The spiral notebook

One of my most prized possessions is a spiral notebook.  This is an important item to me because it’s a document that my parents used to record a season of illness I had when I was a baby.  For those of you that don’t know, for six months or so, I had what was labeled as “Infantile Spasms” or an infant that was having multiple seizures.  In the notebook, my parents made comments and observations as to how many seizures I was having, as well as recording all of the steps that they took to try to minimize the seizures.

In this notebook, it is recorded that on April 24th, 1982 I stopped having seizures.  In fact, this year is a special milestone because I haven’t had another seizure for thirty years now!  On that April day all those years ago, I was in the hospital (based on entries in the notebook this was not an uncommon occurrence).  For some reason that is still unexplained, I flat-lined; I’m told that I actually turned a shade of blue.  After flat-lining for over three minutes, God intervened.  The flat-lining stopped and my normal coloring began to return to me.  Life returned to me!  In short, if it weren’t for God’s miraculous intervention that day, I would not be alive today.  I wanted to publicly give all the thanks, praise, and glory to God.

Every subsequent April 24th, I’ve stopped to reflect on life.  This year, I’ve been thinking about what I want my life to be about for the remaining years God gives me.  Christian singer and songwriter Chris Tomlin wrote a statement in his book “The Way I Was Made” that perfectly describes my life’s goal.  He said, “We were created to shine the spotlight on God – to spread the fame of God everywhere we go.”  As far as I'm concerned, you can put that sentiment on my epitaph one day.

Kevin

“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think…to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen” - Ephesians 3:20-21

The importance of Easter

Happy Easter, everyone!  I hope that in the midst of your day today you take some time to reflect on the real reason for this holiday: Jesus Christ is alive!  He literally and bodily resurrected from the dead over 2000 years ago.

It occurred to me that some of you might not understand why we Christians hold the resurrection of Christ up as such a momentous event.  What’s so important about the resurrection?  There are many reasons, but I want to camp out on just one today.  Jesus Himself said that He was going to die, but that He was not going to stay dead.  If you read the gospels you see Jesus, on more than one occasion, informing the disciples of what was eventually going to happen to Him (although they didn’t understand what He was talking about).  Consider Mark 9:31 for example, Jesus says, “The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him.  And after He is killed, He will rise the third day.”  Verse 32: “But they did not understand this saying, and were afraid to ask Him.”

If Jesus was killed, and He stayed dead, it would have been revealed that Christ was nothing more than a liar.  Why?  Because He said on numerous occasions that He was going to die, but that He was going to be resurrected.  Therefore, if Christ did not literally and bodily resurrect from the dead, Christianity’s founder, Jesus, was essentially nothing more than a charlatan!  No wonder the Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:14: “And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty.”  But, hallelujah, Jesus did rise from the dead!  It is a matter of historical fact.  Despite Christianity’s opponents, no one has been able to produce conclusive evidence that Christ actually stayed dead.  Christ the Lord is risen; He is risen indeed!

By the way, for those of you who are interested in learning more, I would encourage you to read “More Than a Carpenter” by Josh and Sean McDowell.  It addresses the resurrection of Christ, but also many other important issues as well.

Happy Easter!

Kevin

The amazing importance of rest

Today is the last day of a two-week vacation.  As I contemplate returning to my normal routine tomorrow, a part of me certainly feels sadness to see it end.  At the same time, I feel happy as I look back on a fantastic season of needed rest and relaxation.

We live our lives at such a frenetic pace today.  We always have so many things pulling at us.  That’s why it is so vitally important to take time out and recharge our batteries.  I’m not necessarily referring to vacations per se (speaking for myself, I can’t go away on a vacation as much as I’d like to because of the responsibilities in my life).  But as I thought about this topic, I was reminded afresh that God Himself told us how important it is to take time out of our busy lives to rest.  Of course, I’m referring to the admonition to keep the Sabbath (Exodus 20:9-11).

I wonder if you’ve ever thought about the Sabbath as a one-day vacation.  In my opinion, that’s what the Sabbath is supposed to be.  It supposed to be a day set aside for recuperating from a busy week.  How many of us are guilty of not following God’s command to rest on Sunday?  I’m not trying to pile on the guilt; I'm simply trying to remind us all that rest is vital to our human existence.  Without it, we will simply crash and burn from exhaustion.  We need time to rest.

Kevin

"Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God.  On it you shall not do any work" - Deuteronomy 5:13 

Sobering words

Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”

I’ve been thinking about this statement a lot since I first read it a few days ago.  I think what King is saying is this: don’t measure a man when everything in his life is wonderful; measure a man when everything in his life seems to be going against him.  It is in these situations that you see the character of that man.

Kevin
   
“A Christian is like a tea bag – he is not worth much until he’s been through some hot water” - Author unknown

Shine the light

A few days ago at church, a question was posed that has since been ringing in my ears.  It was not from my pastor but rather from a gentleman who was allotted a few minutes in the service because he is involved in our local outreach ministry.  The question was simply: “How are you going to let your light shine today?”

