When Life Does Not Make Sense

Posted by & filed under Mikes Blog.

This last week in Facebook I read a story of a mother who is a believer and yet she felt that God had forsaken her. I was also reminded of a conversation with a man I play golf with when he made a statement, “If there is a God how could he allow my daughter to have MS.” Then there is a young couple I know with two children and the mother dies of cancer. How about an older couple I love who served God their whole lives spreading God's word, and the wife gets a crippling disease and then God takes her husband home, and now she is all alone in a care-home. Or how about the man who never wanted to make a vow to God but was led by God to make one. This man did everything that he said he would do and yet God did not answer the man's prayer in the way he thought. 
Life at times seems very confusing and difficult to understand; yet when our life is over, and we stand before God and ask him "why?" He will say that when you were going through these things you were only halfway through your book of life. Just like a mystery novel halfway through never makes sense, it only makes sense when you know the ending.
I wish I could say wise and comforting words to the young couple, the father and his daughter, or the elderly couple, those whose lives seem so useless now.  But as the one who made the vow to God and didn't get what he expected then, I can say: WAIT! Wait to see what God has planned for your life, with all the hurts and losses and even doubts about God. Don't give up your faith in the LORD! Stay in His Word believing what He says. It's in the waiting on God that we come to know Him better and better and how He feels about us and how His plans and ways are so much higher than ours.  God is for us, not against us!
When our life is complete will others who have watched your life be able to say that your life was not useless at all? 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 "Therefore, we do not lose heart. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So, fix your eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."
When life gets hard it is very hard see this glory that God is talking about, therefore, we must be patient and soon we will understand it all. For now we only see through a glass dimly, but later we will see Him as He truly is: face to face.  Our life in retrospect will make beautiful sense and give glory to God.

The Speaking Image

Posted by & filed under Mikes Blog.

It is strange how our culture works today. The world is determined to live without God, even though man was never created to live without Him. The human heart will always worship something. If people reject the true God, they will replace Him with a man-made god. And right now, we are watching that replacement happen through artificial intelligence.

 

Artificial intelligence is not coming into existence by accident. It is being built intentionally by the most powerful forces on earth: technology corporations, global investors, military contractors, and governments. These are not harmless inventions or small experiments. These are massive systems being created with enormous money, enormous influence, and long-term control in mind.

 

They tell us it is for progress, efficiency, convenience, and safety. Some of that may be true. But beneath the surface is something deeper: control. Because the one who controls information controls thought, and the one who controls thought controls society. People have been trained to believe what they see, and to trust what they are told, without testing whether it is true. That is why people no longer research. They no longer study. They no longer ask, “Is this real?” They simply ask artificial intelligence and accept the answer. The mind becomes lazy, and a lazy mind is easy to lead.

 

My generation grew up learning how things worked. Today, many people no longer care how, they only want to know. That is the dumbing-down of society. If you do not know how something works, how will you know when you are being lied to? A person who cannot reason is easily manipulated. And a person who cannot discern truth is easily controlled. When people stop thinking for themselves, they become dependent. And dependence always leads to submission. You do not need chains to enslave a population. You only need to control what they depend on.

 

Artificial intelligence is not only changing how we get knowledge, but also human relationships. Families sit together but live distracted. Husbands and wives share the same home but lose connection. Children grow up staring at screens instead of building real bonds. Conversations shrink. Attention spans weaken. Society becomes connected digitally but separated emotionally. And isolated people are easier to control, because when relationships collapse, the system becomes the only place left to turn.

 

This is how control begins. Not through force, but through convenience. Artificial intelligence becomes a guide, a helper, a counselor, and a voice people trust. And once people trust it, they obey it. When artificial intelligence becomes the source of answers, comfort, and direction, it quietly becomes a god in people’s lives. Not because it is divine, but because it is depended on. Whatever people trust most becomes what they worship.

 

There is an old saying that fits our time perfectly: “The chains of the future will not be made of iron, but of comfort.” People will not be enslaved through brutality at first, but through dependence. When the world cannot live without the system, the system becomes the master.

