Month: June 2020

I have to share a brief praise report. Saturday at 6:00 am, we were able to meet at a restaurant again for breakfast and fellowship for the first time in more than three months. Even more of a blessing, my friends made sure I got to the barber shop after breakfast. I feel like a new man.

A question came up for discussion. Should we only pray once with full faith that God will answer, or should we repeatedly pray for what is burdening our heart? There seems to be scripture to support both positions. One evangelist has been heard by my friends to preach both sides at different times with equal authority. We all know that there are no contradictions in scripture, so we discussed the different positions for an answer.

In the King James Version of Matthew 6:7, Jesus teaches us not to pray with “vain repetition as the heathens”. The NLT reads, “When you pray, don’t babble on and on as the Gentiles do.  They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again.” I have always taken that to mean the use of a mantra. A word or phrase with supposed magical power when repeated over and over. Along with John 3:16 and the 23^rd Psalm, the Lord’s Prayer is one of the most memorized passages of scripture. I believe we could say that prayer every day until it becomes a mindless recitation or mantra and that would not be pleasing to God. He wants us to pray from our heart in spirit and in truth. What we call the Lord’s Prayer is an example or template Jesus gave his disciples of what should be included in our prayers. We need to approach our Heavenly Father with the praise, honor and glory He deserves. No flattering words, just sincere love and adoration. We need to ask for God’s will in our life. We need to remind ourselves to share God’s mercy and blessings to us with others. We should pray for our needs and the needs of others. We need to ask for protection from temptation and evil; concluding our prayer with the same praise and adoration with which we began.

What about asking for the same thing more than once? Is that a sign of weak faith? Jesus teaches us in Matthew 7:7 NLT, “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.” Our Heavenly Father never gets tired of us spending time in prayer with Him, sharing what is on our hearts and minds. He never gets tired of us repeating what is on our hearts. As Christians, we are so fortunate to have God’s Holy Spirit dwelling in us, to help us when we pray; even when we can’t find words.       

It has been a while since I shared Christian lyrics. I just listened to a song on You Tube by Ivan Parker titled, I’ll Get Carried Away. “I don’t know why I get a little shy when I’m around a whole lot of people; and I can’t figure out why I never can shout about the love that floods my soul. Well, I must confess, I can’t express the feelings deep inside me. But the things I know and cannot show one day will overflow. I’m going to let the glory roll when the roll is called in Glory. I’ll get beside myself when I get beside the King that day. I’m going to have the time of my life when the time of my life is over. I’ll get carried away when I get carried away!” It is a happy song about a glorious day, but I hope none of us waits until then to let God’s love overflow from our heart onto those around us.

In almost every poll about what people fear most, fear of public speaking ranks above fear of death. I conquered that fear as a teenager (when I knew everything). Since then, I have not been a man of few words. It is a very powerful feeling to know when you are before a group of any size; you are doing something most people would rather die than do. When I met my future wife, Carol liked the fact that I controlled the conversation. She was a shy young lady with a Mona Lisa smile, who was a very good listener. If she ever got tired of me sharing my every thought with her for the next 54 years, she never let it show. I was truly blessed.

My Christian brother or sister are you shy around groups? That’s OK! You don’t have to be a renowned evangelist preaching to the world to obey the Great Commission. Sharing your story with one individual might change that person’s world. There is no speech to memorize or formula to master. It is your story and no one else can tell it like you. What was your life like before you met Jesus? How did you encounter Him? How has He changed your life? That’s it! Not everyone you tell your story to will accept Christ, but the ones who do will be sharing their story with others in no time at all. That is how Christianity changed the world and will do so again.

When I am prompted by the Holy Spirit to write my blog, I know that someone needs to read it, but I never know who that someone is and as often as not it turns out to be me. I like the idea that you are reading this post as if it were a personal letter to you. If it touches you in some way, you can then share it with someone else. Every person we touch will touch others and our influence is magnified in that way. Sociologists claim the average person influences 10,000 people in their lifetime. There will come a time when you will know all of the people you have touched directly or indirectly in this life; and at that time you will also be able to fully express your deepest feelings. But don’t wait until then; share your story with someone now.

