John Gunter

Thoughts on Life and Living

A prayer from college. . . and beyond (Psalm 19:14)

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In honor of Easter Week, I will write three posts over the next seven days more focused on Christ and the Bible.  Here is the first.

My old fraternity house
My old fraternity house was an unlikely place to learn about prayer

When I came to faith in Christ back in college, my mind was rough, to say the least.  It was packed with rapid fire emotions and thoughts of aggression, anxieties, lusts, and everything else which vie for the mind of men.

One of the practices I came to was a simple, yet profound act for me.  I decided to physically kneel down in my room and pray Psalm 19:14 every night.  There I was, hunched over a musty brown couch, in my tiny, dank room, on the second floor of my beer and sweat soaked fraternity house, praying nightly for the Lord to simply take over my thought life.

Thankfully my roommate was ALWAYS out way past my bedtime, so I was safe from him awkwardly walking in during this time!

Today, many years later, my prayers look and sound similar.  This is my prayer today, but my heart for everyday…

Lord Jesus, please guide me this your day.  You have given me this day as a gift, so please direct it at every turn.  Please control my sinful urges, but unleash my God-given desires and [Read more…]

Listening to God in the midst of discouragement

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This article is a continuation of the one I posted last week, “Fear only talks to those who listen”.  If you have not read that one, please CLICK HERE.

I took this during my last trip to Thailand
I took this during my last trip to Thailand

Recently, I was talking with a close local Asian Christian brother.  He lives in a different city than I do, yet we see each other fairly often.  We met for coffee and to talk about life and work.

My friend is a man of courage and integrity.  He is a great father and husband.  He is intelligent and a graduate of one of the best universities in this country.  He is a man who is doing amazing work in serving and helping many people through the love and message of the Gospel of Christ Jesus.

My friend’s impact is far and wide.  I’m not speaking in hyperbole here; he really is a man of incredible integrity and impact on a very large scale.

My friend, though, is very discouraged.  There was actually no need to share this with me, as I could see it in his eyes as we interacted in a meeting of peers earlier in the week.

As a result of several stresses converging upon him at the same time, discouragement has set upon him like a lead x-ray vest (yes, I have been injured far too many times if this is the word picture that comes to mind!).  This discouragement has caused him to doubt himself, his calling, and some of the great works he has started which are legitimately helping many people in many ways. 

As I was thinking about fear last week (click here for the article), this conversation has me thinking about discouragement in much the same way.  As is the case with fear, discouragement grips us all from time to time.  Though I feel empathy for my friend who is currently stuck in this season of discouragement, this is not what concerned me most about our conversation.

I am most concerned that my friend is now allowing his discouragement [Read more…]

“Fear only talks to those who listen”- the nonsensical nature of fear

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Subway riding, music by Leagues, and thoughts on fear. . .
Subway riding, music by Leagues, and thoughts on fear. . .

Riding on the subway this morning, I was listening to a new album which I recently downloaded.  As strange as it sounds, I often have some of my most relaxing and thought provoking times while listening to music, by myself, and in public transportation scenarios.  This time was no different.

A line from the song “Friendly Fire” by Leagues caught my attention.

“Fear only talks to those who listen”

This line stopped me dead in the midst of my fluttering thoughts and prayers, as the train raced through the black of the underground tunnel we were in.  The issue of fear has been on my mind since that moment.

Fear is a part of all of our lives.  We learn it early.  It can be good.  It keeps us from running out in the middle of traffic or from touching a hot stove.  Sometimes fear is good, but most of the time it is toxic.

Fear cripples us from moving out in faith and in life.  It keeps us from making career moves that would be a better fit, both for ourselves and the world around us.  Fear keeps us from having conversations with loved ones that we know we need to have.  Fear keeps us from taking needed risks in order

[Read more…]

The blessings and joy of singleness

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This journey of writing about singleness continues. . .

One of the trips I reference towards the end of this article. . . a random camel herder and I in the Arabian Desert a few years ago.
One of the trips I reference towards the end of this article. . . a random camel herder and I in the Arabian Desert a few years ago.

When is the last time you read something with a title like, “The blessings and joy of singleness”?!?!?!

Much has been written about the pains and problems of being single. It’s everywhere in the media. Many TV shows, if you think about it, have either primary or secondary themes of singles on the never ending pursuit of finding their purpose and meaning in life, i.e. their spouse. Singleness is portrayed as a necessary evil, a holding pattern, until life FINALLY begins at the marriage alter (or at least at the “happily committed in a stable relationship” stage). You find your partner, ride off into the sunset of contented, relational bliss, and. . . roll the credits.

However, there are great aspects of being single. There really are! I promise. For those of us who are Christians, the Bible is clear that there is great purpose, and even in some cases preference, in remaining single.

The main text in the Bible on this subject is 1 Corinthians 7:32-34.

The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. But the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife, and his interests are divided. And the unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit. But the married woman is anxious about worldly things, how to please her husband.

Paul talks clearly here about the advantages of being single. His main point is that in not having “divided interests” we are free to simply think about Christ and the values of His kingdom. I know this is a difficult perspective to maintain in the midst of the trials of singleness, but it is true.

Along these lines, here are some of the reasons I am content in, and even grateful for, my singleness.

  • Serving the world around me in a special ways: I honestly love being used in a way that builds others up in their faith and/or just makes their lives more pleasant in general. I think we are all this way. Whether it is coaching little baseball (as I did as a single before moving to Asia) or being able to get out of bed and help dear friends (Michael and Beth Gregory) with their injured dog (as was the case with the venerable Albus), I love being able [Read more…]

A case for transparency in relationships

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A few weeks ago, I wrote “The poison of bitterness and the antidote of transparency. . .” This is a follow-up to that post, so you might want to read that one before this one.

Some of the men I have been friends with here in Asia (Hughes Lowman, Scott Littlepage, and Chris Musgrove (with Maddox)
Some of the men I have been friends with here in Asia (Hughes Lowman, Scott Littlepage, and Chris Musgrove (with Maddox)

Transparency with others is work. It is awkward and, in some senses, humiliating. We spend the bulk of our lives trying to eliminate weakness from our lives. I know I do.

However, as is often the case, the Bible points us in directions which are counter to our human nature, but towards ultimate purpose, joy, community, and fulfillment. This area of transparency in sin and internal bitterness is one such area.

We see this in James 5:16.

“Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.”

In bringing your sin into the light with trusted friends, we are literally healed. I don’t understand everything about this, but I have found it to be true in every situation I have seen, both with me personally and in others around me.

Personally, I have found three immediate benefits to verbally expressing areas of sin and/or personal stress (like loneliness or anger) to those closest to me.

  1. Sin and bitterness, when confessed, loses its power/intensity, or at least is [Read more…]

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