Month: August 2020

I remember back when the lifeline commercials first appeared on TV showing an elderly person on the floor or ground saying, “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up”. I never realized how serious that can be until it happened to me twice this week. My arthritic knees both suddenly gave and I couldn’t support my full body weight on the walker for more than a few seconds before I dropped to the floor. It took two paramedics to lift me back to my feet and thank God by then my knees held until I could sit down. Since I had no injuries except strained arm muscles there was no reason to take me to the hospital.

As always I had prayed for the Lord to walk with me and help me make it to where I was walking. When my knees gave I cried out to the Lord for help. Lying on the floor I asked, “Where are you Lord? Why did you let this happen to me?” My questioning soon turned to praising Him that I was not injured. Then I asked Him for guidance to get help. I have a lifeline pendant and usually carry my cell phone everywhere.

I’m writing this to let you know that Christians, whether old and weak or young and strong, all face unexpected setbacks in life. When it happens, we naturally ask if God is still there. Of course He is, His Spirit dwells within us. Then we ask Him why, which we may not know the answer on this side of heaven’s gate. What we can be sure of is that He will somehow use it for good.

If you or someone you know is old or has physical limitations, I highly recommend a lifeline pendant. Mine operates through ADT and is furnished by Catholic Charities. It only works in my home, but I’m always with someone when I’m away from home.  

I have mentioned before about my seventeen years as a corporate trainer. I trained all of the company’s new employees; service technicians, administrative assistants and even experienced managers joining our company. My most popular class was on customer service. I tried to make it fun while covering some important techniques. One of the intangibles of customer service is simply a smile. For technicians a smile signals that they enjoy their work, so they are probably very good at it. For managers and administrative assistants a smile while on the phone softens their tone of voice. It leaves the other person with the feeling they have just had a pleasant conversation.

Mother Teresa once said, “Smile at each other, smile at your wife, smile at your husband, smile at your children, smile at each other – it doesn’t matter who it is – that will help you grow up in greater love for each other.” Smiles should be an important part of our life. There are certainly some times when a smile is inappropriate; such as when consoling someone on the loss of a loved one, or when you are having a discussion about a very sad or serious topic. However, a smile should be our default expression at all other times. I’ve heard that it takes more facial muscles to frown than to smile. I don’t know if that is true, but I do know that I find it easier to smile.

I’m not writing about the false, smiley face some people put on to hide their true feelings. I’m referring to natural, sincere smiles with eyes bright and cheerful. As Christians, we know where such smiles originate. At the end of each CLC service we are given the benediction blessing from Numbers 6:25, “May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you.” The Psalmist wrote, “May God be merciful and bless us. May his face smile with favor on us.” (Psalms 67:1) He also wrote, “Truth springs up from Earth and righteousness smiles down from heaven.” (Psalms 85:11) At the very beginning of the Genesis story of creation, don’t you think God smiled broadly each time “He saw it was good”? I sure do!

Scripture also tells us why it is important for us to smile. In Genesis 33:10 Jacob is quoted as saying, “…and what a relief to see your friendly smile. It is like seeing the face of God!” Job knew the power of a smile. “When they were discouraged, I smiled on them. My look of approval was precious to them.” (Job 29:24) It isn’t just our testimony that touches others, but it is also our smile.    

At the end of every class on customer service, I would always leave them with this suggestion, “If you apply what you’ve learned today about your relationship with your customers to every relationship in your life, it will improve those relationships and improve your life in the process.” I could say the same thing about this blog post.

Life is constantly moving from one set of circumstances to another. In my lifetime, I have found myself in countless different circumstances. Some were positive and uplifting while others were negative and depressing. Some were very pleasant and others were unpleasant. Some circumstances were common and others were unique. The one thing they all have in common, including my current circumstance, is that they are not permanent – they will change for better or for worse.

Many of the circumstances we face are of our own making. Poor decisions and physical clumsiness are just two examples of actions that can lead to dire circumstances. Hard work to achieve goals can lead to very good circumstances. But sometimes, in spite of our best efforts, we find ourselves in circumstances caused by the actions of others, by a pandemic or by a natural disaster and those are all out of our control.     

