Giving thanks.

Tomorrow marks the first day of 0f 2019.

I am blessed. Not because life hasn't taken anything away from me, or disappointed me. Not because every dream I ever had for my life has played out in spades.

I'm blessed because the older I get, the more acutely aware I am that life is hard, harsh--unfair and riddled with sorrow. Yet in spite of that, as I look back I see God's fingerprints all across my 65 years.

I'm thankful for my family of origin. It was a perfectly normal not-perfect home; but we were loved with a sacrificial provision! I remember Hody's Drive-in, singing in the family station wagon, Christmas mornings, baseball card collections, my parents trusting me. Back yard barbecues. Working in the family business.  My home gave me my foundation, my work ethic, many of my core values and showed me what it means to be a responsible adult.

I'm thankful for my brother and sister, Brad and Tamara. I was the proud younger brother to Brad and the protective older brother to Tamara. I love them both and appreciate all we share and their part in making me, me.

I'm thankful for my Grandma Blankenship and my Aunt Carolyn who stood in the gap for me, prayed for me and lovingly intervined on my behalf when I desperately needed an advocate...for my cousin Patty who was like a big sister to me.

I'm thankful for friends made a life-time ago that have come back into my life through social-media. The memories we share form a strong bond and a rich tapestry woven from the community we shared together growing up in a little town North-West of LA called Thousand Oaks. These people helped give me a good start.

I'm thankful for Mark who showed me what effective faith consisted of and then mentored me in the early years of my walk with Jesus Messiah; introduced me to the girl who would become the woman I've shared my life with for 46years and challenged me to pursue a call into ministry--which extended into 26 years.

I have been blessed by friends in 4 different States;North Carolina, California, Illinois and Indiana, over the past 46 years. People have loved us well at every stop; they mentored us as a "just married" college couple at Duke, befriended us as co-sojourners with growing families in our early years when I was a young Merchandising Exec, allowed us to lead them as their "clergy couple" over 18 plus years as a Lead Pastor at three stops--California, Illinois and Indiana. Many of these folks remain in close contact with us.

I'm thankful for the years I spent a Duke University--an opportunity that wasn't even on the radar when I finally sat down to consider where I might pursue my college ambitions--yet when the time was right, God delivered me to that place--and a paid-in-full promise.

I'm thankful for my Talbot Seminary experience. The timing was all wrong, but so right. This was such a formative time in my life. My brain finally unfolded and study became a discipline that shaped my life and my ministry.

I'm thankful for Laura, my wife.  She is my very best friend. She has worked along side me, loved me, made our home a place of nurture for our children, supported us all in the pursuit of our dreams. She has stood by me through some very deep water, I'm so grateful. She is an immensely talented woman with special gifts as a musician, homemaker and grandmother.

I'm thankful for Laura's parents, Gene and Janice. They loved us well and were generous with their love, wisdom and support. They left such a legacy of Godliness and service. They became a second set of parents to me--so critical because I lost my dad at age 17 and my mom at age 31. They stood in the gaps for me.

I'm thankful for my kids, Erin and Joseph. They have become such good citizens, parents and are raising their kids with love, grace and sacrifice. They are my friends; intelligent and stimulating, opinionated and articulate. They have such passion for the ideas they believe in. Best of all, they love Jesus Messiah and endeavor to live in a manner that reflects His image to their worlds.

I'm thankful for Matthew and Miranda, my son and daughter-in law. They are talented, compassionate people, love my kids well and are wonderful parents. I prayed even before our children were born for that person they may eventually share their lives and dreams with. God did good. They are companions on the Way with our children and have established homes that honor Christ and serve Him.

I'm thankful for our four gandchildren, Braden, Kellen, Gabriella, Grayson and sweeet little Gwendolyn who arrived on my birthday. Grandchildren are everything that's right about life. Pure joy, delight, potential. There isn't anything quite like the blessing grandkids introduce into our lives. These four, plus one, make my heart explode with joy, pride and thanksgiving.

Our firstborn grandson Braden, marks his third New Year in the company of King Jesus. He lost his battle with cancer on June 28, 2016--passing into his Savior's loving arms. He lived it well. The legacy he left behind is a blessing--his courage, his story, touched the lives of thousands of people all across the nation. One of his last wishes was to "see the word of his testimony spread" and it has in a fashion only God could have orchestrated. He was diagnosed in February 2015 and it has been such a difficult journey, a journey God has made with us. We have seen such goodness and generosity from people, many who were strangers before this disease brought us together--many remain strangers today, but generous benefactors none-the-less. It's humbling. It's transformative. We will be together with Braden again, at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, because of our blessed hope--Jesus Messiah.

