Looking to the Future

[lookingotthefuture]

Whose Side Are You On?

,Whose side are you on? I forgot the importance of that question. Today, as on many days, I struggle to make sense of my sin. I have a good life. I want for nothing essential. God has blessed me beyond my expectations. I am not rich by worldly standards, but I am rich enough. And yet I struggle much the way Paul did. The Challenge I have returned from a very trying trip to Honduras. The people…

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Heroes vs. Survivors

Heroes vs. survivors. We don’t grow up wanting to be just survivors. I think most of us grow up wanting to be heroes because heroes are simple. HEROES Heroes leap over tall buildings. They rescue people from burning buildings. They charge into battle as swelling music plays behind them. Their victories are clear and decisive. The credits roll, and everyone knows who saved the day. Real life…

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God Never Intended Us to Stay the Same

God Never Intended for us to Stay the Same. Many Christians can point to the moment they accepted Christ. They remember the day, the place, and the circumstances. It marked the beginning of a relationship that changed their eternal future. Yet for many believers, that is where the story seems to stop. Dallas Willard once described what he called “Vampire Christians.” These are people who want the…

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Another Year

Another year, another Birthday has arrived. Preparation for old age should begin no later than one’s teens. A life that is empty of purpose until 65 will not suddenly become filled upon retirement. – Dwight L. Moody At 76, I have gained something many people never do: perspective. Not because life has been easy, but because I have stayed engaged with it. I have seen success and disappointment,…

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A Tree Does Not Hear Its Own Growth.

A tree does not hear its own growth resonates because it captures something deeply true about human experience. GROWTH Growth is usually silent as it happens. A tree does not hear the deepening of its roots, the thickening of its trunk, or the widening of its branches. It simply continues to respond to sunlight, storms, drought, seasons, and time. Only years later does someone stand in its shade…

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Buried but Not Forgotten

Buried but not forgotten, I was asked today to join a panel to discuss one of the most painful events of my life. The purpose is noble: to help others understand pain, survival, and the hidden struggles people carry. We go through these stages to refine ourselves and become more human in our interactions with others. We live in a broken world where pain is an inevitable part of our lives. Because…

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Opportunity: The Unrecognized Path from Poverty

The unrecognized path out of poverty isn’t education or money; it’s opportunity. I have spent a significant amount of time in developing nations. In many of these places, illiteracy is common—not because people lack intelligence or motivation, but because their environment rarely requires reading or writing. Access to written materials, digital tools, and formal systems is limited. Life centers…

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Measuring Pupose

Measuring Purpose. A tree does not hear the sound of its own growth. That was a very clear message to me. I am analytical to a fault. Plan your work, work your plan, should be on my family crest. I think what I experience is something many people feel: a deep need to know if we are living our intended purpose. Ephesians 2:10, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works,…

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What Does it Mean to be Alive?

What does it mean to be alive? Is being alive the same as living? If you have breath in your lungs, why? God created you for greatness. Are you living up to God’s intent for you? Isaiah 49:15-16, “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion for the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your…

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What Was There Before?

The basic question one asks when seeking God is: what was there before? As humans with limited knowledge and finite experience, we struggle to grasp something that has no beginning or end. Our minds are wired for sequence—before and after, cause and effect, start and finish. Everything we have ever known fits within that framework. So when we turn our attention to the universe, we instinctively…

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Love, Loss, and What Remains

Love, Loss, and What Remains. Sometimes, for reasons I don’t always understand, life doesn’t just disappoint—it crashes. Not the hardship we expect or prepare for, but the kind that divides everything into before and after. A moment arrives—a phone call, a diagnosis, a goodbye you didn’t know was final—and life as you knew it vanishes. What follows is not noise but silence. A black silence.…

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Overworked and Underpaid

“We are overworked and underpaid.” Every generation says it. My grandfather said it, my father said it, I’ve said it, and now my daughter says it too. The language changes, the economy shifts, and jobs look different—but the feeling remains the same. Life often feels like a constant effort just to keep up. There is always more to do, more expected, and rarely enough reward to match the…

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The Echo of a Life: Why Being “Someone” Is About Lasting Impact

The Echo of a life: wanting to be someone. Most people don’t mean that in a public sense. They don’t need fame or recognition. What they want is quieter yet deeper—to be part of something meaningful enough that their existence leaves a trace. That “trace” might be a business, a child, a transformed life, a solved problem, or simply a life lived with integrity. There is a drive within us that…

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The Legacy of Hanson Gregory

Few people know the name Hanson Gregory. Hanson Gregory (1832–1921) was an American sailor credited with inventing the ring-shaped doughnut by adding a hole to its center. We eat donuts at a surprising rate, but almost no one knows who first thought of the idea. This illustrates the core concept of the eternal echo. One person’s effort influences millions, maybe billions, of people, yet hardly…

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The Good Son, A Warning

The good son—do you even know who I am talking about? Luke 15:11-32 is a parable Jesus taught about a lost, wayward son who finds redemption through a good father. The story is often taught in Sunday school and is the subject of many sermons and commentaries. The focus of most of these teachings is on how the prodigal son squandered his inheritance, was redeemed by a loving father, and was…

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At Some Point, We all Need a Miracle.

At some point, we all need a miracle. That isn’t a sign of weakness; it’s part of being human. Sometimes life pushes us so hard that we finally see what has always been true: we were never meant to carry everything alone. “One genuine miracle equals a thousand sermons.” — Angus Buchan Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm…

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Part Three: Finishing Faithfully

In my three-quarters of a century, I have noticed that a life that ends well rarely happens by chance. It results from thousands of small decisions made over many years. Knowing who you are is crucial. Acting on opportunities as they come is just as vital. But there is one more trait that distinguishes people who start strong from those who finish strong. They endure. The Christian life was never…

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