The cause of our circumstance is not nearly as important as our reaction to it. A common adage from my childhood was, “Don’t cry over spilt milk.” That saying has lost some of its meaning for me. However, if you don’t want to see an old man cry, don’t let me spill the coffee; especially before I’ve had my first cup in the morning. We need to be aware of our circumstances without letting them control our emotions or our minds.

I think the story of Peter walking on the water toward Jesus in the storm is a perfect example. Peter had to be aware of the wind, rain and waves yet he walked on the water by focusing on Jesus. It was when he began to look around and concentrate on his circumstance that he began to sink. As Christians, we can overcome our circumstances by concentrating on God, His word and His Holy Spirit within us. If our circumstance begins to get the better of us, we can (like Peter) cry out to our Lord and He will lift us out of our circumstance to safety. (Matthew 14:25-33)

I never thought I would ever quote Martha Washington and the Apostle Paul in the same paragraph, but they both had interesting things to say about this subject. Martha (our very first First Lady) once wrote, “I’ve learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our dispositions and not on our circumstances.”  Paul wrote, “Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.”  (Philippians 4:11-13)

Whatever your current circumstance, keep your focus on God; give Him praise for the good times and depend on Him to lead you through the bad times. Our circumstances will continue to change until we enter the Kingdom of Heaven Jesus spoke of so often. It is then that our circumstance will remain glorious for eternity.

There is a phrase I used to hear a lot in my youth that I haven’t heard for many years. It is, “ready, willing and able”. It applies to taking on any task from the simplest to the seemingly impossible. In a way, it is similar to that sometimes dangerous response, “Here I am, send me.” (Isaiah 6:8) As a matter of fact, I believe it should be the obedient response of every true child of God.

Being “ready” makes it possible for us to take immediate action. There is a couple I know who have a wonderful large family. They teach their children that obedience requires immediate action. If they put off what they are told to do, it is not being obedient even if they truly intend to get to it later. God expects His children to respond quickly to the prompting of His Holy Spirit within us. If you have been a Christian for any length of time, you know when God is prompting you to do something and you also know that any attempt to put it off until later is met with increased pressure to do it now. I can’t point to a particular moment in my life that I began to understand that my immediate response to the prompting of the Holy Spirit was always in my best interest, but it has been part of my growth as a Christian.

Being “willing” is very important because it puts us in the right frame of mind or attitude for the task we are asked to perfom. When we begrudgingly obey, even when it is immediate, we miss the whole reason for our obedience. When I maintain a loving personal relationship with God through His Holy Spirit within me, then everything I do will be done because of love – His love for me and my love for Him. I learned that kind of loving relationship from my earthly parents and I’ve found it especially applies to my relationship with God.

Being “able” is not always necessarily when God has a task for us. What God looks for when He has a task that needs to be done is someone who is ready and willing and He will then make sure we are able to do it. Corrie ten Boom wrote about all of the times God gave her strength and courage at just the time she needed them most. She kept her faith through some incredibly stressful situations at the hands of the Germans during World War II. Because of her faithful obedience to God’s will, she miraculously came through that experience alive and able to share her story with countless others.

I am reminded of a Face Book post that showed the photo of a kitten in an obvious position of prayer at a bedside and the caption read, “Lord, I know you said you would not give me more than I can handle; but sometimes I wish you didn’t have so much confidence in me.” I think every Christian has had moments when we could have prayed that prayer. God is good all of the time and if we are ready and willing, He will make us able.           

I hope you don’t mind me sharing another fond memory from my youth. I ran across a song on You Tube this week that stirred some memories of a time when God was still a welcome part of our culture as well as our worship. The song was written in 1954, the year I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior. The very next year it made the Billboard pop music chart. A year after that, my eighth grade music teacher used the sheet music to accompany our chorus on the piano. As a new Christian, the words had special meaning for me. They still make my heart and my voice sing along after all of these years.

