How To Get The Most Out Of Your Sunday Morning

Is Sunday morning the most important morning of your week? Most of us would say it is because Sundays are our time to come together with God and His people. Yet, I am often guilty of approaching Sunday with far less intentionality than the most important day of the week deserves. 

Today, I’d like to offer a few suggestions as to how you (and your family) can tweak your Sunday morning routine to make it the BEST day of the week!

HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR SUNDAY MORNING

Make your plans on Saturday night

It’s easy to sleep in Sunday morning, crawl out of bed, debate which service to go to and then finally decide to just take the morning off. Have a brief discussion with your spouse/family on Saturday night. Decide which service you want to attend (think about what the rest of your day looks like) and then set your alarms accordingly. You’ll be glad you did.

Spend a few minutes being quiet

Some time during the morning, find a quiet place in your home and relax for a few minutes. Spend some time talking to your Heavenly Father. Tell Him what’s on your mind and ask Him to show you what’s on His mind for you. Read a couple verses from the Bible. This time will empower you to have a calm and peaceful Sunday morning, which will enable you to have a meaningful and joyful experience at church.

Arrive at church early

Nothing is worse than arriving at the church, running in from the parking lot, racing through the child check-in process, speeding through the cafe and then sneaking into the service as the last song finishes up. By the time you catch your breath and your heart rate slows down, the service is over. Try to arrive early so you can enjoy your morning routine and feel relaxed and at ease when the service begins.

Enjoy coffee and a donut

Sometimes a Sunday service can be long and tiring with all the standing up and sitting down. Sometimes the preacher is less than exciting. You’ll have an easier time keeping your energy up and staying awake if you have a little energy boost before the service.

Find a seat before the service begins

If you get into the Worship Center before the service begins, you’ll have your pick of seats. Find something that works for you, but try not to isolate yourself. Once you’re seated, have a brief conversation with someone around you or take a minute and browse the information in your program. If the sermon passage is listed, you can read it before the service to give yourself a head start.

Make a new friend before you leave

Unless you know the name of everyone who attends your church (and none of us do), you always have a chance to make new friends. During the service, notice the people sitting near you that you’ve never met. Before you leave, greet them with a smile and introduce yourself. You never know what the outcome might be: you may never see them again or it might be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Maybe all of these can be helpful for you. Maybe just one or two are beneficial for you. This Sunday is a great time to practice. 

God's Secret of Success

When he was named leader, Joshua was undoubtedly a bit hesitant. He wasn’t managing a bank or a fast-food restaurant. He wasn’t leading a sports franchise. He wasn’t taking over a family business. He wasn’t even becoming a CEO of a nationally known corporation. Instead, he was assuming leadership of a brand new nation encompassing millions of people who had no land, no formal government, and no clear direction other than a cloud they followed.

Joshua was probably a bit fearful. He needed some direction.

God wanted Joshua to be successful (read to the end, “success” might not mean what you think it means). He wanted Joshua to lead Israel appropriately. His instructions to Joshua were quite simple:

Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.

These were powerful words. Joshua took them to heart, and he was successful (read to the end, “success” might not mean what you think it means).

The Stuff You Can't Stop Talking About

What do you like talking about? I love to talk about the things that are important to me. You don’t have to be around me long to hear me talking about my wife or my children. Probably if you listen long enough, you’ll hear me talk about sports, particularly golf. I’ll talk your ear off with my thoughts on church, Christianity, and theology. The things about which I’m excited are the things which won’t depart from my mouth.

God told Joshua to not let the words of Scripture depart from his mouth. If God’s Word was the most important thing in Joshua’s life, then Joshua would be successful.

The Stuff You Can't Stop Thinking About

I remember when my wife was pregnant with our first child. Many nights I would run out in the middle of the night for a bean burrito. I was just glad Taco Bell was open all night! Women who have been pregnant can sympathize with my wife.

