priorities Archives

The Mother’s Day message you won’t hear

The inbox on my computer is filled each morning with ads selling what “every mom wants.” Sunday is a big day for a lot of us. After all, where would we be without our moms?

Preachers in every pulpit will bring up the point that we are commanded to love and honor our parents. I bet very few, if any, will bring up what Jesus taught his disciples in Matthew, chapter 10. In fact, most preachers would get in trouble this Sunday for quoting Jesus!

What is the Mother’s Day message you will probably never hear on Mother’s Day?

First, the setting . . .

Jesus was sending his disciples out to various places to share their message. He told them not to bring supplies or food and to simply go to the homes of fellow Jewish believers. Their mission was to tell their Jewish kinsmen that Jesus was their long-awaited Messiah.

Matthew 10 contains verses we know but rarely live out. Jesus said, “And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town” (Matthew 10:13–14).

Afterward, Jesus warned them that they were going to encounter all types of persecution, even incarceration and abuse. He then gave them the key to their ministry, and these words remain the key for preaching, teaching, and evangelism today. Jesus said, “When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you” (Matthew 10:19–20).

(A Mother’s Day parenthesis)

This is a Mother’s Day blog post, but I can’t let those verses get lost along the way! If you need to, please reread Matthew 10:19–20. Those verses changed my life and my ministry, and I want to share them with you today.

The biblical key to doing your ministry with the Lord’s strength and purpose is to know, with great confidence, this truth: “It is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.”

Our words might influence people, but when the Lord speaks through us, his words will transform people’s lives. Don’t worry about what to say, worry instead about how to get your own words out of the way and allow Jesus to speak through you. Okay…back to Mother’s Day.

Matthew 10, continued.

I will sum up the key points of Jesus’ instructions to his disciples:

Go share your message, and by the way, it’s going to be rough.
Expect persecution in almost every city.
Don’t worry about what to say, God will speak through you.
You will make people mad, including your families and friends.
Don’t be afraid that they might kill your body because they can’t kill your soul (I wonder if any of them mumbled, “that’s not all that comforting Jesus”).
Don’t forget that God has the hairs of your head numbered and values you more than you can imagine.
“I didn’t come to bring peace to the earth, but to bring a sword.”
I have come to turn one family member against another.
Some of your greatest enemies will be in your own household.

Matthew 10 is not the typical Mother’s Day message but keep reading; we will get there!

And now . . . the verse that will never be found on a Hallmark card or Mother’s Day order of service.

After Jesus told his disciples all of that, he said, “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:37).

So much for the roses and reservations! So much for the 1001 gifts that every mom wants. But, don’t worry, there is a great truth in this teaching of Christ that could be the message you need this Mother’s Day.

Our culture has tended to make family more important than we should. Yes, I did just say that!

God ordained and created the concept of family. We are commanded to honor our parents, and the Bible makes it clear that our obedience is key to maintaining a godly character and witness. Jesus wasn’t teaching his disciples that family isn’t important; he was teaching his disciples that family wasn’t most important.

If we honor anyone, including our family members, at a higher level than we honor God, we make that person an idol. We give them more power in our lives than we give God. We keep them from knowing their need to honor God as they should. Our highest priority with anyone, including our family, is to help them know and love Jesus so they can be worthy of his saving grace. If our family is an idol, we will place a stumbling block in their lives that could trip them up. Their eternal lives should be a higher priority to us than their lives on earth.

Moms need more than your love.

I hope Mother’s Day will be a great blessing for you and yours. I hope you make it to the buffet before they run out of shrimp. I hope the roses live past Thursday. I hope the perfume is your favorite, and the pajamas fit.

Mostly I hope this Sunday will be a powerful day of worship as we honor Moms. For those of you who read this blog post, I hope you will remember Jesus’ words in Matthew 10 and allow them to change your worship this Sunday as you consider Jesus the One we are called to honor the most. We want to be worthy of Christ and we want to help others, especially our families, to know Jesus is the Messiah, our King.

Happy Mother’s Day – may it be filled with the joy of the Lord.

If you had the power to change one thing

I’ve always enjoyed the story of Aladdin and the Arabian Nights. As a child, I imagined having the magic lamp with the genie inside and thought about what I might wish for.

I recently found out the background of that story is much different than I thought and definitely not the story told to children.

One article said, “Credit for telling the tale of Aladdin has often gone to Antoine Galland, a scholar and diplomat who served as a secretary to the French ambassador to Constantinople in the 17th century.” Galland, however, wrote in his diary that he’d heard the story of Aladdin from a young Syrian storyteller named Hanna Diyab. In fact, Diyab is credited for having told Galland several stories, including Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves.

It’s hard to know where Diyab got those stories, and the original ideas have been edited and changed over the years to suit the modern sensibilities, as well as a few Hollywood scripts. But, it is understandable why someone would have imagined a genie who could grant wishes to a young man who had very little in this world and wanted more.

It is a timeless story because it is a timeless wish.

What would you wish for?

Imagine having three wishes and the promise those wishes would come true. What would you want?

I don’t have a quick answer to that question. Chances are, you might feel the same. If I knew I had three wishes, I would want to do a lot of thinking before I made them.

