Author: kenlassblog.net

Here’s something that might stun you if you are of a certain age. The time span from 1970 until today, is equal to the time span from 1915 to 1970!

Isn’t it weird that we think so much time passed between 1915 and 1970, but the last half century seems to have flown past us. We’ve lived through so much more history than we realize. The pace of time is not going to stop. Our lives are going to continue streaking toward their destination. It should make us realize the value of each day, the preciousness of each opportunity.

Don’t put off enjoying, and restoring if necessary, the important relationships in your life. In the end, they will be what matters to you the most. And don’t forget your relationship with your Maker.

I’m not quite sure how it happened, but my email has been hijacked by spammers. In the last 24 hours, I have received unsolicited messages trying to sell me McDonald’s coffee, a cure for yellow toenails, a cabbage cookbook, a secret exercise to improve my memory, a way to cut my electric bill by 90 percent, how to get relief from neuropathy pain, and of course, a booster for my testosterone count.

And many more. So many voices from so many directions, all designed to make a buck, none have my best interests at heart. Some, in fact, want to swindle me. It’s made us an understandably suspicious culture, reluctant to trust anything or anybody. We have a longing to hear from someone who will tell us the truth. Someone who is coming from a position of love and care for our well being. Someone who has endured and conquered all the evil and deceptive influences over time.

You and I know who it is. It’s time to read and listen to His word.

Since I retired almost nine years ago I have had more time to read, and I have found myself becoming somewhat of a science geek. I am fascinated by studies of physics and relativity and other deep, brainy stuff. I don’t understand much of it, but I like to read books by people who do. Concepts such as slowing down time, and objects becoming more dense at high speeds really grab my imagination.

But the most brilliant minds in the world have been trying to answer the basic questions of human existence for centuries. How did all things begin? How did things become alive? What happens after death? Try as they might, so far at least, science can’t answer these questions definitively.

So your best option at this point is to trust God’s answers. They are easy to find. They’re all in His book. They hold true until somebody proves otherwise.

When I was working as a local television news anchor, I learned something about prestige that stuck with me. If I walked down the streets of my town, some folks would recognize me and treat me like a local celebrity. But if I got in my car and drove two hours in any direction, then got out of my car and walked the streets, nobody knew who I was, and nobody cared.

It taught me that prestige and “celebrity” aren’t real. They just exist in the mind of somebody else. If you’re depending on status and notoriety to make you happy, you will be truly disappointed. They disappear like dust on a windy day.

Better to remember Luke 14:11. “He who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

When I am babysitting my nine and eight year old grandkids, their favorite thing to do with me is play school. They want to be the teacher. They want to give me math tests and spelling tests. Sometimes I make mistakes on purpose because they take great delight in correcting my errors. They absolutely love to be in control, to make the rules.

Our need for control starts early in life and only seems to grow stronger as we age. Perhaps that’s why it’s so challenging to give up control of our lives to God, and to allow Him to take us in His direction. To acknowledge that He makes the rules, and, just like my grandkids, He is testing me every day.

I won’t make mistakes on purpose on His tests. I do that enough unintentionally.

I’m sorry.

Two small words that change everything. There are so many times we can have a bad interaction with someone. We might be left with bitterness, hurt feelings and anger. Friendships are threatened. Family members are estranged. We can carry that negativity around in our bellies and let it fester and grow.

Or we could just say “I’m sorry”. Even if you are convinced you were in the right. You could say I’m sorry this has caused strained feelings between us. I don’t want to fight. Let’s work this out.

When someone has apologized to me, I find that any ill feelings I have instantly melt away. Pride has a way of keeping you from making the first move. Swallow it. You’ll love the after taste.

Against the back wall of my writing room, sitting on a small end table, is an old record player. I never use it anymore. Today you can just pull out your phone and dial up any song or album you want to listen to, all for the price of a subscription.

But record players are coming back. They are selling like crazy. It’s being called the vinyl revival. The popularity is generated by nostalgia, and what is being termed as a “physical connection” to the music. Turns out folks enjoy holding a record and/or the album in their hands, then playing and listening to it while perusing the cover. Some think the audio quality is better on vinyl.

Whatever the reason, it takes them back to a happier, simpler time of their lives. I’ve still got some of my old records. Maybe I’ll crank up the turntable. Everyone needs a little nostalgia in their lives. Find a good memory, and a song that goes with it. Like the old tune says, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.”

I recently watched a TV biography about actor Burt Reynolds. Among other things, it detailed his battle against drug addiction. It seems that every day you hear of a famous celebrity dealing with addictions. Matthew Perry, Ben Affleck, Brad Pitt, Charlie Sheen, Robert Downey Jr., the list goes on and on.

Clearly, fame and wealth don’t meet all of your needs. Those things are fragile and often temporary. People need a solid foundation, a reliable source of love and support, guidance to make positive moral decisions, relationships that hold them accountable and encourage them. Those things can usually be found in a good church.

It’s possible to live a sober, happy, contented, fulfilling life without a church family.

But the odds are against it.

My eight-year-old grandson has a gift. He seems to have the ability to look at a bunch of loose parts lying on a table or floor, and see in his mind how they fit together. He loves Legos. We buy him various sets complete with instructions on how to build everything from dinosaurs to race cars to airplanes. He dumps the tiny pieces on a table, looks at them for a few minutes, and then correctly assembles them in a flash without looking at the instructions.

My prayer is that, as he grows into adulthood, he will have the same vision when he observes the pieces of his life. That he will be the finished product God has designed him to be. That he will assemble his path with honor and spiritual wisdom.

Sometimes we observe our circumstances, and have trouble seeing how they fit together to accomplish His purpose. Fortunately, there is a book of instructions for that as well.

When a child is taught how to read, the instruction starts with the letters of the alphabet. Vowels and consonants, each one has a sound. The sounds combine together to form a word. Long words can be broken down into pieces (syllables), and then joined together. Words become sentences, which become paragraphs, which become essays or novels or biographies or poetry or any great piece of literature. Yet it all begins with that single letter of the alphabet.

God builds His kingdom that way. One person at a time. There are great congregations, massive revivals, missionaries, disaster relief crews. Christianity is the most popular religion in all the world. But it is nothing without each individual answering the call.

So be a letter of God’s alphabet today. What sound do you make?