“He can turn the tides and calm the angry sea. He alone decides who writes the symphony. He lights every star that makes our darkness bright. He keeps watch all through each long and lonely night. He still finds the time to hear a child’s first prayer. Saint or sinner call and always find Him there. Though it makes Him sad to see the way we live, He’ll always say, ‘I forgive.’ He can grant a wish or make a dream come true. He can paint the clouds and turn the gray to blue. He alone knows where to find the rainbow’s end. He alone can see what lies beyond the bend. He can touch a tree and turn the leaves to gold. He knows every lie that you and I have told. Though it makes Him sad to see the way we live, He’ll always say, ‘I forgive.’”     

Sadly, there is no pop music station in our country that would play that song today. A public school teacher would be in big trouble if she tried to make it part of her curriculum today. Today, many might even question, “Who is He?” It is so sad because if there ever was a time when we need to turn our attention to God, it is now. My heart breaks when I think of the younger generations who do not have the memories I have of that time when God was an accepted part of our culture in this country.

In this time of fear, hatred and violence, people are searching for answers and long for truth in the midst of all of the lies and distortion. It is up to us as Christians to share the love of God and the truth of His Gospel message with them. We can change the world and make a difference one life at a time. Revive us again, Lord!      

We had a very strong storm move through Monday afternoon leaving many people without electricity for an extended period. I was very fortunate that I had no interruption of power at all. However, just after midnight, the Lord and I took our usual stroll to the bathroom. (Whenever I stand to walk anywhere I always ask my Lord to walk with me and help me make it safely.) Don’t judge me. If you live long enough you will also have the thrill of returning to sleep after such a walk. While I was in the bathroom the power went out leaving me in total, pitch black darkness. I asked the Lord to somehow help me get to an LED lantern in my living room. At that moment the power came back on and I praised God all of the way back to sleep.

The reason I am sharing this slightly embarrassing event with you is to illustrate how important it is for Christians to maintain God’s presence with us in every situation – every moment of our life. When I was suddenly plunged into total darkness, my immediate reaction was not fear or panic; it was how are we going to overcome this situation? God is omnipresent, but He doesn’t go where He is not invited. He is always standing at the door waiting patiently for us to let Him in. It has taken me years and two arthritic knees to realize how much I need God with me constantly; His Holy Spirit within me, my Lord and Savior walking with me or my Heavenly Father dispatching angels to protect and help me.       

From the moment he was conceived in Mary’s womb, Jesus knew the presence of his Heavenly Father throughout his life until that moment on the cross when he took upon himself all of the sins of the world and his Father could not stand to even look at him. He was bearing unimaginable physical pain, but what made him cry out was being separated from his Father.  (Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34)

I have written before that it wasn’t the fire and brimstone of hell that scared me; it was total separation from God that I could not bear to even think about. Thankfully, we don’t have to worry about that because of God’s mercy and grace through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We will simply transfer from His presence with us here to His immediate presence in the kingdom of heaven.

In 1977, the UNCF began running their TV ads asking for donations. They ended each ad with a very powerful tag line that has stayed with me all of these years; “Because a mind is a terrible thing to waste.” The human mind is a marvelous thing. Our brain is not only capable of processing the information continually pouring in from all of our senses; it is able to store that information in the form of memories. We are even able to use it to grasp concepts that are beyond our physical senses or experience. We can dream dreams and see visions. To the French philosopher Descartes, it is proof of existence; “I think, therefore I am.” To medical doctors, brain activity is proof of life.

The human mind is capable of indescribable evil or the deepest love and kindness. What causes that disparity? Paul wrote, “So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.” (Romans 8:6) When we believe in Jesus Christ and accept His gift of salvation, we are not only reborn with a new spirit, God’s Holy Spirit comes to dwell in us to teach us and comfort us. Part of that teaching process is changing or renewing our mind. “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” (Romans 12:2) When asked what was the most important commandment, Jesus said that we must love our God with all of our heart (center of our emotions), all of our soul (our spirit) and all of our mind (center of our thoughts). (See Matthew 22:37) Once we are reborn spiritually, the Holy Spirit begins work on our emotions and our thoughts to bring them in line with our new spirit as a child of God.