More money? Maybe. But, there are a lot of lottery winners who say the money they won actually made their lives, and their relationships with others, difficult.
Better health? Maybe. But, some of the people I have grieved for most were the people who spent their last years attending the funerals of all of their friends. It’s hard to be the person who outlives their friends and family.
Stronger faith? Probably. But, faith is most often strengthened through the tough times of life. We would want to be careful to make that wish thoughtfully, knowing that it might be acquired at a high cost.

Honestly, if we think about almost any wish, there are consequences we wouldn’t wish for. And that is really what the story of Aladdin intends to teach.

If you could change one thing . . .

Instead of wishing for three things you want to have, what if you only had one wish—for something you could change?

Is there something in your past you would wish away if you could?

My sister sent me a picture of her brother and sister-in-law’s home in Carbon, Texas. Their home was over one hundred years old and they had planned to live in it forever.

Last Friday, someone pounded on Debbie Copeland’s front door and told her she had to leave, NOW!

Debbie had time to grab her wedding ring and a couple of her husband’s medical supplies. She jumped in her car and raced away. The next time she saw her home, all that remained was the chimney and a few metal posts from the front porch. They lost everything in the wildfire. Channel 8, here in Dallas, interviewed her. This is her story.

At the time of this writing, it isn’t known how the fire started. The flames, fed by the Texas winds, have burned many homes and devastated more than 50,000 acres. I wonder if it might have been a cigarette butt carelessly thrown from someone’s car window. I wonder if it was someone burning trash when they should have picked a different, less windy day. I wonder if a spark from someone’s grill, fireplace, or electric tool could have started the fire. If there is a person who is responsible for the damage, chances are good he or she is wishing they could change that one choice right now.

One careless choice can cause a fire, an accident, or damage a reputation.
One evil choice can start a war, cost thousands their lives, and create decades of change.
One action, done in anger or vengeance, can change the future.

If everyone had a wish that would grant them one change, how long would it take for us to use it up, or maybe wish we had saved it for later?

What should we wish for right now?

If you had one wish and it was only available for the next five minutes, what would it be?

Even as I type those words, Putin’s face comes to mind. I would wish for Putin to be brought to his knees before the God who created him. Even as I type those words, I realize that moment is guaranteed already. I just wish it was now, before another innocent Ukrainian is caused to suffer or die.

But, someone else would need to save their wish for the next Putin that comes along.

One wish might change a lot, but no wish would change enough.

What would Jesus wish for?

I think the prayer of Jesus reveals his priority, his wish, for each of us. Jesus was praying in the Garden, waiting to be arrested, when he asked God to bless his followers, saying, “May all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me” (John 17:21–23).

Those of us who know God’s word know what to wish for. Jesus told us while praying in the Garden. The lasting solution to the wrongs of this world and the mistakes of imperfect people is the perfection of heaven. The best way to live this life now is to “become perfectly one” with our Lord so we can live eternally with our Creator.

The author of Aladdin wanted to have a genie and three wishes for this world. We know God is the only true source for all we wish for. He can forgive our past, guide our present, and provide for our future.

And God is a perfect Father. I don’t know what to wish for on earth, but I know I already have everything I will ever want or need, waiting for me in heaven.

Keep praying for the changes you want here on earth. Jesus taught us to do that. But, let’s join the psalmist in saying, “And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you” (Psalm 39:7).

Who needs a genie when we can trust our perfect Father?

What does a disciple look like?

I’ve been blogging this month about Christian priorities. I could probably spend the rest of the year on that subject, but I won’t.

I wanted to close this month with one final perspective. That perspective comes from an often undermentioned portion of a well-known passage. I’ve quoted this passage many times, but I don’t think I will ever speak of it again without placing the emphasis on Jesus’ last few words.

Those important words say it all. We will miss the point if we miss that verse.

THE VERSE

You have heard the Golden Rule many times. Jesus was being harassed by people who wanted to be right more than they wanted to do what was right.

Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

The Pharisees and Sadducees didn’t even like each other. But, they were united in their dislike of this man, Jesus, who was causing people to question their teaching.

Jesus had already silenced the Sadducees who asked him an inane question about which brother a woman would be married to in heaven. After that, the Pharisees met with the Sadducees to come up with a new way to set up this man they believed was an imposter. They approached Jesus and asked, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” (Matthew 22:36).

Matthew 22:37–39 is the answer Jesus gave and has been called the “Golden Rule.” Jesus said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

But, the next verse, verse 40 is the reasoning behind Jesus’ words. It isn’t usually quoted, however, when we recite the “Golden Rule.”

Why is loving God and others the most important commandment?

Jesus said, “On these two commandments depend all the Law and Prophets” (Matthew 22:40).

A FIRST-CENTURY INTERPRETATION FOR 2021

The Law and the Prophets were the only first-century Scripture. Jesus said that all of Scripture depended on loving God and others. To translate that verse for 2021, we might say, “We can’t be obedient to our Bibles unless we love God and love others.”

All of Scripture depends on the Golden Rule.

