Month: December 2020

Joy and hope are an inseparable package. I have never been hopeful and depressed or joyful and hopeless. Have you? How do we acquire such a valuable, positive package? Unlike happiness and comfort that are products of our environment, joy and hope cannot be pursued or attained by our efforts; they are attitudes we must choose to have.

When we receive the gift of salvation through God’s mercy and grace, the Holy Spirit comes into our heart with God’s love. He also brings with Him the bonus package of joy and hope. As with all presents, we must accept it, open it and then put it to good use. Did you receive a gift this Christmas and leave it unwrapped? Did you unwrap a gift to find a nice warm sweater or coat and then put it away in the closet or drawer without wearing it on these cold winter days? Of course you didn’t! Why then would we receive salvation and God’s love, but not open and put to use the joy and hope that God so graciously makes available to us? Even when you receive a gift you don’t like or can’t use, do you reject it and return it to the giver? Not if you care about their feelings! So why would we reject such a wonderful package of joy and hope from God; preferring our own attitudes of doom and gloom? 

Once we choose joy and hope as our daily attitude, we see our life and our situation from a very different perspective. There is a message circulating on social media this difficult year. “This year, instead of getting what we want; maybe it is a year to be thankful for what we have.” That is an attitude of joy in spite of what is going on around us and it reminds us of our hope for a brighter tomorrow. I have experienced joy during the worst storms of my life and have never lost sight of the glimmering light of hope on the other side of the storm.

As Paul so aptly put it in his letter to the church in Rome, “I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13) If you haven’t already done so, I pray that as you read this you will choose to make your attitude one of joy and hope. It is that attitude, along with love, that makes the Christian life shine brightly in a world of darkness.    

I was not familiar with Howard Arnold Walter until I recently ran across one of his poems. He was an American writer and assistant pastor who died in the flu epidemic of 1918 at the age of 35. This is the poem that caught my attention.

“My creed I would be true, for there are those who trust me;

I would be pure, for there are those who care;

I would be strong, for there is much to suffer;

I would be brave, for there is much to dare.

I would be friend of all – the foe, the friendless;

I would be giving, and forget the gift.

I would be humble, for I know my weakness;

I would look up – and laugh – and love – and lift.”

That is a creed every Christian can live up to, because there is scripture to support every line of it. We are encouraged to be true (Psalms 7:10); pure (1 John 3:3); strong and brave (Joshua 1:9); friend of all (1 Timothy 2:1); giving (1 Timothy 6:18); and humble (Matthew 5:5). There are more verses of scripture and some may even be more relevant, but you get the idea.

Before I knew he was an assistant pastor, I knew Howard Walter was a Christian, because that last line of his poem gave it away. It describes my personal relationship with God. I look up a lot because I know from where my blessings come. Every day I find a reason to look up and say, “I know that was you, Lord. Thank you!” I also laugh a lot with friends and with my Lord. I have mentioned before how surprised C.S. Lewis was by the joy he experienced as a Christian; because when he was an atheist, Christianity seemed so somber, serious and stoic. I can’t count the number of times I have laughed with the Lord during my lifetime walking with Him. Recently, I was looking at an old photo of my wife and I. I said out loud, “Boy, I was fat back then. Look at that double chin.” I sensed the Lord was laughing at that, so I felt under my chin and laughing I said, “Okay, Lord. It isn’t gone completely, but at least it isn’t as prominent as it was back then.” To some that may sound trivial or even sacrilegious, but I can’t wait to get to heaven and actually see Jesus’ smile and hear Him laugh.

It is God’s love that makes salvation and a relationship with Him possible. (John 3:16) As Christians, His love continues to flow through us to those around us. Our love for others naturally leads us to reach out to them and lift them with a helping hand, encouraging words and our prayers. As a matter of fact, I hope you feel the joy, love and encouragement present in my blog posts. They are a product of my relationship with God and my obedience to His will for my life.     

