Author: Jon Harris

Think about the top news stories going on today domestically and abroad. What emotions do these stories bring to you? Confident? Uplifted? Full of hope? Joyful? Peaceful? Loved? If you do, please call me right away, I want to hear about it!

On the contrary, I imagine time spent following news stories gives us a glimpse into what Hell might feel like. Hopelessness, pain, despair, separation, destruction, and mourning. I believe we often feel these emotions because we are putting our faith and trust in the wrong things, and because the father of lies is behind a tremendous amount of manipulation.

The only person to put our faith and trust in is the only one who is faithful and true, and that is none other than Jesus Christ:

“And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation. (Rev 3:14)

Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. (Rev 19:11)

Jesus is the ultimate in faithful because of what he did: He remained faithful to his calling in living sinless, and then surrendered his body to be crucified. He is the ultimate in “true” because he defeated death through the resurrection. He did these things for us, this is the Good News!

What if for just one day the world skipped the headlines and got the Good News and truth from the Bible? Stories of love, redemption, joy, miracles, forgiveness and promises of hope for a wonderful future all all right at our fingertips. The choice is ours, do not be deceived: Faith in a broken world full of lies, or faith and hope in the one who is faithful and true.

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?(Romans 8:31)

Rumors, gossip, unmet expectations, failures, rage, threats, crime, violence, theft, loss, stress, fear, pain.

Each of those words relates to various events in my life this week. There were some dark days and nights to say the least. At my weakest point of bewilderment, there was God, comforting me and keeping his promises. From all of these troubles, alone I have no defense and could easily be swallowed up by the pain and darkness, but then there is God…

He is our defender.

A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,
    is God in his holy dwelling. (Psalm 68:5 NIV)

It will be a sign and witness to the Lord Almighty in the land of Egypt. When they cry out to the Lord because of their oppressors, he will send them a savior and defender, and he will rescue them. (Isaiah 19:20)

In this life we are assured of physical and emotional harm, and no matter our own strength, we cannot defend ourselves alone.

As situations this week declined, my faith grew stronger because I trusted God had it all in control. We likely won’t find the items stolen from us nor will everyone know the whole truth in some of the twisted stories, but no one will take away the peace that came through prayer.

When we prayed as a family we claimed victory in God’s name, even before the earthly battle was over. God, we know you are in this, we know you love us, we know you are above all things and we claim victory in your name alone. Jesus already won through his death, burial and resurrection, so no matter the current or future battle, we can claim victory today and every day. Amen.

The best leaders are the ones who put people first. They are humble, reliable, trustworthy, experienced, and influence others to follow their lead. These people often fall into the category of “servant leaders”.

In the company I work for, we have some top leaders who started at the very bottom over twenty years ago. Our CEO was a welder (and is still able to showcase his skills) and our CIO/President started out in the IT service desk as an intern (and still refers to himself as an intern). Part of their ability to lead comes from humble beginnings, understanding the needs of the majority of our employees, never forgetting where they came from and recognizing our most important assets: People and relationships.

The servant leadership model works and I believe this is because it is similar to the blueprint or template that God has given us through his son Jesus Christ. God wanted (and still wants) a relationship with his creation so he sent Jesus to live amongst us. Jesus wasn’t sent as a CEO, a doctor, or an Earthly king. He started out humbly as a laborer, a carpenter.

Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. (Mark 6:3)

This carpenter went on to become a teacher, rabbi, servant leader, miracle worker and the Resurrected King. While Jesus could have had anything and everything on this Earth, he gave it all up for us. Living a life of poverty, his body broken, beaten and tortured, spit upon and humiliated, then hung on a cross – even though he could have stopped it at any time because while he was human, he was also God in the flesh.

Shortly before the crucifixion, Jesus taught and led as a servant leader, washing the feet of his disciples.

After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. (John 13:5)

“No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” (John 13:8)

Through an upside-down gesture he knelt to wash the disciples feet as a symbol of their (and our) need for spiritual cleansing. In an upside-down world, will you consider letting him wash your feet today and in turn, bow to Him who calls you by name?

