Following The Son

Have you ever played Trivial Pursuit? If you have the ability to remember random pieces of what are often useless bits of information it can be a lot of fun. For example: What do you fear will stick to the roof of your mouth if you have arachibutyrophobia? Of course, they're not all that easy. In the Bible we read of a pursuit that is not so trivial. The pursuit of God. God encouraged this pursuit, and Jesus called his disciples with the phrase, "Follow me." There's nothing trivial about this pursuit. A pursuit of God will change our lives, our view of God, and our view of the world around us. The song writer wrote, "Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace." I challenge us today to rekindle our pursuit of God. Jeremiah said that if we'll seek him we will find him, if we seek with all our heart.  I'm going to need some energy for this pu

I had to have it. It was a little 2 seat Ford EXP. Two-toned burnt orange and black, stick shift, bucket front seats...it was 1985, I was a recent high school grad, this car had my name written all over it. Can you just picture my long flowing hair blowing in the wind as I rode through town? This car would make me happy. So I bought it. As the months went by the payments kicked in, and then something terrible happened. The engine blew. I had to get a loan to replace it, and now I had two payments on one car. Then something terrible happened. The engine blew. That wasn't a misprint. It happened again. This time I borrowed the money from my grandfather, and now I had three payments on one car. I used my long flowing hair to dry my tears. Things can't satisfy you. Whether the engine blows or not they can't because it's not how you're created. The writer of Ecclesiastes says that God has put eternity into our hearts (3:11). I believe it was placed there as a long

"What goes around, comes around."  "You'll get yours." "Karma" Whenever I hear expressions like this I always feel like I'm talking to Jonah. No, not my nephew. I'm talking about the guy who travels via fish. Jonah didn't want grace extended, he wanted God to get everybody back. The people of Nineveh had done his people wrong, and now it was time for them to get what they had coming to them. Fortunately for all of us Father isn't like that. Although revenge belongs to God, he is a God who delights in showing mercy. To be like him, we need to delight in showing mercy as well. So the next time someone offends you rather than calling for Karma (I mean, come on, are you even Buddhist?), try repaying evil with good. The Proverb says that this is like heaping burning coals on their head...and that's what you really wanted to do anyway. Following the Son, James A Williams

Once while swimming off the coast of North Carolina I got caught in a rip current. As hard as I swam I simply could not get back to shore. Completely exhausted I began to call out to a surfer for help. He quickly paddled over to me and let me hold on to his surfboard as we kicked our way back to shore. It was a frightening experience and needless to say, I was a grateful man. In James 5 we are told that whoever turns a sinner from the error of their ways will save them from death. Unlike my ocean experience, people who are spiritually in danger don't always recognize their need. Sometimes they think they are just fine. They still need to be brought to Christ though and Jude says that saving them can be like snatching their souls from the fire. Saving the lost isn't the job of a professional evangelist or delegated to missionaries. The Bible teaches us that God has given all of us the ministry of reconciliation. Every one of us has a part to play in reconnecting people to G

Sometimes my wife tells me she told me things that I have no recollection of ever hearing in my entire life. She's able to recount conversations with me that I am unaware ever occurred. This is the story of a lot of men. Women believe we don't pay attention to them, men believe women never really tell us these things and that we're all being set up. There's an entirely different circumstance that results in people forgetting things in Luke 24. The women who had come to the tomb to prepare Jesus' body for burial had actually forgotten that Jesus told them He would rise again. That seems like something that would be pretty hard to forget. In all fairness to them though, sometimes life is difficult enough that we may find ourselves making decisions simply based on circumstances instead of what God has told us is true. When life is tough, and it sure can be, sometimes you need to be reminded of what God said. That's what the angels at the tomb did for those women

"Ezra opened the book" Neh. 8:5. This was a significant moment in the rebuilding of Jerusalem. Nehemiah could rebuild a wall with bricks and mortar, but to rebuild lives he was going to need something more. Walls are temporary. The new one would still not last forever. However lives are so much more. God created us as eternal beings, and to rebuild eternal beings you have to work with eternal materials. The Psalmist declared, "Your eternal word, O LORD, stands firm in heaven" Psalm 119:89. Opening the book was the only way to prepare eternal beings for eternity.  It still is. Today we often open the book by opening an app, by clicking an icon, or we may still flip open a cover. However we do it, we must do it. The Bible wasn't intended to remain closed. It's a weapon. It's a tool. It's a transformer. "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind" Romans 12:2. Open the book this week.