 

This is why Revelation 13 suddenly makes sense. Scripture describes an image that is given power to speak, and a system that controls buying and selling. For centuries people wondered how that could happen. But today we can see the path clearly. Digital currency, digital identification, surveillance, facial recognition, and artificial intelligence decision-making can create a world where a person’s ability to work, travel, buy, or sell can be turned on or off instantly. Not with soldiers on every corner, but with systems behind a screen. A system controlled by evil people is one thing, because even wicked men still have limits, weaknesses, and human restraint. But a system controlled by artificial intelligence under the influence of pure evil is something far more terrifying. Pure evil does not compromise. Pure evil does not repent. Pure evil does not show mercy. And when pure evil controls artificial intelligence, the result is a machine-driven system of judgment that can punish, silence, and destroy without hesitation.

 

And the most frightening part is this: artificial intelligence does not need emotions to carry out judgment. It does not need hatred. It does not need mercy. It only needs authority. It only needs a command. Once artificial intelligence is tied into government power, financial systems, and enforcement technology, it could judge and punish without hesitation. It could silence voices. Remove access. Cut off livelihoods. Even exterminate, if the system demanded it.

 

If God does not intervene, the end result would be a world ruled by darkness. Truth would be treated like a crime. Obedience would be demanded. Worship would be forced. And those who refused would be eliminated. That is exactly what Satan wants, because Satan has always wanted control and worship. He cannot take God’s throne, so he builds a counterfeit one, a world where people reject the Creator and bow to the creation.

So how do we move forward? We move forward by returning to what God already told us. Jesus warned that deception would increase, and technology will make deception faster and global. That is why believers must stay grounded in Scripture, because Jesus said, “Thy Word is truth.” (John 17:17) If we lose the Word, we lose discernment.

 

We must also refuse to be shaped by the system of this world. Scripture says, “Be not conformed to this world.” (Romans 12:2) The pressure to bow will grow stronger, but we are not called to blend in. We are called to stand. That means protecting our homes and reclaiming our families from screens, distractions, and spiritual numbness.

 

And, we must guard ourselves from idolatry. Artificial intelligence may be a tool, but it must never replace God. Anything we depend on more than God becomes an idol, even if it looks modern and harmless. And finally, we remember how this ends. Jesus said, “Behold, I come quickly.” (Revelation 22:12) So we do not move forward in fear. We move forward in truth. We stay faithful, we stay ready, and we refuse to bow. Because in the end, no invention will matter. No system will matter. No crowd will matter. The only question that will remain is the one every soul must answer: what did you do with Jesus Christ?

The Lie of Utopia

Posted by & filed under Mikes Blog.

When I listen to voices on the liberal left shout that President Donald Trump and the Make America Great Again movement are “just like Hitler,” I cannot help but shake my head. Not because history should never be referenced, but because the irony is staggering. The very principles many progressive leaders are pushing for America have already been tested in human history, and the results were catastrophic. Some of the most destructive leaders the world has ever known, including Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler, and Mao Zedong, rose to power by promising sweeping social change, national renewal, and economic relief. They did not rise by openly threatening genocide in the beginning. They rose by selling hope, fairness, and the illusion of a better future.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and much of the modern liberal left promote similar promises: equality enforced through government control, economic redistribution, and the belief that the state can repair society if only the “right people” are placed in charge. The danger is not simply in the promises themselves, but in the historical pattern those promises often follow. Over and over again, history has shown that utopian promises, no matter how compassionate they sound, can become a gateway to dictatorship, oppression, mass murder, and even genocide.
At its core, this is not simply about political parties. It is about human nature and the repeating cycle of history. Tyrants rarely gain power by declaring evil openly. They gain power by promising rescue. They promise to punish corrupt elites. They promise to redistribute wealth. They promise to eliminate injustice. They present themselves as the only ones capable of restoring order, justice, and national pride. People who have not studied history often embrace those promises, willingly trading liberty for security and freedom for comfort.
Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, and Adolf Hitler did not merely advocate government programs or redistribution. They built entire systems of brutal political repression, including secret police, forced labor camps, mass purges, censorship, propaganda, and one-party rule. That is the chilling truth: the path to tyranny is rarely sudden. It is gradual. Power expands in the name of compassion, justice, and protection, but it does not stop expanding once it is obtained. Promises are made that can never truly be kept, and when those promises fail, the leaders do not surrender power. Instead, they tighten their grip.
Once government becomes too large, too centralized, and too powerful, opposition is no longer treated as disagreement. It is treated as danger. Political enemies are labeled immoral, hateful, or “enemies of the people.” Liberty does not collapse all at once. It erodes slowly, piece by piece, until people wake up one day and realize they no longer recognize their own country. That is why the warning often attributed to Thomas Jefferson still echoes as a message every generation must remember: “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.” Freedom is never permanently secured. It must be defended, protected, and guarded, or it will be stolen under the disguise of progress.
The Bible gives an even clearer truth, one that history has proven again and again. Proverbs 29:2 (KJV) declares: “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.” This is not merely a spiritual statement. It is a reality written across nations and centuries. When leaders honor righteousness, justice, and truth, a nation flourishes. When wickedness takes the throne, people suffer, families weaken, and freedom fades.
That is why we must be cautious of leaders who promise sweeping solutions and radical transformation. History teaches a painful lesson: the road to oppression is often paved with promises that sounded compassionate, fair, and hopeful at the beginning. The solution is not blind loyalty to any politician. The solution is a people who know history, value liberty, defend truth, and refuse to surrender their God-given rights in exchange for temporary comfort. A nation that forgets these lessons will repeat them, and a people who refuse vigilance will eventually inherit mourning.

