For Granted

There’s something about music that seems to reach me in a way that nothing else can. I was driving to work this morning when K-Love played Jason Gray’s song “Good to be Alive.” The lyrics touched me in a way that I haven’t been touched in a long time.

Here are the verses that got to me:

I won’t take it for granted

I won’t waste another second

All I want is to give you

A life well lived, to say “thank you.”

I wanna live like there’s no tomorrow,

Love like I’m on borrowed time,

It’s good to be, it’s good to be alive.

I started thinking about my life, and I came to a sad realization: I’ve taken it for granted. What’s worse is that I’ve been doing it for a long time. I feel as though I’ve been living on the defensive ever since my ex-wife left me five years ago. It’s almost as if I’ve become nothing more than a survivor who is unwilling to truly feel or let people get close to me.

When I look at what I’ve been given, I should be grateful. The Lord gave me a wife who will never leave me. She loves me very much, and she will never give up on me. I’ve become a successful writer who now owns and operates a website covering my favorite team. I’ve been published on Yahoo! Sports, Apocalypse MMA and several other websites. Finally, I’ve finished the licensure process. I’m now a substitute teacher who has had the privilege of working with some wonderful students.

However, despite all of these personal and professional successes, I realize that I’m not really living life. There’s not a lot of joy in my heart; there’s not a lot of happiness. I simply live every day expecting it to be just as blah as the day before, and it’s all my fault.

The truth is I became so bent on trying to make up for past professional failures that I lost sight of what’s really important. God gave me a wonderful gift with Jenn, but I have continually pushed her away when I should have let her in. I’ve taken the greatest personal gift God could give me (outside of salvation), and I’ve built a wall between us. I didn’t want to risk feeling the same pain that I felt five years ago, so I went on the defensive, and I didn’t even realize it.

Moreover, I’ve built that same wall around my heart with God and the church. I believe Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior, but for whatever reason, I’ve still kept a safe distance. I’ve put my heart into work instead of growing closer to my brothers and sisters at church. In short, I stopped feeling; I stopped living.

I only get one chance at this life. I love the Lord, and I want to please him. The time has come for me to stop living in fear of being hurt by others. The Bible tells us that "God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind" (2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV). Fear is not of God.

I don’t want to waste any more time. I could die of a heart attack tomorrow, and I don’t want to leave this world without serving God as best I could. I don’t want to take His gifts for granted. No matter how we want to frame it, we are on borrowed time, and I should be living every day like it’s my last on this earth. That’s my prayer for today – to live like there’s no tomorrow.

Answering the argument

I usually don’t pay any attention to the atheists who make statements on my Facebook feed. I don’t have a problem with them, and I have no desire to argue with them about God. Yet I saw an argument on my feed today that bothered me. Click here to read it.

It begins with Abraham’s post. He quoted John 3:16 and stated that Jesus loves you all unconditionally. “Atheist” replies by noting the condition, “whoever believes in Him.” The problem I see with many atheists is that they truly don’t understand what the Bible means. John 3:16 is referring to our salvation. Jesus is stating that we must believe in him in order to be saved and spend eternity with him. This does not mean that Jesus does not love us. I don’t always listen to my wife, but she loves me anyway. I haven’t always followed my mother’s advice, but she still thinks I’m the best thing since “All My Children.”

“Atheist” then refers to a scripture that he says led to his atheism: 1 Peter 3:15. That scripture states, “15 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect...” (NIV)

“Atheist” argues that if you cannot present the evidence, you’re failing as a Christian, which has some truth to it. He or she also argues that “...if you DO have good evidence that you can present and you aren’t, then you’re wasting your time, potentially being the direct cause of someone going to hell.”

There are many problems with this argument. Peter wasn’t acting as God but giving advice about carrying out your faith in a world that is struggling. 1 Peter 3 spends much of its time giving fatherly advice in living your day-to-day life. It doesn’t condemn someone to hell for struggling. He’s giving sound advice on what things we should aim for as mature Christians.

I do agree that a Christian who is unable to present evidence of their personal faith is probably failing in some kind of way. But that does not mean they are failing as a Christian; it means that the Christian is not where he or she should be in their faith.

