I want to evaluate God's ideas and follow the ones that make sense. If his suggestions are difficult, costly, or even inconvenient, I will usually postpone implementation. But the first disciples of Jesus would have been shocked by my casual approach to God. Obey God? Of course! He's God. They wondered, "How can God be our Friend?" I'm confused that a friend can command me to obey.

My wife and I were getting to know another couple at an event, and the early discussions were full of laughter. After the entrees arrived, they asked me what I did for work. I said, "Well, I'm kind of a pastor. I write and give away Bible studies." The husband recoiled and said, "If you're a pastor, I don't want to be talking to you." I try to talk about what I do in the nicest way. But sometimes it gets awkward fast.

A former friend said there was "nothing Christian" about my "evil" actions, so he'd asked our former employer to cancel a book we'd written together. His messages hurt, but the worst part was that he wrapped his cruelty in the language of Scripture. It made me wonder if God's people are safe.

It was a dream trip: to walk where Jesus walked in the Holy Land. When our tour group arrived at the Jordan River, a few people got re-baptized, swept up in the awe that Jesus was here. But what I didn't understand was that it was better to be at the Jordan River without Jesus.

I crumpled into a corner of the hospital hallway. The harsh fluorescent lights illuminated the terror of birth. My wife had been in labor for two days, and we didn't know when or how it would end. But when our firstborn finally arrived, all we knew was joy.