Category Archives: Message In A Minute

Message In A Minute: Here I Go Again

I’ve been accused of saturating every day conversations with references to 1980’s songs.

I’ve even been called a (Maniac) for it.

People say I’m (Out of Touch), my family even told me (We’re Not Gonna Take It) anymore. But it’s (Hard to Say I’m Sorry) when I’m feeing (So Excited), and I want to show my (True Colors), that’s just (The Way It Is).

(I Won’t Back Down), I’m going to have the (Eye of the Tiger) when it comes to using whatever it takes to (Shout) God’s grace.

I want the world to know about the love of God, but some ask me (What’s Love Got to Do With It?) I mean I won’t (Push It), if somebody doesn’t want to hear it. It’s (My Prerogative) what I believe, and it’s your right to not (Jump) at the chance to accept God’s grace with (Open Arms).

Life is (Tricky), life is a (Wild Thing), you will often find yourself (Under Pressure), but instead of saying to yourself (Here I Go Again), thank God for (Every Breath You Take).

If you were (Born in the U.S.A.) you have blessings others only dream about. I can’t promise (Sweet Dreams) (All Night Long), but you can (Straight Up) trust God (Time After Time).

If you (Want to Know What Love Is), don’t be (Too Shy), I promise God is saying to you (Take On Me).

You may (Say, Say, Say) to yourself, (How Will I Know if He Really Loves Me?), well, you gotta have (Faith),

In this world, it seems like (Love Is A Battlefield), it may feel like (The End of the World As We Know It), you may sense uncertainty (In The Air Tonight) but (Heaven Isn’t Too Far Away).

Even if you feel like a fallen (Angel), God can take your (Broken Wings) and use His (Invisible Touch) to lift you (Up Where We Belong).

So (Fight the Power) of doubt and discouragement, don’t have a (Total Eclipse of the Heart), say to yourself (I Can’t Go For That). The world will have you spinning (Round and Round), but God has (Endless Love) for you.

If you are a Christian, (Don’t Stop Believing), because God is (Never Going to Give You Up), it’s up to you to follow Him (Faithfully).

If you are the (Owner of A Lonely Heart)
(Call Me) at (867-5309)

-Tom Wise

Message In A Minute: From Guilt to Grace

In the movie “Liar Liar”, Jim Carrey plays a lawyer who suddenly finds himself incapable of being dishonest.

It makes for many humorous situations.

Near the end of the movie Jim Carrey’s character wins a custody battle for his client. He finds a technicality in the law to sway the judge to rule in his client’s favor. The client is a shallow, bitter, self-centered woman who was using the children as leverage in the case.

Jim Carrey’s character realizes he won the case at the expense of what was best for the children. He witnesses the father of the children being heart broken. Carrey’s character approaches the judge and makes a confession about manipulating the system and explains that the children should be with their father.

The judge takes offense to the words and threatens to hold the lawyer in contempt, if he doesn’t stop his behavior. Then Jim Carrey says a line that I have always remembered, he yells at the judge “I hold myself in contempt.”

It’s a powerful scene because it displays a very deep reality.

Contempt means that a person or thing is worthless, or not deserving of respect. To be held in “contempt of court”, is to be found disobedient or disrespectful in a court of law. You can be removed or further punished in that circumstance.

It’s a good thing to face up to the consequences of our behavior when we’ve done wrong. But it’s even better to honestly and humbly face the spiritual condition that causes us to do wrong in the first place. It’s painful to admit that we’ve been overcome with selfish desires. It produces shame and guilt.

Our society tends to dismiss shame and guilt. We ignore it, distort it, drink it away, or medicate it. But it sticks with us and reveals itself through anger, hatefulness, or a variety of disorders.

Guilt can actually be a good thing, because it gives you the opportunity to make things right. It leads the way to forgiveness, understanding, and better choices in the future. Guilt can be a catalyst for deep and meaningful change in a person’s life.

When our selfish nature is surrendered to God, guilt loses its power, shame fades away, regret dissolves.

