“Experience has taught me that the Shepherd is far more willing to show His sheep the path than the sheep are to follow. He is endlessly merciful, patient, tender, and loving. If we, His stupid and wayward sheep, really want to be led, we will without fail be led. Of that I am sure” (Elisabeth Elliot).

I remember a pastor saying that the book of James in the Bible is like getting whacked by a 2×4. It’s not a feel-good, heart-warming book about how we really need to love each other more as it is a book that says things like if you say you’re not a sinner, you lie and you make God out to be a liar. BAM! Right in the noggin.

For me, I think a lot of older faith-based writers are like that. They will say things like how God is passionately in love with you, but they will also say that it matters how you live and not just what you profess. Their writings can be convicting as well as comforting.

I think we need to get back to that. Old school authors like Oswald Chambers, Elisabeth Elliott, Amy Carmichael, and Watchman Nee weren’t about pulling punches. They weren’t afraid of offending as much as in diluting the truth. I still say that it’s super helpful to read books on theology and Christian living by dead people. Anything from at least 100 years ago that has lasted all this time has merit. Are they 100% perfect and divinely inspired? No, but these books contain a lot of good nuggets that you won’t necessarily find in a lot of contemporary books.

So my charge to you is to read old books by dead people. You won’t be sorry.

“I have often said, ‘I forgive you,’ but even as I said these words my heart remained angry or resentful. I still wanted to hear the story that I was right after all; I still wanted to hear apologies and excuses; I still wanted the satisfaction of receiving some praise in return—if only the praise for being so forgiving!

But God’s forgiveness is unconditional; it comes from a heart that does not demand anything of itself, a heart that is completely empty of self-seeking. It is this divine forgiveness that I have to practice in my daily life. It calls me to keep stepping over all my arguments that say forgiveness is unwise, unhealthy, and impractical. It challenges me to step over all my needs for gratitude and compliments. Finally, it demands of me that I step over that wounded part of my heart that feels hurt and wronged and that wants to stay in control and put a few conditions between me and the one whom I am asked to forgive. . . . Only when I remember that I am the Beloved Child can I welcome those who want to return with the same compassion as that with which the Father welcomes me” (Henri Nouwen).

As I’ve heard it said, forgiveness is releasing the other person from the expectation that they can make it right where they’ve wronged you. It’s not enabling them to keep doing the same or other hurtful things to you. It’s opening the prison door of bitterness only to realize that you were the one inside who needed freeing.

The Bible says that as you forgive others, God will forgive you. It’s that plain and simple. Of course, God’s initial forgiveness allows even the possibility for you to forgive others. But still we are called to forgive . . .

I think my weekend goals must include emulating this dude in the picture. I need to find a hammock or some other comfortable spot to lounge in for the majority of the remainder of the weekend. Because I am just so . . . wait for it . . . dead tired.

“Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way” (Colossians 3:15-17, The Message).

As you’ve probably heard before, Christianity is not a Lone Ranger religion. And besides, even the Lone Ranger had Tonto. No one is meant to live this life of faith alone. In fact, the best way to fail and to fall into all sorts of temptations is to go solo. You need others surrounding you in community, both to encourage and challenge you, to speak life over you and to hold you accountable.

It has to be more than a 1 hour out of 168 proposition. You can’t grow and refresh and learn on just one day a week. You need to be in a community/life/Sunday School group. You need to have interaction with believers throughout the week to keep you on track and keep you going.

“‘I must keep praying’ ‘I feel like just giving up!’ How often has this thought passed through our minds (both yours and mine) in recent months? If I am honest, then I must admit it’s been quite often. I find myself so often in hopeless situations where I know full well that only God can deliver me but God doesn’t seem to have the same urgency as I do. Impatience and unbelief are at least a root o…(tharr be more)f all my problems, and pride isn’t far behind, along with frustration (the fruit of my sin). Deep down I know that the Lord is working in my life and that I would be better off if I waited patiently for His time and His way of deliverance, but there seems to be a constant conflict between wanting to honour my God by doing His will and at the same time worrying myself sick over things which may never happen” (From Apples of Gold).

How much time do we spend worrying ourselves sick over things which may never happen? In some cases, we make ourselves literally ill over outcomes which never come to pass. But still the default is set to anxiety the moment our expectations are thwarted or delayed.

And then there’s trust. So many times, it feels unnatural to leave outcomes outside of ourselves and in the hands of a Being we can’t see or touch or (most of the time) hear. Surrender is the ultimate form of faith played out in real life. It’s the letting go of the notion that I can somehow help God out and expedite His will in some way. It’s trusting the process that shows no visible results day after day but also trusting the Promise Giver who has a track record of coming through at the perfect time.

“O Lord,

Life passes by swiftly. Events that a few years ago kept me totally preoccupied have now become vague memories; conflicts that a few months ago seemed so crucial in my life now seem futile and hardly worth the energy; inner turmoil that robbed me of my sleep only a few weeks ago has now become a strange emotion of the past; books that filled me with amazement a few days ago now do not seem as important; thoughts that kept my mind captive only a few hours ago have now lost their power and have been replaced by others. . . . Why am I continuously trapped in this sense of urgency and emergency? Why do I not see that you are eternal, that your kingdom lasts forever, and that for you a thousand years are like one day? O Lord, let me enter into your presence and there taste the eternal, timeless, everlasting love with which you invite me to let go of my time-bound anxieties, fears, preoccupations, and worries. . . . Lord, teach me your ways and give me the courage to follow them.

Amen” (Henri Nouwen).

Lord, help me to realize that only what is eternal is what truly matters. Help me to let everything else go and hold on only to You and Your promises. Help me to hold on to everything else in my life — possessions, titles, relationships — with open hands, knowing that they came from You and can just as easily go back to You. To have everything in the world and not have You is to have nothing but to have You and nothing else is to possess everything.