Christmas is just two days from today. This is my fourth Christmas blog post so I was wondering what I could possibly write about this time that I haven’t already covered. As usual, God gave me an unexpected topic this holiday season.  

My brother-in-law and his wife, who live 300 miles from me now, sent me a very special package this year. Like an eager schoolboy, I couldn’t wait until Christmas to open it. Inside were three quart jars of authentic southern Indiana Bar-B-Q pork. The thinly sliced medallions of hickory smoked pork were packed in a special Bar-B-Q sauce. I sent him a text thanking him and he sent back a warning not to eat it all before Christmas. I told him I would try and two of the jars will survive past Christmas. The smell of it heating up and the taste of it took me back to my childhood and special family meals at our favorite Bar-B-Q restaurant in Evansville, Indiana, where I could never get myself to order anything else but their pork sandwich with onion and dill pickles. This time I piled it on two slices of bread so I could eat more of it than I could get on a sandwich. I still had enough for three meals over this past weekend. What a wonderful gift of food and memories!

There are two points I want to share with you. The first is; our five senses lead directly to our mind. Smell and taste brought back fond memories for me over the weekend; so does hearing a favorite song or looking at old photos. Even touch can trigger a special reaction. A group of church ladies gave my wife a prayer blanket while she was recovering from hip surgery. She loved it and now I sleep under it every night. The warm feel of that light blanket with tassels around the edges makes me feel close to Carol even though it has been six years since she was called home ahead of me. All of that is good, but we must also guard our senses from things that trigger bad memories or temptations. The enemy loves to use our senses to dredge up the sins, mistakes, regrets and sorrows of our past. Thankfully, the Holy Spirit is there to remind us that we don’t need to relive those negative memories. Jesus paid the price for us and we are set free from them through His mercy and grace. Case closed! Move on!

My second point is more appropriate for the season. Christmas is the only birthday party I know where everyone gets a gift except the Birthday Boy. After all, what could you possibly give the King of Kings and Lord of all? Let me give you a clue. (Matthew 25:40) “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’” Jesus commands us to love others as He loves us. (John 13:34) So, when we give a gift with love and not out of obligation, we are actually giving that gift to Him.

I pray your Christmas is merry and bright this year in spite of health concerns and restrictions.   

I would not be alive today without intercessory prayers on my behalf. I still rely very strongly on the prayers of my brothers and sisters in Christ. It is hard to describe how it feels when you know someone is praying for you. If you have ever felt it, you know what I mean. I heard a song the other day that I hadn’t heard before. It reminded me of the importance of intercessory prayers. The lyrics were so strong I listened to Connie Hopper singing it three times. “The stories of old from the Bible Mama told; each day she spoke of God, her friend. She told me of His love and His home above. Sometimes I wished those stories would end. But later one night as she turned out the light in the darkness where no one could see; I heard a new sound, Mama turned it around and she was telling God about me. Mama was praying for me; talking to God about me. With tears on her face, she’s pleading my case; Mama was praying for me.”

In this time of trials and troubles, our prayers naturally turn to our own difficulties. There is nothing wrong with that; God wants us to lay our troubles in His hands and trust in Him for relief. (Philippians 4:6) However, it is only when we turn things around and concentrate on the storms others around us are going through and pray for them, that we clearly see all of the blessings in our life for which we should be giving thanks to God. Our gratitude and our empathy and love for others will provide us with joy even in the darkest storms we go through. “Go through” is the key phrase. The storm you are in right now is not your final destination. As Christians, we can see a light of hope shining at the end of even the darkest tunnel in which we find ourselves.

We all know someone who is a prayer warrior. My church, Christian Life Center, has formed a prayer team made up of such Christians. Every time a prayer request comes in to our pastor, it is shared with the team for prayer. I’m not sure I belong in such an illustrious group, but I love to pray for the needs of others; their trials make my own seem minor. The most gratifying part of being in such a group is when we receive a praise report of answered prayer. It is so wonderful to offer thanks to God for hearing and answering our prayer.