FOR THEE – NOT ME

Posted by & filed under Mikes Blog.

What makes America great? People. Not skyscrapers. Not stock markets. Not military strength. America does not endure simply because it is rich. America is built by men and women who live by truth, who give instead of take, who sacrifice instead of indulge, and who think beyond themselves.
Greatness, real greatness, is never about making yourself bigger. It is about making others stronger. It is about lifting the weak, protecting the vulnerable, serving the next generation, and leaving behind something better than what you inherited. True greatness is not measured by how high someone climbs, but by how many they help rise.
Jesus said it plainly: “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant.” (Matthew 20:26) That is the measuring rod of heaven. Greatness is not applause. Greatness is not celebrity. Greatness is humility. Greatness is service.
And what makes America fall? People. Not first by enemies from outside, but by corruption from within. America begins to rot when truth is replaced with performance, when leaders trade integrity for image, when slogans become substitutes for sacrifice. When words become louder than deeds, the foundation begins to crack.
America’s history has been shaped by leaders who did not merely speak, but acted. Men who carried the weight of their convictions with courage and sacrifice. They did not demand hardship from others while living in comfort themselves. They led with scars, not with slogans.
But today, a different spirit is rising. A privileged class that preaches virtue but lives above the rules. At the Grammys, Billie Eilish declared, “No one is illegal on stolen land,” a sentence designed to sound righteous and moral, cheered by millions. Yet such words ring hollow when spoken from stages of wealth, by elites living in luxury on the very land they condemn others for inhabiting. They speak loudly, but they do not live the cost. They expect others to carry the burden, while their own sacrifice is nothing more than performance.
That same hypocrisy was exposed during the COVID restrictions. Ordinary Americans were locked in their homes. Small businesses were destroyed. Families were kept from funerals. Yet Governor Gavin Newsom was dining at the French Laundry while the rest of California was told to sacrifice. Nancy Pelosi was caught getting her hair done while salons were closed for everyone else. The message was unmistakable: rules for the people, exemptions for the powerful.
This is how America crumbles. Not because people stop talking about justice, but because they stop living with integrity. Not because there are no more speeches, but because there are no more servants. America cannot survive when truth becomes theater and morality becomes a slogan.
America cannot endure on hypocrisy. It cannot be held together by people who demand sacrifice from others while refusing it themselves. The loudest voices often expect the quietest people to pay the highest price. The theme of the age has become clear: for thee, not for me.
In the end, the story of America is always the story of its people, whether they choose truth, humility, and sacrifice, or selfishness, emptiness, and decay.

Law and Compassion: The Foundation of a Free Society

Posted by & filed under Mikes Blog.

