This is how I know

I am always fascinated with this day. This day. The day between Good Friday and Easter always captures my attention.

I have always wondered with the Apostles thought. A week earlier they had seen their Rabbi welcomed into town and they may have thought He was going to be the long awaited King. Now they are scattered, hiding, and scared they will be killed too. Even Peter, one of His closest friends, denied him to point of swearing.

It. Was. Over. 

So, do you want to know how I know Jesus is the real deal and rose from the dead? Do you want to know how I know the New Testament is real and worth pouring into (other than it is the most critically attested piece of ancient literature we have)? Do you want to know how I know that Jesus isn't a religion, like all other great teachers who are still dead and who showed us how they thought living right would get us to Heaven, but rather a person that wants a relationship with us so we can let Him take us to Heaven.

This is how I know...

There is nothing, and I mean nothing, short of seeing, touching, and smelling a living Jesus that would cause 12 young, scared, and poor boys to do what they did. The Book of Acts tells us how empowered they were. We see how bold they shared what they saw. Remember, just months earlier they were denying everything they saw.

Only putting his fingers in the holes in Jesus' hands would cause a fisherman from Galilee named Thomas, who probably had never been more than 50 miles from where he was born, to die in India sharing his story of Jesus. In fact, the Apostle John was the only one of the 12 not to die a martyr death.

So, as great as Christmas is, I am reminded that lots of religions have a day they celebrate their savior's / master's / teacher's / profit's birth. Some even celebrate their death. But, Christianity is the only one that celebrates the Resurrection of the One we claim is Savior.

On this Easter Eve, I am reminded how scared Peter, James, John, and the others must have felt. We know what happens tomorrow. They didn't.

I wish I could tell them...Sunday's coming!

Guest Poster

If you get a chance, go check out boydads.com today! A few months back I had submitted some writings for their daily postings.

Well, today they used one! Excited that someone else likes my writing enough to share.

Please check it out and if you like it...share it!

Live to Impress, Revisited

A while back, I did a series of posts about Being a Proverbs 31 husband. Within that was a post about Living to Impress.

I was drawn back to my thoughts about that post on Sunday. Like most Sundays, it had been a crazy day leading up to church. We actually went on Saturday night to check out the Saturday night service at ROCC. On Sunday, I was dropped off with boys 1, 2, and 3. I took them to their classes as I finished up my class on Nehemiah. Amber took boy 4 to the store to run some errands.

When it was over, Amber and I were walking through the hall heading to pick up our boys, when a lady came up and said, "I wanted to come find you and tell you about your son in class today."

I replied: "Oh no. Which one, and what did he do?"

She went on to share how, during their discussion of a lesson about Jesus, boy 1 brought up the "Book of Life" and how "he knows his name is in it." As the teacher decided to let him lead the class down this tangent (she went to Revelation and the Book of Life), she asked how he knew all this?

"My grandpa was a preacher and my dad has taught it to me and my brothers."

Tears. In the hallway. Wife's hand on my shoulder. Tears.

I smiled thinking about how funny it was that he knows dad  as a "preacher" and how happy that makes me. I smiled (and cried) as I couldn't help but let her words go right to my soul as a father and husband. Hearing those words about my oldest son who I, no doubt, am harder on then I should be. Hearing those words in front of the woman I am Spiritually responsible for.

Straight to my heart. Tears.

"I told him God has great plans for him and he is going to be a Mighty Man of God. I work in the public school system and it is so refreshing (her now tearing up) to see things like this being instilled in young men. I wanted to track you down and tell you that you are doing good. So good."

We hugged. God bless Sunday School teachers.

See, so often we miss the beauty of the forest because we are too busy looking at the trees. It is so hard to ever feel or know we are leading our family down the right path. Do the devotions matter? Leading by example is so hard. Taking the time takes so much...time.

In fact, just that morning I had tried to have a conversation about Spiritual Warfare and how we need to put on the Armor of God. We read in Daniel 10 and Ephesians 6. I tried to include as much discussion about swords and battles as I could. The boys left the table, I turned to my wife and said, "Well that was fun." I knew they didn't hear a word I said as they ate their breakfast, looked around, and asked questions that had nothing to do with what I was talking about. Now? I'm not so sure.

The battle for the heart of our boys and our wives is in the details. It is in the small moments when we decide to talk about Jesus instead of sports. It is when we take an extra 30 seconds to pray before they leave the house. It is when we go back inside because not everyone got a kiss good bye. It is turning back on the light and reading the devotional even though both of you would rather just go to sleep. It is shutting off the TV, getting your Bible, and digging into the Word on your own to learn more about the Jesus you are trying (or should be) pointing your family towards.

