masters memories

Well, it's that time of year again.  Today I will watch the final round of the Masters from the comfort of my living room.  But it will take me on a journey far bigger than that.  It will fill my heart and soul with forty years of memories.  My father got badges when we lived in Greenville, SC back in the early sixties before the Masters was a big a deal.  So, from about four years old on, we grew up getting to go to the greatest sporting event in the greatest venue of earth on a regular basis.

Through the years I've had the privilege of going numerous times with my dad, then with my wife, and with each of our grown children.  The last several years we went as a family and took turns going to each round.  It is an experience none of us will ever forget.  In fact, the last year we went was two days after my father passed away and he made us promise we would all go to the tournament together before we had his funeral.  It was one of the sweetest trips ever.  It was my father's dying wish. 

Unfortunately, we just missed the time when they would allow the badges to be passed down to your family, because I would love to get to experience the wonder and excitement of the tournament with my grandkids.  

The only word that comes close to describing the beauty and the majesty of Augusta National is pristine.  It is a such an amazing place and the Masters is such a special event.  Even the fans feel like royalty as they walk through the gates.  You immediately get the sense of what an honor and a privilege it is to be able to be a part of such a magical experience.  And if you don't feel that way when you walk in, you are probably not worthy of being there.

So, I will sit and watch the final round today, but I will be doing far more than just watching.  I will be walking the course in my memories with my late father.  I will be looking at the gallery behind number seven, where he used to love to sit.  I will be tasting the pimento cheese, and hearing the roars, and watching in excitement as they change the scoreboard.  And when it's all over, I will take the long walk to the car with a full heart, because to me the Masters is about much more than just golf.

And if you're interested, here's a little something I wrote about it years ago: the masters

lies or prayers

“My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him.  He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.  How long will you assault a man?  Would you all throw him down—this leaning wall, this tattering fence?  They fully intend to topple him from his lofty place; they take delight in lies.  With their mouths they bless, but in their hearts they curse.  Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him.  He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. (Psalm 62:1-6) 

Lies deplete us and prayers sustain us.  That’s one of the lessons we learn from praying this ancient, but ever-new prayer. 

Lies constantly assault us.  They turn us into the worst version of ourselves.  They make us so much less than what God intended us to be—just leaning walls and tottering fences.  Their intent is to topple us from our lofty place, to dislodge us from the belief that we are beloved sons and daughters of God.

Prayers, on the other hand, nourish and nurture and transform us.  It is by prayer that we become exactly who and what God made us to be.  It is by praying these ancient prayers that our souls are able to find their rest in God, for he alone is the source of our rest and our peace.  Only when we trust in him can we begin to experience the kind of soul rest he created us for.  Thus, it is impossible our solus to rest if we do not trust.

So, depleted by lies or sustained by prayer, the choice is ours.  The one we give the most room to is the one that’s going to win out in the end.  Choose prayer.

perfect love

when fear takes up all the space

there is no room for love

fear squeezes it out and

gives it no air to breathe

fear suffocates love's flame

and keeps it from being able to burn

in order for love to have free reign

it must be given room to roam

an emptying must occur

perfect love must cast fear out

just give love a little elbow room

and fear does not stand a chance 

union

losing myself in you

that is the point 

of divine union

all becomes you so that

there is no more me

like rain falling into a pond

loses itself and becomes 

one with the greater

like a stream flowing into the sea

is swallowed up in the vastness of the sea

like light coming into a room

through two windows is joined

into one glorious light

so may i be swallowed up

and disappear into you 

my beloved jesus

so that i cease to exist 

but become one with you

easter morn

stop at the entrance

of the empty tomb

look at the strips

of linen lying there

consider

reflect

pray

contemplate

then go inside

see and believe

good friday 2026

"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, 

the author and perfecter of our faith, 

who for the joy set before him 

endured the cross, scorning its shame, 

and sat down at the right hand 

of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12:2)

for the joy set before him

he was willing to 

endure the cross

and scorn the shame

but what was that joy

what made it worth the agony

and the shame and the humiliation

what had so captured his heart

that he was willing to 

go to such great lengths

to redeem it all

it was you and me

we were the joy set before him

we consumed his thoughts

and we filled his heart 

as he hung upon that cross

so on this good friday

let us fix our eyes on him

our author and perfecter

our lover and redeemer

our savior and our friend

so that we might be 

his joy again today

 

