The Doctor's Call

Years ago I discovered something about crabs. If you put a bunch of crabs in a bucket you do not need a lid. As soon as one crab tries to get out of the bucket one of the crabs at the bottom will reach up and pull the crab above him down. Some people are like this. Whenever they see someone making headway in life they feel compelled to stop them, to pull them down. They would rather see failure than applaud someone else's success. This lack of grace is one reason why the Bible tells us to "run with endurance the race that is set before us," (Heb 12:1) In the race of life there will always be those who lack mercy and grace. They hate winners and dismiss as much success as they can. In Christian circles we find these folks focus on self rather than on Christ. They become the subject of life rather than their Savior. It is like they have forgotten the implications of Christ's death and resurrection. So how then can we protect ourselves from this type of religious h...

It is March and that means Chicken Madness. I know, you thought that I was going to talk about Basketball and the South Carolina Gamecocks. That is not quite true. You see, right now I am spending my time taking care of my chickens, watching the NCAA Basketball Tournament and grading papers. One of these is exciting, one of these is predictable and one of these is frustrating. I will let you pick which one of these goes with which activity. It is actually my work with chickens that has taken up most of my time lately. Like anything that we care about, raising chickens takes intentional actions, great patience and a willingness to learn. Rick Pitino, the Basketball Coach for the Louisville Cardinals, recently made some comments concerning one of his players who was thrown off of his team. Paraphrasing Patino, he said that there are some things you can teach someone by having them run laps, and there are other things that a person just has to accept the consequences of their actions ...

Our attitude toward all men should be that of equality because we are common creatures. We are of one blood and kind. As I look across all the world, I must see every man as a fellow-creature, and I must be careful to have a sense of our equality on the basis of this common status. We must be careful in our thinking not to try to stand in the place of God to other men. We are fellow-creatures. (Francis A. Schaeffer, No Little People, Ch. 1)

Fear not! Wow, so much crazy stuff is happening in the world. A person could get nervous or even start to have fear if we are not careful. Do you have an issue with fear in your life? Whether small or large, it can even get to the point of ruling in our lives. For me it was the fear of man! In Mark 6:49-51, the guys were out on the lake and a wild storm descended upon them. They were overco me by fear; then out came Jesus walking on the water. Fear is part of who we are and can protect us at times. But here Jesus comes strolling along, and tells them to not be afraid. The storm (life) was still crashing around them (problems of life), and Jesus told them not to fear. “Take courage” “Be of good cheer”. Here the boat is probably half full of water, and the guys are soaking cold. Now their Lord says cheer up. Has anyone ever done that to you - when all you want to do is cry or scream or just go to bed? Cheer up, put on a smiley face. No way! You see, Jesus told them not to fear because H...

How to read your Bible . . . what you don't read your Bible?!?!? Look in the  content section at the front of a Bible and find the Gospel of John. Read one chapter each day until you get to the end of the Bible, after the book of Revelation and before the maps. Then go to the book of Genesis and don't stop until the book of Revelation. If you miss a day, that is ok, just pick up where you last read. The reading of the Bible is meant to be enjoyed. Like listening to a friend. 

"What is it that makes Christian faith unique among all the religions of the earth? It is not a big philosophical idea (though we've got some good ones, like the eternal Logos as a better explanation for the intelligibility of the world to human minds than any secular philosophy can offer). It is not a great ethical principle (though we've got some good ones, like the Golden Rule and the Ten Commandments). It's not even a story, for other religions have their mythologies. It  is the fact that our Story, while being every bit as suspenseful and dramatic and satisfying as any fiction, actually happened in History. As Dorothy L. Sayers said, Jesus is the only God with a date in history. As C. S. Lewis put it, Myth became Fact. Nobody knows when Krishna appeared as an avatar of Vishnu. But Jesus was born when Quirinius was governor of Syria. Christmas has its legends, but the birth of Jesus is not one of them. Like the Exodus from Egypt which preceded it and the Resurrect...

I wanted to take some time and write to you about some questions. There is a tension found in the Bible regarding the sovereignty of God and the human ability of choice. In the Bible there are two truths that stay in tension. God is sovereign and He knows the end from the beginning. If this were not true then prophecy and the book of Revelation would just be hopeful guessing. The other truth is that in the Bible men and women are always responsible for their choices, action and decisions. God responds to our choices and prayers in the time and space where we live, and that is very good. We must remember that God is not limited by time, space, dimension or anything else. He sees all time as the same, since He is outside of creation. So unlike humans, God is not limited.  Now there are some folks who want to overemphasize one or the other of these truths. The extreme on one side says that our choices do not matter, but that is not what the Bible says. Our choices always matter,...