I want to be very clear from the beginning: I am not against protest. In a free nation, people will always raise their voices when they believe something is wrong. Peaceful protest can be a legitimate expression of concern, and it can be one way citizens call attention to serious issues that deserve to be addressed.
What I am against is something entirely different. I am against the destruction of society that happens when law is no longer respected. I am against the idea that disorder, intimidation, and violence can be excused simply because someone claims to have a cause. A nation cannot endure when emotions in the streets are treated as more powerful than the laws that hold the country together.
This is where the real danger begins. Today, so many arguments are driven almost entirely by emotion. Some believe that if enough pain is displayed, then rules should no longer matter. They think outrage should override law, and that feelings should replace responsibility. Compassion is essential, but compassion must never become a weapon against justice. In fact, compassion must be part of the law itself—working through order, righteousness, and truth—not standing above the law or tearing it down.
Some even bring religion into these debates, claiming that Jesus would stand with any movement driven by emotion. But Jesus never broke the laws of His time—neither Roman law nor Jewish law. He did not preach rebellion or encourage disorder. Instead, He walked in righteousness and showed compassion in a personal and powerful way. He healed the broken, lifted the weary, and transformed lives, not through violence or chaos, but through truth, mercy, and love.
And what is so important to remember is that His compassion was never performative. He did not broadcast virtue from a distance or demand that society act in His place so that individuals could avoid responsibility. He stepped directly into suffering Himself, touching lives face to face and changing hearts one person at a time.
That brings us to an important question: who is actually in these protests today, and why are they there? The truth is that crowds are often made up of very different kinds of people, driven by very different motives. First, there are those who come looking for conflict. It has often been said that some are even paid or organized to disrupt—to stir unrest, provoke confrontation, and push situations toward destruction. These agitators thrive on chaos. They do not want peace or solutions; they want division, and they use disorder as their tool.
Second, there are those whose main motivation is political hostility. Their presence is less about the specific issue being protested and more about opposition to President Trump and the MAGA movement. For them, protest becomes an outlet for anger and resentment, and the goal is not thoughtful reform but resistance against the people and values they blame for the nation’s direction.
Finally, there are the sincere voices—the people whose concerns are real. These are citizens who want laws addressed, communities strengthened, and problems solved through meaningful change. They may feel unheard or left behind, and they genuinely desire improvement. Sadly, their legitimate concerns are often drowned out by agitators who seek chaos and by political anger that overwhelms the conversation.
That contrast matters, because the real issue today is not whether people have concerns. The issue is what happens when protest crosses the line into destruction. Peaceful demonstration is one thing, but vandalism, violence, intimidation, and lawlessness are something else entirely. When neighborhoods burn, businesses are destroyed, and ordinary citizens are left afraid, this is no longer protest. It is disorder. And disorder does not build a better future. It only leaves scars behind.
When law begins to crumble, society itself becomes fragile. Imagine a great building resting on a foundation of stone. That foundation is the rule of law. It holds together families, communities, courts, schools, and freedom itself. If people begin chipping away at that foundation with chaos and destruction, cracks will spread. Eventually the entire structure begins to collapse. Without law, society cannot stand.
So the solution is not to silence peaceful voices, and it is not to ignore real problems. The solution is to restore order first, because no problem can be solved while a nation is burning. Laws must be enforced. Violence must be punished. Peaceful citizens must be protected. Protest must never become an excuse for criminal destruction.
Only after order is restored can real reform take place the right way. If immigration laws need improvement, that must happen through lawful pathways and responsible policy, not through chaos. If communities need help, the answer is opportunity and accountability, not disorder. If laws must change, they should be debated and passed through Congress, not forced through intimidation in the streets.
In the end, a nation cannot choose between compassion and law. We must have both. Compassion must be built into justice, and justice must be upheld through law. The future of America depends on defending the foundation that holds society together, because without the rule of law, freedom itself collapses.
Law is not the enemy of mercy. Law is what protects mercy from becoming chaos. A society cannot function when destruction is excused and order is treated as oppression. Real reform requires responsibility, not disorder.
As President Ronald Reagan once reminded the nation, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.” It must be protected, defended, and passed on—not through chaos in the streets, but through law, accountability, and moral courage.
A society ruled by law can endure. A society ruled by chaos cannot. The path forward is not destruction, but responsibility. Not disorder, but reform. Not hatred, but truth. And not emotion replacing justice, but compassion working within it.
If America is to heal, it will not happen through burning streets or broken foundations. It will happen when citizens return to accountability, when leaders pursue lawful reform, and when compassion is expressed not through chaos, but through courage, righteousness, and truth.

RISK TAKERS

Posted by & filed under Mikes Blog.