Later, Jesus was with his disciples in the Upper Room when he clarified this point even further. He told his followers, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34–35). Notice Jesus said the same thing but in three different ways. That was a rabbi’s way of saying this was the highest truth.

Jesus taught them that all of Scripture depended on their love for God and their neighbor. Later, he said if they wanted people to know they were his disciples, they needed to love each other like Jesus loved them.

Jesus didn’t encourage us to love like him.

Jesus didn’t suggest we try to love others.

Jesus said he was giving them a new commandment.

I’m in some trouble here.

Are you?

WHY DO WE THINK SOMEONE IS A DISCIPLE?

Is it because they vote a certain way?
Is it because they give God their time and money?
Is it because they do or don’t do certain things?
Is it because they are faithful church attenders?

Those are a lot of the reasons Christians measure a disciple, and they are all decent priorities. They just aren’t the most important priority.

If you are like me, it is a humbling thought. It is a LOT easier to do the types of things in the list above than it is to obey the most important commandment.

And Jesus said everything else depends on us loving God and loving one another—like he loves.

HOW WOULD THE WORLD CHANGE IF WE LOVED LIKE JESUS?

Most of the surveys and polls that are being taken right now don’t indicate that people see Christian disciples as people who love them. It is hard to love like Jesus. Yet, it is also his commandment.

How did Jesus love?

He sat with the woman at the well and talked to her. He told her how she could have “living water.” She must have known Jesus cared about her because she went back and told others about him. But, Jesus told her to “go and sin no more.” If we love like Jesus, we won’t want people to believe their sins are acceptable. We will want them to know all of their sin is forgivable. We will want them to stop doing the things that separate them from God and his blessings.

Jesus ate with Zacchaeus, a tax collector. Tax collectors were considered the lowest of the low, and Jesus went to his home for dinner! Jesus cared about him and wanted him to know how to be right with God. As a result, Zacchaeus gave back what he had taken and then some. If we love like Jesus, we will see people’s lives changed as a result. Then they will want to make choices that please God.

Jesus appeared to Saul of Tarsus on the Road to Damascus. I’ve often described the Apostle Paul as the most notorious terrorist in the New Testament. But, Jesus loved him, forgave him, and called him to serve. And Paul wrote almost half of the New Testament.

If we love like Jesus, the gospel message will prosper in the world because of the power of Christ’s love.

THE GOSPEL WILL PROSPER IF WE LOVE LIKE JESUS

The only time I ever love another person like Jesus is when his Holy Spirit loves them through me. I can’t love like Jesus any other way. Our world needs the love of Christ, through his disciples. Jesus needs us to obey his commandment.

I want to close by offering you an old favorite, “Oh, I Want To Know You More” by Steve Green. It was popular in the mid-nineties. I still remember the first time I heard this song because the words made me cry. I hope you will listen to it again if you haven’t heard it in a while. I think of this song as a prayer I should “pray without ceasing.”

I hope it will bless you, then others through you today, as you live and pray these words. I hope this song will help you spend time with Jesus right now as you listen and worship the One who loves you. I hope people will know we are his disciples because we have prayed this song to God.

If there is one prayer I would offer for all of us who are the Lord’s disciples, it would be this: The more we know Christ, the more we will love others as Christ loves them.

How much do we yearn to know Jesus in the deepest, most profound way?

Remember and forget like God

My friends and I stood in line for three hours in Westwood, California, in order to see one of the premiere showings of the movie The Way We Were. It was 1973, and the mix of Robert Redford and Barbra Streisand was worth the wait! The last scene in the movie still makes me tear up.

The title song won almost every award possible and is listed among the best songs of the century. Barbra Streisand bought a beautiful home on the shore in Malibu shortly after. My older sister worked for the landscaper who did her yard when she first bought the mansion and had stories to tell. I googled the beautiful cliffside estate’s current value, and it is somewhere between 100 and 150 million dollars.

The first line of the title song is: “Memories . . . light the corners of my mind.” That song lit up her bank account too! But, hidden in the song is some biblical wisdom.

The song teaches, “What’s too painful to remember, we simply choose to forget.”

MEMORIES MATTER

We are made in God’s image and created to remember. The key is learning to remember what God remembers and choosing to forget what God forgets. That isn’t easy! I think our memories were one of the key things impacted by the Fall.

The “forbidden fruit” was from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Once Adam and Eve had eaten the fruit, they knew more than God wanted them to know. They also remembered more than God wanted them to remember.

Our memory is one of the things that will be perfected in heaven. If there are no more tears and no more suffering in heaven, then one of the characteristics of our eternal life will be the ability to remember and forget like God intended for us.

Which memories will matter, and which will God enable us to forget?

WHAT DOES GOD REMEMBER?

One of my new discoveries is an online tool called the Dictionary of Bible Themes. I wanted to know what the Bible said about what God remembers. There were several verses for each heading, but to sum it up, God remembers:

His covenant
His promises
His people

The Bible has verse upon verse proving that God has never forgotten why he made us. He has never forgotten to provide all we need so that we can know him, walk with him, and love him. He has never forgotten to bring one of his children to heaven.

WHAT DOES GOD FORGET?

God forgets confessed sins. God chooses not to remember what no longer matters eternally.

