In the Zone

It's hard going against the crowd. I remember in college, often my friends would meet to go to the cheap-o movies.  A movie theater in town showed second-run movies (movies out of main theaters but not quite on DVD) for a discounted price (usually $2 a movie), so it was a cheap night out for a bunch of college students.  We'd meet up at the theater and pick a movie to watch. I have to tell you, I watched a lot of movies I had no desire to see.  I even watched some of them more than once.  I enjoyed the fellowship with friends more than I enjoyed the film I was watching.  I saw some truly terrible films in the name of friendship. There's nothing wrong with making sacrifices in the name of friendship.  Seeing some bad movies in order to hang out with friends is a small price to pay.  The conversations and late-night dinners afterwards always made it worthwhile. But what if the choice was much harsher than seeing a movie.  In Matthew 7:13-1...

What happened in Boston on Monday is beyond words. Children were maimed and killed.  Innocent people - some with their families enjoying a pleasant day together - were grievously injured by an evil person or people for no good reason. Several emotions stem from this senseless violence.  Anger, frustration, sympathy.  But not fear.  I am not afraid.  Here's why: GOD IS IN CONTROL. I believe that God is in control of all things.  Why else would I pray for people?  Why else would I seek God's direction for my life?  I do it because I believe God is in control of all things.  He's in control of the weather.  He's in control of illness.  Yes, God is even in control of terrorist activities. Am I saying God caused it?  No.  But he allowed it to happen.  Why?  I don't know.  Here is what I do know. Nothing happens that surprises God.  God knew exactly what was going to happen.  He knew the name...

When I was in the newspaper business, I had big aspirations.  I dreamed of writing for a big, daily newspaper, perhaps covering Major League Baseball or the NFL.  A headhunter even approached me once about moving on to a small daily after I won some writing words.  I didn't take him up on the offer. One day, though, I did build up the courage to apply for the Cincinnati Enquirer.  The sports department was seeking a new reporter handling some college and pro sports assignments.  That's what I wanted to do, so I applied.  In Hollywood, this story would end with me getting the job and becoming a major newspaper reporter, perhaps breaking a big story.  This isn't Hollywood.  I didn't get the job.  I'm not even sure if I got a polite rejection letter.  I never moved on to another newspaper, though several of my colleagues did.  To be honest, I never really applied.  By the end of my run, I knew God had called me to ministry...

I'll never forget one woman I encountered in my ministry.  We'll call her "Linda." Linda had a great heart.  She wanted to serve and make much of Jesus Christ.  She sought to help out our youth ministry in innumerable ways.  She always gave money to needy students or opened up her house when we needed a host home. Her heart was in the right place.  Her ideas were not always the best.  Often she would encourage me to study up on wild theories about the government or conspiracies.  All the while, she would attach a Bible quote she found on a website article about it.  "It's right there in the Bible," she would say. Because a story contained a Bible quote, she assumed it was scriptural in nature.  That was enough for her.  She would constantly hand me articles to research.  I'll be honest.  I never did. Just seeing a scripture verse doesn't make something biblical or even of God.  Many people have mined the Bible fo...