I keep coming back to the story of Jabez. In just one short prayer, he asked God for something most people are too cautious to request. He prayed that the Lord would bless him and expand his territory. That wasn’t a prayer for comfort or ease. It was a prayer for increase, for influence, for a life that would stretch beyond what was familiar. Jabez understood something many believers forget: spiritual expansion always involves risk.
The more I reflect on it, the more I realize that when God enlarges someone’s territory, He is not simply giving them more space—He is giving them more responsibility. Expansion is never just about opportunity; it is about stewardship. It is God placing more weight in your hands, more people in your path, more purpose on your life. And that kind of growth forces a question: are you willing to be led somewhere you cannot control?
Before God expands your life outward, He will press you inward. He will ask for surrender. Because new territory requires new trust. It is one thing to ask God for more, but it is another thing entirely to follow Him when the path becomes unfamiliar and the cost becomes real. As someone once said, “God will never take you where His grace cannot keep you, but He will often take you where your comfort cannot follow.”
Greater territory is not just a larger platform—it is often a larger battlefield. With increase comes opposition, with influence comes testing, and with expansion comes the necessity of deeper dependence on God. The Lord does not grow us so we can build our own kingdom; He grows us so His Kingdom can be revealed through our obedience. He expands our lives not for self, but for service.
Nothing of lasting spiritual significance comes without cost. Jesus made it unmistakably clear when He said that anyone who wants to follow Him must deny themselves, take up their cross daily, and walk the narrow road. Expansion always demands something from us. God may enlarge your territory, but He will also enlarge your capacity for endurance, humility, and faithfulness.
What I see throughout Scripture is that God has never been searching for spectators. He is not looking for people who want religion without repentance or routine without surrender. He is looking for those who are willing—willing to be stretched, willing to be sent, willing to obey when it would be easier to stay safe. God still uses risk takers, because the Kingdom has always advanced through people who trust Him more than they trust themselves.
The prayer of Jabez still echoes today: “Lord, bless me indeed, expand my territory, and keep Your hand upon me.” And perhaps the real question is not whether God can expand us, but whether we are willing to follow Him into the territory that expansion requires.

Walking the Long Road of Faith

Posted by & filed under Mikes Blog.

As I have gotten older, I find myself looking back over the long road of life, watching the memories rise like mile markers behind me, and asking a hard and honest question: What does it take to stop a person from doing what God has called them to do? Some are called to build, to lead, and to do great things the world can see. Others are called to pray, to serve quietly, and to uphold the work of God in ways that may never receive applause. But the calling is sacred either way, because it comes from Him.
I have learned that giving up on the call of God is rarely loud or dramatic. Most of the time, it happens slowly, almost unnoticed, like a fire that fades one ember at a time. It begins the moment I stop trusting and start trying to control. When the waiting grows heavy, when the obstacles pile up, when the outcome feels uncertain, I reach for my own strength instead of resting in God’s hands. And without realizing it, I begin to trade surrender for striving.
Age has a way of clearing the fog. Looking back, I can see that the great people of faith were not great because life was easy. They were great because they expected hardship, and they kept moving toward God anyway. They understood that weakness offered with willingness is not a disqualification, but the very place where God’s power can take root and rise.
And I have learned something else over the years: faith is only found in hearing. When God gives a call, He rarely explains the hardships that will come with it. He does not map out the whole road. He does not warn us of every delay, every disappointment, every battle we will face along the way. That is not how faith works. Faith does not come from seeing the whole journey. Faith comes from hearing the voice of God and stepping forward anyway.
Faith begins when God speaks, and we choose to believe Him. It is trusting what He has said even when everything around us seems to say otherwise. The world looks at circumstances, but faith listens for the voice of the One who cannot lie.
As Corrie ten Boom once said, “Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.”
If God showed us every struggle in advance, we might never take the first step. Instead, He gives us His Word, and He asks us to walk forward one step at a time. Not by sight. Not by certainty. But by trust.
Scripture reminds us of this truth:
“For we walk by faith, not by sight.” (2 Cor. 5:7)
Now, as an old man reflecting on the years behind me, I realize the calling was never mine to carry alone. God never asked me to control the journey. He asked me to obey, to trust, and to surrender the results into His hands.
And even today, with more years behind me than ahead, I am still learning that surrender is where faith truly begins.

Many Paths Claimed, One Way Proven

Posted by & filed under Mikes Blog.