We should make it a high priority to follow our Father’s perfect example.

REMEMBER AND FORGET LIKE GOD

There are times in life when I think, “But Lord, it was just one bite!” My next thought is almost always, “Yes, but one bite was all it took.”

One sin changed human existence. We will always want a life in the Garden, but that gate has been blocked here on earth.

For now, our priority is to live with heaven as our goal. Heaven is our home. We just don’t always remember that.

If we want to remember like God we need to think about:

The covenant: We asked Jesus to be our Savior, but do we allow him to be our Lord?
The promises: We have received promises, and we have given promises. God keeps his promises and doesn’t make promises he won’t keep. We should do the same.
The people: People have always been God’s highest priority. Does anything seem more important in your day than the people you will encounter?

If we want to forget like God:

We need to forget the mistakes we have confessed. We need to forget the offenses people have apologized for making. We need to forget to punish what is forgiven.

IS THINKING LIKE GOD POSSIBLE?

If we could only have one wish, I would wish to be able to remember and forget like God.

But, it was that wish that prompted Eve to take the fruit and eat. We can’t be like God because there is only one Creator. But, it is amazing to me that God so loved the world, he gave us Jesus (John 3:16). It is also amazing that Jesus gave us his Spirit, who is “the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16).

When we yield to the Holy Spirit’s thoughts, we can choose God’s better ways.

The writer of the book of Hebrews was quoting the prophet Jeremiah when he told his readers to remember what God had said and done. God had promised that “this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel” (Hebrews 8:10). God’s children are the house of Israel.

God promised his children he would “put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts” (Hebrews 8:10). God promised, “I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest” (Hebrews 8:10–11).

How is it possible that everyone will know the Lord? Hebrews 8:12 has that answer. God said, “For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.”

If we remember what God remembers and choose to forget what God forgets, we will learn to think with “the mind of Christ.” His priorities can be ours.

NUMBER OUR DAYS

If we remember and forget like God, we will live with his priorities. Every day has a purpose. Every day is the opportunity to live out God’s plan. He wants everyone to know him. God wants us to remember our high calling and confess the times we haven’t.

If God has chosen to forgive and forget, we can do the same. We can think his thoughts and make his choices, through the power of his Holy Spirit. If we do, people will see Jesus in us—and know him.

As the song says, “Memories light the corners of our minds.”

Which memories should we remember?

Which should we forget?

Why don’t oil and water mix?

We were recently in Hawaii and revisited the Pearl Harbor National Memorial. To this day, oil seeps from the wreckage of the USS Arizona and floats on the water above. It is profoundly moving because so many American soldiers remain buried below.

It’s important to honor those who sacrificed their lives for this nation. We should. But, it’s even more important to honor the One who sacrificed himself for every human soul in the world.

I love my country, but I am called to worship the Lord.

A PARABLE FOR TODAY

I stood above the sunken USS Arizona, moved by the memorial message from the guide. I looked at the oil stains on the surface of the water and thought it was a parable for our Christian faith. Thirty or forty years ago, pastors were encouraged to make their churches more “seeker-friendly.” Churches changed their priorities by changing the music, the dress codes, and often the sermon topics.

Now, thirty years later, has the culture benefitted from those changes?

Did the changes make it easier for non-Christians to enter, or make it easier for Christians to leave unchanged?

Often, we try to mix faith with our culture. But oil and water naturally separate. The word holy literally means “to be separate, set apart.” Do your values seem increasingly different from the world’s? Good! Then you are likely obeying Christ’s command to be in the world but not of it.

Oil floats above the memorial, but, even after all of these years, it remains separate from the surrounding waters.

THE KENNEDY CENTER HONORS

Our culture is good about lauding those who entertain us. I watched some of the Kennedy Center Honors on television. I only watched a small portion of the program. I like Garth Brooks, and I enjoyed watching those who honored him.

But, there was a LOT of the program I found distasteful. I can’t honor a lot of what is happening in our culture today. It seems like our culture is increasingly drawn to appreciate and accept thoughts and ideas the Bible rejects. But, I also have to remember what Jesus taught. Jesus said that if you love him, you will “feed my sheep” (John 21:17).

How do we honor the Lord’s sacrifice in a culture that labels our faith narrow-minded or prejudiced?

The answer: we feed his sheep.

OUR PRIORITY IS GOD’S PROMISE

I’ve not enjoyed June very much and it’s not because of all the rain. In fact, I’ve thought several times that the clouds are like God’s commentary on what our culture is honoring this month. I’m getting very tired of the little rainbow symbols that are attached to the different emails in my inbox. I just hit delete and move on.

For me, the rainbow will always be a symbol of God’s promise to redeem the world. I’m saddened it is now used as a symbol for perverse behaviors. I can’t encourage people to think a lifestyle the Bible calls “detestable” is acceptable. I don’t “hate” them as some might accuse. In fact, it’s the opposite. I truly want God’s best for them. I want their lives to have his eternal blessings.

