In the Zone

I once picked up a hitchhiker. I was driving back from Lexington, Ky, along a stretch of road known as the Mount Parkway, toward Pikeville. On that road, about 2/3rds of the way back, you reach what is really the last real stop for about an hour.  Near the location of the Natural Bridge State Park is a welcome center and rest area, and it routinely became my stop on that trip. This trip was no different. After a long day in Lexington by myself doing hospital visits, I was on my way home.  I stopped in a rest area to make my final pit stop for the day and as I exited the restroom, a seedy looking man approached me. "Hey, are you going to Prestonsburg?" he asked. Prestonsburg as at the end of the Parkway, and it was on my way home to Pikeville.  I'm a minister, on my way back from ministry visits, and without my family as an excuse.  As much as my sense of fear gnawed at me, I really had nothing else to say. "Yes," came my begrudging reply. "C...

I am not a big fan of conflict.  I don't know many people that are. Yet, one thing I learned in my communication classes in college is that in any human relationship or interaction, conflict is inevitable and unavoidable.  In fact, I teach in my marriage counseling that conflict, and how we handle it, can even strengthen our marriages. Conflict is not always a bad thing.  Through conflict, we see new points of view.  We grow as we weather the storm. We even strengthen our resolve. And, at time, God brings conflict into your life in order to move you from where you are to where he wants you to be. That's what happened with the Israelites.  In Exodus 14, we see that God moves to the Jewish people to the once place that means an unavoidable conflict with Egypt.  Surrounded by the Egyptian army, an impassible terrain and the Red Sea, Israel is forced into a confrontation with the Egyptian army.  They have no where to run and ultimately must liste...

I recently read the report of a missionary in a predominantly Muslim country. He was arrested for sharing the Gospel and converting Muslims to Christianity.  Despite the consequences, this missionary refused to stop sharing the Gospel, and even converted men in the prison with him.  Within a few days of the the trial and subsequent release, he was once again on the front lines, telling Muslims about Jesus Christ. He stood up for the truth no matter the consequences. That's a man I respect.  Too often, we back down when sharing Jesus is too hard.  We give in and compromise when the truth leads to conflict and dissension.  We soften our stance to be accepted by our culture at large. But the truth is the Gospel offends people.  The truth of Jesus divides families, friends and even countries and governments.  We have to have the boldness to stand up for the truth, even if it cost us our lives. John the Baptist did just that.  When faced wi...

Have you ever been somewhere, recognized the landmarks, but still have no idea where you're going? Well, that's me every time I go back "home" to Northern Kentucky to visit.  I lived in the Northern Kentucky area (which is really just a large suburb of Cincinnati) for most of my life.  But eight years ago, I packed up and moved away to pursue ministry opportunities in other parts of Kentucky and Illinois. Now, when I go back, I routinely have to ask for directions when traveling.  People give me a hard time, since I had lived there so long.  They don't understand how I can forget.  The reality is places change and so do people.  The longer I live elsewhere, the less I remember about the area.  I can literally drive in parts of Northern Kentucky, recognize the landmarks--the stores, restaurants and parks of my youth--and not really know where I'm at or how to get where I'm going.  I recognize that its familiar, but I don't know fully recogn...

When I was in college, there was a street preacher who used to come to the free speech area of campus.  Everyday he would come and scream at the college students that they were going to Hell and needed saving. Now, by and large, the gist of his message was correct.  A large percentage of those students did not have a relationship with Jesus Christ, and therefore were on a path leading to Hell.  The problem I had with him was two-fold.  One: He was extremely legalistic and told people that listening to certain forms of music doomed them to Hell.  I just can't get on board with that one.  Two: His approach kind of rubbed me the wrong way.  Screaming at kids to abandon music and movies in order to obtain eternal life is not biblical and unaffective. You see, he screamed and hollered and made a lot of noise.  People came out to see him.  They went to hear his words.  His words were off, but they came to see him.  Many came to argu...

People are always looking for a sign. As Christians, sometimes I think we are preconditioned to seek out signs for God's direction.  We interpret a scenario or a situation to be a sign from God.  We ask God to show us a sign. We even lay out our signs to God, asking him to make something happen if he wants us to go in a certain direction. We use all sorts of euphemisms about it too.  We're laying out our fleece or seeking our shadow to turn back.  We're quick to point to the signs God gave Gideon and Hezekiah and Abraham.  Yet, we don't often remember that Jesus told the people he would give no sign except for the sign of Jonah or the sign God gave Zechariah, John the Baptist's father. Zechariah, a priest, was serving in the temple when an angel spoke to him.  God had not spoken in 400 years, and he chose Zechariah to receive a personal message while he was serving in the temple near the Holy of Holies.  Instead of believing the account, he ask...

We make a lot of promises. We promise to get our work done by the end of the day.  We promise to keep our houses cleaner. We promise ourselves that we will eat healthier and exercise and lose a few pounds.  We even promise our kids that their life will be better than ours. Yet, how often do we keep those promises?  We may have good intentions, but we simply can't keep all the promises we make.  We are human. But God does. In Malachi 3:16-4:3, God makes a promise to his faithful followers.  For three chapters in Malachi, God has been dealing with whining and complaining Jewish people who believe God has abandoned them.  For three chapters, they accused him of being unjust, unloving and unavailable.  All the while, they continued to violate the standards he set for the relationship. In Malachi 3:16, God starts addressing those who defended God.  While he rebukes the whiners, to his followers, he made a promise.  When the day of judg...