I'm thankful for our faithful family pets who have shared life with us and made our lives better in ways we could not have expected...Alphie 12 years, Max 13 years, Barley 15 years, Kate 15 years, Lily 11 years and Chance 6 years.

I'm thankful for 26 years we invested in ministry, the good, the bad and the heart-break.

I'm thankful for my last 17 years with State Farm. A great opportunity to pursue another side of my gift-mix. It's given us security we never anticipated we would enjoy. It has been a wonderful platform from which to make hard-lives easier--truly a market-place ministry.

I'm thankful for good healers and good health.

So much to be thankful for, so little space and a memory dimmed by 65 years. That said..."Praise God from whom all blessings flow, praise Him all creatures here below, praise Him above ye heavenly hosts, praise Father Son and Holy Ghost."  

Breathe it in and let it out.

Life is fast.

Liveitwell!

What a difference a day makes.

1968: Hair!

The years go by like stones under rushing water. 

Each year, on December 28, I pause and reflect. It's easy to forget what life was like 50 years ago, what life could have been like, had God not intervened that evening in 1968. 

It was the last Saturday night of the year; I had a plan, and it certainly did not include an up close conversation with God. He had a different plan and, as it turns out, it changed my life...forever.

But the path to that evening in 1968 started ten years before, when my Grandmother, who lived with us at the time, would gather me up and carry me off to Church and Sunday School, what amazing grace!  I still have my first Bible, the one mom gave me to take to church with Grandma. I didn't know, until I was a young adult, that my grandmother faithfully prayed for me each day--that "BJ would experience the power of Jesus in his life and embrace Him as his Lord and Savior." She eventually moved back to her roots in Fort Scott Kansas. But I continued to get myself to church until 8th grade.

I don't recall why I decided to "drop out" but I'm sure it just didn't feel very cool to attend church and Sunday School any longer--and since I went by myself, it was my decision to make. Fast forward to the fall of my Junior year in High School. One evening I landed at a Campus Life meeting (thank you Pauline Adams!) at the home of a classmate; it was the kickoff "Burger Bash" for the school year and as advertised it was all you could eat and attracted a huge crowd of students. 

I got more that evening than a big meal. The Campus Life leader, Mark Zier, gave a short talk to close the event and he asked the crowd..."If you died tonight, do you know where you're going?" I didn't. It bothered me for a few minutes, then I moved on.

On the evening of December 28, 1968 I was set to attend an "After Christmas" party with some buddies (Jerry McClain was driving). Our "wires got crossed" (coincidence?) and they never showed up; stuck, I recalled something was happening at the Rec-center with Campus Life that night--they called it a Campus Life Rally. There was a girl I had some interest in and I knew she would probably be there (I was right); I managed to catch Mark (Zier) before he'd left his house. He was delighted when I called, and he swung by and picked me up. An evening of activities, music and then a guy, Roger Cross, got up and challenged me again about my life and death. This time I was ready and wanted to get this question resolved; Mark talked with me and then invited me to pray a short, simple prayer to embrace Jesus as Messiah, and the rest...is history.

Our 2nd date 1969

Three weeks later I went to the Ventura Campus Life Rally. Mark asked me to share about my recent conversion experience with that half of the county I grew up in. Mark mentioned a girl he thought I'd really like, a cute Sophomore at Buena High School named Laura, he wanted to introduce us. He was right. In that span of three weeks I'd had two introductions that literally changed the direction and the outcome of my life: I'd trusted Jesus Messiah and met my future wife--we married 3 years, 48 weeks and 6 days later.

My home was a rather complicated place (aren't most?). Lot's of love, AND pain. I was carrying some emotional baggage by that time and was making some bad choices. Jesus changed all that in an instant. The baggage was there--in fact it didn't get fully "unpacked" for years. But His presence in my life set me in a "best direction" that just never wavered. Laura's family embraced me as a "son" as our relationship grew; they, especially her dad (my dad died suddenly in 1970, just months after my 17th birthday), filled a great need in my life.

In the 80's there was a popular gospel song written by Bill Gaither that describes my story, I get choked up every time I sing it; the chorus declares..."Something beautiful, something good; all my confusion He understood, all I had to offer him was brokenness and strife, but He made something, beautiful, out of my life."

December, 28, 1968. What a difference a day makes.  

