Month: July 2020

I promised you some sunshine today after my discouraging weekend. The sun came out for me even before the weekend was over. Shortly after I posted to my blog on Sunday morning, I got a call from a dear friend and brother in Christ, Jeff, who now lives in Valparaiso, Indiana. He and his wonderful wife, Jean, had read my blog post and decided to drive over with their son, Andrew, to my area (where they used to live) and he wanted to know if they could pick me up and take me to dinner. It took me less than a nanosecond to accept the offer. We had a terrific meal and reunion! I not only received the human contact I was missing up to that point in the weekend; I felt connected to the true Church once again. You see, Jeff doesn’t usually check his emails on Sunday, but he felt prompted by the Holy Spirit to check right after I sent my post to him. Then the Holy Spirit prompted Jean and him to plan a trip to brighten my weekend.

Jesus is the light of the world. (John 9:5) Jesus tells us that as His followers we are His light shining in the world. (Matthew 5:14) We usually think of that as meaning we are His light shining for those still living in spiritual darkness and that is true. But when we are obedient to the prompting of His Holy Spirit within us; we are also sunlight in the life of a brother or sister in Christ who is going through a storm, no matter how mild or severe it may be. As His true Church, we are one in Spirit; sharing each other’s burdens and victories.

Another of my favorite You Tube songs is Then Came the Morning, sung by Guy Penrod. It describes God’s sunlight following the darkest time in the history of the world. “They all walked away; nothing to say. They’d just lost their dearest friend. All that He said; now He was dead. So this was the way it would end. The dreams they had dreamed were not what they’d seemed now that He was dead and gone. The garden, the jail, the hammer, the nail; how could a night be so long? Then came the morning! Night turned into day. The stone was rolled away. Hope rose with the dawn. Then came the morning! Shadows vanished before the sun. Death had lost and life had won for morning had come.”  

Whatever situation you find yourself in right now; I hope you feel the warmth of God’s sunshine and love as you read this.

My disappointing and frustrating weekend began on Friday. My care giver called to tell me her car broke down and would be in the shop all weekend. No help or human contact that day! Later, one of my Christian brothers with whom I share breakfast and fellowship early Saturday mornings, sent a text that he has to work Saturday and then my other brother in Christ let me know Saturday is his daughter’s birthday and he will be spending time with her and her family. No fellowship or human contact on Saturday! Today is only the second Sunday my church has been able to hold limited services again. My pastor is asking old folks like me, who would be hardest hit by COVID-19, to continue watching services online. It is actually a moot point, because they have changed the entrance and exit making it a much longer walk from the door to a seat in the sanctuary. Even if I could make it that far with my walker, I would slow down everyone else trying to social distance. No human contact or live worship today!

Jesus does not bring us religion; instead He brings us a personal relationship with God through Him. My personal relationship with God has never been stronger. It is my relationship with His church that is being adversely affected. During the past four months of churches being closed In Illinois; we have been repeatedly reminded that the Church is not a building. I agree completely. I love our comfortable facility at Christian Life Center for worship, prayer and life group meetings; but that has never been what drew me to CLC. It has always been my brothers and sisters in Christ who make up the true church.

During the past four months, I have discovered that my laptop screen and speaker is not the church either. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy inspiring music and messages coming from familiar faces on my screen; it just isn’t the same as meeting together. Sundays, I have watched the worship and message from CLC, several other church services and even watched old videos of Steven Furtick preaching at Elevation Church. It has all been edifying, but doesn’t satisfy my need for personal contact with the church of believers.

I am blessed with care givers who each spend a few hours on week days helping me and providing human contact. I also have sisters in Christ who check on me regularly. Those phone conversations are always a blessing, but physical limitations and commitments keep us from personal visits. I have been enjoying Saturday morning fellowship for several years with my brothers in Christ. It was a bonus to my Sunday worship. When churches closed, so did restaurants. Two of them began picking up fast food breakfasts and bringing them to my place for food and fellowship here until restaurants reopened. That became my sole life line to the true church; a life line temporarily missing this weekend.

I have done my best to maintain a positive, encouraging outlook on this blog; but I have also been completely honest about what life as a Christian is all about. Today I am experiencing some disappointment and frustration. I could ignore those feelings and try to find something more cheerful to write about, but this is part of life as a Christian. It is not the first time I have felt like this and if God gives me more days, it will surely not be the last. Tune in again Wednesday for a little sunshine, as my situation changes along with some of those facts I write about today.

