When I checked my email account at the office yesterday, I had 21 new email messages. For some people, 21 email messages would be a major relief. For me, 21 messages is about 18 more than I need. If someone sends me an email, I must respond. I was raised that way. Isn’t it disrespectful to ignore someone?
About 18 of the emails weren’t really personal. Half of them were marketing emails letting me know things such as the latest deals on video clips for my sermons to interest rates for church construction loans. Those emails are easy enough to ignore. At worst, I will miss a great bargain. The other half of the emails are email forwards. Can I really ignore these emails? What if the person who sent the email asks me about it later? What if they ask if I could see the face in the clouds? What will I say?
Ok. This blog is actually about time management, but who wants to read a blog about time management? So, let’s say this blog is really about getting more out of life.
How do I get more out of life? Stop killing cockroaches. Tony Morgan’s book, Killing Cockroaches, provides great advice for ending the tyranny of the urgent. Tony describes the urgent tasks that come our way every day that sap our time and energy, but aren’t really worth our time. He likens them to the task of killing cockroaches. Sure, you feel like a hero when you save the office from a cockroach (copier jam, leftover food in fridge fiasco, etc.), but is that really what you want your legacy to be?
Add, steak sauce. Dave Ramsey advises leaders to put steak sauce into our days in his book, EntreLeadership. His favorite steak sauce is A1. A level tasks represents the tasks in our day that are actually important. 1 represents the task that should be done first out of all of the important tasks. If we accomplish the A1 task, our day has substance. Everything else can probably wait.
Eat the biggest frog first. “If it's your job to eat a frog, it's best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it's your job to eat two frogs, it's best to eat the biggest one first.” – Mark Twain. My advice would be don’t stare at the frog too long either.
What can we say if we get quizzed about the all important email forward? “I am sorry I didn’t read the email. I was putting steak sauce on a frog while avoiding cockroaches.” Works like a charm.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Monday, December 5, 2011
Passion
A few days ago a group of people from our church made a trip to Charlotte to volunteer at the shoebox processing center for OperationChristmas Child. Every day the center preps over 100,000 boxes for shipments around the world to children just in time for Christmas. People who volunteer at this site are passionate! One of our newest church members was on the trip, and she told me on the way back that we needed to double our goal for shoeboxes next year. And, we should get started on next year’s shoeboxes right away.
I like passionate people. One of my favorite aspects of being a pastor is regularly working alongside of people who are passionate about what they do. Passionate people are driven by causes greater than themselves. Passionate people change the world. We have people at Oakland who work year round for wonderful causes that make a difference in eternity.
But, passionate people don’t always play well with others. Sometimes passionate people can’t understand why everyone doesn’t share their passion. Why doesn’t everyone in the church get involved in my cause? Don’t they understand how important this issue is?
I am a passionate person. I am passionate about baseball, football, running, burritos, reading, politics, philosophy, leadership journals, technology, hiking, missions, naked juice, comic strips in the Sunday paper, etc. But, I have little to no passion for lacrosse, stamp collecting, scrapbooking, Tupperware parties, root canals, cabbage, or country music.
We are all wired differently. We are all unique by design. God gives us all great passions for His unique purposes. We will naturally gravitate toward people who share our passions, and we will all make our own impression on the world. It makes the journey so much more fun.
14Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. 15If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the body. 16And if the ear says, “I am not part of the body because I am not an eye,” would that make it any less a part of the body? 17If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything?” 1 Corinthians 12:14-17 (NLT)
I like passionate people. One of my favorite aspects of being a pastor is regularly working alongside of people who are passionate about what they do. Passionate people are driven by causes greater than themselves. Passionate people change the world. We have people at Oakland who work year round for wonderful causes that make a difference in eternity.
But, passionate people don’t always play well with others. Sometimes passionate people can’t understand why everyone doesn’t share their passion. Why doesn’t everyone in the church get involved in my cause? Don’t they understand how important this issue is?
I am a passionate person. I am passionate about baseball, football, running, burritos, reading, politics, philosophy, leadership journals, technology, hiking, missions, naked juice, comic strips in the Sunday paper, etc. But, I have little to no passion for lacrosse, stamp collecting, scrapbooking, Tupperware parties, root canals, cabbage, or country music.
