Then you have the dogs that chase nothing. They put on a show to chase every passing car or person, but quickly give up pursuit. Apparently its a game to chase for the sake of the chase and nothing else. There's no reason or purpose to their pursuit.

Even as there is a canine chase, there is a human chase -- and for most of us, it too is meaningless. When one pursuit fails, we simply go on to the next. Sometimes the chase ends in failure, but that doesn't dissuade us.

Even when the chase ends in success and we catch the object of our desire, we quickly tire of the prize and turn our energy to the next target – the next purchase, the next sale, the next deal, the next next.

So, what are you chasing? Is there something meaningful awaiting you at the end of the chase, something deeply satisfying? Most likely not, unless you are chasing after God.

This pursuit is really the only one worth it. God is the only thing that can ultimately be caught. Everything else -- power, possessions, pleasure -- has a way of trickling out of your hands.

The chase for God can never stop, because you feel you have found Him, you will want to stop. But if you rest too long, He will begin to slip away from your grasp because you stopped. Our faith isn't an event -- its a lifetime of understanding and exploration of His nature.

But while we are chasing, a funny thing happens -- He is right there with us even though we are seeking Him.

Jesus said "knock and the door will open." The original language says "keep on knocking." It doesn't stop.

So let the chase begin!

"All of this is meaningless, a chasing after the wind."

Ecclessiastes

Love Your Enemies -- all of them

“But I tell you, love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you…”
Matthew 5:44 (NIV)

Sometimes I read this passage from the Sermon on the Mount and I think, “Has Jesus met some of the people I work with?” "Has he met my brother, my neighbor or any of the other characters in my life?"

This is perhaps the hardest command to follow.

Jesus taught us and expects us to pray for our attackers, to lift up our critics and to love our enemies – because as Christians we’re supposed to be different, completely transformed and made new by Jesus’ saving grace.

Throughout the Passion, Jesus Christ prayed for the forgiveness of his enemies “for they know not what they do.” If Jesus could pray for his murderers as He was saving mankind from its sinful existence and marching towards his death on Golgotha, then what can we do to pray for the foes we face in our daily lives?

Why are we surprised when worldly people act worldly?

What do you think?

Does compassion have limits?

Image via Wikipedia

"When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things". -- Mark 6:34

You’ve seen the signs:

• “Veteran. Anything helps”
• “Out of work. God Bless”
• “Hungry and cold. Thank you.

You know the people. Friends, family, neighbors or coworkers, who have had a bad run of luck. Medical bills. Cars that never run. Jobs that never seem to last. Nothing goes their way …ever.

You also know the Scriptures, Jesus was moved by the poor, by the defenseless, the hopeless.

They are everywhere. They aren’t just sleeping in the parks or panhandling on the overpass. They might just be in the cubicle next to you – a person so racked by the challenges of the day that they are just one day from giving up.

You may have given of yourself in the past, and then pulled back, frustrated by the lack of initiative or progress or gratefulness. You may be convinced that care is for the government or the state or the church. Maybe there is someone else you hope will step in.

Does compassion have limits? You may be the one who needs a touch. You may be burned out. Is it okay to quit caring?

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Submission to incompetence

The Union Army conjured up a masterful strategy to inflict a serious blow on the Confederate soldiers at Petersburg, VA. The idea was to tunnel into the Confederate defensive trench system and detonate a huge quantity of explosive. This would expose the trenches and allow the soldiers to override the confederates.

A five-hundred foot tunnel was dug and the explosives detonated, producing a hole of 135 feet across. A brigade of troops was sent into the crater to flush out any soldiers. But the troops weren’t briefed, so they milled around at the bottom of the hole waiting for orders. The orders never came, because the man in charge of this part of the operation, General James Ledlie was in his tent, drunk. He had been selected by General Ambrose Burnside to lead this operation -- by a cast of lots.

No ladders were provided to the soldiers to climb out of the trench and fan into the trenches. Sure enough, the Confederate soldiers regrouped and found easy targets. 5,300 Union soldiers were killed or wounded at the bottom of that crater.

What was a great plan was destroyed in the execution. The generals didn’t see the plan through to the troops. It looked great on paper, but they weren’t given the full picture or the tools.

General James Ledlie

You are probably formulating how this applies to your life – perhaps your workplace. As soldiers, we are often left to the enemy and have no choice. We weren’t told the plan and we yet we have to suffer the consequences.

How does the Red Letter Believer react when others are sending us to what seems destructive? Power is greatly abused in our fallen world. We are to submit to our authorities, and yet we are to be wise. We have been given insight into a whole world of understanding. Do we sit on our hands in blind obedience? Where is the balance? What do you think?

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Would you walk away?

A frank talk about loyalty.

Zappos, the online shoe seller, expects to generate sales of more than $1 billion this year. That's a lot of shoes.

Besides their metoric growth, they are also turning heads with their unique new-hire program. After the first week or so of intense training, they utilize what they call "The Offer."

It goes something like this: "If you quit today, we will pay you for the amount of time you've worked, plus we will offer you a $1,000 bonus."

They are bribing their employees to quit. They figure, if you are willing to give up a career for two weeks worth of salary, it's obvious you don't have the sense of commitment they are looking for. They actually come out ahead to get rid of you now, rather than live through years of disloyalty, lack of productivity and insolence. "Take your bad self out of here!"

