A good question

I had an interesting conversation with Scott, our worship pastor, last evening. He's in the middle of writing a new worship song with some friends and had included a phrase that's pretty familiar to a lot of us--"I am found in you." He sang a few of the lines for me and then asked, "What does that phrase mean to you? I mean, do you think most people really understand what it means to be 'found' in Christ?"

Interesting question. I'm not sure that most really do. For me, the phrase means that everything about us--our worth, our meaning, our value, our future, our present, everything--is found in the person of Jesus Christ. While that's a very hard place to come to in our lives, it's absolutely essential if we are ever going to know the peace that God has promised us. You see, being found in Christ means that we no longer depend on the world to determine our value. Their opinions of us will not determine our worth. It means knowing that the future we have is in His control and that nothing short of our own desires can take that away from Him. It also means that when life gets difficult, we can rest comfortably in the knowledge that God will carry us through.

It's a phrase we sing and speak often but my fear is that it's a reality that most of us never know fully. Schedules and pressures, stress and circumstances can quickly relocate our lives away from Christ and back in our own hands. We become frazzled, desperate in an attempt to stay above water. Usually, it's only after we reach a place of desperation that we come back to the reality that our lives are best left in His hands. Yet, the next event will come and we are right back in control. It's a place that we'd really rather never be but spend far too much of our lives.

Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. John 15:4

Change isn't easy

I think I said this on here a few weeks ago. Everybody loves change; you go first. Change is seldom easy. In fact, it's downright hard. There are old habits to break and new ones to develop. And the old habits just don't die easily.

For instance, for the first time since college (which was more than just a few months ago for those keeping tabs) I'm typing on a Macbook. I trained on Apples when I was a senior in high school. I worked and trained others on Apples when I was in college. So it's not like I've never made this change before. But when I finished grad school, I was told to put away my Apple and purchase a PC. Now, I have given into the urging of my staff.

The point of all that is this...it's not easy. I'm still putting my fingers in the wrong places and pushing wrong buttons. The shortcuts are a little different and the keyboard feels slightly strange. But I'm hoping the change, in the long run, will be a good one.

I've made similar changes with my health. Believe me, these changes were far harder than the shift from a PC to a Mac. Doing away with certain foods and stuff that just aren't good for me. Exercising six times a week (I haven't done that since high school) all in the name of better health. But it matters to me. It's extremely important. I watched my dad struggle with his health all the way to the end of his life. I've seen others I know battle with health conditions. All I know is that I want to be able to see my kids grow old, watch their children be born, and spend the end of my life with Lisa enjoying it as much as I have the first three years. So, I make the changes I know I need to make...no matter how hard they may be.

It's that way with anything worth doing. It will require change. It will require some discomfort as the old is done away with and the new comes. But the key is deciding that you really want to be different. That's why many church goers are not willing to change. They don't mind the trips to church and the occasional uncomfortable sermon but they never get to the place where they decide that the change is "worth it." They just don't really desire it. So they settle. They become complacent. They live with apathy. And they miss the greatest journey one could ever experience, an adventure that goes far beyond just going to church...the adventure that is following Christ.

Houston

Lisa and I had a great time with the people from GHSHRM last week (I think I got those initials right). They were a wonderful bunch of folks and the conference was awesome. I particularly enjoyed hearing my good friend, Dr. Wayne Marchant, speak. For those of you who don't know who Wayne is, he is the Vice President for Risk Management at Savannah's Memorial Hospital--the place where my son Joshua died.

What is amazing to me is the growing friendship that God has brought from that situation. I love and respect Wayne for the integrity with which he dealt with Josh's death. I appreciate him even more for what he continues to do in light of that awful experience. Thanks, Wayne. You are greatly respected.

To Debbie, one of the conference attenders (and maybe some others out there), thank you for your very kind words in response to my presentation. We do have a DVD of the presentation that is available for institutional use. However, we do not have anything for personal viewing. You can find out more by contacting us via this e-mail address (keith@mhslawfirm.com).

Also, one really cool update. We've had a web presence in a very simple form for about a year now for Ridley Barron Ministries. In the next couple of weeks, we will be going "live" with a new, more expanded site that reflects the growing ministries of RBM and the opportunities that are available there. You can check it out at www.ridleybarron.com (hard to forget that one, huh?) As I said, right now it's very simple and limited. However, by next week, the new site will be operating.

Thanks for all the great comments from last week in Houston. Next week, I'm in Columbia, SC for another conference. Looking forward to meeting some new faces and continuing to watch as God uses these events to bring about some cool stuff.

Traveling

Lisa and I are sitting in the Houstonian Hotel in Houston, TX this morning. I'm getting ready for a presentation to the Greater Houston Society for Healthcare Risk Management. Boy, that's a mouthful. I'm praying over the words that God would give to me and how he can use those words to impact health care in general and the specific providers.

....and missing my kids. I love that God has given me this opportunity to use our story for good. I even like the traveling a bit, though the airport security can get old. But I always miss being home with my family. They are so much a part of who I am. I wish I could take them on the road with me and let them see and experience the great places I get to go. I guess it makes going home that much sweeter. You know, the whole "absence makes the heart grow fonder" deal.

It's a big day tomorrow (Saturday). My oldest is turning 18. Wow! I know she's excited. Me? I have mixed feelings. I'm excited she's having the big day and that she is daily showing how God is transforming her and making her into the young woman I have been praying for. I just hate that we are rushing up to the day she leaves for Samford--it's getting really close--and I've only had this little bit of time with her. It just goes too fast. And the time we do have is split between school, work, church and a very intelligent young man she has fallen for (he's intelligent because he's dating my beautiful daughter). But you might expect a dad to say that.

I know she doesn't read this but I thought I'd say it anyway. Happy birthday, Morgan. I love you and am very proud of you.

Completely overwhelmed

That's the answer I seem to get from a lot of people lately when I ask how they are feeling. For most, it is the constant dreary news we hear from our economy that has them burdened. For others, it's some combination of poor health, crazy schedules, high demands or consequences from poor choices. The great tragedy with all this is that it's nowhere near what God wanted us to experience in our lives. Don't get me wrong, the Bible is clear that God knew we would have troubles in this world. But I don't think that God intended us to live out the "Eeyore" principle while we walked this earth. You know, "Woe is me, nobody likes the donkey"...the miserable, yet lovable, creature from the Winnie-the-Pooh stories by A.A. Milne.

God's word tells us over and over again that He wants something much better for us.

I have come that they might have life, and have it to the full. John 10:10

...for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 1 John 5:4

More than just a promise of something fantastic that awaits us in Heaven, I think God wants us to taste that "full life" now as He guides us through difficulty and allows us to experience His constant presence. No, you won't live a carefree life. But God does promise that we can bring our anxieties to him because He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7).

Our problem is that we know the obvious things we must do, we just choose not to do them. We know that God's Word transforms us but most of us never take the time to read it. We know that prayer is a direct conversation with our Creator but our times with Him are infrequent at best. We know the good things to choose and we know the selfish things that tempt us. For most of us, though, our pursuits are about us and our comfort rather than the good that God would have us pursue. Yet, we are surprised when life gets overwhelming or despair seems to consume us.

Rather than give in to the status quo of the day, we must choose to embrace the promises of God that help us rise above gloomy economic news, ward off the high demands of our culture and make the wise choices that honor God. That is the lifestyle that brings us the freedom that God desires for us.

For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age. Titus 2:11-12