We are all wired differently. We are all unique by design. God gives us all great passions for His unique purposes. We will naturally gravitate toward people who share our passions, and we will all make our own impression on the world. It makes the journey so much more fun.
14Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. 15If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the body. 16And if the ear says, “I am not part of the body because I am not an eye,” would that make it any less a part of the body? 17If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything?” 1 Corinthians 12:14-17 (NLT)
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
As a child the Oreo cookie presented a unique challenge to me. I was never really sure if I was eating it correctly. There are at least four different ways to eat an Oreo cookie. The simplest way to eat a cookie is to take small bites of the cookie without disturbing the basic, original form. You can also dunk it in milk. You can separate it into two halves with the cream filling attached to one half leaving the other half bare. (The debate still rages about which half one should eat first.) And lastly, you can place the whole cookie in your mouth at once, which is quite convenient when in danger of being caught with a cookie in hand.
Today, I am inclined to say that there really is no one correct way to eat an Oreo. As my sign language teacher used to say in response to different ways of signing the same group of words, “that sign isn’t wrong, it is just different.”
As an adult I wrestle with how far to take my judgments. I am naturally analytical and critical. I like to take things apart and put them back together just to see how they work, but I will analyze those quirks in another blog for another day. Where is the line between good judgment and being judgmental?
We instill in our children the value of making good decisions and developing wisdom. We teach them not to touch the muffler of a small engine after it has been running for an hour even though it is quiet. Experience is harsh teacher, and her lessons make a lasting impression. We teach our children to speak truthfully at all times regardless of the consequences. It is never okay to lie. We quote Ephesians 4:15 – “we will speak the truth in love.”
We also cringe when our children are overly critical, racists, elitist, and sometimes too “truthful.” “That man doesn’t have any hair,” children are quick to note. We often dismiss children’s comments because they simply don’t know any better. But what do we make of adults who should know better, but simply don’t? What about when I am the adult that doesn’t know better. How do I know when I have crossed the line?
“Who are you to condemn someone else’s servants? They are responsible to the Lord, so let him judge whether they are right or wrong.” Romans 14:4
I have found that I should exercise good judgment and speak the truth in love in all issues that pertain directly to me and anyone for whom I am responsible. If I am not responsible for a person, then they are not my “servant”. And I don’t have the right or responsibility to make judgments.
I simply am not responsible for the free actions of other people. I am responsible for my actions and my words. And I am responsible for what I do with my Oreos.
Today, I am inclined to say that there really is no one correct way to eat an Oreo. As my sign language teacher used to say in response to different ways of signing the same group of words, “that sign isn’t wrong, it is just different.”
As an adult I wrestle with how far to take my judgments. I am naturally analytical and critical. I like to take things apart and put them back together just to see how they work, but I will analyze those quirks in another blog for another day. Where is the line between good judgment and being judgmental?
We instill in our children the value of making good decisions and developing wisdom. We teach them not to touch the muffler of a small engine after it has been running for an hour even though it is quiet. Experience is harsh teacher, and her lessons make a lasting impression. We teach our children to speak truthfully at all times regardless of the consequences. It is never okay to lie. We quote Ephesians 4:15 – “we will speak the truth in love.”
We also cringe when our children are overly critical, racists, elitist, and sometimes too “truthful.” “That man doesn’t have any hair,” children are quick to note. We often dismiss children’s comments because they simply don’t know any better. But what do we make of adults who should know better, but simply don’t? What about when I am the adult that doesn’t know better. How do I know when I have crossed the line?
“Who are you to condemn someone else’s servants? They are responsible to the Lord, so let him judge whether they are right or wrong.” Romans 14:4
I have found that I should exercise good judgment and speak the truth in love in all issues that pertain directly to me and anyone for whom I am responsible. If I am not responsible for a person, then they are not my “servant”. And I don’t have the right or responsibility to make judgments.
I simply am not responsible for the free actions of other people. I am responsible for my actions and my words. And I am responsible for what I do with my Oreos.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
God and Hell
A fellow minister and I were having a conversation one day about the nature of God and what God does. We discussed a number of topics, which somehow led us to a discussion about hell. The other minister was my senior by more than 30 years, and I initially attempted to be as modest as possible in our discussion.
