Month: November 2019

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day. In the past I have written about the history of this uniquely American holiday and on its importance for Christians. This year I want to get a little more personal.

From 1971 until Carol became too ill, we made every Thanksgiving personally memorable. Although we weren’t blessed with the children and grandchildren to share it with us, Carol and I worked together preparing a traditional feast of turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, green bean casserole, cranberry relish, dinner rolls and homemade pumpkin pie with plenty of whipped cream on top. Carol was an excellent cook, but she allowed me to help with the cranberry relish, which consisted of chopped cranberries, chopped walnuts, orange zest and crushed pineapple. I also prepared the gravy and lifted the turkey out of the oven and back in for basting, siphoning broth for the gravy and adding dressing at just the right time. It was the only time we used our crystal bowls, good china and silver plated flatware and from the time we moved into our townhome it was the only time we ate in our formal dining room. At least until the leftovers were gone, which usually took about a week. Even without family, we found plenty for which to be thankful including each other.

Since Carol passed away, I have been invited to the home of Christian friends or shared a meal at Cracker Barrel with others on their own for the holiday. This year wasn’t looking too promising. I planned to schedule a handicap bus with a lift to get me to Cracker Barrel to meet a dear friend who injured her back and could not help me with the walker to ride in her car. Then the weather started to turn bad and tomorrow is still iffy. I was preparing myself to spend a quiet day at home alone. Then my caregiver came today with enough food for three or four people which she cooked and refrigerated for me to use as needed. Then I got an email from one our pastors that he was contacted by a CLCer who wanted to know if she could bring me a plate of food on Thanksgiving. Now it looks like there may be a break in the weather tomorrow after all. I’m not sure how everything will turn out, but I have a hunch I will be more than a few pounds heavy when all is said and done.

Please don’t think I’m writing this for sympathy. Even if I only had what was in my fridge and a peaceful day without human contact, I would not be alone. I am never alone. My Lord and my memories of joyous past celebrations would keep me company. I could spend all day thanking God for the blessings I have enjoyed so far this year and I’m sure I wouldn’t remember it all. Now, because of the wonderful Christians God has put in my life, I will feel very comfortable and happy no matter the weather.

I hope each of you reading this have a safe, wonderful Thanksgiving with family and close friends. There are always, always things for which to be thankful. The great thing about being a Christian is that we know who to thank for all of them.  

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus warns us, “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.” (Matthew 6:19-21) Jesus also tells a story of a rich man whose farms produced a bumper crop, so he decided to build bigger barns to store his wealth and then sit back and take it easy. He died that very night and his wealth was left behind for others. (Luke 12:16-21) The moral of that story, “Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.”

My eyes have finally been opened to the fact that Jesus isn’t really talking about where our treasures are stored at all, but what it is that we treasure. You can’t store earthly wealth in heaven. Ancient pharaohs had their treasures, food and even their wives and servants buried with them but you can’t take it with you, so it was all left behind for grave robbers. When we die, we will travel very light; leaving behind our possessions and even our physical bodies.

Please don’t misunderstand; it is prudent to set aside some resources for a “rainy day”. Christian financial councilors tell us to give God a tenth of our income and save a tenth; living on the remaining 80%. There is a big difference between saving something for future needs and hoarding and treasuring wealth. Everything I own belongs to God and is simply on loan to me while I’m alive; to share with others and use as His Holy Spirit dictates. It is only when I begin to treasure my blessings above the Giver that I get into trouble. 

I have written before about a flooded basement I had several years ago. Many valuable items had to be discarded including over 100 color slides of my Holy Land trip in 1964 and other irreplaceable books and documents. That painful experience taught me that it isn’t those physical treasures that are important, but the precious memories and lessons I have learned along the way that I still treasure in my heart and mind. Since we had no children, my wife and I decided to be cremated. Her ashes are on my living room mantle. They aren’t valuable, but they are a reminder of the precious memories and the love for her that is still stored in my heart and mind. She is a treasure I have waiting for me in heaven.

Every precious relationship with my brothers and sisters in Christ is a treasure being stored in heaven. The greatest treasure of all, as Jesus points out, is “a rich relationship with God”. What treasure could possibly be more valuable than that?