I know it can be exhaustive work. I know there are times it seems impossible. I know there are times when you feel it is a complete waste.

It isn't.

You are doing good. So good.

Mileposts

Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it  -Proverbs 22:6

Mileposts are a great thing. They remind you how far you have come and allow you to reflect on the journey you've traveled to get you where you are right now.

They also remind us that our journey has not ended, and we need to, in the words of Walt Disney, "keep moving forward."

One mile at a time.


We all have mileposts in our life and at times we may reflect on those as a remembrance of great joy, or of that particular mile when the road was difficult and how we were changed forever because of it.

As a parent, I feel I am responsible for planting some major mileposts in the life of my boys. In Proverbs 22:6, my study Bible says the word "Train" could be replaced with "Start". The idea of "Train[ing] up" is the idea of initiating discipline and instruction. We need to initiate training in our boys, so as they grow, they can look back on significant moments in their life (read: mileposts) and remember the things we were trying to teach them.

Tomorrow, we are planting another major milepost in the life of our oldest son. I will have the honor and privilege to baptism him tomorrow morning. A parent has no grater joy then to know their child has come to a true understanding of the saving power of Jesus and they want to publicly identify with Him in baptism. In talking through this process with Evan (which was a discussion I initiated), it is clear he understands it and his faith in Jesus is genuine. He is the model of Mark 10:15.

What is even better, is this milepost would of never been able to be planted by me had it not been for another milepost we looked back to as we talked about baptism. It was a milepost planted by my wife several years ago as she sat at the table with Evan (again, her initiating), explaining to him the importance of what Christ did on the cross and how he can be sure what will happen to him when he dies. My act tomorrow would not of happen without my wife's love, desire, and willingness to "train up" her boy.

We don't always get it right. Evan may look back someday and see a lot of mileposts that are reminders of some pretty tough miles. But, on August 12, 2012, we will plant a milepost that will shine like a beacon all his life as a reminder of the love His Savior has for him and the decision he made to trust that Savior with his life.

Asleep at the Wheel

Yes, this is a post about 50 Shades of Grey and Magic Mike.

No, this is not a post for or to women. So, if you are a woman and read this, you may be upset or turned off by the tone. That is OK, this post isn’t for you. (There are numerous great blog posts written from a woman’s perspective about these movies and I would encourage you to read them.)

This for your husband.
Please tell him to read it.

I have had some great conversations over the last several weeks with a friend about the book 50 Shades of Grey. It started when I made a Facebook post (leave it to Facebook) about the movie Magic Mike. As I read post after post about women excited to go see this movie about the plight of male strippers, I wondered how many wives were excited years ago when their husbands wanted to go see the movie Striptease (a movie about the plight of female strippers).

That led to a great conversation about the book, culture, and the part a follower of Jesus has in culture. This post isn’t about that. Another time. Another place.

This is a post about you, the husband, being the Spiritual leader of your home. This is a post about being asleep on the bus you are driving (even if you don't think you are driving it, you are). This is a post about you knowing what is going on and what you are protecting (or not) your family from. PLEASE…do not think, in any way I believe that a husband should (or has the right or calling or expectation to) “rule”, “control”, or “dictate to” their wife, kids, or family. If you believe that, you need to go back and see how Christ loved us, because that is our model (read Ephesians 5:25, then the Gospels to see what that verse means in action). That being said, I do believe as head of the home, we will be held accountable for how we have led (or not) our family.

As Christ is the head (covenant head) of the Church, we husbands are the head of our marriage and family. This means we take responsibility for the covenant of our marriage and the relationship, just as Christ did. He died for us and took our sin on His shoulders; that’s what being the head means. Think of yourself as the pastor. Your family is your church. As pastor, you are responsible for the flock.

So, do you know what your wife is reading? Watching?

Do you care? If not, you should!

I strongly believe that we husbands will answer for what we've allowed to happen on our watch. We will answer for why we allowed our kids to be exposed to things they’ve been exposed to while we sat idly by. The same is true for our wives. You need to play a role in leading discussions about what, if any, media and/or entertainment should be going on in your home, and if you are comfortable with it. If not, then you need to say something. Talk it out...remember, it is still a discussion (that means you both talk, share thoughts, and opinions.) Odds are, you and your spouse will both grow if you come from a position of love, not control.

Simply put: LEAD.

You may never have tell your wife you would prefer her not to read or watch something.

But at least have the guts to have the conversation.