Make a habit of including the needs of others when you pray. You might even start a prayer list, if you haven’t already; listing each person you know who is going through a rough time. Pray specific prayers for each of their needs just like you do for your own needs. Unlike the prayer of a small child, you don’t have to ask God to bless and protect everyone by name including the dog. God knows your family and friends. Yes, God also knows your needs and the needs of those you do single out, but He is a loving Father who loves it when we come to Him with problems and ask for His help. You don’t need eloquence or fancy words; just approach Him with your full attention, your whole heart, soul and mind. He wants us to pray like we worship Him, in spirit and in truth. (John 4:23) Don’t forget to take time when you finish praying to silently listen with your heart for His response. It is through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ that this direct two way communication with our heavenly Father is possible. What a blessed privilege it is!

I received a very nice comment on one of my blog posts. In it was the statement, “I don’t know who you are, but…” It reminded me of a story I read about a mother and her grown daughter. Most of their photos were stored in their phones, but one day the daughter came across an old photo album while visiting her mother. She found a photo in it of her mom as a sassy looking teenager and showing it to her mom she asked, “Who are you?” She only knew her mother during the wife and mom stage of her life. That photo prompted them to compare their teen years and they became even closer to each other as a result.

It was no surprise that a stranger from across the International Date Line (the comment was posted the day after I was reading it) did not know me. My name is very common and I have never done anything to deserve public attention or notoriety. However, anyone who reads all of my blog posts will get to know me very well.

All of this made me think, “Who am I – really?” I am the nine-year-old child recovering from the measles, holding my mother’s hand and my breath as we felt our way through thick smoke and trees to our nearest neighbor while our home and everything we owned burned to the ground. I am the boy of eleven who tearfully knelt at the altar of a church and gave my heart and my life to Jesus Christ. I am the young airman making it through basic and two tech schools before serving 18 months on Okinawa and another 15 months on Crete. I am the nervous young groom watching the love of my life slowly walk down the aisle with her father. I am the maturing husband through 50 years of marriage whose wife stayed by my side through thick and thin. I am the wound nurse, caregiver and advocate for my wife as she fought cancer and MRSA infection. I am the widower whose wife went on ahead of me to heaven leaving me in God’s hands until we reunite. Most importantly, I am still the child of God that I became 66 years ago. Yes, I am all of those things and much, much more.

“Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained by living a godly life.” (Proverbs 16:31) “The glory of the young is their strength; the grayhair of experience is the splendor of the old.” (Proverbs 20:29) We are the sum total of all of our experiences throughout every stage of life. It has been said that every time an elderly person dies an entire library of information is lost. I don’t know about that, but I do know there is a whole lot more life and experience inside us than you can imagine just by watching the limitations of our old, worn out body. If you are blessed with Christian parents and grandparents who are still living, take advantage of that blessing by asking them to share their life experiences with you. You may even want to record them or write it all down afterward. Be sure to pass them on to your children and grandchildren along with your own experiences and wisdom. Don’t let those stories and wisdom be lost.

Now you know why I share so much of my life with you in my blog. I have no children, so you are my adopted child or grandchild. I hope you get as much pleasure from reading about my experiences as I do writing about them.      

I came across another quote recently from that wise old philosopher Unknown; “As surely as the acorn becomes the oak tree, the images in your mind become your reality.” I have written before about perception. What our mind perceives about a person or situation becomes reality to us, even though it may be a false impression. It is a form of mind over matter. Every temptation or sin begins as a thought. The enemy is constantly using our senses to plant thoughts in our minds that pull us in the wrong direction. Sometimes his messages are hidden from our conscious mind and enter through the back door of our subconscious; like the subliminal advertising in movie theaters and the messages buried in some hard rock music of the 50,s and 60’s. 

