Last time I shared some of the practical ways to make your daily commute count for something besides bodily transport.  The reponse was so encouraging that I would like to add a few more addendums in hopes that they will be of service to you.

1.  Christian Radio - Full disclosure here…I have a long history with Christian radio.  Most of it was good, some was bad, but I still believe that it is an effective medium for communicating the gospel and encouraging hearts.  I honestly never listen to Christian music on the radio (I love Casting Crowns, but can only take so much in an hour).  What I LOVE about Christian radio is the preaching and teaching, at least for the stations that are still governed by principle and conviction instead of temporary straw polls that are here today and gone tomorrow.  Locally, I listen to 106.9 The Light/WMIT out of Asheville, NC (the station that Billy Graham founded).  Every day I can hear James MacDonald, James Dobson, Family Life Today, and Greg Laurie, not to mention Billy Graham, the greatest evangelist in history.  While I love music, melody and harmonies, I still believe that it is THE WORD OF GOD that brings real change and will stand forever.

2.  Personal Discipleship - The motto (if I may call it that) of our church is “Do it together sometimes.”  This simply means that we need to consider including our friends in the daily errands we run and tasks we perform, like, say, driving!  So when I am in the car heading to a ministry event, I try to plan ahead and invite a buddy to go with me.  We begin the trip with prayer and we spend the entire trip talking about life, the scriptures, our struggles, and Christ.  The guys that I have personally discipled have received much of their instruction in the passenger seat of my Escape or Explorer.  This past Monday night, I spent 6 hours in the car with Seth, a 22 year old young man who asked me to disciple him.  I asked him questions and he asked me questions, and we both listened to each other and enjoyed the company.  My prayer is that within a year, we will have banked hundreds of hours of discipleship and sharpening conversations that make us both more like Jesus and that he will look back on those road trips with fondness and thanksgiving that I invested time into his spiritual formation.

Don’t go on auto pilot the next time you climb in that vehicle.  Redeem that time and make it count.

I love the old school.  Phones with chords attached to them.  TVs with only 3 chanels.  Cars with carburetors instead of fuel injection.  Bon Jovi and Petra and tight rolled jeans.  Shoot, bring back the mullet for all I care!  Last night we got a taste of old school preaching at Clemson University.

For 15 years, I have been honored to preach the gospel and teach God’s word to Clemson FCA.  It is the largest FCA in the nation and has turned out women and men of God that are touching lives all over the world for Christ.  For the past 6 years, I have spoken at the first FCA of the year, by far the biggest one, with numbers that still blow my mind…between 3,000-4,000 college students out of a student body of about 18,000.  It has been one of my all-time favorite events, and I have seen God save hundreds of students over the years.

Well, it rained last night and the leadership team, somehow, scrambled, moved everything inside, and it turned out to be one of the most memorable FCAs I have ever been a part of!  Everyone was hot and sweaty.  Tillman Hall was at 1,000% humidity, it was shoulder to shoulder with people in the lobby for overflow, and about 5 minutes into the message, I was drenched with sweat.  I felt like Spurgeon or Finney or Luther, or maybe even Billy Graham back in the day doing a tent revival with sawdust on the floors…something about stripping away all the accessories and getting back to the raw, real power of the gospel…I can’t really put my finger on it but there was a power there last night that I couldn’t see, but I coud feel it.

The sweat was dripping off my elbows as the audience fanned away, but on 3 different occasions I paused during the message, and realized that not a soul was moving.  Every eye, ear, and heart sat in rapt attention to the message of the gospel…that God is a loving Father who pours out His mercy in buckets on His children.

People gave their hearts to Christ last night in the most uncomfortable of surroundings.  One Freshman told me that he had come all the way from Colorado to Clemson and had no idea that he would meet God face to face.

Sometimes it’s good to strip everything away and just be captivated by the preached word of God and the presence of The Holy Spirit.  We can put all our efforts into creating an inviting environment, building momentum, impressing people with our cool technology…etc…but if the presence of the Living God does not settle down among us, it was all just a big waste of time and effort.  Give me a hot, stuffed, sweaty room filled with hungry hearts any day, and I will preach my guts out.

