“The Wrong Time to Ask the Right Question”

The Wrong Time

We were talking about their crisis. As the conversation continued, I began to ask, “What if?”

What if I’d done ABC instead of XYZ?

What if I’d gone HERE instead of THERE?

What if? What if? What if?

“What if?” is great when it's asked at the right time, but lousy when asked at the wrong time.

And this was the wrong time. Why?

“The Interview Question They Never Expected”

Breaking the Tie

I once heard about a company that was hiring a senior executive. They narrowed the search to a handful of candidates. The shining star finalists were evenly matched.

Solid leadership.

Strong references.

Sharp interviews.

Would the hiring team have to draw a name from a hat? Or would they find another way to break this logjam?

“Halfway to 100”

The Second Half Begins

I've always loved to write. As I celebrate reaching halfway to 100 today, God is on the verge of granting me one of the desires of my heart. 

To mark the occasion, this is the painted canvas for my soon-to-be-published book on Amazon. Choose: Fulfill Your Created Purpose is for high school graduates (paperback and Kindle).

A nautical theme flows throughout this 100-page book to honor my childhood in Charleston on the South Carolina coast.

Choose is the book I wish I'd read before I went to college 200 miles from home. I’m releasing it this fall hoping to reach some college freshmen, but especially high school seniors. Perhaps it will spark dialogue with their parents this year while they’re still under the family’s roof.

“Direct or Indirect?”

Caught in the Middle

Which door would you use?

Luke 7:36-50 says Simon the Pharisee was appalled when a sinful woman crashed his party. She dared to anoint Jesus’ feet with her tears and caress his feet with ointment.

While Jesus and the others dined, he was sandwiched with the need for truth.

At his head, veins pulsed in Simon’s crimson neck.

At his feet, tears rained from a woman with a midnight past.

His host and his follower each needed the truth. But, Jesus couldn’t use the same approach for both. He needed two doors.

“Where is Your Getaway?”

Less Is More

I stare at the vast array of topics I could blog on, overwhelmed by too many choices.

Do I address the shootings of service members in Chattanooga, followed by the bullets that fly every time Donald Trump opens his mouth?

Should I tackle a controversy that's blown up my Facebook feed: same-sex marriage, the Confederate flag, or that Planned Parenthood video?

I think I need my bucket.

“When God’s Love Wins”

Remembering Charleston, SC

Sunday afternoon, July 5, I encountered the kingdom of God in a special way. It happened at a Unity Service in Greeneville, TN.

I’m a native Charlestonian. I lived the first half of my life in the Palmetto state. Like you, I was saddened by the murders on June 17 at Emmanuel AME Church.

Nine African Americans spent an hour showing kindness to a Caucasian man at Bible study. Then, this visitor pulled out a gun and killed them.

Why? They had dark skin.

“3 Steps to Real Power”

David and Goliath

His problem towered over him.

1 Samuel 17 narrates the battle of a young Israelite shepherd vs. a loud, arrogant Philistine soldier. Goliath stood over 9 feet tall and wore more than 100 pounds of armor. For 40 days, no Israelite soldier (including God’s anointed leader, King Saul) trusted God to overcome this enemy.

Until David arrived.

And took 3 steps forward to real power.

“3 C's God Uses to Change Us”

A Memorable Vision

Are you ready for change? 

In Isaiah 6:1-8, God used 3 C's to transform Isaiah's life. God will do the same for us.

Smoke from coals burning on the altar filled Isaiah’s nostrils. Six-winged angels flew around God’s throne. Loud praise shook the room more than any concert or ballgame.

God’s 3 C’s changed Isaiah’s life forever.

“Author Spotlight -- Intentional Fitness: Working Out Your Salvation”

From Flab to Fit

Wouldn’t it be great to grow fit overnight? If only we could get off the couch for the first time in weeks and run to the top of a long, steep hill. If only we could eat fruits and vegetables just one day a week and lose 10 pounds.

