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Thursday, February 13th, 2025
Everyone needs a pick-me-up from time to time. Whether it be a kind word or an arm around the shoulder or a heartfelt handshake or a hug, sometimes ya just need one. You know?
Church people are no different. Unless they are wired cockeyed, no one wants to come on Sunday to be screamed and yelled at and made to feel worse than when they arrived. Even when the topic of sin is preached on it can be done in such a way that people aren’t made to feel lower than a snake. I believe it was D.L. Moody who once said,
“No preacher should preach on hell without tears in his eyes.”
That is my philosophy. I am not a screamer and a yeller from the pulpit. I don’t even do that at ballgames, let alone from the pulpit. It accomplishes absolutely NOTHING, except making people feel really bad.
So I began the practice of leaving them with a Scripture. I got tired of finishing preaching, praying, then saying, “Have a good week!” That is when I hit on the idea (with a little help from a book I was reading at the time) to close with the time-long-gone-by-tradition of a benediction. But not just from my lips. I pray, then have the congregation read it along with me from the screen in front of them. The most common one I use is from Numbers 6:24-26 (It was in our Scripture reading from Everyday Gospel Devotional for today). This is from the New Living Translation:
May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord show you His favor and give you His peace.
After we have all said that passage, I simply look at them and say, “Thanks for being with us today. Go with Him this week” or something to that effect. It gives people something to remember, something to identify with, and hopefully, something to carry with them during the week. The original passage was given to Moses to pass along to Aaron in order to bless the people.
May I encourage you to repeat that Scripture to yourself before you walk out your door or begin your work day? May you be blessed today with the awareness of His presence in all you do.
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Tags: Benediction, Blessing, Christian Living, Friendship, God's Word, Grace, Kindness, Lifestyle, Mercy, Ministry, Opinion, Reflection, Scripture look
Wednesday, February 12th, 2025
One of the essentials of any leadership team is the element of trust. If the CEO or pastor or whatever title is given does not have the trust of those under his watch and care, the business/church/entity will go nowhere. Stagnation is the result. Likewise the other way. If the main leader cannot trust those under his watch to do what they are supposed to do and work as a team, the entity will falter.
I have been devouring books by Jon Gordon, Patrick Lencioni and James Hunter since the first of the year. I want to be the best leader I can be as the pastor of the church, but know there are some serious blanks in my abilities. Along with that, at the age of 72 I need to work on a succession plan (and have been). None of us will live forever-including Bryan Johnson, the centimillionaire tech entrepreneur who has that as his goal-so I need to have a plan in place. Frankly, I need to “shore up” my leadership skills to be better prepared to lead and to hand off my role here.
But the question which haunts me and should every leader (and maybe all of us to some extent) is Why? Why am I doing what I am doing? Patrick Lencioni has written a leadership fable called The Motive and I have yet to dive into Simon Sinek’s book Start with Why, but Lencioni writes, “At the fundamental level, there are only two motives that drive people to become a leader. First, they want to serve others. Two, they want to be rewarded.” (Edited for space-found on page 131) When you think about it those really are the two reasons why we do what we do. It comes down to this question: do I want to benefit someone else or do I want to benefit myself? Do I want to make another person’s life richer or do I want to promote myself to enrich the only one who matters…me?
I don’t want to belabor this point but want to simply ask one question: as you go through your day today, who are you looking out for? Whose life will be made richer by your presence and an interaction with you? You or another person? I was deeply moved by a book I would like to recommend to you on this topic: The Hard Hat by Jon Gordon. It set me back on my heels as it talked about a lasting legacy.
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Tags: Choices, Christian Living, Church, Humility, Leadership, Ministry, Motive, Opinion, Reflection, Story
Tuesday, February 11th, 2025
“You matter to us because you matter to God.”
That was the mantra of what has become known as the “Attractional” church. Or perhaps you have heard it called “The Purpose-Driven Church.” On the surface that sounds really good. And it is. But as time moved on it morphed into a mantra that began to signal some really strange practices. Churches began to replace hymns and truly good worship songs with contemporary “secular” songs with veiled meaning. Some lyrics were changed into really bad songs. I read of one church that did “Highway to Hell” by AC/DC as an opening song for their Easter service. Seriously? I have to admit that when I read that I about spit out my Diet Dr Pepper. While many have abandoned that “all things are a go” approach, they graduated to some really bad songs with horrible doctrinal errors.