At one point she turned to me and stated bluntly, “my God doesn’t send people to hell.”
I replied, “I agree.”
She looked at me with a puzzled look and said almost in a question, “You do.”
I said, “Yes.”
She said, “But, I don’t understand. I thought that you said earlier that God sends people to hell?”
I said, “He does.”
After a long pause she said, “Are you saying my God and your God are different?”
I replied, “It certainly appears that way.”
She then spent several minutes saying some comments to me that I would rather not repeat. But her comments did indicate that she might not be regenerate. She even accused me of believing the Bible. Oh, the humanity!
After she calmed down, her intellectual curiosity emerged, and she asked me “what is the difference between your God and mine?”
I said, “You invented your god in your mind. Your god looks exactly like you want a god to look. Your god does exactly what you want a god to do. Your god is just a bigger, more powerful version of you.”
Despite my high accolades, she wasn’t flattered.
She responded in kind. “Your god only exists in a book. If we took away the Bible, then you wouldn’t even know who God is.”
I said, “Exactly.”
She scoffed.
I continued, “Basically, you are saying that my God is revealed, but your god exists in each person’s mind and varies from one person to the next.”
She said, “Well, sort of. God is the same, but we each see her differently.”
I asked, “How do you know who has the correct god?”
She replied, “It isn’t about who has the correct God. Everyone is free to see God differently, and it isn’t our place to judge people.”
I said, “So I am free to believe in the God of the Bible?”
She then said a few things that would indicate that I am an idiot who should never be allowed to speak in public. She ended the conversation by saying that most intelligent people would choose her god anyway.
So, I guess she showed me. We should simply have an election to determine who God really is. Maybe we should only let the “intelligent” people vote in the election. Maybe we could all bring our jewelry and make our own god.
Maybe God doesn’t need us to define who He is after all. Maybe, if God wants us to know who He is, He will tell us. Maybe, He will even say, “I AM WHO I AM.”
The “I AM” tells us the truth about heaven and hell.
1. Heaven and hell are both real. Matthew 23:33.
2. Hell is not air conditioned. Our attempts to make hell more tolerable can’t change the fact that it is place of unspeakable agony and eternal separation from our King. 2 Thessalonians 1:9.
3. Hell doesn’t end. Mark 9:48. Jude 1:7.
4. Sin separates us from God. Unless the separation is removed, we will spend the rest of eternity separated from God. The cross of Jesus is the only way back to God. Matthew 7:13.
5. We choose to sin, and we deserve hell. We do not deserve heaven. Heaven is a gracious gift from God. Ephesians 2:8.
6. God is the judge of the living and the dead. 1 Peter 4:5.
7. We reap what we sow. Galatians 6:7.
8. God sends people to hell. Luke 12:5. 2 Peter 2:4.
9. God invites people to heaven. We should too. John 14:6.
10. Hell should break our hearts. It should move us to tears. It should move us to action. Hebrew 3:13.
At one point she turned to me and stated bluntly, “my God doesn’t send people to hell.”
I replied, “I agree.”
She looked at me with a puzzled look and said almost in a question, “You do.”
I said, “Yes.”
She said, “But, I don’t understand. I thought that you said earlier that God sends people to hell?”
I said, “He does.”
After a long pause she said, “Are you saying my God and your God are different?”
I replied, “It certainly appears that way.”
She then spent several minutes saying some comments to me that I would rather not repeat. But her comments did indicate that she might not be regenerate. She even accused me of believing the Bible. Oh, the humanity!
After she calmed down, her intellectual curiosity emerged, and she asked me “what is the difference between your God and mine?”
I said, “You invented your god in your mind. Your god looks exactly like you want a god to look. Your god does exactly what you want a god to do. Your god is just a bigger, more powerful version of you.”
Despite my high accolades, she wasn’t flattered.
She responded in kind. “Your god only exists in a book. If we took away the Bible, then you wouldn’t even know who God is.”
I said, “Exactly.”
She scoffed.
I continued, “Basically, you are saying that my God is revealed, but your god exists in each person’s mind and varies from one person to the next.”
She said, “Well, sort of. God is the same, but we each see her differently.”
