One Solid Decision at a Time

When I was a teenager, I rolled my half-ton pickup on the icy bridge just past Sparwood, in the Crowsnest Pass. When I filed my insurance claim, I stated the tailgate of my pickup box had also been destroyed.
Truth is—I never had a tailgate. I’d been shopping for a used one.

They bought me a new truck box. And a tailgate.
I thought I’d outsmarted the system.

Years later, after I made peace with God, I felt the nudge. So I drove nearly 2,000 miles back to that small-town insurance office and told them the truth.

The agent listened. Then asked,

“What’s a tailgate worth?”
“About three hundred dollars.”
He pointed to a fund and said,
“You can pay it there.”

So I did.

No applause. No moral outrage.
But I walked out with a clean conscience.

And I learned a life lesson:
Many people in this world have done wrong—
and are quietly trying to make things as right as possible.
Even government systems consider this normal behavior.

It reminded me of my Uncle John—my mom’s twin—a charismatic man with a powerful redemption story. About 60 years ago, he was the black sheep of the family, in and out of jail. Tangled in gambling debts. But after he gave his life to God, he walked into the police station with a list of every crime he’d committed.

The officer warned him,

“Don’t bring this up. You could go to jail.”
But Uncle John said,
“I need a clean conscience.”

He went to court.
And that day, the judge showed mercy.
But Uncle John’s transformation went deeper than courtroom paperwork.

Years later, when I was living a worldly life in the Yukon, I visited home and walked in on Uncle John telling one of his famous stories.

He was reliving a near-death escape a few weeks earlier from guerrillas in the Mexican mountains.
Bullets flew. Tires screeched. Aunt Alma prayed flat on the floor.

Then he led us to their Jeep out in Dad and Mom’s driveway—
He showed us a huge bullet hole through the rear handle.
And another through a wheel rim.

As Uncle John recounted it, his eyes gleamed with fire.
I remember him looking so satisfied.
Aunt Alma glowing and nodding beside him.
Living the abundant life for real.
Lives abandoned to God.

Lives transformed. Hearts on fire.

People who made peace with God—and lived like it.

Psalm 15: What God’s Friends Look Like

Who may dwell in God’s sacred tent?
Who may live on His holy mountain?

David’s answer is a poetic chiasm—a literary form that places the main idea at the center, with matching thoughts on either side. Like ripples from a stone dropped in still water, the increasing circles of ideas add commentary and insight to the main idea. For example, in David’s poem, numbers 4 and 7, 3 and 8, 2 and 9, and 1 and 10 illuminate how we treat our neighbors, friends, work colleagues, and family. These mirrored lines help us see the heart of David’s prayer.

“…does no wrong to a neighbor,
and casts no slur on others.” (v.3b, NIV)

This center anchors a list of ten qualities—echoing the Ten Commandments in Exodus and the ten times God spoke creation into being in Genesis 1.

These are not rules for perfectionists.
They are signs of transformation.
They describe the kind of person God welcomes into His tent.
Into His holy mountain.
Into His inner circle.
Into His Heavenly Council.

What Happens When We Blow It?

We don’t face huge moral crossroads every day.
But when they come—we know.

• Adam and Eve weren’t always near the forbidden tree.
• David didn’t always have Saul in his grasp.
• Esther wasn’t always invited into the king’s chamber.
• Joseph wasn’t always interpreting dreams.
• Jesus wasn’t always sweating blood in Gethsemane.

But when the moment comes—everything depends on the choice.

And when we get it wrong?

The Secret to Winning Is… Getting Back Up Again

Repentance isn’t just being sorry.
It’s waking up.
It’s doing what you can to make things as right as possible.
It’s getting back up—again. And again.
Never stop getting back up again.

Each time we repent,
The old self dies a little more.
Something new rises.
Like a butterfly.
Same being,
But also a completely new creation.

Transformed.

Metamorphosis: A Kingdom Transformation

The Greek word μεταμορφόω (metamorphoō) means to be changed in form and essence—like a caterpillar becoming a butterfly. Not just improvement. Transformation.

Romans 12:2 (ESV)

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed (metamorphousthe) by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

The Best Part: God Does Both Sides

The gospel is not about meeting God halfway.
It’s about a Father who runs to meet us.

When God made a covenant with Abraham, He asked him to prepare the ceremony—but then put Abraham into a deep sleep. And God fulfilled both sides of the promise (Genesis 15).

It’s the same original-language word used when God put Adam into a deep sleep to create Eve.
That’s not punishment. That’s grace.

You do this for your own children.
You got it from God.

The Path to God’s Presence

Not perfection, but transformation.
Not performance, but honesty.
Not earning, but responding.

With a clean conscience.
And a heart that longs to know Him—no matter the cost.