Recommendation from a Hiker

Recommendation from a Hiker
By Larry d. Wright

Whenever and wherever hikers meet their conversation soon centers around the coolest gear on the market and personal recommendations that can make the hike safe and enjoyable. As a hiker who enjoys the beauty of the outdoors, I am interested in any new gadget that will keep me from getting lost. I need someone to guide me on the trail.

That’s what I like about Jesus! Personally, I have made the decision to follow Him because He is the perfect guide for life. In fact, I am so satisfied that I have no hesitation in recommending Him to everyone as the guide to follow in life and eternity. One of His most outstanding claims was “I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father except by me.”

Jesus is the perfect guide because He knows where He is going and how to safely guide His followers to their earthly and eternal destiny. What are His qualifications? Jesus walked on earth and offered His life as a sacrifice to become a personal GPS for everyone who has lost their way.

Jesus said, “I am the way” because He offers the way out. Life can be messy and as confusing as a maze. Our sin and selfishness causes us to walk in circles and encounter dead ends. We need a way out of the mess and maze of life. Jesus is that way. Sin did not defeat or frustrate Him so He knows the way out of the mess.

I recommend Jesus as the guide for your life because He also offers the way in. In fact, He is the only person who offers a way to be rightly related to God and enjoy rightness in life. The real purpose and pleasure of life is to know God and enjoy Him forever. He said, “No man can come to the Father except by me.” You cannot get to the heavenly Father by your own efforts. You need a guide and Jesus is the only guide who knows the way.

Jesus is the perfect guide because He knows the way up or should I say, “the way home.” He said, “In my Fathers house are many dwelling places…I go to prepare a place for you.” This life is temporary and the wise person makes preparation for eternity. I recommend Jesus!

Why I Am A Political Conserative

Why I Am A Political Conservative
By Larry d. Wright

Radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh seems determined to make the beliefs and ideas of Ronald Reagan the litmus test to define conservatism but I have a better idea. I highly respect the person and politics of Ronald Regan and clearly wish we had another such statesman on the political arena today! Professional politicians weary me! However, the roots of conservatism go back beyond the days of the late President Reagan. So, why stop at Reagan to find the political roots of conservatism?

The great Abraham Lincoln had ten guidelines by which he lived his life and governed a troubled nation. These beliefs had a profound affect upon his life to the day he died and these principles influenced America in a positive way. These 10 guidelines capture the heart of why I am a political conservative and the exact opposite of these ten points define liberalism.

You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
You cannot help small men by tearing down big men.
You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
You cannot lift the wage earned by pulling down the wage payer.
You cannot help the poor man by destroying the rich.
You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than your income.
You cannot further the brotherhood of men by inciting class hatred.
You cannot establish security on borrowed money.
You cannot build character and courage by taking away man’s initiative and independence.
You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves.

(Source: Glenn Bland, Legend of the Golden Scrolls, p. 112.)

Cycle of Life

The Cycle of Life
By Larry d. Wright

The writer of Ecclesiastes poetically states, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.”

On Monday morning while traveling to Gatlinburg I learned that the youngest son of radio comedian Rick Burgess of the “Rick and Bubba Show” sadly died in a tragic accident. You can view the video of Ricks message at his sons funeral by clicking on the links to the right. Start at the top and view all three parts. On Thursday morning I listened to the co-host of the show Bubba Bussey explain how his youngest son prayed to receive Jesus Christ into his life. One son temporarily lost, another son gained as a brother. Such is the cycle of life.

I arrived in the foothills of the beautiful Smoky Mountains to find them dressed in their bleak winter attire. The last time Debby and I retreated to the mountains it was spring and the hills were alive with life and outfitted in a lush color of green, the hills dotted with beautiful mountain flowers. Such is the cycle of life.

In my years serving as a pastor I have conducted a funeral and officiated a wedding on the same day. I have walked into one hospital room to comfort a family loosing a member to cancer then moments later walked into another room to experience the joy of a couple who welcomed a new life into their family. Such is the cycle of life.

Actually, while writing this article I was interrupted. I discovered that our family pet cat had died and between these two paragraphs I buried a faithful and funny friend who brought many laughs, joys and moments of happiness into our lives. Today he brought tears. Such is the cycle of life.

So Solomon wrote, “There is…a time to be born and a time to die….a time to mourn and a time to dance…” Obviously, what he did not warn us about is the realistic truth: sometimes the distance between the two is very small. That is what makes life so painful. Sometimes the distance between birth and death, mourning and dancing is excruciatingly short. Such is the cycle of life.

