Snapshots and Synapses

Can you celebrate Easter in the midst of a global pandemic? Can you celebrate life and joy and worship an all-powerful, all-knowing, fully-good God when there is so much wrong in the world? How can someone even believe in such a God during the dark moments of life?  It’s precisely these moments that often turn us toward God. Sadly, I remember reading a blog that read: “We returned to church after 9-11 only to remember why we left.” That saddens me on so many levels but mostly because it tells a story that God’s people did not represent Him well to the author of that blog.  We are the salt of the world, and if we lose our saltiness then what happens to the world around us? Salt flavors and preserves, and those who bear His name are called to flavor this world with His truth and love. We are the light of world, but what happens to the world when we hide the light that burns within us?  Easter is a celebration of Life and Joy in God’s Victory! Death has no sti...

I am thankful for our God: Who never abandons us, Who is always patient with us, Who is faithfully working in us to become the people He has called us to be. He reveals truth to His people and steadfastly brings it to fruition. We are impatient, expecting an immediate answer to our prayers, which He sometimes does but more often makes us wait.  Why does God make us wait? I honestly don’t know. It could be because He knows that once we get a quick answer or a quick deliverance, we don’t appreciate it as much. Maybe it’s because He wants us to develop a habit, a lifestyle, of drawing close to Him. Maybe He likes to build the suspense to develop our character and help us to trust Him as He catches us… just in time… each and every time.  Last weekend I suggested we pray. Last year I suggested we pray. 13 years ago I wrote an urgent message . 30 years ago, I said a prayer that changed everything for me. God has been patient and faithful, and He will do as He said He wo...

I’m going to suggest something, and if it makes sense to you, reach out to other believers and suggest the same, maybe posting a link to this blog on social media. I suggest that on Good Friday 10-APR-2020 everyone pray for one hour starting at noon local time wherever you may happen to be in the world. Pray for COVID-19 to disappear forever and for people around the world to recover from this blight. We can blanket our world in prayer for 24 hours as the noon day sun washes over our planet. I don’t know how God will answer our prayers, but He has done miraculous things in the past when His people prayed for deliverance.  Take for example the North American Rocky Mountain Locust. In 1875, the largest locust swarm in history was recorded over the United States Midwest — 198,000 square miles. Compare that to the 163,696 square miles that make up present day California, or for people more familiar with the U.S. Northeast, the locust swarm covered the combined area of Connecticu...

It’s easy to ask “What if…”, but that is meaningless and unhealthy. “What if…” is a scenario that never occurred. There’s a saying that hindsight is 20/20, but even then, no one has all the facts to accurately describe how life would be different. “What if…” is a way to criticize and fantasize about a reality that never materialized. I used to ask “What if…” and all it did was leave me wanting more than my current reality, regretting any actions that had contributed to it or resenting the absence of opportunity. “What if…” tears a person down and limits their vision to the possibilities that can emerge from today. I’ve learned to ask healthier questions when I’m in in a hard situation: What have I learned? How should I respond? Where is God in my circumstances and how do I join Him in what He’s doing? I used to ask “What if…”, but I’ve learned to ask “What now?”  Do I believe that God is working in the global COVID-19 situation? Yes. Absolutely. Do I believe that He is st...

Simple does not equal easy. I wrote last week that if we want to see healing in our land, then God’s people are called to four simple things: Humble ourselves Pray Seek God’s Face Turn from our wicked ways Simple, right? Easy? Not so much.  Humility Each of us tends to have an unrealistic view of ourselves. In pride, we compare ourselves to others, patting ourselves on the back when feeling elevated and shamed when we don’t measure up. But a realistic view, a humble view, of ourselves acknowledges that we don’t measure up to the high standards of God’s righteousness. In humility, we remain grateful for His never-ending grace poured out in ever-lasting love. We are who we are, and by His grace we stumble less over time because we are changed in His Presence. It’s not because of our efforts, but because He gives us the strength to do what He has called us to do.  Prayer It is in that humility that we turn to God in prayer. It sometimes feels li...

How badly do you want to see this COVID-19 coranavirus go away? Last week I wrote about how we reap what we sow . So what have we been sowing? Not just over the past month or past year. What have we been sowing over the past several decades?  For some people, that seems like a long time, and there is so much that has changed over the past 30 years that I could almost agree. Last month, I celebrated an anniversary with my wife, traveling Orlando, FL for a long, wonderful weekend. We lived in Orlando 20 years ago, and it was amazing to see how much had changed. We drove to the Christian School where I had worked as well as the church the school was affiliated with. We found the apartment building where we lived when our first son was born, and the Backyard Burger that we frequented as a special treat with our oldest daughter. So much had changed: the streets, the buildings, the fields. What was once new construction had become weathered and was being replaced by the next genera...

You will reap what you sow. At least that’s what Galatians 6:7  says, and I have no doubt that it’s true. The media has been sowing panic about the Wuhan coronavirus, and we are seeing empty store shelves as people have panicked and stockpiled. And looking at this website , I’m reminded that people will be filled with the fruit of their schemes and ensnared by their wickedness. (Proverbs 1:31, 5:22) Isn’t that what’s happening in our world right now?  President Franklin D. Roosevelt encouraged a Depression-afflicted America that  “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself” , an affliction that is paralyzing the world right now and possibly leading to the same economic condition that Roosevelt was trying to address in his first inaugural speech. The scariest thing about the COVID-19 coronavirus is what we don’t know, which is a terrifying concept for a people that have come to depend on their technology and understanding. We have deified man, and we have worship...