One of my favorite passages in the Bible is found in two little words in Mark 10:49, "Jesus stopped." Jesus was only about a half a days journey from Jerusalem. When He arrived there he would experience the triumphal entry, followed by his betrayal, crucifixion, burial, and resurrection. He had quite a week ahead of Him. A large crowd followed Him out of Jericho and everyone must have wanted his attention, and one man managed to get it. Blind Bartimaeus called out, and Jesus stopped. Sometimes I don't stop. Sometimes I'm so busy, and so preoccupied with the important things I have to do, I end up not even hearing Blind Bartimaeus when he calls out for help. Yet, to be like Jesus, I know I need to hear those in need when they call. Let's also stop. I've never had anything as important to do as what Jesus was going to do. He was off to save the world. If He could stop, then surely I have time to stop. As we do God will use us to touch people's lives i

Stephen Bradbury was an unlikely medal winner in the '92 Olympics. He advanced through every round only because other speed skaters either fell or were disqualified. In his final race, over 50 yards behind the leaders, every skater collided and fell and he coasted across the finish line to win Australia's first ever Winter Olympic gold medal. It was truly a case of "the last shall be first." (Google it. What an awesome story). It wasn't that Bradbury hadn't worked hard to get there. He had trained for years, and training accidents had nearly cost him his life on two occasions. Years of hard work and determination had finally paid off, and yet even he knew that he wasn't really the best. Sometimes we may look around at others at church or in ministry and think, no matter how hard I try I can't be like them. The good news is you don't have to be. You just have to stay focused on who God has called you to be. "Blessed is the one who persever

"Are you glasses wearing guy, or are you this guy?" This was the question asked of me by the doctor who examined my eyes...Orthodontist or something like that. He proceeded to bend his arm back and forth as if putting on and removing glasses while doing things. I decided to become glasses wearing guy. It's not as cool of a title as Spider-Man or Thor, but it's working for me. I've never worn contact lenses, so I have no way of knowing what it feels like to have them on. Seems like you would be aware of them, but I have been known to look for my glasses while they were on my face so I don't know. I heard about a woman this week who went in to have her eyes checked out. She was thinking that she may need cataract surgery. The doctor discovered she was wearing 27 contact lenses. 17 in one eye and 10 in the other. Apparently she forgets to take them out. Amusing, but being forgotten or overlooked in life can be pretty disturbing. It happened in Esther to a man

Life can get pretty hectic. Work, family, commuting, school, cooking, cleaning, errands, and the list goes on. Sometimes I even feel like I'm just too busy. I wonder how I will be able to get everything done that I need to get done in the amount of time that I have to get it done. I don't know if that's even a proper sentence. I don't have time to look up the grammar rules right now. Jesus was sometimes so busy that the Bible says he didn't have any time to eat. That's pretty busy. People were before him constantly and it was hard to turn them away. In spite of all he had to do we still find passages like this one.  " Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed" Luke 5:16. It wasn't that there wasn't anything to do. Jesus knew that on his to do list he had to always keep caring for himself as a priority.