I spend more time in the care than most people by virtue of my calling as an evangelist, and I cringe when I think about how much time I have wasted listening to the radio, dayreaming, flipping stations, or enduring obnoxious adds and commercials.  Now, I redeem my commute, wherever I may be heading.  Yesterday I spent 3 hour in the car driving to Asheville, NC to record sermon clips to be aired on the radio at 106.9 The Light (WMIT).  In about 15 minutes I am heading to my hometown of Ft. Inn, SC to visit my family.  Tomorrow I will be in the car for over 4 hours as I drive to Clemson University to preach for 3,000 college students at FCA.  The hours pile up pretty fast.

Here is how I redeem my time in the car.  Maybe these will work for you.  Give them a try.

1. Phone Calls - I try not to talk on the phone while I am home with my family.  It is rude, I end up ignoring them, they feel the phone is more important, and blur the lines between work and family.  Of course I do make calls occasionally from home, but I try to catch up on most of them in the car.  I keep a running handwritten list of people I need to call back and do it while driving (safely, I might add, using headphones…most of the time).
2. Podcasts - iTunes may be one of the greatest gift a preacher like me has ever been given.  I have hundreds of sermons on my iPod and never listen to music (except when running or lifting) because I have too many sermon options.  I can listen to 2 Ravi Zacharias sermons or 1 Mark Driscoll sermon on a trip the Charlotte airport.  Whether it’s Craig Groeschel or Matt Orth or Steven Furtick or Rico Tice, I am filling my mind and heart with the word of God and am also being convicted by the Holy Spirit as these men help me redeem my steering wheel time.
3. Prayer - What better time to pray than when there is nobody around, no internet, no distractions, and no kids?  I pray out loud.  It helps my mind not to wander, it helps me focus, and it gives me the sense that I really am having a conversation with God when I hear my self call His name, ask for provision, and thank Him for His goodness.
4. Singing - If you ever pass me (or more correctly if I ever pass you), there is a good chance you will see me with my head thrown back and my mouth wide open singing at the top of my lungs.  Somtetimes I sing with a CD or my iPod, but usually it’s a medley of my personal faves; old hymns and new choruses.  There’s the occasional foray into country or 80’s rock (yesterday I kept singing “I Told You So” by Randy Travis for some reason), but there is nothing that gets my heart oriented correctly or my mind prepared for an event like worshipping God alone in the car on the way.

I hope this helps you win back some time that you have to expend anyway…make those moments count for Christ.

My family and I have been in Alaska for the past 9 days.  We did it all.  Salmon fishing, hiking, biking, sled dog shows, grizzlies on the bank of the Kenai River, and I even preached 7 times.  Alaskans are some of the kindest and most generous people I’ve ever had the pleasure to meet, and they are not pretentious by any means.  I hope I can return many, many times.

Monday was our big family adventure.  Some guys from the church took us on a 60 mile 4-wheeler expedition (they call them “machines” but I call them 4-wheelers).  We followed the Knik River 30 miles one way to the Knik River Glacier.  The entire journey was breath-taking.  The river valley was dwarfed by mountains on both sides, snow capped peaks, and a glacier on the horizon that had been frozen for several thousand years.  It took us hours to get there and when we arrived, we broke off some ice and ate it while bald eagels soared overhead.  I felt like I was posing for an inspiration poster, the kind I used to see in my football coaches office.

My 4 year old son, JoJo, was riding the “machine” with my wife while my 6 year old was with me.  An hour before we arrived at the glacier, JoJo fell asleep.  On a 4-wheeler!  Going 20 miles an hour!  Over ruts and river rocks!  It was mindboggling to me how a little boy could get so comfortable and so relaxed in the midst of such harsh and brutal surroundings that he could actually drift off to sleep.  And he slept like that for nearly 3 hours.

The Holy Spirit opened my eyes to the similarities between my son and those of us who claim Christ as Lord.  The reason my boy could fall asleep in his mother’s arms even speeding along dangerous terrain were the same reasons we should rest safely in the providence of God’s care.

1. JoJo trusts his mom explicitly.  We should trust God this way.
2. JoJo has a history with his mom to fall back on.  She has never let him down and he knows it.  We have God’s faithfulness in our past to remind us of His future protection and provision.
3. JoJo knows his mom is bigger, stronger, and smarter than him.  God is all those things to us, and then some.
4. JoJo knows his mom can handle a complicated piece of machinery and he can’t because he is just a kid.  We know that God can handle the intricate details scenarios that cause us stress and strife because we are not like God and don’t see the end result.
5. JoJo knows his mom loves him and has his best interest at heart.  Have we not yet learned that God is infintely more wise and benevolent towards us than even our own parents and wants the best for His children?