As a young boy, I thought mind over matter meant “if you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter”; or maybe telekinesis (the ability to move objects with your mind). A couple of years after I accepted Jesus Christ as my savior, I began to read a popular book of the time titled, “The Power of Positive Thinking”. I don’t think I ever finished that book. It is written by a clergyman so I thought it would be a good book to read as a young Christian. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the idea of replacing negative thoughts with positive ones; but I realized as a newborn Christian that a key component was missing. The power to live a life of positive thinking comes from God. The Holy Spirit also taught me that I should be mindful of everything and when something seems to move on its own (like on a Ouija board), the power moving it is not a human mind; it is the enemy trying to confuse us and open us to his demons.     

Here is what scripture says. “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) “Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.” (Ephesians 4:23) “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)  The power to refocus our thinking comes from the Holy Spirit and not simply from our own mental exercises.

When I became a Christian, my spirit was reborn and my heart was filled with God’s Spirit and His love. The renewing of my mind has been a continual process that is still going on. Yes, my attitude has amazingly improved over the years as I draw closer to God, but I must still pass my thoughts through the Holy Spirit for purification and positivity. The more we rely on the Holy Spirit the less we need to worry about sinful thoughts or actions. James writes about the importance of controlling our tongues. (James 3:1-12) The best way to do that is to get control of our thoughts first and then speak positive, loving thoughts as prompted by the Holy Spirit.  

Yes, there is such a thing as mind over matter, but it is the Mind of the One who spoke the Universe into existence and not your mind or mine.

Have you ever heard someone quote, “The Lord helps those who help themselves”? Don’t bother looking for it in the Bible because it isn’t there. It is one of many humanistic statements cloaked in religious language. As a matter of fact, scripture gives us an opposite viewpoint. Both Matthew and Luke quote Jesus as saying, “For the exalted will be humbled and the humble will be exalted.” (Matthew 23:12 & Luke 14:11) When two Gospel writers record the same quote from Jesus, you know it must have been a memorable teaching. Instead of suggesting you should grab your own blessings, Paul writes, “Right now you have plenty and can help those who are in need. Later, they will have plenty and can share with you when you need it. In this way, things will be equal.” (2 Corinthians 8:14) That has been the story of my life; give when I have and ask when I don’t.

Satan knows the Bible better than some Christians. He loves to tweak it just a little to lead us astray. When he tempted Jesus, he took scripture out of context but each time he was tempted Jesus set him straight with what scripture actually says. (Matthew 4:1-11)

Another more modern example; “Money is the root of all evil.” Those words are found in the Bible, but the words that are left out change the meaning completely. This is what scripture actually tells us; “For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.”           (1 Timothy 6:10)

Any object, including money, is not good or evil in itself. In the hand of a man or woman, it can become a tool for good or evil. My wife once told me, “The internet is evil.” Of course she was referring to the porn sites and false information she knew were there. Today, I thank God that I can use the internet to share the truths of the Christian life with you and many other people around the world with this blog. There are still people using technology for evil; but more and more God is using it to bring His children closer together. Evil exists in the hearts and minds of lost souls, not in the tools they use for evil purpose.

“All scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17) Let us read and study God’s word eagerly and regularly; applying it to our daily lives with the help of the Holy Spirit within us. Then, we can recognize even the most subtle distortions and reject them just as Jesus did to overcome temptation and make the devil flee.  

Ten years ago while my wife and I were waiting for a table at a restaurant, a young couple came in and asked how long the wait would be. They were told approximately twenty minutes. They looked at each other and walked out without giving their name. They evidently did not understand that it would take them more than twenty minutes to walk back to their car and find a less popular restaurant with no wait list. They just did not want to stand or sit still for that long. I mentioned in my last post that impatience has become more prevalent during my lifetime and that makes waiting for anything painful for many people.

A friend gave me a ride to a doctor appointment two weeks ago. We left in plenty of time to make it to my appointment. When we arrived, I was told the doctor was running 30 minutes late. My friend and I sat in the waiting room chatting and it seemed like no time before they called my name. Back when I was still driving and would have made that trip on my own, that half hour would have seemed much longer. Whether it is waiting for a table, a doctor, in a checkout line, or on hold on the phone; waiting can try anyone’s patience.

