May17th, 2015

There are verses that we read, some so many times they are engrained in our memory which is great! They sit on the edge of our minds ready to be recalled at just the moment we need them to combat Satan’s attacks on our minds, trying to have us pay more attention to the fearful waves instead of on Christ. Then there are the verses that, when taken to heart and mind and applied to a situation, bring with that application the intended outcome in our lives. Fear is gone. Strength is renewed. Peace settles in.

God has been hard at work in my life trying to get me to apply the verses He has given regarding His sovereignty in our lives. Yet because of my stubbornness and tendency to want to figure out all things I have struggled greatly as I am in the process of the longest and most grueling interview schedule of my life. Seeking the comfort and satisfaction of figuring out the timelines and planning events of my own intellect has led only to weariness in body and soul. But then the Lord faithfully supplied His Word, reminding me to wait upon Him. So obvious an answer yet so difficult to see with pride in the way. So I grabbed my calendar, changed the title of it, and crawled upon Him to continue my waiting!

April 19th, 2015

While moving to Alaska a few years ago, Clark, my friend and traveling companion, came up to the passenger window with a smile. He was attempting to fill up the air shocks on the van before we headed out for the second half of our trip. I had noticed, however, that when he was doing this the back end of the van did elevate, but then quickly dropped. “I have good news and bad news!” he said happily and with utmost optimism! “I broke the coupler to the air shocks BUT I think we can fix it!” That was only good news in so far as the bad news was bad!

In his sermon today, Pastor challenged us with this thought. When reaching out to those around us with the Gospel, if we only share the good news it is only half the Gospel. To share how God can fix the problem we are in is only good news if we have heard that we have a problem, own it, and want it fixed. So, to be sure we are sharing the entire Gospel of Christ’s redemptive work, let’s not over look that it is the sin nature of our listener that needs to be understood and responded to. Otherwise the good news of the Gospel is rendered unnecessary.

March 31st, 2015

It would seem that being 6’10”, one of my duties in life is to prove that “one size does not fit all.” Many times I have narrowly escaped having to bring in cutting utensils to remove a garment or call the fire department to bring their Jaws-of-Life to free me from a tight spot. Such was the case when asked to serve at the Volunteer Tea for our school. They even had aprons for us to wear…sort of. It was fun, and I wore my bib…er, apron proudly.

Comical as that is, we are called to “Put on the apron of humility, and serve one another” 1 Peter 5:5. The issue is, are we willing to think not so highly of ourselves, allowing us to put on the apron, grab the broom, get dirty, take a risk and serve one another as Christ does for us? I pray so!

Mrh 28th, 2015

I am amazed at how God continually brings clarity of His Word to our situations in life; especially those familiar passages that we think we understand completely. Having many things on my mind of late I have been dutifully carrying my anxieties. I would walk laps around the house at night. Rise early in the morning. I would even stop what I was doing in the middle of the day and go pick up a few cares and worries and then be frustrated that I was getting no work done.

Then, thanks to a devotional from Greg Laurie, I was reminded of 1 Peter 5:7. “Yada yada” I thought to my self. I have read that verse many times before about casting our cares on Him because He cares for us. “But,” I thought to myself, ” Surely He expects us to carry some!” Having thought that I reread the verse and noticed the words “casting the whole of our cares.” Hmmm. Then God drew my attention to the preceding verse (1 Peter 4:6) and then the hammer hit my head. “Therefore, humble yourselves…” comes before the mentioning of casting our cares on Him. Bingo! My thinking more of myself was limiting God’s work in my life, making peace an elusive thing. When I stopped picking and choosing which cares and anxieties I could carry, choosing instead to cast “the whole of them” on Christ…Peace that passes all understanding!

March 7, 2015

Why is it when we gather as believers in Christ that we will talk about everything under the sun, except what God has done for us and what He has taught us? Do we not believe that God is behind everything in our lives and deserves the glory? Or are we not walking with the Lord so that we do not even make that connection? Do we think others do not want to hear it? And then we are with our peers at work or play, when the topics of conversation, those things important to folks, …are passionately talked about, why do we remain timid about our excitement concerning God’s love for us and His blessings to us? When others ask how we are coping with a tough situation and we know it is all God’s strength and peace working in us, why do we shrug our shoulders and pass on the answer we know in our hearts? Why do we tend to be so quiet?