If I were asked to give a new Christian one piece of advice from my long years of experience, it might be this; “Don’t let facts distract you from the truth.” I know that sounds strange. You may even think it is an oxymoron; but it is advice every son or daughter of God will find useful.  

When I was a boy, there was a very popular TV series called “Dragnet”. Each week fictional police sergeant Joe Friday and his partner would investigate a crime and bring the perpetrator to justice. When Sgt. Friday would interview witnesses, he would almost always tell them, “Just the facts, Ma’am” or “Just the facts, Sir.” He didn’t say, “Just the truth” because finding the truth was the job of the judge and jury after listening to sworn testimony. He just wanted to know the facts that surrounded the case so he could piece together evidence to present to the judge and jury.

Facts are those things that surround us in our current situation. They are real, but they also change as our situation changes. Each new situation we face has a new set of facts and those old facts are no longer relevant to us. Truth, on the other hand, never changes and stays with us from situation to situation throughout our life. As Christians, we have access to the truth through Jesus Christ. Jesus said of himself, “I am the way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6). John begins his gospel referring to Jesus as the personification of God’s Word that is eternal and true. That Truth dwells within us in the form of the Holy Spirit. He helps us understand the inspired and infallible written word of God in the Bible.

One example of putting truth over facts is found in the story of David and Goliath. When David encountered Goliath, he was confronted with these facts: he was much, much bigger than David; he was much stronger than David; he was better armed than David; and he was an experienced warrior, which David was not. Those facts were real, but instead of dwelling on them, David concentrated on the truth that Goliath was blaspheming the God of Israel, whom David loved. He knew his God would give him victory in spite of all of those facts. You know how that story ends. Truth won out over some overwhelming facts.

Does your current situation have you surrounded by discouraging facts? Don’t despair! Hold tightly to the truth that God will never fail you or abandon you. (Hebrews 13:5) He will give you strength and victory over the facts. Your situation will change and so will those facts you face now. I know that may seem impossible to you at the moment, but as Jesus said about a rich man going to heaven, “Humanly speaking it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.” (Matthew 19:26)  Never let facts distract you from the Truth.

“All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.”

(2 Corinthians 1:3-4)

These are troubled times in which we live. The enemy seems to be hard at work giving everyone something to be troubled about. Paul reminds us that troubles are actually mixed blessings, because they draw us closer to our Heavenly Father for comfort and support. During these months of social distancing and isolation, I have been blessed with wonderful care givers and loving brothers and sisters in Christ tending to my every need. But even so, there have been times I have wanted to throw a penalty flag on the enemy for “unnecessary roughness”. (Sorry about the football reference, but sports are on the long list of things I’ve missed.) It is hard to imagine as we go through troubles that we will not only come out stronger on the other side, but it will give us even more to share with others.

God created us as social beings. As Christians, sharing with other believers comes very naturally to us. We share our sorrows and our joys. We share our burdens and our freedoms. We share our prayer requests and our praise reports. In other words, we share our lives with each other. We have all encountered steep hills, deep valleys, tight curves and detours along our walk with the Lord. Sharing those things reminds us that we are not the only ones faced with such obstacles and that God will be with us every step of the way with comfort and provision. He has promised to never leave us nor forsake us and God always keeps His promises. I started this blog so I could share my long life as a Christian with you. I wanted to give you a true picture of what being a child of God is really like during good times and bad times.   

There are two truths about troubles that I want to leave with you. First, the enemy will only take the time to trouble you when your service to the Lord is effective and causing him problems. Second, God will not allow the enemy to put more troubles on you than you can bear, even though it may seem like it at times. These two points are highlighted in the book of Job.

During my last few years as a trainer, I met a retired university professor with advanced degrees in entomology and biology. I recruited him to present training classes for some seminars sponsored by our regional pest control association. He and I couldn’t have been farther apart on our political or religious views. I was a Christian and he was a “devout” atheist. While I was serving in the Air Force overseas, he was in graduate school on the Berkley campus of the University of California and leading protests against the military and our involvement in Viet Nam. He shared his philosophy with me, “Each of us view the world through a unique lens created by our personal experiences, relationships and our reaction to them. Conflict occurs when we can’t understand why someone else cannot see what we see.” On a human level, that certainly makes sense. But how do we avoid such conflict?

He and I avoided conflict by agreeing to disagree on our differences without further discussion and then we concentrated on our mutual interest in pest management and the environment. It was one of the few times the Holy Spirit prompted me not to share my testimony. That professor had spent decades building up defenses against God and forming a stereotype of believers. Any mention of God or Jesus would have triggered a reflex action of his superior intellect and distain for believers. Instead, I simply showed him through my words and actions that I did not fit his stereotypical idea of a Christian.