becoming pluto

the descending way is the path to life

following the time-worn footprints

of the one who stepped down from his throne

to make his home among the broken

and invites us to do the same

will i choose his downward way

will i lay aside privilege and preference

will i take the low road into obscurity

will i embrace humiliation and suffering

so i can become one with the forsaken

will i stop demanding to be

the absolute center of the universe

i the sun and they merely the planets

revolving around my own persona

can i shift from being the sun to becoming pluto

can i make the move from subject to object

will i become a small part of his glorious universe

revolving around the one who is the true center

he the son and i just a dwarf planet

on the outer fringes beyond neptune

held in a beautiful orbit by the 

gravitational pull of divine love

he is offering me an invitation

to become less rather than more

but will i accept his call

or will i continue to fool myself 

into believing that i am 

the center of gravity

the gap

any attempt to

lessen the gap

between us and God

is destined for failure

because the truth is

the more we get

to know who he is

the bigger he becomes

the greater our need

and the larger the gap

which is not a bad thing

she has been 

forgiven much

for she loved much

but he who has been

forgiven little loves little

the bigger our need

the bigger the gap

the bigger the cross

the bigger the love

that's kingdom life

a yes orientation

“I am the Lord’s servant.  May it be to me as you have said.” (Luke 1:38) 

Walking with God means to be continually willing to say “yes” to him.  Mary is a great example of that.  In fact, she has often been described through the ages as someone having a “yes orientation” to God.  That sounds beautiful, but what does it really mean?  What does it look like?

First and foremost, having a “yes orientation” to God means that we need to listen carefully to what he’s asking us to say yes to and not assume that we need to be doing anything and everything.  Sadly, many of us make that assumption without ever asking.  It makes me wonder how many times we are saying yes to something God has not even asked us to do?

What God was asking Mary to do was very specific and, thus, Mary’s yes was very specific as well.  And in order to say yes to what God was asking of her, she had to say no to many other things.  That’s the way life with God works.  He speaks and we listen.  He asks and we answer.  He leads and we follow, not vice versa.

We get into trouble when we assume.  We run ahead, thinking our plans and activities and agendas are God’s without ever asking him.  Don’t make that mistake.  Don’t just assume.  Ask God, listen to what he says, and then be like Mary—say yes! 

alive: encountering the risen jesus

 

Eastertide is coming quickly.  If you're looking for a companion for the journey of resurrection, here's an option: Alive: Encountering the Risen Jesus

