|
|
|
Entries for 'Dan Czaplewski'
Dan Czaplewski posted on September 02, 2010 17:11
I think that character is the burning issue of our day. We live in a time when there is a crisis of character but, like the frog in the kettle, we don’t notice the small changes until it is too late.
Maybe it’s not too late. I came across the amazing story of Zach Nash. Zach is a high school freshman in Wisconsin. He is also an avid and proficient golfer. He’s so good at golf that this summer he shot a 77 in the final round o f the Milwaukee County Parks Tour Invitational to win first place in his age division.
There was one catch: Rule 4-4 which plainly states that a golfer shall not start a round with more than 14 clubs in his bag. Zach had inadvertently played the round with a 15th club that a friend had stuck in his bag the day before. When he discovered his mistake he knew what rule 4-4 meant – a four stroke penalty and the forfeiture of his first place medal.
Zach did the right thing and reported his infraction to the folks running the tournament. He also turned over his first place medal. You can read the story for yourself at http://www.jsonline.com/sports/golf/101941838.html (I don’t know how long the story will be there, so read quickly!)
How many 14 year-olds would have had the courage to do what Zach Nash did? How many 41 year-olds would have done the right thing, even when it cost them something they had worked hard to obtain? You don’t really know until you are in that position. Character can only be verified in the heat of the moment, when the stakes are at their highest.
Here’s the good news for you: in those moments when you’ve faced hard choices that test your character, God is at work. “It is God who produces in you the desires and actions that please him.” (Philippians 2:13)
I don’t know if Zach Nash is a believer in Christ. I do know that God is at work in all Christ-followers to conform our character to His image – to produce in us the desires and actions that please Him.
So, be careful, God is at work!
[Read the rest of this article...]
Dan Czaplewski posted on August 24, 2010 13:00
Yesterday was the first day of school for Shepherd of the Coast Christian School as well as the Broward County Public Schools. I know that in some parts of the country it sounds like a sacrilege to start school before Labor Day, but Florida education is a world all unto its own.
I started teaching fifth grade in September of 1979. I have had the opportunity to teach and administer at different levels of education and I still can’t sleep the night before school starts. For what it is worth, it was a great first day of school for us here in Fort Lauderdale and my restless night had nothing to do with our success.
Do any of our restless nights make our days any better? If anything, sleep deprivation makes things worse the next day. Still, we toss and turn as if it somehow helps.
I think there is a better alternative. The Lutheran hymn writer, Paul Gerhardt had it right in the 17th century when he wrote these words:
Now rest beneath night’s shadow
The woodland, fields, and meadow;
The world in slumber lies.
But you, my heart awaking
And prayer and music making,
Let praise to your Creator rise.
I don’t know that prayer and a late night hymn sing will cure your insomnia, but they will certainly place what is keeping you awake in better hands than your own. Get some REST tonight!
[Read the rest of this article...]
Dan Czaplewski posted on August 02, 2010 10:42
I have come to the conclusion that God is closest to us and we are closest to real spiritual breakthroughs when our backs are against the wall. When we encounter an utterly impossible situation, God in His mercy is there to make a way out and that way out leads to a greater intimacy with our Creator. The way “out” may be “through,” but God is no less faithful when we are going through difficulty than when times are good.
In all the circumstances of life we can boldly say, “Our God saves.” His goodness and mercy are constant.
There are times when my back is against the wall and I don’t want to be saved. I came across an example of that in my morning devotion today. I am in the habit of reading five Psalms every morning. (I read somewhere Billy Graham always read five Psalms every morning, so I figured it can’t hurt.)
In Psalm 106, the poet recites all the times that Israel abandoned God and yet He saved them. The best example, and the first one pointed out in Psalm 106, is when Israel left Egypt and found themselves between the Red Sea and Pharaoh’s army. Their backs were against the wall.
If you read that story in Exodus 15, you will see that they didn’t organize a prayer vigil or call for a special worship service asking God to help them. Instead, they complained against Moses and, by inference, said God had abandoned them. It sounds like they didn’t want to be saved, but they preferred to identify their problems and complain about them.
Still God saved them. Still God saves us. When we complain or are indifferent to Him, still God saves.
It is interesting that Psalm 107 begins, “O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! Let the redeemed of the LORDS say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble” (verses 1-2).
God is good, even when we’re not. God is steadfast in His love, even when I am fickle. God redeems, even when I would rather assign blame.