While I’ve never had those types of cravings, I have plenty of my own obsessions. I hate being late, so I am always paying attention to the clock. During baseball season, I give more than an appropriate amount of attention to the Detroit Tigers. When I am preparing for an important presentation, I obsess about the details. I’ll spend day and night meditating on the words I’m going to use.

James 1 contains a brief parable about a man who wakes up in the morning, checks himself out in the mirror, and begins his day without making any adjustments.

A mirror’s purpose is to point out the elements of our appearance which need correction. The benefit of looking in the mirror is lost if a person chooses not to act according to the information obtained. James’ used his story to challenge people not to “merely listen to the word”, but to “do what it says”.

God did not want Joshua to simply accumulate and think about the information contained in Scripture. He wanted Joshua to “be careful to do everything written in it.” Success for Joshua would be accomplished by acting upon the information he discovered in God’s Word.

Prosperity is relative

Many people read God’s promise to Joshua and begin salivating at the prospect of a simple formula which will lead to prosperity and success. Such excitement is often based on a misunderstanding of these two concepts.

Prosperity is relative. For every person you can find who is more “prosperous” than you, likely just as many exist who are less “prosperous” than you. Success is a perception. Almost everyone is successful in someone’s eyes (even if it is just your parents!). The reality of success is dependent on the standard used to measure success.

Success is a perception.

Everyone is successful in someone’s eyes. In whose eyes are you successful?

Joshua was certainly not successful or prosperous in many people’s eyes. Very few accounts exist of his individual exploits. No record can be found regarding the extent of his wealth or possessions. He is remembered as much for his great defeats and mistakes (Ai and Gibeon) as he is for his victories (Jericho). His is a good story, but certainly not a “great” story.

The last we hear of Joshua is written in Joshua 24:31:

Israel served the LORD throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had experienced everything the LORD had done for Israel.

Everyone is successful in someone’s eyes. Joshua’s success as a leader was in the eyes of God.

• Joshua never let the Word of God depart from his mouth.
• Joshua never stopped meditating on God’s Word.
• Joshua was careful to do all God’s Word commanded.

Everyone is successful in someone’s eyes. In whose eyes are you successful?

I Don't Have All the Answers, But I Can See One of the Problems

*This was originally written in 2011 and while the data may be a little out of date, the principle is still true in 2016.


I saw a commercial this morning in which Ed Schultz said something to the effect of, "I never imagined I'd see America like this. Wall Street is going through the roof and Main Street is footing the bill."

This is not an uncommon statement these days, and it seems to get a lot of traction. But is it true?

I decided to do a little research myself, and here's what I found.

The top 10% of all wage earners in America currently pay about 70% of the taxes in America. I would imagine the "Wall Street Barons" probably fit into the top 10%, yet it would appear they are footing 70% of the bill for America.

The top 1% of all wage earners in America currently pay about 35% of the taxes in America. To really understand what that means, think of it this way: The wealthiest 1% of Americans are not only paying their own way, each of them are also footing the bill for 35 other Americans who are paying NOTHING.

It would hardly seem that "Main Street" is footing the bill for Wall Street. In fact, the numbers would suggest the opposite.

One more stat. The top 50% of wage earners in America currently pay about 98% of the taxes in America. In other words, half of Americans are not footing any part of the bill...

Here's the problem. When guys like Schultz use deceptive and inflammatory rhetoric, we are unable to address the real problems. By using words he either knows to be false (the alternative is that he's a lazy fact checker or an idiot), he is diverting people's attention from the real issues and is creating unnecessary divides between classes.

We will always have people who make more money than others. We will always have people who are far wealthier than others. These are not problems. In our current system, the wealthy and the high earners are already paying far more than their fair share.

Yet we still have issues.

Unemployment is really high. Poverty continues to grow. Children are being neglected and abused. Families are falling apart. People are losing their houses. Soldiers are being killed. etc...

But none of these problems are going to be solved by pointing our fingers at "classes" of people and screaming that they need to pay their share...

I don't have the answers this morning. But I do know that dishonest journalism doesn't get us any closer.