Back to my original words and off the rabbit trail… 🙂
On the surface, that statement is true. People should matter to us because they do matter to God. We could point to the cross for proof. Or, strangely enough, we could point to Numbers 1-2. “Are you kidding me Bill? Have you ever read Numbers 1-2?” As a matter of fact, I have and did again this morning. Only this time I approached it differently. Thanks to Paul David Tripp’s devotion for today in his Everyday Gospel Devotional, he brought several ideas to the forefront. He began by writing, “On the surface these accounts seem like unneeded historical detail, not very interesting, and easily forgotten. But the apostle Paul says that they are in your Bible for your spiritual maturation and readiness.” (p.52) I took those words to heart as I read this morning. I underlined what Moses wrote in chapter 2 about where each tribe was to be in the order of moving from place to place. (Check out verses 9, 16, 24 and 31. Verse 17 shows us the Tabernacle was put between the second and third group).
God was orderly and efficient. The inclusion of these two chapters was not just willy nilly filler space. I borrow again from PDT when he writes, “It reminds us of the intimate and specific care God has for His people.” And there you have that opening statement statement in a different way. God chose His people and ordered the numbering of his people (especially the warriors) for a specific reason.
If He took that much detail in numbering and giving His people specific places to be, imagine how concerned He is about you and me. Kind of makes your day doesn’t it? 🙂
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Tags: Christian Living, Church, God, God's order, Identity, Jesus, Leadership, Love, Ministry, Opinion, Reflection, Story
Monday, February 10th, 2025
Finally it’s over! Now we can get onto the sports that really matters (at least to some): Spring Training and baseball!! 🙂 I have a daughter who would most certainly agree with me.
Actually, I really don’t care what sport it is as long as it is not the NBA. WNBA. NFL. Soccer. College football. NHL. UFC. Or the others with initials. I follow the Pittsburgh Pirates, but I’m not a rabid fan, so even that takes second place (or wherever the Pirates find themselves at the time). I used to follow professional cycling until blood doping became a major scandal. I am not a prophet but I can only see more danger ahead for players and non-players due to the “licensed” betting which is now being allowed. I see no good thing coming out of that, only heartache for players, people and families. I have never placed a bet in my life and have no desire to. Shoot, I’ve never even bought a lottery ticket. I certainly have no plans to start going down that road at the age of 72.
Why am I so cynical when I’m not normally that way? I’m glad you asked! 🙂 I guess it is because there are so many more important things to do and to like and to allow to occupy my time. As I’ve just said, I see nothing but heartache in the future. Plus, and this is a big plus, I used to spend so much time eating and breathing sports, especially basketball, that I got “lost” along the way. I have two adult daughters who are obviously on their own. I have a grandson who will be attending THE Ohio State University (according to the pundits) in the fall.
What flashes before my eyes is what am I leaving behind? What is my legacy? They aren’t going to stand at my grave and say, “Thanks Dad for being a sports fanatic.” “Thanks grandpa for being a Pirate fan (he is a Reds fan).” 🙂 My wife of almost 52 years this June will not say, “Thanks Bill for loving sports so much you watched all the games.” What I want them to remember is that I loved them, made time for them, laughed with them, cried with them, celebrated with them, and chose them over sports or money. You see…I was made to bless others. You were made to bless others. God blessed me and He blessed you not for my or your own good but because He can then use me or you to bless others. I’m reminded of Micah 6:8-“This is what the Lord requires of you: to do what is right (to do justice), to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God.” What a much more meaningful legacy to leave! I applaud each athlete who competes according to the rules, but their greater legacy is not whether they were the GOAT, but whose life was changed for the good because of their influence.
That is a true legacy worth thinking and talking about.
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Tags: Christian Living, Generosity, Humility, Kindness, Leadership, Legacy, Lifestyle, Love, Ministry, Opinion, Reflection, Story
Thursday, February 6th, 2025
“God gained another angel.”
What a horrible, horrible and cold-hearted way to respond to someone who has lost a loved one, especially a child! Those were our sentiments last night.
Let me explain: on Wednesday night I have what I call Wednesday Night Conversations. It’s just a gathering of whoever wants to come and sit around and discuss issues and try to find Biblical answers to those issues. I am using 9 Common Lies Christians Believe by Shane Pruitt as my basis for the conversations. The previous conversation was “God won’t give you more than you can handle.” Last night’s was “God gained another angel.”
