Why is the Message Often Lost?

It really stung! Someone I truly love and admire said it. "All lives matter," he said with a shrug as he turned away. He caught me off guard and I honestly don't remember how we even found ourselves talking about it. Taken aback by his comment I couldn't even pull my thoughts together and fear that my response...my reaction was not very coherent. Whatever my message was, I let it get lost because I couldn't keep my normally even keel. And as I watch today’s riots happening in many of our cities, I wonder if the message will once again get lost as it did that evening in my friend's living room and as it did back in 2017 when the NFL gave in to pressure, cracking down on players who chose to take a knee to protest police brutality.

Now those who wish not to face the truth can choose to focus on something else. They can (rightfully) complain about the destruction, about the thefts and about the violence aimed at our cities' police officers. (To those who seek confrontation remember when thrown, a bottle can't tell the difference between a good cop and a bad one.) A riot changes the focus as we (rightfully) become concerned about the innocent business owners (some of whom are black) whose dreams have gone up in smoke. The story now is about violence, as those who do not want to admit the bigger problem find it easier to complain about "these people," allowing their anger over one wrong to keep them from dealing with the other wrong.

Here's where the focus should remain. An officer of the law put his knee on the neck of a human being. A man begged for his life for six minutes as another man knelt on him. (Odd how taking a knee has moved from a controversial statement of dissatisfaction to a controversial way to rob a man of his life.) For two or three minutes after George Floyd stopped talking, that knee remained on his neck. After eight and a half minutes of someone kneeling on him, a person, a citizen of the United States, an American was DEAD. And we now have two different autopsies, one saying that George Floyd died of asphyxiation the other that pressure on his neck contributed to his death. In other words, he died because he couldn’t breath!

Before we deal with race, there is a question we must ask and we can’t let what is happening during these protests distract us. Ask yourself: Do you want a country where a man (with or without a badge) thinks it’s okay to kneel on another (handcuffed) man? If you think this is wrong, don't let the real message get lost.

See also:

Medical examiner and family-commissioned autopsy agree: George Floyd's death was a homicide

Do You Stand With or Against Kaepernick?

Taking A Knee, Losing The Message: Why the NFL Should Stop Kneeling

Is Jesus Limited in Your Life?

"Now He could do no mighty work there..."

Mark 6:5 (NKJV)

This statement has long baffled me. How is it that Jesus, God in the flesh, seemed limited while visiting His home town? Is it possible that when I need Him I might find Him limited in my own life? Is it possible you'll find Him limited in your life? I think I need to know before facing the trials of daily life. Is Jesus limited? I believe the answer is found by looking back one chapter to Mark’s description of the healing of a woman who had suffered with poor health for a number of years.

Beginning in verse 21, Mark 5 describes a journey during which Jesus heals two different people. Jesus and His disciples had just left the Gadarenes following His deliverance of the man who was delivered from Legion. As Jesus stepped onto the shore a crowd began to gather around Him. Among those seeking Jesus' attention was a leader from the local synagogue.

Jarius desperately fell at Jesus' feet, explaining that his daughter was sick and at the point of death. He begged Jesus, asking Him to come and lay hands on his daughter. He believed that if Jesus would do so, his daughter would live. So Jesus went with Jairus to his home followed by a large crowd of people.

In the midst of this crowd was a woman who had been sick for twelve years. I can't begin to imagine what this woman felt. Twelve years of suffering. Twelve years of doctor's visits and their version of medical bills. Twelve years of getting worse instead of better. And remember, there was no insurance available to cover her costs. This was a desperate woman reaching out in the hope that this Jesus might bring physical, and perhaps even emotional, healing.

With so many people around Him, the woman should have been able to touch Jesus' clothes without anyone noticing. However when she touched Him, Jesus immediately turned around. What was different about her touch versus all the other hands and bumps Jesus endured in the crowd? The Bible tells us that when the woman touched Jesus power went out of Him. Where did this power go? The power went into the woman and I believe it was the power to be made whole. By faith she immediately benefited from this power and was healed, released from her twelve year ordeal.

I believe this same power was available when Jesus visited Nazareth in chapter 6. He offered the same healing and the same abundant life that He made available everywhere He visited. But to receive these gifts people had to believe. By faith, those around Him had to allow Jesus to transfer His power to them. Unfortunately His neighbors refused to believe. As a result they could not receive, even though Jesus still had the power to do mighty things. So after marveling at their unbelief, Jesus gathered His gifts and moved on.

"I am the vine, you are the branches..."

John 15:5

Abundant life and all that comes with it is still available today. To receive we must believe in Jesus. By faith we must become branches grafted into Jesus Who is the vine. He offers the power but we must believe in order to draw from our Source. You can live a life where you rise above every situation. To do so you need only let Jesus' power flow according to His will. How do you receive His power? You do so by faith.

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

Philippians 4:13

A Forced Sabbatical and Post Pandemic Changes

Photo by Mateusz Dach from Pexels

While I have had to do some work during the stay-at-home season, the workload has not been nearly as much as I am used to. At first this was a bit intimidating. I am blessed and fortunate to still have a job and the paycheck that comes with, but I felt like I needed to be doing something for 7-8 hours per day. There's just one problem. The nature of my position at the day job is such that I need to be in the building to do most of my work. And so I do what I can and then the rest of my day is sort of like being on a sabbatical, which would be nice if I knew how to handle being on sabbatical.

It seems like being on a sabbatical should be easy, just stop doing what you would normally do and do something else. Of course under normal circumstances, what you do during a sabbatical is dependent on if you are paid or not. Based on a quick internet search a paid sabbatical allows you to study or to pursue a new idea you can bring back to your job. Conversely an unpaid sabbatical allows you to volunteer or do something else and then (hopefully) get your job back afterwards. Early on I struggled with how not to waste my time while obeying the stay-at-home order. Now I realize that this is a great time to think and to plan changes I can make once the order is lifted. This is a great time to take a paid sabbatical, even if it is a forced sabbatical.

I've followed the same routine for decades. Having started straight out of college, I am one of those rare birds who has worked for the same company for a long time. I have gotten up at the same time, left the house at the same time and caught the same train every morning. While I have changed positions within the company, for the last several years my work routine has been the same. Now, like many of you, I find myself forced out of my routine. I also find myself wondering how I can do a better job once I go back. Is it time to further shake up my daily routine?

As I ponder changes to my day job work routine, I find that other parts of my life also need a shake up. I can be better: a better husband, father, homeowner and a better writer. There is a silver lining to my stay-at-home cloud. Through it I have the time to think and as a result I see my path in a different light. I see changes I can make that will lead to something different and better after this pandemic runs its course. I see that I needed this unplanned sabbatical because I needed time to think about change.