I asked, “How do you know who has the correct god?”
She replied, “It isn’t about who has the correct God. Everyone is free to see God differently, and it isn’t our place to judge people.”
I said, “So I am free to believe in the God of the Bible?”
She then said a few things that would indicate that I am an idiot who should never be allowed to speak in public. She ended the conversation by saying that most intelligent people would choose her god anyway.
So, I guess she showed me. We should simply have an election to determine who God really is. Maybe we should only let the “intelligent” people vote in the election. Maybe we could all bring our jewelry and make our own god.
Maybe God doesn’t need us to define who He is after all. Maybe, if God wants us to know who He is, He will tell us. Maybe, He will even say, “I AM WHO I AM.”
The “I AM” tells us the truth about heaven and hell.
1. Heaven and hell are both real. Matthew 23:33.
2. Hell is not air conditioned. Our attempts to make hell more tolerable can’t change the fact that it is place of unspeakable agony and eternal separation from our King. 2 Thessalonians 1:9.
3. Hell doesn’t end. Mark 9:48. Jude 1:7.
4. Sin separates us from God. Unless the separation is removed, we will spend the rest of eternity separated from God. The cross of Jesus is the only way back to God. Matthew 7:13.
5. We choose to sin, and we deserve hell. We do not deserve heaven. Heaven is a gracious gift from God. Ephesians 2:8.
6. God is the judge of the living and the dead. 1 Peter 4:5.
7. We reap what we sow. Galatians 6:7.
8. God sends people to hell. Luke 12:5. 2 Peter 2:4.
9. God invites people to heaven. We should too. John 14:6.
10. Hell should break our hearts. It should move us to tears. It should move us to action. Hebrew 3:13.
Friday, February 11, 2011
O Glorious Day
Music has never been my strongest subject. My greatest musical achievement to date was learning to bang large wood dowels together when our music minister waved his hand in a quick, upward motion, and I wasn’t even very good at that. My worship pastor tells me now that my music minister was attempting to teach me rhythm. Fail.
When I entered college at Florida Baptist Theological College, I discovered that I would be required to take a music class in order to graduate. I dreaded taking this class more than any class in all of my academic career – including middle school gym and calculus based physics at the University of South Alabama. I cleverly decided to take the class in a compressed summer term to minimize the length of my suffering through a music class.
In the summer of ’97 I enrolled in a music class with Dr. Don Odom. On the first day of class, my fears were quickly placated by the opening lecture by Dr. Odom. He began the class by saying that he knew that most of us did not want to be in the class and that we probably took it during the summer to get it over with as quickly as possible. Touché.
I learned more about worship from Dr. Odom than I ever imagined, and my hatred of music education softened to dislike over that summer. Dr. Odom told us many stories from his ministry. He told us that he was asked to sing “One Day at a Time” at a funeral service which includes the phrase “I’m just a woman” in its lyrics. If I remember correctly, he was paid $500 to sing the song.
Dr. Odom provided many practical applications for his students. He told us not to wave our hands if we ever led music unless we actually knew what we were doing. He encouraged us not to worry about having to lead music because if a church was small enough for us to be asked to lead music, then the people would probably just follow the piano player regardless of what we actually did.
One of the assignments we did in the music class was writing a sermon from a hymn. (I know it sounds heretical, but it was a music class.) At first I thought the assignment was rather dumb, but I must admit that for the first time I really paid attention to the words to the songs I was singing. I have never been able to look at a hymn the same way since that assignment. Words convey meaning. Words put to music convey meaning that can move us in ways that no other form of communication can.
I recently experienced a song that took me by surprise. The words were familiar, but the music was new. It took me back to my childhood, and reminded me of the joy of my salvation (Psalm 51:12). The song is called “O Glorious Day” by Casting Crowns. The old hymn is called, “One Day.” Maybe it will encourage you today.
One day the grave could conceal Him no longer,
One day the stone rolled away from the door;
Then He arose, over death He had conquered;
Now is ascended, my Lord evermore.
Living, He loved me; dying, He saved me;
Buried, He carried my sins far away;
Rising, He justified freely forever:
One day He's coming—O glorious day!