Amen.

“People do not drift toward Holiness. Apart from grace-driven effort, people do not gravitate toward godliness, prayer, obedience to Scripture, faith, and delight in the Lord. We drift toward compromise and call it tolerance; we drift toward disobedience and call it freedom; we drift toward superstition and call it faith. We cherish the indiscipline of lost self-control and call it relaxation; we slouch toward prayerlessness and delude ourselves into thinking we have escaped legalism; we slide toward godlessness and convince ourselves we have been liberated” (D. A. Carson).

That one smarts a bit. It’s truth but it doesn’t necessarily make us feel good. But sometimes we need to feel bad before we can feel good. In other words, we need a godly sorrow that leads to repentance, conviction that leads to change, and dying to self that leads to rebirth and growth.

You really don’t just drift into holiness. You can’t obtain godly wisdom through osmosis by sleeping with your Bible under your pillow. Your level of holiness depends on how desperate you are to be holy. Of course, God is the one who transforms, but apathy never led to any kind of spiritual revival, whether corporate or personal. You have to want it.

I’m the first to say “Amen . . . and ouch.” I recognize that I have been guilty of trying to drift into godly character. I’ve been known to think things like “Well, since I’ve been saved for so long, surely I’m bound to just become more godly.”

I believe that it starts with God putting the desire in you. But then you are the one who develops the disciplines of Bible study, prayer, fasting, and discipleship. Again, you don’t drift into discipline. You have to give up your own things — sometimes good things — to make room for godly things. You have to put in the time to see the fruit.

I’m preaching to myself again. Lord, help me to want holiness as much as you want me to be holy.

“Blessed be thy mercy that laid help on one that is mighty and willing, one that is able to save to that uttermost. Make us deeply sensible of our need of his saving grace, of the blood that cleanses, of the rest he has promised, And impute to us that righteousness which justifies the guilty, gives them a title to enternal life, and posession of the Spirit.”

I’m still one of those who believes in things like sin and hell and forgiveness and grace and salvation and eternal life. I don’t have to be convinced of sin other than to look at my own life and at how many times it’s been way easier to be selfish and lazy than to be disciplined and sacrificial. I don’t have to be argued into my need of a Savior when every day I find myself doing what I don’t want to do and not doing what I know I ought to do (as did that old apostle of yore by the name of Paul).

It’s politically and societally incorrect to say that we’re all sinners in need of a Savior, but even a cursory glance bears this out. You don’t have to look far to find the fallenness in us. You don’t have to use your imagination to see that we’re bent toward evil rather than good. Left to our own devices, we’re all screwed.

But God in His mercy . . . one of my favorite phrases in all of the Bible. He’s the one who died for us while we were yet sinners. He’s the one who loved us first when we were yet unlovable. He’s the one who laid down His life for us His enemies when hardly any of us would lay down our lives for even our friends. God didn’t just say how much He loved us but demonstrated it in Jesus taking up that cross and following it to death.

I’d rather have this Jesus than anything else, even if it means that I’m unpopular. Even if it means losing Facebook friends. Even if it means losing real friends. Because what do I gain if I have all the followers and fame and treasures and accolades in all the world but not Jesus? Not a blessed thing.

How did I miss that yesterday, September 30, was October Eve? Had I known, I would have made a big deal. All of you reading this can be my witnesses that starting in 2023 I will make gratuitous use of the phrase October Eve on every following September 30.

But here it is October. While I am a big fan of all the months ending in ‘ber, my heart truly lies with October, November, and December. Those are my big three favorite months. All my most beloved holidays fall within these months. See what I did there? They “fall” within these months. I pun even when I don’t mean to.

But I digress.

I hope October brings the chilly temperatures with the crisp autumn breezes. I hope there will be a riot of colored leaves in the trees this year. I’m looking forward to all the bonfires and hayrides and s’mores and flannel and everything else fall-esque.

And yes, my favorite color is October.

“It’s not always your business to pay attention to every controversy or news story. We’re not called to always be in this state of anxiety and to be all worked up. If I’m constantly reading my phone or watching YouTube or whatever I’m missing the real world, I’m missing what is actually out there, and I am being that distracted, I’m not focusing on what the actual call of my life is. If you’re all in a frenzy, you can’t shoot straight. Jesus said, “Let not your heart be troubled,” and I take that seriously. If the news is troubling you in this unproductive way, turn it off!” (Bryce Lungren).

Back in the day, you had the news at certain set hours of the day. You got your local and national news in 30 minute doses. People got the information they needed, no more and no less.

These days, there are a gazillion dedicated news channels that blast news information literally non-stop for 24 hours. There are a gazillion more social media news outlets where the headlines practically scream at you, demanding your attention all the time.

Are we any better for the information overload? Has it made us more civil toward one another? Have we grown to become more mature, more advanced human beings? Or is it that we have more division and anxiety and negativity because of the deluge of news?

John Prine wrote a song where he told us to blow up our TVs, throw away our papers, move to the country, build homes, and plant peaches. That sounds like a better alternative to news channels.

Jesus said to not let your hearts be troubled. In other words, don’t keep feeding your fears. Don’t keep going back to the source of your anxiety. Turn off the TV, put away your social media devices, silence the talk radio, and just be silent and still. Or maybe play some classical music. Or jazz. Or read poetry. Whatever takes you to a place of tranquility.

Perhaps you could pick up God’s Word and ask Him to speak to you in the margins you create by skipping the news. You could use the time to reach out to friends and family to have actual face to face conversations — not about any of the wars or famines or protests, but about life and kids and dreams and faith. Take back your life by turning off the noise.