*all stats are from http://ntu.org/tax-basics/who-pays-income-taxes.html

8 Requests You Can Pray For Your Church Every Week

Whether you are a pastor, a bathroom cleaner, a deacon, a youth leader, a worship leader, a camera operator, a cafe worker, a diaper changer, a small group leader, or just a bi-weekly pew sitter; you should be praying for your church.

By spending a few minutes each week in prayer for your church, you are doing much more than offering requests to God. You are aligning your heart with God's heart because God's heart is for His church. You are prioritizing God's kingdom because God's kingdom is played out through His church. You are focusing your attention on the proclamation of the Gospel because the church is the vehicle God has ordained to spread His good news to all the world.

You can pray many things for your church. Below are eight requests you can make on behalf of your local faith community. These are pulled directly from our church's Sunday Prayer Prompter which guides our Prayer Crew during their Sunday morning meetings.

Pray that God will be honored with our worship on Sunday and the lives we live during the week.

Worship is more than just singing. Perhaps it begins with our Sunday music, but that is just the inspiration for us to go out and live worshipfully(made up word) in the world. It is good to pray the lives of your brothers and sisters would be honoring to God and it is VERY GOOD to pray that your life would be honoring to God.

Pray that the words we speak to one another would be full of grace and truth.

Every person who worships with you on Sunday should leave feeling encouraged, energized and inspired. If the words they hear are harsh and judgmental or if the words they hear lack the power and conviction of God's truth, they will leave with less than they should. How we interact with one another when we are together is critical in how we will interact with the world when we are apart.

Pray that Jesus and His teachings would be at the center of all we do.

Too many churches get distracted by programs, events and politics. Too many preachers get distracted by life improvement sermons and the health and wealth gospel. This is not to say every sermon must be based on Matthew, Mark, Luke or John; but rather every sermon should emanate from and point to Jesus. Pray that your church will never lose their Christ-centered focus.

Pray that many of our people will have opportunities this week to change the world around them.

I often say that none of us should expect to change the world on our own, but each of us should strive to change the world of those around us. Pray that the members of your church would do well with the opportunities they receive during the week. Pray that they will be generous, kind, gracious and loving to everyone who crosses their path.

Pray that we will be constantly changing as a result of our interaction with God’s Word.

Sanctification is the ongoing process by which God's Spirit forms us into the image of Christ. One of the Holy Spirit's primary tools is the Bible. As the people from your church invest their time in God's Word, pray that they will be willing to take the steps prescribed for them by the passages they read and study.

Pray that everyone who joins us today will know that they are deeply loved by Jesus.

Jesus loves everyone. Jesus' people ought to love everyone. Everyone who encounters Jesus' people ought to know they are loved. This seems simple. Pray it will be the reality in your church.

Pray that we would be known throughout the community for the love we show people.

In John 13:35 Jesus said, "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." Every church is known for something (unless they are not known, which is even more sad). Pray that your church will be known for the way they treat people, specifically, the way they love people.

Pray that our children and teens will learn to love God and follow Him for their entire life.

Churches that do not pass their faith to the next generation do not have a next generation. Children today face a vastly different world than did we. The world today is more hostile to faith and more inviting to temptation. Pray that God will protect the hearts and minds of the children in your church and that His Spirit would fill them with a burning desire to follow Christ for all their life.

20 Things I Could Have Said In Sunday's Sermon, But Didn't

These Are Literally My Sermon Leftovers

What follows are several copy/pasted excerpts from my studies for last Sunday's sermon. Of course, they are a little out of context and some are more devotional than exegetical. However, they might be interesting to some.

I struggled this week with whether or not to address the issue of racial reconciliation. It's not obviously tied to this passage, but I think Jesus' heart for the excluded and the oppressed naturally leads to that discussion. At the end of the day, I felt it more important to make a clear gospel presentation which meant some of my thoughts on racism, #blacklivesmatter, and inclusiveness ended up on the cutting room floor. I'm sure they'll resurface down the road.

MARK 10:13-16

People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.