All of us sin, and all of us try to explain, justify, or describe our sins as “normal.” But, we should be very careful not to “honor” sin or teach it as acceptable. Our sins cost God an unspeakable sacrifice: Jesus. If we say sin is “okay,” then we’ve just said, “Jesus didn’t really need to die.” I think most of the time we accept sin because we don’t care, not because we do.

I’ve heard people say things like, “It’s my life,” “I’m free to be who I want to be,” or “You can’t tell me what to believe.” And those people are right. It is their life; God gave it to them. They are free to make their choices because God created them with the freedom to choose. And, I shouldn’t force anyone to agree with my preferences; God has always made certain we could know his. And God’s preferences for our lives should be our highest priorities.

God didn’t leave us alone to make random, personal choices. He gave us guidance, answers, solutions, forgiveness, grace, and his “one and only Son” (John 3:16). Our priority isn’t to help people enjoy their earthly lives, living any way they choose. Our priority is to love God and honor his word, by walking in the truth. We are called to live with biblical priorities.

Jesus said, if you love him, “feed my sheep” (John 21:17). The question for today is this: What are we feeding those around us?

SPEAKING TRUTH IN LOVE

How do we honor the Lord’s sacrifice in a culture that increasingly ignores the Savior?

The answer is for God’s people to love others so much that we want them to live sanctified, eternal lives.

Love people enough to want their salvation.
Value their eternal lives more than their temporary lives on earth.
Teach God’s truth with love. We aren’t imposing our personal truth; we are offering God’s perfect truth.
Live with bold, compassionate confidence that Jesus is Lord.
Refuse to accept a sinful choice as a “personal preference.” People deserve to know how to be right with God and others. If necessary, love them enough to let them hate you. That is the sacrifice Christ made for each of us.

OIL AND LIVING WATER

Oil has been floating to the water above the USS Arizona for many years. If it was going to mix with the water, it would have by now. But, we know it never will. The stain serves as a strong reminder that people died in that place, sacrificing themselves for our country.

Let the “rainbow” messages in your inbox this month remind you that Christ died for everyone. Sin and faith don’t mix eternally and can’t mix now. Thankfully, the biblical meaning of the rainbow still holds. God provided redemption for sin. But, people need to choose their redemption in Christ. Our job is to teach them how.

OUR PRIORITIES ARE OUR CHOICES

Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman at the well, a woman living in sexual sin. He offered her the chance to drink from the living water and never thirst again. She was saved that day and changed. She chose to believe Christ, and she chose to go back to her home and live differently.

The Samaritan woman went back to her village and told others how to find Jesus. Scripture says, “Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, ‘He told me all that I ever did.’ So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word” (John 4:39–41).

Our Christian priority isn’t to accept sin; it is to help people separate from it. We can offer them a better way to live on earth and the promise of eternity. But knowing that is a priority isn’t the same thing as living with that priority.

Will we love people enough to let them hate us?

Will we care enough to offer them truth?

Everyone has choices.

Our priority is to be in the world but not of it.

Oil and water naturally separate. God made them to do just that.

Wishing You an Un-Hallmark Mother’s Day

I reserve the right to gripe just a bit about Mother’s Day. Woodrow Wilson wasn’t thinking of preachers’ wives when he signed a bill making the second Sunday in May an official celebration of moms.

Sundays were always “work days” at our house. I never went to a Mother’s Day buffet that wasn’t picked over and depleted of the good stuff. I rarely received a Mother’s Day card that didn’t come with a soggy envelope that had been hastily “sealed” right before being handed to me.

I heard wonderful sermons extolling the value of a holiday for moms, but my husband, Jim, raced out the door early every Mother’s Day morning, preached three sermons, and then napped most Mother’s Day afternoons.

A statement of fact: preachers’ wives get the shaft on Mother’s Day.

Another statement of fact: most of us wouldn’t have it any other way.

Except maybe the whole “buffet” thing.

The untold un-Hallmark truth about Mother’s Day

Your preacher will probably talk about Anna Jarvis this Sunday. Mother’s Day was her idea. Anna’s mom had passed away, and Anna wanted to celebrate her mother’s life. So, Anna worked hard to establish a day that would celebrate moms.

But, did you know that Anna Jarvis quickly became disgusted by the way the florists, card companies, and restaurants turned the holiday into a commercial opportunity?

In fact, she eventually spent most of her personal wealth in legal fees trying to lobby the government to remove the Mother’s Day holiday from the American calendar.

Anna Jarvis never married, never had children, and died alone in a sanatorium. (I bet you won’t hear that in your Sunday sermon or read it in your Hallmark card!)

The un-Hallmark joy of Mother’s Day

About now, you’re probably worried about this blogger. Don’t be. I have solidly adjusted my expectations for the holiday. In fact, it happened the first Sunday after Ryan (my oldest) was born.

Jim left the house that Mother’s Day afternoon to get me a card. Picture the drugstore shelf at 2:30–3:00 on Mother’s Day afternoon.

Let’s just say I don’t have that card framed or taped inside a scrapbook somewhere.

This year I will celebrate Mother’s Day with my mom. She and I will drive out to our sweet chapel service at the lake. Jim is out of town this Sunday, so I will be speaking at the service for him. Both my boys will celebrate their wives this Sunday—after they come home from serving at their respective churches. This preacher’s wife will probably just eat leftovers with my mom before we drive back home.