The process of transforming our mind involves getting to know more and more about our Heavenly Father and His plans for us; at least as much as our finite mind can handle. As God told Isaiah, “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts. My ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.” (Isaiah 55:8) How long does that process of renewing our mind take? I can only speak from my own experience. After 66 years as a Christian, I am still a work in progress. My spirit and my heart have been transformed, but my mind is still learning, with the help of His Spirit, more about God and His plans for me every day. I’m convinced the process will not be completed until I enter God’s immediate presence and greet my Savior face to face. It is then that I will know as I am known. Until then, let’s follow Paul’s admonition to the Philippian church, “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)     

Are you successful? Success can be such an elusive term. Everyone measures success differently. To some, success is measured in dollars or possessions. To others it is measured in the number of friends or followers they have on social media. Like happiness, it is something some people pursue all of their life but never quite seem to possess. Most people even equate success with happiness in one way or another. Solomon found a problem with one motive for seeking success. “Then I observed that most people are motivated to success because they envy their neighbors. But this, too, is meaningless – like chasing the wind.” (Ecclesiastes 4:4) I love what that great philosopher, Unknown, has said about success. “There are hundreds of books on the secret of success, but not one of them will work unless you do.”

A friend shared with me a conversation he had with a young man who was operating a one man service business. He told my friend, “I love this industry. In just three years I have made it to the top of my field.” My friend knew his situation and knew he couldn’t see the top of his field with a telescope; so he asked him to explain. The young man smiled and told him, “I am making a good living doing something I love to do and that greatly benefits others. It doesn’t get any better than that.”

People who know my situation might not think of me as successful. But those who know me best are well aware that in spite of my limited resources, mobility and independence; I am able to encourage others with phone calls, texts, their personal visits and my blog. To me, like that young man, I can truthfully say that it doesn’t get any better than this.

As Christians, success is always achieved when we obey the teaching and prompting of God’s Holy Spirit within us. It may not be success by the world’s standard, but the ultimate sign of success is when we stand before our Heavenly Father after a life well lived and hear the words, “Well done!”

What is our self-image? How do we see ourselves? When I was a boy, my parents had a full length mirror on the back of their bedroom door. Before they left the house they would stand in front of that mirror to make sure they were “presentable”. On Sunday morning they would spend a few extra minutes to make sure they looked their best for worship. (Boy has that changed! Casual dress has become quite acceptable in many churches, including mine.) I never had to use that mirror because my parents would look me over every morning and let me know how I looked. They were my mirror.

Of course, all of that had to do with outward appearance. What mirror do we use to see ourselves as we really are; physically, spiritually, emotionally and mentally? We can’t trust ourselves to provide an accurate self-image. How about the mirror of comparison? There are two major problems when we compare ourselves with others. The first is that we only see them as they want to be seen and often that is a façade which hides their true condition. But even more important, we are all created uniquely; so what works well for them may not work for us at all. Comparing ourselves to others is as fruitless as comparing apples with oranges (pun intended).

What about seeing ourselves reflected in the eyes of others? Whether it is inadvertent or intentional, they only see in us what we allow them to see. Also, when we depend on others to reflect our image, their evaluation will always include their own condition or bias. They may; love us, be jealous of us, feel superior to us or even dislike us for some reason. That would distort our image in their eyes. The enemy will gladly provide a mirror for us. But since he is the father of lies, his mirror will be more distorted than the mirrors in a fun house at the carnival. That is no help at all.

The only true mirror of our total condition is provided by our Creator who knows us better than we can know ourselves. As Christians, we have His Holy Spirit dwelling within us to turn to for a true image of ourselves as His sons and daughters. Just as I could rely on my parents for an accurate view of my physical appearance, I can rely on my Heavenly Father to show me what He sees in me.