Solomon offers some practical wisdom about coping with the cycle of life: “He [God] has made everything beautiful in its time. He has placed eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from the beginning.” I am to find beauty and purpose in God’s creations. I am to realize that I am a pilgrim on this planet for a temporary sojourn and my real home is elsewhere. I must accept God’s bigness, the mysteries of life and refuse to play the “What if…” game. Only then will I value the cycle of life.

A Tribute to a Soldier

Boys To Men
by Larry d. Wright

Tommy was soldier.

He graduated from high school during a time when boys have to become men because that is what war does to a boy. He came home from Vietnam a wounded man with three purple hearts on his chest, enemy shrapnel in his body and a metal plate in his head. And those were the wounds you could see and treat.

There were other wounds buried deep beneath the surface that were invisible to the eye and almost impossible to mend. These were the wounds that ultimately killed him. It was Albert Schweitzer who once observed, “The tragedy of life is what dies inside a man while he lives.”

Men are almost always embarrassed and ashamed of their woundedness, especially when a soldier returns home to a wounded country. So they do what they are trained to do. Wounded warriors tend to ignore their wounds and treat their pain. After all, it is the pain that yells the loudest. And like many warriors do, the way he treated his pain created more pain. Addictions. Broken relationships. A cycle of pain producing more pain.

However, the way of neglected wounds is this, they always win.

I’m not sure what memories and horrow Tommy brought home from the war. All I know for sure is that he brought home himself but for most soldiers that is not enough. Most men loose something in war that requires a lifetime struggle and few recover what they loose. Although he left the land of Vietnam far in the distance, he came home to fight another war and to the very end he was a fighter. The words of Paul Simeon from “The Boxer” (1968) say it all:

“In the clearing stands a boxer
And a fighter by his trade
And he carries the reminders
Of every glove that laid him down
And cut him till he cried out
In his anger and in his shame
“I am leaving, I am leaving”
But the fighter still remains.”

In the land of Vietnam where life seemed cheap until death made its menacing claim, there was a phrase that became popular among the grunts. When faced with impossible orders, the death of a fellow soldier, the atrocities of yet another firefight or the insanity of fighting an unpopular war, they would say: “It don’t mean nothing!” With that phrase uttered they would bury their pain, turn their back and walk away. Burying pain beneath years of an “it don’t mean nothing” attitude has a way of becoming uncovered back in the real world where life isn’t cheap and things do matter.

I hadn’t seen or talked to Tommy in thirty years until his mother died. We talked at her graveside. Several months later I called him on his birthday and in the process I said, “Tommy, the real reason I called was to say Thank you for the sacrifices you made for your country and for people like me. I know when you came home our country didn’t seem very grateful and I’m sorry for that. And, just in case no one has ever told you: Welcome Home”. There was a deafening silence on the other end. I understood. Then he spoke, “Someone did tell me that but it’s been awhile, so Thank you.” That was our last conversation.

At his memorial service we remembered the deeds of a soldier. We pledged our allegiance to the American flag that draped his coffin and still laid claim to his life. I promised myself that I would be more grateful for men like Tommy who risk their lives to afford me mine. I promised myself to be grateful for boys who go to war and become men.

What Is the Gospel?

What Is the Gospel?
By Larry d. Wright

A fellow pastor, David Cofield (check out his blog @ http://www.energizingword.blogspot.com/) Crossroads Baptist Church in Elgin, was challenged by a podcast message he heard from Dr. John Sittema of Reformed Theological Seminary. The professor challenged his students to articulate the gospel in 25 words or less. David took the challenge, here is his response: “The gospel is the result and reason for man's fall will be restored by faith alone in the person and work of Jesus Christ.” He then passed the challenge on to me.

Here is my first response to the challenging question, “What is the gospel?”

“The gospel is God’s activity through Jesus Christ of totally restoring man to a relationship with Himself and to the life He intended before sin.” (25 words)

How would you succinctly describe the gospel? Unfortunately, after all these years, Christendom has no clear, crisp presentation concerning the message and the path to the “gospel.” Roman Catholicism presents a path that is winding, complicated and based on man’s efforts to please a loving but seemingly reluctant God. He can be convinced to offer redemption from damnation but you must try really hard to wrench salvation from His omnipotent hands. The church is the custodian of salvation and so you must stay in her good graces to be a prospect for heaven. Is that really “good news”?

