Month: June 2017

We are familiar with the verses that tell us, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35) and “God loves a cheerful giver”. (II Corinthians 9:7)  We hear them whenever there is a fund raising drive by a television evangelist (every telecast) or when the sermon in our local church focuses on tithes and offerings.  God’s definition of giving goes far beyond material possessions.  God wants us to also give of ourselves.  It is a key part of loving Him and loving our neighbors as ourselves.  Robert Louis Stevenson wrote, “You can give without loving, but you can never love without giving”.

Two of the most valuable things we have to give others are our time and our full attention.  God expects us to set aside some of our time and pay full attention to Him in our worship, prayer and devotional study of His word.  He also expects us to give time and attention to those we love.  Our spouse and our children hunger for them.  It is the best investment we can make in our family’s well being.  God also expects us to give our time and attention to our brothers and sisters in Christ and to strangers who are in need.  Whenever I appear to struggle there is almost always someone who offers to help me and whether I accept their help or not, I am always so grateful that they took time out of their busy day to take an interest in my need.  A few days ago a little girl probably nine or ten years old was helping her mother put their groceries on the conveyor ahead of me. When everything was on the belt she found a divider and put it on the belt to separate their purchases from mine. I thanked her for doing that and she immediate asked if she could help me.  I accepted her offer and thanked her for her help.  I had only a few items and could have handled it myself, but I appreciated her concern and I wanted to give her the satisfaction of helping a stranger.

Another valuable gift we can give to others is our intercessory prayer, asking God to do for them what we cannot do.  “But Peter said, ‘I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!’” (Acts 3:6)  Whether it is for healing, protection, salvation or another need our prayer for them is more valuable than silver or gold.

God expects us to give ourselves to Him and to others because He first gave Himself for us.  As Jesus hung on the cross He became the first blood donor giving not just a pint to extend someone’s mortal life, but giving every drop to provide eternal life to all who believe.  In 1954, thirteen years before the first heart transplant operation, I became an organ donor when I gave my heart to Jesus Christ.

 

When I began writing weekly articles two years ago, I was sure that I would run out of material within a few months. I completed that year and now I am half way through this year of twice a week blog posts. God continues to supply the material based on the needs of my readers. If anything on my blog has encouraged or blessed you, it occurs to me you should know why, so I want to share with you the process for each post.

There are some processes that need to remain a mystery. For instance, no one really wants to see how sausage is made because it just might ruin the experience of eating it. However, I believe revealing the process I use to write my blog posts will actually enhance your appreciation as you read them.

I pray before I begin to write the draft for each post and the draft is usually completed in one sitting. Then I go back four or five times to reread and make changes before posting it. I often have two or three posts in process at a time and I pray for guidance as to which one should be posted first. Once, I had two posts written about difference aspects of the Holy Spirit. When I asked which one to post to the blog His answer was, “Both!” Then He guided me to combine the two posts. “Drop that story, replace that reference, reword that paragraph and add this testimony.” It was as if the Holy Spirit was creating a verbal selfie. I was amazed at the result. I am not kidding when I refer to the Holy Spirit as my Editor in Chief and for that reason I will never take personal credit for the encouragement or blessings inspired by my posts.

I have a computer file named “quotes” in which I place every scripture verse or passage that jumps off of the page at me (God does that to get my attention sometimes). I also list every quote of famous people that I run across that triggers interesting memories or might make a good topic for a post. Often a topic will present itself during the week, but If not I simply look over the quotes and ask God to help choose the one that will touch the most people.

Now you know the behind the scene process of producing posts for this blog. My prayer is that of the Psalmist, “O God, you have taught me from my earliest childhood and I constantly tell others about the wonderful things you do. Now that I am old and gray, do not abandon me, O God. Let me proclaim your power to this new generation, your mighty miracles to all who come after me.” (Psalms 71:17-18)

 

 

I am part of a generation that understands the virtues of perseverance and patience.  Virtues learned at the knees of our parents whose “greatest generation” survived the Great Depression as children and World War II as adults.  Winston Churchill was a statesman of their generation. He once said, “Success is failing again and again without losing enthusiasm.”  When asked to speak to the students at his alma mater (my generation), Churchill emphasized that they must “never, never, never, ever give up.”

Charles Spurgeon once said, “It was by perseverance that the snails reached the ark.” I am reminded of a cartoon showing a man digging a mine shaft to within inches of a mother lode of gold, only to give up and return to the surface.  Once we give up we will never know how close we were to reaching our goal.