Excerpts from My Study

• People usually want good things for their children. This helps us understand God our Father. It helps us understand the importance of being good parents. It helps us identify our important role of passing a better life AND a better faith to the next generation
• Jesus was indignant with the disciples because they didn't value the children and they didn't value the parents. Jesus' followers must value everyone!
• The term "indignant" (Jesus' response to the disciples) literally means to be "overwhelmed with anger." God has no patience for those who mistreat others.
• Little children don’t have the preconceived notions and experiential assumptions that often keep us from recognizing simple truth.
• Jesus said the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are childlike, not those who seize it through politics and power-plays.
• Through his words and actions, Jesus communicates how important the “least of these” are to God.
• Opening your arms to those who are oppressed or rejected is like opening your arms to Jesus (Matthew 25:40).
• The disciples thought the most important thing happening was Jesus’ teaching and healing. Jesus knew the most important thing happening was his interaction with people from all backgrounds.
• Jesus’ arms are open wide to everyone. His blessings are available to everyone.
• There is something in this passage that speaks to much of the social division we are experiencing in our country currently. The disciples seem to be telling the parents that their children's lives don't matter. Should we ever tell anyone that their life doesn't matter?

The Sermon I Didn't Preach

Regarding racism and reconciliation, I found the following "spectrum" of positions on race helpful. This is pulled from a Rick Warren sermon. I offer it without comment. It was part of my study for the sermon although it didn't make it into Sunday's final notes.

These are seven different descriptions of people's approach to racial issues. None of us live at one of these, we likely drift between two or three of them. Rick pointed out that we cannot accurately assess where we belong on this scale. We need to allow those around us to help us identify where we might be.

1. Racist -- hates, bullies, discriminates against other races
2. Bigot -- believes stereotypes and belittles other races
3. Avoider -- uncomfortable around other races
4. Insensitive -- unaware of what is hurtful to other races (we don't get to decide what hurts other people)
5. Apathetic -- just doesn't care about race issues (if you claim to be a follower of Christ you have to care about fairness, justice, love & reconciliation)
6. Sensitive -- kind and inclusive to other races
7. Reconciler -- active builder of bridges to other races (God has given us the message of reconciliation -- it is reflective of the heart of God)

Black Lives Matter

Black Lives Matter!

NO! All Lives Matter!

Blue Lives Matter!

You don’t understand!

No, You don’t understand!

When we fight over which lives matter, aren’t we behaving just like Jesus’ disciples who constantly argued over who was the greatest or who would sit next to Jesus in the kingdom?

This doesn’t need to be so complicated. If someone suggests to you that their life matters, regardless of how their sentiment is phrased, why can’t you just agree with them?

If, as some say, “all lives matter”; then black lives matter. Why does that need to be a point of contention?



----------------------------------------------------
*I'm choosing not to make all the disclaimers I think I need to make because I'm trusting that we can all be adults and recognize that this is not a comprehensive treatment of the issue and general truths always need to be applied with wisdom and flexibility, right?

How Often Do You Glance At Your Spiritual Dashboard?

“if Christ is in you... your spirit is alive”

Cause and Effect

Causality is one of the simplest scientific principles to understand. Everyday, all the time we see the idea of “cause and effect” at work. We exercise (cause) to get into better shape (effect). We discipline our children (cause) to help them grow into better adults (effect). We avoid sharp objects (cause) because we know they will cut us (effect).

Even our spiritual lives are subject to "cause and effect"

The law of cause and effect holds true in our spiritual lives as well. If, through faith in Jesus, you have become a new person (cause); your life will look different (effect). Often people misunderstand this concept and mistakenly believe the effect comes before the cause. They believe if they start living a different life, then they will become a new person.

This is no more effective than painting stripes on a horse is effective in changing the horse into a zebra. Only Jesus can make your life new.

Jesus Causes Us To Live A New Way

According to Romans 6, once we have received this new life from Jesus; we will experience a radical change in our thoughts, desires, and behavior. Paul says in this passage that we have put to death the old way of life. We are now alive to a whole new way of living.

