David Brooks has penned a new Op-Ed that is really good. It describes how, as we have been fighting the culture wars over "hot button" issues, we have ignored a large change in the old convictions about money, thrift, and responsibility to erode and damage our economy. A fascinating article that you should read and see what you think. ARTICLE

A busy day and far from over. And to top it all off, I managed to miss an important conference call/meeting that I was supposed to take part in today. I really hate when something like that slips past me. :( Oh well, sometimes stuff like that happens. I was able to get the material all finished for the GPCS Spiritual Life conference tomorrow. I am really looking forward to spending the day with the students and challenging their thinking on what it means to be a Christian. Then, when that is over, its back up here to go to UMF IV and do the same thing again, only geared toward college students. It is going to be a busy day but should be very rewarding. Tonight I have a meeting with someone and then need to put the finishing touches on tomorrow nights material. When you make yourself available to God and open yourself up to be used of God, you will never want for opportunities. If you are wishing you had opportunities, you just need to walk up to a ministry and say "yes". You'll have more opportunities than you know what to do with. :) If you haven't been over to Nate's blog lately, you should check out his latest entry looking at the "hedge of protection" that Christians often pray for. Very good stuff.

I was thinking this morning about how so many things that we should or shouldn't do to do better in life are so simple...and so hard. Most of life, and doing well in it, either spiritually, physically, emotionally, or personally, is pretty simple. We act like it is complicated, but it is not. Brain Surgery-complicated. Tracing the electrical system of today's automobiles-complicated. Understanding the various global economic factors and how they interrelate-complicated. But most of us don't face that sort of challenge each day. Get out of bed-simple. Stop doing that habit-simple. Start doing that other habit-simple. Sit down and take the 30 minutes to do that thing-simple. Yet there is where we fail each day. At least I do. These simple things get very hard. Why? I guess because in almost every instance, I am fighting myself. Most simple hard things involve going against my human nature. I don't want to get out of bed. I want to keep doing that habit. I don't want to take the time and effort to make myself pick up that good habit. I don't have that extra 30 minutes because I spent it doing something else that I wanted to do, even if it was a waste of time. We always complain about life being hard, and sometimes it is. Sometimes things come in that are very difficult to deal with, but often, what makes it hard is that we are tough to work with.

What I don't understand about myself is that I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise. So if I can't be trusted to figure out what is best for myself and then do it, it becomes obvious that God's command is necessary. But I need something more! For if I know the law but still can't keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don't have what it takes. I can will it, but I can't do it. I decide to do good, but I don't really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don't result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time. It happens so regularly that it's predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God's commands, but it's pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge. I've tried everything and nothing helps. I'm at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn't that the real question? The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different. (Romans 7:15-25)

A great time at InterVarsity tonight. Good crowd, good discussion. It is exciting to see God continue to work in the lives of the students up there. I look forward to being with them again next week. Had a big conference call today as we work on the CB Supercluster for Northern New England. It is always interesting to work in a group where we have to synthesize and work together. I am so thankful for the other pastors who are putting so much work into making this a good meeting. I hope we can continue to network and encourage other churches to join together. After all, we are all the church together, not just a bunch of lone rangers. That is a good picture of us as Christians. Too often we close people off, especially when we are having problems. But the secret is to open up. The more we turn to each other and open up with each other, the stronger the body grows. Lone ranger Christians are unBiblical. Pastors can be the worst offenders in this regard. We are taught in school to stay aloof. If you are struggling with a sin, with your marriage, with your family, finances, whatever, you can't let your church know because it will diminish your authority. You will give people something to attack you with. They actually teach this. But I do not agree. My authority as a pastor does not flow from some sort of stature or reputation. It flows from Christ. If I hold myself apart, I lose the ability to connect to my fellow Christians, many of whom have the same struggles. Also, by hiding the problems and issues, I deny my closest brothers and sisters in Christ the chance to help me bear the burdens and fight off the sin. I will not cultivate an air of invincibility, super-spirituality, and infallibility. I struggle. I fail. I sin. My guess is, so do you. :) So no lone rangers, and no lone ranger churches. We are ALL part of the body of Christ. Let's open ourselves up to one another, be honest about our fears, failures, and sins. It is amazing how much God's power will flourish as we do that!

Getting ready for InterVarsity tomorrow night and GPCS next week. My study has brought me, among other places, to Solomon. Solomon knew the Lord from a young age and had a special relationship with God. God granted him supernatural wisdom as well as material prosperity. Solomon reigned in a time when the nations around him were weaker. He enjoyed political and military strength and relative peace compared to his father and the kings that would follow him. So he should really have shined as a follower of God. Well...he didn't so much. Solomon instead gives much of his life to this world. He explores just how much fun the world can offer. Even though he has a relationship with God, it doesn't seem to inform his outlook on life. He lives it for this world. Then here's the "funny" part. After living this way, he writes his memoirs (Ecclesiastes) and says in a nutshell, "well, that was stupid." Isn't it interesting and rather sad that the wisest man who ever lived summed up his pursuits and decisions in life as stupid (vanity). I think for many of us who were raised to know God from a young age, we live eager to experience all the world has to offer, but we aren't going to abandon God, just pursue other things like Solomon. We have been taught better, we should know better, but the things of this world look like so much fun and so satisfying. Don't be a wise guy like Solomon who lived stupidly despite knowing God.