Thanks be to God for our Blessed hope!

Life is fast.

Liveitwell!

Real love says...NO.

"Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good."
----Romans 12.9 NLT

As a follower of Jesus Messiah I am instructed to:
1. Love others.
2. Hate evil.
3. Embrace good.

So then, not only is it possible, it is commanded of Christ-followers: love people without embracing their broken behavior, like Jesus does.

Tolerance is NOT love. Love does not REQUIRE tolerance.

In-other-words, I CAN "love the sinner and hate the sin" and BE acting IN LOVE toward those whose behavior I cannot tolerate. 

I CANNOT hate broken people.

Love is non-negotiable. Tolerance is fraud.


Do.Love.Walk.
Liveitwell!

Feeling G-old

Conventional wisdom is that "the benefits don't outweigh the tradeoffs" associated with growing older.

True enough.

But IF, through that process, one discovers tenderness, that...is a "state of being" more precious than gold.

Feeling old? Try a little tenderness. Make it GRACE.


Life is fast.
Liveitwell!

It's Simple.

God's love is simple. The Word became flesh.

"When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners...God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us..."
--Romans 5.6,8

Wow. Christmas is joyous because God's love never fails.

To all our friends, family and those who stumble into this blog posting, Merry Xristos and best wishes for a prosperous New Year. 

Liveitwell!

My Christmas wish list.

You may be familiar with the list of 7 Modern Sins--or not; the conditions it describes are infamously familiar to us all: 

• Wealth without work.
• Industry without morality.
• Worship without sacrifice.
• Politics without principles.
• Science without humanity.
• Knowledge without character.
• Pleasure without conscience...

This, then, is my Christmas wish list for America in 2019: Work, morality, sacrifice, principles, humanity, character and conscience. 

My prayer for  2019 and beyond:

Father create in us a hunger for what is righteous and just. Help us to understand that...

• ...Wealth driven by lust for money is evil and work is an honorable endeavor that gives us meaning and purpose. 
• ...Industry must produce access to opportunity for all.
• ...Worship demands a values-centered life and requires sacrifice.
• ...Politics is the business of the people and is a noble and self-sacrificing life-call.
• ...Science can create in us a deeper spiritual hunger. 
• ...Knowledge is a path to humility. 
• ...Pleasure is the by-product of good character.

May we be given clarity to "Do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with God" (Micah 6.8)  through Jesus Messiah, let it be. 

Do.Love.Walk.

Liveitwell!

Metrics Matter.

This from the closing "reveal" scene in The Delivery Man...

"I'm a meat truck driver. I'm an incompetent meat truck driver." To which his father replies "You ARE an incompetent delivery man. It takes you four times longer to deliver the meat than any other driver.  But, every where you go, they love you."

So how do you measure success?  

Metrics matter.

Liveitwell!

Lost AND found.

Christmas is, for many, a difficult passage at the end of each year. Because our memories are so strong, and so many memories are surfaced by this blessed time of year, those who have experienced loss, feel it most acutely over the six weeks from Thanksgiving to the New Year. I'm reposting a blog I first wrote six years ago about the mystery and paradox we call "loss." Life doesn't come with any guarantee. Our family absorbed a crushing loss in 2016 when Braden, our 14-year-old grandson, died after an intense sixteen-month battle with cancer.  Yes, I am dogged by grief over loss.  So,  for those in pain...

"Loss. I've had my share over the years.

Two weeks after I graduated from High School, my father died, I was 17. In 1984, just after my 31st birthday, my mother died. I was 38 when I learned I had diabetes. I began a 'rest of my life' battle with skin cancer in 1996, at age 43. Disappointment...oh my, where do I start. Failure--several crushing instances. Unrealized dreams, of course.

My story isn't unique. It's called, 'being human.' Loss is just a part of the 'living experience.' Life is hard, and, can be very harsh. Loss, though we all face it, is not simply a one size fits all process. For some, loss means never experiencing 'what could have been.' For others it's remembering 'what was.' For all of us it's losing people we love, to death. Life's 'Harsh passages' include broken relationships, disease, tragic accidents, children 'lost' in adolescence and never able to move on to productive adult lives, addiction, betrayal, unfaithful spouses and/or friends, failure...have I described your 'loss-story' yet?

Recently, an extended family member, and friend, facing a number of very difficult circumstances posted a comment about loss, she concluded, 'Easy to be philosophical...easy to be grateful too.' As I paused to reflect on her words, I was struck by this profound insight.