We will often hear that statement used during a funeral, especially by people who are trying to find something to say to parents who lost a child. I know those who say those words are only trying to be helpful and sympathetic, but it simply is not true. And to be brutally honest, the ones who lost that child or that loved one DO NOT want to hear that God wanted their child more than they did. I have stood beside parents whose child passed away or was stillborn or miscarried after month’s inside the mother’s womb and those are not words they want to hear. At those times the only words I found to say was “I’m sorry and if I could take away your pain I would.” More often than not all I could offer was an arm around the shoulder or a shoulder to cry on or a chest to beat on if they wanted to.
Many people have this misguided idea that we become angels when we die. Or a butterfly (or some other tangible expression) to show they are with us. Without getting into too much detail, angels are a whole ‘nother discussion when it comes to who is who and what is what. Hebrews 1:14 tells us angels are servants whose role is to care for people who will inherit salvation. Angels are God’s messengers. They are God’s protectors of His people (Dan. 6:22). They are created to worship God (Is. 6:3). They are God’s warriors (2 Kings 19:35). As great as angels are, God did not send His Son to die for them. God so loved humans he came as a human to die for humans. (And we don’t get wings)
So…what do you say to someone while standing at a casket or graveside? Sometimes absolutely nothing. Don’t even say, “Call me if you need something.” Most won’t, but one of the ladies made a great suggestion. She lost her husband suddenly and she now visits to show her love and sympathy but then a short while later will call that person and say, “I have been thinking of you. Let’s grab lunch today or tomorrow (set a specific time).” Sometimes the best thing to do is to cry with them or let them cry. Don’t judge. Don’t tell them they will get over it or need to get over it. And please, don’t tell them “God gained another angel.”
Posted in InTheShadow | 8 Responses »
Tags: Death, Empathy, Friendship, God, Grace, Kindness, Love, Ministry, Opinion, Reflection, Scripture look, Suffering, Sympathy
Tuesday, February 4th, 2025
As I read this morning from Leviticus 11-13 during my reading through the Bible, I kept wanting to either skip past some things or to simply say, “I read this” and close my Bible. After all, no one is checking up on me. Right? I mean, who would know? Well…you know the answer to that question. 🙂
Now…in case you are not in the “read-the-Bible” mode, I’ll just tell you that Leviticus is part of a mind-numbing section of Scripture where rules, laws, and stipulations are laid down for the people to follow. I recently had someone ask me, “How in the world could they remember all of those laws and ‘eat this and don’t eat this’ or ‘don’t touch this'”? That’s a great point! The answer is: I don’t know. Leviticus 11-13 is about what they can and cannot eat, touch or get near. It is about skin diseases and what is clean and unclean and how long to be in quarantine and when to get out. See why I was looking for a way out?
Then I went back and read a couple of sentences I highlighted in Paul David Tripp’s Everyday Gospel Devotional.
“By the loving miracle of God’s grace, unclean hearts are made new and pure.” (p.42)
“Although the laws surrounding leprosy had to do with God’s lovingly and wisely protecting his people from a deadly infection, they also point to something profoundly deeper. Sin is the ultimate infection. No one escapes this disease. {My note: Romans 3:23 shows us that}. It separates us all from our Maker. It cries out for the ultimate cure, one only the Messiah can provide.” (p.43)
Psalm 69:5-6 is rather poignant: “O God, you know how foolish I am; my sins cannot be hidden from you. Don’t let those who trust in you be ashamed because of me. O Sovereign Lord of Heaven’s Armies, Don’t let me cause them to be humiliated, O God of Israel.” (NLT) What a difference our lives would make if that verse was a daily prayer. The stain of sin won’t just go away. We can’t wish it away, hope it away, dream it away, fantasize it away, speak it away, sleep it away, or pretend it away. It is humanly unremovable and can only be taken away by an act of grace. 2000+ years ago that act of grace was done on a hill outside Jerusalem.
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Tags: Choices, Forgiveness, God's Plan, Grace, Jesus, Ministry, Opinion, Reflection, Sin, Story, Surrender
Thursday, January 30th, 2025
One of the more frequent comments I hear is “I don’t have any special gifts or talents.” People often feel like they don’t have much to offer if the gift or talent is not something big. I’m sure you know how that goes: “I can’t do what so-and-so does, so what do I have to offer?” The comparison game is an unwinnable game to play or at least it seems to go on forever like Monopoly or Risk or some other seemingly forever game. We will never measure up (in our eyes) to that other person.
