Month: February 2023

Liz and I used to play a little game we called “Who Would You.” The game went that we could invite anyone from history to dinner. Now, who would you invite?  We had to decide to list anyone who was not from the Bible – otherwise, dinner would always involve God and Jesus. We would then have room for Moses and Elijah and folks like them. Eventually you would have a dinner that involved people like George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and maybe Albert Einstein. It was a fun and creative game. You too have probably played such a game.

Jesus said, “When you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” (Luke 14:12-24). Well, it was just a game and so we just enjoyed it our way.

Nowadays when I play this game it ends a little differently. Of course any of us would put God and Jesus at the table, but the rest is different. If I had such a meal now, I would invite my wife of 55 years, my brother and his son, and my best friend Doug. I lost them all to eternity and it would be wonderful to sit with them again. It is funny how time makes a difference in what we call wonderful. 

I love the old saying, “Every day is a ‘good old day’ when you have enough faith to realize it.” That includes today.

By the way, we will all have that meal again. As King David said about the infant that he lost, “Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.” (2 Samuel 12:23). For Christians it is never over. The dinner awaits.

Lonnie Davis

I was coming home from work one day when I saw it coming toward me. It was an old, dirty, inexpensive car. Since I was waiting to turn I had to want on him. As he passed by I saw that he had one of those magnet signs on his car. To protect the guilty, I’ll just paraphrase what his sign said. It read, “First Class Taxi Company.” 

“First Class” I laughed to myself, “then I’d hate to see second class.”

There is a great life lesson in that sign. Here it is: just because someone says something doesn’t mean it is so. Even if they advertised it, it still doesn’t mean it is first class. Then I began to examine myself in light of this thinking. What am I advertising about me that isn’t so?

People judge us by what we claim. I’ve never been criticized and called a bad track star because I don’t claim that I am a good one (or even a bad one). I know I am built more for comfort than for speed. However, I do claim to be a Christian as do many of my friends. Since we claim to be Christians, we need to be certain that we live up to the claim.

I am not saying we are perfect. Even great-looking, first-class cars can break down occasionally, but they get fixed up and get back on track. If you have broken down as a Christian, get up, fix up, and get back on track. Remember “YOU are the light of the world…let your light shine.” (Matthew 5:14-16).

Lonnie Davis

I’m Scared 

It was the worse broken leg I had ever known about. What made it worse was that it was on my brother. There is an old saying, “minor surgery is done on you and major surgery is done on me.” Well, I am not him, but it was a major injury. The doctor set his leg in a cast. It went from his foot and ran up to his hip. For two months all he could do was sit in a chair. After two months they took the cast off and put him in a special boot. For four more months he wore that big, clumpy boot. Nearly six months after the accident and many trips to the doctor, he made one more trip to the doctor.

“Doc,” he said, “this boot is ugly and never matches anything. Can I get another boot to match it?” The doctor said, “Take the boot off and quit wearing it.” “Doc,” he asked again, “all I am asking for is a matching boot.” Again the doctor said, “Take the boot off. You don’t need it anymore.”

After six months, surgery, casts, and reinforced boots, it was over. It was almost over. There was one more problem, “Doc,” my brother said, “I can’t.” Then he quietly said, “I’m scared.”

“I’m scared” are not the words of a coward. They are the words of all of us. Fear does not just make us want to wear an ugly boot, it permeates our whole life.  When the disciples saw Jesus walking on the water, they were afraid. Jesus quickly called out to them, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” (Matt 14:27) Over and over Jesus urged his followers to “Fear not.” (Matt 10:26; 12:31, 28:5; Luke 5:10; 12:5; John 12:15)

We believe in God. We trust that he will help us through the “valley of the shadow of death.” We claim that we will “fear no evil, for thou art with me,” but still we are afraid. What if I fail? What if I lose my job? What if food prices and gas prices go so high I can’t afford them? What if I? What if I?

For all those “What if” questions, Jesus has a word, “Don’t be afraid?” When Peter tried to walk on water and then began to sink, Jesus caught him, “’You of little faith,’he said, ‘why did you doubt?”

Do not doubt. Only trust Him. As the old saying goes, “Nothing is going to happen to you today that you and God cannot handle.”               

Lonnie Davis

It has been more than 150 years since Stonewall Jackson died, but one story about this famous general is still remembered.