'Easy to be grateful too...' Really? We can't, generally, control loss. Bad things happen to good (and bad) people. We can, however, control our attitude and our response to loss. We can ask 'why me?' or we can declare 'why NOT me!' That's the 'philosophical' part.

The 'grateful' part comes when, our pain notwithstanding, we aren't swallowed by bitterness; through the darkness of the moment, we still see the sunshine we've experienced over the years--as well as the expectation that the sun will shine again. Loss frames our perspective. It reminds us of the providence of God and the blessings we enjoy and have enjoyed through the ebb and flow of life. It's ironic, loss and gratitude are two sides of the same coin. Tennyson understood this when he penned 'It's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.'

The sentiment that struck me as so profound was 'easy.' It just never occurred to my friend to not be grateful. The emotional and spiritual place that she 'lives' made gratitude a logical extension, not of her pain, but of His promise. The Psalmist (42.5) said it this way...

'Why am I discouraged?
Why is my heart so sad?
I will put my hope in God!
I will praise him again—
my Savior and my God.'

Loss isn't abandonment. It isn't the death of hope. It's an intersection of life where one can step back and see life not just for what it isn't, but for what it is; it's at that place, in that moment, we see the goodness of God, and it's 'easy to be grateful.'

Lost and found. A fitting description.

'The faithful love of the Lord never ends!
His mercies never cease.
23 Great is His faithfulness;
His mercies begin afresh each morning.
24 I say to myself, 'The Lord is my inheritance;
therefore, I will hope in Him!'” 

Lamentations 3.22,23 NLT

I will Hope. I choose hope. I thank God for my blessed hope, Jesus Messiah.



Lifeisfast.
Liveitwell!

Saying goodbye.

This is a blog I posted three years ago, today. It's about saying goodbye to our faithful pet companions. So many of my friends crossed this bridge in 2018; I repost it here for you--insert the name of your beloved pet and describe them, remember them--and as a memorial to Karma, gone three years now, and the inspiration for these good words. For those not fortunate enough to have a pet like these...perhaps 2019 will be the year you see your life transformed by the unconditional love of a faithful pet companion. I hope so.

"I have loved dogs since I was very young boy and a little poodle mix followed my brother home. We named him 'Yogi' (the dog not my brother) and he filled our home with love for just about 11 years. One evening we found him lifeless, out in the yard. We speculated he'd had a stroke. I was crushed.

I've reprised that loss four more times: Alphie age 8, Max age 13, Barley age 14 and Kate age 15. Each time they pass into my memory--I'm crushed, again. Yet once I move through my grief, I can't resist the compulsion to find our next dog companion and start the cycle again. My lovely Lab Lily sits with her chin wresting on the top of my feet as I type these words. Chance, our dashing Dachshund, is rattling (his tags drag on the laminate floors) round the kitchen.

So somewhere down the line I have a least two more gut-wrenching 'letting-go' passages to make. I have a friend who just today put her lovely dog, Karma, down. Karma was loosing her battle with cancer and it was time for my friend to let her best K9 friend go. Why do we do it? My friend posted a quote this evening on her Face Book feed. It explains why pet owners put ourselves in the way of certain heartbreak.

'There is a cycle of love and death that shapes the lives of those who choose to travel in the company of animals. It is a cycle unlike any other. To those who have never lived through its turnings or walked its rocky path, our willingness to give our hearts with full knowledge that they will be broken seems incomprehensible. Only we know how small a price we pay for what we receive; our grief, no matter how powerful it may be, is an insufficient measure of the joy we have been given.'

--Suzanne Clothier

That's it! Look at that, '...our grief, no matter how powerful it may be, is an insufficient measure of the joy we have been given.' My life has been better because of my love for my dogs, and most especially, FROM my dogs.

So, tonight I celebrate a lovely dog named Karma, her big empathic eyes and lovely brindle coat are a magnificent memory now. She 'got' my friend, she loved my friend; she trusted my friend. A wonderful tribute to the connection they shared for 8 years. Yes, dogs make life better...and parting? Parting surely is sweet-sorrow."

Life is fast.
Liveitwell!

WE are the reason!

WE are the reason for the season. It was rescue mission!

"When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners...God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us..."
--Romans 5.6, 8 NLT

Christmas is joyous because God's love never fails. 

Shalom L'Chaim, through Jesus Messiah; let it be.


Life is fast.
Liveitwell!

...TheLightshinesthru!