If only.  

Physical fitness is a habit formed one day at a time, one exercise at a time, one meal at a time. It doesn’t happen by chance. Fitness is a deliberate choice.

The same principles apply to spiritual health. If only we could dust off our Bible for the first time in weeks and immediately change our wrong thoughts. If only we could pray just one morning a week and deepen our walk with the Lord.

Is your faith flabby? Do you need some variety in your spiritual exercise routine? I invite you to read Mary G. Scro’s new book Intentional Fitness: Working Out Your Salvation.

Here's the link to my review of Mary's book on Amazon.

“Three Ways to Elevate Your Role”

A Good Story

Acts 9 records the dramatic story of Saul's conversion on the road to Damascus.

As the supporting cast, Judas and Ananias show us that ordinary believers can play an important role in an extraordinary story.

How? By acting on 3 commands from God, our Director.

“The Difference It Makes”

A Simple Quiz

True or False? The following pairs mean the exact same thing.

1.       (a) Don’t stop.

(b) Keep going.

2.       (a) Don’t forget to...

(b) Remember to...

3.       (a) Nobody wants you to succeed

more than God does.

          (b) God wants you to succeed

more than anyone else.

The above pairs of statements mean the exact same thing. True or False?

“The Decision We Control Most”

One Bad Hit

Has this ever happened to you?

One afternoon a father took four kids to play miniature golf. One child started off great. At the end of 9 holes, Chris led the pack.

On the 10^th hole, Chris hit the ball too hard. Rather than ricochet off the back wall, it bounced over.

“What Is Your Wish?”

Decisions, Decisions

If you could be granted one wish for yourself, what would you choose?

Money?

Happiness?

Popularity?

Health?

Success?

Something else?

If your biggest wish could come true, why did you choose this particular wish?

“A Great Physician”

An Old Problem

“We’ve never done it that way before. We always do it this way.” When we love our comfort zones, why force a new normal?

We never know whose life may be saved.

Meet Ignaz Semmelweis, a Hungarian doctor. When Dr. Semmelweis was born in 1818, 1 out of 6 mothers died during childbirth. The cause was blamed on a disease known as “childhood fever.”

Dr. S found that a doctor’s daily routine began by performing autopsies. After cutting on dead bodies, without stopping to wash their hands, doctors went to the hospital.

They examined mothers in the maternity ward, thus passing on horrible germs.

“Who’s Got Your Back?”

A Real Dream

Years later, I still remember the dream.

A noise in the basement woke me. I flipped on the light at the top of the stairs and wiped sleep from my eyes. The old pine boards creaked with every step.

At the bottom I turned and saw a man.

The devil’s nondescript body lacked a red suit, pitchfork, pointy tale, sharp beard, and horns. But the evil oozing forth erased all doubts about his identity.

Satan spoke. I’ve forgotten his words, but I'm sure whatever he said was a lie.

“Cheering for the Other Team”

Good News in the News

Two recent basketball games in Texas made the news. Which one did the media highlight more?

#1: In college hoops, the Texas-Baylor game was overshadowed by a fight. Seven players were ejected (four from Texas, three from Baylor) for their role in the scuffle.

#2: In high school, the Vanguard College Prep boys in Waco hosted a game against Gainesville, a youth correctional facility for felony offenders.

The Gainesville basketball team consists of those rewarded for good behavior. Students not on the team can’t leave the school to cheer on their classmates. Few parents make the trip, so the Gainesville fan section often remains empty.

Then, Ben Martinsen and Hudson Bradley from Vanguard came up with a plan.

“Overwhelmed or Underwhelmed?”

Meeting a Celebrity

She could not wait to meet Kirk Cameron. The Hollywood star was at an area bookstore to sign copies of his new book.

As a teenager, she’d diligently followed his acting career. His magazine pictures and posters covered the walls in her room. Now a Christian, Cameron was using his celebrity platform to promote his faith in Jesus.