No one wants to get sick, especially while traveling far from home. Recently I was traveling for work and came down with a cold at the start of the journey. The next morning not only did I have a cold, I had done something which caused severe pain in my lower back. Sitting, standing, sleeping, all had punishing consequences and I still had a job to do.

Two days later at the airport the journey home began with continued effects of a cold and back pain. During the security check, the officer informed me my carry-on toiletries would not fit into the required plastic bag for liquids. She then took the liberty of tossing my hair product into the trash. Very few times in my life have I ever felt “someone has it in for me”, but this was one of those times. She was mean-spirited, seemingly taking pleasure in giving people a hard time.

With a deep breath, I calmly explained that it was for me to decide which item should be thrown out, and kindly (in my best effort) asked for her to please remove the product from the trash and allow me to try to fit the items into the bag. She hesitated but then realized it was the right thing to do.

Moments later all of my stuff (barely) fit into the bag and I was on my way with shoes and belt off, passing through the scanner. Freedom, the other side!

Then an announcement: “Mr. Jon Harris please report to the security desk… Mr. Jon Harris please report to the security desk…”

Security then informed me that I left my credit card on the other side of the security control, and if I wanted the card I needed to go back with all of my belongings, retrieve the card and then go back through security again. Embarrassed with my mistake, and a little frustrated they couldn’t just pass the card through, I made my way back to the outside world.

This particular airport has a vending machine where all passengers pay a fee of 10 GBP (about $14) to use the airport. I left my card in this machine and unfortunately three other people used the machine after me and received “free” passes at my expense.

With card and luggage in hand, still embarrassed, it was time to go back through security. This time fortunately it was much easier and I was glad to give everyone a laugh at my expense.

In-flight due to my cold my ears had extreme pressure which caused pain as well as an inability to hear from one ear that evening. Upon arrival, a border patrol representative asked me a question and I had no idea what he was saying, partly because I couldn’t hear and partly because he was speaking Italian and wouldn’t speak English. After some back and forth, I realized he was asking my profession and I said “information systems” (in Italian) and he said, “ok go”, and that was it.

All of these stories are true and as I look back, I find it humorous and great to reflect on. First, the truth from Jesus:

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

And the experiences of that trip brought some insights:

1. I probably don’t need to travel with two bottles of cologne, and I probably care too much about my hair product.
2. I make mistakes, daily.
3. My body is prone to failure and as we age it seems to get worse.
4. Mean behavior is hurtful and senseless. And I’m not any better than the mean security officer because in my heart, I had anger, judgement, and mean thoughts against her.

Mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually, I am not awesome, BUT GOD IS!

““Who is like you among the gods, O Lord — glorious in holiness, awesome in splendor, performing great wonders?” (Exodus 15:11 NLT)

“Then I said, “O Lord, God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps his covenant of unfailing love with those who love him and obey his commands,” (Nehemiah 1:5 NLT)

“I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed: “O Lord, you are a great and awesome God! You always fulfill your covenant and keep your promises of unfailing love to those who love you and obey your commands.” (Daniel 9:4 NLT)

Today and every day let us be grateful for our awesome God and his son Jesus. In our failures and non-awesomeness, our sins are forgiven and we are cleansed when we repent in the name of Jesus Christ.

Eighteen months ago we moved into a new home that didn’t have a microwave. This small and relatively inexpensive appliance is something we’ve historically found convenience in using on a daily basis: Warm chips and cheese are a family favorite, re-heating coffee is so easy, and we love warming up vegetables for a quick and healthy snack.

Initially we said we’d buy a microwave but we held off thinking maybe we didn’t need one right away. Over time, the microwave topic manifested into conversation about wants and needs and became a great lesson for us. There were similar wants/needs in the home that we also put on hold because we really started to question our motives and mindset.

In short, living without this convenience has helped shape our thoughts from “want” to “letting go”. As a family from a developed nation, we’re accustomed to so many things that we either think we deserve or often take for granted.

I wrote the following as I thought about wants/needs, being grateful for what we have, our attitude, eternity and the cross with Jesus as our advocate (today’s theme).

Earthly things. When will the wanting cease?
Blessings. Rescue. Mercy. Answered prayers. Am I grateful?
Flowers blooming, works of art abound. People starving. Ignorance is bliss.
Daily battles, eternity at stake.
Separation is deserved, but one name brings mercy and grace.
Jesus, our advocate.