When I entered college at Florida Baptist Theological College, I discovered that I would be required to take a music class in order to graduate. I dreaded taking this class more than any class in all of my academic career – including middle school gym and calculus based physics at the University of South Alabama. I cleverly decided to take the class in a compressed summer term to minimize the length of my suffering through a music class.
In the summer of ’97 I enrolled in a music class with Dr. Don Odom. On the first day of class, my fears were quickly placated by the opening lecture by Dr. Odom. He began the class by saying that he knew that most of us did not want to be in the class and that we probably took it during the summer to get it over with as quickly as possible. Touché.
I learned more about worship from Dr. Odom than I ever imagined, and my hatred of music education softened to dislike over that summer. Dr. Odom told us many stories from his ministry. He told us that he was asked to sing “One Day at a Time” at a funeral service which includes the phrase “I’m just a woman” in its lyrics. If I remember correctly, he was paid $500 to sing the song.
Dr. Odom provided many practical applications for his students. He told us not to wave our hands if we ever led music unless we actually knew what we were doing. He encouraged us not to worry about having to lead music because if a church was small enough for us to be asked to lead music, then the people would probably just follow the piano player regardless of what we actually did.
One of the assignments we did in the music class was writing a sermon from a hymn. (I know it sounds heretical, but it was a music class.) At first I thought the assignment was rather dumb, but I must admit that for the first time I really paid attention to the words to the songs I was singing. I have never been able to look at a hymn the same way since that assignment. Words convey meaning. Words put to music convey meaning that can move us in ways that no other form of communication can.
I recently experienced a song that took me by surprise. The words were familiar, but the music was new. It took me back to my childhood, and reminded me of the joy of my salvation (Psalm 51:12). The song is called “O Glorious Day” by Casting Crowns. The old hymn is called, “One Day.” Maybe it will encourage you today.
One day the grave could conceal Him no longer,
One day the stone rolled away from the door;
Then He arose, over death He had conquered;
Now is ascended, my Lord evermore.
Living, He loved me; dying, He saved me;
Buried, He carried my sins far away;
Rising, He justified freely forever:
One day He's coming—O glorious day!
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Joy
The Mobile Press Register was quite a bit heavier today than yesterday. Some of the extra bulk can be attributed to a special 26 page section about the history of the Iron Bowl. Most of the additional weight in today’s paper was from a mountain of sales papers heralding that a new season of shopping is waiting just beyond the turkey and thankfulness.
The season of joy begins tonight with the annual convergence of Christmas decorating and Black Friday shopping. But everyone may not be so joyful. For some people the Christmas season is one of their loneliest times of the year. Other people may be struggling with reasons to be thankful today after a year of job losses, and future economic uncertainty renders the prospect of a joyful Christmas bleak. Some people simply don’t like Christmas, but we will leave the Scrooges for Mr. Dickens.
Reasons abound for people not to be happy, but there are few reasons to lack joy. The season of joy is not affected by circumstances when fully understood. Happiness varies based on our present circumstances. If you give a kid ice cream, he will be happy. If you take the ice cream away prematurely, you will inherit an unhappy child. Joy is not dependent upon circumstances. Joy is much deeper than happiness.
In Acts 13, we learn that Paul and Barnabas were run out of Antioch of Pisidia because of the offense of their gospel preaching. Paul and Barnabas were run out of most of the towns were they preached, but the end of Acts 13 says that Paul and Barnabas were “filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.” Paul’s circumstances changed almost daily, but his joy was not affected. Paul was shipwrecked, beaten, cold, lonely, stoned (biblically not from narcotics) and left for dead, but he never lost his joy.
Happiness and joy are easy to distinguish.
Happiness
sweet potato pie
playing ball with my great niece
snowflakes
teaching a class
finishing a long run
Joy
the God who seeks me
the God who never lets go
I can lose my happiness, but not my joy. Did someone mention sweet potato pie? I need my energy as I start the season of joy.
The season of joy begins tonight with the annual convergence of Christmas decorating and Black Friday shopping. But everyone may not be so joyful. For some people the Christmas season is one of their loneliest times of the year. Other people may be struggling with reasons to be thankful today after a year of job losses, and future economic uncertainty renders the prospect of a joyful Christmas bleak. Some people simply don’t like Christmas, but we will leave the Scrooges for Mr. Dickens.
