Category Archives: Bible Study

Tired of Toein’ the Line

Why is it so hard to make decisions? People analyze, agonize, question, and dwell on making many decisions in life. I’m not talking about what to have for dinner or what should I wear today. I am referring to questions like, what career path do I choose? Should I marry the person that I am dating?

We spend a lot of time teetering on decisions when time is an irreplaceable commodity. 

What if I make the wrong decision?

Is there a better option or something better for me?

How will people react to my choice? Will I be judged?

These little voices rattle around in our head, sowing both hesitation and doubt. It can be an exhausting dance with no clear finale, causing many restless nights. Confidence is a difficult state of mind to master for most of our finite lives.

This why prayer and mediation are so important. Answers can be found when we are quiet and focused without distraction. This clarity will help make decisions more confident .

As with being human, decisions we make can backfire and turn out to be the wrong choice. It will happen. Worry, strife, over analyzing, and agony will not yield clarity. It will only fog it up more, extending the cycle and steering us in the wrong direction.

Purposeful focus will lead us into a more confident decision. God has given us the ability to reason and has planted a seed in each individual that will grow if we tend to it. 

Prayer and meditation. 

Be still and know I am God.

It is time we stop “toein’ the line” and use our time in this life wisely. You will make wrong choices, but most can be corrected. Search for guidance the divine maker has crafted into your soul. It will not lead you astray.

Soapbox Ethics- Pride vs Humility

Most mornings, when I sit down and open my computer, I skim through the “news” headlines. I check to see what things I missed the previous day, but I also do it out of habit. These articles continue to become less and less “news” or information stories. Instead, the pages are bombarded with pride and arrogance with a strong intent to tell us how we should be thinking or believing.

So many people with money, power, and influence feel they need to force their ideals on others. All you need to do it watch an awards show for a prime example. What a display of arrogance! They are not encouraging people to think. Instead, they tell them how to think. Only their personal opinions matter and are correct. If you don’t agree, then you are an uneducated, hateful person. They defend their positions with “free speech” while intending to suppress “free thought.” They deflect their personal hate and unhappiness on others.  Fear and intimidation are the key tools of pride and arrogance. 

What they are missing is that humility is more influential than arrogance. If we approach with a humble heart and an open mind, we can begin to find stronger faith and purpose. Stubborn pride closes our mind and soul to truth, leaving the individual with hate and bitterness towards others.

Give your opinion, explain it, and let individuals decide for themselves. Most importantly, respect their opinion and belief if they do not meet the same conclusion.

This is my purpose, I want you, the reader, to not agree with me, but I desire you to evaluate and make your own decisions, opinions, and beliefs. I do not have the answers, but my articles are to make you think and question. Why do you believe it?

Truth is built on a strong foundation.

Stop blindly following those who use their platform to demand conformity. Instead, find the truth deep within that you’ve always had. We are born with it as it was given to us in our creation. A person’s life purpose is to seek truth by discovering who they are as an individual. Take a humble approach, realizing that no one person has it all right.

We are all on this journey to truth. Help others with encouragement and humility. Don’t drag them along like a hostage.

Proverbs 11:2  When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.

Just a Few Lingering Thoughts…

My apologies as it has been a long pause in writing my next blog. Life has this strange way of getting away from us while we try to chase it down. It definitely reminds me that time is one of our greatest enemies. It’s unbeatable, unstoppable, and inevitable. 

“You may delay, but time will not.” -Benjamin Franklin.

The world is constantly changing. Unfortunately, it’s more bad than good if you listen to the “experts” who flood all our senses every day. War, destruction, conspiracy, protests, and political conflicts bombard us from every angle, making it easy to lose hope. How many times do you watch the evening news and feel encouraged? Likely, very few times, if any.

Someone asked me the other day, “Why is the world such a cluster right now?”

My answer, “Because we allow mankind to control it.”

Human guidance is flawed, no matter how good the intention is. Mankind is a large group of individuals who all think individually. We are not a collective and can not be a collective. Independent thought prevents this mentality. Communism and strict Socialism have proven that collectivism is unable to succeed even with strong enforcement.

As many of you may know, I am a strong opponent of conformity. No true freedom can be experienced under the tent of conformity. It blocks us in, controls us, forces us, and in the end, we suffer.

When we accept society’s standards, we become endentured to it.

Disagree with mainstream society: be labeled and cast out. I’m okay with it. It is the first step of gaining freedom. Separate yourself from mankind and its required conformity. This allows us to find something greater than society’s standards.

Be in the world, but not of it.

Fishing Nets Tossed in the Sand

Most people have heard the story of how Jesus called his disciples to follow after him. He did not go out and pick a group of religious leaders to take around and teach the people, nor did he pick a bunch of religious zealots to help him carry his message of freedom from the chains of sin. He picked several average guys from different walks of life and trained them to carry on the message that he began. The life of Christ is a very powerful story that sometimes becomes routine for people because they have heard it a hundred times. It is sad that it happens, but it is true. Sometimes people need a fresh look at parts of it in order to let the message continually impact and shape their lives.

As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fisherman. “Come follow me, ” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once, they left their nets and followed him. Matthew 4:18-20 TNIV

Seems like a simple story but hold on! What would make two brothers who were experienced fishermen their entire lives throw down their nets, leaving their source of income, and follow after Christ without question? Imagine if you were standing on the street here in downtown Indianapolis, and Jesus walked up to you saying to follow him. Would you drop your possessions and follow after him? Could you leave your work or friends and family? It is easy to respond, “Yes, of course I would!”

But think really hard…. Could you really do it?

It is powerful that these men whom Christ chose gave up their lives and walked with him, an incredible act of faith. It also speaks to the character of Jesus. His request was simple and straightforward.

Come, follow me.

At that point, Peter and Andrew would live changed lives and walk a new path. Their net laid there next to the sea; a symbol of their earthly lives. They left that like cast into the sand and walked into a new life with Christ.

What nets do you hold on to? What are you still fishing for? If we really experience Christ for who he is and what he can do in our lives, we will drop those nets and follow him. It is easier said than done, but with the help of Jesus, we can let go.