How do you make sense of extreme tragedy in your life? For Job, he spiraled into the absurd as it relates to his view of God….
Our Words Can Have a Damaging Effect
The Eternal, Self-Existent God
Yesterday in my daily Bible reading I read Psalm 90. The Psalmist extols some of the immutable characteristics of God. I wrote about it in a previous Daily DAVEotional blog post here.
About Online Interactions
2 Timothy 3
You should also know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control; they will be cruel and have no interest in what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. They will act as if they are religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. You must stay away from people like that. (2 Timothy 3:1-5, NLT)
The Daily DAVEotional
Is it just me or do people seem angrier and more polarized these days?
Two hallmark characteristics of Christianity are love and forgiveness. Jesus raised the bar by telling us to love our enemies (Matthew 5:44) and to forgive others an unlimited number of times (Matthew 18:22). Yet even among Christians it’s sometimes difficult to see these qualities of Jesus expressed.
Social media, in particular, has contributed to an environment where it’s easy to argue with and even slander others with whom we disagree. If you spend any amount of time on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Nextdoor, you’ll quickly see conversations devolve into the equivalent of a digital junior high food fight. It often seems as if kindness and civil discourse no longer exist. We can often fall into the trap of arguing with others to prove our point.
Alan Jacobs, in a 2017 blog post (https://blog.ayjay.org/vengeance/) warned about the dangers of vengeance and vindictiveness online:
When a society rejects the Christian account of who we are, it doesn’t become less moralistic but far more so, because it retains an inchoate sense of justice but has no means of offering and receiving forgiveness. The great moral crisis of our time is not, as many of my fellow Christians believe, sexual licentiousness, but rather vindictiveness. Social media serve as crack for moralists: there’s no high like the high you get from punishing malefactors.
Paul’s words to Timothy are especially relevant to us today. Given the environment in our culture and on digital platforms, it’s often easier to look like the people Paul describes than the people Jesus invites us to be.
Reflection
In what ways do you find yourself mirroring the people Paul describes?
What would help you to maintain the loving and forgiving posture of Jesus in your interactions with others?
As we enter 2021, my prayer is for an extra measure of self-control so my engagements with others will be seasoned with grace, love and kindness!
Crossing an Unknown Bridge
Have you ever had a task that you dreaded doing but the end result made it worth it? As I write this, I’m thinking about how I need to mow my lawn.
Taking our family photo is one of those tasks that we dread. The mere mention of it to my family elicits a collective groan, and for good reason. Trying to find a time to take the photo and then coming up with an inspiring location is exhausting. Not to mention the task of trying to figure out what we’re all going to wear.
And we know it’s not going to be a quick endeavor. Once we get to the location, we have to find the right spots and take numerous photos, adjusting for lighting, positioning, closed eyes and awkward smiles.
And someone (probably me) is certainly going to get frustrated that things aren’t going quickly or according to plan. Tensions will rise and patience will be tested. It’s the same every year. Who wants to go through all that?
But afterwards, when the photos are all downloaded off the camera and edited on the computer, we’re always glad we did it.
This year we decided to take our photo at a local park near us. Based on online reviews, I thought it would be an interesting location with plenty of scenic backdrops. After walking around and taking a few photos, Jen suggested we pose on a short bridge that extends over the Oso Creek.
Bridges are interesting because of what they symbolize. Bridges not only help us get to another destination but they help us overcome obstacles that can make the journey more difficult. In our photo, we’re standing in the middle of a bridge, not quite yet to the other side. I think that truly depicts where we’re at in this season of life.
As you know, our boys are seniors in high school and they have been busy applying for schools and preparing for the next step in their educational journey.
For us, we’re keenly aware that at this time next year, we may very well be empty nesters. Our boys are busily preparing to leave; they have started to cross the bridge, but they’re not yet on the other side.
A few weeks ago, our entire family boarded a redeye flight from LAX to visit the Naval Academy, which is one of our boys’ top choices for next year. It was a whirlwind trip but it was fun to see the campus, meet the Cross Country coach and even see a former high school friend who is a current cadet. We don’t know for sure if our boys will end up at the Naval Academy or somewhere else, but it was another reminder that we’re on a bridge, headed for something new.
