Time to Toughen Up

by Charles R. Swindoll

2 Corinthians 11-13

There are 1,130 frostbitten miles, mountain ranges, blizzards, hungry beasts, and frozen seas between Anchorage and Nome. This awful trek is the scene of the ultimate endurance test known as the Iditarod Sled Dog Race, where twelve huskies pull a sled and its driver through the most grueling, inhuman conditions one can fathom. One frequent champion was the late Susan Butcher, whose tough-minded fixation on winning earned her the nickname Ayatollah Butcher.
The secret, she would tell you, was her own mind-set and the training of those dogs, which gave new meaning to the word "serious." Her 150-dog kennel was a thing to behold. Shortly after each pup's birth, while it was still blind, she held it in her hands and breathed her breath into its nose. That way, she claimed, each one would associate her smell with comfort and encouragement. The rapport began with that breathing-into-the-nose routine. She personally fed, trained, massaged, and—on a rotation basis—slept with each dog. She personally nursed them to health when they were injured. She was infinitely patient with them, talked to them, believed in them, even sang to them (old folk songs by Bob Dylan and Joan Baez, plus a few Irish lullabies). The objective? To bond with them. It paid. They saved her life on the trail more than once. Back in 1979, she led her dog team to the 20,320-foot summit of Mount McKinley. It took forty-four days.What a woman! One reporter described her as having "a stiff spine . . . a stubborn mind-set," which was what she needed to endure moose attacks, blizzards so severe that one time for five hours she couldn't see the lead dog, and a sudden plunge into icy water (Granite and Maddie, the mushers, pulled her out).
The Christian life isn't an eleven-day race. It's a lifetime journey full of more dangers and pitfalls than a hundred Iditarods. So it's foolish to think we can enter it half-heartedly or sustain it easily. To survive it calls for help from above and toughness from within. If Susan Butcher was willing to give that kind of effort to win a race that is incredible in the eyes of the world, seems to me we should be capable of conquering the marathon from earth to heaven.
A combination of two ingredients is essential: the capacity to accept and the tenacity to endure.
I move that we toughen up. All in favor say, "Mush."

"We could never be brave and patient if there were only joy in the world" (Helen Keller).

Rising Above
You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good.

Genesis 50:20

Everyone faces adversity from time to time. A person is fired from his or her job. Bills are due, but there’s no money to pay them with. A beloved family member dies. How we handle these situations can say a lot about our faith in the Lord.

In the case of Joseph, his problems began the moment he fell for his brothers' "we've got a really neat pit to show you" trick. They sold him as a slave to Ishmaelites passing through the area in an attempt to rid themselves of "the dreamer" (see Genesis 37:19). Eventually, Joseph was able to gain a good standing with Potiphar and was placed in charge of his house. But later, Potiphar's wife attempted to seduce Joseph and falsely accused him of adultery. Joseph ended up in prison as a result.

Joseph had plenty of opportunities to cry out about the injustice he was facing. He had chances to complain about the treatment he had received from his brothers. He could have become bitter when the king's cupbearer was released from prison and forgot about him. These actions and attitudes would have reduced Joseph to hopelessness.

Instead, Joseph allowed himself to be used by God to interpret Pharaoh’s dream. Pharaoh removed him from prison and placed him in charge of Egypt, where he organized a plan to store grain before the famine occurred. Finally, Joseph was reunited with his brothers. What was intended for bad was used by God for good.

Obstacles have the ability to take us out of contention, but we also have the opportunity to rise above them. We can cry, complain, and live in misery because of our struggles. Or we can react like Joseph--allowing God, in his timing, to bring something good out of our circumstances. Are you allowing God to help you land on your feet?

Faith Like an Athlete

And athletes cannot win the prize unless they follow the rules.

2 Timothy 2:5

Lots of people are willing to play games; far fewer people are willing to be athletes. A real athlete of any sport understands there are two sets of rules to be followed: rules of preparation and rules of participation. Experience can’t overcome lack of preparation. A marathoner who hasn’t prepared rigorously will fail disastrously. Extensive preparation becomes meaningless if an athlete doesn’t understand or play by the rules. Few sights are more disappointing than a superbly trained athlete who breaks the rules through carelessness or dishonesty.