the holiness of the ordinary

the sun paints the morning sky

filling its daily canvas with hues

of pink and orange and red

a masterpiece on display for all to see

an open invitation for all who choose

to say yes and to stop and to look

there is beauty in daily life

profundity waiting to be unearthed

like treasure hidden in a field

each day a showcase of mystery

each moment an invitation to engage 

the holiness of the ordinary

which is not ordinary at all

but it must first be recognized

in order to be seen 

and it must be seen 

in order to be fully appreciated

but that takes time

it is hard to pay attention on the run

it is difficult to notice in a hurry

slowing down is a key element

savoring only happens slowly

if we want to fully taste

all that the now has to offer

it will require something of us

but are we willing to give that something

anxiety

it doesn't take much

to send me down 

the rabbit hole

to start the chorus

of voices within

holding me captive

to their what ifs 

and oh noes

creating one

worst case scenario

after another

once the wheel is spun

it takes forever for it

to come to rest again

almost impossible to stop

i have become its victim

helplessly watching

breathlessly worrying

it has its way with me

until finally it chooses

to release its grip

then the wheel finally stops

until the trigger is pulled again

it doesn't take much

homecoming

hang on to hope beloved

all is not lost

i am working deeply

in ways you cannot yet see 

those walking in darkness

will see a great light

those traveling through

the valley of the shadow

will find light and hope

for i walk beside them

even if they are unaware

those who toil in the pigpen

will come to their senses

and head for home

they will remember 

where they belong

and to whom they belong

and will come back

so stand on the porch

and keep watching

keep waiting

and keep hoping

get ready to celebrate

because that day will come

hang on to hope beloved

trying too hard too

trying too hard 

is exhausting

jockeying to be seen

working to be known

proving my worth

longing to be essential

desperate to be needed

why am i always

trying to prove

what am i always

trying to prove

pressured to perform

climbing to nowhere

then you come and 

invite me to lay it all aside

for in your eyes there is 

no need to prove or perform

no climbing to be great

no jockeying to be seen

the pressure is off

all there is to do is to be

i don't have to be enough

because You already are

dancing with God

somehow the music started

before i even recognized it

you drew me onto the floor

and taught me how to dance

embracing me in your arms

you drew me close

you whispered in my ear

you moved me sweetly

into the rhythms of your love

you showed me the steps

you taught me to hear

the music of your affection

you taught me to move in

perfect harmony with you

leading me as i follow

for our dance is like no other

and yet somehow like all others

only after you drew me into

the cosmic intimacy of the dance

did i begin to understand

how mysterious and magical

how intimate and passionate

living union with you can be
more magical than imaginable

so i will continue

to dance with you

today and every day

for the rest of my days

and on into eternity

big need, big cross, big love

“Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much.  But he who has been forgiven little loves little.” (Luke 7:47) In reality, no one has been forgiven little, some just think they have.  The beauty of the gospel is that only when we know how big our need for forgiveness is, will we ever be able to comprehend how big the cross is, and how big the love of God is.  Big need leads to a big cross, which leads to a big love—a bigger love from God, a bigger love for God, and a bigger love for others.  God’s love becomes bigger than we could have ever asked or imagined.

By contrast, the Pharisees had a small love because of how small they perceived their need to be.  They spent their whole lives trying to reduce their need and had somehow convinced themselves that they had succeeded.  But all it did was make them judge more and love less.  Sound familiar?  It does to me.

Most of us think the goal of spiritual life is to reduce the gap between us and God.  We think that if we can just be better and perform better then we might get closer to him.  But the truth is that the older we get, and the more we get to know God, the larger the gap gets rather than the smaller.  Thus, the cross does not get smaller and smaller but bigger and bigger.  And the bigger the cross gets, the bigger love gets.  The bigger the cross gets the more we realize how wide and long and high and deep is the love of God, which makes our love for him grow in return.  We love because he first loved us.  That’s what the “sinful” woman had learned that the Pharisees had not.  Let’s be like her and not like them.

Lord Jesus, thank you that those who have been forgiven much love much.  Help us to see the enormity of your forgiveness so that we might also see the enormity of your amazing love.

trying too hard

“I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me.” (Psalm 131:2)

We put so much pressure on ourselves to make things happen in life and in ministry, when the only thing we can really do is let them happen.  God is the only one who can make things happen.  We cannot take personal responsibility for things that only he can do, and yet we do it all the time.  No wonder we’re so tired and weary.  But that’s not where it stops, it also leads to other issues.  Issues like busyness, overwork, fatigue, anxiety, insecurity, and burnout, just to name a few.  It is not healthy when we begin to see ourselves as both essential and indispensable to a process that is ultimately all up to God.  In fact, it makes us the worst version of ourselves: manipulative and demanding, always pressing and pushing and forcing.  We live afraid that it's all up to us and terrified that it's not, all at the same time.  Sadly, there's a part of us that actually wants to be essential and indispensable.

If only we could learn the wisdom of this ancient prayer.  If only we could let go of our stubborn pride and arrogant self-sufficiency.  If only we could release our desperate need to be needed and our deep longing to be significant.  If only we could be free from all our compulsions and obsessions and become still and quiet before God.  Then we might finally find ourselves in the loving embrace of our Savior and put our hope fully in him.  Then we might finally be the non-anxious presence this world needs us to be.

weary and burdened

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”  Weary and burdened.  Two words that just seem to go together, kind of like thunder and lightning.  Two words that are somehow intimately connected.  And, sadly, the two words I most often hear as I sit with people who are in ministry.  They are tired and weary, and most often because they are loaded down with the burdens, demands, and expectations of ministry.  Some that have been put upon them and many they have put upon themselves.

