I found this prayer when I was looking for something else. It’s part of a Covenant Renewal Service. It’s not an easy prayer to pray, but if you mean it, then I believe you are ready to see God in a way you’ve never seen Him before. You’re ready to see God unleash in you things you’ve only imagined or dreamed of up until now. It’s a prayer of total surrender and commitment:

“Let me be your servant, under your command.
I will no longer be my own.
I will give up myself to your will in all things.

I put myself fully into your hands:
put me to doing, put me to suffering,
let me be employed for you, or laid aside for you, let me be full, let me be empty,
let me have all things, let me have nothing.

I freely and with a willing heart
give it all to your pleasure and disposal.”

I’ve been saving my money for a new(er) vehicle lately. Still, I’m not ready to give up on the Red Sled just yet. She still runs good and gets me where I need to go. Plus, I just hit 379,000 miles. I almost feel like I need to shoot for 400,000.

My Jeep may not look as stylish and fancy as some of the new models, but I defy you to find one of these new-fangled cars that will last 24 years and 300,000+ miles. They may have more bells and whistles, but they don’t have the staying power of one of those old Jeeps.

Of course I’m partial. I’ve grown quite fond of the old Red Sled. I’ve been driving this little Jeep for so long that it feels like a part of me. When I ever get a newer vehicle, it’s going to take me six months to figure out where I parked because I’ll always be looking for a red Jeep. It will take me while to get used to a new steering wheel, new seats, new everything. It won’t be the same.

But for now the Red Sled remains. She may not look as pretty as she did way back in 1997, but she still has a certain kind of style and charm. I think I’ll keep her around for a bit longer.

Well, it’s back.

That wild and crazy time of the sports year has returned with a fresh selection of 68 college basketball teams set to duke it out (pun somewhat intended) for the glory of being national champions.

It feels a little different this year with the pandemic still hanging around. It’s hard to really get into it as much as in years past because there have been so many distractions in the past 12 months.

This time last year all lovers of college basketball were still reeling from the news that there would be no college basketball tournament. The season had abruptly and unceremoniously ended.

This year, they’re back. Even if it’s not quite as festive an occasion as in years past, this is still the March Madness we’ve all been waiting for. So today I did my civic duty and filled out my brackets for the Tournament Challenge.

Will I win? Probably not. Still I keep holding out hope that my amazing intellect — or more likely sheer dumb luck — will lead me to have a winning bracket. Even so, I’d rather see a lot of upsets and see another Cinderella team knock off a few national powerhouses. I always seeing a little David school taking down a Goliath.

I’ve cut back this time. So far, I’ve only filled out a measly 6 brackets. If I’m still feeling lucky, I might add one or two more.

If you’re like me, you’ve got your fingers crossed and hoping for the best for your brackets. May the odds be ever in your favor.

I discovered something recently that potentially could change my world for the better. Or just make it more enjoyable and fun.

I discovered an online radio station that plays classic Christian rock music from the 70s, 80s, and 90s. It’s like my own personal Delorean revved up to 88 miles per hour and taking me back in time

Hearing some of the old classics brings back a lot of memories. There’s also a lot that I either didn’t remember or had apparently never heard the first time around.

The best part is that they’re not like most current radio stations that have a playlist of 20 songs that endlessly repeat day after day. I may be getting old, but I think the music really was better back in the day.

As usual, I’ve provided a link if you want to check it out for yourselves. You don’t have to be a geezer to appreciate these tunes. You just have to love great music.

http://player.radiocoalition.org/classicchristianrock?l

I know you’re not actually leaving Kairos for another three or so weeks, but I wanted to express my gratitude before then. I wanted to say thank you for leading Kairos so well for these past five years.

I honestly didn’t think anyone could take Mike Glenn’s place after he announced he was stepping down from the role of Kairos pastor. I didn’t really believe he would ever leave Kairos until he actually did and passed the mantle to you.

I didn’t like your long beard at first, but it grew on me [required bad dad joke]. I wasn’t sure what to make of you at first, but you grew on me.

I really like how you brought back a sense of liturgy to the worship. I love how honest and real you were, making it feel like it was okay to own my brokenness and still know that God loves me as I am and not as I should be. I love your passion and commitment to honoring and teaching God’s word, not shying away from the hard parts.

I’ve come to the place where I can’t imagine a Kairos without you. Still, I know that God already has someone picked out who will both honor the legacy of Kairos while leading it into a brave new future. I also know God will lead you into a place that is both terrifying and beautiful where God will continue to bless and touch lives through you.

I’m already praying God’s anointing and protection over you. I’m praying wisdom and discernment over you. I’m praying for a perfect love that will cast out all fear from you. I’m praying for blessing for both you and Audrey and your children that you will continue to grow in grace and truth as you grow closer to Jesus and to each other.