Thanksgiving. We are blessed for many reasons. One stands above all the others: God.

In just a while, we will gather to pause and reflect on God's mercy and grace again in 2018. It never gets old. You see His mercy and grace, what the prophet Jeremiah refers to as His "steadfast love," NEVER fails to show up--it's New EVERY morning.

Like every family, we've needed an abundance of His steadfast love in 2018. We have leaned hard into our weakness and distress, there to discover God's strength and goodness. We continue to walk through the loss of our beloved grandson Braden--he flew into the arms of Jesus just over two years ago.  Then of course there are all the "usual suspects" that threaten our calm-delight and challenge us to keep our eyes fixed on our great God and Father in heaven.

Through it all--God is, has been and will continue to be a Strong Tower for us.  The Apostle Paul addressed the impact of our Heavenly Father on our flawed and fragile state in his letter to the church in Corinth (4.6b-10ff)...

"...God, who said, 'Let there be light in the darkness,' has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.

7 We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.

8 We are PRESSED on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are PERPLEXED, but not driven to despair. 9 We are HUNTED DOWN, but never abandoned by God. We get KNOCKED DOWN, but we are not destroyed. 10 Through SUFFERING, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies."

The life of Jesus, seen in OUR bodies--THROUGH...our suffering.  The world has been bent by sin...and that has produced an environment that generates suffering and loss.  God didn't do that, sin did it.  He is engaged in a plan to restore the planet, in the meantime...He is restoring people, one-by-one, when through effective faith they embrace Jesus Messiah as the risen Son of God and Lord of all (Romans 10.9,10).

After effective faith comes the privilege of being  fragile Clay Jars filled with the light of the Glory of God shining brightly for others to see, to contemplate...the life of Jesus in our bodies?!  It's a mystery--HE uses me to reach them.  Our wounds are where HIS light shines through.

I am grateful for this assurance that my suffering is NOT in vain. God redeems it; using it to reveal the life of Jesus to my sphere of influence...restoring people one-by-one.

Thanksgiving 2018...

Father in heaven, I am profoundly grateful for assurance, presence, sustenance,  strength, purpose, tenacity--Your steadfast love; profoundly grateful for my redemption and restoration; profoundly grateful that Your grace and mercy have been embraced by my kids, my grandkids; profoundly grateful that joy has come through mourning. Thanks be to You my God for our Blessed hope.  Empower me to be an radiant Clay Jar, Through Jesus Messiah, let it be.  

Really thankful. 

ThewoundiswhereThelightshinesthru!

The Main Thing.

On December 28, 1968 (age 15) I said "yes" to Jesus, and at that moment my life was transformed; 50 years is...a few. I want to be clear, I have, since then, experienced a number of epic failures. Even so, I have endeavored to align my heart with the things that matter to God and sought to be a clear reflection of His empowering presence; it has for the most part been, by His grace, a slow and steady "long obedience in the same direction."

The dynamics of our culture, over my lifetime, could be described as a devolution from "conscience" and evolution to "relevance" as our moral compass. It's ironic that the most extreme expression of the conservative mind, libertarianism, is in many ways the platform upon which liberalism has been constructed. My point is that "systems of thought" (even theological systems of thought) can't change the trajectory of the human spirit.

God does that one person, one decision, at a time. We just don't have the temperament to pull that off. History is filled with movements which morphed into extremism that marginalized human beings, in the name of a "greater good," producing tyranny and crimes against humankind.

It's not my job to save my culture from itself. The part I have been given, as a Christ-follower, is to point the people in my sphere of influence to God, who can. This is "the main thing" for me. I'm not called to point them to "systems" or movements that will save the day, but to the God of eternity who loves human beings with an everlasting and long-suffering love, a transformative love. He does the formative work in transforming people; this can change the culture.

So then, how can I keep the main thing, the main thing?

• Be humble. 
• Be accountable.
• Love my spouse. 
• Act as an agent of peace. 
• Trust in the power of God. 
• See people the way God sees them.
• Talk to people about Jesus Messiah.
• Focus on walking close to God on a daily basis. 
• Empower my kids and grandkids with a legacy of godliness. 
• Declare the principles and precepts of God in a loving, inclusive way. 
• Love unconditionally my enemies and those who might seek to hurt me. 
• Pray for those raised up as leaders in my church, community, and nation.

Having produced a template to work toward... "12 I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. 13 No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us (me)." Philippians 3.12-14 NLT

Systems and movements, by their very nature, devolve. God, "is the same yesterday, today and forever." 