For some time the problem of identifying the differences between friends and acquaintances has dogged me.  As I see it an acquaintance is often thought of as a business contact, a waitress/waiter at the coffee shop or someone you see at your favorite grocery store. A friend is someone who sticks with you. As the song says, “Thank you for being a friend, thank you for being a confidant . . .” Yet in our fast paced world too often the two get confused. So I sat down and thought about what are the differences between friends and acquaintances. I also asked my wife, and some friends what they thought and below are some ideas.   §   A friend spends time with you, even when it is inconvenient. An acquaintance spends time with you because it is part of business. §   A friend will tell you when you have messed up in order to make you better. An acquaintance will tell you that you are great in order to use you for their purposes. §   A friend does not care if the...

No one experiences success alone. This is true in sports and life. There are always people behind the scenes who help successful people to reach their full potential. Now, you may be thinking that this is true of unsuccessful people too, and you would be right. The difference between the two groups lies in the character of those who support them.  Character counts and the c haracter of those who are your friends and supporters will directly impact your success in life. If you want to see what failure looks like all you have to do is view the Supermarket Tabloids or the gossip columns on the Web. If you want to see success look at who Champions thank when they are being interviewed. Most often it is a group of people that you and I have never heard of but who have supported that Champion, especially in times of adversity. An example of a successful team that supported a Key Man, is seen in the Bible. There was a guy named Daniel who had three friends that always supported him. In f...

It is that time of year when pulled hamstrings, torn ACLs and chronic injuries are causing some great athletes to retire. You may be one of them. Of course it is not just physical injuries that can shorten a career. The challenges when change comes upon us are our choices. We suddenly have choices concerning our time, our talents and treasures. What that means is that we have some decisions to make concerning how and what we are going to do now? Now these should not be a quick decision. That is because we need discernment to understand ourselves and our circumstances. Discernment comes after thoughtfully contemplating life's events.  There are a number of places in the Bible where we are told to contemplate life’s events. In James 1:22-25 we are told to not forget who that person is who stares back at us in the mirror every morning. I believe that as we reflect on our lives we will find that there are three choices concerning our future. We can choose to rust, recover or reac...

Yesterday my youngest daughter reminded me of one of my life proverbs, "Take responsibility and take responsibility for your actions." This old military saying reminds us that adults are responsible to provide leadership and are also responsible for the decisions that they make. Unfortunately there is a chronic issue that has caused churches, Christian colleges and denominations to break out in a cold sweat. That issue is sexual abuse. Already I can see some folks will want to stop reading and pull up a nice quote about puppies or playful kittens, but this simply supports the problem. As long as the local church tolerates sexual immorality, adultery and abuse it will be unable to address our culture's rejection of the Gospel. I experienced this problem of churches refusing to deal with longstanding sexual issues when I pastored a church in Idaho. There was a church member who for years had abused his granddaughters. I reported the crime to the police. The negati...

In sports there is a word that always makes me cringe. It is the word, "potential." It can mean that an athlete has yet to be tried on the field of competition, or it can mean that an athlete has the skills to make it to the next level, but has somehow failed to achieve it. In one sense it all has to do with the tense of the question. It can be said, "He has so much potential," or "He had so much potential." So how does a person maximize his or her potential and keep from being a "might-have-been? When I think of potential, in the positive and negative sense, there are a few people who come to mind. Many of the teams in last month's NCAA Tournament come to mind! One fellow in the Bible who comes to mind is a fellow named Mark. When Mark was young he was identified as a man with potential. He was young, enthusiastic and hungry. But how he maximized his potential is a journey worth telling. John Mark had it all. He was from a good family, he l...

Some of the most important words one can utter are, “I forgive you.” and “You are forgiven.” These simple words can do so much to increase healing, develop respect and defuse conflict in a healthy marriage. A lack of forgiveness can also allow hurts to continue, wounds to fester and respect to dissipate. Some of the signs of a healthy marriage are the same as those of a mentally and emotionally healthy person. They involve forgiveness, being in touch with reality and having someone who they can share their life with. I believe that true forgiveness is the bedrock for a healthy marriage. Some of the experiences that I have had with couples that I have known and counseled support that view. My wife Rhonda and I had the opportunity to go to a vacation to Arizona. While visiting the Grand Canyon we got to know a couple named Bob and Susan. Bob sold insurance and Susan worked as an Elementary School Teacher. The more time that we spent with them the more obvious it became that there was ...