July 22

What to Do in Life?


I have seen that nothing is better than that man should be happy in his activities, for that is his lot.

Ecclesiastes 3:22 (NAS)


In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 (KJV)


I glanced through the kitchen’s French doors. The cottage's colorful garden basked warm in the early-morning sun. I was enjoying one of my favorite things—breakfast at my parents’ place. My 89-year old father drew my attention back inside.

“So what will your son major in at college?” His voice was thin and wispy. His years-ago concern for his children now refocused itself on his grandson. I lowered my fork.

“Oh, I don’t know. He likes music and computers….”

“Well, he ought to become a pharmacist. I read they make $90,000 a year and they’re in big demand. He ought to go where the job market is.”

“Hmmmm. I don’t know, Dad.”

Frankly, I couldn’t see my son pushing pills over a counter. I think he’d go nuts. So ... just what should my son do?

I think the Bible offers some good insights. I love Solomon’s words and wished I’d paid closer attention to them earlier in life. If I had it all to do over again, what kind of work would have made me happy?

Interesting question, but then I think of the work I have enjoyed and where God has taken me, and I can’t complain. I think of those fun jobs like flying Air Force jets and then the still thrilling, but perhaps more challenging ones—like driving the streets of Riyadh every day…. Looking back, I appreciate how God has used these situations for both my enjoyment and growth. Yeah. I appreciate some of these a whole lot more now.

So, I find I’m torn between Solomon’s words and Paul’s teaching. Is it wrong for a Christian to want to enjoy life? Just where is the balance between the pursuit of happiness and the desire to buck up and do one’s duty?

The answer I’m coming to is easier than I imagined. The solution God offers me, my son, any of us, is to love Him with all our heart and to trust Him—all along the journey. This is where I found contentment. I found it along the way—following Him!


Father, help us to know you better, to love You more, and in the process to discover Your good and perfect will. Amen.

July 21

Real Friends


Every time you cross my mind, I break out in exclamations of thanks to God. Each exclamation is a trigger to prayer. I find myself praying for you with a glad heart. I am so pleased…. It’s not at all fanciful for me to think this way about you. My prayers and hopes have deep roots in reality. You have after all stuck with me…. All along you have experienced with me the most generous help from God. He knows how much I love and miss you these days. Sometimes I think I feel as strongly about you as Christ does.

Philippians 1:3~8 (the Message)


“It’s all about relationship. What many of us are missing are real friends.” I was talking with Pastor John Lodwick about men’s ministry.

“I once heard a pastor say a real friend is one you can call with a problem at two or three in the morning.” The thought kept coming back to me, and I wondered. How many of us have that kind of friendship, love, trust, and loyalty? Very few, I think. As we talked, I thought about past ministry, past friendships.

Personally, I found those deeper friendships, as I consistently opened up with a few of my Christian brothers … praying with them each week, sharing my deepest needs as we encouraged each other in our Christian walk.

We wrestled in prayer with our jobs and marriages, our kids and all those misunderstandings, struggles with sin and temptation and the stress of living in an unbelieving world. It was like combat on a spiritual level.

The truth is I miss that. I miss them—those guys who dared to get close. I talked with one of these old friends last month, and it was like a breath of fresh air. I miss those relationships. I think it’s time to open up, time to make some friends. Real friends.


Father, come into our presence. Work in our lives. Help us to be real with one another. Help us to have friends, to be friends that count. Amen.

July 20

That’s Special


Since God did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t God, who gave us Christ, also give us everything else?

Romans 8:32 (NLT)


I sat across the large wooden desk from my Saudi counterpart—a major named Talal. We exchanged pleasantries and asked about each other’s families. Since many Saudi officers had more than one wife, I asked him how many he had.

“One,” he replied. “It is enough!” He rolled his warm brown eyes heavenward.

The office was hot and cramped, but his white smile was genuine as he asked me about my family.

“I have a wife and three boys,” I said.

“No girls?”

