In the Zone

All freedom has limits. I hope you know that.  In order to be a truly free society, we must have rules that limit some of our freedoms.  Otherwise, you'd have nothing but chaos, disorder and anarchy. No rules means anything goes.  If anything goes, than he or she with the biggest posse or weapons rules.  That's not freedom.  That's tyranny. So freedom has limits. For instance, I have the freedom of speech but can't shout fire in a crowded room.  I have the freedom of the press, but I can't publish lies about people without facing the consequences.  I have the freedom of assembly, but I can't destroy public property.  I have the freedom to drive, but must obey the designated speed on the road (or pay for a ticket if I don't.) We have freedoms, but we also have restrictions and limits to our freedoms to ensure that everyone is safe and free. Our freedom in Christ is no different.  Yes, we are free from the law. Keeping the law will no...

We're a label society. We love putting labels on people.  Sometimes we even enjoy putting labels on ourselves. Homosexual, Emo, Stay-At-Home mom, homeschooler, executive, autistic, handicapped, ADHD, Geek. These are all labels we take upon ourselves or we let others place upon us. Eventually they become our identities.  We think of ourselves first and foremost by what people see us as.  Our sexuality or job status or our disease defines who we are.  We segregate, promote and celebrate or lament those labels.  It becomes who we are. But that's not what Jesus intended. In Galatians 2:15-21, Paul writes to address an issue that came up at the Council of Jerusalem. There a group of Jewish believers taught that new Gentile Christians had to conform to the Jewish way of worship, including circumcision and Kosher laws. Paul argues that our identity is not in our heritage or religious background.  Our identity is in Christ.  We sacrifice who are ...

The truth is the truth is the truth is the truth. That's what I heard often from professors as I studied to get my journalism degree.  People could complain about a story or being presented in a bad light, but if the story was true, it didn't matter.  The truth is always true, even if we or others don't like what the truth is.  If someone is guilty, they are guilty.  Plain and simple. Perhaps that's why we have such a hard time with the truth.  We don't like what the truth often says.  It's not always pleasant.  It doesn't always tell us what we want to hear. So, despite what we say, we sometimes prefer a lie to the truth.  We'd rather feel better about ourselves than deal with the hard truth of the situation.  We'll proudly take on labels and designations that allows us to be identified with a group of people.  Belonging makes the truth easier. At least we're not alone. Jesus, though, said truth, not labels or sin, should define...

When I was a newspaper reporter, we used to have this kind of unofficial contest among the news office.  As we would write stories and captions for stories, we’d always try to come up with a new vocabulary word to use in the paper. It sort of became this one-upmanship amongst us.  Yeah, it was kind of nerdy, but we were all writers, so this was the equivalent of playing horse in basketball. Every week, someone would try a new word in a story in attempt to gain this weekly crown.  One week, one of our writers used the word CADRE.  She wrote that a cadre of police officers gathered on the scene. The editor didn’t want her to use the word.  She didn’t think it fit.  So the writer defined the word.  CADRE:  An elite or elect group that forms the core of an organization and is capable of training new members. A cadre of police officers certainly fit the definition.  The word ended up in the story and neve...

A few years ago, Sara and I had a scare. It was a Wednesday evening and my chest had been hurting on and off all day.  What's worse, I was having troubling breathing.  Just to take the stairs left me extremely winded.  Feeling exhausted, I confided in Sara about how I felt.  I was run down, extremely tired, having trouble breathing and my chest was pounding. She didn't hesitate to make a call.  Even though it was a church night, we were going to the hospital.  RIGHT NOW.   As I got into the car, it wasn't even a debate.  I wasn't stopping by the office or lining up a lesson for a substitute.  I was going straight to the emergency room.  No passing Go.  No collecting $200.  When I got to the ER, I was immediately taken back to a room.  No waiting in chairs for an hour trying to get an empty bed.  Within five minutes, I was on a gurney, my shirt was off, and instruments of various types were being hook...

My mom likes to tell this story: When I was a kid, we went camping.  We stayed at this camp ground and I always wanted to get my big wheel out for a joy ride.  Well, finally, my parents granted my request.  I got my big wheel, but I had to stay in sight.  That lasted all of five minutes.  Before you knew it, I was flying down a big hill and blasting away from my parents, all the while my mother is running after me. I don't remember that story, but I've heard my mom tell it plenty of times.  I relate it to you to remind you of disobedience.  We are all, at our heart, disobedient.  We don't like to follow the rules or do what we're told.  We test boundaries.  We push limits.  We see what we can get away with. It's part of our human nature to disobey.  We're hard-wired to do it.  It started with Adam and Eve and continues into the present day. Yet, here's the thing.  In Hebrews 5:7-9, the writer of Hebrews...

Goodbye.  The word is so final.  While the origin of the word come from the idea of "God be with you" it still feels final.  We say goodbye because we don't expect to see the other person again.  Goodbyes are hard to do. I have always preferred the word farewell.  Farewell literally means I hope you fare well in life until we meet again.  That doesn't feel so final to me.  It suggests a reunion.  We will meet again and I hope until then, you fare well. Whenever I leave a place or a person, I bid them farewell.  As a believer in Jesus, I believe in reunions.  I know that I will see other believers in Jesus again.  That may be here on earth.  It may be in the life to come.  But make no mistake, if you are a believer in Jesus, I will see you again.  Death is not the end.  Life is eternal. So I always say "farewell." In 2 Corinthians 13:11, Paul concludes his letter.  The New King James, I think, puts ...