Hard Questions

Summer is ending, at least in the part of the world where I live, and children are going back to school, which makes today definitely an occasion for prayer. For my grandsons. For teachers as they resume their responsibilities. For friends who are sending their children off to school. For educators and students all across this great land.

For some, this back-to-school season is the last first day of school before their children graduate. For others, the journey is just beginning. In every case, the back-to-school season is time for some serious praying. Because it's a hard world out there.

Yet even as our children venture out into this hard world with their new clothes and new lunchboxes and new book bags, across the world there are children and parents facing a different set of circumstances. And they could only wish for a beautiful late summer day with a new lunchbox and new book bag, and for the opportunity to innocently begin another year of school. Across our world, for many, life is a much harder reality
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Recently I've been doing some reading in the Old Testament book of Daniel. As I think about everything going on in our country and our world, Daniel's story becomes so much more than just a Bible story I remember from childhood. Daniel's story is very much the story of many men and women and boys and girls around the world.

In Daniel's day, King Darius had signed a decree that no one could worship or pray to any god or man except himself. The penalty for violating this decree was to be cast into the lion's den. And that, of course, is equivalent to a death penalty, since we all know what would happen if a person were to be cast into a den of hungry lions.

How did Daniel respond? He knew the decree had been signed. He knew what would happen if he continued to pray to his God. Even so, "when Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had been doing previously."      (Daniel 6:10 ESV, emphasis mine)

In spite of what it might cost him, Daniel continued to pray, just as he had always done. If we bring Daniel's story into the 21st century, Daniel is very much like men and women and children in the Middle East and elsewhere today whose lives are on the line because of their faith in Jesus. For Daniel, the command was to renounce his faith or face the lion's den. Men and women and children in many parts of the world are faced with a similar threat: renounce your faith, convert to Islam, or die.

The question is often asked, why doesn't God put a stop to this? Why doesn't He protect these people from this kind of persecution?

My question is a bit different. Why do they have to suffer like this and I don't? Why am I protected from this kind of suffering? Why is there this level of persecution and suffering in some parts of the world, and not in others? No one stands at the door of my church to prevent me from entering. No one is knocking on my door this morning and holding a gun to my head to prevent me from praying or reading my Bible. And for that, I am very thankful indeed.

But what if they were? Would I be strong enough in my faith to stand firm? When that kind of persecution comes to this country, and it may at some point, will I be strong enough in my faith to do as Daniel did? Will I be strong enough in my faith to continue doing as [I] have been doing previously?

If it were difficult to go to church, if there were men with guns blocking my way, would I go anyway? If I were commanded not to pray, would I pray anyway? When persecution comes, will I stand firm?

Why are believers in other parts of the world suffering such profound persecution? Why do some suffer and not others? Why them and not me? 

Hard questions.

But things we need to be thinking about.


"Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.  But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.  If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed."  (1 Peter 4:12-14a ESV)

"Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted."                (2 Timothy 3:12 ESV)

Getting Older

I celebrated another birthday this week. To celebrate, we headed to the beach and had a great weekend filled with good food and good times. Since my stroke in November 2016, every day is a special day to celebrate! These months since the stroke have given me a new appreciation for life. A new awareness that each day is a precious gift not to be taken for granted. And every birthday celebration has become even more significant.

Birthdays bring inevitable thoughts about getting older. I can remember when, once upon a time, I thought anyone who had passed their 60th birthday was really old. Having passed that milestone several years ago, I no longer think of it in quite the same way. Because the truth is, I really don't think of myself as old. I don't feel old. At least, not on most days.

I remember reading several years ago that Jonathan Edwards, that great American preacher of days gone by, had seventy resolutions for his life, all of which he wrote while in his early twenties, and which he read every week for the rest of his life. His Resolution 52 has become my resolution as well.

"I frequently hear persons in old age say how they would live, if they were to live their lives over again. Resolved, that I will live as I shall wish I had done, supposing I live to old age."

Having passed another birthday, Johnathan Edwards' resolution continues to be my resolution, for the coming year and for however many years lie ahead:  to live as I shall wish I had done.

A Fresh Start

When I began thinking about this post, I planned to say "Welcome to August". But since we're already a week into the month, that probably wouldn't be the best way to start. Since it took me longer than expected to get brain wrapped around this topic, instead of thinking about a new month, I'll focus on a fresh start. That's what August gave us with this new month. A fresh start. A clean page on the calendar.

When I turned the page on the "official" family calendar on the side of the refrigerator, I smiled. It's my birthday month. We will be spending a few days at the beach this month. And it's one month closer to fall and cooler temperatures!

We often think of a new month as a clean slate. A time to start over. But if your calendar looks anything like mine, it isn't exactly a blank page. There are a number of activities already listed. August is shaping up to be another busy month.

Even so, there's something refreshing about turning the calendar page. A new month means new opportunities. New adventures. New challenges to be faced. 

Turning that calendar page also means moving on. Leaving the previous month behind. Letting go of all the less-than-we-might-have-liked-them-to-be moments. The new month is time to let all that go, and time to move forward. And for us, it also means that the official date for retirement has arrived.


Every day is a fresh start. An opportunity to move forward. Whether it's a new job. Or no job. Or a weight loss plan that has gone off track. Or frustration about a relationship or a health issue. Every day is the gift of a fresh start. An opportunity to try again. To move forward.

A couple of years ago, as we moved into August, I was completing a writing project. Beginning a new month moved me into a new season, from writing to editing. Editing can be a tedious process: checking spelling; replacing one word with another; rearranging sentences; formatting; doing it all again; and then doing it all again; and again. Editing gave me an opportunity for a fresh start. To look at what I had written with fresh eyes.

Editing is not just for books or magazine articles. Sometimes our lives need some editing as well, and a new month is an ideal time to stop and consider what might need to be edited in our lives. 

Editing some things out of my life is an area where the Lord has been really dealing with me. As in, what things in my life need some correction. What additions need to be made? What things in my life need some fine-tuning. What things in my life need to be deleted.  You may find that to be true in your life as well.

Here are a few questions to help you get started in your editing process.

What foods need to be deleted from my life? What foods need to be added?

What habits need to be deleted from my life? What habits need to be added?

What corrections need to be made in my speech?

What needs to be deleted?  In my activities. In my recreation. In my reading. In my TV watching. In the way I spend my money.

What needs to be added?  In my activities. In my recreation. In my reading. In my TV watching. In the way I spend my money.

 Life is a process. And all those processes need some editing from time to time.

What better time than today, as we have begun a new month, to take some time to consider what changes might need to be made. There's no time like the present to do a little editing and make a fresh start.


"But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.  More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord."  (Philippians 3:7 NASB)