When the apostle Paul was passing on the baton of responsibility for the gospel to his apprentice Timothy, he had a number of helpful insights to leave with the young man. He used various familiar life-pursuits to illustrate aspects of Timothy’s duties. Paul knew that athletes often present the kind of commitment that living by faith requires.So, how do the two sets of rules mentioned above function in the area of faith? How should we be faith-athletes? The rules of preparation remind us that faith is more than a belief-muscle we build up. Faith requires an object and content. The follower of Jesus Christ doesn’t believe in faith; he believes in Jesus Christ. His faith (what he believes about Jesus Christ) continually grows as he seeks to know Christ better and better. We exercise faith when we study God’s Word and train ourselves to apply what we discover in it. An athlete trains continuously. Practice may not make perfect, but it usually leads to marked improvement!

The rules of participation point to our connection with others and with God out in the open. Eventually we have to get in the game. Stepping across the boundary and onto the track or the field of play always involves a sudden change of perspective. Studying and knowing how to talk to someone about your faith in Christ differs a lot from the thrill and terror of actually talking to someone about Christ. How will you practice and participate in faith today?

Mastering Habits
by Charles R. Swindoll
1 Corinthians 6:12

I used to bite my fingernails right down to the quick. I'd bite them off just as soon as the first signs of new growth would appear. Research shows that it takes only three or four weeks for an activity to become a habit.

Not a person who reads this is completely free from bad habits. It's the price we pay for being human. Let's focus on five suggestions that will help us overcome bad habits.
Stop rationalizing. Refuse to make comments like: "Oh, that's just me. I've always been like that." Such excuses take the edge off disobedience and encourage you to diminish or completely ignore the Spirit's work of conviction.

Apply strategy. Approach your target with a rifle, not a BB gun. Take on one habit at a time, not all at once.

Be realistic. It won't happen fast. It won't be easy. Nor will your resolve be permanent overnight. Periodic failures, however, are still better than habitual slavery.

Be encouraged. Realize you're on the road to ultimate triumph, for the first time in years! Enthusiasm strengthens self-discipline and prompts an attitude of stick-to-it-iveness.
Start today. This is the best moment thus far in your life. To put it off is an admission of defeat and will only intensify and prolong the self-confidence battle.

One day at a time, attack one habit at a time.

Workplace Lessons

by Charles R. Swindoll

Mark 2

While traveling across northern California several years ago, I tuned in a radio talk show where the host had just conducted a poll of his listeners regarding job satisfaction. Some sort of questionnaire had been mailed to folks within a broad radius of several cities along the San Francisco peninsula and East Bay region. The show's host had gathered and compiled the answers and was, that day, announcing the results.

To his surprise (and mine) he discovered that well over 80 percent who responded were dissatisfied with their occupations, and when he tabulated the results by cities, some were as high as 84 percent. And the unhappiness he discovered in the workplace was not passive, meek, and mild. Some even responded with intense words like "despise . . . resent . . . dread."

The average worker in the 1940s and 1950s was a male breadwinner with a wife and a houseful of kids to support. He worked full-time and long hours either in an office or a factory—mainly a factory since America was still an industrial society. He was a member of a union, motivated by job security and steady pay, and he looked forward to retirement at age sixty-five. His work was his world.How things have changed!

Among other changes, today's "average worker" does not belong to a union and would not consider joining one, plans to work past retirement age (many work well into their seventies), and is willing to accept a certain amount of insecurity in exchange for the possibility of being rewarded for superior performance. Maybe that explains why one-third of Americans switch jobs each year.

What's true for the "average worker" in the workplace may also be true for the "average worshiper" in the churchplace, where things are also surprisingly different than in the 1940s and 1950s.

I wonder how many churchgoers, if polled, would be honest enough to admit that frustration mixed with mediocrity also abounds on Sunday. If they had a chance to say so, I wonder if some would respond with intense words like "despise . . . resent . . . dread." And if they did, I wonder if many in the church would care enough to listen or to change.

Be honest now . . . would you?

Not all change is good, but not to change can be bad.