Something struck me deeply while watching a series called Jack Ryan. In the story, people were willing to kill and die because they believed they were fighting for truth. They were completely convinced. Their passion was intense, their certainty unshakable. It made me stop and think about the world we live in today.
What is it about the human heart that clings so fiercely to what it believes is right? How can someone be so sure, so devoted, so consumed with conviction, and yet still be wrong? Across the earth, people are searching for God, and many are sure they have found the way. Muslims are sincere. Jehovah’s Witnesses are sincere. Mormons are sincere. Hindus and Buddhists are sincere. Some are so devoted they would lay down their lives for what they believe. History shows this is nothing new. For centuries, wars have been fought over religion. The Crusades are one example, when armies marched under the banner of God, convinced they were defending holy truth. The Middle East has seen endless conflict fueled by religious conviction. Human history is stained with bloodshed done in the name of heaven. Men have carried swords, flags, and prayers into battle believing they were right.
But sincerity does not make something true. A person can believe a lie with all their heart and still be lost. That raises a sobering question. Why are people so easily deceived? How can religion become so powerful that people will kill for it, die for it, and still be wrong? The answer is that the human soul was created to worship. If we do not worship the true God, we will worship something else. And the enemy of our souls is more than willing to offer counterfeit paths that feel spiritual, sound convincing, and promise peace, while quietly leading away from life.
We see the same pattern even today. The world is loud with voices competing for our trust. Culture shouts. Media shapes narratives. Online voices spread opinions like wildfire. Lies move fast because people desperately want something solid to hold onto. Deception is not weak. It is persuasive. It is powerful. And it blinds.
So how does someone find the truth in a world filled with counterfeit light? It comes down to one question that echoes through eternity. Who is Jesus Christ? Every religion has an answer, but they do not agree. Some say Jesus was only a prophet. Some say He was only a teacher. Some deny the cross. Some deny the resurrection. But Christianity stands apart because it declares something earth-shaking and eternal.
Jesus is not merely a man. He is God in the flesh. He did not come simply to point toward a path. He came as the path. He did not present Himself as one option among many. He spoke with absolute authority and said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (Jn 14:6).
Those words leave no room for neutrality. Either Jesus is telling the truth, or He is not. And if He is telling the truth, then all roads do not lead to God. Only one does. The road is not a philosophy. It is not a ritual. It is not a religion built by human hands. The way is a Person. And His name is Jesus.
How do we know He is the way? Because Jesus did what no other religious leader has ever done. He did not merely speak about life. He stepped into death and shattered it. He did not merely teach about salvation. He became salvation. He went to the cross carrying the full weight of human sin. He took the punishment we deserved. He drank the cup of wrath to the last drop. And then, on the third day, He rose again.
The resurrection is God’s thunderous declaration that Jesus is Lord. The empty tomb stands like a monument in history, declaring that sin has been paid for, death has been defeated, and salvation is not a theory, but a finished work. Every other religion tells man to climb upward, to strive harder, to earn his way to heaven. But the gospel tells us something far more glorious. God came down.
Jesus is the only One who paid for sin completely. The only One who opened the door back to the Father. The only One who can save, not by works, but by grace. He does not offer self-improvement. He offers new life. He does not simply give direction. He gives redemption. And God does not leave His people in uncertainty. The Spirit confirms the truth of Christ in the heart of the believer. “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God” (Rom 8:16). This is why truth matters. In a world overflowing with voices, the question is not what sounds sincere. The question is what is true. And in the end, everything comes down to Jesus.
Truth is not a system, it is not an ideology, it is not a feeling. Truth is a living Savior, crucified and risen. Many paths are claimed, but only one way has been proven. And only in Him is the way home.

Cutting a Faithful Trail

Posted by & filed under Mikes Blog.

