Acting Foolishly

 

“Foolishly” is an adverb that describes the actions of a fool.  Nobody wants to be called or thought-of as a fool.  However, the libraries of the universe are filled with stories of the foolish ways chosen by mankind.  Essentially the word describes a person’s action when good sense, wisdom, or judgment has been laid aside in favor of one or more of the “seven deadly sins”.

We use kind words these days to avoid being offensive.  We call foolish deeds “unfortunate choices”.  Whatever you choose to call them, the outcome of those foolish decisions is to dishonor God’s trust as King Saul did ^{(1 Samuel 13)}.  The priest/prophet, Samuel, was late arriving at the battlefield to offer a sacrifice on Israel’s behalf.  The army was getting restless; some were even deserting.  So, the king, thinking to protect God’s honor, did what was not his place – he did the priest’s job, and God was not pleased.  The cost was God’s judgment; King Saul would be fired, and David would ascend the throne.

Samuel said to Saul, “You have been foolish. You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you. It was at this time that the Lord would have permanently established your reign over Israel, but now your reign will not endure. The Lord has found a man after his own heart, and the Lord has appointed him as ruler over his people, because you have not done what the Lord commanded.”  1 Samuel 13:13-14

Who would do such a thing?  Dishonor God by taking charge?  Well, I would, and I have; now don’t you give me that look…you would, and you have also!

For me, it was years ago when I was young and quite inexperienced as a pastor. The church I was serving was somewhat stuck (I thought), languishing in complacency.  They needed (I believed) a stirring, convicting, revival-starting sermon.  So, I cooked one up and served it, steaming-hot.  Near the end of that sermon the heat of my emotions got the better of the preacher, and, to emphasize a point of how our outreach to the community was more important than all the buildings and stuff in them, I did a 1980’s version of a mic-drop…to the floor.  The squelching feedback could be heard by goats and cattle three counties away.  It blistered my own eardrums!  I had made my point, but two deacons in the crowd decided I’d gone too far and walked out of the service.

My (so-called) unfortunate choice (more commonly known as foolishness) was perhaps the worst moment of my entire ministry.  That smallish country church was hardly a kingdom like Saul’s Israel, but my God-dishonoring mistreatment of a piece of God’s property may have illustrated just how much being in-charge was more important to me than being in God’s will.

Until I get to discuss that moment face-to-face with Jesus in Heaven, I will not know the extent of damage I caused that day with my foolish choice.  Perhaps the list of spiritual casualties my sinful moment caused was what led to serving troubled, angry, unstable, on-life-support churches for nearly the rest of my time as a pastor.  Like King Saul, the choice I made also determined the judgment that came my way.  Even at this point, more than forty years later, I sense in my heart during those quiet middle of the night moments, lying awake remembering (as the elderly do) that I crossed a line that day.  I’ve confessed my sin, and am forgiven based upon God’s character and promise, but the nail of sin, withdrawn from the post of my life’s record, still leaves a hole of regret!

For You Today

The postscript to that regret for me (and possibly you) is that God did use King Saul to test David’s commitment and launch him to the throne.  Perhaps the church I left behind also benefitted by God’s use of my “unfortunate choice”!  It will not surprise me if it did; what, after all, is impossible with God?[1]

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!  

[1] Image by Christian Dorn from Pixabay   Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The Christian Standard Bible^© 

Posted on Facebook Acting Foolishly

---

[1] He replied, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”  Luke 18:27

To Raise - or NOT to Raise - a Handy Question

 

Tuesday, August 18, 2026

Lift up your hands in the holy place and bless the Lord!  Psalm 134:2^(NLT)

“Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world.”  Psalm 46:10

Participating in worship this past Sunday morning was an absolute joy…and I almost missed it!  Saturday night was a touch nightmarish.  Unable to go to sleep, I stayed awake in bed from around 10:30PM to 1:00AM, finally gave up, got up, and did what you do when sleep won’t come…I read the Bible for a while, scrolled through the email and Facebook, and looked at some old family pictures.

While trying to get sleepy again in the quiet night, I heard  a crash coming from down the hall.  It was 2:45 in the morning, darker than Satan’s belly.  I jumped up and investigated every room.  Nothing was moved or missing, and I was now VERY wide awake, so I did the one thing certain to drive me into a coma…I folded that pile of clean laundry.  Sleepy?  Nada…nope…zilch!  I almost sent my daughter a text to let her know I’d most likely be asleep while she was in church, and not to worry.  But I just went back to folding the laundry and finished that vital task at precisely 3:48AM.

