Category: The Journey

A friend of mine tagged me on Facebook on this post. It was written by Rene Cobb Cornette from Harlan, Kentucky. It is spot on. “Where would Jesus be?” she asks and then answers.

Let’s talk about where Jesus would be at in Harlan if he were walking this earth today.

He’d be at the BP and commissary ministering to the people wandering around downtown trying to get their next fix.

He’d be at the carnival in the midst of all the cigarette smokers, with the loud, worldly music playing, ministering to those who are lost.

He’d be under the bridges with the people who’ve lost everything to their drug/alcohol abuse and now have nowhere else to go.

He’d be walking up and down 119 ministering to the women who have resorted to selling their bodies to support their habit. I imagine He would be standing right along side them never giving a second thought to who might be passing by and see Him.

Jesus would be everywhere in Harlan where good, going Christian church folk are scared of being caught. He wouldn’t care about His reputation because like the good Shepherd He is, He wouldn’t stop going after the 1 till they were back home. He’d care about bringing the dead back to life, the addict back to sober and the forsaken back to forgiven.

We talk so much about revival coming to Harlan and this is the thing. Revival in Harlan doesn’t look like a bunch of church people shouting and amening for a few nights in a row. Revival is going to the highway and the hedges. Revival is my four and no more attitudes abandoned. Revival is seeing the lost saved. Revival is repentance. Revival is transformation. Revival is you and it’s me losing our stinky attitudes to those who aren’t living the way we think they should and instead having a heart to see them saved and actually doing something about it. Revival starts with us. What are we doing?

Lord, help us.

Jesus is walking the earth today…in me and in all who claim to follow him.

I became a free Uber Driver and this is a story of one of the benefits.

Several months ago a friend from The Block called and wanted me to come and pick him up and bring him to Terrell so he could hang out with some other friends.  Just so you should know: 1. He lives 32 miles away, 2. He wasn’t coming here to hang out with me, 3. He was bored and unemployed, 4. He was not going to reimburse me for my gas.

Counting the cost, I told him, “Sure, I’ll do it.”  I knew then that this was not going to be a one time thing and I was right.  It seems like every week I end up taking him to or from his house to here.  Some people let me know that he’s taking advantage of me like I don’t already know that.  I’ve known him for over two years and I really like the guy.  Even though he has no intention of hanging with me once I drop him off in town, I do get to visit with him for 30 minutes during the trip.  That becomes my opportunity to get to know him better.  He tells me about his family, his likes and dislikes.  I get to know what he likes to do.  I know a little about what his growing up was like. So in a sense I take advantage of him.

Most of our time is made up of small talk but this past Saturday was a little different.  He called and needed a ride home.  We set up a time and place to pick him up.  Once he was in the car he asked what I thought of the memorial services of Aretha Franklin and John McCain.  This was not going to be our regular type of conversation.  This was going to be a somber and serious talk.

We agreed that it was refreshing that two high profile individuals were remembered by so many diverse people as having lived respectable quality lives.  In a world where negative reputations surround so many, these two stand head and shoulders above most.  They each seemed to have navigated life so well that even those that disagreed with them or criticized them ended up sincerely speaking highly of them.  Everyone knew what it meant to respect them.

Our conversation neatly and comfortably turned to a discussion about the legacy we leave.  What is that will be said about each of us once we die? What will my family say?  Will it be unsupported flattering words because we shouldn’t speak ill of the dead or will it be a true positive picture of our lives and influence?

It became an opportunity for us both to face and reflect on what is it we want said at our funerals.  It became an opportunity to talk about the spiritual and Godly impact we want to leave.  I saw and heard that this caused my friend to consider choices he has made and is making.

He asked, “What do you want said about you?’

I told him my purpose in life is to reveal in action and words The Kingdom that in spite of what happens around me allows me to bring Heaven down to Earth.  I want people to say about me whenever my name comes up, “I believe that Don really believed what he said he believed because he lived what I believe he believed.”

I’ve know this friend for over two and a half years.  We have talked about God and His Son Jesus a number of times but I could tell this was a conversation that flipped a switch within him.  It was the kind of talk that seems to show up every now and then.  It’s neat, comfortable and yet just messy enough to change lives.  Both of us I think parted ways on Saturday a little bit changed by the Lord.  I left my friend in His Hands and trust our Father to continue His work in each of us.

I’ll continue to Uber drive for this kind of payment.

I’m in West Texas with a friend and co-worker this week and we were talking about the terrain out here. It’s flat and non-spectacular in most respects. However, the ground houses a tremendous amount of oil and gas and available to those who are persistent and work hard to get to it. It’s treasure waiting to be found.

It got me thinking about other treasures hidden in the earth and how they seem to be in harsh environments, tough locations to get to, and areas that seem useless in appearance. Yet for those who know that gold, diamonds, silver and jewels are there if you look deep enough, they will reap abundant riches.

Did God purposely hide the most valuable things in these ugly remote places most of us avoid? It is only for the persistent and diligent to find?

Could it be that way with our greatest treasures in people as well? The richest finds for me may be hidden in those that I am not naturally drawn to. The most value for me may come from someone too quiet, too small, not the right looks, not the right economic level for my circle of friends.

Could it be that God has hidden wisdom in those I think foolish and strength in those I think are weak?

Maybe I should go mining more.

I am sitting in the small food court area of Midland International Airport drinking coffee and eating a smores cookie. I am also currently reading a small book by Henri Nouwen, The Return of the Prodigal Son.  The book is only 150 pages and normally would be a quick read by me.  Surprisingly, I have been working on it for about a week.  I read a few pages, think and pray.  It is challenging me in a wonderful way.  It comes with my stamp of approval.

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