I shifted my weight on the hard chair. “No, just three energetic boys!” I tried to be positive.

Talal looked over my shoulder, “Mohammed…. He has three boys … only three boys.”

Mohammed, dressed in sandals and a white robe and headpiece that matched his beard, was just passing the office doorway. He looked at me, then at the major. His eyes grew big as he pursed his lips, slowly nodded his head and moved on. I turned to my host.

“Does this mean something?” I asked.

“I cannot say.” Major Talal looked away then went back to my papers on his desk. He kept the secret to himself.

I would later learn that, in Mideast culture, having only boys was considered a sign of God’s special blessing. A very superstitious people, they refused to discuss such things for fear of jinxing the blessing (or being accused of jinxing the blessing).

While sons are still considered special in the Middle East, in reality, all of us are considered special by God—so dear, He gave His one and only Son for us. Yes, God allowed His best to be sacrificed for us, and this special Son has given us eternal life. Now that’s special!


Father, help us appreciate Your special love for all of us! Amen.

July 19

Beginning with Others


He said to them, “Come away … to get some rest.” So they went in a boat by themselves.… But many people saw them leave and … ran to the place where Jesus was going…. When he arrived, he saw a great crowd waiting. He felt sorry for they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began to teach them many things.

Mark 6:31-34 (NCV)


If anyone in history had an important agenda, it was Jesus Christ. He had an incredible mission, He worked hard, and the crowds were nearly unbearable. For goodness sake, the man needed a rest!

Sure ... He needed rest, but look at His compassion. Here He is, ready for a break, when suddenly He saw the need of others. So, here, in a lonely place and without hesitation, He began meeting needs. He began to teach them many things.

Jesus challenges me. When my crowds come calling, will I respond as He did? When my boys walk up to my desk and ask me to play, when my wife struggles with a chore, when my neighbors are in need, what will I do?

Like Jesus, I will start with those right in front of me. For if I don’t, my message becomes meaningless. It is by giving my time I am able to teach, able to love, able to do His will.


Father, open my eyes to others’ needs. Give me the strength to begin with these! Amen.

July 18

Pursuing His Greater Glory


How much greater is the glory of that which lasts.

2 Corinthians 3:11 (NIV)


I am pumped. I am motivated. I am encouraged.

This last month I visited with two foreign-missionary families and heard the testimonies of our short-term mission team to Brazil.

To some, perhaps, these don't appear to be spiritual giants, but, boy, do they have vision. They understand what’s truly important. They have discovered something with eternal weight—doing God’s work.

Doing God’s work is a wonderful thing—wonderful because He blesses it in spite of our struggles, in spite of our doubts, in spite of our lack of strength or ability.

Each of these missionaries would tell you, God overcomes language barriers, and cultural barriers, and religious obstacles. He energizes and provides resources, and He answers prayer. Like when the Brazil team asked for 15 decisions for Christ and saw 50, or when God allowed our missionaries to France to learn a new language and make friends in a largely inhospitable society, or when God provided needed rest and encouragement and that special insight—this is for His greater glory!


Lord, help me to see how You can use me, here and now, for Your greater glory. Amen.

July 17

Finding the Way Home


But Jehoshaphat … said … “First seek the counsel of the Lord.”

1 Kings 22:5 (NIV)


Many of us learn by trial and error and hopefully we learn by our mistakes, but the best way to learn is to trust God—to consult His Word, to pray and seek His counsel.

As I read this verse this morning, it reminded me of the time I ventured onto a woodlot with my father deep in the heart of Maine. It was an unplanned side trip at the end of a busy day. We had spent most of our time visiting property we were more familiar with, but this was supposed to be just a short excursion. So, we decided to stop and look. Since my dad had fifty-years of experience in the woods, I wasn’t worried about getting lost.