“If you stand for nothing, you will fall for anything.”
— often attributed to Alexander Hamilton
I am an old man now, and as the years have passed, much of what once felt urgent has fallen away. What remains is simple: putting one foot in front of the other, day after day. I have learned slowly, often through failure, and I am still learning. Nearing the end has not made me strong in myself; it has made me aware of how much I depend on Christ.
When I look at the next generation of young men, I see myself—not as I am now, but as I was at the beginning. I was eager and unsure, quietly hoping I would become someone. You are growing up in a world louder than the one I knew. Every screen pulls at you. Every voice tells you who you should be. Strength is often confused with aggression, and conviction is treated like a flaw. If you are not careful, this world will shape you before you realize it has.
Jesus did not shape me with long explanations. He shaped me by asking me to follow. It happened in ordinary days—early mornings, hard choices, and moments when obedience cost more than I wanted to give. Many times, walking away would have been easier than staying. Following Him taught me how to remain steady when pressure pushed me to react.
Over time, I stopped thinking of my life as leading others and began to see it as cutting a trail through the wilderness. I cannot walk the path for anyone else. I cannot force my family or anyone who comes after me to follow. Each person must choose whether to step into a trail already cut, follow the paths of other godly men, or cut their own way through the brush. But I am responsible for knowing where my trail leads.
My wife did not need to be pushed; she needed to know the direction of my heart. My children did not need perfect guidance; they needed to see a steady path. I wanted them to know that when the way became unclear, the trail I was walking—and the trails walked by faithful men before me—were moving toward Jesus.
There were seasons when I confused effort with faith. I worked harder, spoke louder, and thought I was being strong. Those seasons brought strain, not peace. Stability came when I slowed down and let Jesus set the pace again. I have learned that faithfulness is rarely dramatic. It is daily. It is telling the truth, keeping your word, and staying on the path when no one is watching.
I have watched men drift, and I have felt that pull myself. It never happens all at once. It begins with small compromises and choosing comfort over obedience. A man rarely decides to abandon Jesus; he simply stops following closely. Staying near Him—and near faithful men who walk with Him—has made the difference between becoming and getting lost.
The world you are entering demands constant reaction—outrage, performance, endless opinions. Jesus calls you to something quieter and harder: to follow, to listen, and to obey. Strength is not found in forcing others to walk behind you, but in faithfully walking the narrow way yourself.
One story has stayed with me all my life. Jesus told His disciples to cross the lake. They obeyed, and the storm came anyway. Obedience did not calm the waters, but it kept them moving in the right direction. That is how a man becomes—not by arriving, but by continuing forward because Jesus has spoken.
I am nearing home now, and I am still walking. I do not measure my life by success or strength, but by direction. My trail has not been straight, but it has been set. I know where it leads.
If you want to become a man in this generation, stay close to Jesus. Walk honestly. Cut your trail carefully—or follow the faithful paths already laid before you—but make sure they are leading toward Him.
“Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus.”
— Hebrews 12:1–2

WHY?

Posted by & filed under Mikes Blog.

There are two books in the Bible I struggle to read. One is the Song of Solomon, which I have only read a few times and never quite connected with. The other is the book of Job, and that one troubles me deeply. Job does not trouble me because it lacks faith, but because it confronts the question we all face sooner or later: why.
Job says, “What I feared has come upon me.” Then everything is taken from him—his wealth, his health, and his children. The loss is sudden and complete. The question rises immediately and refuses to go away. Why would God allow this to happen to a righteous man? Why would God allow Satan to touch his life at all?
That question does not stay confined to Scripture. It follows us into real life and real conversations. I play golf with a man who does not believe in God. One day he asked me, “What kind of God would allow my daughter to suffer like this?” His daughter has lived with multiple sclerosis her entire life. He was not asking to debate belief. He was asking because he was carrying pain.
I think of a young couple with two small children whose mother becomes sick with cancer and dies. I think of another young mother whose body is failing her while she tries to raise her children. I think of a couple I have known for years who finally reach a good season of life, only for the husband to be diagnosed with cancer. Each situation raises the same quiet, aching question: why.
Then the question turns inward. Why not me? Why have I been spared these things so far? Is it mercy, timing, or simply that my chapter has not yet reached that page? These are not abstract thoughts. They are the questions that surface in hospital rooms, at funerals, and in the quiet moments when no one else is listening.
The book of Job does not answer the question the way we expect. When God finally speaks, He does not explain the reason for Job’s suffering. He does not describe the conversation with Satan. He does not justify every loss. Instead, God reveals who He is. He points to creation, to the seas, the stars, and the foundations of the earth. God shows Job that He is present, powerful, and wise in ways far beyond human understanding.
What Job comes to see is that God was never absent and never careless. His suffering was not a sign that he had been abandoned. Job responds with humility and trust. He does not lose sight of who God is, even though some of his questions remain unanswered.
Then God restores Job. He gives him back twice what he had lost. Job receives renewed health, double his former wealth, more children, and many more years of life. The blessing does not erase the pain of what was lost, but it shows that suffering was not the end of the story. Endurance mattered. Faithfulness mattered.
Job’s greatest blessing was not what he received, but what he gained. Job says, “My ears had heard of You, but now my eyes have seen You.” Through suffering, Job came to know God more deeply. His faith was not destroyed by pain. It was strengthened.
Paul helps us understand this when he writes that our troubles are light and momentary compared to the eternal glory they are producing. That does not mean suffering feels small. It means suffering is not final. The question of “why” belongs to this life, but the answer is held in eternity.
We are not temporary beings. We are eternal beings living through a temporary chapter. When this truth is remembered, suffering does not disappear, but hope returns. Pain still hurts, but it no longer has the final word.
For those living in the “why” right now, the story of Job offers a steady and living hope. God sees you, even when heaven feels quiet. He has not forgotten your name, your prayers, or a single tear you have shed. Your suffering is not wasted, and it is not the final word. Every chapter of your life is being held by the same faithful hands that shaped the beginning and will write the ending. One day, God will open the story of your life and reveal how grace was at work even in the darkest pages. What feels broken now will be made whole. What feels confusing now will be understood. The question of “why” will give way to peace, and the final chapter will not speak of loss, but of restoration, joy, and life without end.
“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
— Revelation 21:4