O give thanks to the LORD, for he IS good!
[Read the rest of this article...]
Dan Czaplewski posted on July 28, 2010 13:46
It has been said, “Why pray when you can worry?” In a backhanded way, that question says a lot about prayer.
I believe that not all prayers are the same. In fact, as vital as prayer is in my life, I am certain that some prayers don’t make any difference at all.
First, every religion that I can think of prays. Christian prayer is different from any other kind of prayers. Christians pray in our own unique way and for our own unique reasons. Christians pray as a result of our trust in Christ and we are certain that God hears us when we pray only because of Christ.
If Christ is all that He claims to be, Christian prayers are not only heard, they are answered. Yes, your prayers are answered by a God who in His boundless love for you sent Jesus to be your Savior. That sets Christian prayers apart from all other prayer.
Second, faith is inseparably connected to prayer. Don’t misunderstand: your prayers aren’t answered because of your faith. Rather, when you pray, your faith goes into action.
You trust that God in Christ loves you and that He wants the best for you. Prayer is time spent with the God of all love and it gives expression not only to your needs, but also to God’s desire for intimacy with you.
Finally, prayer is an activity in which we can become proficient. You can get good at praying. The bad news is that to become good at praying you have to work at it.
If your prayer life is less than satisfactory or if you struggle with finding a good reason to pray, you probably should pray about that. “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” – Luke 11:13
[Read the rest of this article...]
Dan Czaplewski posted on July 23, 2010 14:07 
Last week I was a delegate to the 64th Regular Convention of our Church body, the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod. The convention ended Saturday morning and I flew to New Orleans where I am attending our Church’s National Youth Gathering.
One event ended and another began. I walked out of the Houston Convention Center, through a security checkpoint, took off, landed, and I was part of 20,000+ youth and adults gathered to have the time of our lives in worship, study, and fellowship. Every end is, at the same time, a beginning.
This is a good beginning. This is, in fact, a fantastic beginning. I need this beginning.
What makes this such a good beginning is that I see thousands of young people excited about Jesus. They are glad to be here. They feel blessed to be in New Orleans. I think they may even love their church right now. I didn’t always see those things in Houston.
We had a great beginning in Houston. The Convention started with an inspiring and joyous worship service. We had a great beginning, but it didn’t last.
Without debating the value or benefit of a Convention or the results of this Convention, I would like you to think about the preparation that goes into a beginning. To have a good beginning and a happy ending, we need to prepare. Nothing is more important to how we end than how we prepare our hearts.
So, how do you prepare your heart? How do you get ready, not just for the big beginnings like Conventions or Youth Gatherings, but every day?
Every morning you get a new beginning. God gives you that day as a gift. It is hard to be ready for everything that is going to happen in any given day. When you wake up, you never know what the day will bring. You can, however, be prepared for what happens to you, even when you’re not ready for it.
I prepare for my day each morning with time in God’s word. For me, that is the best beginning I can make. Even if I’m not completely ready for anything when I finish my prayer and Bible reading time, I am prepared. My heart is ready.
I should be clear: I’m not prepared because of my diligence. I’m prepared because of God’s grace. In His love, Christ is revealed to me through His word. In His mercy, the Holy Spirit works through that word, when I feel it and when I don’t. The Spirit is at work at both the Convention and the Youth Gathering. I just want to be prepared.
[Read the rest of this article...]
Dan Czaplewski posted on July 20, 2010 08:44
This has been a long week for me. I’m away from home at the 64th Regular Convention of our church body. It’s hard to imagine I could get this tired from sitting all day. I guess you wouldn’t have such a hard time imaginiing being this tired from sitting if you were a delegate to one of these conventions.
There are two kinds of tired: a good tired and a bad tired. You have no doubt experienced both kinds of tired. After a long day when you have accomplished much, you’re probably tired in a good way. After a one hour meeting that accomplishes nothing, you may very well be “bad tired.”
When you get really “bad tired” or if you have been “bad tired” for an extended period of time, you can wake up after a night’s rest and still be tired. “Bad tired” can make you tired all the time and it can even make it hard to sleep.
The promise of Jesus seems particularly relevant: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) More than down time, a nap, or a good night’s sleep, Jesus promises rest when I am tired. Rest is good; the rest that Christ gives is the best. I can’t take a nap right now, there’s too much to do, but I do have rest.