Peter stated that we should be prepared to present a defense of our faith, which should always be the case regardless of what you believe in. If someone asks you why you are a Christian, you should be ready to answer it. I mean, come on, I’ve never met an atheist who wasn’t prepared to explain why he or she is an atheist.

“Atheist” also mentions Matthew 6:6-8 and how the “public invocation of your deity” is a “big no-no,” but he or she fails to understand those verses are referring to your personal prayer time. There are multiple examples throughout the Bible of a spiritual leader or, in Israel/Judah’s case, a king, leading his people in prayer. God does not ban that.

“Atheist” also references Galatians 5:19-21 and how it bans idolatry. He notes that the special significance put on crosses and crucifixes by many Christians “bars” them from heaven. I agree that people who worship their crosses, crucifixes, and other artifacts are indeed committing a sin. However, only unforgiven sin bars you from heaven; that’s what John 3:16 promises. (I don’t, however, believe that having a cross or crucifix is wrong. It’s not an idol unless you treat it as such. Whenever I’ve had a cross, it’s always pointed me towards the one who bore it for me.)

At the root of this, it’s clear that this person has no real understanding of Christian doctrine. This is common with many (though not all) atheists. There are quite a few half-truths within his or her argument that make me believe that someone has deceived him.

If you’re an atheist and reading this, please understand that I respect your beliefs. I don’t agree with them, but I do respect them. What this person did was disrespect the Christian’s beliefs through mostly untrue statements about the Bible and its doctrine. What’s worse is that this seems to be happening more and more within the atheist community.

I don’t mean this for all atheists, but there is a point to be made here. If you don’t believe in God, that’s your decision. Why do you even bother attacking those who do believe in Jesus Christ? Just live your life. Have a great time. Why waste time criticizing a person who did nothing to attack your beliefs? And here I thought that Christians were the ones labeled as intolerant.

Saying Goodbye

It's been a long road. Tomorrow is my last day as a student teacher at William Henry Harrison High School. It's been one of the most rewarding experiences that I've ever had. I fell in love with this school district. More specifically, I fell in love with the students. They are such great kids, and it's been a privilege to work with them. I hope that I can somehow, someway keep it together tomorrow.

My Proof that He is Real

Every once in a while, I see or hear something that speaks to me. It’s always something that reminds me that our creator exists. Tonight, when I listened to the version of “Hallelujah” sung by three young ladies from Alaska, I felt God. I saw the gifts that He gave them in how they sang such a beautiful song. You can listen to their version of the song here.

We live in a world where so many people are dead set against believing that God exists. There are people who will find every excuse imaginable to argue that there is no God. But when I see three girls sing a song like this, I see the Lord, in all of His majesty, all of His glory, and in all of His love. God gave me the gift of song and the ability to write. But He gave my wife an eye for art and a certain grace that I could never have. If God isn’t real, then how could the beings that were made in his image have such different gifts? No one is the same. That’s how I know that God is out there.


"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” 

Psalms 139:13-16 (NIV)

My Legacy

Last weekend, Jenn and I traveled up to Cleveland, Ohio, for our first marriage conference as a wedded couple. I have to be honest here: I didn’t want to go. It wasn’t because I didn’t value time with my wife or the information the conference had to offer. Instead, I was concerned about getting some school work and writing done in time for the end of the month.

I was also concerned that this conference would try to make me pour my heart out to a bunch of strangers. That certainly wasn’t at the top of my list for the weekend. However, the folks at FamilyLife designed this seminar as more of an informational session. They were there to help us open up lines of communication with our spouses. I appreciated that, and I quickly bought into the weekend.

The truth is that I’ve spent so much time pursuing my dreams that I allowed my priorities to get out of order. I wasn’t giving my wife the time she needs with me, and in truth, I missed her. This past weekend in Cleveland wasn’t a cure-all, but it woke me up to the needs of my family. It reminded me of how much Jenn loves me . . . and how much I love her.

