James 4:13-15 NIV “Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’ [14] Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. [15] Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that.’”

As you know, it is hot in Mesa, Arizona. So to protect the riders of the bus lines, the city council approved the expenditure of $30,000.00 to build bus shelters to protect people while they are waiting for the bus at two bus stops. The only problem is that neither of the bus stops is used by the bus line.

Luke 14:28 (NLT) "But don't begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first getting estimates and then checking to see if there is enough money to pay the bills?"

A fan of the "Star Trek" television series had big dreams, but ended up losing more than he imagined when his plans went south. Tony Alleyne turned his apartment into a mockup of the Starship Voyager. He added molded walls, touch panel blue lighting, and even a life-size model of the show's transporter room. Alleyne built a command console, reshaped windows to look like portholes, and set up vertical lights so he could pretend to be "beamed up" just like on the show. Alleyne hoped his makeover would tempt other Trekkies to pay him to convert their homes too.

Unfortunately, Alleyne's plans backfired. He took out two huge loans and ran up debts on 14 credit cards to finance the undertaking. Alleyne's wife left him after he replaced the refrigerator with a "warp coil." Alleyne has now filed for bankruptcy and admits he was wrong and overstretched. He says building the "Star Trek" fantasy was enjoyable, but he adds, "I was convinced Trekkies all over the world would want a house like mine and would pay me to do it. I'm still proud of what I created but it's been a financial disaster."

—www.IOL.co.az; Boldly living where none has lived before, February 7, 2006. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

Luke 14:28-29 (NET) "For which of you, wanting to build a tower, doesn't sit down first and compute the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? [29] Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish the tower, all who see it will begin to make fun of him,"

Many people make resolutions hoping to see changes in their lives as a New Year approaches. These self-made promises usually include exercise programs, weight loss, or getting rid of bad habits. Instead of the normal resolution fare, the Department of Homeland Security is urging Americans to create a family emergency plan to be prepared for the possibility of a terror attack.

A suggestion by the department in February 2003 that Americas stockpile duct tape and plastic sheeting caused a rush on hardware stores, but was later widely ridiculed. Outgoing Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge is serious about his latest suggestion. Ridge said, "The start of a New Year is a time when many Americans are inclined to think about ways to make improvements for the future." He added, "Creating a family emergency plan is a great place to start. Families can create a plan that will allow them to know how best to communicate with one another in the event of an emergency."

—Reuters, A New Kind of New Years' Resolution, December 23, 2004. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

While you're making your resolutions and "survival plans" this year don't forget to plan for spiritual needs as well as physical needs. What changes do we need to make to ensure that our spiritual lives are secure?

Col. 3:1 (NLT) "Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits at God's right hand in the place of honor and power."

In his book on Crazy Horse and Custer, Stephen Ambrose tells of the 1857 war council held by the Sioux tribes. They were concerned with the whites who were moving into their country in ever greater numbers. At the council there were from 5000 to 7500 Sioux from all but one of the Sioux nations. All of the great chiefs were there, including Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, and Red Cloud.

The tone of the council was defiance toward the whites. The men took vows and made promises to resist the whites until death. After completing the Sun Dance though, the Sioux went off their separate ways and there was no follow-up.

“They had not elected a head chief…no generals were appointed, no scouts organized, no system for exchanging information set up, no provision made for arming the warriors with guns instead of bow and arrow.”

--Stephen E. Ambrose, Crazy Horse and Custer, Doubleday, 1975 p. 77. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell

One can only wonder how long the Sioux could have protected their territory if all 7500 of them had worked in concert to resist the oncoming settlers.

Our work for the Lord can, and many times does, resemble the Sioux. We make great vows and earnest promises. We meet together in our meetings and carry out our cultural rites. But we fail to make any plans, develop any strategy, to win the spiritual battle we are facing.

Matthew 28:19-20 (NASB77)(19) "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, (20) teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

Before the Hollywood icon, Dennis Hopper died; he made a series of TV commercials for Ameriprize Financial, aimed specifically at Baby Boomers. One commercial begins with Hopper standing at a crossroads and saying, “So here you are, a little confused. Did you think the road to retirement was an expressway? Come on, this isn’t just some random road trip! Your dreams are out there somewhere! You can’t start this journey without knowin’ where you’re goin’. You, my friend, you need a plan!”

There is a sad irony in this story in that Hopper himself didn’t really know where he was going in life, and died estranged, in more ways than one!

-www.youtube.com “Dennis Hopper for Boomers in 08”
-www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Hopper Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Derek Wilson

You know, we can make all the plans we want to, but the only plan we really need, and will benefit from, is God’s plan and purpose for our life. We will only really know where we are going, when we hold to this truth.

Proverbs 19:21 (NIV) “Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails.”

On the Mediterranean coast of Spain there is an almost finished 700-foot, 47-floor skyscraper. Only two months away from completion architects discovered a small flaw. The elevator only went to the 20th floor and there is no room in the plan for adding an elevator to service the final 17 floors.

Some of our plans are as flawed. It is always wise, as Jesus warned in the parable, to count the cost before building a tower. --Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell

Luke 14:28-33 (ESV) (28) For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? (29) Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, (30) saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ (31) Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? (32) And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. (33) So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.

In Leaders: Strategies for Taking Charge the authors write about the importance of anticipating the ways external forces can shape a company’s future. They use a hypothetical planning session of fifteen executives of a major airline at the turn of the millennium doing long-range planning until the year 2020. The company was concerned with the many changes in the airline industry brought about by technology, customer mindsets and the competition of start-ups with lower labor costs. As part of the meeting, the facilitator asked, the executives to create a list of potential events that could “greatly impact” their airlines viability.

The executives created a list of 20 possible events, including terrorism, modernization, mergers, new competition and computerization. What they did not list was a global pandemic. There is no way they could have predicted this headline: “Aviation industry suffers 'worst year in history' as COVID-19 grounds international travel.”

How could they have known? Planning, while important, is fallible. Even the wisest executives cannot know what the future holds. Only God knows.

For I know the plans I have for you”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“plans for your well-being, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. You will call to me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart. I will be found by you”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and places where I banished you”—this is the Lord’s declaration. “I will restore you to the place from which I deported you.”

In Frozen, Olaf dreamed about experiencing the warmth of summer. The audience entered his daydream as he sang about all the wonderful things he has heard about the season. He sang about picking dandelions from the lawn, laying on the beach under an umbrella, riding in a canoe on a lake, going for a swim, relaxing in a jacuzzi, dancing under a gazebo, going on a picnic and experiencing the warmth of the sun.

Even the children watching the movie knows exactly what will happen to Olaf if he ever gets his wish. However, the lovable, naive snowman does not realize that he will never see Summer because he will melt in the Spring.

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will travel to such and such a city and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.” Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring—what your life will be! For you are like vapor that appears for a little while, then vanishes.

Instead, you should say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” But as it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So it is sin to know the good and yet not do it.