The story says that General Stonewall Jackson’s army found itself on one side of a river when it needed to be on the other side. After telling his engineers to plan and build a bridge so the army could cross, he called his wagon master in to tell him that it was urgent the wagons cross the river as soon as possible. The wagon master started gathering all the logs, rocks, and materials he could find. Long before daylight, General Jackson was told by his wagon master that all the wagons and artillery had crossed the river. General Jackson asked where are the engineers and what are they doing? The wagon master’s only reply was that they were in their tent drawing up plans for a bridge.

There are many interesting lessons that can be drawn from this old story, i.e., Timing of the essence, leaders should trust their team members, and taking initiative is important. The most important lesson I see from this story is this:

Help often comes from unexpected sources. The fact that the wagon master was able to build a bridge using unconventional materials and methods shows that help can come from unexpected sources. It is important to keep an open mind and be willing to try new approaches to succeed.

This reminds me of Isaiah 55,

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

This reminds me that if you will just start, God will help you in ways that you had not expected. God’s thoughts and ways are so great that we cannot imagine them.

Once you know what you need to do, just start and you will have help that comes to your rescue. Get ready, get set, but don’t fail to go!

Lonnie Davis

What does a star in a book margin mean?

Well, I don’t know about you, but for me it means, “here is a special note.”

Later, I  can scan the book and read the starred passages and remember the good parts. 

I didn’t invent this system. It was started by God. He put stars in the night sky to teach us of his power.

As Psalms 19:1 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God. The expanse shows his handiwork.”

When you look up into the night sky and learn more about God’s work, you have to be impressed with his power. 

We are a part of the Milky Way galaxy which contains billions and billions of stars. Our sun is just one of those stars. Our universe is so big that if you got in a spaceship and traveled at 186,000 miles per SECOND, it would take 93 million years to cross it. And we don’t even know if that is the limit of its size. God is truly all-powerful.

When we look up and consider God’s creation. We would do well to remember Romans 1:20

“For the invisible things of him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made, even his everlasting power and divinity.” 

A star is a book is a simple device of man, but God’s stars teach us about Him.

Look up and learn.

Lonnie Davis.

Some years ago, my wife, my daughter, my two little grandkids, and I took a short road trip. A short little 275-mile road trip. When I take one of those by myself it is short. When you take them with a wife, a daughter, and two young grandkids, it is not so short. I had forgotten what it is like to travel with kids. On our trip there we stopped six times. The first time was for me to get money. The other five times were for kids.

 The next morning I took the kids down for the free continental breakfast. I got food for each kid and then went to cook a waffle. I took it to the table. I went back to cook a second waffle. I got my food and sat down. I had to get up to get syrup. Finally I sat down to eat. I didn’t know about bathroom breaks during breakfast – another interruption. Finally their mom arrived and I could eat.

 What does that have to do with the title “Passages?”

 Gail Sheehy wrote a book called “Passages.” In her work she says that life has many passages. As we grow we change. Life in our twenties is different than life in our thirties. Life in our fifties finds that we have gone through many passages. Life is different.

The wise man wrote, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.” (Eccl 3:1)

 Life changes. It is okay. It is great. Joy does not come because we are in a great place. Joy comes by enjoying the place wherever we are.

 Coming back it was just Liz and me. Going down we had six stops and lots of laughter. Coming back there were no stops and no laughter. I missed the stops.

 Enjoy wherever you are in life. It is all you have. It is the passage you are in. Savor it.

~Lonnie Davis

The Most Important Step: “NEXT”

Years ago my wife, Liz went on a mission trip with the teens. In the course of time, a problem arose. Liz and the other adults discussed the problem. After a considerable time of discussion, Liz said, “Okay, we have identified the devil. Now what are we going to do about it?”

She was not calling the young person “the devil.” She was referring to the cause of the problem. She was recognizing an often-forgotten principle on how to deal with problems. Here is that principle: First you identify the problem, then you take the next step. Identifying the problem is merely the first step.  Think about it, discuss it, but do not get stuck in the discussion process. Take the “NEXT” step. The “NEXT” step is asking yourself what do we do next and then do it.

Too many times good people get caught up in the discussion part of a problem. They talk about it, think about it, and fret over it, but never do anything about it.

1 Samuel 17 tells us the famous story of David and Goliath. David and Goliath is a story of victory. The story of Saul and Goliath is the story of “stuck.” King Saul discussed the giant for 40 days, but he never really did anything about the problem. He did offer a reward to anyone who would solve the Goliath problem, but he did not do anything himself. (1 Samuel 17)

Saul got stuck instead of taking the next step. He identified the devil, but then he waited for the problem to go away. He got stuck in the process of worry and fret.