I’m going to get personal today. I had a rough week. Tuesday evening as I finished dinner, I began to cough and choke and I could not stop. By the time I settled down some, my throat was really raw. It was painful to swallow and even a sip of water burned like I was drinking acid. When my care giver came the next morning I still couldn’t swallow so I went without eating that whole day. I tried cough syrup and throat spray but it felt like I was swallowing fire.

After my care giver left at noon, I got a call from her agency wanting to send her back to take me to a FEMA curbside testing sight for both of us to be tested for COVID-19. It was the first time I had been out of the house in three months and I certainly didn’t feel like it, but for her sake I agreed. I was given a mask and rubber gloves to wear. By the time I got in her car, I was suffocating and had to adjust the mask so I could breathe without passing out. When I got back home, I continued the painful syrup and spray treatments. By that time my body temperature crept up to 99.3 degrees. I finally was able to get some rest Wednesday evening.

The next morning, when my Thursday care giver arrived, my throat was finally feeling better. I asked her to cook some scrambled eggs and a slice of buttered toast. It went down without pain so I continued with a light, soft lunch and dinner without a problem. My body temperature was back to normal. Friday, I was back on more solid food and normal portions. Although my throat is no longer sore, my voice isn’t completely back which is not good for someone who is not a man of few words. What really hurts me is that singing is still out of the question and I really miss that.

I have been in prayer the whole time and God helped me get my Wednesday blog post out on schedule. I won’t get the test results back until Monday or Tuesday, but I am writing this blog post as an early praise report. I’m feeling much better. I didn’t have any other symptoms of COVID virus and my only shortness of breath was when I tried to wear the mask; so I do not believe it was the virus. Whatever it was, it sure got my attention. Praise God for bringing me through it! I hope your life has been better this week, but whatever you might be going through keep a firm grip on God’s unchanging hand.     

One of the first things they teach in driver education is that when you check the rear view and side mirrors, you still have to glance over your shoulder to check the blind spots the mirrors don’t cover. During my many years of driving I was often shocked to find a vehicle in that blind spot that caught me completely by surprise and that prevented some very serious accidents. I can’t drive anymore due to glaucoma damage to my right eye, which has a sizable blind spot as a result. Thankfully eye drops are keeping the glaucoma under control to prevent further damage to that eye or any damage to my good left eye. Even when I walk, I have to turn my head a little to survey the floor or sidewalk for tripping hazards I might otherwise miss.

Spiritual blind spots are much harder for us to check. We examine ourselves carefully but we often cannot see a sin of omission or a character trait that seems harmless to us that could put us on the proverbial slippery slope to disaster. When I was a kid, sometimes a classmate would pull a prank by slapping you on the back and tape a sign to your back that read “IDIOT” or “KICK ME”. I think the enemy does that sometimes placing a sign others can see, but it is oblivious to us and even a mirror doesn’t help. One of the reasons we need to surround ourselves with Christian family and friends is that they will have our back, hold us accountable and help us remove the sign. Of course, we also have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us. We can ask Him to do a security check much like David asks for in Psalms 139:23.

God of Creation who can see past, present and future as a continuum and can see every thought in our mind and desire of our heart surely has no blind spots, right? Buzzzz! Wrong answer! God designed his own blind spots for our benefit when He sent Jesus to die in our place. God can’t stand sin. When we accept Jesus as our Savior, His shed blood cleanses us of our sins so we can stand righteous in God’s sight. He no longer sees our sinful nature, but the righteousness of His Son. (Romans 5:1 & 5:9)                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

Today I want to take a break from Corona virus and the demonstrations. Instead,  I want to look back on the lessons I learned during my 17 years as a corporate trainer. It may sound strange that a teacher learned lessons from his students, but there are life lessons in everything we do when we are receptive to them. I think what some saw in me as patience was actually my ability to see the potential in a person and help them see that potential themselves; then use it to achieve personal success.

