What's Your Global Position?

A man walks into a gas station and asks for directions...

Okay, okay... that must be the beginning of a bad joke but I after this past week's experience I couldn't help but open with it.

You see, my best friend asked me to both officiate and be the best man in his wedding which was on St Patrick's Day. Chuck (who has guest posted for me) and I have been friends for well over 30 years. We have built and destroyed our fair share of small projects and have a great appreciation for cool technology.

When Chuck moved here from Arizona he journeyed with his very own brand new GPS. I can't lie, I wanted one. But, because I normally have a pretty good sense of direction and have learned to use Google Maps I had yet to justify the cost. Well, this past Christmas my wife bought me my very own GPS. Now, Chuck and I were both able to navigate to Florida for the wedding with ease!

Like Chuck, I have been most amazed with how quickly I have gotten used to relying on this simple little device. For me, the past few months have created a new dependency on my GPS.

What creates our dependency on these little devices?

- Short notice, convenient directions

- Reliability

- Ease of use

- Ability to find local Points of Interest even when we aren't sure what we're looking for

- Ability to find the closest gas station on the fly (of course that won't help if I don't fill up soon enough)

- Voice navigation

- Blue tooth capability

- Availability of International maps

Ultimately, all of these features, and their benefit to us, build a sense of trust in a little electronic device that can tell us where in the world we are.

This past weekend Chuck and I were reminded of how dangerous it is to trust in our GPS units. Being the kind of guy that will give the shirt off his back for you Chuck loaned his GPS to a friend while in FL for the wedding. It wasn't until Chuck and his new Bride departed Florida to start their new life together that he realized that he had not gotten the unit back from our friend. DOH! Shortly after this realization I was reading a text message from him... I'm sure you can imagine his sense of frustration.

Psalm 20:7 reminds us that while some may trust in earthly things, we should be trusting in the Name of our Lord.

If you own a GPS unit you probably have experienced getting lost even with its high percentage of reliability. Yet, why is it so much harder for us to rely on God for direction in life? Why is it so hard for us to trust the One who is ever faithful even though we think we know the best route?

What things have you grown to trust that have drawn you away from putting your full trust in God's faithfulness? What steps are you taking to rely on God for your global position?

True Love

As I sit here on the eve of Valentine's Day I am reminded of 1 Corinthians 13:1-13. While I'm not a fan of "Hallmark" holidays I am grateful to have a formal reminder of true love.

Do you have people in your life that seem to simply be noise makers? You know who I mean, the person who always seems to have an answer for everything, the person who doesn't seem to ever really be present even though they are standing in front of you. If we are really honest with ourselves we will have to admit that you and I have been that person. Perhaps it has been with your spouse, girlfriend, boyfriend, mother, father, child, or even a coworker or employee. But how do we change? What's really wrong?

I would submit to you that we have lost sight of what True Love is.

So let's take a quick look back to 1 Corinthians 13. What do you see? Read it one more time but this time slow down while you read 1 Cor 13:4-7. Before we lift that finger we were about to point just a moment ago let's evaluate ourselves against what Love is not.

Those verses say that Love does not envy, does not boast, is not proud, is not rude, not self-seeking, not easily angered, keeps no record of wrongs, and doesn't delight in evil. Although I can't speak for you, I know I've been guilty of some, most or perhaps all of those at some point in my life. It makes me wonder how often I sounded like a clanging cymbal--a mere noise maker.

But the greater contrast is what Love IS. Love is patient, kind, protects, trusts, hopes and always perseveres. Can you imagine what it would be like to be loved in that way? How different would your life be if you were loved with patience despite your flaws, treated kindly even though you have moments of selfishness, and perpetually trusted with hope even though you have previously failed. My guess is that you would feel like you were on the top of the world, that you could do anything--without fear.

I think that many of us hold back living in true love because we are afraid. Afraid of what? Afraid that we will not be loved in this way because we know how hard it is to love in this way. But we must remember that this is exactly how Christ loves us. 1 John 4:18 reminds us that "perfect loves casts out fear." If you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ you are loved perfectly! You are loved with a love that perseveres even when you fail.