When you face your own Goliaths, identify them, but take the “NEXT” step. Do something about it. Formulate a plan and then work the plan. Those who do not plan and follow through are planning to fail.

~Lonnie Davis

Stinking Thinking

He was not just a senior citizen; he was a grouchy senior citizen. He was known for his negative views about nearly everything in life.  One day, as he dozed off in his big chair the children in the house, decided to risk a little prank on him. While he slept they put Limburger cheese on his mustache. When he awoke he took a big whiff of the smelly cheese, looked around, and shouted, “This room stinks!” He walked into another room, took another big whiff and said, “This room stinks too.” He meandered through the house and found the same odor in every room. Finally, he went outside, took another sniff and shouted, “The whole world stinks!”

In my life I have met several of the “The-whole-world-stinks” people. Everything that happens in their life causes them to see the negative side of things. To them, the whole world stinks. One common trait of all of them is that they are not happy. From time to time they find a moment of happiness, but it is soon driven out by the negative bend they have toward life.

In urging us not to be like that, Paul told the Corinthians, “Take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (2 Cor. 10:5). In Phil. 4:8, Paul shows us how to do this.

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things.””

You can “take every thought captive” by focusing your thinking on “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable,”” then you have the result promised in Phil. 4:9, “The God of peace will be with you.”

Those who follow this simple principle will be letting “this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 2:5) and find their lives filled with joy.  They will also find that others enjoy being around them more.

~Lonnie Davis

Young David arrived at the battle where his older brothers were fighting. He saw the giant Goliath who had been threatening Israel. All the soldiers and even the great warrior King Saul were afraid. Though just a boy, David declared that he would fight the giant. King Saul sent for David and must have been shocked to see how young he was. David was a boy and too young to be drafted for the army of Israel.

 Saul dismissed the idea of a youth fighting Goliath. “Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy, and he has been a fighting man from his youth.” (1 Samuel 17:33)

 It is hard to dismiss a believer and so this boy David answered him, “Your servant was tending his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock, I went out after him and attacked him, and rescued it from his mouth; and when he rose up against me, I seized him by his beard and struck him and killed him.” (34-35)

 David believed that he could kill the giant because with God’s help he had already killed a bear and a lion. There is a great principle here – one victory leads to another. 

Before you can kill a giant, it helps to kill a bear. Before you kill a bear, kill a wolf. Before you kill a wolf, kill a mouse. If you cannot kill a mouse, you are not ready to fight a giant. Victories grow little by little.

 Learn to win the little victories and then when you are confronted by a big battle, you will be ready. When you get ready, God will be waiting for you.

 ~Lonnie Davis

Personal Responsibility

I was driving down the street and came up behind a dump-truck. On the back of the truck was a sign that read, “Warning. Stay at least 300 feet behind this truck. Not responsible for debris from road.” The more I thought about this warning, the more I understood its true purpose. It was not serious about telling people to stay 300 feet away. We were in town and no one stays a football field away from the vehicle in front of them. The purpose of the sign was to say, “Not my fault!” The purpose was to dodge blame and shift it to someone else. A couple of days after that I heard a radio advertisement for “Payday loans.” Payday loans are very expensive. One can pay $100 a month in interest for a $400 loan. At the end of the advertisement, in very quick words, the announcer said, “Use payday loans responsibly.” With those four words, the lender was no longer at any fault. He warned the listener. If someone abuses the payday loan, it is his or her fault.

Denying responsibility and shifting blame is as old as mankind. In the original sin, Eve blamed Satan. Adam blamed Eve. Adam even blamed God. Their child, Cain, killed his brother, Abel. It was easier for Cain to see Abel as the source of his problems than to face up to his own flaw.

A child who fails a test will come home from school and claim he failed the test because “my teacher hates me.” By not seeing the need for personal responsibility will lead a student to fail more tests. If you think you cannot get ahead in life because your boss is evil or your coworkers are holding you back, you are missing the point. Until you accept personal responsibility for your own life, you will be doomed to mediocrity or failure.

Personal responsibility is the first step to overcoming. The man or woman who blames others for his or her own problems will stay stuck in the problem. The man or woman who blames himself or herself has begun the journey to victory. The one who blames no one, but takes action is on the right road.

~Lonnie Davis