Later in Romans, Paul explains that the Holy Spirit empowers this new life. He writes:

You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.

The Holy Spirit living in us is the catalyst for our new life in Jesus. When the Holy Spirit is working in our lives, we experience a true metamorphosis of character. Over time, the priorities which once drove our life become distant and unimportant as we embrace the values and principles of Jesus. This radical life-change is the precise type of fruitful life Jesus referred to when he told the parable of the different soils.

Jesus suggested the change in a person’s life was so radical it was equivalent to reproducing fruit 30, 60, and 100 times. Have you ever considered how to measure the amount of fruitfulness the Holy Spirit is creating in your life?

A Spiritual Dashboard?

We may never buy a General Motors minivan again. Several years ago, we purchased a Pontiac Montana, and while the engine was reasonably reliable; we experienced an unbelievable amount of problems with the “extras”. Our rear window wiper didn't worked for years, our electric locks went in and out, our CD player stopped playing and the stereo's volume button never worked like it should.

Most frustrating, though, was our gas gauge. According to our dashboard, our van was always either full of gas or empty. The inaccurate measurements led to a few unscheduled roadside stops, and a few more close calls. We eventually learned, that we needed to get gas approximately every 300 miles. Once the odometer hit 300, we stopped for gas and reset it to zero.

What good is a broken dashboard? Not much. A dashboard is designed to measure something. If the measurement is not accurate, significant problems might result. Sometimes, as Christians we are tempted to use inaccurate gauges to measure our spiritual growth. We might compare ourselves with someone else and determine we are more spiritual. We might create a list of actions (going to church, reading the Bible, etc) and decide we are doing fine as long as we check off each box on our list.

Broken dashboards can’t give us a true measurement of the Holy Spirit’s work in our life. Remember, fruit is an evidence of life change, not a means by which to implement life change. Our fruitfulness comes, not through our own efforts, but as we open ourselves to the work of the Spirit in our life. The disciplines we undertake are designed to help us open ourselves to the Spirit, but they do not on their own bring fruit to our lives.

Galatians 5 is a familiar passage which contains a well-known list of the “fruit of the Spirit.” This list of nine character traits can serve as an accurate dashboard to help us determine the extent of the Spirit’s work in our life.

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control are listed as the evidence of a new life. They are contrasted with immorality, impurity, debauchery, idolatry and witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, and more which are all evidence of the old life.

Just like a dashboard doesn’t cause you to accelerate, it just tells you how fast you are going; these fruits don’t change your life, they just tell you if your life has changed.

A spiritual dashboard enables you to measure your growth

Understanding the differing character traits in these two lists helps to provide a simple framework by which you can evaluate the fruitfulness of your life. The following series of questions, can guide you as you seek to measure the work of the Spirit in your life:

• Which list do the thoughts, attitudes and actions in my life right now reflect?
• Am I right now living by the Spirit or by the “old way?”
• What have I been doing recently to open myself to the Spirit? What have I been doing recently to open myself to the “old way?”
• How can these measurements convict me to take action in my life?

You would never drive a long time without glancing at your dashboard. Knowing your speed, your fuel level, your car’s temperature are all important pieces of information to help you reach your destination. In the same way, you should never try to live the fruitful life without occasionally take time to glance at the dashboard provided in Galatians 5.

Are You Willing To Join A Quest To Grow Your Spiritual Life?

We all need encouragement from time to time, especially when it comes to spiritual growth. What if you partnered with some of your friends to engage in a spiritual quest over the next couple months? We all need a good quest now and then, why not pursue a closer relationship with God? Below is a slide presentation outlining what "Quest Discipleship" might look like (this is an older presentation, so the contact info at the end is no longer valid!).

Quest Book from David Rudd

When You Choose A Leader, Character Matters

The three core components of leadership (especially “Christian” leadership) are character, courage and competence. Courage and competence are important, but without character neither matters.