The word weary comes from the Greek word, kopiaō, which means to be exhausted with toil or burdens or grief.  And the Greek word for burdened is phortizō, which means to load one with a burden or to be loaded down.  So, it appears that weariness comes about as a direct result of being weighed down with the demands, expectations, toil, and pain of life and work.  It is the residual effect of carrying the overwhelming load of the fears and the joys and the pain and the sadness and the hopes and the dreams and the oughts and the shoulds of both ourselves and others.  No wonder we’re so weary!  No one can possibly carry all of that. 

But Jesus tells us that we do not have to.  He says, “Come to me.  Do not try to carry that load yourself.  Give it to me; I will carry it.  Take my load yoke upon you, not the one you have made for yourself, and not the one the world or the culture has made for you.  My yoke is easy, which literally means well-fitting, and my burden is light.  Attach yourself to me and I will do the heavy lifting.  Come to me and give me your burdens.  If you do, I will give you rest.  I will renew your strength and restore your soul and help you to recover your life.  But you must come to me and let go of the burden.  It is mine to carry, not yours.”

What is the state of your soul these days?  Are you weary or burdened?  What load are you carrying that is not yours to carry?  Why?  Will you come to him, give that load to him, and receive his rest?

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” (Matthew 11:28-30, The Message)

knock, knock

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Matthew 7:7-8)

What kind of God do you think is waiting on the other side of that door?  Is it a God who is too busy and preoccupied to be bothered?  Is it a God who is distant and disinterested in answering for someone like you?  Is it a God who gets irritated and frustrated when someone knocks?  Or is it a God who takes his sweet time answering, if he answers at all?

But what if God is different from all those pictures.  What if he’s a God who has actually been excitedly waiting for you to come and knock.  What if he’s a God who really wants to see you, to talk to you, and to welcome you.  What if he’s a God whose heart is so full of love and affection for you that he can’t wait to open the door and sweep you up into his great arms of love.

When my two grandsons come over to our house, they run from the car to the front door.  They can’t wait to knock because they know the heart that’s waiting on the other side of the door.  They know what kind of reception they will get.  So they rush to the door and press their noses against the glass on either side of it with big smiles and full hearts.  And as they knock, they jump up and down in anticipation of the welcome that’s to follow.

But what’s going on in their hearts pales in comparison with what’s going on in mine.  I’m so full of love and affection these two little guys that I can’t get the door open fast enough.  And when I open it, they leap into my arms and wrap me up in their embrace.  Needless to say, when this happens my heart is so full of love that I’m about to burst.  And God never fails to remind me: “You know that’s how I feel about you, right?  So, come.  Run.  Knock.  I can’t wait to open my door, my arms, and my heart to you.”

Heavenly Father, help me to get a clear picture of exactly who it is on the other side of that door, because the picture I have of you will impact everything else in my life, particularly how I ask, seek, and knock.  Help me to know you as the good and loving Father that you truly are.

thy will be done

“Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10)

Has prayer become a tactic?  Has it become something we use simply to try and further our own plans and agendas?  Has it become a way of trying to get God to fall in line with our will, rather than a place where we seek his?

Prayer is about submission, not manipulation or coercion.  It is a place where we surrender our schemes, plans, desires, and agendas in order that we may follow his.  It is about aligning ourselves with God’s will, rather than seeking our own.  Thus, it has a lot more to do with listening than it does with speaking.

walking in humility

“Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” (Mark 7:28) Our world is so full of demandingness and entitlement that we would never expect an answer so beautiful and humble from the lips of one who was in such a desperate situation.  In fact, we would have expected her to storm in, shouting protests, and demanding something be done.  But not this woman.  She knew exactly what Jesus was saying and wasn’t offended by it at all.  Maybe it was because of the smile on his face or the tenderness in his voice.  Or maybe it was simply because this woman knew exactly who Jesus was, knew exactly who she was, and was responding out of reverence, respect, submission, and humility.  There was no demand in her voice and no entitlement in her heart.  Jesus knew that and he wanted everyone else to see it as well.

But didn’t Jesus just call her a dog?  How could he do something like that?  How dare he!  Jesus and the disciples had just come from a conversation with the Pharisees about what is clean and what is unclean.  And the very next thing you know, he was approached by a woman who was considered unclean by the Pharisees and the teachers of the law.  In fact, they would have called her a dog, so Jesus was just using their own terminology to teach them something about the heart of God and the heart of man.  So, tongue planted firmly in cheek, he employed the power of metaphor to invite a “Gentile dog” into a beautiful and healing conversation with God in the flesh.