Today’s verses:

Even now my witness is in heaven;
    my advocate is on high. (Job 16:19)

My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. (1 John 2:1)

The freestyle “author’s choice” for daily scripture continues. Upon learning it was to be my choice the initial thought was excitement for the blank canvas then later it was “this is a serious choice and I have no idea… Lord, please give me something.” As the time grew closer to needing to write, no verses came to mind until…

While passing through airport security I overheard an officer reading an inscription on a piece of jewelry that had been left behind. It read:

Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life. (Proverbs 4:23 NIV)

It was beautiful. The public reading of scripture aloud in Chicago O’Hare International Airport. There were not many witnesses but I heard it and the words were powerful and refreshing. At the time I was making the long journey home from a business trip and missing my family, exhausted from many long days and nights of work.

Was it God’s plan for me to hear this? Was it His desire for me to write about it to you this week? While I’m not certain, I believe regardless that the public reading of scripture invokes the supernatural, it brings God’s living word into our souls at that very moment.

The verse seems to break down nicely into two parts, giving us instruction and the reason for the instruction:

1. Guard your heart above all else, (Proverbs 4:23a)

What does it mean to “guard our hearts”? Some thoughts, starting with keeping our hearts fed with daily prayer and studying of scripture.

• In the subsequent verses we are given additional examples/instruction that corresponds to guarding our heart which I’ve paraphrased:
  • Avoiding perverse talk (Proverbs 4:24)
  • Our eyes fixed clearly on the goal – Look straight ahead (Proverbs 4:25) Turning our hearts toward our creator God and savior Jesus Christ, who he is and what he has done for us.
  • Staying on a safe path (Proverbs 4:26) – Resisting temptation; fleeing from sin.
• Yielding to God’s will especially in times of prosperity, whether personal, health  financial or just life in general. When everything is going great, it becomes easier to think “we’ve got this” rather than relying on God for everything.

2. for it determines the course of your life. (Proverbs 4:23b)

How does guarding our heart determine the course of our life?

As a recap from yesterday Jennifer shared a post on anxiety & Philippians 4:6-7 (references guarding our hearts). I already planned to write about guarding our hearts so not a coincidence, God is always at work!

We keep our hearts guarded by submitting to God in prayer (see Philippians 4:6) and as a result we receive the peace of God through and in Jesus:

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:7)

• Witness; our actions are observed and often imitated by others. Being prepared for difficult conversation with people who may challenge our faith or who may need a word to guide them on their way toward salvation. As we acknowledge God, he makes our path straight.

In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. (Proverbs 3:6)

• Marriage; keeping our hearts pure for one another, keeping the commitment.
• Career; serving those whom we are entrusted to lead strengthens our bonds and builds our teams.
• Legacy; regardless of what we do, we leave a legacy behind us based on a lifetime of guarding (or not guarding) our hearts. Who will we influence and where will we influence them to?
• Eternity; God wants our hearts. We choose the course of our life, toward or away from him. Where are our treasures and therefore our hearts today?

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:2)

Recently a portion of the massive wall that lines our street collapsed. It was sudden and unexpected and it caused some panic and disruption as well as a safety risk to passers by. Fortunately no one was injured.

Immediately following this event, the police came to assess the situation and then closed the street by placing signage to warn and inform, then fences as barricades to block the passage of vehicles.

While the street is narrow and just outside the city, it is fairly busy especially during the morning commute timeframe. Motorcycles, cars, buses, bicycles and walkers all wanting to reach their destinations. Closure of this road would cause a serious disruption, especially since it is a one-way street and there are other nearby road closures.

One thing we’ve observed about our community is that while there seems to be a lot of rules, the following and enforcement of rules is very lax.

After the police departed, it took maybe two minutes for people to simply move the barriers and drive on through.

Are you picturing big, strong, tough men jumping out out their pickup trucks to move the barricades and get on their way?

If not, then good, because the perpetrators of this crime are all shapes and sizes, men and women, driving little “beep beep” cars, motor scooters, and everything else. The problem with these barricades is that they are merely lightweight aluminum fences that can easily be moved.

