Over a month ago, curiosity got the better of me. You see, as someone who writes and likes the idea that someone besides me and my Mom are reading it, I get a bit curious as to who’s out there reading what I’m writing. Egotistical, you say? Fair enough.

If the poll that I set up for the past month is any indication, I’m a blogger for a sum total of 12 individuals. And to those 12 I say, “Thanks. A lot.” I’d certainly continue writing without any readers, but honestly you 12 help me keep going. You bug me when my blog gets stale and a few of you have even dared to comment on one or more posts. And to this blogger, that’s fuel.

Here’s a snapshot of the stats collected by the poll:
This is my first time to Jerry’s blog:
4 readers (We may never see them again.)
I have read it once before:
1 reader
I have read it several times, but I’ve never posted a comment:
3 readers
I have read it several times, and have commented:
4 readers

So, instead of analyzing what all these numbers mean (which I think is impossible), I’d simply like to dedicate this post to those 12 hearty humans who took a split second to vote on the poll.

Here’s to you and here’s to 12 more!

My family and I were invited to a Memorial Day cookout yesterday at a friend’s house. In camping chairs and patio furniture, we sat around shooting the breeze, laughing, and generally enjoying the day. In the center of the circle was their dog, Noah. As I enjoyed listening to people laughing and sharing, I watched Noah move from inside the circle to outside, where he was a little less the center of attention.

Through the legs of a camping chair across from me I could still see Noah and what he was doing. I thought he was yawning until — oh yeah — up and out came whatever it was he had eaten most recently. Whatever it was, there was a lot of it. I shuddered inside at what I had just witnessed. Everyone else seemed to be oblivious to it.

And then I watched Scripture come to life. Look up Proverbs 26:11 and you’ll read…
“As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.”

As if Noah had instantly forgotten (or most likely didn’t care) where that mound of warm yuck had just come from, he began sniffing the pile and then — oh yeah — licking, lapping, and chomping it up for round two. I shuddered inside again at what I was now witnessing.

And my level of disgust brought to mind the ugliness of my sin. As I watched that dog do what dogs sometimes do, it occured to me that when it comes to the sins I repeat, God looks at me in just the same way. Loving me (as undoubtedly my friends adore their dog), but simultaneously sickened by the sins I choose to commit, no matter what they are.

I’m not sure I’ll look at repetitive sins the same way again.

When we got back from our walk, this was on our porch.

I guess that’s what kids without cell phones do to leave a text message.

(Click the picture to enlarge)

For as long as I’ve been a youth pastor, few topics pique the interest of teens (and adults too) as much as the book of Revelations. And I have a theory as to why that is.

The book of Revelations, which is the last book in the Bible was written by God through visions given to John while he was exiled on the isle of Patmos. It is the recording of exactly what John saw and was instructed by God to write down (Rev. 1:19).

As we learned in the “Digging Deep” series (which birthed this blogsite), we can confidently know that the Bible is truly the Word of God revealed to humanity. It passes all types of bibliographic, historical, extra-Biblical, and even archaeological tests. And since that is true, we can know that what we read in the book of Revelations is also true. And if that’s the case, that would explain why so many people (even non-believers) are fascinated and often confounded by what the book holds. Every other book in the Bible records what has already taken place. Revelations holds prophecies yet to come about. In essence, its a window into our future that cannot and should not be easily dismissed.

Through the centuries many people have come and gone trying to predict when the “end” will be. But let me remind you of the words of Christ Himself and I think you’ll agree that any such attempt at prediction is futile…”No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” (Matt. 24:36)

Its not our business to know when the end will come. It IS our business to ready for it! Jesus spoke parable after parable after parable which gave clear instructions for us to be ready, and not to be caught unprepared for the Lord’s return. It is when we lose sight of the fact that this world is temporary that we start living like this is all there is. But what if we actually lived as if heaven were a real place? What if we truly believed in hell (which Jesus speaks of more than heaven!)? What if we lived with an eternal perspective instead of a temporary one? What if we lived as if Jesus were returning an hour from now? What would change?

No, we can’t know exactly when Jesus will return, but we can live a life that clearly says that He WILL return!

It’s early morning and my day is filled with uncertainty. I’m traveling 2 hours east today to look at probably a dozen or so houses that are going to get a major facelift next month at the hands of 60-70 middle and high school students and about 20 adult leaders I’m helping to lead. So, today I and my 2 other directors are going to choose the houses that we will be working on next month. Pretty cool.

But still, there’s a lot I don’t know about what’s going to happen today. What will I see? Who will I speak with? What will we speak about? How will we be accepted? How will travel go? And even, will I return home safely to my family?

For some people, not knowing things can be unnerving. And I’m definitely a guy who likes to have a plan and know what the plan is and have the plan play out the way I planned. But I’ve learned that if I get too wrapped up in that, faith can lose its place and when unanswered questions arise I don’t have the spiritual, faith-filled footing to stand.

I went to visit a young person in the hospital yesterday. Without disclosing the details, I can tell you that he was a rough shape. And I stood with his dad there bedside over his son and watched his eyes. Uncertainty. But a stark absence of fear. You see, uncertainty is okay and even welcomed when you walk with the God who knows it all and will only give what’s best for us.

Believe it or not, when I was a teen I was in a singing group. Crazy to think about it now, because if you’ve heard me sing you’d say, “Yeah, right.” One of the songs we loved to sing and people loved to hear was an old hymn with the words, “Many things about tomorrow I don’t seem to understand, but I know who holds tomorrow and I know who holds my hand.”

A day filled with uncertainty? Bring it on.

I’m terrible about remembering important dates.

One month after getting married, guess who forgot his new bride’s birthday? Yep.

One year ago today, on May 17th 2008, I rose from my bed and walked to the bathroom. I looked into the mirror and noticed something new. In numbers far too many to ignore were distinctly white stubble on my chin. I thought to myself, “It’s May 17th. This will forever be the day I got white stubble on my chin.”

For some reason known to no one, THAT date stuck.