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Author Archives: Brandon Adams
Head Beliefs vs. Heart Beliefs
There are certain life skills that have pretty much made the adult me.
The ability to apologize. You wouldn’t believe how far that takes you with people.
The ability to laugh at oneself. Which, naturally, makes me a one-man comedy.
The ability to say no to purchases I don’t need. No TV/Netflix, used cars…it adds up.
But probably the most valuable life skill is the ability to articulate the hidden lies I’m believing.
We have two kinds of beliefs: head beliefs and heart beliefs. Head beliefs are the ones we’re aware of, the ones we’ve explicitly processed and given mental consent to, like the existence of gravity. It’s easier to articulate those beliefs, though we don’t necessarily act according to them.
Charles Colson on Proving the Resurrection
Sharing God’s Mission to Love Others
I posted last week about a sensitive topic that’s been on my heart for a long time but eluded my words: that it’s a little awkward for us to be teaching people to “stop comparing themselves to others” when we ourselves hold a considerable amount of power over whether they feel the need to compare.
We all have a part to play. Whenever we choose someone else’s companionship or potential over another, we make a comparison. Everyone’s got their A-lists and D-lists, and I’m no exception. I’ve been rejected, and I’ve done some rejecting. And when people learn, in their youth, that they are being compared to others by others, it is only natural that they’ll join in. Lonely people can tell you this better than anyone.
To be sure, our lives are jam-packed and we don’t have time for everyone or everything. But even that feels like an excuse at some point. I know I’ve missed opportunities to show the love of Christ. It makes me wonder what the kingdom would look like if we really celebrated everyone as an image-bearer of God.
What is the Biblical solution?
Jesus says you are WORSE than you think you are, and there lies HOPE.
It’s not popular theology, and it doesn’t naturally put butts in pews, but it’s actually the best news out there.
*Trigger warning* While I keep things as vague as possible (and the news article just states the facts) please don’t read the news article if you’d rather not. The title alone may be all you can stomach: Man gets 60 years in prison for trying to sell 4-year-old daughter for sex. Most of this blog post will move on from this initial news story.
GK Chesterton is often remembered for his remark that:
“Certain new theologians dispute original sin, which is the only part of Christian theology that can really be proved.”
Chesterton saw it as the one doctrine that could actually be verified by the observation of human behavior and history. I agree. How some can deny human sinfulness is beyond me. We are all sinful, and need a Savior. Yet many people, even Christians, can struggle with this doctrine. Many insist than humanity is really good at heart…
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Are We Driving Others to the Sin of Comparison?
The woman who gazes at a hated reflection and wishes she were thinner and prettier.
The poor man who wears himself out pursuing the worry-free life of a millionaire.
The failed applicant who lost to someone with a longer resume (or better connections).
The scrawny sophomore who sits at home envying the senior jock who seems to go nowhere without an entourage.
All these people are comparing ourselves to others. It’s a rampant problem in today’s society. I needn’t rehash the costly and damaging things people do to attain the standards society promotes.
Much Christian teaching these days, directed at millennials in particular, has recognized the insecurity bred by this phenomenon and offers an answer: to “stop comparing yourself to others and find your satisfaction in God“.
There is truth to this. Even the world manages to stumble haphazardly upon this truth as it blindly gropes its way across the landscape. “A broken clock is right twice a day” and all that. And I would hasten to add that there are good reasons for some of the comparisons we perform. Job hunts are comparisons. We want the best person for the job. We would not hand a pulpit to an uneducated layman (or Satanist), or an engineer’s desk to a botanist who doesn’t know a wrench from his rear end.
However, at the end of the day, there are still lonely and undervalued people out there. There’s a missing piece to the puzzle: us. We have a role to play. And I suspect that we have allowed the competition aspect of life to spill its banks, become more prevalent than it should be.
Pizza Lessons #7: The Old Man
(For the previous parts of this series, click here, here, here, here, here, and here.)
The other night, I pulled up to a house for a late delivery run.