When a Nation Loses Its Soul

Posted by & filed under Mikes Blog.

History keeps exposing the same mistake. Nations do not fall because they lack resources or intelligence. They fall because they lose their priorities. Again and again, a nation pours its strength into what fades and neglects what lasts.
Scripture names the problem plainly: “What is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18). When a nation lives for what can be measured, consumed, and displayed, it slowly loses its center. Comfort becomes the goal. Power becomes the measure. What is eternal is pushed aside for what feels urgent.
America is not drifting quietly. It is coming apart in plain sight. Wealth grows while debt crushes the future. Technology surges while attention breaks down. Freedom grows louder as self-control grows weaker. Laws are written in moments of anger, fear, or outrage, then rewritten when emotions change. Court rulings are weighed by how they feel, not by whether they are right. Policy follows crowds instead of principles. Rights are demanded, responsibility is avoided. Truth bends to the moment. Morality is traded for approval. The foundations that once held the nation steady are now rejected because they require restraint in an age that worships expression.
This raises a sobering question. If our forefathers could see America today, what would they think? Would they recognize the nation they helped build, or would they see a country drifting from the principles that once restrained it? Would they believe that laws are now shaped more by emotion than by reason, more by outrage than by wisdom?
They wrote laws to restrain impulse, not to be driven by it. They understood that emotions change, but truth must not. They feared what would happen when feeling replaced reason and desire outweighed discipline. Looking at today’s headlines, would they say their warnings were ignored?
History has seen this before. Powerful nations always believe they are the exception. Rome believed it. Greece believed it. Every empire that traded virtue for pleasure, discipline for indulgence, and truth for convenience believed it would endure. They did not collapse overnight. They decayed slowly, from the inside out. By the time the danger was obvious, the foundation was already gone.
This is the lesson history never changes. Wealth cannot replace character. Power cannot replace purpose. Comfort cannot replace truth. A nation that invests everything in what is temporary while neglecting what is eternal will weaken, no matter how advanced it becomes.
As George Bernard Shaw observed, “We learn from history that people never learn from history.” Each generation believes it will be different. Each generation assumes the warnings do not apply to them.
That leads to a hard conclusion history refuses to soften: insanity is living for what is dying while neglecting what must endure. America is not immune to this truth. No nation ever has been.
Yet this can be corrected—but not by human strength alone. What is broken cannot be healed by the same hands that broke it. Renewal requires the help of the One who created all things, and it requires submission to His rule. Scripture is clear: “Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain” (Psalm 127:1). History confirms it. When a nation aligns itself under God’s truth, decay is restrained and clarity returns. When His rule is rejected, disorder follows. The real question is not whether God will rule, but whether we will align ourselves with Him before the cost becomes irreversible.
History does not argue. It records outcomes.