Jen and I are doing our best to enjoy this season, attempting to live in the present moment while peering to the other side of the bridge.
I’m reminded of message I heard recently in which the pastor urged us to celebrate each day and be grateful for each moment. He quoted Psalm 118:24, which says,
“this is the day which Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”
We are so grateful for you and your prayers for us. Please pray that we would accept each day the Lord gives us and rejoice!
Empty But Full of Promise
Recently, I came across a tweet from the Orange County Register that illustrates the spiritual condition of Millennials in Orange County. The tweet linked to an article and said, “Empty, but full of promise: Look inside some of O.C.’s most spectacularly vacant buildings http://bit.ly/20HXpXW.”
The article highlights 3 vacant Orange County buildings, each of which, in it’s own way, depicts a spiritual reality of life in Orange County.
One of the buildings is brand new and is one of the tallest buildings in Orange County. From the top floor one can get an amazing 360 degree view of South Orange County. Yet this building sits vacant, devoid of life.
A second building highlighted is the Bay Theater in Seal Beach. According to the article, this theater was the favorite spot for Steven Spielberg to watch a movie while he was a student at Long Beach State. Yet this historic theater, a memorial to a bygone era, shut down in 2012, giving way to more modern multiplex stadium theaters.
The third building highlighted in the article is the YMCA building in Santa Ana, which has now been vacant for more than 20 years.
So what do these buildings tell us about Orange County? What’s the spiritual connection?
I thought about the new modern building with it’s stunning panoramic views. From it, you can see the ocean, the mountains and all that life in the OC has to offer. In a way, this view represents how many Millennials live life here. Many will give their lives trying to make it to the top, achieving the kind of success that would allow them to experience everything that the OC has to offer. But inside, there’s no life. It’s a fleeting pursuit that cannot deliver the kind of fulfillment and purpose that we all desire deep down in the pit of our being.
The Bay Theater represents the simplicity and purity of mid-20th century America. Progressive thinking and technological advances have brought with it the desire for more. The desire for bigger and faster has made us busier and less connected, which has unwittingly deprived us of what many of us need the most – solitude and the opportunity for personal reflection.
The third building in the article is the Young Mens Christian Association (YMCA) building in Santa Ana. Built in 1923, this building has been vacant now for over 20 years. Ironically, this building represents the post-Christian culture in which we now live. Once a mainstay of the community, shaping young men to live lives of character and influence, this building stands as a relic to the influence Christianity had at one time in the community.
Millennials are the largest segment of American culture and yet they are the least churched. Sometimes referred to as the “Me” generation, they long to experience life to the fullest and see the world changed. Yet as a whole, they’re spiritually empty inside. Imagine if we could reach this generation for Jesus and tap into their potential for a lasting impact on our communities, our country and the world! Millennials are truly empty, but full of promise.
Thank you for partnering with us and praying for us as we seek to reach Millennials in Orange County so that they can achieve their true purpose and fulfill the promise of their spiritual potential!
San Diego State Destino!
After several years of prayer and attempts to start a Destino ministry in San Diego, we were able to get a Destino ministry started in 2013. Check at this video, where students share the need and their vision for Destino in San Diego.
Good Times in San Diego
Since 1995, we’ve spent the week after Christmas in San Diego for our annual Winter Conference. This year, we spent an additional weekend in San Diego for our Epic conference.
Combined, over 1000 students were exposed to intimate worship, challenging messages and an opportunity to surrender their hearts more fully to God’s purposes in their lives.
At the Epic Conference over MLK weekend, we had an opportunity to meet several student leaders from the University of Arizona. It was exciting to hear their story of how the Lord had been working in their own lives to prompt them to start Epic. It was encouraging to hear them share how 40 students had shown up at their first weekly meeting just a week or so before.
Praise God for how he works in students’ lives at these conferences.
To read these stories through our newsletter, the Lowedown, click here.
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Destino at Chico State
Visited Chico State last week. Check out this cool video their students produced while I was there where they share a little bit about Destino at Chico State.
The Lowedown 