In other, less divisive situations with non-believers, the Holy Spirit has prompted me to share my experiences as a Christian with love and humble gratitude; and without any condemnation. If they are seeking, they will ask questions and that could lead to them accepting Jesus Christ. If not, just let the seed you planted sprout within them and begin to change their view of their relationship with God. But always show them through your words and actions the fruit of the Spirit as well.

In our relationships with other Christians, we might assume that because we have the same Spirit within us that we see the world exactly the same. That assumption is false. I have many very dear brothers and sisters in Christ and not one of them sees the world exactly as I do. Their experiences, relationships and their reaction to them have shaped their lens. Each have their own sensitivities and issues that trigger painful memories. The difference is that each of us can also see ourselves and the world around us as God sees us with the help of the Holy Spirit. It doesn’t erase our differences, but it does minimize them and give us a common perspective of our Heavenly Father and our brothers and sisters.

The real truth that my professor friend missed is that while we are still in our mother’s womb (before our first experience, relationship or reaction) God created each of us as a unique human being. Those things add to the mix to make us who we are, but it goes deeper than that. God’s love, mercy and grace through the life, death and resurrection of His Son apply to every one of His children, but His relationship with each of us is personal and as unique as we are, because God knows us better than we know ourself. Isn’t that awesome?   

Do you talk to yourself sometimes? I think most of us do, and the rest just send silent messages in their mind instead. I have found in my old age that I not only speak to the Lord out loud much more often, but I talk to myself more often as well. The world around me might view that as a mental problem, but I know as long as I don’t answer myself and start an argument, it is just my way of keeping sane.

The easiest thing for me to do is talk myself out of doing something I know I should do. The enemy even helps by providing a list of reasons that today is not a good day for it. I’m going to let you in on a secret. If I only posted to this blog when I felt like it or had time for it, you would be hearing from me once or twice a month instead of twice a week for the last three and a half years. We all need words of encouragement and reminders of our commitments. When those words pass through our own lips to our ears, they have a very strong impact. I need to speak encouragement and strength into my mind and heart every day.

I have mentioned before that I often read scripture out loud. “Faith comes by hearing” (Romans 10:17) and there is no human voice I’d rather hear than my own. Seriously, it really does help God’s word to sink into my mind and my heart.

The greatest worship song writer, King David, filled the book of Psalms with great songs of praise and worship. Some, like the 23^rd Psalm, begin with a reminder of all of the things God has done for him. He obviously wrote those songs when he was in a mood of worship and praise. But some of his greatest words of praise come at the end of songs that begin with a list of reasons (present storms in his life) that make praise and worship difficult. As those songs progress, you can hear him remind himself that God has never failed to keep His commitments and that reminder brings forth some of his most powerful words of praise. So, my Christian brother or sister, don’t ever be afraid to talk to yourself; just be sure that your words are inspiring and encouraging. Otherwise, you just might talk yourself out of what God has planned for you.    

This week I watched a sermon on You Tube by Pastor Steven Furtick from Elevation Church. I believe it was titled, “Let the dirt do its work”. I’m not going to try to share that message with you in this blog post (even if I had the ability), but there were a few nuggets that touched my heart and I will share those with you.

He admitted that two years ago he preached on the same parable (Mark 4:26-29) and now he has a new revelation about it and he thinks he got it wrong back then. How many times have you read a very familiar passage of scripture and suddenly see it from a different angle? I sure have. I suspect that someone two years ago needed to hear that other version, but now his congregation is ready for this new view. At least I’ve found it that way; God’s word gives me what I need at the time I read it.

This parable is about a farmer who sows the seeds in good soil. Then the seeds sprout and grow on their own while the farmer is sleeping or doing other things. The farmer doesn’t know how the seeds become a crop ready for him to harvest. He only knows what he needs to do and allows the seeds and dirt to do the rest.  

I wrote a couple of years ago about asking God the wrong question. We always concentrate on learning WHY something bad happens to us instead of asking WHAT we need to do about it. I mentioned then that my top secret clearance while I was in the Air Force only allowed me to view documents when I had the “need to know”. It turns out HOW my actions work to produce the desired result in someone else’s life is something else I don’t have the need to know. I sow the seeds of encouragement, love and kindness but I never know HOW they will sprout and produce fruit in their life. God, through His Holy Spirit, tells me WHAT I should write on my blog but I never know HOW those words turn into a harvest for someone to reap. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not complaining. Obedience to God has its own great rewards.

