Category: Blog Post

A friend shared a quote with me she received from her friend. It is a popular quote that I had not heard before and it is simply, “Bloom where you are planted.” I find that quote very interesting and instructional on several levels with both physical and spiritual applications. It is not found in scripture, but Paul did write in 1 Corinthians 7:24 “Each of you, dear brothers and sisters, should remain as you were when God first called you.” He was referring to whether they were single, married, slave or free and not where they were living at the time, but it applies to current circumstances (theirs and ours). Are we to be frozen in time unable to move or change once we are planted? Of course not! When God first called me I was eleven years old. A lot of changes have taken place in the 63 years since then both in me and around me. Like some of you I have been physically transplanted several times but I like to think that I have bloomed wherever God has placed me. From Indiana to Missouri to Okinawa to Crete back to Missouri to Iowa and to Illinois I have done my best to bloom and bear fruit wherever I have been planted and in whatever state of mind and spirit I have found myself.

We are very familiar with the instruction Jesus gives us to provide light in this dark world, but sight may not be the only sense we will impact. When we bloom where we are planted our blossoms will provide a fragrance for those around us. Paul puts it this way, “Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing.” (2 Corinthians 2:15) To those who are seeking God we provide an enticing aroma that draws them closer to Him, while others find it a stench that causes them to move away from us and God. They are lured away from God by the enemy’s deceptive perfume of indulgence and sin. Throughout my life I have enjoyed and been refreshed by the sweet fragrance of those around me who are in full bloom right where they have been planted in my life.

I want to leave you with one very important point. Forgive me for shouting, but it is so important. “YOU ARE NEVER IN THE WRONG PLACE TO SERVE GOD.” He plants us where we are most needed; where we can be a blessing to those around us providing fragrant blossoms, shade for their comfort and fruit to satisfy their spiritual hunger.

 

I have written about love more than any other topic because it is such an important part of our spiritual life and should be an important part of daily living.  Despite the dictionary definition, love is not an object that can be owned, bought, sold or even given as a gift.  It is a verb; an action to be taken or something that we do.  I often refer to 1 Corinthians 13 as the perfect definition of love.  It describes all of the actions of love (not doing something is also an action).  But love cannot exist or act on its own; it requires a lover to put those actions into motion.  In 1 John 3:18 we read, “Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.”  1 Corinthians 16:14 reminds us to “do everything with love”.

Paula Thornton, my sister in Christ, recently posted a beautiful photo of her son feeding her mother in a nursing home.  I commented, “That is what love looks like.”  It reminded me of when Carol was in a nursing home or hospital.  She could feed herself but she had trouble sleeping at night in a strange place. On my daily visits I spent hours holding her hand and watching TV while she slept soundly knowing I was there with her. That simple act told her “I love you” much louder than anything I could have said to her.

Just as love needs a lover to put it into action, it also needs someone to be the recipient of those actions.   We might say that we “love” chocolate or ice cream (or chocolate ice cream), but the actions involved are very different than when the object of our love is a person.  One of the most misquoted verses in the Bible is 1 Timothy 6:10.  “For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.”   When we love things instead of people, those things become idols and the actions of that kind of love are a form of idol worship. We can enjoy something very much without loving it.

Enduring love is something I have experienced.  Sam Levinson wrote, “Love at first sight is easy to understand; it’s when two people have been looking at each other for a lifetime that it becomes a miracle.”  Acts of love by each partner every day are the secret to that kind of “miracle”.  They may not say, “I love you” as often as they used to, but love is understood and felt by both of them because of their actions.  It is one of those many situations in life when actions speak much louder than words.

God’s unfailing love is manifest in His actions to us and for us.  The ultimate act of love is when God sent His only Son to die on a cross for our sins. (John 3:16) Our love for Him, though deep, pales in comparison.  We often tell Him we love Him in our worship, but it is really in the actions of our daily life that He wants us to declare our love for him and for others.  Jesus said, “If you love me, obey my commandments.” (John 14-15) Love requires action.  Lord, help us to demonstrate our love for you and for others in everything we do.

 

“Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.” (Philippians 2:3-4)

One of my favorite biblical accounts is when Jesus washed his disciples’ feet. (John 13:3-17) Peter objected because he felt unworthy, but when Jesus told him unless he allowed him to do it he would not belong to Him, Peter wanted Jesus to wash all of him not just his feet. Jesus assured him it was only necessary to wash that which is dirty. The Son of God with tens of thousands of angels at His service chose to kneel in humble service to those He loved and thus demonstrate to them (and to us) what gives a person real value and stature is neither power nor prestige but love and service.

It was pride that caused Lucifer’s fall from heaven. He drew praise from some of his fellow angels so he began to think he should also receive some of the praise and worship reserved for God. As my grandparents would put it, “He got too big for his britches.” Lest we think we are somehow immune Proverbs 17:21 tells us, “Fire tests the purity of silver and gold, but a person is tested by being praised.”