I should say that, though I’m tired, I’m “good tired.” As tedious as this convention has been at times, I think it is good work. What we are doing does matter and it will matter in the future. We are not safeguarding the future of an institution, but working to promote the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
One example is what we passed on Thursday, July 15. We commended our disaster relief work in Haiti following the earthquake earlier this year (Resolution 6-01). I took great pride in seeing the Presidents of the two Lutheran church bodies in Haiti standing in front of the convention because I know how my Christian brothers and sisters in South Florida have worked so hard to alleviate suffering in Haiti.
When we adjourn, though, I’m going to get some rest.
[Read the rest of this article...]
Dan Czaplewski posted on July 18, 2010 16:44
Last Thursday I watched my television as Lebron James announced his decision to play for the Miami Heat professional basketball team. I wasn’t that interested in watching his announcement, but I didn’t have much of a choice – my TV had been hijacked by this apparently earth shattering news shown live on every network.
A word of background may be in order. I live in Fort Lauderdale, which is very close to Miami and we get all of our local broadcasts from the Miami stations.
The best part of this basketball melodrama and its ubiquitous coverage is that it has finally taken the Gulf oil spill out of the news for a couple of days. If I sound sarcastic, it is because the coverage (over-coverage) of Mr. James’ decision about where to play basketball plagues me with the question: “so what?”
I am a fan of the Miami Heat and I have suffered through some miserable seasons following this team. I did enjoy the 2004 season and seeing Duane Wade hoist the NBA championship trophy. The next six seasons have not been nearly so stellar, but they were not the end of the world. In the end, whether the Heat wins or loses - so what?
I’m glad for those people who now have jobs printing the new Lebron James Miami Heat jerseys. I recognize that a winning team has a positive economic impact on my community. I enjoy seeing my “home team” win, which the experts say that the Heat will be doing a lot this year.
But, at the end of the day, so what? At the end of the day, what does Mr. James’ decision really matter? More importantly, what does this coverage (over-coverage) of one man’s decision say about our priorities?
Decisions do matter, I just wonder if this decision matters that much. I think the decisions that make the most difference in my life are much “smaller.” Decisions about what to do or not do; what to say or not say; what to forgive and what to forget.
Your decisions matter too, even when you ask, “so what?” The small decisions, the ones you make when no TV camera is running or no one is watching, make more difference than you know.
But here’s the good news: my bad decisions, which I make plenty of each day, are under God’s grace because His decisions matter more than mine do. Jesus said, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide…” (John 15:16a).
God chose you to be His child in Jesus Christ. God chose, in Christ, to forgive you from all your bad decisions. God chose to give you today as a gift filled with opportunities to, by your decisions, make a difference in this world.
Today you will probably make some good decisions and some bad ones. Some of them will make you wonder, “so what?” Others may really matter. Many of them, you won’t be able to tell apart at the time. Most of all, remember that God made the decision in eternity to love you in Jesus Christ and He is not going to change His mind.
[Read the rest of this article...]
Dan Czaplewski posted on July 06, 2010 15:35
Yesterday, we celebrated Independence Day in the United States. We remembered that on July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was signed by the members of the Continental Congress. The words of the Declaration of Independence set in motion events that the founding fathers could never have imagined.
The words of that document have an enduring eloquence: “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Those words came from the pen of one of the great minds of his age: Thomas Jefferson. The words of the Declaration of Independence mattered when the members of the Continental Congress signed the document, and they matter today.
So often we think our words don’t matter. Despite all the evidence to the contrary, we feel that our words go out into the air and die. Words matter. They have a way of sticking.
You are probably not as eloquent as Thomas Jefferson. But even ordinary words matter.
Yesterday was another anniversary. On July 4, 1939, Lou Gehrig spoke before a capacity crowd at Yankee stadium. He said, in part, “for the past two weeks you have been reading about the bad break I got. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.”
Those are fairly ordinary words that we all agree are extraordinary. I think you can see in your mind’s eye the black and white picture of those events. If you cannot, the magic of YouTube can help (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4msaZTJrTA)
Taken in context, these words show audacious courage and inspire those who hear them. His speech outlived Lou Gehrig, and I believe they will still be inspiring people long after I’m gone.
So, what about your words? They may be simple and spoken in ordinary situations, but they have the ability to build up or to tear down. Your words may ring in your children’s ears long after you are gone. Your words can matter, either to build up or to tear down.