The Bible tells us that God has given each of us a gift or gifts to use to build up the Body of Christ, the church. Some of those gifts stand out; some are behind the scenes. Just FYI: a gift and a talent are different. A talent is something the seemingly comes fairly natural or can be developed, whereas a gift is something given by God to be used for a specific reason. But whether we are talking gift or talent it is to be used not kept to oneself.
I was struck by this as I read Exodus 36-38. Yes, it was sort of tedious because it involved the building of the Tabernacle and furniture for the Tabernacle according to God’s design. But what struck me were the opening words to chapter 36: “The Lord has gifted Bezalel, Oholiab, and the other skilled craftsmen with wisdom and ability to perform any task involved in building the sanctuary. Let them construct and furnish the Tabernacle, just as the Lord has commanded. So Moses summoned Bezalel and Oholiab and all the others who were specially gifted by the Lord and were eager to get to work.” (Verses 1-2)
I’d like to echo Paul David Tripp (January 30 from Everyday Gospel Devotional) as he makes two important points:
- We are told that God put skill in these men’s minds. What an incredible statement of the power and presence of God.
- It tells us that God not only gives gifts, but stirs up our hearts to use the gifts He has given.
Those two thoughts tell us that we have been given our creative ability by God, and two, we need to be thankful for the One who gave them. They have been given to us for a reason. Use them. Don’t hoard them.
{Note Scripture used is from the New Living Translation}
Today is Jo’s birthday. It would be bad form to tell you what number. 🙂 I am taking her to Ohio to see our grandson (and our daughter). 🙂 Please feel free to post a comment. I will approve it when I have a chance to do so. And please pray for a safe trip. We are both driving there and giving Jo’s car as an early graduation present to our grandson. It is an 8 year old car with 42k miles on it. It should serve him well as he graduates and heads off to college (which I am not allowed to reveal yet).
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Tags: Christian Living, Church, Generosity, Gifts, God, Leadership, Ministry, Opinion, Reflection, Scripture look, Story
Wednesday, January 29th, 2025
The year was 1969. The group was Blind Faith. One of the main members was a man whom you probably have heard of. At the time he was also one of the founding members of another well-known group from the era: Cream. His name was Eric Clapton. Cream was known for “In the white room with black curtains is a station.” By the way, did you know that was not a drug song or about a drug trip? It was a song about purity and innocence-no drugs, no Nam, and no trouble. Okay…circle back. Blind Faith recorded a song that was so strange at the time called Presence of the Lord. The final chorus had the following lyrics: “Everybody knows the secret/Everybody knows the score/I have finally found a place to live/Oh, in the presence of the Lord.” I’m not sure what was on Clapton’s mind or heart at the time. Perhaps he was figuring out the futility of the 60s kind of love. (As many of you may know Clapton again wondered about heaven and would his son know him in “Tears in Heaven.”)
My reading this morning was from Exodus 33-35 and its main them was the Presence of the Lord. At one point God told Moses He wanted him to go back up the mountain in order to receive the 10 Commandments again (Moses had smashed the original ones out of anger). I was struck by Moses’ requests from God. Here they are in a nutshell:
“Lord, let me know your ways so I may understand you more fully.” (33:13)
“Lord, guarantee your presence.” (33:16)
“Lord, show me Your glory.” (3318)
For each of these requests God has a favorable answer. He desires we seek Him. He desires that we know His ways in order to follow. He desires that we know His presence will always be there. And He desires that we seek/crave His presence.
Blind Faith (and Moses) had it right. The best place to be is in the presence of the Lord. I’m not naive to think we won’t have distractions today. But I also know those distractions do not and will not impact our day as deeply if we are living with the promise of God’s presence. Why not begin today…right now…by praying these three requests Moses made? I can’t and won’t promise you a pain-free or trouble-free day. But I can promise you God’s presence throughout the day. Stop right now and pray those three thoughts and then live today with them in mind.
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Tags: Choices, Christian Living, God, God's Presence, Ministry, Opinion, Reflection, Scripture look, Story
Wednesday, January 22nd, 2025
The #1 dysfunction of a team Patrick Lencioni says in his book The Five Dysfunctions of a Team is an absence of trust (p.43). I’ve been reading it the past two nights and had trouble finding a stopping point last night (but my early morning rising told me I needed to stop). 🙂 He goes on to write: “Trust is the foundation of real teamwork. And so the first dysfunction is a failure on the part of team members to understand and open up to one another. And if that sounds touchy-feely, let me explain, because there is nothing soft about it. It is an absolutely critical part of building a team. In fact, it’s probably the most critical.” (pp.43-44) To further emphasize its importance he goes on to write: “Great teams are honest with one another. They are unafraid to air their dirty laundry. They admit their mistakes, their weaknesses, and their concerns without fear of reprisal.” (p.44)
I suspect you may be thinking, “Bill, I don’t read this devotional to read about leadership from another book.” Please stick with me for a moment.