So what do we do with this knowledge? I believe we need to learn to accept the love of God and abide in Him in such a way that His perfect love fills and flows through us till it overflows out of our lives into the lives of those who need to experience a love like this. Imagine how different your community would be if we allowed Christ to infect our lives with this perfected love! Imagine what would happen as we love those around us as best we humanly can as He loves us.

Now we have a choice to make. Will we be a clanging cymbal merely making noise or will we choose to model Christ's love that casts fear. Perhaps this Valentine's Day you will think twice about that lovely box of chocolates and take a step toward the One who loves perfectly.

Are You a Mile-Marker?

Every generation seems to have significant mile markers that impact and, at times, define them. My generation has been impacted by major events from the war on drugs to the global war on terror, from the Berlin wall to Tiananmen Square, from Operation Enduring Freedom to Operation Iraqi Freedom, and from the shuttle Challenger to the events of 9/11.

As I write this I am reminded that I will never forget my experience on September 11, 2001. I will never forget standing on my back porch overlooking the New York City skyline filled with smoke as I watched the second tower fall. I will never forget the moments that followed as I learned of the impact on family, neighbors, friends and classmates who were in those towers. I will never forget the stories of those who stepped up and were called “heroes.” I will never forget.

Today, honored to humbly serve my country as a Chaplain and officer in the USAF, I strive to uphold the Air Force core values of “Integrity First, Service Before Self, and Excellence In All We Do”. What I love about the Air Force core values is that they also uphold the spiritual truths that are found within the Scriptures. In particular, the central core value of service reminds me of Matthew 20:28; “for even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and give his life as a ransom for many.”

If you have accepted Christ as the leader of your life, you have a great responsibility to prepare now for the opportunities that you will be presented with. His desire for you is that you live an “abundant life” (John 10:10) as you live out His mission to “Go into all the world” (Matt 28:18-20). The only way for us to truly live this abundant life and fulfill His mission is to be groomed and fed by the Giver of Life as we abide in Him (John 15:1-11). The question now is, how will you respond?

You see, having accepted Christ we have been given the greatest gift of all. Just like the countless men and women who have stepped up to serve in moments of crisis, even at times gave their life, we too need to be prepared for the moments that will be presented to us. At times, they may not seem like acts of heroism but I would challenge you to think about what role you play in someone’s eternal journey. How will you affect someone today? What value are you adding to their life? How are you serving in response to The One who came to serve you? What legacy will you leave behind? How, and why, will you accomplish this?

Warren G Harding said, “I accept my part with single-mindedness of purpose and humility of spirit, and implore the favor and guidance of God in His Heaven.” My prayer is that we will be able to respond to the salvation we have been given in such a way that we too can be mile-markers in the lives of those we come in contact with. Moreover, that we would infect the world with His grace, as we become more like the Servant who placed a mile-marker for us on the Cross.

Calm Haste

In The Journal of the Reverend John Wesley, Wesley wrote,

"Though I am always in haste, I am never in a hurry; because I undertake more work than I can go through with perfect calmness."


I sit here tonight having just finished submitting my final assignment for my homiletics class as well as completing the last of my discussion boards for both my homiletics and small group ministry classes. Now, I await my final grades.

Right now it seems that I'm in the calm between the storms as one school term has ended and another will begin next Monday. For me, life is always busy. Nearly every day someone inevitably walks up to my desk at work and starts by asking, "Hey boss, are you busy?" If I am at my best, I actually stop what I'm doing to pick my head up and respond properly. Most of the time I am in need of being reminded of Wesley's words above. More importantly however, I need to be reminded of Psalm 46:10, "Be still and know that I am God."

What this boils down to is time management and yet, greater still, reliance upon God. Being a motivated and driven person I can empathize with Wesley's attitude of haste. Yet his haste is not hurried or frantic. I see this as a call to greater growth and high productivity while maintaining a calm spirit as we strive to fulfill our calling.

Do you know that to which God has called you? Yes?

Together, may we move forward with calm haste as we fulfill His calling for our lives.