Thank you for your faithfulness for five years. We who have come to know you and to sit under your teaching and to share your heart for God will rise up and call you blessed for how you have blessed us all.

Today’s sermon from The Church at Avenue South was about the rich young ruler who chose his riches over Jesus. More accurately, he chose to put his trust in himself, i.e. his control over his finances and his morality, rather than in the person and work of Jesus.

Riches in and of themselves aren’t good or bad. They can be used for great good or enormous evil. It’s not money that is the root of all evil; it is the love of money.

The rich young ruler started off by asking the wrong question: “What must I DO to inherit eternal life?”

Apparently, he missed where Jesus said that if you want to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, you must receive it as a little child. Or perhaps his religion of righteousness through outward improvements and better morals didn’t allow for such a thing as saved by grace through faith.

If the the young man could have done anything to gain eternal life, there would have been no need for Jesus. There would have been no need for an incarnation, much less a crucifixion. The fact that Jesus was available to answer the man’s question showed that it had no merit.

Jesus’ answer wasn’t that voluntary poverty was the way to salvation. The key was surrender. The man had to surrender his trust in his riches, his man-made empire of wealth that he trusted in above all else, to follow the Rabbi. Jesus would have no other gods before Him.

The rich young ruler went away sad because he’d rather have gold than God, silver than a Savior. The disciples, while they certainly didn’t understand a lot of what Jesus said and did, still chose to trust what they knew and keep following. That’s the difference.

So apparently we’re losing an hour tonight. Whenever I lose sleep, it’s a big deal. I’m not ready for this.

Why do we still even have daylight savings time? I know back in the day it was helpful to farmers and such to have more hours of daylight for working. But these days we have devices that allow us to work past sunset.

My life won’t come to a screeching halt if we still have daylight savings next year. I’m just saying that it’s very annoying to have to mess with all my clocks twice a year. Can’t we just leave them alone? Can’t we just live and let live and keep that extra hour of sleep?

If you love and look forward to daylight savings, then God bless you. I won’t think any less of you for springing forward and falling back.

I just know that I will at some point tomorrow be in dire need of a nap.

That’s all.

I ran across something that I wrote 11 years ago. It’s always intriguing to read some of what I was thinking and feeling back then and how much I have changed since then (and yet how much I remain the same).

I don’t remember the circumstances behind what I wrote. I don’t remember much of anything about March 12, 2010. I may or may not have gone to work that day. It may or may not have been a good day. All I know is that what I wrote speaks to me and will hopefully speak to you.

Here’s a blast from the past:

When I am alone and nobody seems to care,
Lord, You know my name.
When I am ignored in a crowd,
Lord, You know my name.
When I am screaming inside with a smile on my face,
Lord, You know my name.
When I have one more step left in me before I quit,
Lord, You know my name.
When I have all that I want and am still empty,
Lord, You know my name.
When I forget You and walk away from Your promises,
Lord, You know my name.
When I am in heaven and see You waiting for me there,
Lord, You know my name.
For it is written in stone and on Your heart.

I love the part that says how we’re not called to be kind to people because they somehow have earned it or deserve it in any way, but because Jesus has been kind to us.

I think sometimes we forget that it took as much grace to save any of us as it took to save that death-row inmate or the hopelessly addicted junkie or that thief on the cross with his last minute plea. All of us who belong to Jesus are standing on level ground at the foot of the cross because we all equally still need Jesus to save us and keep us and sustain us through all the rest of our days.

So be kind. Remember the lovingkindness that was shown to you once when you least expected or deserved it. Remember that while you and I were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

We’re 3 days away from that special Saturday where we spring forward an hour. Well, technically, it’s Sunday at 2 am, but who really stays up that late just to set the clocks ahead? Not me.

We’re also 10 days away from the Spring Equinox and the official end of winter. What the heck? Or, as I heard in a sitcom, what the ham sandwich?

Where has the year gone already?

It seems like this time last year we were all awakening to the reality of a pandemic and all the restrictions that ensued. Now it seems like the pandemic is (hopefully) drawing to a close and those restrictions are being lifted.

I can’t keep up anymore. I barely know what day of the week it is, and that’s only because of my awesome Doug the Pug daily calendar that I keep at my desk at work. Sometimes, I look at my watch just so I know that it’s Wednesday, April 10.

Just kidding. I know it’s really March 10. But after I blink, it really will be April. What in the actual ham sandwich?

The only way I’ve found to keep the time from completely flying by is to enjoy the moments. Receive each moment as a gift from God (which is why it’s called the present) and try to be present in each and every moment.

Spring has warmer temperatures (yay) and pollen (boo). It has lots of sunshine (yay) and also plenty of rain (boo). At least I won’t have to scrape ice off my windshield anymore for a while (big yay).

So bring on Spring. I’m ready.