It's an ingenious way to weed out the weak. And about ten percent of new hires take the money and run.

The question brings it home. Would you walk away from your situation? And what would it take?

Loyalty is a trait that is in short supply these days. Companies are not loyal to their employees -- as evidenced by mergers, acquisitions, and mass layoffs of seasoned career workers. And loyaty to the employer is equally rare, as most would jump to another company if offered more money or better benefits.

The Harvard Business School says this, "Today, workers not only don't expect to work for decades on end for the same company, but they don't want to."

Where does that put you, the Red Letter Believer, who wants to do as Christ commands? Judas sold out his Master for 30 pieces of silver. Peter turned his back. The hoards of followers left. Jesus knows all about disloyalty. "Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me."

But how do we modernize the ancient call to be true to our calling -- especially to our employer?

Are we called to undying loyalty, or is their a better way? Comment here.

The optimist's guide to pessimism

If you are pessimist by nature, you've got to be feeling a little smug right now. Economic collapse. Moral decline. Unemployement. Rampant corruption.

"I told you so!"

Getting some people to see any glimmer is nearly impossible. They have the uncanny ability to stare down the brightest light until they force it to go dark.

But, if we are honest, we all take some comfort in our grumblings. We revel in our mumblings. We willingly drag our feet and become slaves to the steady, droll drumbeat of an apathetic world. It takes zero work to look at the dark side of situations.

The Bible has something to say about this. And of course, it comes down on the side of having the right attitude. After all, that's why it's been called "the Good News."

"Whatever you do in word or deed, do it as unto the Lord," Col 3.23

Unsettling? Try downright frightening for some of us. To live and speak everything for God's glory punctures a hole in the Bad Ship Lollipop. It sinks the comfortable, negative world I live in. It suddenly changes the world view away from me and my cranky attitude.

There's plenty to occupy the mind of the pessimist. Bleak economy. Bad news. War. Kids who don’t respect others. Heavy traffic. Indigestion. Post nasal drip. You name it – and it’s happening in very real ways.

"Be positive? How?"

It starts with a different vision – a way to see things that are unseen. To see this world through the Father's eyes.

"God, all I see is the darkness!"

It means finding good in the bad, hope out of the hopeless, and blessings out of brokenness.

“Lord, help me find meaning.”

Got a comment, In all the ugliness around us, how do you find beauty? Please comment here.

As Randy Kilgore says, “you were made to matter.” You are not on a cosmic path toward irrelevancy. Being somebody with destiny, with purpose and with optimism, will help you begin to change your drudgery to delight.

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Judging God, part 3

(see part 1 and 2 for the set up for this post)

The Hollywood God is an elderly gentleman who smiles at us, pats us on the back, and gives us our allowance. He doesn’t ask for anything in return.

We judge God. We presume who is should be. When He doesn't meet up to our expectations of what He should do, we judge Him. When He doesn't act like we think He should, we turn our backs on Him. we throw our hands up in disbelief – and retreat to the skeptic’s corner. We do our own thing.

We have a preconceived notion of his nature.

No wonder when we read the Bible we squirm when we see God also hates. God judges. God divides. God destroys.

In Joshua 10.11 we are treated to God hurling hailstones on the Amorites as they were pursued by the Israelites. In other instances He unleashed plagues and death and destruction.

And this isn’t just an Old Testament God. To think He is all about love is just wrong. He is righting wrongs in ways we simply don’t think imaginable.

What is your opinion of God? Where did you get it from? Is it accurate? What do you think God should be doing today?

Comment here.

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Judging God, Part 2

"God is Good.'
"God is Love"
"God is Light"

You've heard these expressions from the time you were a wee child. From these images, we've imagined the Almighty as the grandfather we never had.

No wonder, when asked about eternity, eight out of 10 Americans will answer that God will reward them for being good.

"He wouldn't send me to Hell, would He?"
"I'm basically good."
"I don't try to be bad."
"Inside, I'm pretty decent."

And so on the deceit continues.

But we cannot let our view of what God should be, often garnered from Hollywood, interfere with who God is.

The Hollywood God is an elderly gentleman who smiles at us, pats us on the back, and gives us our allowance. He doesn’t ask for anything in return.

What does your God look like? Comment here.

Read part 1 of this series here. Read part 3 tomorrow.

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Judging God, Part 1

It’s amazing how many people want to second-guess God.

You’ve heard them. In fact, you’ve probably mouthed some of these things yourself.

“If I was God:

• “I could cure cancer.”


• “I would bring that little boy back to his family.”


• “I would stop all the senseless wars.”


• “I would stop religions from fighting.”


• “I would stop AIDS.”


• “I would end poverty.”

All of these things are worthy things to ask God to intervene. After all, a child’s death seems so meaningless. A widow without heat on a cold winter’s day is beyond sad. A mother who doesn’t get enough nutrition to even nurse her baby is inexcusable. We want to right all of these wrongs, and we think if we had supernatural abilities, we would do it.

After all, God is good, right? He is love and light and everything good. He knows all. He sees all. He has all power. God has all of these abilities to right the wrong. Certainly, He could, so why doesn’t He? At least that's way we reason.....

What do you think? Comment here.

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Read the rest of the story is in Part 2, tomorrow.

Thanks to Sarcasticon for inspiration for this series.