In the Zone

Why does God tolerate corruption? Why does he tolerate the wrongness of the world? Those are great questions. As a pastor, I know many people have approached me with variations on this very puzzling mystery. Why does God not intervene in a messed up world? I can't always give a definitive answer to this. Sometimes, I just don't know and am just as puzzled as the person asking the question. That's one of the beauties of faith in Christ. He allows us to ask these questions and wrestle with the answers even if we never get a concrete solution. That's what happens in the book of Habakkuk. Habakkuk is a prophet of the Lord who works as a temple musician in Jerusalem. He prophesies during a time of great corruption and wrong as Judah nears its end. In his prophecy, he begins by asking God why he tolerates wrong. It's a great question, and unfortunately for Habakkuk, God doesn't provide a concrete answer. But elsewhere in the Bible, we can explore why. In Psa...

As a culture today, we have very little were are ashamed to say and do. Don't believe me? Just scroll through your Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram feeds. You will find embarrassing photos, off-color jokes, family secrets and squabbles available for all to see, and descriptions of every little thing we do and think. We, as a culture, has very little shame. So when we read Paul's words to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:15, we have a hard time wrapping our minds around being a workman is who not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus. In this passage, Paul is writing to Timothy about false teachers present in the church. He is warning Timothy to be diligent in his study and teaching of the Bible so he won't be ashamed of the job he has done. If his teaching is accurate, the Bible will speak for itself. He won't need to argue against the false teachers. He won't need to convince anyone. The Bible will do it for him. In 2018, that's a novel concept. We routinely get into so...

If you study the American Civil War, you will see there are many reasons why the Union defeated the Confederacy. The Union had superior numbers, superior technology, and factories that produced plenty of ammunition and uniforms and supplies the army needed. However, one reason that is often overlooked is the unity of the United States of America. The USA, under the Constitution, has a very strong central government. It's part of what started the war to begin with. As a government, the USA has the ability to collect taxes, enforce states to obey federal law, and use those things to supply the government and the army. The Confederate States of America did not. Fearful of what the USA was, the CSA created a weak central government. As a confederacy of states, the states held all the power while the central government simply did the will of the states. As such, the CSA did not have the ability to collect taxes effectively, enforce states to obey federal law, or force states to su...

The crucifixion of Jesus is perhaps the most historically verifiable event in ancient history. Almost every major historian will affirm the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. In fact, the life of Jesus is the dividing line of history. We have world history before the life of Christ, and we have world history after the birth of Christ. B.C. and A.D. mark the dividing lines in our world history. Jesus had that much significance on the world stage of history. His death and his resurrection was a unique event. His death fulfilled numerous scriptures. More than is possible by a simple human being. He willing gave up his spirit, dying on the cross after just six hours. That's not normal. Crucifixion often took days to kill a person. Jesus died in six hours. His death, and his resurrection, were accompanied by violent earthquakes. Even the dead came back to life. More than that, it was all predetermined. Jesus' death and resurrection were known to God before he created the world and...

Have you ever been thirsty? Of course you have. We all get thirsty. Whether it is from a day of working out in the hot sun or eating something extremely salty, we all get thirsty from time to time. Thirst is the body's way of replenishing the lost of water in our bodies. In fact, the feeling of thirst comes from an impulse in the brain. As the brain senses that our cells our out of balance due to lack of water, it creates the sensation of thirst so we can fix that balance of water in our body. It causes us to want water. Our tongue swells. Our mouth grows dry. We crave water. It's a very human feeling. As human beings, we thirst. In fact, we will die quicker from lack of water than we will lack of food. We need water. It's part of the human experience. On the cross, Jesus grew thirsty. He was thirsty because his body was beaten, bruised and bleeding. He was thirsty because he hung on a cross in the heat of the day, exposed to all of the elements on his naked body....

