Category Archives: Message In A Minute

Message In A Minute: The Bible

The Bible can be intimidating for everyone.

It is life changing for millions, controversial for many, inspirational, confrontational, and so much more.

There are many ways to approach the Bible, from total skeptic, to absolute believer. It has been viewed as an owner’s manual for life, a collection of mythical stories, a moral code, a chronical of religious history, a love letter from God, and a family album of misfits, saints, and sinners.

Obviously, as a Pastor, I encourage you to read and wrestle with the words in the Bible. But I understand all the baggage they may come with that task. Whatever your personal history with the Bible, church, or religion has been, take a fresh look at the bible. Many people have set out to disprove parts of the Bible, only to end up having their lives changed by the message inside.

Here is a way to look at the whole Bible I discovered a few years ago. The way I explain it, goes like this:

“In the Old Testament, God heard the cries of His people.

In the Gospels, He cries with us.

In Revelation, He wipes away every tear from our eyes.

His love is for us, His spirit is with us, and His movement is towards us”.

There is an endless supply of wisdom and inspiration to discover, but no matter how deeply I dive in, I try to remember this approach to the collection of history, poetry, letters, songs, laments, and prophecy we call the Bible.

Find out for yourself what the Bible really is, it may be the beginning of a life changing journey.

-Tom Wise

Message In A Minute: That Is Amazing Grace

I never met my wife’s Grand-Mother, but I’ve heard many stories about her.

She was a pastor in a small West Virginian community. Her name, very fittingly was Grace.

One year, a few coal miners started attending the small church. After many messages about God’s grace from Pastor Grace. These men all decided to start following Jesus. Pastor Grace was overjoyed, the men began a new type of life, and the church members celebrated.

But a couple weeks later, the local mine owner came to visit Grace at her home. This was a big deal for such a rich and prominent man to even visit the little community. For him to come to her home was unthinkable.

I imagine Pastor Grace was confused as to why this man would be visiting.

Soon it was very clear.

It seems the men who started following Jesus, brought back tools and equipment they had previously stolen from the mine company. They gave the equipment back and asked their boss for forgiveness. The miners seemed to be radically different than before. This overwhelmed the mine owner so much that he had to come and meet Grace.

At this meeting, a huge check was made payable to the church from the mine owner. The church would be able to make major improvements. The ministry would be able to reach more people with the life changing message of God’s Grace.

You can’t make up a story this good.

These men found grace, because they met Grace.

You may not be named after God’s goodness, but you can just as readily share God’s grace with those around you.

There is no limit to what God can do with a willing heart.

That’s Amazing Grace.

-Tom Wise

Message In A Minute: Fatherhood

My family went to Washington D.C. a few years ago because my wife was attending a conference for work.

We got to see all the memorials and monuments. We were able to experience historic places. We walked, and walked, and walked.

We rode the subway some, but there was a lot of walking.

One of the days, while my wife was in her conference meetings, I ushered my daughter and son around to all the tourist spots. I navigated as best I could. I protected the kids from obvious dangers that come with a dense population, I shared my knowledge from my previous trip to that area. I entertained, and I inspired them when they got tired.

It was great fun, and great work.

It symbolized to me what being a father is…

Part tour guide, part police chief, part circus clown, part wise guru, and part encourager.

Being a father is not easy.

Being a father is not always convenient, it’s not publicly rewarding, it’s not adequately celebrated, it takes wisdom, humility, and strength.

But here is the truth fellow fathers.

You communicate love to your children through attention, time, boundaries, and security.

A son looks to you to see who he should be in the future. A daughter looks to you to see who she should be with in the future.

Your children depend on you.

The time you give them will be remembered forever, the words you speak will be their inner voice for years, and the love you demonstrate will shape their lives.

They watch the way you love and serve God, your wife, and others.

Society is lining up against you, many in media are downplaying your role, entertainers are challenging your relevance. But you have everything you need to be who God made you to be.

The world, our country, our communities, and most importantly your family, all need you to be a father.

Not Superman, but super involved.

Not a CEO, but a leader at home.

Not perfect, but dedicated.

Not a hero, but a father.