On Patting Birds
by Charles R. Swindoll
Hebrews 6:10

In a cartoon strip some years ago a little guy was taking heat from his sister and friends for a newly found "calling"—patting birds on the head. The distressed birds would approach, lower their little feathered pates to be patted, sigh deeply, and walk away satisfied. It brought him no end of fulfillment—in spite of the teasing he took from others. "What's wrong with patting birds on the head?" he wanted to know. "What's wrong with it?" his embarrassed friends replied, "No one else does it!"

If your niche is encouraging, please don't stop. If it is embracing, demonstrating warmth, compassion, and mercy to feathers that have been ruffled by offense and bruised by adversity, for goodness' sake, keep stroking. Don't quit, whatever you do.
I think many Christians are dying on the vine for lack of encouragement from other believers. Proverbs 15:23 says, "A man has joy in an apt answer, And how delightful is a timely word!" Isn't that true? It's a delightful thing to receive a good word just at your time of need. Encourage someone today.

If God made you a "patter," then keep on patting to the glory of God.

Worth Your Time
by Charles R. Swindoll
Revelation 1:1-3; 3:11-12
It was Ernest Hemingway who once said, "Time is the least thing we have of." And he was right. How quickly time passes—and how often we lament this. If only we could tack an extra twenty-five or thirty years on to the usual span. There is so much more we want to see, to celebrate, to do. So many places to go, so much to enjoy, to feel, to read, to talk about, to participate in, to encounter. Yet, for each of us, this thing called time is in such short supply.

Our frustration is only compounded by the numerous unimportant, dumb things that steal our minutes and siphon the significance out of our hours. You know what I mean. Stuff like getting gas or a haircut, standing in the eternal line at the DMV, doing the laundry, washing all the dishes after every meal, mowing the lawn, and a dozen other time-consuming things that have to be done but keep you from doing the things that make life so invigorating and fulfilling.

Since "time is the least thing we have of" and since there is no way we're going to escape all the stupid time-traps that accompany our earthly existence, seems to me that we're left with two choices: Either we can fuss and whine about not having enough time, or we can take the time we've got left and spend it wisely. I mean really wisely, with our priorities in the right order.

Speaking of that, what are you doing with the rest of your life? I'm talking about cultivating relationships, building memories that will help lift the load of future trials, and the deliberate pursuit of activities that will yield eternal dividends.
Do you have a family? Rather than leaving them the leftovers and crumbs and giving your job your best hours and your most creative ideas, how about rethinking the value of strengthening those ties? And while we're at it, let's not leave out necessary time for quietness, for personal reflection and refreshment.

You say you don't have time to add another week to your squirrel-cage lifestyle. Don't kid yourself. You keep blowin' and goin' like you've been doing most of your adult life, and you'll wind up mumbling to yourself in the twilight years, wondering how you could have stayed so busy yet accomplished so little.

Hey, maybe Hemingway wasn't right after all. You and I have more time than we realize . . . once we get our priority ducks in a row.

Have you ever wondered how you can stay so busy yet accomplish so little?
Think seriously about how you can reorder those priorities.

Thinking Like a Leader

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.
Romans 12:2

Some years ago a magazine pictured a man staring out of a window; the caption read: “Why does this company pay this man $100,000 to look out a window?” The answer: Because the lifeblood of any organization lies in ideas and creative thinking. Thinking is powerful. Flying a plane, air conditioning, cell phones, vaccines, the World Wide Web--without thinking, these would have been impossible. Everything begins with a simple thought.

Ideas are a great moving force of history. We are never free to do what we cannot conceive. Having a godly mind enlarges our thinking capacity. A leader’s thinking must be shaped by the following:

Vision: What is our dream? Carl Sandburg was right: “Nothing happens unless it is first a dream.” Vision is a process of the mind--it’s mental, not visual. Vision is seeing what everybody has seen but thinking what nobody has thought. What is needed to build a pyramid? One person who can think and ten thousand people who can grunt.

Values: What is important? Values have to do with how we treat people, how we do our work, what is vital to us. Values are the standards, the principles, and the code of conduct that characterize the organization. Values aren’t dreamt; they already exist. Leaders shape and form the organization’s values. Some universities decide to pour sidewalks after students have first worn a path. Where are the well-worn paths--the actions, the beliefs, the attitudes--that matter most to you? Those are your values.