Looking back on my early childhood, I can only remember being spanked twice by my mother for disobedience. There was no, “Wait until your father gets home”. Crime and punishment were immediate and inseparable. What amazes me to this day is that my disobedience ceased; not because of fear of punishment, but because of my love for my parents and their love for me. John describes how that applies to our relationship with God and our obedience to Him. “We know how much God loves us and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world. Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. We love each other because he loved us first.” (1 John 4:16-19)

Perfect love begins with God’s love for us described in the familiar words of John 3:16 and it is manifest in our life when we accept it and give God our love in return. Jesus teaches that love is the key to obeying God’s law. “Jesus replied, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all you heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself. The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.’” (Matthew 22:37-40) Paul gives us a clue as to why love is the key to obedience to God’s law when he wrote, “Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God’s law.” (Romans 13:10)

Our love of God and others from within us is not only the key to obedience; it is the key to effective prayer; it is the key to meaningful worship; it is the key to sharing the good news of the Gospel; it is the key to every relationship; and we will find at the end of our tour of duty here on earth that God’s perfect love in us is the key to heaven’s gates.        

When those around us degrade religion and particularly our Christian faith, we often explain to them that Christianity is a relationship with God and not a “religion”. Of course, they will never understand that until they experience it for themselves. Born again Christians refer to Jesus as our personal Savior and God as our Father or even Abba (Daddy). Those terms don’t begin to describe our individual relationships with our Creator.

Our references for relationship are based on the relationship we have with others around us. I have written before about my close relationship with my wife of 50 years, my parents and my brothers and sisters in Christ; but none of those people have gotten as close to me as God. He knows every thought of my mind, every feeling of my heart and every physical strength and weakness of my body. He knew my DNA while I was still in my mother’s womb; before man had discovered that there was such a thing.

Have you ever wondered why God speaks to us in a still small voice (whisper)? It is because He is so close to us, if He raised His mighty voice we would be blown away. I once heard Bishop T.D. Jakes describe how well God knows each of us. “The Bible says even the hairs on your head are numbered. It doesn’t say counted, so He knows how many there are; it says numbered so He knows which one you just lost.” A relationship doesn’t get more intimate or personal than that.

I have mentioned before that I encourage every married couple I know to cherish every precious moment they have together. Too often we take the love of our life for granted until they are no longer with us. Do we truly cherish every precious moment with God? God will always be with us. His love for us is eternal. When we become His children through faith in Jesus Christ, we don’t have to worry about separation. “And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.” (Romans 8:38) Because of God’s steadfast presence and love, it is even more important that we guard against taking it all for granted. We need to show our appreciation every day; not just for what God has done for us and His continued blessings, but also for that close relationship we enjoy with Him.

Slavery ended in our country at the end of the Civil War more than 150 years ago. No son or daughter of a slave or slave owner is alive today, but in 2016 experts estimated there were still 40 million people in slavery worldwide.

Jesus teaches us that there are a whole lot more people than that in slavery. “Everyone who sins is a slave of sin.” Wow! That means every single person who has ever lived, from Adam to you and me, has experienced slavery whether they realize it or not. Sadly, far too many people experience it their entire life. Praise God, Jesus gives us the key to our shackles.  “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Of course, Jesus is the way, the truth and the life and he explains why he is the only exception and the only one able to free us, “A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.” (John 8:32-36)

Jesus freed me from slavery to sin over 65 years ago and to this day I still find it indescribably amazing. As usual, there is a song that describes it much better than I ever could. I love to hear Lynda Randle sing it. It has become one of my personal worship songs.

“So long I had searched for life’s meaning,
Enslaved by the world and my greed,
Then the door of the prison was opened by love,
For the ransom was paid – I was free.

I’m free from the guilt that I carried,
From that dull empty life I’m set free,
For when I met Jesus, He made me complete,
He forgot the foolish child I used to be.

I’m free from the fear of tomorrow,
I’m free from the guilt of the past,
For I’ve traded my shackles for a glorious song,
I’m Free! Praise the Lord! Free at last!”

Proverbs is full of contrasting statements; or as I like to call them “flip sides”. One of those is Proverbs 12:25. “Worry weighs a person down; an encouraging word cheers a person up.” I have written before about the heavy weight of worry, but I don’t think we can ever give enough attention to the power of a few encouraging words.

