A Singular Focus

I love the Guiness Book of World Records! The feats accomplished are simply astounding and those who hold these records are to be applauded. Some of the categories get pretty creative and make you wonder who would even think of that as a record to be had? For instance, England's John Evans balanced a 352 lb Mini car on his head for 33 seconds at The London Studios, UK on May 24, 1999. Another crazy one is the longest distance to drive a lawnmower. That record is 14,594.5 miles in 260 consecutive days by America's Gary Hatter. Hatter started his drive through Portland, Maine, on May 31, 2000 and passed through all 48 continuous US states as well as Canada and Mexico before arriving in Daytona Beach, Florida, on February 14, 2001.

I am not sure who wakes up and says, "I know i can balance a bigger car than that on my head," or "that lawnmower record is a joke and I am going to make a mockery of it!" However, I am sure that anyone who holds a Guiness record has at least two things going for them: focus and determination. To hold such a record a person has to make it their express purpose in life to accomplish the feat. They cannot dabble in several things and spread their time and energy over many interests. Such a record holder must have a singular focus.

When Christ came to earth He had a singular focus. There was one thing that mattered, there was one mission that must be accomplished. He left the fellowship of His Father and the comfort and bliss of heaven with one thing on His mind. There was no litany of reasons to compel Him to walk the Via Dolorosa. Every step He took, every move He made was towards one end. That end was to save sinners. Paul says it this way, "Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst."

May we follow Him with that same single mindedness. May our hearts be undivided as we seek Him. May our daily living cry out that He is the one thing that matters. May the entirety of our lives simply state that He is indescribably good, glorious and worthy!

Telling it like it is

The prayer below was offered by Pastor Joe Wright in the House of Reprensatives in Topeka on January 23, 1996.

Heavenly Father,

We come before You today to ask Your Forgiveness and seek Your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, ''Woe to those who call evil good,'' but that's exactly what we have done. We have lost our Spiritual equilibrium and inverted our values.

We confess that; we have ridiculed the absolute truth of Your Word and called it pluralism; We have worshipped other gods and called it multiculturalism; We have endorsed perversion and called it an alternative lifestyle; We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery; We have neglected the needy and called it self preservation; We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare; We have killed our unborn and called it choice; We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable; We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem; We have abused power and called it political savvy; We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition; We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression; We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.

Search us, O God, and know our hearts today; try us and see if there be some wicked way in us; cleanse us from every sin and set us free. Guide and bless these men and women who have been sent here by the people of this state and who have been ordained by You, to govern this great state of Kansas. Grant them your wisdom to rule and may their decisions direct us to the center of Your Will.I ask in in the name of your Son, The Living Savior, Jesus Christ

(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction

Mick Jagger and Keith Richards could not have known how correct they were when they penned this Rolling Stones hit in May of 1965. Jagger had been amazed by the commercialism that was consuming America as he traveled across the country and this song reflects those feelings. The trend has only intensifed since then. Americans are less happy than ever although our standard of living has advanced three fold since the mid 60's.

What was true in '65 was also true when Solomon penned Ecclesiastes and said essentially the same thing. God allowed Solomon to live out a grand experiment in which he basically got anything that his heart desired. Wealth, power, women, knowledge.... whatever he desired to have became his. Solomon's conclusion?? That it was all foolishness and made him no happier. I love the phrase that he uses to describe the whole ordeal, "it was like chasing after the wind."

Today, you and I live better lives than Solomon or any other wealthy king could have imagined. Solomon never rode in a car, flew on an airplane, talked on a phone, sent an email or enjoyed modern health care. Are we any happier though? I doubt it. Are our lives any more meaningful? Probably not. The problem is that we have tons of time saving gadgets that are supposed to "free us up" for the important pursuits of life. Tragically we chose rather to fill that time with more vain pursuits in the constant push for more.

I hope that one day we as believers will be able to say with integrity that, as Paul put it, we are content. Whether in plenty or in want, in any and every circumstance that we are satisfied. Content because we have Christ and that He is ultimately satisfying. That whether or not our greatest hopes and dreams materialize that we will be perfectly joyful either way because we know Him. These words of John Piper are so meaningful to me that I carry them with me everywhere I go, "God is most glorified when I am most satisfied in Him." May we be satisfied.

The Rest of the Story

Paul Harvey lived one of the most God-honoring lives I know about. Millions of Americans, myself included, have had their lives enriched by his news and commentary. Most people will remember him for his honesty, his zeal for life, and his excellent story telling. I will remember him as a hero of the faith. Paul led an incredible life marked by deep faith in Christ, abiding love to his wife and real commitment to his family, his job and his country.

One of the best sermons I have ever heard was not really a sermon at all. Paul Harvey was speaking at Kansas State as part of the Landon Lecture series. I will never forget the simple humility that Harvey spoke with while describing his own conversion. He talked of how the Cross changed his life and how he was so undeserving of grace and mercy. He recounted how his baptism was a pivotal moment in his life in which "he stopped trying to tear himself in half." He spoke at length of the goodness and faithfulness of God in his life. After nearly sixty years of marriage he spoke of his wife with the smitten attitude of his youth. He loved to brag about his wife and to tell of how he had proposed on their first date.

This last saturday Paul Harvey went home to be with the Lord. I am confident that if Hebrews eleven were to be writtten today that it would be simple men like Paul Harvey who would be enshrined in faith's hall of fame. Paul looked forward to heaven and spoke of his excitement to see all that Christ had prepared. He loved to say that the Lord made the heavens and the earth in six days, imagine what He has done in heaven with over 2000 years. Now, Paul Harvey knows the rest of the story.