I choose God. He produces the change which gives me, gives us all...HOPE.

Life is fast.  Press on.


Liveitwell!

Out of the Gray.

Lake slips into a mist of gray
Horizon framed by trees stripped by Fall, 
bracing for winter.
Seasons change, storms pass.

A metaphor for life?
Fifty shades of gray, stripped by storms 
bracing for loss.
Where is the hope?

A Blue Herron floats over surface.
The Spirit floats over chaos.
Flashes of color break through the mist.
Seasons change, storms pass.
God--not lost in mist; clear and 
present in the gray.

Hope.

Liveitwell

A Wall?

Someone asked me this week "Do you want a wall on our Southern border?"

What I want is a welcome mat at the front door that says "We welcome those who want to work with us to make this a great Nation with a large heart and unlimited opportunity..." AND secure borders that won't permit people to commit a "home invasion" via the back door

If that takes a wall...

More aggressive policing, detention/hearing centers located at the border to process undocumented people back to their nation of origin in a humane, effective and efficient way...

Drones, helper dogs, armored vehicles--any and all this and any other civilized measure that might be employed by a government that is determined to control egress into this Nation and protect Citizens, Commerce, and Resources while preserving and expanding opportunity for generations of future immigrants...

THAT, is what I want. 

History does not equivocate: failure to control borders leads to a failed state. Period.

Liveitwell!

Keep Looking Up.

Father in heaven, turn this Nation in a new, better direction.

Empower our President with humility to understand the meaning of this election, "ears to hear" and restraint to blunt self-indulgence. Fill him with strength to govern as a servant-leader, shrewdness to identify and rebuild an A-Team of talented servants to accomplish the people's business, character to act in the best interests of others, sacrificial love to produce a better-kinder Nation.

Gift our politicians and people with the courage to stand firm, yet filled with empathy to hear their critics and carefully consider their concerns. Give these critics understanding to embrace kindness as the benchmark to their resistance.

Empower ALL of us to reject the politics of personal destruction. Blunt our lust toward bitterness, our unforgiving hearts and our "all or nothing at all" take-no-prisoners vitriol.

Empower "we the people" with an ability to be led, wisdom to understand our role in the stewardship of this Nation, character to act selflessly for the benefit of our communities and hope to believe in the best, seek the best and produce the best in our leadership and each other.

Restrain those forces that have been present since sin entered the world that would seek to exploit our bent toward the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh and the boastful pride of life. Prevent these powers from violence, from hate, from sowing discord, cynicism, hopelessness, division, confusion, and deception.

Grant our people wisdom, compassion, empathy, unity and a shared vision for what we can be, what we can do and our place in the world.

Father in heaven, may each of us seek Your face, confess our sin, and be a part of the healing You have promised in Your Word. Through Jesus Messiah, let it be.


"He has told you, O man, is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to DO justice, and to LOVE kindness,
and to WALK humbly with your God?"
--Micah 6.8 ESV 


Do.Love.Walk.
Liveitwell!

Help getting home.

This song has always comes to mind as we approach the Holydays.  So many people searching for answers.

I know that someone, perhaps you, is out there struggling, searching, feeling lost, but unable to find your way to the calm delight we all long for--and you are ready to embrace a new way.

Jesus said... "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls."   Matthew 11.28,29

Listen to Revelation, a soulful heart cry for new direction and real meaning for life. If it resonates with you and you'd like to know more, contact me at goodneighbaier@yahoo.com.

You are loved.



Life is fast.
Liveitwell!

Wrong War.

We now find ourselves in perhaps the most contentious Mid-Term Election in modern history...on the heels of the most contentious Presidential Election since Adams v. Jefferson.

Like so many, I am concerned about the long-term impact this election will most certainly have on the Nation my grand and great-grand children will inherit. So much is at stake; the economy, boarder integrity, our standing in the world, energy, health care, peace, terror and of course--our culture.

A good friend from a life-time ago recently took issue with me over something I posted.  She intoned "we are at a cross roads!"  She said "evangelicals"(used as a pejorative) just didn't get it...and I do believe she's correct; though her diagnosis was shrewd, she failed--in my view--to embrace the root cause of the problem.

Our culture is changing--devolving into the chaos of a-morality. Many People of effective faith have dutifully written their Senators and Representative demanding action. They are good culture-warriors. I have a problem with this. The "culture war" is the wrong campaign. It's a battle for minds. People of effective faith are called to battle for hearts.