Our reading this morning was Exodus 13-15, the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt to crossing the Red Sea. But that whole scene was not without its drama. At the end of chapter 13 it says they were guided by a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. This allowed them to travel, it says, by day or night. But it wasn’t long until the Egyptian army, led by Pharaoh, decided they didn’t like the idea of the Israelites (their slaves) being gone. And so they pursued the Israelites. Soon, the people of Israel saw Pharaoh and his army approaching and were gripped with fear…and griping. I love Moses’ words to them: “Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today. The Egyptians you see today will never be seen again. The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.” (Ex. 14:13-14). In other words: T.R.U.S.T. If you know the story, God came through. He parted the Red Sea, a strong wind dried the sea bed and the Israelites walked through on dry ground. Meanwhile, the Egyptian army decided to follow and had all kinds of issues with their chariots. Once the people of Israel were on the other side, it was sayonara to the Egyptians. Exodus 15 is a song of praise and adoration to the God who saved them by His mighty power.
The people of Israel were a fickle bunch. Trust. Disbelief. Trust. Disbelief. You get the picture. It wasn’t long after they were complaining about water then a lack of food. Are they any different from many of us? A lack of trust comes into play two ways in the life of a follower of Jesus. First, failing to trust implicitly in the goodness and promised provision of God. Facing life with fear not faith. Second, failing to trust others to understand and help.
We don’t like to admit we may be dysfunctional. Seems to me the first line of defense is to admit we just might be and start trusting.
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Tags: Choices, Christian Living, Faith or Fear, Faith/Trust, Leadership, Lifestyle, Ministry, Opinion, Reflection
Tuesday, January 21st, 2025
“Man, that is one stubborn dude!”
Have you ever used those words? Have they ever been used about you? Trust me when I say they are not a compliment. Other ways to say that don’t lessen the impact. “Stubborn as a mule.” Aaaah yeah…highly complimentary. Pig-headed. Another highly complimentary phrase.
Of course there are those who consider being stubborn a compliment. I’m not sure why, except they will rationalize it by saying, “I stick by my guns.” “I have convictions and people know where I stand.” I beg to differ with that assessment. There is a difference between convictions based on truth and stubbornness based on personal opinion or belief.
The Bible is filled with stubborn people. Balaam is one. He is the one who had a donkey talk to him. His full story is found in Numbers 22-24. I’d say it is not a compliment when your donkey knows what is better than you do! There are also the kings who decided to do things their own way. How about Jonah who decided to forego a cruise to Ninevah for parts unknown? But I think one of the most stubborn people in the Bible is Pharaoh. My Bible reading for the Everyday Gospel Devotional has taken me from Exodus 7-12 the past two days. You may be familiar with the plagues that struck Egypt because of Pharaoh’s stubbornness: the Nile turned to blood, frogs, gnats, flies, death of livestock, boils, hail, locusts, darkness, and finally the death of the firstborn. It appears the Israelites were spared these plagues, especially the last one due to the Passover Meal. With blood on the doorpost and down the side of the door, the death angel passed over the household.
Back to Pharaoh. Talk about stubborn! After each plague he would tell Moses to take the people and get out of here but then would change his mind. Even when his advisors told him to let them go (after the plague of locusts) Pharaoh would not listen. The death of his firstborn son finally broke him. At least temporarily. His final act of stupidity…I mean, stubbornness…was chasing the people of Israel into the Red Sea which had parted for them but swallowed Pharaoh and his army.
Being stubborn is not a positive trait. That is especially true when it leads to being bull-headed and taking action which is not good. Standing by/for something that is not true or good. Being stubborn is an act of selfishness. Pharaoh could have saved himself and the people he ruled a lot of heartache and headache if he had not been so stubborn and listened to his advisors. We are often no different. Verse after verse in the Bible speaks of the stubbornness of the people. Deuteronomy. Jeremiah. Isaiah. And others. And we are not exempt either.
Humility. Kindness. Mercy. Love. Grace. They all keep stubbornness in check. It’s time…
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Tags: Choices, Christian Living, Grace, Humility, Kindness, Love, Mercy, Ministry, Opinion, Reflection