Knowing what you don’t know

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Chandler is a leader. He may not have all the tools, or know how to use them, but that doesn’t matter. He leads anyway by sheer will. I am also constantly surprised by how much he knows. He will enter into conversations on various topics and engage with understanding to where I will have to ask him later to bring me up to speed on the discussion. I realize I’ve made excuses for him because of his learning disability that he hasn’t made for himself. I’ve got to get on board with this kid; I’ve got a lot of catching up to do.

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On the Road Again

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I can hear Willie Nelson’s stringy voice as we get in the car and head north after only a day’s respite between road trips. “On the road again.” This time I’m with Chandler and we are headed to Sacramento and other destinations west as we seek out a path for his future. Our primary first stop will be an academy in Sacramento that prepares you for a career as a fish and wildlife game warden. And on the way back we will visit various colleges that offer the type of classes he will need to enter this program.

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Put others before you; and look outward

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There was a wonderful, three-tissue story in the Times Sports section yesterday about a 17-year-old senior football player at Loyola High School in Los Angeles named Josh Morales. A week before Christmas, Josh and both his parents all tested positive for COVID-19. His parents were hit the hardest and Josh insisted, in spite of his own compromised health, that he was the least sick and could take care of them, which he did by washing their clothes and bed linens, cooking meals and massaging their backs and foreheads. His father was the worst and ended up in the hospital for 38 days. Twice, the doctors thought they were going to lose him. Josh’s mother came within one day of going into the hospital as well, right before she turned a corner on the disease. Josh continued undaunted, trying to keep up with his classes in school and agility training for football while he selflessly continued taking care of his parents.

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Heaven is in Arizona

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I am in heaven. You’ve heard of stories of people visiting heaven briefly and coming back. Lambert Dolphin has one of those stories. This is better. I’m in heaven right now. I am writing this from heaven.

Contrary to popular opinion, heaven is not up there somewhere in the clouds; heaven is in Arizona, in a certain daytime cafe, where they are seating you indoors — first time for me in over a year — and serving the best breakfast in the world along with your own thermal pot of the best coffee. They’ll never get rid of me this morning. I’m expecting Larry Norman to show up any minute.

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The ice is cracking on our isolation

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By the time you read this, I will be headed east on Interstate 10 towards Phoenix, Arizona, and Tempe Diablo Stadium for the first Los Angeles Angels spring training game I have attended in two years. Most of you already know I have a habit of doing this every year, except that last year this thing happened that if it didn’t take your life, it altered it to where it was hardly recognizable anymore as your life. The three games I was supposed to attend last season at this time were canceled two days prior to my departure. So they kindly reissued my tickets for this year and gave me the option of choosing my seats before the tickets went on sale to the public.

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The gospel is good news

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With the country split in half and everyone getting meaner, what an opportunity for grace turned outward! We are offering the antithesis to everything brewing in society. Wherever you are, from the mail room to the executive offices — from a wheelchair to a lawn chair — you are in a position to make a difference. Whenever you engage with anybody, from neighbors, to clerks, to delivery drivers, you have an opportunity to stand out simply because of what has happened to you.

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The ‘Grace Turned Outward’ test

We’ve been forgiven, so we forgive.

We’ve been loved, so we love.

We’ve been freely accepted, so we accept others freely.

We’ve been given mercy, so we are merciful.

We have escaped judgment, so we do not judge.

We’ve been welcomed in, so we welcome all.

The door was opened for us, so we left it open to others.

We are different people from what we were;

We are Grace Turned Outward.

I first published this list in a Catch a little over a year ago. I am firmly of the belief that it needs to be a permanent document in our collection, kind of like “Declaration of a Marketplace Christian.” This is what makes us who we are. Sometimes it’s hard to define who we are because much of what we represent and talk about is the gospel of Jesus Christ that sounds pretty much like any other Christian group. But if you read and study this list and “Declaration …” you begin to see not-so-subtle differences. Separating the truth from a very popular but flawed cultural Christianity is not so easy. And it takes revisiting it again and again to renew our commitment as Christians in the world. I have to read “Declaration of a Marketplace Christian” over and over again because I forget so easily.

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Docking next to Marti

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Today is International Women’s Day 2021. In honoring many women today, I’m going to focus on one truly excellent representative — my wife, Marti.

Most of you don’t have a clue what Marti has done, what she does and what she is bound to do in the future. That’s because a lot of that is hidden by her current work with the Catch Ministry. Most of the Catch Community will be unaware that Marti is known in entirely different circles than John is.

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Posted in Beauty, Esther, women | Tagged , | 6 Comments

So close but so far away

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A teacher of religious law once came to Jesus and asked Him what was the most important of all the commandments. Jesus replied that it was to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and to love your neighbor as yourself. The man agreed and went on to say that this was more important than to offer all of the burnt offerings and sacrifices required in the law. “Realizing the man’s understanding, Jesus said to him, ‘You are not far from the Kingdom of God’” (Mark 12:33).

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Our kingdom is not of this world

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There is a movement of fear sweeping across this country that is sucking in a lot of Christians and sidetracking them into much useless endeavor. Christians who have staked their claim on saving a “Christian” America through politics are worried and afraid over what is happening to this country. Fear mongers are stoking the fires of fear over losing our liberties through socialism on one side and fascism on the other. Christians are up in arms. “We’ve got to do something!” many say.

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Posted in Christianity and politics, church, kingdom of God, politics, worship | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments