“OK, Bob, we know Life is Tough, and It Could be Tougher, but you…you’re on a resort island! Bad shoulder or not, it’s hard to feel sorry for you!” I get it. And I’ve been well aware during all my 2025 challenges, that others have it much worse. That said, when I shared that with a pastor earlier this year, he responded, “But that doesn’t help, does it?”

We are indeed thankful to be with family: left to right: our son-in-law Cody Gifford, our granddaughter Shirah’s boyfriend Mateus, me (with sling!), graduating granddaughter Shirah, our daughter Melody, and June. We’re fresh off the plane, paying a quick visit to Shirah’s senior prom.

Melody and Cody are moving to a house right on the coast. They used to live in West Bay (upper left on this map), and the new house is where my picture is.

Melody’s new house is, indeed, right on the coast as you can see from this picture out their living room window:

The one thing the pictures don’t show is that it’s HOT! Especially if you’re from Colorado. When we got off the plane, despite having grown up in South Carolina and living 12 years in Montgomery, Alabama, I had forgotten that there are places this hot in the world! And FYI, just because most places are air-conditioned, doesn’t mean all places are or that one is always in air-conditioned space!

For example, we visited the Botanical Gardens where we met several iguana living in the wild.

Back to more serious topics tomorrow…

They shall lift up their voice, they shall sing; For the majesty of the LORD They shall cry aloud from the sea. Therefore glorify the LORD in the dawning light, The name of the LORD God of Israel in the coastlands of the sea. (Isaiah 24.15, 16, NKJV)

“Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles. He will not cry out, nor raise His voice, Nor cause His voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed He will not break, And smoking flax He will not quench; He will bring forth justice for truth. He will not fail nor be discouraged, Till He has established justice in the earth; And the coastlands shall wait for His law.” (Isaiah 42. 1 – 5, NKJV)

I recently sent out an email updating folks on my shoulder issue and travels, similar to yesterday’s Life Is Tough blog. I had a stunning response from my hero Rich Kagel, whom I’ve written about before. Please refresh your memory on Rich’s conversion and his mission to provide clean water to Guinea Bissau.

Writing with my attack from two neighborhood dogs in mind as well as his own recent trip to West Africa, Rich wrote:

Several recent nights, I walked to my grass covered bungalow in West Africa, late at night through a dark but busy neighborhood followed by navigating through jungle trails with my tiny flashlight. Along the way, my path included so many dogs running out ready to intimidate, or worse, most of the pigs and goats were already in bed but there were other obstacles popping up unexpectedly. In the jungle, there was a different set of surprises to engage my worries. 

In the far past, whistling was my go to for these kind of experiences. But the 23rd psalm is now my new one – I lack nothing. Bob, you lack nothing too!

“You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies.”

Surrounded by my enemies, my fears, those freaking dogs, the black mambas, the weird huge spiders, the shame I experience way too much, the ice pick like pain in my right knee, the medicine that’s not working anymore, my enemies, all around me, and You invited me to dinner with You, God, you prepared a table, because with You, I lack nothing and You and I will have a lovely dinner, together, safe in your hands! 

“Bob, you lack nothing, too! God prepares a table before you in the presence of your enemies.” And Rich’s enemies seem a bit more formidable than mine, including the deadly black mamba snake and huge spiders!

And speaking of travels, I’m not in the wilds of Africa, I’m on Grand Cayman Island…stay tuned.

The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. (Psalm 23.1, 5, NIV)

Or, “Here we go again…” I’m into my second health issue of the year. After nearly two months of intermittent pain with my prostate, I felt good as of late March. Then, May 2, the shoulder acts up. With difficulty, we’ve made it to Grand Cayman Island, where our daughter and family live, teaching music in an international school. We’re here for granddaughter Shirah’s high school graduation. Not a good time for me to be incapacitated…

But read the Psalms! David was always going from one calamity to another. And often, all he could do was wait for God’s deliverance.

Truly my soul silently waits for God; From Him comes my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be greatly moved…

My soul, wait silently for God alone, For my expectation is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be moved. In God is my salvation and my glory; The rock of my strength, And my refuge, is in God.(Psalm 62.1, 2, 5 – 7, NKJV)

And David’s counsel is simple:

Trust in Him at all times, you people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Selah (Psalm 62.8, NKJV)

God is our refuge. Therefore, trust and pray.

Sometimes, that’s all we can do.

Back to the Psalms and our reading plan, I’ve been meditating on an image from Psalm 58 that I can’t get out of my mind:

The wicked are estranged from the womb; They go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies. Their poison is like the poison of a serpent; They are like the deaf cobra that stops its ear, Which will not heed the voice of charmers, Charming ever so skillfully. (Psalm 58.3 – 5, NKJV)

Like a deaf cobra…

That’s a great picture. The charmer may be fantastic, but his flute can’t charm a deaf cobra.

So many applications…

He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’ ” (Luke 16.31, ESV)

The word is there, but the unbelievers are deaf.

And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 4.3 – 6, ESV)

The light is there, but the unbelievers are blind.

I wonder if the deaf cobra metaphor also applies to the message of relational disciple-making. It doesn’t matter how skillfully I present the message if the pastors and church leaders are deaf to it.

Compare also the parable of the sower. It doesn’t matter how good the seed is if the environment isn’t right. Hard soil is like a deaf cobra.

Or maybe it applies to the average church member, deaf to what the church is trying to help them do. I wrote Saturday about communicating real expectations. However, we can’t expect that any efforts will reach ALL the people… Just the remnant, maybe. Some people are like deaf cobras.

And he said, “Go, and say to this people: “ ‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.” (Isaiah 6.9, 10, ESV)

It’s Memorial Day, and I can’t do better than reprise what I posted last year, including quotes from my former pastor, Dr. John Ed Mathison, and Peggy Noonan…

John Ed wrote in his blog three years ago:

We can casually sit back and enjoy backyard barbecues, boat rides, and beach bashes, but the meaning of Memorial Day is that almost 1.5 million men and women have died so that you and I might enjoy our freedoms. We look to Thanksgiving as a day when we pause to give thanks for the things that we have. Memorial Day is a day when we pause to give thanks to the people who fought and died for the things we have. – Dr. John Ed Mathison, May 25, 2022

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. (John 15.13, ESV)

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5.6 – 8, ESV)

PS Peggy Noonan wrote a really nice piece, Teach Your Children to Love America, published March 25, 2024, in the Wall Street Journal. I recommend the article in its entirety. Here’s a brief snippet:

You have to start kids out with love. Irony and detachment will come soon enough, but start with love, if only to give them a memory of how that felt.

I’ve spent the past few days reading an old book, one that couldn’t possibly be published today because it’s so full of respect for America. “Manual of Patriotism: For Use in the Public Schools of the State of New York,” runs 461 pages of text and was published in 1900. The flag that illustrates this column is from its frontispiece.

The manual was written after the Legislature passed an 1898 law requiring public schools to display the American flag and “encourage patriotic exercises.” Organized veterans of the Civil War and of the Women’s Relief Corps, who were nurses on the battlefield, pushed for it to “awaken in the minds and hearts of the young” an “appreciation” for “the great deeds” of their nation.

Memorial Day meant a lot to those old veterans, but more was needed. Their generation was passing; they’d given everything to hold the nation together; they wanted the young to understand why.

Unsaid but between the lines: America at the turn of the 20th century was being engulfed by waves of immigrants; they too needed to understand what America is and means to be, so they would love it too.

…

The manual includes a lot of opinions on historical events. One I liked was the assertion that the Civil War ended the day Ulysses S. Grant was buried in 1885. Why? Because America saw who his pallbearers were: “Johnston and Buckner on one side of his bier, and Sherman and Sheridan upon the other.” The first two were generals of the Confederate army, the last two of the Union Army. Henry Ward Beecher wrote that their marching Grant to his tomb was “a silent symbol that liberty had conquered slavery, and peace war.”

You come away from that vignette thinking not only “what men,” but “what a country” that could tear itself in two, murder itself, forgive itself, go on.

Parents, help your children love this country. It will be good for them, and more to the point this country deserves it.

Also when you don’t love something you lose it. We don’t want that to happen. – Peggy Noonan, Wall Street Journal, May 25, 2024

Peter wrote:

I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder… (2 Peter 1.13, ESV)

I was talking recently with a staff pastor at a large church who is concerned that “We can put on an excellent Sunday morning service, but what have we called them to do?” It’s a good question, because, as I wrote yesterday, how many people attend church is not nearly as important as what they do as a result of that attendance.

After reflection, I suggested that the over-arching question might be:

What would we do as church leadership if we really wanted and expected people to implement what we’re teaching?

Hence, not one question, but three:

• What did we call them to today?
• How can we help people do what we called them to do?
• How can we follow up to see how well they’re doing it?

I don’t know all the answers for his church or any other church, but some intentional thought by the leadership should yield some actionable steps. But it all starts with, as I wrote, our really wanting and expecting people to take action.

I used to teach mathematics to adults seeking a degree in computer science. I discovered that they really loved to watch me do mathematics. “Wow. Can that Dr. Bob do mathematics! It’s fantastic.” That, of course, was not the objective. The objective was that they learn to do mathematics. For that, they had to actually take out their books and work problem 2 on page 117. I assigned problems, helped them through them, and tested them to be sure they got the concepts. If the expectation is there – on the part of the teacher AND the students – then we can figure out the means. And the means will always include more than a stand-up lecture, no matter how good it is.

For example, maybe the adult Sunday School classes, taught by gifted and knowledgeable teachers for sure, should devote at least a few minutes to reinforcing the content and application of the sermon. Otherwise, people are hearing two independent lectures, both of which can be ignored.

If there are home groups, we have an excellent environment to help each other understand what the pastor is calling us to do and figure out some ways to do it.

In short, where are the relational opportunities to communicate, “We really want you to do this stuff. How can we help?”

Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. (Colossians 1.28, ESV)

But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine.

• Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness.
• Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train
• the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.
• Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled. (Titus 2.1 – 6, ESV, bulleted for clarity)

Yesterday, I wrote about participation and suggested that some churches don’t seem to be tapping into today’s participation culture. Here’s an example: World Magazine recently shared a report from Lifeway:

A recent report from Lifeway Research found the Southern Baptist Convention’s membership declined for the 18th consecutive year in 2024. The SBC lost 259,824 members, a 2% drop. Its total membership was 12,722,266 at the end of the year, the report said.

The denomination also lost 30 churches in 2024…

Any good news for the SBC? The denomination reported that 250,643 individuals were baptized in 2024—the highest annual total since 2017. The ratio of baptisms to members also improved, rising to 1:51 last year from 1:57 in 2023. In-person church attendance also rose by 6.3%, up to 4,304,625 each week.

I’m trying to make sense of these numbers: if the SBC has 12.7M members, how is it good news that weekly church attendance is up to 4.3M, about a third? What are some lessons?

• Membership doesn’t seem to come with a lot of expectations.
• One author, I think Thom Ranier, said that the solution was to make membership requirements clear. I think the solution is to make the services so compelling that more people would want to come.
• Another solution might be training so that people better understand the service/sermon. It would be interesting to do a study on what people carry away from a sermon. Clearly, if they are discipled Jesus followers, they will get more from a sermon, especially if they’re given the text in advance.
• Of course, how many people attend church is not nearly as important as what they do as a result of that attendance. More on that tomorrow.

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. (James 1.22, ESV)

Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it. (Matthew 7.24 – 27, ESV)

I’m haunted by something Seth Godin wrote a few weeks ago:

The skeptics said that people wanted to watch videos, not make them. Nearly everyone with a phone is now a self-published media creator. The combination of production tools and free distribution has completely upended the media, which in turn has upended the culture.

65,000,000 people have uploaded a video to YouTube. In 1980, there were 8 movie studios actively producing mass market movies. – Seth Godin, May 6, 2025

In other words, it’s becoming a participation culture. I’m wondering how to tap into that kind of participation and creativity in the church, which has evolved so far to be a passive activity, “people who watch videos, not make them.” People who “go to church” – a finite number of churches, a place where one goes to see something put on for them, a worship experience, perhaps. But the real energy of the Kingdom is ALL the people participating.

Now those who were scattered after the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to no one but the Jews only. But some of them were men from Cyprus and Cyrene, who, when they had come to Antioch, spoke to the Hellenists, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord. (Acts 11.19 – 21, NKJV)

The Church at Antioch, the church that sent out Paul and Silas in Acts 13, was founded by laymen who didn’t wait for permission! More to follow tomorrow…stay tuned.

We start this week with Psalm 57, which repeats this sentiment twice:

Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; Let Your glory be above all the earth. (Psalm 57.5, 11, NKJV)

Under what conditions did David write this? Yep. He was under attack…again:

To the Chief Musician. Set to “Do Not Destroy.” A Michtam of David When He Fled from Saul into the Cave. (Psalm 57, Introduction, NKJV)

And the rest is a prayer…

Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me! For my soul trusts in You; And in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge, Until these calamities have passed by. I will cry out to God Most High, To God who performs all things for me. He shall send from heaven and save me; He reproaches the one who would swallow me up.

Selah [Just means “Think about it,” remember?]

God shall send forth His mercy and His truth. (Psalm 57.1 – 4, NKJV)

…and praise:

My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and give praise. Awake, my glory! Awake, lute and harp! I will awaken the dawn. I will praise You, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing to You among the nations. For Your mercy reaches unto the heavens, And Your truth unto the clouds. (Psalm 57.7 – 10, NKJV)

“God will send forth his mercy and his truth…For your mercy reaches unto the heavens, and your truth unto the clouds.” Mercy AND truth. Both. Some of us need to learn to temper truth with mercy. Others need to make sure that they don’t sacrifice truth on the altar of mercy.

For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. (John 1.17, ESV)

Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ… (Ephesians 4.15, ESV)

Sunday’s blog, Gifted and Talented?, pointed out that it’s not talent, it’s hard work – TRAINING – that leads to extraordinary performance.

My son, Mark, the competitive stair racer, sent me a quote from Once a Runner by John L. Parker. I posted it as a comment, but most readers won’t see it there. It’s worth a separate blog:

What was the secret, they wanted to know; in a thousand different ways they wanted to know The Secret. And not one of them was prepared, truly prepared, to believe that it had not so much to do with chemicals and zippy mental tricks as with that most unprofound and sometimes heart-rending process of removing, molecule by molecule, the very tough rubber that comprised the bottoms of his training shoes. The Trial of Miles; Miles of Trials. How could they be expected to understand that? – From Once a Runner by John L. Parker

The Apostle Paul understood it, as we shared in the original blog:

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified. (1 Corinthians 9.24 – 27, ESV)