The police continue to move the fences back to halt the traffic, but it is futile as motorists move the fences as soon as the police leave. The police are simply doing their job for the safety of the people, however the people continue to undermine the authority of the police and put themselves and others in danger.

In today’s reading on 1 Timothy 3-4, we find a set of rules and qualifications for leaders in the church and general guidance for followers of Jesus Christ. While reading these rules it is tempting to think that they are for someone else, some may think “behind the times”, or even good to follow “most of the time”. The thing is that these rules have a history and purpose and we need to remember:

• He is God and he gets to make the rules.
• His word doesn’t change no matter how many years have passed since he said it. The truth, His truth remains forever.
• His rules were made because he loves us. They are for our best interest whether we like the rules or not.
• His word and guidance for our lives is complete and without discrepancy. We cannot pick and choose which of his commands we should follow.

If you are a Christ follower that means people are watching and observing you. Some may want us to slip up so they can make an excuse “even Christians do this and that”. As we strive to withhold God’s teaching (or if we choose to disobey) we in turn will influence others to do the same; our families, friends, co-workers and any other observer in our lives.

Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers. (1 Timothy 4:16)

Recently an interview candidate shared some potentially incriminating historical information about himself and while on the surface it was negative, it left me with a greater feeling of trust toward the individual. Skill and personality are easier to identify, but trustworthiness is something more difficult to gauge. And no trust, no job.

The candidate “Lorenzo” (fake name to keep it private) had an engaging personality and possessed the necessary skills to perform the job. He was energetic and passionate and seemed like great fit for our company. The interview was going great!

Lorenzo then shared that he learned a foreign language through his experience at the school he attended. Inquiring further, I asked him what year he graduated and he said “I didn’t, they kicked me out!”

As Lorenzo continued to talk about his experience I realized the school that kicked him out happened to be the same school my kids attend. He didn’t realize this because he thought I resided elsewhere and he had very little information about me.

If Lorenzo would have lied about graduating I would have found out, and it would have been over for him. Instead, the situation gave me insights as to who this person is, and he earned further respect and trust. The truth set him free. The fact that Lorenzo made some life choices at the age of 15 (over 10 years ago) do not change the fact that he’s a highly skilled and likable individual.

In today’s reading Acts 4:32-5:11 we find two people who conspire to lie and it costs them their lives. One lie and they dropped dead on the spot. Yikes!

A few takeaways and thoughts about truth, lies and sin as we go about our day and pray for those who have not yet accepted the truth about Jesus:

• God is serious about sin.
• Lies are sinful and cause pain, distrust and even death.
• We’ve all lied. Sin deems us guilty before our creator. This guilt demands punishment.
• Jesus is the truth. One day will will stand before our creator (The Father) to give an account of all of our lies and other sins. On our own we cannot stand, but because Jesus already sacrificed himself as a penalty for our sin, we can then be deemed clean and forgiven. Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6)
• The truth (Jesus) sets us free. Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. (John 8:34-36)

On March 25th, 2016 the post “Scottish Granny” was published on this site. This was one of my favorite posts to author as it brought back so many fond memories and the relationship part of an epic God-authored story of friendship, love, loss, adventure and joy.

Since that post was published, the health of our dear friend Isabel Burns (Scottish Granny) had been on the decline. Unfortunately we had been unable to get any details about her condition, nor did we have any successful communication with each other. We learned that she was in a care facility, but for some reason she hadn’t been communicating with us, and we have been unable to reach her by phone.

A few months ago we decided we needed to make the trip to Edinburgh, Scotland to check in on Isabel in person. We found a time when the kids had a couple days off of school then booked flights and a hotel.

As the trip drew nearer, our longing for a reunion became stronger but we also began to worry as to whether or not we would be able to see her. Perhaps her health was in such a state that it would be “family only”. We couldn’t help but be concerned. What if she wasn’t even staying where we thought she was staying? How would we track her down?

Finally, it was time to embark on our journey. Upon arrival we dropped our luggage off at our hotel and immediately hopped on a bus to where we believed Isabel was staying. There was great anticipation, excitement and joy building up in our hearts. We would once again be reunited with this person who felt like family but yet we hadn’t heard from in over a year.

