Monthly Archives: January 2010

I have something you need to hear, but sinners only please.

If you are not a sinner, just go ahead and skip to the ending. This chapter does not apply to you. If you are a sinner, keep reading.

My mother believed in keeping EVERYTHING of mine when I was a child. Toys, clothes, pictures and school work occupied multiple containers in my parent’s garage. In the summer of 2009, My parents decided to clean out their garage and, you guessed it, all that stuff of mine was returned back to its original owner (whether I wanted it or not). As I filtered through the boxes of artifacts, I found an ancient masterpiece. A picture I had colored when I was in kindergarten. A white page with a thick black outline of a puppy in the middle. The puppy was colored with a red crayon. I use the term “colored” loosely, because it appeared I had a seizure while coloring that page. The technique was anything but neat and it was clear I did not understand the concept of coloring within the lines.

A simple concept really, here is the line … do not cross it. Is it really that simple? Especially when the lines apply to our lives. Move the lines from the sheet of paper and they become things like the trust of a friend, vows in a marriage, care for our bodies and honoring GOD. Coloring a picture has now become life’s major decisions. But I want to point out that the concept is still the same. Here is the line … do not cross it.

The trust of a friend … do not soil it.

The vows in a marriage … do not break them.

Caring for your body … do not misuse it.

Honoring your GOD … do not disgrace HIM.

Hear this. Crossing the line is a choice. You choose to stay within the lines or cross over them. That choice can mean the difference between blessings and banes.

A very emotionally broken drug addict sat in my office, confessing to burglary and prostitution. She blamed her situation on family, friends, the economy, even her lack of a job. But her situation was a result of her own choices. She knew where the line was and chose to cross over it. She chose to associate with friends who abuse drugs, she chose to abuse drugs, she chose to steal money instead of earn it. She could have made a different choice anywhere along that path and changed the direction of her life. But she chose not to change.

“I choose to sin.” That sounded pretty bad, didn’t it. It’s true. When temptation or situation knocks, you choose whether to open the door or lock it.

Is it really that easy? Choose not to sin?

I’m going to try it. I’ll let you know …

Makes sense to me … to invoke the help of the ONE who created everything and can do anything. If any could help you, HE could, right? Tragically our country seems to be moving away from this line of thought. For the worst of reasons … compromise.

Trijicon, Inc. is a Michigan based company that produces state-of-the-art combat targeting systems for small arms weapons. Their equipment is the best of the best, and that’s what you want when your life depends on it. I know! I’m a cop. I use their equipment every day. I’m not the only one, Trijicon has a $660 Million dollar contract with the U.S. Marines and U.S. Army to provide the same equipment to troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. those troops deserve the best of the best. But that relationship was in jeopardy this past week.

The Muslim Public Affairs Council’s director Salam Al-Marayati called on Defense Secretary Robert Gates to withdraw from combat use all weapons of the U.S. Military that used a Trijicon sighting system. It was discovered that Trijicon was inscribing biblical references next to the serial number on all their sighting systems. Immediately following the serial number, in letters no bigger than two centimeters, where “2COR4:6″ or “JN8:12″.

Al-Marayati said, “Allowing religious references to be placed on U.S. weaponry, which are bought and paid for by U.S. taxpayers, is unacceptable. Such inscriptions not only run afoul of the Constitution and U.S. military rules, but they also feed into the violent extremists’ narrative the the ongoing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are a ‘crusade against Islam.’ “

2 Corinthians 4:6 reads, “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”

John 8:12 reads, “When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, ‘I am the light of world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’ ”

The Department of Defense was considering termination of the Trijicon contract over the complaint. Trijicon was forced into a difficult decision. In order to keep their state-of-the-art sighting systems in the hands of the guys who need them, Trijicon voluntarily offered to stop inscribing the references on the sights and offered free modification kits to remove the inscriptions from the systems already in the field.

Trijicon CEO Stephen Binder made the statement, “As part of our faith and our belief in service to our country, Trijicon has put scripture references on our products for more than two decades. As long as we have men and women in danger, we will continue to do everything we can to provide them with both state-of-the-art technology and never ending support and prayers of a grateful nation.” (emphasis mine)

I applaud Trijicon for placing scripture references on their products. They are truly doing everything they can to help us fight the battles we fight. Not only are they making reliable and hi-tech equipment, they are also calling on GOD to shine his light in the darkness we are fighting in. By placing those references on their equipment, they are saying …

“So help me GOD.”

“People will hate you, shut you out, insult you, and say you are evil because you follow the Son of Man. But when they do, you will be happy. Be full of joy at that time, because you have a great reward waiting for you in heaven. Their ancestors did the same thing to the prophets.” (Luke 6:22-23 NCV)

While exploring the yard, my youngest son Brady (5) found an old toy police car. I remembered the toy car from when I first gave it to him. I’m sure every parent could relate to the story. Brady and I were in a local retail pharmacy store and he saw this key chain with a toy police car dangling on the end. The toy was small , shiny and had a real LED light on top that flashed red when you pressed a button. This toy quickly became his temporary obsession. You could imagine the ordeal that followed. Brady’s sole survival depended on me buying that toy car for him.

So I did.

He loved that car and took it with him everywhere. Until one day, it was gone. Lost. Probably devoured by the black hole at the bottom of the toy box … with my spare set of car keys. We searched for it, but came up toy-less.

Time passed until one day … the toy car was found in the yard

Time and the elements had their way with the lost toy. It no longer resembled the small shiny toy we remembered. It was rusted inside and out with dirt where the windows used to be. The LED on top was broken and the rubber was completely gone from the tiny wheels. By definition, it was BUSTED.

In fact, the only thing that remained intact was Brady’s love for that toy car. He brought it to me with the same excitement he had when he first saw it in the store. “Dad, look what I found!” It was hard for me to find the same excitement, looking at the rusted carcass of the once functional toy.

“Daddy, can you wash this off for me?” It was an odd request for sure. Did he really want to play this rusted car? It looked more like a health hazard than a play toy.

“Lets throw this one away,” I said to Brady. “It’s broken and dirty.”

Brady was insistent with his request for a car wash. “No daddy, you just need to wash it off and it’ll be better.” Brady sincerely believed the toy was repairable, even though I didn’t see it that way. He saw that toy with a different set of eyes. His argument was strong and passionate.

I washed the toy.

The reunion was grand. It was like the toy was brand new, at least in Brady’s eyes. Boy and beloved toy together again. Just like it used to be.

In your mind’s eye, picture this scene in a heavenly throne room. GOD and JESUS, Father and Son, are troubled. Their most-loved creation, skillfully made in their image, has become lost. They glean a smile, remembering the day they created man and woman. But tears fall as they realize that sin has taken it’s toll on their loved creation and it has become dirty and broken.

Then JESUS brings you to GOD saying, “Dad, look what I found! This one just needs to be washed and it’ll be better.” Jesus seeks you and when He finds you, He sees you through a different set of eyes … the eyes of a savior. Jesus sincerely believes that you are repairable. His argument to the Father is strong and passionate.

So, GOD washes you … forever. The reunion will be grand!

Just like it used to be…