Author Archives: Tom Wise

Message In A Minute: Danny’s Strength

Danny was one of the strongest men I ever knew.

He wasn’t physically imposing, his personality didn’t take over a room, he didn’t demand anything from anyone.

But, he exuded joy.

He never met a stranger, because the word “stranger” didn’t make since to him. He was an instant friend with everyone. He was a faithful friend to many. He listened with compassion, questioned with curiosity, and spoke with sincerity.

He made you laugh because he was funny, he made you smile because he was full of joy, he made you feel important, because to him, you were.

There is a Bible verse that says “…the joy of the Lord is our strength.”

Another Bible verse from hundreds of years later says about Jesus, “For the joy set before Him, He endured the cross…”

These verses deserve way more time than I can give them here, but understand this.

Jesus saw you through the cross. 
He endured it for you.

You are His joy. You were worth it all.

If you know Him, He is the source of your joy.

That joy of the lord, is your strength, it allows you to press forward, persevere, and overcome.

That kind of joy gives you a new way to see.

You see through the pain to the healing
You see through doubt to assurance
You see through the rebellion to the prodigal coming home.
You see through all that life throws at you, to the moment you will meet Jesus face to face.

The Joy of the Lord is our strength.

Danny was a Christ follower, he walked close with Jesus. Danny shared grace, practiced service, and demonstrated love. The joy of the Lord was evident in his life. That joy was Danny’s strength.

If joy equals strength. Danny was one of the strongest men, I ever knew.

I hope you get to know someone like Danny. More than that, I hope we all become more like Danny.

Most of all, I hope the joy of the Lord will always be your strength.

-Tom Wise

Message In A Minute: Awareness

There is a scene in the movie “Bourne Identity” that is very interesting to me.

Jason Bourne has amnesia. He doesn’t even know his name, where he’s from, or anything about his past. He knows he was shot, left for dead, and lucky to be alive. He befriends a lady who tries to help him remember his identity.

In one particular scene, the two are in a restaurant late at night. Jason is showing the lady some of the belongings he’s found. He explains that he has an extreme awareness of his surroundings. She dismisses it as normal, until Jason starts to describe his awareness.

He memorized the license plate numbers of six vehicles when they walked in. He noticed that the waitress is left handed. He intuitively senses that a guy at the counter knows how to fight. He knows the best place to find a weapon is in the cab of a certain truck in the parking lot. He wonders why he knows all of this but can’t remember his own name.

There is a skill taught in certain career fields known as Situational Awareness. In general Situational Awareness is described as the perception of environmental elements and the comprehension of how they relate. It is the practice of intuitively avoiding trouble.

For example, knowing where the exits are in a building is one level of Situational Awareness. Knowing that someone is acting abnormally or poses a danger to you is another level. There are color coded levels of Situational Awareness. The fictional Jason Bourne has the highest level of Situational Awareness possible. For us in the real world, it’s an interesting and valuable skill to practice.

We all practice it on a basic level, some go a little deeper with it and I believe those people are more secure and less vulnerable to danger.

I’ve come up with the name for another skill, although many have taught on it using other names for years.

I call it Spiritual Awareness. I would define Spiritual Awareness like this. The ability to perceive emotional, psychological, and spiritual elements in your own life and in the life of others.

It can be as simple as knowing if something is ultimately beneficial or detrimental for you. But, it can go much deeper than that. Spiritually Aware people can sense when others are hurting, and find a way to help or encourage them. Many rightly identify this idea as spiritual discernment. I like to explain it as an awareness because most people are more familiar with that word.

Unfortunately, there are people with no Situational Awareness, they walk through a dangerous area, oblivious to their surroundings. Also, they may not notice when another is in danger. The same can happen to people with no Spiritual Awareness, they walk right into dangerous situations. Or they neglect to see that a loved one is struggling.

Situationally, we can concentrate on our phones while walking in a parking garage and be targeted by criminals. Or we can focus only on ourselves and not help others stay safe.

Spiritually, we can chase blessings and forget to be a blessing to those around us. We can get wrapped up in ourselves to such a degree that we miss the needs in front of us.

Be Situationally Aware while you’re in public. It can keep you and others from physical harm.

Ask God to help you be Spiritually Aware. It can direct you, correct you, and protect you from emotional, psychological, and spiritual harm.

And if you have this awareness to know when someone is hurting or in need without them saying a word. If you can see into broken hearts, hear the silent cries of the forgotten, and feel the ache of the neglected.

You have a spiritual responsibility to invite, involve, and include them.

God made it clear that if we are open to His work in our lives, we will be made aware of so much more going on around us.

Ask for Spiritual Awareness, seek spiritual growth, knock on the door of spiritual compassion.

God will answer, He will reveal, and He will open the door to opportunities for you to be a blessing.

-Tom Wise

Message In A Minute: Burned

On a beach vacation many years ago, I got burned.

I don’t mean sunburned, I was burned in a very surprising way.

We were one street back from the ocean, in one of those beach houses that advertises “ocean view” instead of “ocean front.” I was in the pool with others and I saw a kite come crashing down between our house and the house next to ours. I figured I’d grab the kite and take it back to whomever was flying it.

I got close to the kite and I grabbed the string that was tangled in some shrubbery. I had the string in my hand and kept walking toward the kite. I heard a car go by on the road between our house and the ocean. Next thing I know, I hear a sound like a giant zipper zipping at a high speed and my fingers felt like they were on fire.