I remember the first time I felt lost. I was a kid, and like all lost kid stories, I was in a grocery store. From some reason I got separated from my mom. I wandered down the wrong aisle or turned my head as she moved to the next. I don't remember those kind of specifics. But I do remember turning around and not seeing my mom. I had to be young at the time. It's an early memory. But I do vividly remember the fear, panic, and terror running through my mind. I searched frantically down the aisle I was in. I ran to previous aisle. Neither journey resulted in my finding my mother. Finally, a stranger, an older woman, asked me what was wrong. I told her I had lost my mom. She kindly took me over to the next aisle, and there was my mom and the grocery cart. I was finally reunited and calm. That's about as traumatic as my young life got. That's a pretty big deal for a 5 or 6 or 7 year old. We all probably have a similar story locked away in the deep parts of our brain....

One of my favorite memories as my time as a newspaper reporter was covering the Billy Graham Crusade in Cincinnati. It was one of Graham's last crusades (He did one more in Texas after that) and right up until the event, it was questionable if he could physically preach the services. But he did and it was a powerful experience. I went all four nights of that crusade. I went two nights as a reporter, covering the event, taking pictures, interviewing folks, and attending press conferences. I went two nights as a volunteer, having attended the evangelism training courses to help lead people to a relationship with Jesus Christ. It was an amazing experience. As I heard to the news of Graham's passing this week, I've been thinking about that week and the events that led up to it. It was a unique experience and I was privileged to be part of it. I was a part-time youth minister at the time. I worked full time for the paper. It was one of the few times in my career when my tw...

Can you forgive the unforgivable? That's not a rhetorical question. It's not even theoretical. It plays out, in real life and in real situations. A few weeks ago, Larry Nassar, a former doctor who worked at Michigan State University and worked with the USA Gymnastics program, was found guilty of multiple counts of sexual abuse. He will spend the rest of his life in jail. Nassar was convicted of repeatedly sexually assault young girl in the gymnastics program. He hurt and abused them in despicable ways. Sadly, he got away with it for years and years. That was until Rachael Denhollender, a Louisville attorney and former US gymnast, brought allegations against him to the Indianapolis Star newspaper. That set in motion an investigation that eventually brought Nassar to justice. At Nassar's sentencing hearing, many women, including Denhollender, was given the opportunity to speak. She chose to address not only the court but Nassar himself. He words, found here , are po...

My son loves to watch the old Looney Tunes cartoons. His favorite is Wiley E. Coyote and the Road Runner. We subscribe to the Boomerang streaming network and Coyote and Road Runner are on constant replay. He loves watching that coyote fail miserably at catching that road runner. In one episode, right at the beginning, Coyote reads a warning from the Surgeon General that hunting road runners can be hazardous to your health. Sure enough, he ignores the warning only to end up failing, crashing through a cliff rock, and reading a second sign that says not to ignore Surgeon General's warnings. It's a funny moment, but it's also one that rings true to often for believers. We are warned by Paul in Galatians 5 to live by the Holy Spirit and to walk in the Holy Spirit. He warns believers, that as human beings, we are constantly fighting our sin nature. We want to do things according to our own desires instead of the Lord's desires. Instead, we are to walk by the Spirit a...

A few years ago, in my personal study time, I was praying and God spoke to me. Now it wasn't an audible voice from the heavens (though that would be really cool.) Instead, while I was praying, in my mind, I got the distinct message: "Wayne, you're going to be a pastor." At the time I was (happily) doing youth ministry. I had been doing youth ministry for over a decade. I had no desire to do anything but youth ministry. I had always been called to youth ministry. This was the first time that God changed his calling on my life. So I prayed about it. I had my wife pray about it. I had my best friend pray about it. For six weeks, we prayed. At the end of that time, I asked each of them what God had revealed. Both said God revealed that I was going to be a pastor. He had confirmed the same thing to me. One year later, I accepted my first pastorate. The Holy Spirit was involved in that process. He guides us and directs us. In fact, in John 16, Jesus tells his disc...