There is also a time when your words are not your own. Your words can be Christ’s presence in someone’s life, providing encouragement, conviction, or hope in all kinds of circumstances. You words can matter.
Jesus said “For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.” (John 17:8-9)
[Read the rest of this article...]
Dan Czaplewski posted on July 05, 2010 07:31
Our family was recently on vacation in western North Carolina. The mountains are beautiful, but we wanted to do more than just look. We hiked some rugged trails, a testimony to my wife’s devotion as a mother; hiking “isn’t her thing.” But, our 9-year-old son was not going to just sit around.
We also went whitewater rafting on the Nantahala River. It was a guided trip, but the guide wasn’t in our raft. Mike was the fellow doing the steering. Mike and his wife, Jennifer, were from Florida, but had joined the stampede to North Carolina several years earlier. Mike was a Christian guy from the same area of North Carolina where Billy Graham lives. We exchanged the usual pleasantries that strangers do when they are thrust into a situation where they depend on each other: hi, I’m…; where are you from; what do you do? Mike was interested to know that I was a Pastor.
At one point in our trip, we got spun around and we bounced off of several rocks. One of those bounces sent me out of the boat into the river. I was fortunate enough to get a hold of the rope on the side of the raft and my wife and Jennifer pulled me into the boat. It was embarrassing, since I was the only one who fell in out of four rafts.
Mike made the comment that at least I knew where I was going when I fell into the river. Frankly, that wasn’t on my mind at that moment. Initially, I was quite confused how I got in the river; one moment I was in the raft and the next moment I was under water. The next thing that entered my mind was getting into the boat.
Someone asked if the water was cold. I explained that when your heart rate is over 200 bpm and there is enough adrenaline coursing through your veins to restart the heart of person who has been dead for two days, the water is actually quite warm. But Mike’s comment is what stood out the most.
You see, we all know what is going to happen in the long run: we’re going to die. Where we’re going is important, but in the moment I hit the water, it was of far more comfort to me to know that God was with me in that time and place. He was with me in the boat or in the river; in the safe place and in the moment of fear.
He is with you too. Whatever you face today, you do not face it alone. The ancient promise of the Psalmist remains certain: “…for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” (Psalm 23:4b) If you find yourself in a predicament and have no idea how you got there – He is with you. If you reap the results of your own bad decisions – He is with you. If you are the victim of a disaster, either man-made or the result of natural forces – He is with you.
We know where we are going. We also know who is going with us the entire way.
[Read the rest of this article...]
Dan Czaplewski posted on June 30, 2010 09:50
I have done this a hundred times, but this was different. I have been with people in a medical facility and listened to bad news about their love one. This was something new. Recently, I was with Mother when she heard the surgeon tell her that my Step-Father has cancer.
I may not know exactly what is ahead, but I have a pretty good idea. The short version of the story is that my Mother is about to become a Caregiver. She joins the ranks of those who care for ailing parents, spouses in poor health, and children with disabilities.
I realize that my mother raised five children and she certainly cared for each of us as she provided for our most basic needs. But this is something new. I am saddened by the two thousand miles that separate us, but I am encouraged by the fact that my Mother is a woman of faith and in the care of an excellent team of pastors at her Church.
If you are a Caregiver, and you know who you are, you recognize the unique challenges that your role presents. You know how hard it is at times. I am not talking about professionals who care for the sick, the aged, or children – they have noble work, but a Caregiver is something different. Caregivers work hard, but their only compensation is from the love they feel in their heart for the one in their care.
I came across this quote and I think it captures the essence of what it means to be a Caregiver. Albert Schweitzer was once asked to name the greatest person alive at that moment. He replied: “The greatest person alive at this moment is some unknown individual in some obscure place who at this hour has gone in love to be with another person in need.” Being a Caregiver means going in love to be with another person in need every day, sometimes all day.
If you are a Caregiver, my prayers are with you. If you know a Caregiver, pray for them and offer your support. If you are receiving care, I pray for you that special grace to accept an act of love when you cannot reciprocate in the way that you would like and to receive kindness as a gift, not the thief of your independence.
When we give or receive care with grace we get a glimpse into what it is to be a child of God. “…casting all you anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” (I Peter 5:7) He cares for the one who receive the care and the Caregiver and Christ has put His care for you into action. You can count on that even when something new comes along.
[Read the rest of this article...]
|
|