Today’s generations have become accustomed to instant gratification.  As a young man I had three means of communicating: in-person conversations, land line dial telephones and the U.S. Postal Service.  I searched the library and encyclopedia for information.  I often shopped several stores before finding the item I wanted to purchase.  We now live in a time when technology puts communication, information and even shopping and purchasing at our fingertips.  If the wait for a table at a restaurant is 20 minutes or more, I’ve seen young people turn around and leave failing to realize if a restaurant is that popular the food might be worth the wait and it will take at least that long for them to find another restaurant with no wait.  Unfortunately for them life isn’t a sprint or dash; sometimes life is like running the high hurdles.  Henry Ford once said, “Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off the goal.”  We must take those hurdles (obstacles) in stride while never taking our eyes off of the finish line.  Most of the time, however, life is a marathon.

I fear that these impatient generations will produce fewer golden wedding anniversaries like the one Carol and I enjoyed.  A couple was asked on their 60^th anniversary for their secret to such a long marriage and the wife responded, “We were raised in a time when if something was broken we didn’t throw it away, we repaired it.” Carol and I repaired our marriage more than once and the result was a wonderful life together.  I wonder if these generations will have the perseverance and patience to mend relationships instead of simply moving on looking for that perfect person for them only to be disappointed time after time because they are not the perfect person for someone else.

I also fear our young people might even give up on their faith when the going gets tough. They need Christian parents, grandparents and local churches to encourage them to not only accept Christ as their savior but to allow the Holy Spirit to teach them these virtues. They certainly won’t learn them from today’s society.  Paul encourages all of us, “So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.” (Galatians 6:9) Later in life Paul wrote, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race and I have remained faithful.” As I near the finish line of my marathon, I pray that I too will know that same joy of a race well run.

 

 

The United State Constitution contains amendments listing our rights as citizens, commonly called the Bill of Rights. The Fourth Amendment protects our privacy from government search and seizure without a warrant showing probable cause. Our homes and businesses are therefore secure from government intrusion unless there is sufficient reason to believe we are breaking the law. These are the original “safe spaces” from the prying eyes of our government. (Of course the Constitution was written before social media gave us the opportunity to expose our private lives for the entire world, including government agencies, to see.)

God gives us no such protection from His prying eyes. There are no safe places where we can hide our thoughts and actions from God. Proverbs 15:3 tells us, “The Lord is watching everywhere, keeping his eye on both the evil and the good.” We are under the constant surveillance of our Creator and He doesn’t need probable cause of sin. If you are still not convinced, here are God’s own words to Jeremiah (Jeremiah 23:24), “Can anyone hide from me in a secret place? Am I not everywhere in all the heavens and earth?”

There is a secular song we hear around Christmas time each year that is titled “Santa Claus is coming to town”. Have you ever thought that the words of that song should really be, “You better watch out. You better not cry. You better not pout, I’m telling you why. Jesus Christ is coming again. He knows when you are sleeping. He knows when you’re awake. He knows if you’ve been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake.” Of course the problem is we can’t really be good on our own. We have inherited the sinful nature of Adam. We must first accept Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross as our only hope of freedom from our sinful nature. The blood Jesus shed for us then covers our sins and we really can be good in God’s sight through the righteousness of His Son and not our own.

When we accept Jesus Christ as our savior, we no longer need to frantically and futilely seek a place to hide our nakedness and disobedience from God, as Adam and Eve did. We can instead give thanks that His watchful eyes are always on us and His Holy Spirit guides our every step along the path He has chosen for us. Praise God for His divine surveillance!

 

 

 

A small group of Christian men from CLC meets every Saturday morning at 6:00 am for breakfast, fellowship and prayer. Time passes so fast while we are together that we usually don’t break up until around 9:00 am. One Saturday we decided to meet at the local Cracker Barrel when they opened at six. There were seven of us sitting at a round table in the corner. Our server was a pleasant and outgoing lady and we were her only customers at that hour. She discovered why we were meeting and gave us her testimony. When she had served the food she asked what our topic of discussion was today. We told her at that moment we were talking about controlling anger. She smiled and told us how she used to get so angry when a semi was in front of her blocking her view of the road ahead. Then one day God revealed to her that the semi driver could see the road much better from his high vantage point than she ever could, so patiently following his lead would keep her safe. She said the life lesson was that God from his high throne can see all that lies ahead and he wants us to pull in behind him so he can lead us to our destination safely. He blocks our view so that we travel by faith and not by our own sight line. What an unexpected blessing. We have returned every week since then.

As Christians, we often strain our eyes trying to see as far down the road as possible and then worry about how we will react when we get there. Corrie Ten Boom wrote that when she was a little girl in Holland she went to her father and said, “Papa, I am so afraid I won’t be strong enough to follow Jesus.”  He smiled and asked, “When we take a train trip to Amsterdam, when do I give you the money for the fare? Three months before we are to leave?” “No, papa” she replied, “You give it to me just before we get on the train.” Then he explained to her that God will give her all of the strength she needs when it is needed. The Bible is full of stories of how God put words in the mouth of a believer at just the right time or provided someone with strength when it was needed most.