I trained several hundred new employees over my years in that position. I was a teacher of facts and techniques, but I also saw myself as a mentor. A few trainees came to me with over inflated egos that I had to take down a notch or two until I had their full attention. Most of them, however, had varying degrees of low confidence and self-esteem. Those humble souls were the ones most receptive to encouragement and training. I have kept in touch with a large number of them. Many still work for that company in various positions. Some of them have started new careers in other fields. One holds a prominent position with a national pest control company in Tennessee. Eight or nine of them have started their own companies and are doing quite well. I couldn’t be prouder of all of them. It’s flattering when one of them tries to credit me for their success, but I quickly set them straight. I simply recognized their potential, gave them some tools and pointed them in the right direction. They did the hard work and heavy lifting that led to their success. One of my former trainees has become a good friend. He had a problem with classroom training and multiple choice exams. Once he started the hands on part of the training, he quickly got a solid grasp of the material; but he still had to pass my quizzes and the State of Illinois certification exam, which is a tricky and difficult test. He knew he would freeze up and not be able to pass. I got him to concentrate on one question at a time and treat it like a game; looking for key words or phrases and choosing the best answer, not the first one he came to that looked correct. His competitive nature overcame his fear and when it worked on my quizzes, his confidence increased dramatically and he passed the state exam on his first try. He soon became a department supervisor.

Why am I sharing all of this with you? New Christians need the encouragement and guidance of a mentor. There is nothing more fulfilling than helping someone be their best. They need to learn the best way for them to understand and apply the Bible to their daily life. They need to learn how to pray to their Heavenly Father with praise, thanksgiving and their petitions following the example Jesus gives us; always taking time to wait for His response. They need to learn how to recognize and obey the promptings of the Holy Spirit who now resides within them. The good news is that God knows their potential and the Holy Spirit will show them. So all we need to do is give them some tools and point them in the right direction. They will develop their personal relationship with God. God loves all of His children the same, but because He created us as unique individuals, our personal relationship with Him will be somewhat unique as well. Tools to help them can be found at Bible.com or a similar resource, where they can find the translation that is best suited for them and find a plan to take them through the entire Bible in a year or cover a particular topic of need or interest. As a mentor we simply need to be there to answer questions and continue to encourage them. God will do the rest.               

I have mentioned several times that the first two things my parents taught me are that there is a God and you’re not Him. The very next thing they taught me was the Golden Rule. “Always treat others like you want to be treated.” They made it clear to me that meant everyone, even those who look different than me. Respect for others and their property was part of my life long before I was old enough to realize that is something God requires of His children. As we slowly venture out from being sheltered at home, it is important that we remember how to approach others properly.

Mary Kay Ash, founder of Mary Kay Products, has given this advice to her sales force, “Pretend that every single person you meet has a sign around his or her neck that says, ‘Make Me Feel Important.’ Not only will you succeed in sales, you will succeed in life.” Sounds like good advice, but I have a visualization that is even more effective. Pretend that every single person you meet has a label on his or her forehead that says, “Created in the image of God.” John tells us that it impossible to love God and hate a person made in His image. That doesn’t make them an idol to be worshipped. Only God is worthy of that. It does mean that we are to love them as God loves them; enough to send His Son to die for them; and for us. (John 3:16)

Albert Einstein always made it a point to treat the janitor with the same respect as the president of the university. He did that because it is the right thing to do; obviously not because of any ulterior motive. Jesus said that loving God with your whole being is the greatest commandment and equal to that is loving your neighbor as yourself. When asked, “Who is our neighbor?” Jesus responded with the parable of the Good Samaritan. That parable makes it clear that even someone different or someone despised by many is a neighbor we should love.

My Christian brother of sister, are you having trouble loving and respecting others because you wonder in these trying days if you even love or respect yourself? I have one more visualization for you. Look in the mirror and imagine a label on your forehead that reads, “Child of God” We read in God’s word that in end times people will take the mark of the beast on their forehead. We must always remember that God has accepted us into His family as His child and although others may not see a label, they will see His family resemblance in the way we live and love.

Over the years, I have learned from God’s word and His Holy Spirit that just as it is a blessing to receive respect and love; it is just as satisfying and rewarding to treat another person with love and respect. Scripture tells us it is more blessed to give than to receive, but I have found great joy from both giving and receiving love and respect.