At that moment I looked up at the wall over my bed and noticed something odd.  One of the three pictures over the headboard was missing. 

The two outside are LOVE and PEACE; the missing middle one is from the Christmas song Twelve Days of Christmas…the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…a PARTRIDGE in a PEAR TREE.  The PARTRIDGE had flown the coop!  

And there it landed this, 1½ pound picture was right where my head normally rests.  And it then struck me (not the  picture, it was a thought which struck my head) that, had I been asleep, and not been restlessly wandering about the house doing odd chores trying to get sleepy, the point of that picture could have been the last thing to enter my mind.  Well, I immediately repented of any thought of ditching church and thanked the Lord for keeping me out of bed and not speared by a partridge in a pear tree.  I then showered and prepared to head off to Sunday School and worship. 

The near attack of the partridge dropping from my bedroom’s pear tree wall drove me to think deeply of how differently we all are in expressing our worship.

Ads on Facebook TV, and wherever the eyes of the public might wander, are created to convince you (and sometimes maybe their creators) that their brand of whatever they’re trying to sell, is best, real, the genuine, longest-lasting, best-flavored, smoothest-running, most effective, and coolest-looking of anything you’ve ever seen.  (That goes double for political ads).

“Newest” is the most-used word in advertising (and according to research, the most powerful).  But often it is the “same-ol’ same-ol’ repackaged in a new colored wrapper, an updated name, and not the least bit of moral conscience to guide their marketing lies.

There…I’ve said it out loud! 

(and maybe I’ve just uttered a long overdue confession of my own).

In the competitive world of business the bottom line is, well…the bottom line!  It is a “for-profit” world that sells stuff.  And there is a good reason why there are  government watch-dogs to guard the public interest when it comes to truth in advertising; to wit:  When “profit” is the main thing, scruples often go begging!

Now for the confession -

It can be the same way in church when we’re busy “selling” our fidelity to God.      I worship with a large congregation, different (to say the least) from the much smaller congregations I served before I retired three years ago.  In worship times, as the songs begin to crescendo or blend-in common strong, familiar phrases, there will be a pair of hands raised, then two or three more; finally, there are hands raised in every row of standing, swaying, singing bodies with eyes closed and facial expressions of pain, or possibly just engulfed by joy. 

Occasionally, I am one of them.  But those hands only rise to the occasion of joy unspeakable, thankfulness which just cannot be contained.

Please do not  misunderstand – this is my personal confession; I do not judge others as to their motive for lifting hands.  By way of explanation, I am from a generation that  did a pretty fair job of judging the church.  It was we Boomers of the 1960’s who preferred Woodstock for our worship, and John Lennon’s crew for our pastor (Lord help us)!  However, when I had judged enough (and paid the price for my judging ways) I came home to the Lord of the Bride; my hands were as empty as the Prodigal Son – no excuses…just ready for grace and forgiveness.

One thing remained when I came home to Him – my “congregational coldness”!  That upbringing was deeply indoctrinated, and it never included hands lifted, let alone swaying to the music, or (Heaven forbid) clapping to show appreciation for the singer or the sermon.  We stayed quiet (very much a favorite for introverts like me), and we paid attention, even taking notes on the sermon to help us remember which part of our sin-ridden lives we needed to repent that week.

So, the bottom line for these thoughts – I accuse no one  of being less than genuine if they lift hands in praise (the Psalmist said it’s OKJ)!  I am not bothered if someone sways gracefully to the music as their authentic response to the movement of God in the Sanctuary – an outpouring of praise and dedication to Almighty God and His Son, Jesus.  I would add, however, that doesn’t mean the rest of us, who remain quieter, are somehow rigidly opposing the more gregarious movers and shakers; we are simply contemplating; we are respecting God with our standing-still in the presence of what He is doing in our midst.

The Psalmist said that was good too! J

For You Today

 One final reflection:

We know that in everything God created, and in everything He said about what  He made and ordained as good, that there is beautiful diversity.