And in the midst of this short conversation, it was her heart and her attitude that put the Pharisees and teachers of the law to shame.  She was not offended.  She was not demanding.  She did not turn hostile.  She went with the picture.  She was like: “You are one hundred percent correct; I am a dog.  I deserve absolutely nothing.  I’m not asking to take food out of the mouths of the children of Israel, but can I at least have the crumbs that fall under the table, even if I don’t deserve them?”  And as Jesus healed her daughter, I wonder if anyone in the crowd thought to themselves, “I need to be more like her, because her spirit and her attitude brought joy to the heart of God. 

So, what does it look like to walk with God in humility?  It looks just like this woman.  It means fully recognizing who he is and fully recognizing who we are.  It means ridding ourselves of all entitlement and protest and demandingness.  It means living lives of reverence, respect, submission, and surrender to his will and his ways.

Lord Jesus, forgive us when we get too full of ourselves.  Forgive us when we get too big for our britches and start demanding that you behave the way we want you to behave and do what we want you to do.  Forgive us for our entitlement and demandingness.  Help us to know what it means to walk in humility rather than arrogance.

stewardship of the soul

“God formed man out of the dirt from the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life.  The man came alive—a living soul.” (Genesis 2:7, The Message)

What exactly is the soul?  How was it created?  What is its purpose?  And how do we nurture and take care of it?  On top of that, what does it look like to be a good steward of our soul? 

The soul is where the life of God resides.  It is the place where God breathes his divine life and breath into us and then breathes it out of us into his world.  That’s how ministry is designed to take place; it involves both an inhale and an exhale.  Unfortunately, all too often, we live our lives in a constant state of exhale and make no room to inhale his life and his presence and his love.  Which leaves us with nothing of value, power, or substance to breath into the lives of those God has given us to care for. 

To be a good steward of our soul, then, is to recognize where the soul came from in the first place; it is a gift from God.  Thus, we have a responsibility to take care of it.  We are always asking how to be good stewards of our time, our gifts, our abilities, our money, and our resources, but what about our soul?  How often do we consider what it looks like to be good stewards of our soul?

Simply stated, it means to make time and space for God to breathe his divine life into us.  It means to stop, look, and listen.  It means to be still and sit quietly before him.  It means to be fully present and fully attentive to him.  It means to stop talking and start listening.  It means to stop running and spinning and toiling and start praying.  Only then will we be living a life of depth and quality and power that’s actually worth passing along to others.  

lent starts february 18

                                                             Emptying is available on Amazon

an undivided life

“A house divided against itself cannot stand.” (Mark 3:25) Wise words.  But what, exactly, does it look like to live a divided life?  Because, according to Jesus, that is an endeavor that is destined for failure.  Which means we better pay careful attention to the ways we are compartmentalizing our lives in an effort to keep our “worlds” apart. 

Does our life of faith affect and rule over all the other areas of our lives or is it just a nice little compartment that we pull out when it is most useful and convenient?  Is it something we try our best to keep separated from all the other areas of our life?  Or is our faith, perhaps, our highest priority, but there are certain areas of our lives that we keep away from our life of faith because they are not congruent with it?

I guess the main question is: Am I the same person in every area of my life, or am I a different version of myself depending on who I am around and what I am doing?  For a house divided against itself cannot stand.  Eventually one side or the other must take priority and precedence.

“Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.  I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever.  For great is your love toward me; you have delivered me from the depths of the grave.” (Psalm 86:11-13)

he restores my soul

“He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside still waters, he restores my soul.” (Psalm 23:2-3) To understand this verse, we must start with the question: What exactly is a soul, anyway?  The Hebrew word for soul is nep̄eš.  It comes from the word for breath (nāp̄aš).  So, in essence, a soul is that which is breathed into by God.  Or, as some of the saints of old have said, “The soul is that part of us that receives the in-breathing of the divine.”  And it is that breath that brings us to life.  Thus, when we inhale that divine breath, we are filled with the life and hope and love of the God who breathed us into being.  Which makes us, his people, “the breathed upon.”