Venture: What are we willing to risk? Organizations that make a difference are willing to think outside the box. For example, a company that was in the well-digging business began to think in terms of efficient and effective means of making holes, and they soon discovered that lasers dug holes better than augers. They achieved the same goal but accomplished it more efficiently.

Vehicle: What will get us there? How can we accomplish our desired outcome? A dream without a strategy is merely wishful thinking, but with a strategy it becomes powerful thinking.

Victory: What will the celebration be like? A leader thinks like a champion. The end result is to move forward, to accomplish goals, to be God’s faithful servant, to celebrate being a part of God’s kingdom.

Wake up and start thinking. Take off your nightcap and put on your thinking cap. Ask God to continually renew your mind.

Looking Ahead

The prudent understand where they are going, but fools deceive themselves.
Proverbs 14:8

Bill Walsh, the former head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, was thought eccentric because of how extensively he planned his plays in advance of each game. Most coaches would wait to see how the game unfolded, then respond with plays that seemed appropriate. Walsh wanted the game to respond to him. Walsh won several Super Bowls with his “eccentric” proactive approach. He was a coach who looked into the future.

Looking ahead is the process of creating the future before it happens. People who learn to do it “understand where they are going.” Like Bill Walsh, it involves deciding your actions in advance so that your life will respond to you. What are the benefits of such a proactive pursuit?

Looking ahead gives direction. It’s like using a highlighter on a roadmap to indicate where you are, where you are going, and how you are going to get there. The highlighted roadmap not only provides information for where you are going; it also suggests where you are not going.

Looking ahead helps us to create rather than react. With each step along our journey, we are faced with a choice either to create or to react. Many people spend their entire days reacting. Like goalies in hockey, with pucks flying at us all day, we react. We react to news, cars in traffic, people, events, challenges, and obstacles. A better way involves making choices and following plans.
Looking ahead saves time. “One hour of planning saves three hours of execution.” Planning yields a savings return. We only have twenty-four hours in a day and 365 days in a year. If we don’t use them wisely by looking ahead, we will forever forfeit those gifts.

Looking ahead reduces crisis. Our daily lives have two controlling influences: plans and pressures. When we look ahead and choose to plan, we take charge and control of our days. If we fail to look ahead, we will spend our days in crisis mode. We will fall into a trap of panic planning—planning on the fly with no time to effectively map out a strategy.

Looking ahead maximizes energy. Failing to look ahead, we dissipate our energy on less important matters, improper agendas, and lost crusades. We waste our time on the trivial many. But preparation often energizes us!
Be wise. Look ahead. It’s eccentric but well worth the effort.

Your Work Matters to God

And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.
Colossians 3:17

Can you whistle while you work? A memorable song in Walt Disney’s animated classic Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is “Whistle While You Work,” sung by Snow White as she sweeps the dwarfs’ cottage. While that probably is the ideal of all working men and women, I have found that the opposite is often the case. Most people I know don’t like their jobs very much at all. In fact, instead of whistling, they grumble, seeing work as drudgery, a necessary evil for a paycheck.

I’ve noticed this is especially true during times of recession, when in many areas jobs seem to be scarce and people are relieved just to be employed. They aren’t worried about enjoying the job or being fulfilled. In fact, many people hate what they do for a living. This attitude is a problem when we consider how much time we spend at work, at least a third of every workday. If we spend another third sleeping, there’s only a third left for enjoyment, ministry, and meaningful activity. It’s no wonder that many people feel as though their lives are meaningless.
In the midst of all this, however, I have good news--our work matters to God. In other words, it is possible to find meaning and purpose in our jobs, even though right now they may seem to be a waste of time. I’d like to explain at least part of what I mean. At the outset, I must credit a book published by NavPress with a similar title, Your Work Matters to God, for many of these ideas.

First of all, our work matters to God because work has intrinsic value. God, himself, is a worker--he created the universe; we read in the Old Testament how he worked in history, especially in the nation of Israel; he worked in and through Christ to redeem us; and through the Holy Spirit, he works today in us. Work also has intrinsic value because God created people as workers and as his coworkers. At creation, God gave Adam and Eve work to do in the garden, tending the garden, naming the animals, ruling the earth--it was a privilege, a gift--they would be partners with God. And this work assignment came before the fall. Work is not a curse--it is a blessing. God honors us by making us coworkers with him.