But, I will come home, put my feet up, and know that my un-Hallmark Mother’s Day was exactly what it should be.

Sundays—even Mother’s Day Sundays—are about worshipping God, not moms.

I’m a blessed mom

My favorite Mother’s Day quote is from Jill Churchill: “There’s no way to be a perfect mother and a million ways to be a good one.”

I’ve often said that parenting is the most difficult job I’ve ever loved. I’ve made some wrong choices as a mom, but I did teach my boys that worshipping and serving the Lord was the most important choice for Sundays.

I doubt I will ever have a Hallmark Mother’s Day. The president would have to change the holiday to every second “Saturday” of May. (I’m thinking that the card companies and florists have more money to lobby the government about that than I do.) I don’t want to be like Anna Jarvis and fight for something that doesn’t really matter anyway.

This Mother’s Day, my joy isn’t the result of anything that could be purchased in a store. My joy is knowing that my day will be quiet because all of my “guys” are busy doing what the Lord has called them to do this Sunday.

It’s always been that way, and I pray it will continue for every Mother’s Day Sunday of my life.

As for me and my house . . .

I grew up with those words, and I still stand on them.

Joshua was instructing the families of Israel to go to their land and establish their homes. One of the last things he said to them was, “Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:14–15).

My greatest joy and blessing this Mother’s Day isn’t a gift, a card, or a bottle of perfume. (But, for my three guys, in case you are reading this, I like Amazing Grace by Philosophy.)

My great joy and blessing this Mother’s Day is that I have been married to a wonderful husband and father for almost thirty-nine years who loves the Lord and loves me. And I have two amazing sons who love their wives and children—and their mom.

My family knows this Sunday is about serving the Lord’s expectations instead of Hallmark’s.

“As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord”—even on Mother’s Day.

I wish all you moms an un-Hallmark Mother’s Day this week.

But, I do hope you will enjoy a good buffet. If you’re not a pastor’s wife, you’ll probably get there early enough for the good stuff!

A “Grand” Time

There’s nothing quite like getting an email from your coworker that gently asks, “What are you writing about this week?”

After a brief moment of panic, I pulled out the computer. I thought I had already written this blog post!

My response: “I have no idea!”

So, this will be a short “Spring Break” kind of post because I’ve been busy with my grandkids. (And they are awesome, by the way.)

Our almost perfect celebration

I spent the weekend with one set of “grands.” We made a “happy birthday” banner for their parents and bought a pretty cake at the store that my two-year-old grandson picked out. I set it out on the counter and lit the candles.

It would have been a perfect celebration except for one thing: I was unaware that I had purchased an ice cream cake.

I sliced into it and said, “Something is wrong with this cake!”

Oh well. Good intentions?

It did taste good, even though it was a gooey, melted mess.

I am also spending a lot of time with my other set of grandkids. One is two months old and the other is three months old. One is interested in anything that has tires and the other is happy just to be held. These babies are pure joy, and I am a blessed grandma.

Why do we worry about them?

I look at these kids and wonder about the culture they will grow up to know. I often hear older people shake their heads with concern. But, I remember when my kids were babies and the older people did the same thing.

Why do we tend to worry about the next generation?

Is it that things are so different than the world we grew up knowing? Is it that things seem worse? Or, is it just the way one generation thinks about the future?

There is a lot of violence and darkness now on the television and in movies. There is a lot of bad information on computers. There is a lot of distraction with electronic devices. There is a lot of crime in the streets.

Did I catch most of your worries?

Now, remember with me.

Back in my day . . .

I was taught to crouch under my desk and put my hands over my neck in case of an air raid.

I could get in my car and drive off. I could be completely out of touch with anyone who might wonder where I went. (No cell phones in that day.)

I had to go to a library and look through volumes of books to find what my grandkids today can just google.

I had almost no knowledge of the larger world and had to trust the opinions or thoughts of others.

My grandparents endured World War II. My parents endured the Vietnam War. I saw 9/11, as it happened, on my television.

What will my grandkids see on theirs?

“Do not be anxious . . . .”

It is hard not to worry. It always has been. But, are things worse—or are they just different?

I often tell people who are worried about the future, “No one has ever knocked God off his throne, and no one ever will.”

There is a reason that Scripture says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6). Paul gives specific instructions to those of us who worry. He taught us to pray instead.

My favorite verse to remember when I worry is Isaiah 41:10. This one verse is the best lesson I ever learned on the subject. God said, “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

The reason this is the best lesson on worry is because of the first two words. “Fear not” is written in the form of a command. God didn’t encourage us not to worry. He didn’t suggest we not worry. He commanded us not to worry and then he told us why.

We don’t have to worry about anything in our lives. God will always be bigger than anything that comes against us. He is “our” God and our Father. He doesn’t promise to remove the difficulty, but he does promise to make us strong enough to endure it. God will always help. God will always hold us. We are his children.

To fear or worry is to look at God and say, “I don’t think you are enough.”

God is always enough.

But, if you have fears or worries today, there is grace.

He is still enough

When our son, Ryan, got cancer, I used to say, “God is barely enough—but he is still enough.”