So when the world is whizzing by and the trail you take is bumpy and filled with turns, holes, and dangers, remember that you are not driving.  You are trusting in God to navigate and guide you with His wisdom through His Spirit to your destination.  Relax and trust your Driver.  He knows the way and He will get you there.

Yesterday morning I was lying in the bed trying to catch a few minutes of rest after a sleepless night.  Jacob was in the bed, too, telling Charie a story.  His stories are ALWAYS worth listening to…sort of an A.D.D. meets Star Wars meets a bad acid trip.  This particular story contained dinosaurs, aliens, lots of blood, adventure and fights.  I kept dozing off and waking up when he would scream for effect.  The story lasted a good 15 minutes.

My favorite comment went something like this…”And his blood was an invisible yellow laser.”

At 6 years old, his imagination operates on all 8 cylinders.  He is more likely to daydream about flying a spaceship than he is to brush his teeth before bed.  We encourage him to create…pictures and stories and songs and even dances.  You should see the boy dance.  Really.  It is a sight to behold.

God’s imagination must function at a pretty effective level to have thought up life, earth, humans, and animals.  I can’t help but feel that one of the things God gave to us when He made us in His image was the power to create…or…imagination.  So why do we stop using our imagination when we hit puberty?  Some people continue to use theirs, but most adults settle into a predictable rut of life, losing creativity and romance while becoming tired and apathetic.

Brain science tells us that our minds are like us…when we stop learning new skills our minds grow dull.  The actual physical makeup of the brain resists change and craves stagnation.  So if we don’t use our imagination, we lose the desire and eventually the ability.  I hope I never quit dreaming of heaven, or of seeing Jesus, or of seeing new places and experiencing new things, or of making new friendships with new people.  So whether it’s a new blog post or a poem to your spouse or a cool bedtime story you make up for your kids as you tuck them into bed, use what God gave you and let your imagination run wild.

I am preaching to myself as much as I am admonishing you in this post, so don’t take offense.  On second thought, maybe you should notice if this offends you, and if it does, it could be a good sign that it was written just for you.  A special gift from the Holy Spirit delivered right to your computer screen (of Blackberry, or iPhone).  It is indeed a gift of grace to be warned of a horrible, deadly devil, especially if it lives close by.

Consider this such a warning.  And the devil that lives close by?  It actually lives in us and if not recognized and tamed by God, will consume us.  It has an insatiable appetite and is never filled.  It is our ego.  That part of us that wants to be seen.  Recognized.  Rich.  Lifted up.  Exalted.

Every Christian struggles with this to a degree, some more than others.  And Satan has an ego, as well.  He has had one for a very long time.  Evidently, best as I can figure, it was precisely his ego that got him sideways with The Almighty before recorded history.  He said in his heart “I will exalt myself above God.”  His ego got him into trouble though, just like ours does, because it always wants more than you are capable of handling.  In other words, Satan brought a knife to a gun fight when he challenged God.  That is what ego does.  It tells you that you are a god, and then encourages you to act like it by desiring glory, pleasure, ri

Despite what some in psychology or the social sciences may say about “ego”, the truth is simple; we are each born with a sinful nature that progresses further and further into self-indulgence until we either repent of the sin that poisons our souls, receiving God’s grace and salvation, or we are eventually swallowed whole by our own ego, and we spend the remainder of our days on earth feeding our selfish appetites, stockpiling stuff to insulate us from relationships, repentance, and God.

Beware of your ego!  It is not a stray dog that wandered into your yard.  It will not become your loyal pet if you feed it.  It is more like a ravenous wolf that gets drunk on the taste of pride and accomplishment; the more it eats, the stronger it gets and the more it wants.  The only way to deal with a wolf is to be heartless and cold.  KILL IT.  Or it will kill you.

You can’t kill your ego because you love it and you bow down to it.  It can only be defeated by seeing Jesus in His beauty, being struck by His fierce demand of complete surrender and allegiance, and falling on your face declaring, “My Lord and my God!”  Jesus is bigger than your ego, and better, too.  Obey Him and He will give you life.  Obey your ego and it will destroy you.