Second, our work matters to God because it has instrumental value. Through work we serve people; through work we meet our own needs; through work we meet our families’ needs; through work we earn money to give to others; through work we love God. Of course there is the reality of sin--we do live in a fallen world. In fact, at the fall the ground was cursed, so work became difficult. And because of the sin nature of all human beings, there will always be struggles with selfishness, corruption, twisted values, waste, poor treatment of workers, and illegitimate or trivial jobs. But we can honor and love God through our work, even in a fallen world. Remember that your work matters to God.

Requirements for Victory
by Charles R. Swindoll
1 John 5:4-7
According to Scripture, three things are required for spiritual victory: birth, faith, and truth. In order to enter into the ranks of the victorious, we must be "born of God." It occurs when I accept Jesus Christ as Savior.

Then comes faith. I draw upon the power that is in me. I no longer operate on the basis of human strength, but by faith. I rely upon divine power.

Then is truth. Everything is made possible by the truth, by believing the truth, by living the truth. Allow the truth to invade, reshape, and cultivate your life anew.

Tell me, have you had such a birth?
If so, are you operating in faith?
And the truth—is it the truth you are claiming?

If you've answered yes to all three questions, then it's time for action. Quit hiding behind those excuses! Stop telling yourself it's too late! It is never too late to start doing what is right. Start now. Trust me, you can move from the realm of defeat and discouragement to victory and hope if you will simply take action now.

Aim high.
Go hard after God.
Press on.
Everything is made possible by the truth.

Endangered Species

Endangered Species
by Charles R. Swindoll

Psalm 78

Remember when men were men? Remember when you could tell by looking? Remember when men knew who they were, liked how they were, and didn't want to be anything but what they were?

Remember when it was the men who boxed and wrestled and bragged about how much they could bench press?

Remember when it was the men who initiated the contact and took the lead in a relationship, made lifelong commitments, and modeled a masculinity grounded in security and stability?

I'm talking about men who are discerning, decisive, strong hearted, who know where they are going and are confident enough in themselves (and their God) to get them there. Men who aren't afraid to take the lead, to stand tall, firm in their principles, even when the going gets rough.

Such qualities not only inspire the respect of women, they also engender healthy admiration among younger men and boys who hunger for heroes. We need clear-thinking, hard-working, straight-talking men who, while tender, thoughtful, and loving, don't feel the need to ask permission for taking charge.

Over the last three decades we have seen a major assault on masculinity. The results are well represented in the arts, the media, the world of fashion, and among those who have become the heroes of our young people.

On the heels of a bloody Civil War, Josiah Holland wrote a passionate prayer on behalf of our country. It begins, "God, give us men. . . ." But the truth is, God doesn't give a nation men; He gives us boys. Baby boys, adolescent boys, impressionable boys, who need to know what becoming a man is all about. God's plan is still as He designed it at creation. And it starts in the home.

Men, are you modeling manhood according to God's Word?
Moms and dads, are you raising your sons to be authentically masculine?
If not, why not? Think it over!

Godly Words for Godly Men

Godly Words

But even as he spoke, a bright cloud came over them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy. Listen to him.”
Matthew 17:5

“I have a hard time even praying the Lord’s Prayer,” she said. “The first words, ‘Our Father,’ always remind me how disappointed I am with my father.” Others in the circle nodded their heads, some wanting to say even more. What a sad situation, not to be able to call God a heavenly Father. Part of the problem rises because of definitions. We forget sometimes that God isn’t called heavenly Father because he is like our dads; rather we all have fathers whose responsibility is to remind us by their character and actions of our perfect heavenly Father. Every earthly father disappoints. The tragedy comes when we allow those disappointments to cut us off from our heavenly Father.

In his book Raising a Modern-Day Knight (Tyndale House), author Robert Lewis points out that parents can gain some priceless direction from the way God the Father treated God the Son. These insights are particularly powerful in a father’s relationship with his son. Lewis uses as his starting point the several occasions in which God the Father made public pronouncements about his Son. Those statements include three ideas children need to hear from their parents: 1) I love you (“my dearly loved Son”); 2) I’m proud of you (“who brings me great joy”); and 3) you have skills (“listen to him”). The third one requires extra thought because it is specific to each child, highlighting his or her skills. Read through each of these again and ask yourself when was the last time each of your children heard any or all of these from you.