There are days I wish I could clone myself. I have so much to do and so many places to be that it would be nice to have someone else to do those things in my place. Someone to run my errands or pick the kids up from school or attend the meeting I really don't want to go to. I kid about that (I think), but the reality is there is only one of me. I can't be in two places at once. I can only do what I can do. Jesus had this problem while he was on Earth. While he walked the Earth in a physical body, he could only be in one place at one time. As God He is completely omnipresent (that means he can be everywhere). However, as he walked on the Earth in the form of a man, he could only be in one physical place at one time. That's why Jesus tells the disciples in John 14 that after his death another helper will come in his place. The Greek language in this passage means that someone just like Jesus will come and take his place. This someone is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spi...

How cool of a story is Jesus's birth? A virgin gave birth. Angels filled in the sky. A star appeared that alerted the magi astrologers of the birth of a king. Shepherds came telling wild stories and worshiping. It really is a great story. It's a story most people would tell the rest of their lives. I mean, how can you top a story like that. It would be pretty hard. Jesus, though, did. The story of Jesus's birth is a tremendous story. For an encore, he gave us the story of his death. Tried illegally. Beaten within an inch of his life. Stripped naked. Nailed to a cross. Forgiving people as they mocked him and cursed him. Dying without a single broken bone. And three days later, he arose. The grave could not hold him. Death could claim no victory. Jesus is alive. As miraculous as the birth narrative of Jesus is, it is dwarfed by the truth of his resurrection. Jesus rose up from the grave. Only God can do that. He appeared to people after his death. Only God can do ...

As a kid, Christmas was always an exciting time. I remember, as child, being excited on Christmas Eve night that I could barely go to sleep. And when I did finally crash, I didn't stay down long. By 3 or 4 a.m. I laid in bed, wide awake, giddy with anticipation of seeing the tree filled with presents for me. As soon as any sliver of daylight cracked through the window, I was up, trying to rouse my parents so we could go to the tree and unwrap all the great gifts under there for me. Once I grew older, Christmas started to lose that excitement. Soon the presents under the tree were more practical things than toys. Then there were less of them. As I had kids, I began to realize how much work Christmas was. You worked a lot to afford presents for your kids. You also worked hard and wrapping them and placing them under the tree. Between office parties, gift exchanges, credit card bills, and the hassle of seeing all your family, Christmas lost a little bit of its luster. It just ...

This is it. The last stop at Thanksgiving before we board the express train to Christmastown. It seems like every year as a culture we hop on the Christmas train earlier and earlier. We just can't wait to get past Halloween so we can get to Christmas music, Christmas shopping, and Christmas traditions. In doing so, we trample on the one day that is still reserved for giving thanks to the Lord for his blessings. I want to take a few days to stop and reflect on the many blessings God has provided my family and I. He has provided jobs and food and shelter. I have salvation thanks to the Lord. I have the presence of the Holy Spirit in my life. I am thankful for that too. I'm also thankful for the local church. It's a place where I can worship God freely. It provides a sense of family when I live far away from my own. They are willing to help at a moments notice. They have a heart to see people come to know Jesus. In 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10, Paul writes his greeting to ...

Have you heard the story of the Lawn Chair Pilot? In 1982, Larry Walters, in an attempt to fly, tied 45 weather balloons, filled with helium, to his regular, run-of-the-mill lawn chair. He soon soared to 16,000 feet in the air, disrupting traffic patterns at Long Beach Airport, and caused a 20-minute blackout as he descended into some power lines. It is often hailed as a tale of achieving your dreams and accomplishing what you set your mind to. It is an inspiring story. However, it has a tragic ending. Walters never made any more off his endeavor. He had a bit of fleeting fame. He appeared on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and the Late Night Show with David Letterman. He tried his hand at being a motivational speaker, but it never panned out. With his fine and costs for the equipment, he never even broke even until he appeared in a Timex ad in 1992.  A year later, disillusioned with his life, he committed suicide in the Angeles National Forest. Larry Walters did some...