“One Day at a Time, Sweet Jesus” was a popular song by Christy Lane, although many other artists have recorded it too. The message of that song is dear to my heart and I have been living one day at a time for so long that I don’t even remember what it was like to try to plan my life far into the future. Jesus said, “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” (Matthew 6:34) But God doesn’t want us to only take one day at a time. He wants us to take one step at a time. Another of my favorite songs says, “When by the path he leadeth, but one step I may see. His eye is on the sparrow and I know he watches me.” Yes, he will light our path (Psalms 119:105), but only as far as we need to see at that time and no further.

The closer I get to the end of my journey, the easier it is for me to take one precious moment at a time and make the most of it.

 

 

My last post was about the miracle of life. Sadly, our society has lost respect, wonder and awe for that miracle. Instead, life has become cheap and expendable. I have seen our nation move farther and farther away from God in my lifetime.  Sin has been around since Adam and it certainly existed during my youth, but there was a strong respect for human life back then.  Today we have skidded down that proverbial slippery slope at amazing speed to very scary depths.  To give you an indication of just how low we have sunk, I saw a woman holding a sign during a recent women’s rights march that read, “If Mary had an abortion, we wouldn’t be in this mess.”

God completely destroyed nation after nation for embracing many of the things our society now celebrates. The most egregious example is that more than 59 million innocent babies have been killed by abortions in the United States since 1973, some just before they were able to take their first breath.  Most of those babies have been sacrificed by their own mothers at the altar of convenience.  In addition to the untimely death of those unborn babies, each mother will either be plagued by guilt or her heart will be hardened.  How much longer will God allow this mass murder of innocents to go on?

Let’s briefly refresh our memory about the origin and progress of infanticide in America.  In 1973, Roe v Wade was heard by the Supreme Court.  Roe was a single woman who claimed she was the victim of rape and was also a victim of Texas’ law prohibiting her from having an abortion unless her life was at risk.  It was a class action suit so even though she had a miscarriage before the case went before the Supreme Court she was still given standing to proceed with the suit.  Later, the woman known as Roe admitted that she lied in her deposition about being raped.  She repented and become an outspoken opponent of abortion, but the damage was done when she was used to set the precedent. She died earlier this year.

At the time the Roe v Wade decision came down we were told it would only apply in cases of rape or incest and then only during the first trimester. Within two years it had been expanded to any reason connected with the mother’s mental or physical health and could take place up to and during delivery.

In 2010, there was a brief celebration at the White House when the CDC announced there had been 50 million reported abortions since Roe v Wade.  (There had actually been more than that because several states do not report abortions to the CDC.)  Our hearts break when we hear about one innocent child being shot and killed on the streets of Chicago.  How is it that the death of millions of young lives has gone virtually unnoticed?  How could anyone celebrate the death of 50 million innocent individuals?  How many gifted doctors, researchers, scientists, statesmen, musicians, artists, poets, prophets, evangelists, pastors or other Godly men and women have been killed before fulfilling their potential?  Only God knows.  He told Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1:5) “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations,” and He knows the gifts and potential of each one of those 59 million precious souls.

A few years ago, I read an article that originally appeared in an American Medical Association publication. It was written by a prominent expert on medical ethics.  In it he explained that when late-term and partial birth abortions are accepted as ethical, then it would be equally ethical for a mother to kill her child up to the age of two for the same reasons used for abortion.  My first reaction was, “Heaven help the two year olds.” After thoroughly reading and rereading that article, it was clear that he reached a perfectly logical conclusion based on the false premise that abortion rights of the mother are moral and ethical.  Beginning with a false premise like that one will always lead to even more immoral acts being mislabeled as ethical.

One predictable result of our disregard for human life at its beginning is our attitude toward the elderly and end of life decisions. A doctor who helped create the Affordable Care Act stated his opinion that expensive medical treatment should be rationed to those 75 and older since that is “a reasonable life expectancy”. I wonder if he will still feel that way when he reaches my age.

I know mixing politics and faith is taboo in today’s America, but others have made abortion a political ideology, not me.  Protecting life from conception through old age has been my ideology since I accepted Christ (19 years before Roe v Wade) and it hasn’t changed throughout my lifetime.  I pray that Americans find eternal life through Jesus Christ and begin to celebrate life instead of death.  That is our only hope to escape God’s judgement.

 

I do not play a musical instrument nor have I had any vocal training, but since my wife passed away I have found it very comforting to spend 30 or 40 minutes each evening before bedtime singing some of my favorite gospel songs and choruses.  My two dogs seem to enjoy my concerts, but then they have become accustomed to my voice and I enjoy their unconditional love.  It recently occurred to me that although a few of the songs are classics, most of them would be unfamiliar to this generation. I sometimes become emotional while singing about God’s love for me and about heaven, but there is one song that was recorded by the group Alabama that I have never been able to sing all the way through without shedding tears of joy.  I would like to share the words of that song with you.