There are many ways to get these points across, but speaking them must be part of the equation. Parents often try to get by, saying, “I show my kids I love them.” There’s nothing wrong with that as long as it’s not a substitute for speaking the words. Yes, they can be surprisingly hard today (particularly for men). But many children (perhaps even you) would admit that the most manly, godly thing your father ever did (or could have done) was to put those messages into words for you. Whether or not you heard them, make sure your kids don’t leave home without hearing them from you.

Marks of Integrity

Marks of Integrity
by Charles R. Swindoll
1 Corinthians 11:28, 31
Thanks to the Word of God, we can list several marks of integrity that God would have us appropriate into our lives. Do you have these marks of integrity?
An excellent attitude
Faithfulness and diligence at work
Personal purity of the highest caliber
Consistency in your walk with God
You have the scalpel in your hand. Self-examination is up to you. It is not only a good idea, it's a biblical imperative.
A reminder: Only you can do the surgery on your soul, only you. No one else can know the truth. You can cover up, twist the facts in your mind, rationalize, and ignore . . . and no one will know the difference—no one except you. But if you really want to strengthen your grip on integrity, you will come to terms with the whole truth, regardless of the consequences.
Read the Book of Daniel to see the biblical picture of integrity. Daniel refused to compromise and consequently was thrown into the lions' den. Look what God did. He honored Daniel's faithfulness. He'll do the same for you.
Sometimes when you exhibit real, unvarnished integrity, you get dumped into the lions' den. Remember, God's there, too!

Full of Holes
We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.
2 Corinthians 4:7-9

Every Christian is a vessel God has uniquely created for sharing a treasure with others. This treasure, referred to as the gospel of Jesus, is contained in “fragile clay jars” so it’s “clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.” Paul uses the phrase “fragile clay jars” because as humans we are easily broken and we struggle with the most basic details of life. Yet we are called to pour out our treasure so that the world comes into contact with God.
God’s works flow naturally from a person whose life has been totally committed to him. The key is to give liberally of what we’ve received, knowing that the Lord will continue to fill us so that we are never totally empty nor constantly overflowing. Instead, our container will be full of holes that continuously pour out the love of Jesus. As long as we are being filled by God daily, we will never have a problem serving those he wants us to serve (see Galatians 6:10).
However, these clay jars can eventually become empty from lack of use. Empty vessels serve little purpose other than taking up space. And the Lord does not want us to simply exist. As pastor Rick Warren has correctly noted, each person has been made for a purpose. When a follower of Christ is not connected to the source of these gifts, his or her desire for serving God and other people diminishes.
Think about your life-vessel today. How has it been used to store the goodness of God? Has that goodness flowed into other lives? Has God’s measure of goodness in you evaporated from days and months of non-use? Or is your life a container full of holes, leaking the goodness of God continuously because you are continuously filled by the source that never runs dry?

Hypocrisy's Hidden Horrors
by Charles R. Swindoll
Romans 7:14-25
In his November 11, 1942, report on the war to the British House of Commons, Winston Churchill referred to "the soft underbelly of the Axis." While half the world was intimidated by the powerful blitzkrieg style of Nazi warfare, the perceptive prime minister focused on the other side—the hidden side: the insecurity, the lack of character, the insanity behind the public image of the German dictator. Adolf Hitler may have seemed strong to his adoring public and the goosestepping soldiers who proudly wore their führer's swastika. But the pudgy, cigar-smoking resident of 10 Downing Street was neither impressed nor frightened. He knew it was only a matter of time before the corruption lurking within exposed the soft underbelly of "Corporal Hitler."

Mark Twain used another word picture to convey a similar thought: "Everyone is a moon, and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody."This dark side can exist for years behind carefully guarded masks.

Most of us remember the Watergate scandal. Like me, many firmly resisted the thought of corruption in the Oval Office till the very end. Such compromise and corruption were unthinkable. As time passed and the truth emerged, however, the soft underbelly of Richard Nixon came to light. Conversations with those who were there at the time and participated in the cover-up and books documenting those events forced me to accept what I once denied.