• ·        No sky is the same in any moment of the day, nor are rivers unchanging.
• ·        Every species and variation of animals, reptiles, birds, fish, and certainly human beings are fearfully and wonderfully made[1] to be diverse, as unique as their fingerprints.
• So, as the Lord’s brother, James wrote:  Show me your faith without works, and I will show you faith by my works.[2]  Let me borrow his style and apply it to what I know about this handy question:

If your raised hands show the Lord your faithful heart, please know that, as I stand next to you with these hands dropped quietly at my side, inside this heart of mine both hands are raised to the Heavens.

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors  and Heart Image by DesignByDessie

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!  

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors  and Heart Image by DesignByDessie

[1] Title Image by  Gerd Altmann from Pixabay  Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©   

---

[1] I will praise you because I have been remarkably and wondrously made. Your works are wondrous,

        and I know this very well.  Psalm 139:14

[2] James 2:18

The Faith of an...OUTSIDER

 

Friday, August 21, 2026

When Jesus left there, he withdrew to the area of Tyre and Sidon.  Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came and kept crying out, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely tormented by a demon.” Jesus did not say a word to her. His disciples approached him and urged him, “Send her away because she’s crying out after us.”  He replied, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”  But she came, knelt before him, and said, “Lord, help me!” He answered, “It isn’t right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”  “Yes, Lord,” she said, “yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”  Then Jesus replied to her, “Woman, your faith is great. Let it be done for you as you want.” And from that moment her daughter was healed.  Matthew 15:21-28^(CSB)

I know what it’s like to be an outsider, looking in.  As a young man I dated a beautiful girl in my high school class.  Her family was of Italian descent, and it was large.  Her mother was the oldest of 13 children!  THIRTEEN!  My family was miniscule by comparison.  Even I the 1960’s ethnic lines were important.  I later compounded my crossing of those lines by marrying that beautiful girl…in a Methodist church!  I eventually confirmed every doubt and fear held by her family that an outsider had stolen an Italian princess by moving our little “mixed” family a thousand miles away to the strange land of rural Florida, and joining a Baptist Church…light years removed from the religious tradition of my bride’s heritage, which was connected to the Vatican in Rome.

I can identify closely with the Gentile woman who approached the Jewish rabbi, Jesus; it was more than awkward; in Jewish culture it was an affront to every accepted and deeply held rule of propriety.  Likewise, in 1965, New York Italian girls did not bring non-Italian boys home to meet the family!  If they did, there was that risk of being branded with a Scarlet Letter.  (There was also some not so tongue-in-cheek tales told of non-Italian boys disappearing…something about trunks of big black cars and cement shoes).

Needless to say, I always felt like something of an oddity on display at Elizabeth’s family gatherings; kind of Ripley’s Believe-it-or-Not non-Roman freak show.  Elizabeth’s cousins were like Jesus’ disciples encouraging Him to send the Gentile woman away; she just didn’t belong!

What is an Outsider to do?

Well, like the woman Matthew (the tax-collecting Jew/outsider extreme) wrote about this Gentile woman…keep the faith and press-on!

For You Today

So, are you living the “outsider life”?  Maybe this postscript of my experience with outsider-ship will help.  My move wasn’t just a thousand miles away, it brought me to a calling, into the pulpit.  Twenty years later, as Elizabeth’s mother, Sofie, lay dying, it was the outsider she called to her bedside.  She wanted me to read Scripture to her and pray for her…and share comforting words of faith and hope. 

Sometimes, when faith in Christ is held dearer than the next breath, an outsider will find himself at the table with much more than crumbs!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!  

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors  and Heart Image by DesignByDessie

[1] Title Image by Daniel R from PixabayUnless noted, Scripture quoted from Christian Standard Bible^©    

Going Deeper with God

July 28, 2026

Motivational speaker John Maxwell tells the story of professional football quarterback legend Ken Stabler:

One day when the Raiders were in Oakland, a reporter visited their locker room to talk to Ken Stabler.  Stabler really wasn’t known as an intellectual, but he was a good quarterback.  This newspaperman read him some English prose:

I would rather be ashes than dust. 

I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than that it should be stifled by dry rot.

I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy, impermanent planet.

The proper function of man is to live, not to exist.

I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them.

I shall use my time.

After reading this to the quarterback, the reporter asked, “What does this mean to you?”  Stabler immediately replied, “Throw deep.”[1]

I have often thought about this story since I first read it thirty years ago.  It surfaced again this past Sunday in the Bible Study time.  Ken Stabler and the Oakland Raiders had an offense that believed in scoring often and quickly.   You cannot do that three yards at a time.  Long (“deep”) passes for touchdowns were expected in Raiders’ games; that expectation was rarely disappointed!  Quarterback Ken Stabler knew how to throw deep.