All your success, all your money, and all your accomplishments are rubbish, if you fail to be a father to your children.

Yield to God, stand up for truth, and love your family.

-Tom Wise

Message In A Minute: Steps of Faith

I have a nephew who has reached a cuteness level which would allow him to get away with anything.

Fortunately for his parents, he has yet to understand the depth of his super power.

Early on there was concern because he was not able to stand or walk at the appropriate age. The doctors ruled out anything serious but the family was rightfully concerned.

His parents tried different motivating ideas, contraptions to assist him, and anything they could think of to help him. Most of all, they prayed, many people were praying for him. Whole churches were praying.

There are a few videos of his first steps that are burned into the minds of those who love him. We all celebrated when he started walking, then running, climbing, dancing and all the things you would expect a toddler to do.

Before the first few unassisted steps happened. My family was visiting his family and in the living room, there was an apparatus that looked similar to the parallel bars you would see in a gymnastics competition. Except it was miniaturized.

My nephew was standing on one end grasping the support rails. His mother supported him until he started his movement. His father was at the other end encouraging him on. My nephew began to take small steps with a smile on his face, keeping his focus on his father.

This “Message In A Minute” conclusion almost writes itself doesn’t it?

The religious world uses the words “spiritual walk” to describe the growth and life of a believer. The church is often referred to as the “bride of Christ,” a symbolic mother for us. And God is our Heavenly Father.

We stumble, we fall, we hear encouragement, we struggle, we take one step at a time. But keeping our Father as the focal point is the surest way to get where we want to go.

How is your walk going?
Are you tempted to give up?
Do you feel like you’re not making progress?

Keep your eyes on your Father, He is the reason we take the steps, and He won’t let you walk alone.

-Tom Wise

Still A Candidate For Grace (Updated 03/28/19)

I wrote the following weeks ago, when it was revealed that Jussie Smollett had likely made up the story of being assaulted. This was before he was charged and long before the charges were dropped.

What Jussie Smollett did angers me, and he should be punished for it.

To fabricate a story that portrays a certain group as evil is beyond wrong. To continue to lie about it and waste tax-payers’ money on an investigation knowing it will lead to nothing is reprehensible.

Also, this whole story belittles the incidents where real discrimination, racism, and hate are actually involved.

But I have this sense that we should be praying for Jussie. A person capable of this much dishonesty and attention seeking is likely unstable. And unfortunately, this type of person could do harm to himself or others.

Usually, I would be trading political jabs, jokes, and points about something like this. And honestly, all that runs through my head. But I need to be a little more mature about stories like this.

I imagine Jussie has a grand-mother or two who’ve prayed for him since he was a little boy, I imagine his friends and family are heartbroken for him. I imagine a loving God who hurts with him at this moment. It doesn’t take away the repurcussions of his actions, but it helps me to not allow my heart to be hardened by cynicism and a media storm.

As a Christian, it shouldn’t take a revelation for me to pray for someone like Jussie. It should be my first instinct. But it wasn’t. I have to let God deal with my heart.

Jussie needs God’s grace, he needs healing, and yes he needs to make amends for what he has done. I’ll leave that last one up to the authorities.

As for me, I’m going to pray for him, and I pray that in the future, this is my first thought when something like this happens, not my last.

I still believe all of that, I need to see with compassion, think with mercy, and speak with grace. I need to pray for people before I talk about people.

But Jussie, like you and I, can keep grace from working in his life by refusing to admit he’s done anything wrong. God’s love is unconditional, but grace only works in a willing vessel. If anyone simply wants to avoid the consequences for their actions, grace isn’t what they need. Those people will find themselves worse off than before.

Today’s lack of accountability, brings a future lack of responsibility.

Societies have met their ruin by neglecting accountability.

What Jussie did still angers me, and Jussie’s continued lack of honesty only makes it worse. But I will continue praying for Jussie, he is still a candidate for grace. It is completely up to him to admit his need for forgiveness. The scary part is this, God won’t force any of us to admit that need.

So be angry if you want, I’m right there with you. But pray for Jussie, and pray that we don’t ever get to the point where we can’t admit it when we are clearly wrong.

It’s a dangerous place to be.

-Tom Wise