Life magazine's feature article on Elvis Presley in June 1990 was yet another reminder of how much difference there can be between image and reality. Appropriately titled "Down at the End of Lonely Street," the documented account of how the man existed in private toward the end of his life was nothing short of shocking. The handsome, seemingly happy-go-lucky performer, whose smile and wink melted hearts the world over, existed in a nightmare world of depression, despair, and massive doses of drugs.

The lesson in all this is obvious: The safest route to follow is Authenticity Avenue, walled on either side by Accountability and Vulnerability. The alternate route dead-ends at Lonely Street, whose bleak scenery is best stated in a verse from the ancient Book of Numbers: "be sure your sin will find you out" (32:23). Haunting thought, but oh, so true. I cannot explain how or why, I only know that rattling skeletons don't stay in closets . . . lies don't remain private . . . affairs don't stay secret. It's only a matter of time.

Hidden works of darkness always come to light.

I wanted to share this devotional from Chuck Swindoll, it goes along with moral purity, which will be a part of the Summit:

What about Fidelity?
by Charles R. Swindoll
Proverbs 6:27-29, 32-33
I just returned from our nation's capital where I was privileged to spend time with many of the highest ranking officers in the military. If you have ever wondered if there is anyone in the upper echelon of the military who loves Christ, wonder no longer. Many of these men and women are magnificent models of strong Christian commitment who frequently put their faith on the line.

While sitting around a table one morning, the subject of moral purity surfaced. They spoke of the importance of an officer's having a clean record and maintaining strong character traits if he or she hoped to be trusted in larger realms and promoted to higher ranks. Their commitment to personal integrity was expressed so spontaneously and sincerely.

As I listened to them, I was humiliated to think that a standard of high moral character was still of paramount importance among military officers while within the ranks of the clergy an epidemic of impurity rages.

As Christian leaders, we need to reaffirm our commitment to moral purity and to private lives that are absolutely free of secret sins. While forgiveness continues to be the pulse-beat of a grace-oriented ministry, a firm commitment to holiness remains vital. Those who adopt a deceptive, compromising life of hypocrisy are responsible for the damage that occurs when they are found out. Nor are the consequences erased, even though they may repent and seek the Lord's and others' forgiveness.Often, we are too quick to breeze past the damage that has been done, attempting to hurry the process of forgiveness at the expense of the restoration process. A contrite heart has no expectations and makes no demands; it acknowledges that the deception and the extent of continued sin result in the continued forfeiture of many of the privileges that were once enjoyed. Please read that again. If you've gotten soft on this issue, stop and read the daily reading suggested above. Don't try to explain these verses away. They mean exactly what they say.

The issue here is not a lack of forgiveness; it's the faulty thinking that forgiveness is synonymous with the returning of all rights and privileges.

Never has the truth of Peter's words resounded more clearly: "It is time for judgment to begin with the household of God" (1 Pet. 4:17).

As believers, we need to reaffirm our commitment to moral purity and to private lives that are absolutely free of secret sins.

Excerpted from Day by Day with Charles Swindoll, Copyright © 2000 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. (Thomas Nelson Publishers). All rights reserved worldwide. Used by permission.

It was great to return to the cabin after fishing all morning. The river had been freezing cold and the trout too smart for us.

Thankfully, our guide soon had the coffee on and the breakfast cooking. After breakfast we sat around the fire drinking coffee and listening to our guide tell stories. He was quite a storyteller.

We could have sat there listening to him all day.

BUT OUR GUIDE HAD OTHER PLANS, so we strapped on our gear and left the warm cabin.

The path he had chosen was straight up the mountain. It looked impossible! We just had to trust him.

Men, we want you to join us as we spend time in the cabin with our Guide Jesus. Letting his Word and his Spirit lead us out of our warm, safe cabin and up the path of integrity, purity and holiness. To the Summit, with Him and each other! This will be no walk in the park. We will be discussing Men's topics, not appropriate for young boys.

We are suggesting ninth grade and older.

Coming in just 5 weeks

The Men's Summit 2010 at Kent City Baptist Church is coming soon. June 4th and 5th are the dates and we are calling all men who want to become closer followers of Jesus to come to find out how. We will be asking men to leave the cabin that we are all so comfortable, and start the climb up the summit to a closer walk with God. We all have our trials and temptations so we need to find help to walk closer to the top of the mountain.