Altared Perception

Politics are interesting for Christians. When the Bible was written, there was no voting for your representative. Whoever was the Roman Emperor was the ultimate leader. In America, we vote for our leaders and are encouraged to participate in political movements. Paul and the other biblical writers never had this luxury. But that doesn't mean the Bible can't shape our lives, particularly when it comes to politics. Let me lay out some Bible passages that help us understand how we--as Christians--are commanded to live, with application to politics. The first few you may have heard before. The last few are a bit deeper... pray for your leaders "First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way." -- 1 Timothy 2:1-2 It's just that simple: pray for your leaders. Lift them up in p...

Most people view me as a positive person. "Dave, the friendly, outgoing guy." Some people who know me don't know that this has not always been the case.  In fact, at one point I was quite the opposite. tou gh questions i never though i'd ask I had a hard time adjusting to college. Why? Well, it was my first major life change. I grew up in the same house, at the same church, and with the same high school classmates. Everyone knew me. I know how things around me worked. I was confident in who I was...until I moved to Chicago. I was excited to start off with a blank slate, but it turned out to be much harder than I expected. I was used to being a big fish in a small pond....but I got thrown in the ocean with a bunch of other big fish. It was a bit of a shock, and I didn't have the safety nets around me that I was used to. I got placed into a peculiar group of people. My roommate, my neighbors, my ministry partners...well, they all were asking some tough que...

I recently posted about my friend Lyman . He recently turned 94 years old. Man...94. That’s impressive. Spending time with him over the last year has really made me look at life differently.  I mean, my default is to look through my 26-year-old optimist glasses.  It’s easy to assume that my health will always be this good, that I’ll land a job that I love, that I will settle down, marry someone, have kids, and have it all at the end of my life. But, again, that’s the 26-year-old optimism coming out. Which makes me think: what if God wanted to keep me on this earth until I was 94? I thought looking at Lyman’s life would help me answer this question.  I thought about it, and it’s sobering:  +He met countless people over the decades…but most of them have passed away.  +He gets to spend time with his wife everyday, but she has dementia and it limits what she can do. +He will never be kicked out of this assisted living facility , but his life...

In 2010, I went hardcore.  I gave up sugar.  Yup. Ok, let me clarify.  Sugar is in virtually everything , including milk, bread, fruits and veggies.  I didn't give these up.  But I did give up artificial sugar.  No Choco Puffs.  No soda.  No dessert. Basically I continued to eat cereal in the morning, but switched to Crispix.  And instead of soda or juice? Water, all the time... (except for my cereal milk)  And how about that dessert?  I just had to say no.  (Although, I did let myself have a spoonful of peanut butter and a glass of milk before going to bed each night... :)  I pretty much cut out all refined sugars and limited my natural sugar intake.  The first few weeks were tough, but once the middle of February hit it became much easier. So why in the world would someone want to give up sugar, especially for a year?  What could possibly possess a person to pass up pie and peach cobbler?  Easy....

So about a year ago I started hanging out with a pretty cool guy.  His name is Lyman, and he's 93.  Ever couple Thursdays we hang out at his pad (an assisted living facility) and talk about life and stuff.  How did I meet this guy?  Well, Lyman grew up in my hometown and ended up in Grand Rapids.  My dad knew his brother really well, so he visits Lyman every time he's in town.  Dad encouraged me to drop by and spend some time with this fascinating man.  So I took my dad's challenge.  And I'm glad I did. I'm part of the Millennial generation, and we value a lot of cool things.  We really push for inter-generational dialogue, and--I have to admit--the prospect of hanging out with a 93 year-old was kind of cool!  I mean, can you imagine sitting at the feet of someone who has lived almost four times as long as you?  Think about all the hidden gems of wisdom I can glean from.  Talking to someone who's lived that long, gosh, that...