Once I was waiting at the baggage carousel at Laguardia when people began clapping, pointing, and calling out. I looked to see President Bill Clinton walking through the terminal...right into the Men's room (After it had been cleared by Secret Service). I turned to the man next to me and profoundly said, "when you gotta go, you gotta go." King Saul was in pursuit of David when he had to go. There were no public restrooms nearby so he chose a cave so he would have a little privacy. Little did he know that his chosen stall was already occupied by none other than David himself. This was David's chance to strike Saul when he least expected it. Instead he would sneak up and cut a little corner off of his garment to show that he meant Saul no harm. Even when David's own men edged him on he resisted the opportunity to harm his enemy. It's a fun story, but doing good to those who oppose us can be rather challenging in every day life. A coworker who seems bent on pu

Our God is never late, but He sure is slow. I guess it would be more appropriate to call him "longsuffering," as Peter does, but when I'm waiting for God I feel like I'm the one who is suffering long. In Habakkuk 2:3 the prophet writes, " This vision is for a future time. It describes the end, and it will be fulfilled. If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently, for it will surely take place. It will not be delayed." Sometimes the things we're believing God for can seem very slow in coming. Imagine how a guy like Abraham felt...he was 100! What about the woman with the issue of blood who touched Jesus' garment? She was sick for 12 years. And what about Joseph? He had his dream that his brothers would bow down to him when he was 17 years old. He became viceroy of Egypt at age 30 and his brothers came to buy food nine years later (after 7 years of plenty and 2 of famine). His dream was fulfilled when he was 39...that's 22 years later!

Heaven should be pretty awesome. No one stumps their toes in heaven, or at least if they do it doesn't hurt, "no more...pain." Kids like doing homework in Heaven and siblings always get along, "no more...crying." It's always Fall in Heaven, "no scorching heat." Ok, maybe I'm putting my own little spin on things, but when I read of the place that Jesus is preparing for us it is pretty amazing. Trouble is, I'm not there yet. I don't live in the New Jerusalem, I live in the old New York.  That's why verses like Psalm 27:13, " I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living." and " He is not the God of the dead, but of the living," Luke 20:38, are so encouraging to me. Heaven sounds awesome, but I gotta get through this week on earth. Sometimes life on earth isn't so awesome. Sometimes it hurts, sometimes it's painful, sometimes it's sad,... so

"Do not let go of the leash. I need for you to understand that if you let go of the leash no matter what you say to me I will say it was your fault the dog got away. He may run in the street. He could get hit by a car. I will let you walk him, but no matter what happens, no matter how hard he pulls, do not let go of the leash." These are my words to my nephew before we head off on a dog walking adventure. My emphasis results in both hands on the leash with a noticeable grip in place, which is exactly what I wanted. I already know the dog is going to try to pull himself free. A squirrel will come, another dog will be out on a walk, and he will pull as hard as he can to get loose. I also know that this cannot be allowed to happen. In II Thessalonians 2 Paul writes to the church and tells us to, "keep a strong grip," on the teaching we've received. There would be no reason to keep a strong grip unless something or someone was going to try to pull it away. Paul kn

“You often get a second chance to make a first impression." "Opportunity knocks twice." "You only get two shots...or maybe 3 or 4." "Twice in a lifetime opportunity." I know, I know, that's not how those expressions really go. Yet as catchy as the originals are they aren't always true. Life is filled with second chances. In fact, every day holds a few new ones and the mercies of God are new every morning. Moses wanted to deliver his people, but went about it all wrong. Years later God gave him another chance. When given the opportunity to save her people from genocide Esther chickened out. She responded by asking, “Can we try this again tomorrow?” (My paraphrase) Another opportunity would come.  From Peter denying Jesus and later boldly proclaiming the gospel to thousands, to Jonah getting spit out by a fish in Nineveh, to Samson, to David, to Abraham, and more, the Bible is filled with people who got it right

This past week a man working on an ATM machine was trapped in a vault like room behind the ATM. He let people know by passing notes to those who came to use the ATM through the receipt slot. Most folks thought it was a joke and did nothing, but finally after several hours a customer took his note seriously and flagged down a passing officer for help. A little while later the door was kicked open and the worker was rescued from an unusual predicament. What a story that man has to tell. Life throws some interesting twists our way. Sometimes it results in our being trapped with seemingly no way for help. That’s never really true for those who are in Christ. As creative as the trapped worker was, we don’t have to depend our own resources of creativity. Instead, God creatively moves in our lives. The examples of Scripture include Jesus spitting in dirt to make mud for a blind man’s eyes, storms calmed, interrupted funeral processions, grave openings,  and so much more. Don’t limit