This world hands us some tough roads, and it will hand our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren tough roads too. They will have different roads to walk than we did, but God will always be on his throne—and God will always be enough.

So, what are you worried about today?

I was worried about this blog post! And now it is done.

I’m smiling now because “God is always enough.”

My grandson just woke up. I hear him talking to his teddy bear in the crib.

I’ll hit “send” to our editor and then go get him up.

Is God great or what!

Don’t Forget God’s Valentine

Most of us will celebrate and honor the people we love this week. But let’s remember to honor the One who created the concept. God is love (1 John 4:8). He deserves our first and highest commitment of love.

Jesus told us that loving God was the most important commandment (Luke 10:27), and then added that we should love others as we love ourselves. I’ve often taught that the love we have for others is generated by the love we have for God.

But what would you answer if someone were to ask you “How do I love God?”

God is love

God is love, and we are created in his image. Human beings were given the unique ability to make choices because, without that gift, we couldn’t choose to love. Unfortunately, the ability to choose is also what grants us the ability to sin. And God created us with free wills anyway. That one fact tells us how important love is to God.

But, how do we choose to love God? Why do we need to make that choice?

God doesn’t need our love. He wants our love. God wants us to delight in him.

God is delight-ful

What delights you?

I am delighted to my core when my grandson runs to the front door and I hear him say, “Grandma, Grandma’s here!” When I know my family is safely home after a trip, I am delighted by that news. When I hear that someone is “cancer-free,” I am delighted with joy.

Psalm 37:4 tells us, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Do I get a sense of delight when I consider the holy love of God that has been poured into my life? Absolutely . . . but how often do I take the time to delight in God and receive his blessings?

We should take some time this week to turn off the world and fellowship with the love of our life—the God who created and is that love.

Love isn’t what we do

Where did we get the idea that love = doing something?

This week, millions of flowers will be sold, reservations made, and cards purchased. Don’t get me wrong: if you have a Valentine, you probably need to “do” something about that.

But, is loving God simply about what we do?

Jesus said, “If you love me you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15). Jesus did not say, “If you keep my commandments, that means you love me.” That’s why Jesus had such a hard time with the Pharisees. They missed that point entirely!

Obedience is a natural result of loving God, but it isn’t how we love God. The cards, roses, reservations, and boxes of candy that will be purchased this week aren’t love. They are expressions of love. What someone does out of a sense of “duty” isn’t the same as what someone does out of their sense of love.

And God knows our hearts.

Love is what we choose to become

How do we become a person who loves God?

Make that choice. You were created in God’s image with the ability to love. Jesus said loving God is our highest commandment. Choose to love God with a powerful, faithful, unwavering commitment. When you make that choice, God will fill you with the desire to love others.

Become a person who truly, devotedly loves God and the rest of your life will reflect that choice. Max Lucado said, “You change your life by changing your heart.”

Jesus taught us how to love God when he taught us how to pray by saying “Our Father.” Become the loving child of the Creator God and you will love your Abba. Allow your primary identity to be as his adopted, loved child. Imagine his delight when you run to the door of heaven, shouting his name with joy.

As you give valentines this week, make the choice to include your highest expressions of love! God will be delighted to return the love you give.

“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has prepared for those who love him.” —1 Corinthians 2:9

Two words for a successful life

I sipped my coffee and listened to an interview about “spirituality” for the new year. The person being interviewed would define that word differently than I would, but she made a great point that prompted my thoughts. Her advice for the new year was not to make a resolution, but to choose a word that would be your focus throughout the coming year.

Jim and I discussed her suggestion as we walked down the beach, later that morning. Was that good advice? Our answer: yes and no.

We all enjoy the idea that there can be “5 easy steps” to something. But, we all know that our spiritual lives don’t really work that way. That said, the idea of a word to use as a focus intrigued me.

So, I decided to choose these two for next year: Hold fast.

The same mistake

I sat in a beautiful room, overlooking the ocean. The unending waves rolled in, strong and relentless. I watched the storm clouds approach. I’ve always loved the ocean because it reminds me of God. I think of words like immeasurable and everlasting.

But the word that came to my mind that day was unchanging.

When I think about the past ten years, I do not think Christianity has prospered in our country. I think we are making the same mistake God’s people have always made, and I guess probably always will.

The question today is: Are you making that mistake?

our response

God’s people prosper when they submit to his word. That’s why God made certain to provide people who would be his prophets and teachers. He gave his laws and an entire body of Scripture. God even gave us his Word, in the flesh. God provided everything people would need to walk through this lifetime guided by his holy truth and, one day, live eternally in his kingdom. People have always been given God’s truth.

We can’t control the oceans, and we can’t control God’s truth. We can control our response to his truth with two words: Hold fast.

A friend shared a powerful message at a retreat this past fall. She simply read these verses as her message to us. Allow God’s Holy Spirit to speak these to you:

“So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter” (2 Thessalonians 2:15).
“Test everything; hold fast what is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21).
“Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 1:13 NKJV).
“He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it” (Titus 1:9).

hold fast

If you were to stand on the beach in Tarsus, Capernaum, or Patmos and stare only at the water, you would see the same thing that Paul, Peter, and John saw thousands of years ago. If you looked upon the water in the Sea of Galilee, you would see what Jesus saw when he walked out to his fear-filled disciples. When God created the waters of this earth, he revealed his everlasting character.

