Month: December 2024

No, Follow ME.

/ jerrythinks / 1 Comment

By the time I was a teenager, I had learned that my human tendency is steeply inclined toward selfishness. Any given decision that was being made was generally decided by asking a simple question: “What’s best for me in this situation?”

Living by this criterion of what was best for me turned out to be–and I don’t say this lightly–the very worst way to live a life. A subsequent truth I’ve learned is that my two shoulders were never meant to bear the load of my own life, my own desires, my own priorities, or my own prerogatives. In other words, I was never meant to be the center of my own life. And neither were you. It’s not surprising, however, that so many people try and make that kind of life work. We try and establish ourselves as the centerpiece, then seek to orient all other details, assets, career decisions, and relationships in a tidy orbit around us. It’s so very common, but just as commonly ill-fated.

I got off-center in June of 1991 at the age of 17. After a disastrously tumultuous season of making absolutely terrible decisions and proving without question that when I’m in charge things go very badly, I was found by Jesus in a field in Altoona, PA. I was shattered and broken in every way when Jesus laid his hand on my shoulder and invited me to be made new and to begin to walk with Him. Essentially His simple invitation was an echo of the invitation He gave to so many people 2,000 or so years ago and has given to millions upon millions since: “Follow me.” And I did. I stood up in that field, and took my first steps of true faith, going for a walk that I’m still on today.

For the past 35 years, I’ve been on a walk with Jesus. That’s probably the best way to describe my life. But I want to tell you about a pitfall that I’ve discovered on this walk I’ve been on. It’s actually something I’d be embarrassed to confess this to you if I had any pride left. But I’ve already told you enough about myself to easily shake off that nonsense. I won’t let pride stop me from sharing something with you that might be helpful, even if it makes me look foolish.

There have been times when I have taken the “Follow me” invitation of Jesus and turned it on Him. There have been times when I’ve allowed my distracted heart or what amounted to a relapse into self-centeredness to actually cause me to turn to Jesus and say, “No, YOU follow ME.”

It happens subtly. In fact, it can happen most easily when I don’t intentionally and aggressively recognize Jesus’ Lordship in my life. When Jesus’ Lordship goes unrecognized, it goes unlived. And guess who is the only other possible throne dweller? Me. So when I don’t actively and daily respond to Jesus’ invitation to follow Him, then I, almost by default, am inviting Him to follow me.

I’m not a numbers guy, but I do think it’s interesting that in the recorded gospels, Jesus uttered the words “Follow me” 21 times. And if you know anything about human habits, you’ve likely heard that it is around the 21-day mark that a behavior starts to become a habit. So let me make a suggestion that might seem silly. For the next 21 days, make a statement out loud (as in actually speak it) to Jesus that “I’m following YOU today.” Or feel free to tweak or modify that statement; anything that allows your heart to acknowledge who’s leading and who’s following.

As you go through those 21 days, reach out to me and let me know what you notice about yourself, about Jesus, and about your daily life of following Him.

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BONUS:

On January 5, 2025, the good folks at Southside Church are receiving a 21-day devotional book I’ve written called “Rock Solid Living.” I’d love for you to join in with us, and if you don’t have a church home, I’d love to meet you there each week. I’ve never tried to connect my personal blog to any local church, let alone the one I happen to serve at, but today’s blog post seems like a good opportunity to extend that invitation.

BONUS BONUS:

This audio recording is a time machine of sorts. This is the actual recording of the message I heard in that field in Altoona, PA in 1991. It was at the end of this message that I responded and truly accepted Jesus’ invitation to “Follow me.”

By the numbers….when Creation Festival came to a close in 2023…

115,000 people chose to follow Christ as their Savior. 

 16,000+ people have been water baptized at the festival. 

 2.1 million have attended and worshiped our Creator together. 

 43,000 people have served the festival, many for a decade or more. 

 43,000+ children have been rescued from poverty through Compassion International and other child sponsorship programs.

Snowing Sideways

/ jerrythinks / 1 Comment

I was sitting in the passenger seat while my wife took a turn driving on our trek to Ohio just a few days ago. We were headed there to celebrate with our son-in-law as he graduated from firefighter academy. As we drove, I looked out my passenger door window at the beautiful snow that was falling. It was the perfect kind of snow at this moment; it was falling steadily but making no difference to the condition of the roads. All it was doing was blanketing the surrounding world in white.

But traveling at highway speeds, the snow was falling sideways. When you’re moving 70 to 80 miles an hour in a vehicle while the snow falls, that snow doesn’t fall straight down. It falls sideways.

Or so it seems.

As I, with a little effort, looked and could see past the nearest snowfall, I could see the snow in the distance. I could see the snow that was far enough away from our car that it was actually simply falling. Not sideways. Just beautifully straight down, as snow does.

Then a thought occurred to me. Let me tell you about it.

As we flew down that highway, I could’ve sworn the snow was falling sideways. But it wasn’t. It’s that our speed made it seem that way. When I could get my eyes past what seemed to be my immediate reality and onto the true reality, I could see that I had a choice to make. Hang on, this is where it gets practical… I hope.

You and I often cannot control the speed at which life happens. But this doesn’t mean we can’t control anything. I don’t believe in victims. That’s not to say that I don’t think people are victimized by others, I just mean that I don’t believe that anyone is truly a complete victim to that person or situation. We all always have power that must be spoken to the speed at which our lives are moving.

In simpler terms, we cannot control life’s speed, but we can control our perspective and our focus, even as life seems to whiz by. And we must.

I’ve heard many people over the years lament about how chaotically frenzied their lives had become. And while I don’t doubt for a second that life really can feel like it’s spinning out of control, I do doubt that we can ever claim total innocence in that. Typically, you have a hand–a strong hand–at just how fast the snow seems to be falling sideways in your life.

Because there does exist a snowfall that is far more peaceful. You may not have the choice right now to stand in it practically, but you most certainly can stand in it mentally and by engaging a different perspective than the hurried world around you.

So the next time you’re driving, and snow is falling, and you’re tempted to pretend you’re Han Solo piloting the Millenium Falcon through warp speed (iykyk), remember that while it might appear that the speed of life is uncontrollable, the speed of your heart and mind most assuredly are. The focus of your priorities is fully yours to control. The degree to which you fret over life’s details is firmly within your grasp alone. Just look beyond the immediate sideways snow and realize that just in the near distance, inviting you there, is a snowfall that is quiet, tranquil, and available.

P.S. Just a quick shoutout to all first responders out there. We had a wonderful time celebrating our son-in-law’s graduation. Just yesterday, he completed his first shift as a professional firefighter. We couldn’t be more proud of him, and we’re so grateful to all who serve our communities with selflessness.