I have been learning that church with brothers and sisters in Christ happens everywhere! On a bus going on a field trip with first graders. In offices. On the playground. While getting tires on my car. In the grocery line. We just need to speak up about our Lord! And evangelism happens every where as well! We just need to be ready and boldly, but seasoned as with salt, speak out. Lord, help us to look for opportunities to speak about you in all places for your glory!

 

January 24th, 2015

Years ago I watched an episode of “Twilight Zone” in which an elderly man was panicking because thought someone was watching him as he laid down to go to sleep. Throughout the 30 minutes of the show he was constantly running scared through the fairgrounds next to his apartment building, finally ending up back in his apartment. There he tried again to lay down. The next scene showed two police investigators looking around the apartment, then at then now dead man. “Well,” one said, “At least he went peacefully in his sleep.”

I thought of this while visiting my father-in-law today. He is in that final transition stage from life to death as he loses his six-year battle with Alzheimer’s. But over the last several days as I had the pleasure of stopping by in the evening to check up on him, though he could not speak much, when I reminded him of how he had accepted Christ as his Savior and that Heaven awaited him, the biggest smile came across his face. Unlike the man in the Twilight Zone, I believe that while he cannot speak, in his mind he is crossing the Jordan River while singing with the angels!

What a blessed hope we have in Christ!

January 12th. 2014

Max Lucado, in his new book on the Simple Prayer, talks about how we think we have to say the right words; the right big words. That we have to use many words and produce the adequate amount of sweat while doing so. And we need to endure for long periods of time. However, God just wants to be our Father and have us talk to Him.

No Rubric. Just cry out to our Father. Talk to Him. Tell Him we love Him, that His goodness is amazing. Share our needs; other’s needs. Thank Him. Simple. Powerful.

January 11th, 2015

A while back I went to the dentist with a badly hurting tooth that needed to be pulled. Expecting relief I was frustrated to be sent home with the same pain I had come with. Why? After two unsuccessful attempts to deaden the area with novacaine, the dentist scheduled another appointment and sent me home with a prescription for antibiotics to be taken over the next ten days. The infection, he said, renders the novacaine ineffective and the extraction would be too painful. In with pain and expecting relief soon but sent out with pain for the next ten days. Arrrrgh!

But then I thought, how many times have I gone to God asking for relief from something pressing only to have my prayers rendered ineffective due to sin in my heart? Wow! Was that an unexpected analogy for my life with God. Get the infection out first, then God can help. Further great news is that it does not require ten days of medication taken four times a day. Forgiveness and the peace that only God can give is instantaneous!

December 28th, 2014

“Am I a God who is at hand, says the Lord, or am I a God afar off?” Jeremiah 23:23

Often times when I am dealing with some sort of misbehavior of a student at my school, I will ask, “Would you do that if your parents were watching?” Most of the time the answer is “No!” So I urge them to act as if their mom or dad was there behind them.

Jeremiah was writing in chapter 23 about false prophets and then urges those with the Word of God to speak it faithfully. That is, to not twist it or handle it as the false prophets do. Interesting, this is the context for the verse above.

The meaning for us? God IS watching and listening as we handle and share His Word, so let’s handle it faithfully!

December 27th, 2014

While driving home a few days ago I beheld an interesting sight; one that sadly depicts how we tend to “easy-fy” the scriptures. A man was walking downhill dressed in comfy sweats, headband, headphones with music piping into his head, a cold drink in his hand, a pack on his back (I assume filled with snacks for the journey), and a wooden cross made of 2×4 wood pieces with two large wheels rolling smoothly at the bottom of the cross, bearing its weight.

I would venture a guess that the man was trying to send the message of “taking up his cross” as Jesus commanded of anyone wanting to be His disciple. However, he greatly “easy-fied” Jesus’ meaning. For in context, Jesus had just told his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem, suffer many things, and die. Peter argued but was rebuked. Jesus then made the statement that in order to be His disciple one must “deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.”

Do we understand that the life as a disciple of Christ, while filled with blessings and supported fully by God’s faithfulness, is not an easy road? In contrast to the man’s message as he walked downhill, on a highway where he would most likely not be known, with the cross he bore rolling behind him, to be Christ’s disciple involves an uphill journey, bearing the weight of the cross, and through crowds of people who know us. Lord, give us the faith we need to trust you and follow you where ever you lead us. Further, help us to ever be relying on your perfect strength for the rough roads ahead and not try to make the journey easier, adapting it to our limited strength.