We arrived in a bit of a hurry and so didn’t take a compass … or a map. Big mistake! With little more than a walking stick, we left the car on the side of the dirt road and headed out. Well, as we went deeper onto the land we somehow got turned around. Now without a compass or map, we looked to the sky. Unfortunately, the heavy overcast blocked the sun from giving us any clue on our direction. Hmmm…. I checked the trees. It was a younger stand with no moss. The truth became a heavy weight: we were hopelessly lost!

With this new burden we trudged ahead as best we could, but found we were on wet ground, in a sea of trees. The sun was going down, and we had no provision for a cold night in the woods. What had started out as a potential twenty-minute stroll in the woods turned into nearly two hours of floundering—ankle-deep floundering at this point.

As the light began to fade, I did the only thing I could do. I prayed. While Dad stopped for a rest, I looked past the graying canopy to my Heavenly Father. And would you believe it … even before I finished, He answered. For just then, I heard it. It was the faint but beautiful sound of trucks on the highway—the bearing we needed to orient us. It was an answer to prayer … and our way home.


Lord, sometimes I forget to ask for directions, but You know the way, and You want to show me. Lead me, Lord … lead me all the way home! Amen.

July 16

The Servant’s Attitude


Oh, God, here I am, your servant: set me free for your service! I’m ready to offer the thanksgiving sacrifice and pray in the name of God. I’ll complete what I promised God I’d do, and I’ll do it in company with his people, in the place of worship, in God’s house, in Jerusalem, God’s city. Hallelujah!

Psalm 116:16-19 (the Message)


God has shown me the value of serving Him with others. Their encouragement and wisdom, the power of group prayer and hearts growing closer, a willingness to sacrifice and do something good for others—so good, you look back and say, Yes! This is what it means to be a servant—an effective tool in the hands of the Living God.

I have seen Him do this in our church. I saw it last year with our Small Group team as leaders were trained, groups were built and people plugged in. I witnessed it again last month as the Family Camp team raised nearly $1,000 for camp scholarships at a single fund raiser. Now, I hope to see it happen again. Our men are praying. Soon, we will come together. Soon, we will serve Him as one.

This is the way, the only way. Together … with Him!


Lord, build Your Church, use Your servants, use me. Amen.

July 15

Hazel


We all have happy memories of the godly….

Proverbs 10:7a (NLT)


As I pulled my Chrysler into the upper-level parking lot, I had an inkling this would be a special time. The air was fresh, the day gorgeous, and the snow-capped Cascades stood as sentinels. God’s handiwork was on display.

I made my way down the many wooden steps to the lower building. Finally, I entered the sanctuary, and immediately, the buzz of conversation wrapped around me. Friends, relatives and neighbors had gathered to remember Hazel Bowden, a special lady to so many.

It took awhile, but once I made my way through the crowd, I found a seat near the front. After quieting everyone, Pastor John quoted Proverbs 10:7 and said a few words, then eventually, opened the time to testimonies. For almost an hour, people shared their stories of Hazel and her departed husband, Stanley. The things that stood out? She was a godly woman, very musical, and she had spunk—a lot of it.

The happy memories came pouring out:

- Someone said she made being a Baptist fun. That, in itself, said much.

- Another added Hazel’s mother had taught Hazel to play the piano on a cutout, cardboard keyboard … and oh, how she played. She played with gusto! Even in her later years, every Tuesday, she entertained and delighted the patients and their visitors at the local hospital.

- She was generous and kind and loved to give unsuspecting friends rapid-fire kisses.

- She was always to the point. Like when she helped conclude the church business meeting by stating, “Let’s quit flapping our gums and vote on this thing. We all know we want it!”

The stories continued about Hazel and her beloved Stanley—how he taught her to dance on the walls by swinging her just so … about the kids she taught to play the piano and sing—now gifted musicians performing for her one last time.

It was a sweet service full of happy memories and fresh reminders … life as a Christian need not be dull. And this simple truth: our lives can and should influence others for good … just as Hazel’s did. And with God’s help … they will.


Father, give others happy memories as we live joyful, godly lives for You! Amen.