A man and wife had prayed for years for children losing faith and close to giving up. Then a young girl with no way to keep her baby laid in their arms a tiny gift of love. It only takes one life to make a miracle, one tiny ray of hope to light up the dark. It only takes one life to make a miracle, one honest prayer coming from the heart.

 A small coal mining town in West Virginia prayed as they kept vigil day and night. Saddened by the twelve whose lives were taken, but oh so thankful one made it out alive. It only takes one life to make a miracle, one tiny ray of hope to light up the dark. It only takes one life to make a miracle, one honest prayer coming from the heart.

 Two thousand years ago the world laid waiting for the savior they were told would come. Then on that winter night there in a manger, God blessed the world with His one and only Son. It only takes one life to make a miracle, one tiny ray of hope to light up the dark. It only takes one life to make a miracle, one honest prayer coming from the heart. It takes one honest prayer coming from your heart.

A few years ago I saw a post by Rick Warren on Face Book showing a new born infant and The caption read, “If you don’t believe in miracles maybe you’ve forgotten that you are one.”  Every moment of each life here on earth is a miracle, but life takes on even more meaning when we can say with Paul, “For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better.” (Philippians 1:21 NLT).  As miraculous as it is, life here on earth doesn’t begin to compare with the miracle of eternal life that is ours through faith in Jesus Christ.   I get just a little taste of heaven every time I enter the presence of God through prayer or feel the Holy Spirit prompting me from within, but I cannot fully comprehend the joy I will feel as I enter God’s kingdom to spend eternity with Him.

 

 

In the eighth chapter of Luke we read about a woman who suffered physically with a bleeding condition for twelve years. She also suffered mental and emotional anguish during those years because her illness caused her to be ceremonially unclean – an outcast from Jewish society. She set out on a mission to find Jesus for healing. When she finally found Him she must have worked her way through the crowd saying, “Unclean” as people quickly moved away from her allowing her to finally reach Jesus. She reached out and touched the hem of his garment. Immediately she was healed and the bleeding stopped. Jesus asked who touched him and his disciples said in that dense crowd it could have been anyone. Jesus told them, “Someone deliberately touched me, for I felt healing power go out from me.” The woman fell to her knees at the feet of Jesus and explained for all to hear the reason she had touched His garment and then testified about her miraculous healing. Jesus told her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace.” We don’t know her name or where she was from, but her deliberate act of faith is recorded as an example for all generations.

I relate to that woman on more than one level. I have known physical, mental and emotional pain and felt the relief she experienced. When my wife of 50 years died, I found myself in a dark place mentally and emotionally. I was suffering physically from chronic sciatic nerve pain constantly shooting down both legs as well. I had been a believer for six decades and I never before felt so isolated and alone. I held a memorial service for Carol at Christian Life Center and began attending CLC regularly. After spending my first Thanksgiving and Christmas alone I felt lost and without purpose. On December 28^th, 2014, Sam Hamstra and his wife Taylor (Campus pastors at the CLC Hammond, Indiana, campus) preached about David hiding in a dark cave with 300 misfits. I thought to myself, “I’m in that dark cave but with only my two dogs for company.” Then Sam stated boldly, “If you are alive, God is not done with you yet.” That statement caused my heart to leap with joy and it stirred the Holy Spirit within me once again. I felt assured God has a new purpose for my life and I became deliberate in my search to find it.

Life Groups were starting up again at CLC and a friend from the noon service invited me to a men’s group that would be meeting Wednesday evenings. I approached that first meeting with great expectation that God would finally reveal His new purpose for my life. Instead, He had a surprise planned for me. After the opening prayer the leader asked for prayer requests. I asked for prayers for relief from my chronic sciatic nerve pain. Several men laid hands on me and prayed in the name of Jesus for an end to my suffering. I felt no different as I drove home that night, but I awoke the next morning without sciatic pain for the first time in eight years and I am still pain free more than two years later.  I have arthritis in my knees, but the pain is so much less it still amazes me.

As for my new purpose, Sam and Taylor were greatly encouraged by my emails thanking them and describing how their message blessed me and brought me out of my cave. I then realized that God wants to use me to encourage other believers. I shared with Sam and Taylor an article I had written. I then began to share weekly emails with all of our pastors and my friends at CLC, attaching a new article each week. The emails were titled “From the old man in the back of the sanctuary” and my Christian family encouraged me to start this blog. I post twice each week and praise God that it continues to attract visitors. I pray that each of you reading this will find encouragement in the words God has given me to share with you.

When we are desperate in our search for Jesus; when we deliberately reach out and touch Him by faith: amazing things still happen.