In this process, we see that people of effective faith have been seduced also; the culture war is self-serving. It's an attempt to preserve and re-create a world less hostile, less chaotic, less wrong-headed for our benefit. It's about preserving our values, protecting our children, maintaining equilibrium and economy so we can live out our god-informed vision of what our lives should be like. This is normal; it's also carnal...it's the way most humans think and act.

That's not the vision people of effective faith have been called to by God. We have been called to justice, to selfless living, to compassionate action; to loving the unreached citizens of this world like God does. When people of effective faith do that, people with no hope notice. They understand that this kind of concern is counter-intuitive. It's not the way normal people live; they want to know "why?"

Peter's first letter to the church contains instruction for us, "...but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect." 1 Peter 3.15 ESV

Peter informs us that we win the world, and transform culture, one heart at a time gently, respectfully. It can't be done with legislation. We don't win them with constitutional amendments. The silver bullet isn't packing the courts with the "right kind of thinkers." It's done by living alongside people who aren't like children of the King, who don't share His values and act in ways that reflect how radically confused people without effective faith are.

When people of effective faith insert themselves into culture in a transformative way hearts begin to change. When hearts begin to change, minds begin to change. When hearts and minds begin to change, culture begins to change. When people with no hope begin to see faith, hope and love in their neighborhoods, schools, workplaces--they pay attention! They realize they are thirsty, hungry and without hope. They realize there's more, and they want to know where they can embrace it...one heart at a time.

For too many people of effective faith, living this way just isn't something we want to do. We're more comfortable on church properties that create space between the world without effective faith and our world of grace. We shield our children from the world without effective faith in ways that create fear and contempt in their hearts. We forget what life without grace is like, and we become entrenched in a battle for minds using the least effective means available to us--the wisdom and power of the world system.

Little wonder we seem befuddled, put-off by what Jesus described as "sheep without a shepherd." They aren't like us, they don't think or act like us. They are driven by differnt values, often by different passions. Yet, they carry the same godly imprint on their souls that people of effective faith reflect...we are all created in His image. We are all loved with an unconditional love. We all have access the same unmerited overflow of His grace. We are all sinners in need of a Savior.

These lost sheep, these precious souls, are not the enemy. They are victims in Satan's attempt to foil the purpose of God in the redemption of all people. That purpose begins with a battle for hearts...and minds will follow. We win hearts when in the power of the Spirit we come along side these unlovely people and their messy lives and seek to serve them in compassion, with sacrifice through love.

One heart, one mind... gently, respectfully, powerfully.



Liveitwell!

M6.8

bN

Deliverance.

Father in  heaven...

Politics has become a growth industry in America, this is a problem; too much ambition and too little service.  It didn't start this way.  The noble has become ignoble.

Regardless of party affiliation, the pursuit of power, wealth, celebrity too, has become the focus of many elected to serve "the people" in Washington.
Congress has been sullied by resistance for resistance sake, the love of money, sexual scandal, graft and abuse of privilege.

I pray You will raise up leaders from every segment of political vision, willing to make tough decisions focused on moving the Nation--under Your guiding hand, all her citizens and residents, forward; without regard for which end of the Political Specturm may receive advantage or credit: that, will be patriotism.

...Deliver us from evil.

Liveitwell...M6.8
bN

HOPE!

In February 2015 we received news that every family dreads might be a part of their future: our beloved 13 year-old grandson, Braden, was diagnosed with cancer. Braden waged a courageous battle with this dragon, but in the end, his body could not gain the upper hand and on June 28, 2016 he "leveled-up" and bounded into the arms of Jesus--leaving for us a legacy of grace, mercy and confidence.

Our lives have been changed, but they have not been wrecked. Braden lost his life, but not once in the process leading up to his last breath on this side of the veil, did he lose his hope: the certain promise that he, as a believer in Jesus Christ, would finally be transported into the presence of His Lord and Savior, there to enjoy life as HE designed it to be.

I am grateful beyond words for the hope we have in Christ, and the healing death brings for those who have embraced Christ through effective saving faith; for these death need not be something to be feared

DEATH levels the playing field of life. No one ever gets out alive.  This feels capricious and mean-spirited; yet not, you see had not death been allowed to efficiently rampage through humankind, with no exceptions, we would be once and forever separated from experiencing the face-to-face, real-time, relationship God created us for in the first place. It's through this portal that we pass into eternity; it's the portal Braden bounded through.

