tracekuhn.comRandom thoughts of a Christ follower

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Love is everything I am not.

I am impatient & unkind. I am jealous and boastful and proud and rude. I demand my own way, rejoice about injustice and do not rejoice when truth wins. I give up, lose faith and am never hopeful. I know nothing of endurance.

I’m a broken, wrecked guy who, on my own, can do nothing remotely close to love.

Thankfully, God knew this when he formed me. He had a plan for my life. He ultimately sent his son Jesus to pay for the penalty of my sin (John 3:16). And it is only through my relationship with Jesus that I am able to love. The very nature of love comes from God. (1 John 4:16).

May God pour his love on my life. I need it desperately. May He become so much more in my life and me so much less. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

Happy President’s Day!

The federal holiday is to celebrate George Washington’s birthday. In honor of George Washington & President’s Day, here are some links to learn more:

Official Biography of George Washington

Official Site for Mount Vernon, Home of George Washington

As a follower of Christ, our ideas & goals, our decisions & directions should always be to centered around Christ. Shouldn’t they?

“Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness…” Matt 6:33

“Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith…” Heb 12:2

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.” John 14:6

I’m not even sure how to blog about this topic, because it is so unfinished in my mind. I can’t seem to get my head around it. The thought process is this: If Christ is the center of our lives, then why do we spend so much time away from the center? Instead of going to the center (Holiness), we constantly try to get as far away (world) from the center, but still close enough to be considered in the center. Does that make sense?

We like to push away from the center and see who goes with us. If other Christians are with us, then over time that edge becomes the norm. The circle of Christ somehow becomes wider and we feel safe “in Christ.”

Eventually someone else pushes further outside and looks around to see who is with them. As long as fellow believers are there, then they feel safe and can continue on as a “Christ Follower.”

The circle continually gets larger, but at the same time we are going further and further from Christ. We claim that we are close…but are we?

Now if someone ventures too far outside and no one goes with him, then he becomes exposed and possibly an outcast. Ted Haggard can tell you more about this place. But I digress…

Sometimes I think we push away from the center with our finances, relationships, and responsibilities. I also think churches can push away from holiness with their music, sermon titles & marketing.

So here’s the deal. One of the great things about blogging is that I do not have to have the answer. Therefore I’m presenting this for discussion and I’d like to get your opinion. Let’s discuss it.

On Sunday mornings, I teach a bible study to a group of married couples. Our class is called Marriage Matters. They are a wonderful group of people who faithfully attend to learn more about their relationship with Christ and with their spouse.

For the last couple of years, I’ve issued a Valentine’s Challenge. We alternate challenging the husbands and wives. Here’s the premise:

Do something extra special for your spouse for Valentine’s Day. It has to be special enough for your spouse to send me an email with the details (G rated, of course!). My wife and I take all of the emails, compare them and determine a winner.

Sounds easy, enough right? It has been a joy to see husbands and wives get outside of their comfort zone and do something fun & exciting for Valentine’s Day. Flowers & candy won’t get the prize. Neither will a mushy card. Here are some examples (and winners):

A husband went through the photo albums of previous vacations. He selected several photos and made a slideshow for each vacation. Then over the course of several nights leading up to Valentines, he prepared a meal centered around an enjoyable meal from the vacation. While eating, they watched the slideshow on the TV and reminisced about the vacation. So while they were eating steak, they talked about the great steak they had in New York several years ago and looked at pictures from their time in New York. Fun, huh?

One husband started 26 days before Valentine’s Day and gave his wife a handwritten note each day using a letter from the alphabet. A for adore, B for Beautiful, etc. No money spent, but the wife was ABSOLUTELY blown away. This husband was not a “writer” by nature. He went outside of his comfort zone and that decision benefited his marriage.

So today is Thursday, February 12. You only have tomorrow & Saturday. But I want to encourage you to get outside of your comfort zone and do something extraordinary for your spouse.

Also, I’d like more examples. What have you done, or heard about, that was extra special on Valentine’s Day?

I started blogging on my personal life in 2006 at tracekuhn.com. I was using a simple blog platform and hosting it on my personal server (an old laptop set up in a spare bedroom). My adventure didn’t last long and I eventually lost all of my posts when the old laptop finally quit working.

So in early 2008 I purchased mark135.com and started over. But my plan was different. I was hoping to get a group of guys to read a chapter of the Bible and then all post their thoughts. My idea was that through comments and feedback, we would keep each other accountable and it would be a great learning tool/accountability group.