The house and lawn were run down. They all look that way in March, of course, as the snow melts. But the interior didn’t look much better, dirty and unkempt, as I peered through the curtain-less sliding door.
I knocked and saw the lone occupant – an elderly man with a beard that would make ZZ Top raise their guitars in salute – rise slowly from his chair. He was using a cane.
This’ll be a stiff, I thought, steeling myself to be fine with no tip. Customers of this profile were often cantankerous. Sometimes, you could argue that life had given them reason to be. Yeah, you could argue that if you lack the money to tip, you lack the money to order pizza in the first place, and maybe that argument works for the folks who order thrice a week without ever tipping. But sometimes a man’s gotta live, you know? So I was good either way. (And just to be clear, I never ask for tips. Bad form.)
The door opened. The man’s eyes crinkled with a shy warmth. A small cat had padded in front of him to the door, almost as if guiding him there.
I greeted him enthusiastically, quoted the price, and he presented a hundred dollar bill. “I’m sorry I don’t have smaller bills,” stammered the man. “I told ’em that when I called…can you make change?”
Appreciating My Top Likers, Part II
This post exists to appreciate those who like my blog posts consistently, by pointing back to their blogs as a “thanks”. With all the endless content out there, blogging is an ocean. I figure the least I can do is foghorn people towards others’ content. As always, folks, I am honored and confused to have your followership.
I did a post like this about ten months ago. While reviewing that post in order to smithy this little sequel, I noticed how many of the bloggers mentioned in that first post have dropped off the face of the planet in the intervening time. Probably about 60% remain active. Kind of a sobering note of how life grabs at us and shuffles our priorities. Blogging is one tough mistress. Hope to see them back soon.
Below (in no particular order) are the Top 25 likers of this year’s original posts on Brandonjadams.com. I cannot promise that they’ll match your spiritual tastes, only that they are active and that you won’t be blasted with X-rated hijinks upon linking to them. Enjoy, and leave a comment in order to encourage them!
Following Him Beside Still Waters
Sarah J. Callen
Makayla Nielson
Marques Jeffries
Robert Hansen
homelife7597
Mike Polinske
Those Who Sin Differently
Chilavertnmezi
Adewumi Peter Blog
Lynn Abbott Studios
Sherline’s Whatchu Thinkin’ Blog
Elihu’s Corner
Dorissa Vanover
Michael E. Lynch
Jesus and Green Tea
gracedaily365
idaratext
Debra Pedrow
Beholding Him Ministries
The Lost Coin Blog
Fractured Faith Blog
Sue Cass
Smiley Riley
thenewleaf2016
Honorable mentions:
jenniapril
maranatha2018 10–
disciple120
I wanted to show these three folks, too, but…they didn’t have a blog that I could find! If do, and you’d like to drop a comment specifying where it can be found, I’d be happy to link to it.
In fact, I wanted to show everyone. But I had to make a cutoff somewhere or I’d be here all year. Sorry! If you stick around, you might make the next batch… 😉
I’m also happy to note that many of these bloggers are millennials! It’s nice to know that I’m reaching my target audience, though, of course, I’m more than happy to have the older ones as well.
Enjoy Easter week and try not to gorge on Cadbury eggs too much.
6 Pieces of Advice for the Christian Joining the Military
So, you’re signing on the dotted line.
First thing I’d say is, thank you. Good decision. You’ve either got a lot of guts, a lot of devotion, or a lot of trust in God to be joining the armed forces. Or some combination of all three.
I served a four-year tour in the Air Force. It was all stateside, the only really notable aspect being that it took place in the immediate post-9/11 world. Over a decade since my separation, I still vividly remember the lessons – how they equipped me for the future and simultaneously cast a pall over my track record. I have regrets from those days that the grace of God is still chipping off.
So I humbly ask for your ear now, because I want you to do better than I did. Here is the advice I’d give for surviving military life.
1. Learn to admit fault.
One of the best life skills I ever learned is the ability to admit fault.
Brandon J. Adams 