Well, it all started about two months ago. Jamie and I decided to take our four children on the church’s Las Vegas mission trip…via driving there in an RV.

So, we’re on our way to Dallas to pick up the RV. Here’s a photo of us in the car. Can you feel the love and excitement?

The other day my cable television went out. I called and they said it was a “zone problem.” Isn’t a zone problem what happens when a basketball team’s defense fails? I’m just asking.

I didn’t really complain too much over the phone to the customer service agent. It wasn’t her fault. Why take out my frustrations on her? So I didn’t think anymore about it. However, a few days later the cable company sent me a nice card in the mail. On the front of the card were these words: “Sorry for the inconvenience.” On the inside was a code for a free pay-per-view movie. I thought that was a nice gesture.

Everywhere we go these days, people are trying to make our life convenient. Restaurants, malls, even churches–they all seek to make life convenient.

To make like convenient, you have to follow a few tips. For example, don’t make anyone stand out. The general thinking among “convenience gurus” is that people like to blend into the background rather than stand out in the crowd. So, never ever point anyone out! Second, don’t ask anyone to do anything unusual. No filling out forms. No dressing a certain way. And above all else, never ask them to talk in public! Finally, you have to make things easy. Put up directional signs. Provide special parking. Section off private seating. Even take them personally to their destination. It’s all a matter of convenience. Because the “convenience gurus” believe that if you make things convenient for people, they are more likely to commit to you their business, another visit, or whatever it is you seek from them.

Now, I’m not anti-convenience. Let’s get that straight right now. But I am anti-convenient Christianity. What’s missing today is our desire for the Lord to inconvenience us. Where’s the desire for His people to have their souls searched for sin? Where’s our longing for Him to challenge us in our personal life to be more moral–dare I say it–more Christ-like? When do we allow our Heavenly Father to invade our conscience to correct our behavior? What we need today is less convenient Christianity.

For example, when’s the last time a good sermon got under your skin and made you squirm in your seat? That’s inconvenient Christianity! When’s the last time you were convicted to go out of your way to help someone, although you didn’t have the time to do it? That’s inconvenient Christianity.

So the next time the Lord steps on your toes or intrudes on your comfortable routine, don’t expect him to say, “Sorry for the inconvenience.” That inconvenience is the very thing He’ll use to transform your life!

So I was thinking…most of the time, day three of the new year is the day we end up breaking all those resolutions we made to ourself.  Yep, it’s on that third day that we are so disappointed with ourselves for not keeping the promised we made on Day 1.  I guess we have a lot of reason to hate Day 3.

But as a Christian, Day 3 is a good thing.  It was on the third day that Christ rose from the grave!  I guess in a way, Jesus’ rising from the dead forever changed how we should look at Day 3.  And maybe everything else in life, too.

Therefore, I am now, and forever more, establishing DAY 3 as a day of hope and promise…not a day of disappointment!!!

It’s a new year, and I’ve been thinking about how a new year brings opportunities for new beginnings. Now, I’m not really big on making resolutions…mostly because I never seem to keep them past a few days. But, isn’t it nice to have a do-over point?

Think about it. I bet you did like me and didn’t start that new diet until after the new year. I bet you didn’t start exercising until after the new year either. The point is, Jan. 1st is a do-over day. That is the day when all the year’s failures are forgotten and a new beginning starts.

It’s that way with Jesus, too. The day we give our life to Him is the do-over day for us spiritually. All of life’s failures and mistakes are forgotten and we get a new beginning. And isn’t it nice to know that we can let go of those past mistakes and focus on living for him today? I think so. In fact, maybe that should be our “everyday resolution”…to live our life for Jesus as if this is the first day of the rest of our life!

I’m sitting in my home office on my day off when all of a sudden I hear this really loud train horn. I don’t live near the railroad tracks so I know that the sound of the horn has traveled a great distance.

I bet the volume of that horn was unbearable up close because it’s pretty loud to me and I’m sitting inside my house. You can probably hear that horn all over town.