God is unchanging, yet unpredictable. God is all-powerful, yet gentle. God is constant, yet patient. God is timeless, yet still current. God is immeasurable, yet knowable. And God’s word is his truth.

If you want to walk with the God of the universe this year, hold fast to his unchanging, powerful word. We cannot eliminate the oceans from our world, and we cannot eliminate truth from God’s word. Is there something in God’s word you have chosen to ignore, rewrite, or adapt to your beliefs?

We cannot change truth. God’s word is like the ocean. It will remain long after our opinions are silenced. God’s truth endures. This year, will you choose to hold fast to the ancient and unchanging message of his truth? Will you hold fast to your God whose message is revealed on each page of the Bible?

The author of Hebrews was trying to encourage the early Christians to remain steadfast in their faith and wrote these words: “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23).

Hold fast to the eternal truth of God’s word. It’s a biblical focus for 2019—and all the new years to come. Hold fast, knowing Jesus will come again.

The waves continue to roll to the shore. God’s truth will continue as well. He who promised is faithful.

Hold fast to his word and you will be faithful too.

The Big 6-0

Never has a birthday bugged me like this one. By the time you receive this blog post, I will have turned the BIG 6-0. Now, I know some of you are rolling your eyes and saying, “I wish!” But, others are thinking, “I didn’t realize she was that old.” Still, others are saying, “I know! This is a hard birthday!” By the way, I like that response best.

I didn’t enjoy turning fifty, but I figured I might live to be one hundred so I consoled myself with the idea that I had a whole other “second-half” of my life. There is NO chance I will live to be one hundred and twenty. I’m on the downhill side of life and picking up speed! I wasn’t a grandma when I was fifty. Now, I’m a grandma to 3.8 grandchildren. Rachel is due to deliver another boy, the first week of December . . . Pardon me while I grin and say YEAH!!! (Pictures will follow!)

Grandkids are definitely the BEST thing about getting older. The second-best thing is the ability to walk out the door and travel anywhere. So, when Jim asked me what I wanted for my big 6-0, I told him that he needed to book me a few days at Disney World so I can ride every fast, flip-me-upside-down, twirl-me-around ride they have. I choose to turn sixty while I’m riding through the stars of Space Mountain and going from zero to sixty on my FAVORITE ride, the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster. (That ride features Aerosmith, a favorite band from my younger years – but that is a whole different blog post.)

Jim and I both have bad backs, which will get a little worse next week. But, I’m packing some Motrin and I’m getting in line. There is hardly anyone who likes Disney better than me. (Well, maybe my friend Sheila Bailey!) I grew up in California, and the name of my street was “Buena Vista.” If you watch an old Disney movie, you will notice it was made at the “Buena Vista Studio.” Yes! My street came to a dead-end at the back entrance of Disneyland, where the studio was. My grandparents lived close by, and we could use binoculars to watch Tinker Bell slide down from the Matterhorn while standing in their driveway. Disney is in my DNA and I wanted to turn sixty with Mickey and Minnie. Come to think of it, they are aging well!

Birthdays that end with a zero seem more significant, but they really aren’t. I’m just one day older than I was the day before. I think one of the biggest differences in life on earth and life eternal is the time factor. Almost everything on earth is measured by time. As King Solomon said, “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1). Solomon goes on to say there is a time to live, a time to die, a time to plant, and a time to harvest. I would add there is a time to ride fast rides and a time to watch the kids ride them. So, I’m headed to Disney now because I’m not sure when that last season kicks in!

Ecclesiastes is not usually on a person’s list of devotional thoughts, but I have always loved that book. There is time for everything on earth, if you do everything when you should take the time to do it. I think Ecclesiastes isn’t about the futility of life; I think Solomon was teaching us about the priorities of life. I think people should live whatever season of life they find themselves in, looking forward to heaven but fully enjoying their moments on earth. If we saw our earthly lives with godly perspective, then things like turning sixty would feel more like standing in line at Space Mountain. The closer we get to the end, the closer we are to the best ride of this life. When we get off the ride, Jesus helps us out of the car and we exit to the gift shop, where everything is absolutely free and stamped “Made in Heaven.”

I think we should try to live healthy lives and spend as long on planet earth as God allows. Each day is the opportunity to live for Jesus and store treasure in heaven, our eternal reward. I’m going to heaven, but I want to bring as many people with me as I can.

That is the way I want to view the rest of my birthdays. If I could take all of you with me to Disney World, for free, I would try to do that! It’s the greatest place I know to have fun! But I can take people to heaven with me, for free! It’s free because Jesus already bought everyone a ticket. How sad if I didn’t make sure everyone got theirs.

I wish all of you a blessed week. I’m unavailable, off the phone, off my computer, and out of touch for the next week. I’m sixty and I’m going to celebrate! (Now, I need to go color my roots. I don’t celebrate everything about getting older!)