Today I am finally prompted to write about race relations and the violence that has occurred for the last week throughout our country, just as we were seeing a light at the end of this COVID-19 tunnel. This is a Christian blog written to show the reality of life as a child of God. There are those in our society who try to make everything political; usually stereotyping those who disagree with their agenda. This post is not political. It is simply the truths that God has shown me through His Holy Spirit over my 66 years as a Christian.

What is going on now is not a war between people of different races. It isn’t a war between people at all. We are in the middle of a spiritual battlefield. There is no neutral zone. The battle is raging between good and evil; between God and the enemy. Which side you choose has nothing to do with the shade of your skin, but it has everything to do with the content of your heart. Growing up in southern Indiana during the 1950s, I witnessed the evil of “systematic racism”. I also saw the effective way to deal with and change it. Today, by comparison, racism is no longer systematic, but there are pockets of evil that make it seem so at times.  

As a new Christian In 1954, I watched Billy Graham integrate his team and all of his crusade meetings, even in the Deep South. In 1957, I watched on TV as Billy Graham and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stood side by side on the platform in front of a multicultural crowd in Madison Square Garden, in New York City and proclaimed that there is but one race – the human race, and everyone in that race needs Jesus Christ as their Savior. Then I watched as thousands of people with every shade of skin come forward together to accept Christ. Later, I watched intently as Dr. King delivered his famous I Have a Dream speech at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. before an even larger, peaceful gathering. Peaceful demonstrations and gatherings like those of the past are productive and good, but attacks on people and property are from the enemy as surely as hatred and police brutality. Dr. King knew, as I know now, that you don’t defeat our spiritual foe by using his evil tactics.  The Spirit within us is more powerful than the spirit that is in the world. All we have to do is release that power through prayer; then join together peacefully and prayerfully to demonstrate our unity. We will see the tide of this spiritual battle turn toward good right where it is raging in the hearts of men and women.

Satan uses his evil tactics on us as individuals when we are most vulnerable and he does the same thing with nations. Our nation is hurting and weakened; not only by the virus, but also by over-zealous responses to it. Before we could get our churches and businesses back on their feet Satan stirred up this wave of violence. He wants us to think we can’t overcome his evil plans, but I have read the end of the story in the back of my Bible. Spoiler alert! Faith, prayer and the hosts of heaven will be victorious. Actually, Jesus has already declared victory when he said from the cross, “It is finished.” All we have to do is follow Him.

I have a new t-shirt that I love to wear. The message on it reads, “The devil saw me with my head down and thought he had won until I said AMEN!” Don’t even think about giving up. We will get through all of this together. God bless each and every one of you reading this.  

In this season of isolation, fear and uncertainty, many are suffering mentally, physically or even spiritually. Relationships may be strained and finances may be drained. At times like this, we tend to see only what we are lacking and overlook what we still have and need to hold onto. There is a ray of hope as we cautiously prepare to open up our churches and businesses in an effort to slowly return to normal activities again; but for many that means picking up the broken pieces of their lives. Moving on without loved ones who have died; starting all over from scratch in their business or career; and mending strained personal relationships. I know I am truly blessed in so many ways, but I also know there are some tough decisions ahead of me.

I always try to find encouragement that I can pass on to you, but that search has never been as important as it is now. I have emphasized the importance of replacing worry with prayer. Then I emphasized the importance of counting our blessings, even the hidden ones. Today I want to encourage us to look up to God for strength and then look forward to the bright light of hope that God is shining on our future. As usual, I turned to Christian music and I found “Joy Comes in the Morning” performed by Joy Gardner. I love the message in these lyrics that are based on Psalms 30:5. They lifted my spirit and I hope they will do the same for you.

 “If you’ve knelt beside the rubble of an aching broken heart when the things you gave your life to fell apart; you’re not the first to be acquainted with sorrow, grief or pain. But the Master promised sunshine after rain. Hold on my child. Joy comes in the morning. Weeping only lasts for the night. Hold on my child. Joy comes in the morning. The darkest hour means dawn is just in sight. To invest your seeds of trust in God in mountains you can’t move, you have risked your life on things you cannot prove. But to give the things you cannot keep for what you cannot lose; now, that’s the way to find the joy God has for you. Hold on my child. Joy comes in the morning. Weeping only lasts for the night. Hold on my child. Joy comes in the morning. The darkest hour means dawn is just in sight.”