The person didn’t quote this passage, but I’m reminded of Matthew 5.  Jesus said, “You are the light of the world.  A city on a hill cannot be hidden.  Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.  Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” (verses 14-16).  You may think that this concept is only limited to doing something big like sharing your faith with someone.  While that certainly applies to this idea, there are other examples.  Let me list a few that come to mind.

We can let our light shine by selflessly serving others when we desperately want to be served.  We can shine our light by living a life of integrity and Christ-likeness.  Here’s one that may surprise you: we can shine our light by doing our very best at our jobs.  You say, "You've lost me."  Well, if people know you are a Christian, and you’re always slacking off, this doesn’t represent Christ very well.  We should do our very best on the job.

How about this one?  For those of you gentlemen that are married, you can let your light shine by loving your wife as Christ loves the church (Ephesians 5:25).  You are to die for your wife if you have to, but the more likely scenario is for you to die to your wants and desires, and instead serve her and meet her needs.

To sum it up, my heart’s desire is to let my light shine. I desire to simply point others to the greatness of God, not to the greatness of Kevin Bauer (because honestly, I am not great).  The way I look at it, a day that I choose not to shine the light – to “put the lamp under a bowl” as Jesus put it – is a squandered day and opportunity.

“How are you going to let your light shine today?”

Kevin

There's no offseason in the NFL

If you are a football fan, you are no doubt aware that four time league MVP Peyton Manning was recently released by the Indianapolis Colts.  Since then, every team in the NFL has dreamed about what it would be like to have the great Manning as their starting quarterback. 

I myself have been watching this Manning saga closely.  As I see it, there are only two teams that are on the list of becoming the next team that Peyton plays for.  #1: The Denver Broncos; #2: The Arizona Cardinals.  Some of you are wondering why I’m not listing the Miami Dolphins.  I could be wrong about this, but I just don’t think he’ll go to Miami because the Dolphins just finished a disappointing 6-10 season.  At this point in his career, I don’t foresee Peyton going to a team that is not a legitimate contender.  The Broncos, of course, went to the second round of the playoffs and lost to the Patriots.  The Cardinals were in the Super Bowl a few years ago under Kurt Warner, but have come upon hard times since Warner’s retirement (they just concluded an 8-8 season).

There was a report that stated that Peyton was leaning towards the Denver Broncos.  Meanwhile, the Jacksonville Jaguars have apparently expressed interest in Tim Tebow if the Broncos sign Peyton Manning.  Here’s the link, if you are interested.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/story/17728016/report-manning-favors-denver-broncos-would-trade-tebow

Only time will tell how this whole episode will play out.  Peyton just finished meeting with the Cardinals; I wouldn’t be surprised if Manning makes a decision soon. 

The reason I am bringing all this up is an important one.  As a Bronco fan, I would certainly be thrilled to have a fantastic quarterback like Manning in Denver.  But as a Tim Tebow fan, I have to wonder what is running through Tebow’s mind as he tries to block out all of the talk of Manning.  I came across this inspirational quote that Tebow made long before this Peyton Manning storyline developed.  “Something I learned early in college [is] not to worry about what I can’t control…But what I can control is my attitude, my effort, my focus every single day and that’s what I’m trying to worry about.”    

http://www.quotesandpoem.com/quotes/showquotes/author/tim-tebow/174478

Tim’s sentiment is something that we all can learn from.  Clearly there are things in each of our lives that we can’t control.  We can’t fret, worry and agonize about these things.  Why not?  Well, for one thing, because it does absolutely no good to do so.  We have to remember and hold on to the fact that God is in control, no matter what.

Kevin

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything” - Philippians 4:6 (NLT)

The fragility of life

Many years ago, I heard a public speaker claim that with advances in scientific technology, proper exercise, and so on, he expected to live to be one hundred years old.  That was the exact word he used; he said he “expected” to live to be 100.  I find this man’s declaration problematic because he is not doesn’t taking into account how fragile life is, no matter how technologically advanced we get.

For example, have you considered how incredible it is that we drive to work, school, and local hangout spots, and then subsequently return home safely?  Think about how fast we go in our cars today.  The posted speed limit signs on the interstates where I live ranges from 55-75 miles an hour!  Even side streets can go up to as high as 45-55 miles an hour!  At that speed, one wrong move and your life could end in a second from an oncoming car.  Every day we take our lives into our own hands by choosing to get behind the wheel of an automobile simply because of the convenience of arriving at our destinations quickly.

Or for another example, contemplate how the Bible mentions that we should be grateful just to awaken every day because it was God who sustained us, and kept our hearts beating overnight as we slept (Psalm 3:5).

In a classic episode of the TV show “Frasier” a man died of a heart attack even though there was no indication whatsoever that this was imminently approaching.  Frasier then spent the rest of the episode obsessing as to how this man could have been overtaken by a heart attack.  He discovered that the man ate right, exercised regularly, and didn’t smoke or drink alcohol.  Such is the fragility of life!

Nowhere in the Bible do we read, “Expect to live to be 100 years old.”  To the contrary, the Bible says cherish each day for the gift of God that it really is.  James 4 even says that we shouldn’t go around saying, “Tomorrow we’ll go here and do this,” because we don’t really know what is going to happen tomorrow.  Instead we should say, “If it’s God’s will we’ll go here and do this” (James 4:13-15).

Kevin