In the past, many religious people used guilt as a weapon to wield against others. We were never intended to live with ongoing guilt. In response to weaponized guilt, many people try to dismiss guilt altogether.

I understand that.

But every now and then, I find myself in contempt.

I realize I’ve done something wrong and I can’t just forget about it. I need to deal with it. I need to confess to God that I’ve failed, and it didn’t happen by accident, I willingly chose to do the wrong thing or act in a self-centered way.

God is faithful to forgive, He is willing to show mercy, and He is also able to deal with the condition that causes us all to fall short.

The Gospel is good news, but it’s a comprehensive message. Too often its presented as either a sin management plan, or a celestial nirvana causing everything in your life to be perfect.

The truth is, God loves us more than we can imagine.

That love forgives us completely, and that love can radically change our very nature.

Because that love forgives, cleanses, revives, liberates, corrects, renews, creates, directs, reconciles, transforms, and empowers us.

I encourage you to deal with any guilt or shame you sense in your heart, don’t ignore it, don’t try to earn your way out of it, don’t try to cover it up.

Give it to God, sincerely seek His love, and walk out of shame into grace, peace, and joy.

-Tom Wise

Message In A Minute: Check Your Distance

In my early twenties, I went on a beach vacation in South Carolina.

I had one of those cheap inflatable rafts out in the ocean. Even though I was on the raft, I always kept relatively close to the shore, just beyond the breaking point of the waves. I never wanted to be out further than where I was able to stand with my head above the water.

My raft started losing air, at first I didn’t notice. When I finally noticed it, I didn’t think it was such a big deal, I looked for the nozzle so I could fill the raft with more air. It wasn’t working, the raft began to lose air rapidly. But while I was trying to manage the small issue with the raft, I neglected to sense the bigger issue I would soon have to deal with.

While all this was going on, I was slowly being pulled away from the shore. When it became obvious that I was way too far out, I began to panic. The raft quickly became a deterrent instead of a help. I couldn’t touch the ocean floor, I could now feel the power of the riptide, and I started swimming as hard as I could, leaving the deflated raft behind.

I was doing all I could physically, but despite my effort I was drifting further out. I was absolutely terrified. Fortunately I had heard in a situation like that to swim parallel to the shore until I was out of the riptide. I did that, and when I finally made it to shore I laid on the sand for a long time. I was physically exhausted.

That personal incident reminds me of this famous truth from Ravi Zaccharias

“Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay.”

The word “sin” may be a mystery to you, maybe it’s been defined by people you don’t trust. In some cases, it’s been purposely redefined by popular opinion. In its totality, sin is more like an underlying condition with byproducts that we label sinful, and it’s a deeper problem than we can cover here. But for our purpose you could substitute bad choices, selfishness, or willful mistakes for the word sin and Mr. Zaccharias’ principle still holds true.

Like a riptide, sin (or our substitute words) will pull us away from where we want to be. It will keep us away from better things, and cause us to pay a price we never see coming.

Many people assume the Bible gives us guidelines to take away our freedom or fun. But actually God establishes boundaries for life to protect us from awful consequences. If you aren’t a believer, I imagine you can still see the wisdom in staying away from destructive behavior.

The good news is we aren’t defined by our destructive behaviors, our addictions, or our bad choices. Even though we have the propensity to go astray, God calls us His children. He offers love, mercy, and forgiveness to all of us.

It’s healthy to check your distance from the shore every once in a while.

Don’t let anything pull you away from all the good God has for you.

-Tom Wise

Message in A Minute: Check Your Heart

As I’ve mentioned in a previous Message In a Minute, in the past I had a unique job working with teenagers.

I was a counselor for teenagers who were in state’s custody.

Usually these teens had limited contact with their families, if they had any contact at all. Because of their age and some behavioral issues, the teenagers weren’t ideal candidates for foster families. The company I worked for looked after and educated the teens in basic life skills.

I was ordained as a Pastor a few years before I started working with this company.

I enjoyed getting to know the teens and helping them through challenging situations. I wasn’t allowed to bring up any religious topics with the teens, unless they brought up the idea first. I never pushed any agenda but I would willingly answer any questions the teens had. I concentrated on teaching life skills and building relationships.

