Whiffle Ball

When my boys were really young, I would often be found in the backyard, pitching ball to them. I knew it was impossible for them to hit it every time. Actually, if they hit maybe three out of ten, it was an accomplishment. If I saw them wanting to give up too soon, I would assure them that no one hits the ball every time and encourage them to keep trying. In the end, if they really tried hard, even though they whiffed at more balls than they hit, I would still credit them with a job well done and maybe go get them ice cream cones. Logically, this makes no sense. Here were my children with a 30-percent success rate, and I was rewarding their effort. Likewise, God intercedes for us and counts us as righteous because of our hunger and our desire for him. (Matthew 5:6) Pretty amazing huh? The truth of the matter is that He doesn’t expect us to be perfect; we often expect us to be perfect. Let's quit striving for perfection and start living in this freedom!

The Orange Vest

A life jacket was developed to keep people alive...but it is useless unless you wear it. During one particularly stressful time, I took my wife on a little surprise getaway. We traveled to a nearby
lake and rented a boat. The idea was to get away from everything for a while. No phone, no noise, no responsibilities. We were having a great, relaxing time out in the middle of the lake—until my wife realized that I wasn’t wearing my life jacket. Why couldn’t she relax? For good reason. She was anxious because I can’t swim. She knew what the result could be if I fell into the
water unprotected. I assured her that I’d be fine, but she wasn’t convinced and insisted that I put the jacket on. This is the same kind of anxiety and urgency we must have for persons who are unprotected from the shark-infested waters of sin. Who do you know that's exhausted from swimming against the tide and is struggling to stay afloat? God calls us to intercede and be lovingly persistent with those persons in our life who need to be fitted with the eternal life jacket.

Great Intentions

In life, it’s crucial that we choose to lighten our schedules. When we shut off the noise of ourselves and clear our minds, we can actually hear, listen, and be open to the Lord’s instructions. We are told many times to be there for one another, to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, and to do these things in both physical and spiritual ways. We know this, and yet many of us lay his instructions aside until tomorrow. We feel that nudge, but we bargain and say, “Tomorrow, tomorrow.” We mean to offer a word of encouragement, but never get around to it. We want to write a letter or make a call, but it never gets done. We desire to share Christ with a coworker and intend to get serious about our Christian faith. We hope to read the Bible and pray more. In short, we all have great intentions, but time, laziness, and the trivial things of life sap our strength and divert our attention until the day comes when the desire is gone and the seeds of complacency and mediocrity take root. Has this happened to you?

The Almost-Built House

At times I think of a piece of property I see on a certain drive through the countryside. On it is an almost-built house with a driveway grown over with grass. It’s clear that the builders had
started out with great intentions, but for some reason they stopped their work. If we’re honest, this is what happens to many of us and our outreach efforts. We have great intentions and start things out with a great deal of energy and ambition, only to allow some lame excuse to douse the fire. Paul tells the church at Corinth that they are to “finish the work, so that their eager willingness to do it may be matched by their completion of it” (2 Corinthians 8:11). Where have you stopped working? Finish the work!