The next time you are going through an unexpected storm in your life and you don’t know HOW you will ever get through it, just ask God WHAT you need to do. You don’t have to know HOW it will work out as long as you know WHO does know. He will not only plan your escape, He will go through it all with you.     

I have a very long list of favorite Bible characters. Gideon ranks high on that list. I think it is because I identify with him in some way. His story begins in Judges Chapter six and goes through chapter eight. I will summarize it here for you, but please read it yourself when you get a chance.

The Israelites did evil in the sight of the Lord, so He allowed the Midianite mobs to terrorize them; looting their crops and animals; leaving them to hide and starve. (Sound familiar?) After seven years of this worsening situation, the Israelites finally turned back to God and asked Him for relief. God sent an angel to the weakest of the Israelite tribes; to the weakest family of that tribe; and found the weakest man of that family, Gideon, threshing wheat at the bottom of a wine press to hide it from the Midianites. The angel said to him, “Mighty hero, the Lord is with you!” (God doesn’t choose the qualified. He chooses the willing and then He qualifies them.) Gideon was skeptical. He asked the angel three times for a sign he was from the Lord. Once he was satisfied, the angel clothed him with power and Gideon used a ram’s horn to sound a battle cry for an army of 32,000 men to gather. Although they were still outnumbered by the Midianite hoard, God, through the angel, told Gideon he had too many men, so the army was pared down to 10,000. Then God reduced the “army” to only 300 men “armed” only with ram’s horns and torches in clay pots. This was done to make sure the Israelites would know it was God and not their own might that gave them victory over the Midianites. The 300 circled the huge Midianite camp just after midnight and when they blew their horns and broke the clay pots exposing the torches, the panicking Midianites began fighting each other and the ones who did not die fled.

Was Gideon a hero, as the angel said he was? Kevin Heath once wrote, “A true hero is not someone who thinks about doing what is right, but one that simply does what is right without thinking!” The best way to do what is right without thinking is to obey God. Once he was sure the instructions were coming from God, Gideon did just that.

Have you ever felt a calling from God that was way above your pay grade? I have! I questioned if it really was coming from God. I quickly discovered that God didn’t choose me because I was fully equipped for the job. He chose me because I was willing and obedient; then He equipped me. My hero brother or sister, never be afraid to step out and do what God, through His Holy Spirit, prompts you to do. God will always do the heavy lifting for you. He just needs you to be willing and obedient; then testify to His power.

I pray that our nation will turn back to God and ask Him for forgiveness and relief. It is up to us as sons and daughters of God to be like Gideon; following God’s instructions for victory over the enemy.            

With all that has been going on around us these past few months, nearly everyone I know has been negatively affected in one way or another. It is only natural in times like these for a Christian to look up and ask, “Lord, are you paying attention?” When you have been through more storms with Him than you can count, as I have in my life, you know that question is unnecessary. At this point in my life, I don’t question God, I just watch with interest and anticipation to see how He will bring me through it this time.

I can understand how a young Christian going through their first major storm would question their faith, or even question God’s presence in the world. That is how the enemy puts doubts in our minds. “Is it something I have done wrong? Is God really there for me as He promised He would be?” Question no more! The answer is in a song that might be familiar to you. I heard it on You Tube performed by The Isaacs yesterday. It was so familiar, but I had not heard it in a very long time. It is so appropriate for this season of storms we are going through now.

“Does Jesus care when my heart is pained too deeply for mirth and song; as the burdens press and the cares distress and the way grows weary and long? Oh, yes He cares! I know He cares.
His heart is touched with my grief. When the days are weary, the long nights dreary I know my Savior cares. Does Jesus care when I’ve tried and failed to resist some temptation strong? When for my deep grief I find no relief though my tears flow all the night long. Oh, yes He cares! I know He cares. His heart is touched with my grief. When the days are weary, the long nights dreary I know my Savior cares.”

I can’t tell you why God allows you to face storms in your life. In my experience, sometimes I have come through a storm with stronger faith or a stronger testimony. Sometimes a storm taught me to rely more on Him; holding onto His hand when I find myself in the dark, groping for light. There has been times when I have had no idea why things have happened the way they did, but I know that He knows and that He has always been with me no matter how bad things seem and that is enough for me. Don’t despair, my friend. God will never forsake His children and you can count on Him to always provide sunshine after the storm.