The lesson on Sunday was Apostle Paul’s version of going deep with God.

But as it is written, What no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no human heart has conceived—God has prepared these things for those who love him.  Now God has revealed these things to us by the Spirit, since the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.  1 Corinthians 2:9-10

The writer[2] of the lesson’s commentary made the point that while we cannot know God exhaustively (particularly due to God’s inexhaustive nature), He has made Himself available for us to know Him truly.  We can know God through Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son, who came to us, lived with us, died for us, rose from the grave to conquer sin’s death grip on us, and lives eternally with arms stretched open to receive any of us who will come to Him.

In this simple encapsulation of the Gospel, we find the deep (or secret) things of God.  Prophet Isaiah said that God said:

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not my ways.”  This is the Lord’s declaration.  “For as heaven is higher than earth, so my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.  Isaiah 55:8-9

So, what are these “depths of God”?  There’s no way to adequately express them, but, like many inexpressible issues, sights, and  thoughts, we know them when we see them.

I truly believe that the deep things of God (unknowable to, and undefinable by us at present, in our limited human knowledge) are at work in everything that happens.  They are active in a child being born, a murder, the stock market, earth’s plates shifting, and my stomach growling at lunchtime.  It’s what leads us to believe God is “in” everything, even though we cannot comprehend Him exhaustively!  We cannot see, but God invites us to know!

For You Today

Get to know Him…Throw Deep!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!  

[1] Title and Other Images:  Pixabay.com  Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The Christian Standard Bible^©   

---

[1] John Maxwell, Be All You Can Be (Victor, 1987), p.132

[2] Sam Crouch, Bible Studies for Life (Adult Leader Guide), Lifeway Christian Resources, Brentwood, TN, p.101

 

Out of the Darkness

 

When we leave the womb, we begin to face the possibility of isolation, being alone, abandoned.  And, not being created for aloneness, it troubles us.  There have been a number of times in my life, (and it still happens occasionally), that the aloneness of that small and vulnerable newborn child, just out of the mother’s womb, rises up in my soul and proclaims the profoundness of the deep darkness that surrounds and would swallow me up!

How does it happen, that darkness?  It generally comes (at least in my life) when I am isolated, and the memories of other aloneness or rejection haunts my thoughts.  I haven’t been hunted by a deranged king whose army has been given orders to capture or kill me like King Saul after David, the shepherd boy[1].  However, I have had people angry at me, and a few who would have rejoiced if I’d never been born.  But even simple conflict (what we would call “drama” these days), is enough to bring the darkness close and threatening.  It is at times like that I need the comfort of leaving the darkness behind and rejoining the light of God’s goodness.  When it comes to chasing the darkness away, there’s no better choice than the One who is the Author of light – Jesus!

If you recall last Friday’s three important questions in life…Where did I come from, What is my purpose here, and Where am I going…here are all three in a nutshell.  In the days leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion He taught his disciples the profound truth about where He came from, what His mission (purpose) was, and where He was going, and would take those who believe with Him.  He was (and IS) the light, and will lead us out of darkness every time!

Jesus cried out, “The one who believes in me believes not in me, but in him who sent me.  And the one who sees me sees him who sent me.  I have come as light into the world, so that everyone who believes in me would not remain in darkness.  John 12:44-46 ^(CSB)

Did you catch that last phrase about believing in Him and NOT remaining in darkness?  Did it roll around your mind like a healing ointment of calm joy?  That’s what truly worshipping God brings.  Jesus responds to those who worship His Father, the one true, living God, by throwing a floodlight over the gloom of darkness.  And a light soul cannot be engulfed by darkness. 

As the people of God offer genuine, heart-felt worship, darkness is dispelled, chased from our lives.  That is why whenever you don’t feel like coming to church on a given Sunday…and you go anyway…when you leave church that day there is a general sense of lightness; you feel better for having attended – glad you went!  Darkness had to leave when you emptied yourself in the presence of the ONE Who IS light!

For You Today

If there are circumstances on your horizon that threaten dark days, don’t forget where the light is found; He wants to light up your world!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!  

[1] Title and Other Images:  Pixabay.com  Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The Christian Standard Bible^©   

---

[1]Read the entire fascinating story in 1 Samuel – Chapters 18-26