We prayed. If it is in your will God for us to see her, please clear any roadblocks, we know you can. You are in control. You are in every situation. If we cannot see her, please give us peace and understanding. This is yours Lord, please lead us.

We proceeded into the care facility and arrived at the front desk. We asked if we may see Isabel Burns and their response was positive, loving and kind. Of course we could! We were so relieved!!!

Upon arrival in Isabel’s room we had gladness to see her however it was immediately clear that that she was not well. It became clear as to why we hadn’t heard from her. While we do not know the reasons why, she wasn’t able to speak and it seemed her vision was minimal at best.

We made the most of our time (through multiple visits), telling stories of the old days, telling her we love her, and prayed for her. She seemed to indicate some responsiveness when we said things like “Amy from America”. We reminisced with a funny story about her bath towel at our house being used to clean up some paint (which wasn’t funny when it happened) and showed some emotion which made us all smile.

Amy fed Isabel her lunch as well as her afternoon tea and with each visit, as Isabel drifted off to sleep we felt it was time to leave.

In Luke 15 (today’s reading) there are three “lost and found” parables. The lost sheep, lost coin, and the prodigal son. Jesus used these parables to teach us how our Father God seeks relationship with us and longs for us to repent and turn back to him when we’ve sinned or gone astray.

26 Then God said, “Let us make man[h] in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

27 So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them. (Genesis 1:26-27)

“It is the soul of man that especially bears God’s image.” (Matthew Henry’s commentary on Genesis 1:27)

Reflecting on Scottish Granny and how we longed to see her again, how we left with some joy in having visited, but with loss in knowing that even while physically close, she seemed very far away. I believe this longing is something that we are pre-programmed with as we were made in the image of God. He seeks us and we were made to seek Him, to seek relationship for the sake of eternity.

What stories in your life reflect Jesus’ call for a relationship with him and The Father, and how will you answer?

In the post published March 3rd, 2019 titled “Clarity given, but faith needed to receive” I shared the story of how our family had planned to serve in Kenya with Goya Ministries. It turned out that our plans weren’t quite what God had in mind.

While we weren’t able to join that trip, we were able to start a relationship with the team who did go. Two of those team members, Roxanna “Roxy” Parker and Wendy Roberts recently stayed with us for a few days at our home in Florence, Italy.

The time spent with these two ladies was a tremendous blessing for our entire family. They cut and styled Amy’s hair, toured Tuscany with us, prayed with and for us, worshiped with us as we attended Eastview online, brought laughter and fulfilling conversation into our home, gave lots of love and attention to our boys who were delighted to have some “America” close by, and most importantly they filled Amy’s “spiritual jar” to the top and provided her with some much-needed girl time.

Our readers can now also benefit from their visit!

When I asked Roxy for some thoughts on today’s reading which is Mark 7:24-30, she promptly responded with words far more powerful than I could ever write. The Holy Spirit is definitely at work here. Thanks Roxy for sharing and for your obedience to His calling!

Here are Roxy’s words, unedited: 

From what I understand of Jesus, I think he may have been trying to test the woman. To remind her of where the world says her place was in society (“get in line, others come first”) and yet she answered back to remind him that even Jesus should know that the very least among us are still seen and are provided for by the Lord (* even the very dogs get the first fruits from the children that eat first in line) The verses share that he was impressed. I find it interesting that she impressed him. Why? Was it her recognition/self awareness of who she is? Or was it her faith? She states that there may be others that come first but the ones last are still fed, simultaneously, under the table of those who are being served first.

This story encourages me that when I feel small and insignificant, I can still remember that the Lord will provide for me exactly what I need even in the midst of what looks like a provision for someone else. Can I have that kind of faith?

To be confident in Jesus to supply my need (even if only a small crumb) instead of looking at how he is giving even more to someone else? I think that Jesus was impressed because she believed that even a crumb from Him would change her life forever. No need for a large helping or a first scoop.

What a challenge to humble myself and have faith like that when I’m tired, hungry or my self-worth looks a lot like last place instead of where I’d like it be: at the front of the line, getting recognized first. Yikes. That’s not an easy task. But I’m encouraged that in God’s economy, everyone gets a seat at the table.