Jesus commanded us to love one another. (John 15:17) Paul wrote that we should show our love by encouraging one another. (1 Thessalonians 5:11) The Bible is full of examples of God encouraging his people through his word and his Holy Spirit and then his people in turn encouraging each other. This blog would not have been possible without the encouragement of all of the pastors at Christian Life Center and especially Josh Moran, who designed my website and provided the platform for it. As a well-known preacher once said when someone praised one of his sermons, “I will keep the encouragement and pass the praise on to God who is the only one deserving of praise.”

We’ve all heard about “paying it forward” with random acts of kindness. One of my friends has tried to take that a step farther with random words of encouragement. Whenever she sees something positive about a person, even a total stranger, she sincerely compliments them about it. Sometimes it sparks a more in depth conversation. Often it is just said in passing. But it might well be the only positive thing that person has heard about themselves in a long time and could have a long lasting impact on them. When we follow Paul’s advice, we will be sensitive to those positive qualities in others and be in a position to encourage them. “And now, dear brothers and sisters one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” (Philippians 4:8)  

A word of caution; be very careful when complimenting a member of the opposite sex because they might misunderstand it as flirting, especially if they are not used to being treated with respect and  kindness. That actually happened to me once and instead of lifting her up with my words, I had to let her down and hurt her feelings by telling her I was happily married. I am comfortable now encouraging my sisters in Christ because they all understand that our love for each other is not romantic. By the same token, my brothers in Christ and I are open about our Christian love for each other. I think the answer is to only speak encouraging words as and when the Holy Spirit prompts you and not to everyone you meet.

I hope you find my blog as encouraging as I intend it to be. I have certainly been encouraged by the feedback I have received.

One of my brothers in Christ shared a story he heard about a skier who left the ski trail and went over a cliff, catching onto a tree limb as he fell. He yelled for help for several minutes but there was no answer. Then he looked up and said, “God if you are up there, I need your help.” A booming voice from heaven said, “Do you believe in me?” “Yes Lord, I believe in you.” “Do you trust me?” “Yes Lord, I trust you.” “Then let go of the branch.” “Is there someone else up there I can talk to?” We smile about someone wanting a second opinion after God answers their prayer, but if you’ve been a Christian for any length of time you have probably questioned if you heard God’s instructions correctly or even asked, “Are you sure, Lord?”.

Faith in God is not just a matter of professing – it requires action. Sometimes that action is a huge leap of faith. Obedience is a true sign of faith. We may not hear a booming voice from heaven, but when we obey that still small voice of the Holy Spirit within us even when we don’t understand how it will help our situation, we can expect our prayers to be answered. Do you pray with full expectation? I will be the first to admit that I have sometimes been caught by surprise by God’s miraculous answer to my prayer. Why am I surprised after all of these years? You would think by now that my prayers would all end, “Lord, I can’t wait to see how you do this.”

I have shared the story before about all of the churches is a town coming together in the town square to pray for rain to end their long draught and finally went home disappointed. Then a young boy peddled his bike to the town square and prayed for rain; then opened an umbrella to keep from getting soaked as his prayer was answered. He was the only one with enough faith to be prepared for God’s answer to his prayer. I used to wonder what the man meant when he told Jesus, “I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief.” (Mark 9:24) I think we all have some reservations. We know He can do it. We may even know He will do it; but sometimes we just have trouble visualizing it actually happening.

Lord, help us to pray with attention and obedience to your instruction and with full expectation of your response. That is what true faith in you is all about.

I used to think of God’s mercy and grace as two separate things. Mercy saving us from the punishment we deserve and grace giving us blessings we don’t deserve. But as I study the scriptures I find that God’s grace includes His mercy toward us and much, much more.

“God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.” (Ephesians 2:8) “Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty of our sins.” (Romans 3:24) “For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people.” (Titus 2:11) “Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.” (Romans 6:14)

Paul asked God three times to heal him. “Each time he said, ‘My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.’ So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.” (2 Corinthians 12:9) That has become a key verse for me in my afflictions. God’s grace continues to sustain me; His power is at work through my weaknesses and, like Paul, I am glad to boast about it to anyone who will listen.  

A gospel song I listen to often simply puts it, “Grace will always be greater than sin. Calvary has proven it time and again. Whatever you’ve done; wherever you’ve been; God’s grace will always be greater than sin.” Pray for those who embrace evil. Many may be beyond your prayers but some of them can still have a Saul of Tarsus kind of encounter with Jesus Christ that will turn them completely around by His grace. I leave you with this blessing from the writer