In my estimation, we face a presidential election in which neither of the two leading candidates exhibit much more than a shred of character. Perhaps that is overly harsh, which is why I prefaced it with “in my estimation.”

This is neither the time nor the place to go into great details as to why I believe this. Should you wish to research it for yourself, simply listen to each candidate speak about their opponent. You’ll learn everything you need to know about either of them. Check Google, Snopes, or the Washington Post Pinocchio report to figure out exactly what is and is not true.

YOU NEED TO VOTE

I am not writing this to discourage you from voting. In fact, it is the exact opposite. I am writing to encourage you to vote, to advocate, and to get involved in the process. Now more than ever, we need people to be educated and involved at the local levels.

We need a strong Congress. We need strong state governments. We need strong municipalities.

The most effective way to combat an executive who lacks character is to use the checks and balances given to us by the framers of our constitution.

YOU NEED TO VOTE WISELY

Don’t believe the fuzzy mathematicians telling you that to not vote for one candidate is to vote for the other. This is nonsensical, illogical, and just plain wrong. Feel free to go to the polls and not vote for a presidential candidate, but please vote wisely for representatives, for senators and for state and local officials.

The President of the United States was never intended to be the most powerful man (or woman) in the world. The time has come to dispossess ourselves of that myth. The time has come for a strong Senate and a strong Congress who will be a voice crying out for virtue in the wilderness of Washington D.C.

Find the candidates whose platform coincides with your values. Find the candidates who value virtue over victory. Vote your conscience this November. Win or lose, you’ll never have regrets.

Distracted Living Leads To A Defeated Life

Have you ever been driving down the road enjoying the view when you suddenly realize the car ahead of you is stopped… and you might not have enough time to stop? You probably slammed on your brakes, considered swerving into another lane or the ditch, and breathed a big sigh of relief when you stopped inches short of the other car’s rear bumper. Then you probably swore an oath to not allow yourself to get distracted while driving again.

Distractions abound for drivers. Ringing cell phones, changing radio stations, people on the sidewalk acting strangely, animals along the side of the road, and many other things all provide opportunities lose focus on the road. I don’t know how many auto accidents are caused by distracted drivers. I would guess that most of them are. I would also guess that for every accident caused by a distraction, there are many more distracted drivers who narrowly miss accidents.

A distraction is something that seems very important right now, but when seen with proper perspective is obviously unimportant. Occasionally, a little distraction can be a good thing; but most of the time distractions keep us from doing what we should be doing, going where we should be going, or being who we should be being. They catch our eyes, occupy our minds, and captivate our souls.

The serpent was Adam and Eve’s distraction Idolatry regularly distracted the children of Israel. Bathsheba was David’s distraction. Nearly 1,000 wives and concubines distracted Solomon.

Distractions are wrong-way attractions.

Matthew 13 tells us one of Jesus' stories about a farmer who threw some of his seeds into a patch of ground occupied by thorns and weeds. The plants initially grew, but were soon overpowered and choked out by the thorns and weeds. Jesus explained the ground with thorns represented people who hear the truth, and are initially excited about it; but before long, their faith is choked out by the worries of life and the deceitfulness of riches.

We all get distracted by life.

Sometimes we are distracted more easily than other times. In the hard times of life, we are more likely to buckle down and focus. When we find ourselves facing a crisis or a deadline, we somehow find the discipline to get done what needs to get done. We don’t usually get distracted when something important is clearly on the line.

When things are going well, it’s much easier to get distracted. Driving down the road on a sunny day is prime distraction time. When business is booming, it is easy to slowly lose focus. Often we get too comfortable in relationships, and risk taking someone close to us for granted. When life is good, we are easily tempted by the distractions we think might make it even better.

The consequences of distracted living

Joe Gilliam Jr. was just the third African-American to play quarterback in the NFL. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1972, and became the starting quarterback in 1974. Joe Gilliam died in 2000 at the age of fifty. He had spent much of his life drifting between homeless shelters and trying to recover from drug addiction. Joe won two super-bowl rings with the Steelers, but ended up pawning them to finance his drug habit.