Without death we would be chained to a relationship of enmity with God; we would be eternal beings, like Lucifer and the legion of angels which were cast out of heaven because of their rebellion: no reverse, no repair--NO hope.

Death became the modality that God uses to foil Satan's attempt to co-opt God's crowning creative act, the human race. So then, death is the definitive "check-mate" and demonstrates God's mastery; always steps ahead of evil and the chaos of sin. Genesis 3 describes the event that initiated the rebellion of Adam and Eve to sin and it's necessary result, death. It's also here that we learn that death is part of God's bigger plan for hope and the redemption of human-kind.

The rest, is history, 1 John 4.9,10...

"God showed how much he loved us 

by sending his one and only Son 

into the world so that we might have

 eternal life through him. 

10 This is real love—not that we loved God, 

but that he loved us 

and sent his Son as a sacrifice 

to take away our sins."

We know that love is a four letter word, spelled H-O-P-E; more importantly, we know that death simply marks the first day of the rest of our lives, 2 Corinthians 4.16-18...

"Therefore we do not lose heart. 

Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet 

inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 

17 For our light and momentary 

troubles are achieving for us an eternal 

glory that far outweighs them all. 

18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, 

but on what is unseen, 

since what is seen is temporary, 

but what is unseen is eternal."

"What is unseen is eternal..." welcome to the real world. In Christ, we will rise; thanks be to God.

It's a GRACE day.




Lifeisfast
Liveitwell...M6.8 

bN

Life is...

When the road of life is clear and smooth,
too often we miss the beauty within our easy grasp.

We gaze ahead with intensity through the portal which beckons us,
"...move quickly along the way!  Life waits, just ahead."

Indeed it is the journey, not the destination that unravels the mystery.

Smell the roses.

Life is fast.  

Live it well.

bN

Vexed. Not Beaten.

Some years ago I was asked about a passing comment I'd made in reference to the Tower of Babel; the inquisitor wanted me to expand on the comment.

I've always attempted to find "dynamic equivalents" in the culture around me to help people understand a deeper principle from the Scriptures. The Tower of course was the penultimate expression of hubris on the part of humankind; our effort to shake a collective fist at God and say "See, you aren't so transcendent after all." Foolish pride led to an inflated opinion of who we were; God breathed, language changed and chaos ensued. We discovered we were no match for the transcendent God.

Fast forward to modern culture: God, in his grace, has allowed mankind to apply his intellect and ingenuity, these also graciously granted by God, to "discover" thousands of things that insulate us from the ill-effects of the fall: drugs, asphalt, steel, plastic, roads, air conditioning, engines, automation--the list is endless. We in turn, tainted by sin and swelled with pride, believeing ourselves to be wise "shake our fists" at God and say, "You see, the Scriptures are myth; there was a big-bang and then there was 'protoplasm' and look at how we have evolved...we have the power to give and take life. We don't need myths to prop us up anymore. We ARE gods."

In reality, everything we touch we corrupt. 

Look at what we call our "system of Justice." We condition the air at the same time we poison it with hydro-carbons. We pollute the planet, poison our bodies, can't beat cancer or aids and when/if we do, something else always emerges. Regardless of how effective we are at blunting the effect of sin on life and the planet, sin always trumps our best efforts...and God allows it, to point us to our need for a Savior and His gracious provision for our redemption.

The farther evolved civilization becomes the further it devolves into moral and spiritual chaos--abortion, failed economies, addiction, violence, corrupt governments, greed, broken relationships, idolotry, shaminism, social injustice, politics. 

Think about it, in 1965 LBJ gave us the Great Society. These unfunded mandates have done nothing to enlighten culture and end poverty--but they have driven us to edge of bankruptcy and destroyed families while perpetrating genocide on the poorest of the poor. The smarter we get, the dumber we are. We can run from God; we can't hide.

So then, civilization as we have fashioned it, has become humankind's most recent Tower of Babel; the work of "our hands" which demonstrates our independence, our ability to "get it done without God." We set out to be like God, and in a final irony, we create the very modality that could be the end of life as we know it. We can destroy it, but we can't fix it..."and all the king's horses, and all the king's men, couldn't put humpty-dumpty back together again." 

The lie that deceived Eve, continues to vex us; but we aren't beaten. This Truth has set us free...

"When we were utterly helpless...God showed his 

great love for us by sending Christ to die for us 

while we were still sinners." Romans 5.6a,8

Hallelujah, what a Savior!



Life is fast.
Liveitwell...M6.8

bN