Evangelical Christianity in her attempt to simplify the gospel has often done nothing but cheapened it. Example: “If you want the God of all creation to totally and radically transform your life; if you want the same God who invaded planet earth in Jesus Christ to invade your life, ‘Please raise your hand!’” We have so oversimplified the gospel that we have an army of simple-minded hand raisers who are not committed to battle for the cross! Every stream (denomination) within the kingdom (river) is convinced that the criterion they set forth is the right and noble path to eternal life. They all march under the banner of GRACE THROUGH FAITH ALONE but you must allow them to define both “grace” and “faith”. The church is the herald of the “good news”, which is free of course, but you must jump through certain hoops in order to qualify; to get the opportunity to raise your hand. Again, is that really “good news”?

For those of us on the “inside” the gospel is GOOD NEWS because we sense that we are favored by God and going to heaven one day but from the perspective of those on the “outside looking in”, what we generally have to offer is “bad news!” They don’t understand our terminology or terms. Is there any wonder that the sea of restless and wandering humanity is confused? Most have abandoned all hope for eternal life because the message they get from us is this; “You must become like us to receive the gospel.” Unfortunately, they look at most of us and say, “No thank you! I will roll the dice and take a chance on hell.” That’s “bad news”, right?

Therefore, here is my second succinct response to the challenging question, “What is the gospel?”

“The gospel is God’s answer to the bad news. You can have a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ!” (22 words)

Accepting the challenge to concisely articulate the gospel in 25 words or less was interesting and stimulating. However, I am glad that Paul was not limited in words or creativity and therefore his answer to the question, “What is the gospel?” turned out to be the book of Romans.

Power of Small Things

The Power of Small Things
By Larry d. Wright

During the Civil War or as we in the South call it; the War of Northern Aggression, a courier on horseback was given an urgent message and told to deliver it to a general engaged in a decisive battle. The story has it that the courier never made the delivery because his horse threw a shoe. Sometime later a person penned the following words:

“For want of a nail, a shoe was lost.
For want of a shoe, a horse was lost.
For want of a horse, a rider was lost.
For want of a rider, a message was lost.
For want of a message, a plan was lost.
For want of a plan, a battle was lost.
For want of a battle, a war was lost.”

Oh, the power of small things!

Let's Talk About The "C" Word!

Let’s Talk About the “C” Word
By Larry d. Wright

Let's Talk About the "C" Word!

Every body is talking about change these days but (at the risk of sounding like Jack Bauer) “trust me”; everybody talking about change isn’t for it! Personally, I think all the politicians are missing the real message of the populace. The average American doesn’t want to change; they want the politicians to change. They don’t want things to change in their hometown; they want things to change inside the loop in Washington, D.C. They don’t want new policies and procedures; they want new people. Voters don’t see themselves as being the problem; they see the people they elect as the problem. As a result, a lot of promises are made but nothing really changes.

Issac Newton’s First Law of Motion states: “Everything continues in a state of rest unless it is compelled to change by forces impressed upon it.” A country philosopher said it like this: “Some people will change when they see the light. Others change only when they feel the heat.”

The bottom line is this: every body wants change but they want someone else to do it! People say they are all about change but what they mean is; I want my world to same the same and the rest of the world needs to change for my benefit. It is a consumer mentality that has now invaded the world of politics. If it were not so pathetic, it would be amusing, watching all the politicians grovel and grub to the fickleness of the American consumer, I mean voter.

We talk a lot about the “C” word, but seldom do it. So let me ask the hard question, “Why is it so hard for us to change?” What is it about those bad habits and negative behavior traits that keep us bound? What is it about those good habits that are hard to develop? Why is it so hard for us to change and so easy for us to remain the same? I think it is because we try so hard to change on our own willpower. This may shock some of you but Jesus Christ does not expect you to change! In fact, He knows you can not change…on your own. The life that Christ talks about is not a changed life; it’s an exchanged life. When a person makes the decision to follow Jesus Christ as a way of life then they soon discover the dynamics of what I am talking about. In an exchanged life you replace the negative with the positive. If you ever grasp this dynamic principle then it will revolutionize your life and you will be on your way to the greatest discovery ever.

Here is why CHANGE DOESN’T WORK and New Year’s Resolutions rarely succeed. When we try to change, we inevitably focus on the negative. But, in the exchanged life, you focus on the positive. See the simple difference? For instance, in the exchanged life I involve Jesus Christ in my life and He opens my eyes to new truth and possibilities.

He helps me to look beyond the human barriers and to the divine possibilities. As we stand in the threshold of a New Year, God wants you and me to look at the possibilities of this approaching year. In order to reach our potential we must throw out the old mind set that believes I cannot change and I accept a new mind set concerning the exchanged life.

There is something better than change. It is exchange! Experience the difference and you will be able to move beyond human barriers and experience divine possibilities in 2008.