I had a new experience today. I was the transport for a group to the airport in Salt Lake City UT today. I took the first group at 5:45 AM for a 7 AM flight. Our flight was at 7:55 so we had plenty of time to return to the hotel for the next crew. We arrived at the airport at 7 AM and I dropped off Brandon Barker to go ahead and pick up our boarding passes. There was a long line at the rental drop-off and I started to get a little antsy. Brandon called to let me know that he could not get my boarding pass, but there was no line and he did not have any problems. I arrived at the desk about 3 minutes later and tried to check in. I was informed that the flight was closed and that I would have to take another flight later that day. On top of that, I was informed that I was the lucky winner of being completely checked for security. That means from head to toe, with little puffs of air and my bags completely emptied and checked. If you have never experienced this, just let me say that it is not a quick process. I insisted that there was room and time and that my travel partner was on that flight and we had a ride from Omaha to Des Moines together. No matter how I pleaded, there was no way that they were going to give me a boarding pass. The flight was leaving and I was not going to be a part of it! In the midst of the frustration, I was reminded that we do not always get what we expect and think we deserve. I believed that I was doing he right thing in getting up early and not making my friends take the shuttle. I went back and picked up the rest of the team and did not make them get up early and wait at the airport. I dropped off people so that they would not have to walk so far with their luggage. I was sure that my travel companion would be able to get me to the gate. Alas, in the end, I was left behind.

There are many parallels to our spiritual journey. You need a boarding pass to get into heaven and Jesus Christ is the only one that can issue that pass. We all to have to pass a security check that is complete, and Jesus has covered all the check points for us, because we could not pass it on our own. No matter how many good things you have done, how many times you helped others; these good deeds will not get you on the plane. You cannot depend on your traveling companions to get you on. This journey is your alone and you need your own ticket. There will be no excuses or free passes.

I was thankful that I still made it home. It was much later, but never the less, home. I had a lot of time to thank God that my eternal destiny is more secure than my plane ticket home. My prayer for you is that you are just as sure of your journey into eternity.

Valentine’s Day…a day to celebrate love, enjoy sweet chocolate, and sugar candy. As long lines go out the doors of card stores, we pause to remember those we love. Our expressions of love vary from little candy hearts and chocolate, to over-priced roses. The message, however, remains the same, “I love you! Will you love me, too?”

I am reminded of a special Valentine love that has been expressed to each one of us. This week I have reveled and danced in the love of my Savior– Jesus. The picture He gives us in Ephesians 5:25-27 is a great picture of what true love really is! This love is marked by several things:

1. His love always gives. He gave Himself for us. He was not centered on Himself but His focus was on us. He was willing to take all of our sin and the agony of God’s wrath in order that we could be one with Him. This is a love that gives until it hurts!
2. His love always completes us. There was no possible way for us to complete ourselves — to become holy and blameless. Christ did that for us. When we were dead in our sins, Christ died that we might have life. This life that comes from Jesus is what makes us complete. He passionately desires to see us complete in Him!
3. His love is designed to awaken the beauty that is hidden within us. Without the love of Jesus, we do not have the inner beauty that sets us apart. We cannot help but feel worthless and unlovely. Our sin nature destroys any of God’s beauty that we may feel. Jesus’ love awakens our inner beauty that comes from his transforming power. We are beautiful in His love!

So on this Valentine’s Day, remember that you are loved. Christ’s love for you goes so deep that it cost Him everything. God’s love for us is so deep that it cost Him his relationship with His son for a time. The Holy Spirit’s love goes so deep that it transforms us from the inside out! That is, without question, our “Sacred Valentine.”

Happy Valentine’s Day!

This year it seems as if we have been fighting more colds and illnesses in our family. Recently our ten-year old daughter, Naomi, came down with a case of chicken pox. She had been inoculated against chicken pox years ago. This inoculation is supposed to keep her from getting the illness. It does this by injecting a weakened form of the illness into the body so that we develop immunity to the disease. This immunity keeps from getting the full dose of the disease that will take over our whole body.

As I thought about this, it occurred to me that this may be the case in our Christian lives. We often have just enough of an immature view of Christianity that we become immune to any further growth. We are happy enough with our life that we never fully become infected with the life of Jesus Christ or the power of the Holy Spirit in us.

In 2 Chronicles 15 we see an all-out infection of the Spirit of God through King Asa. The nation fully committed themselves to following the Word of God and reform spread throughout the country. Verse 15 states, “They sought God eagerly and fully, and He was found by them.” Their infection brought spiritual renewal and peace to a war-torn nation all the days of Asa’s reign.

I desire to see Westwind as an infectious body of Christ-followers. I am not satisfied with just enough truth to get us to heaven, but an all-out infection of God and His Word that will transform individuals, families and culture itself. I believe this infection will bring authenticity to relationships and a passion to live a missional life for Christ. Let’s not be inoculated to truth, let’s be infected!

John 1:11: “And He came to His own and His own did not receive Him.”

Our family has a long standing tradition of having “White Elephant” gift parties at Christmas. Here’s what a “white elephant” gift is. It is something that:

1. You once used but no longer need;
2. Something that you thought you might use but never did;
3. Something that was useful but now is outdated, broken, and can’t be fixed;
4. Something you never wanted in the first place!

During the process of finding that perfect white elephant gift, you discover the “gem” of a gift, wrap it up and try to give it away to someone else. That gift becomes the reject! Or maybe, just perhaps, they will want it and even use it. They will find great value in something that seems of no use to you– kind of like the “island of misfits” from the Christmas story, “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer.”

As I pondered our white elephant gift party this year, I was reminded of what John said in his account of Jesus. “He cam as a gift to His own people, and they rejected Him.” Jesus was a “white elephant” when He came to earth the first time. He didn’t come in a pretty package, but he did come as a gift. I also noted that many today hold Jesus as a white elephant gift. They needed Him at one time, but no longer need Him. They thought they might need Him, but decided their way was better — that perhaps, He was outdated, not relevant for today. He is antiquated and broken, shoved into a “closet,” so it is now time to discard Him. These are those who have just rejected the very idea of Jesus in the first place. So you see, Jesus was a “white elephant” when He came the first time, and He remains one for many today.

I am also reminded by what John says just a few sentences later, “To everyone who receives this precious gift, God gives them the privilege of becoming His precious child—forever.” As you spend the holidays with friends and family, take a moment to think about where Jesus is on your gift list — not for what you will give Him, but for how you have received Him.

The next generation of Jesus followers will realize and embrace Jesus for what He is; a precious gift that will transform their everyday lives into an adventure that has eternal value. He becomes a greater cause to live for and to die for. He alone is the catalyst for a life worth living.