This may be unpopular with some of my friends but I just don’t like inaccuracies and hyperbole to get touted as truth without rebuttals. So, this will not be one of my faith-based blogs, but more of a political rebuttal type of piece, though done in love and respect. I’ve been reading many articles and blogs several of my teaching friends in Kentucky are sharing about governor Bevins' proposal to fix the Kentucky pension problem. Here is one of them, though I have read several. Many of the statements are simply untrue and serve as scare tactics. Thus I feel I must rebut them. In one story, I saw one person quoted as saying 30,000 teachers could exit the system and that schools would be understaffed with ratios of 60 students to 1 teacher possible. That is simply not true. First off, I know many qualified people—with education degrees AND teaching certificates—who live in Kentucky who simply cannot get hired. Some of that is due to a glutton of people who obtained t...

It can be a bit overwhelming to watch the news anymore. We see an endless parade of images of death, hatred, injustice, and strife. Over the last week, I've seen countless videos and still photos of the shooting in Las Vegas. I have heard harrowing tales of escape and horror. I've heard the debate over standing or sitting during the national anthem at football games. I've read the hatred on Facebook and Twitter, much of it centered around politics. Evil is everywhere and it can seem overwhelming at times. When we see hatred and injustice and terror and violence and death, how are we, as Christians, supposed to respond? Paul, in his letter to the Romans, tells us how. In Roman 12:21, Paul says that we are to overcome evil with good. Good includes love and service and help for those in need. It includes understanding and pitching in. It means we don't just pray for those who are hurting, but we go to them and try to ease their pain. More than anything it means w...

This week was a horrific week in our country. A gunman opened fire on a crowd of concert-goers in Las Vegas, killing 58 and wounding more than 500 people. It's senseless. It's cold and violent and unthinkable. In a word, it is evil. Let's call it what it is. We can try to explain it. We can look for a motive or an illness or an abusive relationship or any number of things to help us feel better. In the end, I find it best to call it what it is. It is pure evil. Only evil would kill unsuspecting people in mass. Only evil would modify guns to be automatic rifles and rain down bullets at an unrelenting pace for more than 10 minutes. Stephen Paddock is evil, plain and simple. While that doesn't fit into a label or make us feel safer or more comfortable, it is the truth. It's the closest to a real explanation than we'll likely to get through evidence collection or criminal profiles. He was an evil man and he did an evil thing. Evil has been around, almost...

This week, President Donald Trump made news when he announced the end of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative put into effect by an executive order by former president Barak Obama. This policy allowed children of illegal immigrants--whom have no memory of living anywhere but the United States--to be free from the possibility of deportation. Even though they were not legal citizens, they would receive some of the rights and privileges of citizenship, like getting to live in this country. The ending of this program sparked protests and social media backlash. Even lawsuits have been filed. At the heart of this issue, to me, is the idea that membership matters. To be a citizen of the United States makes you a member of the United States. As a citizen or member of the country, you have certain rights guaranteed by the Constitution. You have the right to free speech, free religion, and free assembly. You have the right to bear arms and the right to due process...

Last week, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against former Washington State high school assistant coach Joe Kennedy. Kennedy began a tradition in 2008. At the end of the game, he would walk to the 50-yard line, drop to a knee, and silently offer a prayer. Over the years, players and other coaches joined in the ritual. That was until 2015, when another district employee noticed the prayer and reported it to the school board. Kennedy was asked to stop. He was given an alternative time to pray when no students or fans would be around. Kennedy refused, so he was suspended. Eventually, the board chose not to renew his contract. Kennedy took legal action. However, in last week's decision, the court ruled that as a public school employee, he speaks for the school, and thus he has no first amendment rights to free speech or religion. By praying, they wrote, he made the school officially endorse a religion. As I read that story I was struck by the opposite reaction to professi...