As many of you know, I worked for Owens Corning in Denver for 40 years.  OC is a very good company filled with very good people.  I enjoyed both my work and the people.  One of the many things I appreciate is that the company invested in training.  One incident stands out from early in my career.

We were receiving training on communication.  One technique we were taught is to repeat back to the other person what we’ve heard, but in our own words.  It’s a good way to ensure we correctly understand.  The other person will sometimes say, “No, that’s not quite what I meant,” and he’ll say it again using different words which often helps.

Shortly after the training session my boss and friend called me into his office to give me some instructions for the job.  I decided to practice what I had just been learning, so I tried to repeat back to him what he had just asked me to do, but I didn’t tell him that I was practicing.  Well, apparently he didn’t think his instructions were unclear so he said, “It’s not that hard, Rick.  Just go do it.”  Ha!

This morning as I’m continuing to read the Book of Acts this verse caught my attention.

Acts 13:10 … “You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to make crooked the straight ways of the Lord?”

“Will you not cease to make crooked the straight ways of the Lord?”  

Keep it simple, Rick – it’s not really that hard.

Whenever we share about Jesus, let us be careful not to make his message complicated.  It is simple on the surface, let’s share him in that way – at least initially.

– He is God.

– He created us.

– We rebelled (and do rebel today).

– His love for us, together and as individuals, is unlimited.

– In His love He chose to pay the penalty Himself that His justice demands for our rebellion. 

– To benefit from His gift, all we must do is believe He is God, believe Jesus died for us to pay our penalty, and trust that his gift of love is more than adequate to restore us to a good relationship with Him today and forever.

– Begin to walk that path with Him.

There is of course more to Him than greets the soul in the beginning.  In fact, one of the great privileges of being His adopted child is that we get to explore the infinite depths of his unmatched personality and power throughout eternity.

But don’t let yourself be fooled by all the nonsense you hear all around you.  

God doesn’t require perfection, only that we trust His love.  

He doesn’t ask that we suspend our good sense or our understanding of science; He asks that we trust His love.  After all, He invented science and built the universe in alignment with the laws of physics and science that He Himself created.  There is no contradiction there at all.  It is the people around us who are suggesting there is a dichotomy.

And don’t assume God is like the people in our lives who say they are Christians.  I know, it is logical to assume that the characteristics we see in a child will also be found in their parents.  That is very often the case.  But no children are the exact replica of their parents – right?  So don’t allow yourself to believe that every (or any) ‘christian’ fully or completely represents the God they talk about.  And the truth is – some who say they are, are not.

Consider the facts yourself.  Be sure to make up your mind.  Don’t be fooled by all the nonsense around you.

Don’t make this more complicated or difficult than it really is.  “Will you not cease to make crooked the straight ways of the Lord?”

Or as my friend and boss said, “It’s not that hard, Rick.”