Placeholder Post:

Okay, peeps; I’ve been thinking about this a lot today and I’ve decided I’m not going to try to keep up with posting while we’re on vacation. I’ve looked at my writing, and – while I don’t think it’s getting stale – I do believe it won’t hurt to take some time off.

So this post is a placeholder; something to chew on and hopefully help keep things in perspective while Rebekah and I enjoy some adventures that I’m pretty sure I’ll be sharing before too long.

I’ll anchor it with this silly, cheesy-grin, face. A couple of days ago the grandchildren tried to Facetime while I was in the doctor’s office. David especially wanted me to see the Disney monorail that was going by. I couldn’t talk so I sent him my silly happy grin instead.

So here we are in the middle of June. The world is continuing down this troubling path, and leaders keep trying to repeat the same interventions that have consistently failed in the past. And those of us who follow Jesus fall into the trap of thinking politically about things instead of trusting God and following Jesus.

TRUST:

Trust. That’s the key word I’d like to keep front and center until I post something else in the not too distant future. Do we trust God? Oh, we like to say that we do, but then we press on with business as usual as if being a disciple was irrelevant to the day-to-day living that gets us so distracted so much of the time.

And we leave our relationship with God on the sidelines, because we tend to practice the kind of faith that says, “Well being a Christian really hasn’t got anything to do with this…” or, “Jesus didn’t intend to say anything about international politics…” and, “It’s just not practical to think like a disciple when we have to deal with the real world…”

We find that another week has gone by, or a month, and we’re not any closer to living in the way that we know – on a deeper level – Jesus is calling us to.

So do we trust God? Or is it all conditional, or part-time, or piecemeal, or compartmentalized, or convenient, or just a facade?

Then Jesus said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?” – Luke 9>23-25

Do we trust God… or do we believe we’re the ones with all the answers? Really? Are we seriously confident that we have things figured out that well? Are we that close to world peace, political detente, and domestic nirvana – so close that we don’t need to trust God? So… how exactly has that been working for us?

So check back in soon and see if I’m posting again. I’ll be gathering some great stories – and it’s always my intention to make us – you and me both – think.

Peace, and more peace – DEREK