The car had run into the kite string and took the string with it. I was holding string that was suddenly attached to a car traveling thirty miles per hour. I couldn’t let go fast enough to avoid the string cutting into my fingers. But I guess the string was moving so fast and the friction created enough heat that my fingers were basically cauterized as they were cut.

There was no blood, but I had the imprint of the string in three of my fingers for over a month.

When something drops into your vicinity, think it through before you go grab it.

Don’t assume when something falls into your life out of nowhere, that it’s meant to be. A person, a job, a chance at something you’ve dreamed about, all that and more could be wonderful opportunities.

Or these apparent opportunities could burn you if you lack wisdom.

The Old Testament has much to say about wisdom. About the success of people who have wisdom, and about the destruction of people who lack wisdom.

Scripture consistently compels us to ask for wisdom from God. It compares wisdom to a trusted friend, a wise counselor, a treasure greater than gold. The Bible promises that if you desire wisdom and understanding, God is willing to give them to you.

There are things in life that you work for, prepare for, and hope for, almost all of the time these things will have a positive impact on your life.

But be careful about things that seem to drop in your life out of thin air. These things aren’t always bad, but I encourage you to pray, seek more wisdom, look into all the details before you pick these things up.

I appreciate everyone who reads these messages, I wish great things for each of you, I hope you experience grace, hope, and encouragement.

But, above anything written by me or anyone else, I pray you seek God’s wisdom in every opportunity that comes your way.

God knows what each opportunity holds, ask Him, trust Him, and experience wisdom.

-Tom Wise

Message In A Minute: See A Purpose

Recently, I’ve have been visiting a friend at a long-term care facility.

I’ve been quite a few times to see him, and often it’s a difficult experience. It’s not simply that my friend is progressing slowly but it’s that so many residents in the faculty are dealing with a variety of impairments. My heart goes out to them every time I’m there.

I am encouraged by the care that the residents receive, and my friend is usually in good spirits. The facility seems to be a very supportive environment. But, I look forward to the day my friend can be back to a more normal kind of life.

Every time I visit, there is a resident in a wheelchair waiting inside the double doors.

I’ve been there in the early morning and late afternoon, and he is faithfully at his post. He places himself right beside the automatic door button and he loves to be the one to let you in. He is basically the volunteer doorman.

He watches for people through the glass doors, and quickly reaches for the button. You can sense that he is dedicated and excited to offer his assistance in this small way. I imagine he can’t wait to get to his spot every morning.

I have explained to him how much I appreciate his help and he seems to be fulfilled in the effort. I have a strong sense that this man is doing God’s work. It could be described as a holy moment when the doors open.

For me and many others, it’s just a button on the wall that I’d have to push.

To this man, it’s everything.

It’s meaning, responsibility, and service.

In that place… 
Some see a prison, this man sees a purpose.
Some feel despair, this man finds dedication.
Some dream of healing, he is busy helping.
Some face adversity, he finds adventure.
Some are counting the days till they are out of there, this man counts the people he has served.

He is a wonderful welcomer.
He is a devoted doorman.
He is a sacred servant.

I don’t know his whole story, but I know he is playing an active role in his story.

I don’t know your whole story, but I do believe God wants to be involved in every moment of it.

And I pray that you and I can be as faithful in opening figurative doors for others, as the man who opens the physical doors for every visitor.

No matter your limitations, find a way to display God’s limitless love.

-Tom Wise

Message In A Minute: Towards the Sunlight

After my parents divorced, they lived roughly one mile apart.

I would ride my bike back and forth a couple of times a week.

One day while riding to my dad’s house something happened that I will never forget. I began pedaling and noticed that it was starting to rain behind me. But as I continued to ride, I was traveling into the sunlight. If I slowed down the rain would catch up to me, if I accelerated, the rain would stay behind me.

I was traveling east and apparently the clouds were traveling the same exact direction at relatively the same speed. It was basically a straight route to my dad’s house, so I knew I could beat the rain clouds to my destination.

I had fun slowing down and hearing the rain steadily falling just feet behind me while I stayed dry. At the time it was simply a unique occurrence that entertained me. Years later, I felt like it was an analogy for my life.

I’ve battled depression most of my life. Like so many others who struggle, there were times I couldn’t find the strength to fight. It was like a rain cloud that followed me around. Even after becoming a Christian, I still struggled, I still got rained on from time to time, I still lost ground every so often.

But as a Christ follower, I had the strength to work the pedals, I had a hope-filled journey, I had an amazing destination.

To this day, I need to make sure I’m heading towards the sunlight.

The truth is, the depression still looms. But I know for sure which direction to travel, I understand that if I keep a reasonable speed in that direction, depression can’t win.

Even if the rain catches up to me, I’ll be fine. I may get wet, I may lose a little ground, but I won’t stop moving forward.

Of course, I wish I didn’t even need to think about depression at all. I wish it wasn’t a possibility. But it is for me, and for some of you, it’s the same way.

Don’t stop riding towards the sunlight.

Talk to someone, find a counselor, speak with a doctor.

But most of all, ask God for strength and healing.

God can heal instantly, I’ve seen it happen. But I also know that many times we have to carry afflictions with us. Don’t mistake hardship with some kind of punishment from God.

Occasionally, He delivers you fully.
Often, He walks with you through it.
Always, He is the sunlight leading you home.

-Tom Wise