I would ask my parents for something as a child and I could expect one of these three answers; yes, no or maybe later. The yes answer was cause for joy and excitement; the no answer was disappointing, but didn’t leave any expectations with it; the maybe later answer was the hardest to take. I needed to know why my gratification was being delayed and, more importantly, for how long would I have to wait.

Looking back on my life as a Christian, I know my Heavenly Father has answered my prayers with those same three answers. When the answer is yes; it is cause for great joy, whether the prayer was for me or someone close to me. When the answer is no; I have learned it is because He has something much better in mind for me. There is an old country song that describes that situation so well titled, “I thank God for unanswered prayers.” When He closes one door, He will soon open another one that we never dreamed of.

 When we pray, we need to pause silently at the end and listen for God’s reply. At times in my life I have perceived His answer to my prayer to be, “Later”. Unlike my parents, God doesn’t say maybe. He knows that it will or won’t happen eventually, so with Him it will always either be no or later. The reason that does not trigger my impatience is that my faith in Him has been validated so many times. I know God has good reasons for delaying His positive answer to my prayer and I know it will happen when the time is right. I believe this blog is the answer to a prayer I prayed many years ago. He knew I wasn’t ready yet to take it on for an extended period of time back then, but four years ago He let me know, “Now is the time.”

So, my brother or sister, people around you may try your patience, but never become impatient with your Father in Heaven. He loves you and knows you better than you know yourself. He will always answer your prayers in a way that is best for you. Trust Him! You will never be disappointed.

My boss once told me the reason I was chosen to train new employees was because I had more patience than anyone in the company. Evidently, I haven’t changed much since I retired. When the clocks were to be set back an hour this fall, the minute hand on my grandfather clock would not move backward, so I would have had to spin it forward eleven full turns to set it to the correct time. I didn’t want to put my clock through all of that manipulation and I knew the clock was losing about four minutes a day, so I decided to wait 15 days for actual time to catch up with it. Now, I just move it a few minutes forward again each time it is wound to keep it on time. I was either very patient or very lazy; I’ll let you decide.

In this fast paced, electronic world in which we are living, patience is becoming harder to find. Everyone seems to want instant gratification and instant answers. They don’t even spend a few minutes searching the internet anymore; they just ask their phone and the answer comes back in seconds. I am convinced the new definition of a nanosecond is the time between a traffic light turning green and a horn sounding behind you. Impatience is not new, but it has become increasingly worse over my lifetime.

Patience is mentioned many times in the Bible. We read about the Israelites testing God’s patience in the wilderness after He freed them from Egyptian slavery. (Psalms 95:9, Psalms 106:14 and Hebrews 3:9) We often point fingers at them for all of the things they did to try God’s patience, but I believe we have all been guilty of either trying the patience of God, our parent, teacher or someone else in authority; just to see how far we could go before their patience ran out.

Peter tells us about Jesus’ return, “The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.” (2 Peter 3:9) One of the fruit the Holy Spirit produces in Christians is patience. (Galatians 5:22-23) I think that is what my boss saw in me. If we allow the Holy Spirit to produce all nine of those fruit listed in those verses, then our testimony will be loud and clear without us opening our mouths.

To me, the most meaningful mention of patience in scripture is found in Paul’s second letter to the church in Corinth. Paul describes the importance of love in our lives and then gives us the most beautiful definition of true love. He begins that definition, “Love is patient and kind.” (2 Corinthians 13^th chapter) I read that chapter many times during our fifty years of marriage to remind me how to show Carol the deep love I felt for her.   

There is enough stress in life, without allowing our impatience to add to it. Let’s be lovingly patient and kind to everyone around us. Not only will we be surprised by some of the positive responses we get, but we also will be developing those wonderful qualities the Holy Spirit plants within us.