Life was good for Joe Gilliam Jr., but he got distracted by life.

If you spent too much time pursuing the distractions of life, what initially feels like a warm fuzzy hug will slowly become a deathly choke-hold. Jesus said that many people who hear the truth will be distracted by the cares of life and the deceitfulness of riches.

Find an eternal perspective

Following Jesus is the greatest investment we could ever make, but the cares of life threaten to distract us from that pursuit. We might be distracted by the toys we could accumulate or the money we could earn. We might be distracted by relationships we are pursuing. We might be distracted by a promotion or a new promising job. We might be distracted by pleasure or the pursuit of pleasure.

Distractions are anything that seems important right now. Many pursuits in life seem more important than following Christ, because the return on following Christ is not immediate. When you view distractions with the proper perspective, though, they always reveal themselves to be a bad idea. If you assume an eternal perspective, anything that keeps you from pursuing Christ with all your heart is most definitely a bad idea.

Distractions are always a bad investment, and often lead to extremely heavy losses. Don’t be distracted from the most important pursuit of your life!

Strongly Held Opinions Rarely Lead To Positive Solutions

My friend Kevin recently shared some of his thoughts on the several tragic deaths we've all witnessed in the past week. You can read it here.

More than anyone else I know, Kevin has earned the right to speak into these difficult days. He has poured his life into the ministry of racial reconciliation and he demonstrates Christ's love in difficult situations better than anyone I know. He converses truthfully and graciously even when he disagrees. He is an elder in his church and his organization, Pursue Scholars, is doing amazing things to provide opportunities for young people (I support this organization and highly recommend it. Click here to learn how you can give)

Kevin is spot on when he writes:

Stop believing the narrative that says if you are against one thing that you also can’t be against something else... Stop letting people tell you that you can’t be both. Stop being boxed into what Fox News or MSNBC or Franklin Graham or Jesse Jackson tells you is the only opinion you can have. Until we become people who are more nuanced and thoughtful, we will continue to talk at each other and refuse to listen to each other.

Kevin's point is one that has been voiced by many in recent days. I think it's worth hearing. We don't need to pick one side or the other, in fact we don't need to "pick a side" at all. I want to add on to Kevin's thoughts by putting some feet on the ideas he's proposed. If I truly want to see all sides, I have to think about how my behavior changes and how my words change.

Nothing Good Happens When We Assume

If I support law enforcement AND I am opposed to police officers who abuse their authority than I must not rush to conclusions and there is no need for me to assign fault or blame every time I hear about another tragic confrontation.

Every time I hear about a confrontation that ended poorly, I cannot immediate assume the police officer was justified in his behavior.

AND

Every time a video surfaces of a police shooting, I cannot assume the police officer's actions were motivated by racism.

In fact, why do I need to assume at all?

Can You Refrain from Social Media?

Let me make a suggestion (this isn't something I've done, but I am going to try to make this my new practice)?

What if we all waited a week to voice our opinion the next time there is a public tragedy. 

Can you distinguish the difference between talking about something and sharing your opinion about it? This is really important!

These People Are Not Interested In Helping You Or Anyone

Instead of letting the the media cram an unhelpful conversation down our throat, let's follow James' advice to be slow to speak and quick to listen. Go ahead and express your grief. Express your condolences. But refrain from the temptation to assign fault or even to explain the reason these things happen.

Conversations are good and they can be helpful, but perhaps they would be more healthy and more productive if they happened after we've processed the grief and sorrow and after we've had a chance to better understand what actually happened.

Find A Friend and Talk To Them

Soon it will be a week since the Dallas shooting (as well as the shootings in Louisiana, Minnesota, Tennesee and Missouri). Find someone who comes from a different background than you or someone that you know has a different political bent than you. Buy them coffee and have a conversation. Don't seek to change each other's minds. Instead, search out the truths upon which you can both agree and then decide what you can each do as a result of that agreement.

You won't solve the world's problems, but maybe you can identify your next step.