Maturity. What do you think of when asked what it means to be a mature person? What does maturity look like and how do we obtain it? The answers I get from the world around me are usually based on social observation. A mature person is a person of wisdom who doesn't get rattled in the midst of turmoil. It's a person who remains calm and unflappable even when the worst of insults are thrown his way. He is quick to listen and slow to give opinion. He is eager to learn what makes people tick…

What can we realistically accomplish in a lifetime? What is the extent and the limitation of human ability? While we may act it out in terms of wealth, wisdom, work and pleasure, what does it really mean to be human? Then physically, how fast, how high, how long and how far can a body go and endure? Intellectually, how much can we progress? Emotionally, how deep can one feel, share, be open and learn? Spiritually, do we ever reach the edge of probing the unseen, the attitudes and spirits…

If you want a clear picture of what true, complete and ultimate faith looks like, think Jesus. Everyday of His life, His mind, His heart and Spirit was living for His Father. His heart, mind and Spirit were in His Father. He was the temple of faith for His Father. His mind, His heart and His Spirit were submitted in obedience to His Father’s will. His mind was the Holy Place and His heart was the Holy of Holies. His Spirit moved within to energize the Word in Him.

It is that picture…

Jesus was asked, “What must we do to do the works God requires (Jn.6:28)?”

When we hear that question asked it should immediately record insights into human nature. We want a sure thing whenever we are faced with a making a decision. We’re looking for a formula. We’re not satisfied with where we are or even who we are. There’s no certainty or security. This is what echoes across the centuries, “Given our wilderness conditions, the political situation, the hypocrisy of leadership, our…

There’s nothing worse than being ‘on the outs’ with someone or a group. Everyone wants to be ‘in’ or at least ‘on the in.’ There’s ‘the in group,’ ‘the inner circle,’ ‘inside info,’ ‘insider trading,’ and ‘in the know.’ All it takes is an ‘in’vitation. It’s all ‘in’ who you know. Someone mentioned recently that they had sent their resume to multiple places, a resume loaded with expertise. Ultimately it didn’t make any difference because the available slots were filled by people, most of whom…

“On the Road again -

Just can't wait to get on the road again.

The life I love is making music with my friends

And I can't wait to get on the road again.

On the road again

Goin' places that I've never been.

Seein' things that I may never see again

And I can't wait to get on the road again.

On the road again -

Like a band of gypsies we go down the highway

We're the best of friends.

Insisting that the world keep turning our…

“On the Road again -

Just can't wait to get on the road again.

The life I love is making music with my friends

And I can't wait to get on the road again.

On the road again

Goin' places that I've never been.

Seein' things that I may never see again

And I can't wait to get on the road again.

On the road again -

Like a band of gypsies we go down the highway

We're…

For This Reason 29

Willie Nelson wrote and sings a song that just might well be called his personal anthem, “On The Road Again.” Look at the words. It could really be our personal anthem as disciples of Jesus.

On the Road again -

Just can't wait to get on the road again.

The life I love is making music with my friends

And I can't wait to get on the road again.

On the road again

Goin' places that I've never been.

Seein' things that I may never see…

For This Reason 28

When Paul says “You must no longer live as the Gentiles do in the futility of their thinking (Eph.4:17)” he is addressing the wide gulf that exists between faith and non-faith. There are many we run into in our everyday world who are in either a no-Christ or semi-Christ condition.

This is far more common place than you may think so we need to be spiritually alert in our casual encounters which just, by the way, may happen to be God’s work given to us as an…

When I get up in the morning to jog it’s really dark outside. Although I live in a gated community where there is little traffic that early a few cars move about so I wear a reflector vest. It enables the headlights of oncoming traffic to show there’s a moving person in it. Highway constructions sites require workers to wear reflector vests for the same reason. If you transfer that image into what it means to be a disciple of Jesus we are images of God created to reflect Him. We are in a…

When I became a Christian I became a conscious disciple of the Lord Jesus. It was not just the gift of reason that got me there. It was more than logical acknowledgment of the historical Jesus and His sublime character and effect on civilization. It was more than being involved in the institutional church, its creeds, services and theology. Lots of people have those things. I had all that but it wasn’t enough. I was itching spiritually but unable to scratch. It was the gift of the Holy…

I know I’ve mentioned this before but have you ever been in a conversation and a tough question was asked and you didn’t have a ready answer? Perhaps you were trying to explain why you believed in Jesus but they just wanted to put you on the defensive so they could arouse your emotions to prove that you were wrong. Or maybe they were just feeling you out by the question. They had another deeper question about their own spirituality that was lurking in the background but really probing you to…

One of my projects as a novice sixteen year old worker trying to earn some money to continue my road travels was to climb up on a two story roof in the Hamptons on Long Island, N.Y. to replace some loose shingles. To get there I had to use an extension ladder and place it beneath the gutter, swing my leg over it and pull myself up on the roof. It was precarious to say the least but I did it, hauled some shingles up by rope and got the job done. However, what I didn’t count on was getting…

For This Reason 23

Depending on the age you live in you can read part of a culture’s relational influence through its music. I had a mixture of Scandinavian, American country, classical and romantic ballads. In my early years radio and a 78rpm record player were the media for home entertainment. Movies were second about once every two weeks. The 1930’s, 40’s, 50’s and early 60’s marked the ‘Golden Age’ when baritone crooners reigned. Songs by the likes of Bing Crosby, Perry Como, Dick…

Truth arrives in signature packages. What leads one into a profession? Those two thoughts, seemingly unconnected, one a statement the other a question, describe the opened ended experience of determining what we do with our lives. It’s very possible that you find other statements and questions to explain how you got where you are. One thing is for sure both truth and question huddle in heart and mind pushing us to articulate personal meaning and purpose.

Signature packages are those…

In the last writing I made a big noise about sin. It rides on the back of every moment we are in this world. I think of the statue of Atlas stooped over on one knee with the sky in the shape of an orb on his back. In Greek mythology he was the one condemned to hold the earth and sky apart. If you carry that image into what it meant for the Greeks, the earth is where we are in physical reality, our self-conscious present moment. The sky is the space of thought as endless eternity. From a…

A good rabbi friend said to me once, “Wherever you find two Jews you will find three opinions.” Of course I laughed and we talked on about that. But it led into a deeper foray on his part when we got to the discussion about Jewish conversion to being Christians. He asked “Why can’t Jesus just be accepted as the Christian Messiah?” In other words, leave Jews alone. You know those moments when you don’t have a ready answer? Well that was one of those moments because all kinds of ideas were…

Many years ago at Christmas it was a big deal for a child to get an electric train. I got a Lionel. It was a small one but it was my treasure. I loved going to the department store and watching where there was a huge set-up with bridges and tunnels and lots of tracks. I thought about adding tracks little by little to mine. I had a chance to visit two people who had their whole attic converted into a railroad heaven. I loved trains. I loved riding on trains. I still wave at the engineer when…

For This Reason 19

Ephesians introduced the idea of bringing two contrasts together in Christ. This is just a return to keep us in the Word as Paul was inspired to write it and to see the implications that come from it. The following is an overview to keep us focused on what God has accomplished in Jesus.

Before, when we talked about different kinds of bipolarity, we mentioned spiritual and physical distinctives. Now we need to look at the spiritual bipolar dimensions of God’s…

Parental influence is a big deal. It can also be a bipolar nightmare. How you were trained as a child will many times determine what kind of social environment you will choose to overcome your feeling of isolation. Parental attitudes toward children can really affect their unique ways of adapting to their surroundings. If you had an easy going father or a stern father, a manipulative mother or a caring mother, the single parent and the kind of father one country singer describes as “The…