Mining 2018

As the year draws to a close, we like to remember. We look back on they year with a mixture of fondness and relief. Remembering is important.

If we fail to remember, we can't evaluate our lives. We miss opportunities to learn and grow. Everyone has had hard times, and these times have much to say to us.

Here are some suggestions as we close out 2018.

Look at your life. 
Remember where you have come from and what you have experienced. Remember your successes and accomplishments. Remember your failures and weaknesses. Anticipate the good things coming in the new year. Recall your experiences as if they happened to a good friend. How would a good friend evaluate your year?

Learn from your life.
Look closely to see God at work in your circumstances. See how he has grown you up. Make sure that your suffering has meaning and purpose. Recognize the patterns in your experiences. How has God been preparing you for some new endeavor all along? What struggles keep coming up for you? How can God redeem that?

Live your life.
When you have a better sense of God's leading, you can move boldly into new adventures. It is so easy to maintain the status quo of your life. But God is calling you to something more. Take some next steps. Trust him to lead.

The year 2018 will wrap up in just a few days. Mine it for all the gold you can.

The Peace-Stealing Lie

I'm learning to notice my thinking and to shine the light of truth on it. Satan loves to trick me, ever so subtly. I just discovered another lie that has controlled me way too much.

It goes like this: "You can't have peace just now. You have to wait until [fill in the blank]."

In my life that blank is almost constantly full. I have to wait until I arrive at my destination, finish a conversation, finish my daily Bible reading, solve a problem, complete a task, win people's approval, finish an event...  Of course the list is endless.

Then I can have peace...provided that the blank isn't immediately filled in with something else. Seems like it always is.

Here's the truth: I can have peace right now. Jesus came to bring us peace. "I have told you these things," Jesus said, "so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33

Here is a whole list of other lies that I fall for far too often: Lies That I Believe.

"Let Me Look at You."

What do you say to your kid, just before a big moment?

"Let me look at you."

You say that because you are proud of your kid. You want to affirm him. You want to encourage her.

And you delight in them. There is power in your gaze. You are not judging, not looking for fault. You are taking in the beauty, the power, the presence of your child.

It is a moment outside of time. You take a deep breath. Of course your kid has to cooperate. They stop, stand still. They look at you. You are together in heart and spirit. It overflows with joy.

God is saying to you, "Let me look at you." Stop and be with him. Feel the power. Overflow with joy.

He loves you.

The Newness of Christmas

Everything changes when a baby comes into the family. Everything. Everything revolves around that baby.

• Schedules
• Meals
• Furniture arrangement
• Finances
• Entertainment

It's all new.

With the coming of Jesus, everything changes for those who follow him. It's all new. It all revolves around Jesus.

Our Advent series begins tomorrow:
The Newness of Christmas
Dec. 2 New Hope
Dec. 9 New Relationships
Dec. 16 New Responsibilities
Dec. 23 New Love

Rushing the Border

Wow. What do you do when hundreds of people rush the U.S. - Mexico border? It almost feels like the serfs storming the castle. Life is so much better inside those walls.

Looking at these families--climbing fences, choking on tear gas--I wonder what could possibly lead them to risk life and limb. How bad could their lives be to storm the gates of America?

I'm afraid that current political debate misses the bigger picture with this immigration crisis. Right now many want America to hold the border with brute force. Shut the gates. Arm the guards. Keep those foreigners out. This is our country. We get to decide who gets in. Deal with it.

But how can a country put that kind of policy into practice? We're already using tear gas. How long before someone gets shot? How long can we sustain such a policy?

Thousands want to flee Central American countries because conditions are so bad there. Whose fault is that? Does it matter whose fault it is?

Here are the big questions:

• What American policies are harming conditions in Central America?
• How is the U.S. propping up corrupt Central American governments?
• What policies can we initiate that will enhance freedom and opportunity in those nations?
• Can we take action without making things worse?
• Can we free up the American private sector to bring jobs to Central America?
• Will it take U.S. government action to improve conditions there?
• What is our border really for?

These are people at the border. On both sides. These are not props for political object lessons. May we see some glorious, unexpected breakthrough in which love triumphs over hate.

Comparison and Competition

As I was shuttling a car load of 9th graders today, I imagined what they might be thinking. Some might regard themselves as "smart," others as "athletic," others as "shy." They -- because they are human -- see themselves in comparison to others. I found the desire to help them overcome their negative assumptions about themselves. I want them all to perceive themselves as smart. Unfortunately, the pool in which we find ourselves can affect how we feel about ourselves.

I can feel like the "athletic" one, when I'm surrounded by elderly people. I can feel like the "shy" one when surrounded by extroverts. Our feelings are shaped by our context. (I'm probably about average on both athleticism and shyness.)

Here I go, comparing myself to specific groups and types of people.

How can we know who we really are, if we don't compare ourselves to others? Who am I? and What am I like? are almost inseparable questions. And how can I know what I am like without comparing myself to others?

I'm starting to think that mature life begins when I get over comparing myself to others. The life I have is unique. Maybe the greatest challenge is to "be myself." It should not matter how other people's lives are turning out. I need to compare myself to God's ideal for me. Of course I will always fall short of God's ideal. But he transforms every shortcoming and sin into a way to make me better, a way to make me more like my true self.

But it's hard for Americans to get beyond the mindset of comparison. After all, we are competitors, us Americans, and competition is just comparison in the spotlight. Competition shapes everything in America. Headlines bear this out: elections, court decisions, sports, and  stock market reports. What are these but competitions? Even natural disasters are all a form of competition as we compete against nature for control. In the classroom students compete for grades; with the SATs they compete for coveted acceptance at elite or even mediocre schools. On Black Friday we compete to save the most money. What could be more horrific than paying 10% more than necessary for that thing?

I'm not against competition. I think it can bring out the best in us. But I think we let comparison and competition take way too much space in our souls. Comparison may help us improve, but it should not be the way we define ourselves.

Can you imagine God comparing our resumés to see whom he likes best? Does it matter to him who is smartest? who has the most money? who has the most power? He loves us as we are, for who we are. He wants us to become more our true selves, because he wants us to experience fulfillment. We add in that stuff about being better than so-and-so.

So maybe freedom from the weight of comparison brings real life. And it takes traveling some miles and years to accept that freedom. I'm ready for real life and freedom.

Listening on Facebook

I'm preparing a sermon on listening, and I began to wonder, how do we listen these days? Unfortunately social media seems to be less about informing than venting.

Do you ever have your opinion changed because of your friends' posts? We all know people who vent, though. They find every chance to show how stupid other people are, especially those with whom they disagree.

What would happen if we took a deep breath while seeing that FB feed? What if we set aside our prejudices and actually listened to what people are saying?

I know what kinds of comments and articles most of my friends are likely to share. So when I see a post from "so and so," I know what to expect. The same old stuff they always share. I've seen enough of it that I don't need to see any more.

But what if I took another moment to listen to the heart of what is being shared? My friends don't post stuff because they are evil (I hope!). They usually post stuff because they care. By listening, I can come to understand why they care like they do.

Especially when someone is venting, they are showing that they care. Maybe they are misinformed. Maybe they have some less than noble agenda. But often people just want to be heard. They want someone to listen to what they say, and perhaps engage meaningfully with their ideas.

We could use a whole lot more "listeners" in social media.