As a young Christian, I head someone say, “God doesn’t want you happy, he wants you holy.” Another way I’ve heard this, “God isn’t interested in your happiness, he’s interested in your holiness.” And it’s often said like it’s a clever play on words.

A couple of years ago, a man with a gun attempted to highjack a school bus in Columbia, South Carolina. The bus was filled with younger elementary students, including a lot of kindergartners.

Before taking off in an airplane, all pilots understand the necessity of commitment. There is a point on every runway, depending on the airplane, where I know that if I reach that point, I am committed to taking off. It’s based on the airplane takeoff speed and distance of the runway, and I calculate that when I do preflight planning.

Anna Jarvis began to loathe what Mother’s Day became. She openly denounced it, begging people to stop buying cards, flowers, and candy. By the end of her life, she spent all of her personal savings in legal fees lobbying Congress to do away with the holiday she founded.

I’ll have to admit, my job was easier six years ago. Six years ago we had one campus and one location. I was responsible for a wonderful, though much smaller staff. I was preaching sermons, leading staff meetings, discipling, and doing a little bit of counseling.

Four clergymen were discussing Bible translations. One liked the King James Version best because of its beautiful classical English. Another liked the New American Standard because of its nearness to the original Hebrew and Greek. Another preferred the New Living Translation because of its up-to-date phraseology. The fourth replied…