That’s when it hit me. When you hear the horn, you know the train has “come to town!” I imagine that’s how it will be on the last day. The Bible talks about the return of Jesus when “the trumpet blows.” Unlike the train horn, that sound will be heard world-wide. It will let everybody know that Jesus has “come to town!”

Below is a picture of what missions looks like. It might not look like much to you, but in the “in-between” spaces I can see the Holy Spirit. One child’s heart is being touched by Christian love. A worker is touched by a needy child’s instant acceptance. The Holy Spirit is planting seeds of the Gospel for future growth. One of these children might be a future missionary. Who knows? It could be!

Missions doesn’t have to take place in another country. This VBS took place in a trailer park in Ruston, LA. Missions doesn’t have to be performed on people of another culture. Sometimes the greatest needs are in our own backyard. Most importantly, missions doesn’t require a professional career missionary…it only requires a willing soul with a love for Jesus.

Study this picture well. This is what missions really looks like.

The Bible says that the Kingdom of God is like a great banquet. Well, I’m not sure what food will be on that banquet table in Heaven but if I could maybe make a few suggestions:

1. No buffet bar. They collect bacteria on earth and I’m pretty sure they do in heaven, too.

2. No butter beans. My mother made me eat enough as a child to last for all eternity.

3. No gravy. If God’s going to give me a new body, I don’t won’t to make it fat like my old one.

4. There MUST be milkshakes. If the Promise Land was a land of milk and honey, surely eternity can at least have milkshakes (and I prefer strawberry)!

5. Can we please make sure there is lots of Chick-fil-a. If you’ve ever had their chicken sandwich you know it’s pure heaven to the taste buds. So, it only makes sense that they serve it in Heaven.

So it’s morning. The day is just beginning. Everything seems so innocent. There’s still dew on the ground, the coffee is brewing, there’s quiet in the house. I wonder what it was like at the dawn of creation? Was it as fresh as a new day’s dawning? Was the first sunrise any more spectaular than today’s? I like mornings!

What is it about Spring that makes my head hurt? Oh yeah, it’s the pollen. That nasty stuff get all over my car, all over my windows, all over my yard, and all in my head. And of course, I get a headache. Strange isn’t it? I don’t necessarily see the pollen when it’s in the air but I can see the effects of it when I look at my car, etc. I don’t even know that I’m breathing it in until I get that Spring-time headache.

And that’s how sin is too. Sometimes when we are in the thick of our sin we don’t even realize the damage it can–and often does–cause. Then we feel it’s sting. It makes our soul ache. It leaves its lasting mark on our character. But unlike Spring, sin never goes away. So be on your guard…today, tomorrow, and every day!

Overwhelming. Absolutely overwhelming. To see so many food bags brought to the church for distribution was amazing. Over 210 bags! First Family, you have a most generous heart. Your faithfulness must surely make our Lord smile.

And just when I thought it couldn’t get any better distribution night came. I couldn’t get an exact count, but there were over 80 people present. Kudos to Guy Burke and Steve Mears for their excellent organization of the event. I watched as people broke into teams and trucks filled with bags of food pulled out of the church parking lot. It was a seamless operation.

My whole family participated. My daughters were so excited. They held the Bibles for the parents and the frisbees for the kids. My son knocked on the doors of the homes with his Daddy. My wife offered up a prayer for the household. For once, we did ministry together. It was special. It was something that many other families did together, too.

The first house we came to was empty. At the next house no one was home. Then at the third house…bingo…someone was home. You should have seen the smile on her face. It was the kind of joy that comes from total surprise.

Someone might wonder where such joy comes from. Could it come from the wealthy helping the poor? Does it originate from the church helping the churchless? No, I don’t think so.

I think the joy comes from one human-being helping another human-being as an act of love. Jesus would have been proud. First Family you faithfully lived out His command…”Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Good job, church. Good job!!!