About a month after I started working there, one of the boys came to me expressing fear and uncertainty. I got to know this boy well in a short time, we connected through basketball, video games, and music. But this evening, I could tell something was really bothering him.

He sat down in front of me, checked to see if anyone else was around and asked me, “Did you know that a Pastor works here?” I answered with a vague “really?” He assured me that it was true. He heard it from another teen who heard it from another counselor. It was obvious, he didn’t know which counselor was the Pastor. I went on to ask him why that bothered him. I’ll never forget his answer.

“Because I’m gay, and a Pastor probably wouldn’t like me.”

That evening, I had two strong emotions.

First, I experienced extreme sorrow, knowing this young man felt fear about being around a religious authority figure. I wondered what happened in his life to teach him this fear. And I sensed the pain of the collateral wounds inflicted by the religion verses culture war.

This young man had been hurt in the crossfire.

Second, I experienced great joy as I revealed to the young man that I was the Pastor, and there was nothing to fear from me. I explained to him that I knew he was gay from the first time we met, and it made little difference in how our friendship developed. I made sure he knew I cared about him.

We continued to shoot basketball, play video games, and disagree about what kind of music was best.

He had more questions, we had more conversations, and we laughed about almost everything. It was a positive, grace filled, healthy, mentoring relationship. I will always value it.

Much could be said about the justification for his fear, whose fault it was, the anxiety propagated by all sides, and the theological, biological, environmental, societal, and familial realities of every story. But that’s not what I’m dealing with here.

Remember when you’re fighting important battles, check your motives, check your methods, and most of all, check your heart.

Relate, listen, speak, agree or disagree with grace, peace, and love.

People are more sacred than policies, being right is intertwined with loving right, and nothing should stop us from caring about each other.

Act justly, exude mercy, speak humbly.

Live out loud the love of God.

-Tom Wise

Message In A Minute: The Strength of Forgiveness

When my wife and I were newlyweds, we lived in an apartment in a questionable part of town.

One morning we discovered that someone had tried to steal my wife’s Jeep. The steering column was damaged and there was a screwdriver laying on the floorboard. Apparently the thief couldn’t get the vehicle started so he settled for stealing all the CDs and a first generation cell phone.

We were angry to say the least. If I had seen it happening, I likely would’ve gotten violent. We filled out a police report and insurance covered some minor repairs but that wasn’t the end of the story.

Very shortly after this happened, I started a new job. I was a counselor for teenagers who were in our state’s custody. Usually these teens had limited contact with their families, if at all. Because of their age and behavior they generally weren’t candidates for foster families. The company I worked for looked after and educated the teens in basic life skills.

Many of them had rough lives and were often in trouble. I got to know all of them very well and helped in all the ways I could. It was a rewarding job in many aspects.

In a short time, I got to know one of the boys well, we shared the same interests in sports. We had a few long conversations. His childhood was difficult, a broken home, abuse, neglect, poverty, and abandonment was all he knew. I felt proud of him for making it through all of that.

One evening, he confessed that he used to break into vehicles in the area. After a few questions we figured out that he was probably the one who broke into my wife’s Jeep. His face turned red, his shoulders dropped, and he stared at the floor.

So there I was, within arms reach of the object of my anger.

But I didn’t feel anger at all, in fact, I laughed.

The boy apologized over and over again. I assured him that it was all forgiven. And we got hysterical about the fact that all he was able to take to the local pawn shop that day was my wife’s Christian CDs.

To this day, I still find forgiveness a difficult choice, but it seemed extremely easy this time.

When you know a person’s story, everything changes.

When you get the whole picture, the scene looks different.

When you build a relationship, understanding naturally occurs.

On a daily basis, we have choices to ostracize others or be open to them, write them off or welcome them, ignore them or include them.

You have every right to protect yourself and your property. We should never allow others to take advantage of us. There are definite times to take a stand.

But we have to balance that with compassion when the time comes. Don’t let anger be the final word. Let mercy overtake your heart.

The strongest act in all of humanity is to forgive.

-Tom Wise