I have to make changes in my life. I have a legacy to protect. My wife and I plan on starting our family soon, and I must be ready to lead this family. I must be prepared to raise my children to love the Lord. I must become the person that I want my kids to become.

It probably sounds a bit prideful for me to talk about my legacy. However, that’s not how I view it. I want my grandchildren and great-grandchildren to grow up serving the Lord. I want them to trace their family line and know that I set the example for them. I want my family tree to show men and women of God who boldly spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the world. I know it begins with me. I’m the one God assigned this role, and He gave me Jenn to help make this happen.

It begins with Jenn. It all begins with her . . . the love of my life. I understand that I must protect her, encourage her, and love her. I know that I must help her grow into the woman that God desires for her to be. Jenn is the greatest gift that the Lord could ever have given me (outside of my salvation), and I need to treat that gift with every ounce of love I can give her. When we have our children, they need to see how much we love and honor each other. They will learn from us how to treat their spouses . . . and how to love God.

It all comes down to what kind of house Jenn and I build. My legacy begins with a sacred declaration, a rule.

“But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”  Joshua 24:15 (NIV)

My legacy – our legacy – is to be built on this rule: My house will serve the Lord.

The Guitar

Photo credit: T.J., Wikimedia Commons

I once had this beautiful guitar. I bought it from my brother-in-law when I was at Ohio State, but I decided to put aside learning how to play it until I finished school. Unfortunately, that never happened. Just two weeks before I graduated from college, my wife left me. A couple weeks later, I felt an impression upon my heart to return the guitar to her brother. I believed it was the Lord telling me what to do, so I fulfilled the request.

The only problem was that I didn't want to give it back. I had already lost my wife, so why should I have to lose the guitar too? I was in a lot of pain, and the guitar would have been the perfect outlet for that pain. It hurt me to give it up. I didn't understand why the Lord wanted me to return it to her brother (I still don't know), but it left me feeling even more empty than before.

A couple weeks later, I went home to visit my family for Christmas. I was completely miserable. It was my first Christmas in years without my wife, and I was as lonely as I could be. I spent hours a day tearing myself down while everyone else was trying to support me. Nothing my family tried to do would work. There was no joy...no happiness...no hope.

When Christmas morning came around, I watched the family open gifts without much interest. Then my mother handed me a large box. As I unwrapped the present, she told me how Joel 2:25-26 kept running through her mind as she contemplated buying the gift. In the verse, God says the following: "I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten--the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm--my great army that I sent among you." (NIV)

I found a brand new guitar inside the large box. I burst into tears as I embraced my mother. I couldn't believe that what I had lost just days earlier had now been returned to me. Joy filled my heart at the gift that I knew that God had provided for me. Even though I never fully learned how to play the instrument, I spent many nights sitting with it in my arms passing the time away. When I practiced on it, everything else moved into the background. In those moments, I remembered how much God loves me. He literally re-paid me what was taken from me, and God did it in a way that made me feel important to Him.

I now believe that the guitar was meant to symbolize something else. I think God was telling me that everything else that I had lost would be returned to me. It's been four years since that Christmas, and I can tell you that the Lord has more than restored what I have lost. He's given me something greater. I'm re-married to a woman who I know will never give up on me, even when my own insecurities get in the way. We have a home together that's ours alone. Finally, we have a home church that loves us.

As I sit here this morning, I realize that I'm a blessed man. Despite all of my imperfections, God has blessed me. I know that sometimes I'm too blind to see it, but that doesn't change what he's done for me. It started out as a guitar, but it's grown into something far more wonderful than I could ever imagine.

What does it mean to be a Christian?

If you're a Christian, you have one responsibility above all others: Love God. How do we love God? Love His people. Jesus Christ loved people (believers or not) so much that he gave up his life for all of humanity. If being a Christian means that I spend my days shouting at people in judgment instead of loving them, then I want no part in it. Thankfully, that's not what Christianity is, but what some people make it out to be.

With this in mind, I've decided to write about a book about what it means to be a Christian. It's been on my heart for awhile, and I think it's the right thing to do. By writing this book, I hope to reach people not because I think I'm special or better than anyone else, but because I'm just as flawed as everyone else.