Month: November 2015

Happy Thanksgiving!

I love this holiday because it forces most of us to ask ourselves the question, and often ask the question of others… “What makes you thankful?”The answer to that one brings a myriad of answers:

• My family (probably first on the list, it’s a mandatory response)
• My health (followed by mass consumption of food that’s good for nothing even close to a healthy lifestyle)
• My job, my car, my friends, my, my, my…

Please do not hear this is being too snarky, the Bible does tell us to be thankful for all things, and that includes every corner of our lives.

So, when the youngster says their most thankful for their puppy… that’s actually good theology in training.

But, since we’ve grown a little older and wiser, and also understand there’s a lot more to be thankful for than just puppies, let me make sure there’s one more thing on your list for which you have expressed thankfulness.

1 John 1:9 

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 

More important than anything else we can come up with, even the things that jump right to the front of the line in our mind because they are so near and dear and appreciated, is the one thing that we have absolutely nothing to do with.

Our salvation as a free gift of God. It should be first to cross our lips when speaking of thankfulness every time!

The only thing we have ever owned is our sin, everything else belongs to God. But, if we confess our sin look what it says… “He” is faithful and “He” is just and “He” can cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

This Thanksgiving we will over eat, we will rest and recreate, we will indulge in all kinds of things, but don’t forget to be thankful for the thing that matters most.

There is a God, He loved us even when we were unlovable, and He has done everything we need to save us from ourselves. 

I challenge you not only to remember this, to offer a prayer thanksgiving, but to be the one at the Thanksgiving table when asked what they’re thankful for does not neglect to point to the God who saved them.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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The Cross Eyed Life has gone to print! This online blog, site, media collection has entered a new phase. As of November of 2015, the Baptist Digest of the Kansas Nebraska Convention of Southern Baptists (KNCSB) has determined to print an article of mine monthly.

It’s very exciting, and I used the first edition to introduce the concept of living the Cross Eyed Life. So, I thought it would be a good refresher for those of us who have been here all along, and I am posting what has already been printed.

So, let’s welcome our new print family members to the Cross Eyed Life!

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PRINTED IN THE BAPTIST DIGEST NOVEMBER 2015 –

I am starting a new adventure here with the KNCSB Baptist Digest, and with it a thank you to our new KNCSB president Joe Stiles.

When I expressed I would miss writing the Presidents Perspective each month, he responded with a gleam in his eye and asked me to keep on writing.

Thank you, Mr. President! But, we probably ought to change the name of the column, so, let’s christen this new adventure: The Cross Eyed Life.

I know, what in the world is a cross eyed life? Let me explain.

A few weeks ago my wife and I were making our way to a missions gathering in Salt Lake City and had to start out early: up at 3 am, on the road by 4 am, at the Wichita airport by 5 am for a 6 am flight… that left at a little after 9 am.

Yeah… It was one of those days. We missed our connection; they misplaced our luggage, and about 100+ people sat in the terminal losing their religion.

What made it worse was the weather. As the sun came up (which we got to see every minute of), it was a beautiful day, and it was so nice the clouds themselves had formed the words zip-a-dee-do-dah.

So, obviously there were no weather delays.

Maybe the plane wasn’t there yet? So, I asked the gal behind the counter… nope, that’s our plane sitting right outside the window.

Mechanical problems? Not it, it’s all good.

I know, the pilot hasn’t made it in from a connecting flight yet? Sorry, no go. He’s already sitting on the plane with a full crew.

So, with a dumbfounded look on my face I asked the gal behind the counter one more question, “So, can we all get on the plane and leave?”

I will bet you know the answer. She said no.

It was then that I learned a new term: low ceilings.

Apparently, the weather in Denver was different. Low clouds meant it was too difficult to land.

Even though everything on our end was perfect, it would have still been a huge mistake to take off because where we were going wasn’t ready yet.

It was at this point I moved from disgruntled to thankful. Thankful that someone knew what was going on and had a better plan than I did.

It’s all about perspective. You have to see things clearly if you are going to move in the right direction.

And that’s what “The Cross Eyed Life” is all about, seeing things from the right perspective.

As a follower of Jesus, we have to learn to see things through the lens of the cross.

The cross changes your perspective on love and passion.

The cross changes your perspective on suffering and sacrifice.

The cross changes your perspective on everything in life.

First Corinthians 1:18 says, “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”

How great would it be if every believer spoke with the grace of the cross? If we felt with the passion of the cross? If we walked with the power of the cross?

Wouldn’t it be great if our vision were constantly obscured by the image of the cross.

That’s when we would truly start living The Cross Eyed Life.