Reasons abound for people not to be happy, but there are few reasons to lack joy. The season of joy is not affected by circumstances when fully understood. Happiness varies based on our present circumstances. If you give a kid ice cream, he will be happy. If you take the ice cream away prematurely, you will inherit an unhappy child. Joy is not dependent upon circumstances. Joy is much deeper than happiness.
In Acts 13, we learn that Paul and Barnabas were run out of Antioch of Pisidia because of the offense of their gospel preaching. Paul and Barnabas were run out of most of the towns were they preached, but the end of Acts 13 says that Paul and Barnabas were “filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.” Paul’s circumstances changed almost daily, but his joy was not affected. Paul was shipwrecked, beaten, cold, lonely, stoned (biblically not from narcotics) and left for dead, but he never lost his joy.
Happiness and joy are easy to distinguish.
Happiness
sweet potato pie
playing ball with my great niece
snowflakes
teaching a class
finishing a long run
Joy
the God who seeks me
the God who never lets go
I can lose my happiness, but not my joy. Did someone mention sweet potato pie? I need my energy as I start the season of joy.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Getting What I Deserve
Most of us have an innate sense of fairness. We instantly recognize when someone else is getting a bigger “half” of the peanut butter and jelly sandwich. And we don’t like it. We even learn social norms for fairness based on our interaction with other people.
A couple of weeks ago I went to the post office to buy stamps. At the post office everyone forms a line, and a postal employee takes each customer in order. As we were waiting for our turn, a guy walked into the post office, bypassed everyone in line, and went directly to the counter. To make matters worse, he was talking on his cell phone! Our otherwise friendly line was internally converting to a lynching mob. If looks could kill, a few old ladies would soon be on trial. Fortunately, our postal employee recognized the villain and sent the man to the back of the line while pointing to a sign that said “No Cell Phones.” We were all quietly vindicated as justice was restored.
In Christian circles we have a sense of fairness about how God and our lives should go as well. Our formula is as follows:
1. Learn what God wants.
2. Do the right thing.
3. God will bless you.
4. Everybody will be happy.
But what happens when we learn what God says and do the right thing, but we don’t experience God’s blessing? Logically, we aren’t happy. Our sense of fairness is awakened. We question God’s faithfulness or we question our formula.
Perhaps we should question our concept of God’s blessing. He does not always bless us in the way that we expect. As we mature in our faith, we begin to recognize that He is faithful even if we are not seeing His promises fulfilled.
The greatest acts of faith recorded in the Bible are by people who did not see the promises of God fulfilled in their lifetime. Sometimes God has something better for us that cannot be received during our days. May God stretch our faith beyond our generation.
39These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. 40God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. Hebrews 11:39-40 (NIV)
A couple of weeks ago I went to the post office to buy stamps. At the post office everyone forms a line, and a postal employee takes each customer in order. As we were waiting for our turn, a guy walked into the post office, bypassed everyone in line, and went directly to the counter. To make matters worse, he was talking on his cell phone! Our otherwise friendly line was internally converting to a lynching mob. If looks could kill, a few old ladies would soon be on trial. Fortunately, our postal employee recognized the villain and sent the man to the back of the line while pointing to a sign that said “No Cell Phones.” We were all quietly vindicated as justice was restored.
In Christian circles we have a sense of fairness about how God and our lives should go as well. Our formula is as follows:
1. Learn what God wants.
2. Do the right thing.
3. God will bless you.
4. Everybody will be happy.
But what happens when we learn what God says and do the right thing, but we don’t experience God’s blessing? Logically, we aren’t happy. Our sense of fairness is awakened. We question God’s faithfulness or we question our formula.
Perhaps we should question our concept of God’s blessing. He does not always bless us in the way that we expect. As we mature in our faith, we begin to recognize that He is faithful even if we are not seeing His promises fulfilled.
The greatest acts of faith recorded in the Bible are by people who did not see the promises of God fulfilled in their lifetime. Sometimes God has something better for us that cannot be received during our days. May God stretch our faith beyond our generation.
39These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. 40God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. Hebrews 11:39-40 (NIV)
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