As it turned out, God had a different plan and I ended up as the sole blogger. Several guys were interested, but not one actually posted anything. (BTW, I haven’t given up on that idea as I felt like God was calling me to mark135.com. So I will just let is sit for now and then see what happens).

So today is moving day. Since I ended up posting personal stuff at mark135.com, I thought I should shut that down and bring the personal blog back home.

So from this day forward, you can read my random thoughts as I pursue Christ and live on the fine line.

P.S. Don’t forget to click on the RSS feed button & update your blog reader. Thanks!

Even though married partners should eagerly ask for forgiveness when they hurt one another, it becomes a hard thing to do in the give & take of life.

But marriages can only grow in intimacy and flourish when we give and receive forgiveness for the offenses that hurt unity.

Every offense that is not forgiven drives a wedge into the oneness of marriage.

And so, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. And beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. Col 3:12-15

Have you ever had to “bear with one another”?

If you are married you do it everyday. Right?

Bearing with one another is essentially the proper response to unintended offenses. Sure, it may hurt. Sure it may sting. But if your spouse didn’t intend to hurt you, can you really build a wall around that situation?

Forgiveness is the harder work. It should be the response to intentional offenses. If your spouse does something, or says something on purpose, then they will need to fess up and ask for forgiveness. When they do, your proper response should be to forgive.

Why do you need to forgive?

How can I imply that it should be your “proper” response?

Look what Paul says, “Just as the Lord forgave you, so should you.”

Forgiveness is possible when we look at it through the lens of Christ and His forgiving work at the cross. He died for the penalty of our sins!

So shouldn’t we also forgive? Isn’t that the least we can do?

Every offense that is not forgiven drives a wedge into the oneness of marriage.

Let’s get in the habit of forgiveness with our spouses. With it, we have the ability to create intimacy and transparency. Without it, we build walls and cause unnecessary hurts that are not easily repaired.

Portions of this material were originally written by Tommy Nelson in The Power of Two. The bible passage is from the NASB.

Max Lucado is a gifted writer who has written dozens of books. His writings never seem to tire or repeat. God has given him a unique ability to translate his thoughts to paper with feeling and passion. Just as a preacher can communicate through metaphors & stories, Max Lucado speaks to your heart in a way that is easily understood and visualized.

His latest book, For The Tough Times is a small, compact book. It would be perfect to give away. I’m thinking about keeping a few copies around to give to people facing difficult circumstances.

Have you ever been through a hard time? Ever felt like life was unfair or harsh? Or, do you know someone who may be experiencing a dark time? This book is perfect reading during when uncertainty approaches.

Max Lucado uses excellent imagery when speaking of how much God is for us. My favorite is that if God had a car, my name would be on the bumper sticker. Love that!

Overall, I would highly recommend this short book. If you pastor a church, teach a bible study or just have a heart for people, I would recommend picking up several copies. Listen to people today, they are hurting. This book may be what they need to receive a glimpse of God’s love.

The last bible I purchased is my current “everyday” bible. It is an 8 year old black leather bound thin NASB bible with lots of scribble notes and underlines. I take it with me everywhere. I like to curl it up while I walk with it, so it has a unique curved shape. I love everything about that bible. It has served me well!

But for my morning “routine” quiet times, I have been looking for something that will help me dive into God’s word in a fresh, new way. I wanted something different, but familiar. Something to stretch me but something I can read with the familiarity of a well worn rounded bible. Thanks to a great friend, I’m pretty sure I found it.

Today I bought a new bible. Yep, a fresh new bible. The One Year Chronological Bible

James Patterson shared with me recently that this bible helped him more in terms of spiritual growth than anything else he has ever read in his quiet time. That’s a powerful testimony!

So 2009 will be the year of the Chronological Bible. I’m praying for spiritual growth beyond anything I could ask or imagine!

I received a copy of Max Lucado’s For The Tough Times today from Thomas Nelson Publishing. They’ve asked me to read the book and write a post about it.

This book will be my very first online book review. So check back in a week or so and my comments should be posted. Hopefully the publisher will allow me to continue as this gig really fulfills two of my passions: reading and blogging (and the free book is a nice bonus too!).

Have a great day!

This is an awesome video by the guys at 12 Stone Church in Atlanta. Sometimes you just have to mix it up a little bit to communicate the message. These guys definitely jumped outside the box on this one!