The problem is that many of us live our lives in a constant exhale.  And living life in a constant exhale is neither healthy, nor sustainable.  We must make time and space to inhale.  We must give God room to renew and restore that divine breath within us, especially if we ever want to have any hope of him breathing that breath through us to others.  That’s where being made to lie down in green pastures and being led beside still waters come in.  Those are the places and the spaces where God breathes his breath into us.  They are essential for the life and health of our soul.  Neglect them and we do so at our own expense.  Neglect them and we end up in a dark and dangerous place.  Thus, our lives and our ministries depend on us making space and time for God to breathe his divine breath in us.

leaving and following

“Immediately they left their nets and followed him. . .. And immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.” (Matthew 4:20, 22) It seems like there’s always a “leaving behind” that’s necessary in order to truly follow Jesus.  For Peter and Andrew, it was their nets, their business, and their livelihood.  And for James and John it also included their boat and their father, Zebedee.  Apparently, we can’t follow Jesus and drag a whole lot of things behind us, just ask the would-be disciples of Jesus in Luke 9:57-62.  There can be no conditions or additions.  There can be no “buts” and no “but firsts.”  There is no room for negotiation.  We leave and we follow.  It’s as simple as that.

What do you need to leave behind in order to truly follow Jesus?  Is it an old habit or a dysfunctional pattern or a self-sufficient way of being?  Is it an unhealthy relationship or an unhealed memory or an unwillingness to forgive?  Is it your own busyness, plans, and agendas?  Is it ambition, success, and achievement?  Or is it a heart of fear and insecurity and anxiety?

Whatever the case, the call of Jesus demands that we leave those things behind so that we can truly follow him.  Sometimes that means leaving behind what I am holding onto and sometimes it means leaving behind what has a hold of me.  He wants us to move at his pace, in pursuit of his purposes, and all of those other things will just drag us down.      

follow me

Walking with God is about one thing—following Jesus.  He is the one who sets the pace, the tone, and the agenda for our lives, not us.  From beginning to end, the constant call of the gospels is simply to “Follow me.”  Thus, it is not a collaboration or a partnership, it is about submission and surrender.  He’s asking for conversion, not cooperation. 

Following Jesus is about paying attention and then being obedient.  Which is key, because “follow me” means different things at different times and in different seasons of our lives.  The “follow me” to a bunch of fishermen cleaning out their nets was a bit different from the “follow me” as the approached Jerusalem and the cross.  And even a little different still from the “follow me” Jesus uttered to Simon Peter on the shore after the resurrection.

Each time Jesus says, “follow me,” he is asking for a deeper life and a deeper commitment and a deeper conversion into the life and love and kingdom of God.  Which begs the question: What does “follow me” look like in your life these days?  What deeper conversion is God calling into.  How is he asking you to come deeper into his heart and his life and his mission in the world?

conversion

“Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” (Mark 1:17) Jesus is not merely looking for cooperation; he’s looking for conversion.  He wants all of us, not just a part.  Thus, conversion is not just something that happens once in our lives, but something that happens over and over again. Each conversion moving us deeper and deeper into the heart and life of God. 

There are all kinds of conversions.  There is the initial conversion from being lost to being found, but that conversion is followed by numerous others as we surrender our lives and our hearts more fully to Jesus.  There is the conversion from fear to love, from competition to compassion, from independence to dependence, from performing to grace, from clenched fists to open hands, and from bondage to freedom, just to name a few.

Conversion happens when we encounter God in an intimate and powerful way.  A threshold is crossed in which we realize that our lives will never be the same.  There is no going back to the way things were before.

That’s what Jesus was inviting Simon and Andrew and James and John into, and there would be plenty more to follow.  And it is what Jesus is inviting us into as well.  What kind of conversion is Jesus inviting you into these days?  What does it look like?  What does it demand of you?  What is it offering you?  What must you leave behind in order to follow him?

Lord Jesus, you are not asking for my cooperation, but for my conversion.  It is not a question but a calling, and I need to hear it as such.  Help me to encounter you in such a deep and intimate way that it changes everything about me.  Then I cannot not follow you.