The Bible Sherpa

I want to introduce a new topic of discussion here on the Bible Sherpa blog: Frustration. Why did God make life so frustrating?

Okay, this is a pretty big topic. I have actually been working on it for a while now. I even put together a book idea. One of my preliminary subtitles was “The Theology of Murphy’s Law.” You know the rule, if anything can go wrong, it will. The law is as widely accepted as gravity. Life is unceasingly frustrating. But what causes it? If God is in control… and if His plans for me are always good… then why is it that my plans never seem to work out?

For the record, I don’t recommend attempting to write a book about Murphy’s Law. Apparently old man Murphy declares open season on anyone fool enough to attempt to unravel the mysteries of his infamous law. The other day I called up the bank to follow up on a form that I had sent them in March. For about an hour, I was sent on a toll-free wild goose chase of 800 and 866 phone numbers and on-hold-elevator-music. “I’m sorry sir, this is the wrong department for your question. I will connect you with the refinance department. Hold please…” “Wait! I just talked to them! And they sent me to you!” Elevator music again. Too late. 

 Now I realize that this stuff happens to all of us, and it should come as no surprise (though I was a little surprised when I received two jury summons in the same month this year). What I want to know is why it happens; and I want to know where my faith in God fits in. 

Some of the frustrations are our own fault, to be sure. If you make foolish decisions, life will be more difficult. If you buy a fixer-up ‘93 Yugo, you shouldn’t expect to get to work on time every day. But that’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about the stuff that you just can’t control: traffic jams at the worst possible time; copy machines that run out of ink only on the day that important papers are due; that kind of stuff. Why does it happen, and how are we supposed to respond in faith?

So that’s my new topic. I have thought about this a great deal, and I have searched the Bible for answers. You may be surprised to find out just how much the Bible has to say about frustration. After all, we’re talking about one of the most consistent elements of life here. Our plans are constantly being foiled. Sometimes it’s big stuff, most of the time it’s just little – but whatever the case, things rarely work out the way we want them to. I am convinced that God is still in control, and that He has a very good reason for all of it. I won’t start in on any of the answers I have found just yet – but I will give you this one verse. It’s a big one, so it takes a careful read to really get it. When you do get it, a lot of life’s little perplexities begin to make more sense. Here’s the verse…

“For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.” 

- Romans 8:20-21

Well, that’s it for today. As we continue with this topic, we’ll unravel that verse, and we’ll tackle questions like “Why does frustration bring out the worst in us?” and “How do I learn to trust God’s plans when none of my plans seem to work out?” I look forward to getting your input on this as well. Please send me your thoughts and ideas. Most importantly, send me some good frustration stories. They’re good for a laugh, and they’re even better for helping me write a good book! Until next time…

Always in the unfailing love of Christ, 

- Pastor Kris  ( 8-D=

Hello faithful Bible Sherpa readers! This note is a quick apology for my temporary leave of absence. Sometimes other things in life take precedence over a blog. I know – it’s hard to believe, but it’s true. So here’s an update on what’s going on with me that has taken all of my focus of late:

1) I am now the senior pastor at Calvary Chapel Bay St. Louis. How exciting is that?! Sunday morning May 10th I preached my first message as the church’s pastor. I am so thankful to serve God with such amazing people in the midst of an awesome work of God’s love and power. Seriously, I love my church. Pastor Frank Griffin served faithfully with great integrity and sincere love over the past few years, and I am honored to take the baton and run the next leg of this awesome race. Thanks to all of you for caring and thanks for praying for me! If you ever find yourself in South Mississippi, come and enjoy some good old fashion southern hospitality at one of the friendliest churches you’ll find anywhere.

2) I just sent in my very first book proposal to a publishing house. Yes, it was the same week as the pastoral change. It’s been a busy week! The book is called, “Why Did God Make Life So Frustrating?” It’s about (more…)

Welcome back to the Bible Sherpa. I have to apologize for not posting any updates for the last couple weeks. I have been trying to focus my time and attention on getting the podcast and the Bible Guides going (don’t forget that the really good stuff on this website is still yet to come!). Sometimes you just gotta focus on one thing at a time. I do still owe you all the rest of the Love Lie countdown, and of course the results of the most ridiculous love songs vote. For now I just wanted to point out that I updated the Author Bio. Since Google Analytics tells me that most of you never take the time to read the Author Bio, I thought you might enjoy this fun little excerpt….

The tricky business of asking for a testimonial…

So I was thinking to myself, “Hey Kris (that’s what I call myself when I’m thinking), what if someone comes to check out your website and they’ve never met you before and they just don’t know if they can trust you. You could tell them that you are someone they can trust, but that’s pretty weak – anyone could say that about himself. Why don’t you ask someone for a testimonial about you.” (A testimonial is a quote from someone who knows you, who vouches for you and basically tells people that you rock and they should buy your book or whatever).

Now this is sort of a funny business, asking for a testimonial. It’s sort of like saying, “Hey, would you say really nice things about me so I can tell everyone how awesome you think I am?” On the other hand, you folks need to know if you can trust me, (more…)

So this site is pretty new, and those of you who happen to stop by may be wondering what you can expect to see in the future. So here’s a basic overview of the big plan. Remember, all this stuff is in the works, so be patient as we move toward setting it all up.

The goal of the Bible Sherpa website is to guide you on your expeditions through God’s Word, one book at a time, one chapter at a time. We want to help you get the heart and soul of God’s message in each chapter. It comes down to a daily plan: you read a chapter of the Bible, we help you get what it’s saying. The next day, we hit the next chapter and do it again. 

PART 1: THE BIBLE SHERPA PODCAST  To guide you on your journey, we’re planning to provide a daily podcast with a ten minute intro to the day’s chapter. It’s not a full sermon or anything like that – just a short intro that’s fun and informative to give you the big picture and help you find the heart of God’s message for you that day. Subscribe to the podcast and you’ll get your daily dose automatically. That’ll keep you going on your reading. Once you’ve listened, you can read the chapter on your own, or for more help you can download … 

PART 2: THE DAILY BIBLE GUIDE  We are busy creating pdf Bible Guides that walk you through the chapters of the Bible one at a time. They’re designed to help you understand what you’re reading by giving you background info, pointing out key verses and connecting the chapter you’re reading to the bigger picture in the Bible. Like a good Sherpa, the Bible Guide will make your journey clear by explaining prophecies, pointing out (more…)

Welcome to the Bible Sherpa blog! This is post number one, entered while  just about no one in the world knows I’m here. If you’re here and this is the only post, I must say that you are dreadfully early. How did you get here so fast? Seriously, you’re like one of those people who show up for a dinner party two hours early. The host has to pretend that he doesn’t mind at all as he vacuums around you like you’re a piece of furniture. His poor kid has to keep you entertained while dad cleans the bathrooms and you eat all the appetizers. Thanks a lot!

Okay, just kidding – you’re not really that bad. And as long as you’re here, how do you like my site? I know, there’s not much here yet. In fact, this is about it. So I’ll try to make this one worth your while (then maybe you’ll come back when I have something decent).

I still have to wonder how you got here, though. I haven’t advertised the site yet, which means that you either know me, or you somehow mysteriously decided to search for the words Bible and Sherpa at the same time. What on earth would inspire you to search for Bible Sherpa?!?! On the other hand, you might ask me what on earth would inspire me to make a Bible Sherpa blog. Good point. If you’ll just give me a couple days to get my site in order, I’ll get to that. For now, here you are and here I am, and we’ll just have to make the best of it.  Hmmmm….

Alright, I thought of something to make your stop here worthwhile. (more…)