Waiting in line, this wife and mother planned what to say when she met him. She rehearsed it several times. When she stepped before the actor, he smiled and said hello.

In response, her body shut down.

Knees turned to jelly. Throat closed up. Mind went blank.

“Fifty Shades of Grace”

A Message from James Watkins

I like how James Watkins talks about Fifty Shades of Grey. With his permission, I am reprinting his February 10 post.

Fifty shades of grace

Someone asked me, why am I so bent out of shape by the best-selling book and now major movie, Fifty Shades of Grey. It’s certainly not because I hate sex. I’ve written three books celebrating sexuality and lifting up the sex act as the highest form of intimacy and pleasure on earth. It’s because I am so pro-sex that I am so anti-Grey!

The apostle Paul writes: “As the Scriptures say, ‘A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.’ This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one. So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband (Ephesians 5:31-32).

Throughout the Bible, sexual intercourse has been used as a symbol for the unity and intimacy that God wants to have with himself and his people. (He used circumcision as a symbol of faithfulness to him! And called unfaithfulness to him “adultery.”) God is so pro-sex that the Bible devotes an entire book, The Song of Solomon, to the celebration of sexual pleasure—with some pretty graphic images!

I believe that’s why God gave us strict and detailed commandments on how sexuality is to be expressed. And that’s why I believe the enemy tries so hard to degrade, demean and devalue sex. We see it in porn, in child sex trade, sadomasochism, and many, many other perversions of God’s original design.

So, that’s why I’ve spoken out so strongly against Fifty Shades of Grey. (I suspect the sadistic main character’s name, Christian, is a not-so-subtle attempt to further sully the name of Christ—and sex.)

But here’s the good news! God’s grace has made a way for everyone—no matter his or her sexual past—to experience a relationship with him that far exceeds any earthly symbol. (Sex is just an pale preview of what pleasure awaits Christ’s followers in heaven.)

Click to learn how you can experience God’s love and fifty shades of grace!

Copyright © 2015 James N. Watkins from www.jameswatkins.com

If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, you know Fifty Shades of Grey has pulled my chain. I'm offering this essay to use free on your blog or Facebook as long as a) you don't make any changes and b) include credit line. I strongly believe this book and film are part of campaign of the enemy to drag God and his wonderful gift through the gutter. Thanks for spreading Fifty Shades of Grace! 

Thank you, James Watkins, for sharing your thoughts with us.

What about you? What would you add to the conversation?

David

“Letting Squeaky Wheels Squeak”

Constructive vs. Destructive

Constructive criticism is like cough medicine. Not pleasant, but good for us.

If a problem should be addressed or a task could be done better, this info is gold. Even if it comes wrapped in a complaint, the goal is to help us improve.

Destructive feedback is like brushing one’s finger against an electric hedge trimmer while it’s on. (Not fun. I have the scar to prove it.) It hurts badly and doesn’t help the situation.

Some negative people are “squeakaholics.”

One drop of oil on their squeaky wheel is too many, but 1,000 drops are not enough. No matter what we fix now, later they’ll return about something else that’s broken.

My snarky side wonders if, in heaven, such people will fuss that the streets of gold are too shiny.

“What Story Are You Telling?”

Bad Drama

What comes to mind when you hear the word drama?

An eye-rolling, door-slamming teen who calls her BFF a backstabber?

Your attention-hungry in-law who bounces from 1 crisis to another?

A heated controversy at church because change always threatens the status quo?

Fortunately, another kind of drama exists.

A good kind of drama.

The kind people will pay good money to sit and watch.

“Three Lies That Lead to Depression”

UNSTUCK

This week we’ll explore three lies that lead to depression.

My pastor shared these in our current sermon series UNSTUCK: Fresh Traction for Common Struggles. In 1 Kings 18-19, three lies sent the Old Testament prophet Elijah into a downward spiral.

Whatever our situation, these same untruths can get us stuck in depression.