Ethel Waters once said, “We are all gifted. That is our inheritance.” When we discover and use our gift to benefit others it will please God but it will also draw praise from other people and that will be our test. To keep from failing the test we must quickly pass the praise to God who gave us our gift. If we hold onto it too long we will begin to think that we deserve it and pride will start to control us. Don’t misunderstand, not all pride is sinful. It is perfectly fine for us to be proud of the accomplishments of family members, friends and others. It is self-pride that makes our hats (and britches) begin to tighten.

By the way, there is also a big difference between pride and self-worth. Self-worth is something we all need for a healthy life and positive relationships with our Creator and others. How can we love others as ourselves if we feel unlovable? Positive self-esteem comes from encouragement not from praise. Jesus proved our worth when He thought we were to die for. (John 3:16) There is no greater calling for believers than to provide encouragement to everyone around us, especially children who are forming their self-identity.

May each of us be able to say with the psalmist, “Lord my heart is not proud; my eyes are not haughty. I don’t concern myself with matters too great or too awesome for me to grasp. (Psalms 131:1)

 

My life in Jesus Christ began with my personal decision to confess my sinful nature and by faith accept Jesus’ death on the cross as the sacrifice for my sins.  As a result of that decision, I received the eternal life God promised and demonstrated by Jesus’ resurrection (John 3:16).  He also promised that He would always be with me in the form of the Holy Spirit dwelling in me.  My personal relationship with Jesus makes it possible for me to come directly into the presence of God the Father with my praise, my thanks and my petitions in Jesus’ name.  I have become a child of God.  No relationship is more personal.

When did personal faith in Jesus Christ become a “religion” with rules and regulations?  What causes Christians to be divided into denominations and sects over minor details?   It has to be the enemy’s effort to falsely define and devalue Christian faith.  The term Christian has attracted so many false connotations in our society that many now choose to call themselves Believers instead of Christians.  That is reasonable because the true Church is Christ’s body made up of individual believers each with our own God-given function joined together by our faith in Jesus Christ and God’s Holy Spirit within each of us.  Our unity through that common Spirit transcends all differences of culture, race, social status or other minor differences we may have.  After listing the diversity within the early church Paul concludes in Colossians 3:11, “…Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.” The Church is manifest when each believer puts their unique gift(s) to work loving and serving God by loving and serving others.

When I was a boy, whenever two people shared the same thought one of them would say, “Great minds think alike”.  I am often working on two or three blogs at a time and when I get together with my brothers at our weekly breakfast more than once they have mentioned the topic or a scripture from one of those blogs in progress.  That isn’t coincidence or minds thinking alike.  That is one Spirit at work in more than one person.  That is true Christianity at work with the Holy Spirit bringing together individual parts of the “body” or “bride” of Christ – His Church.

I have said many times that our pastors at CLC “make it personal” when they bring us a word.   The message is always directed right at me and my needs.  It is amazing that each of us present can experience that same feeling, but it shouldn’t surprise us.   God knows our needs and when a message is inspired by the Holy Spirit it can touch the heart of someone in need of salvation while at the same time resonate with the Spirit within each believer to give us exactly what we need. I am so thankful that God chooses to make His relationship with us personal and then draws us to Him and to each other to do His will on earth as it is done in heaven.

“Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” (Matthew 6:33)

Each of us is searching for something. At my age it is usually an item I just had in my hand a few minutes ago that is now nowhere to be found that triggers my frantic search. When I was much younger I began to realize that my life was like a jigsaw puzzle that still had some odd shaped missing pieces. I was fortunate to have loving parents and my daily needs met as I began my search for those other pieces that were still missing.

I found my most important missing piece in a Vacation Bible School in 1954 when through the life; death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God filled the huge vacant space in my life only He could fit into. In 1960 I found the love of my life on a blind date and in 1963 she fit into that vacant space designed just for her as my soul mate and wife. My search for the missing piece of career took us from Brentwood, Missouri, to Burlington, Iowa, to Chicago Ridge, Illinois. In 1984, after trying four pieces that just didn’t fit, I found a surprising career in the pest control industry that fit into my life perfectly. We prayed for children to fill those missing pieces in our life but our dogs loosely filled those spaces instead. God gave us a good life, just not the life we expected. I felt my life had come together nicely when in 2014 Carol died and left a large blank space once again. I asked God to help me feel whole again and He led me to CLC and wonderful brothers and sisters in Christ. He showed me that each of them fit perfectly into a new section of my life. It was then I realized that space for my wife is still occupied. You see our love did not die when she did.

Why am I sharing all of this with you? To show you that although each of our quests is unique there are some things we have in common. We don’t always get exactly what we want but God always provides us with what we need. I don’t know what you are seeking right now. If you are still searching for some missing pieces in your life I want you to know that God is the one universal, perfect piece we all need. There are no perfect spouses, perfect children, perfect careers, perfect churches or even perfect homes to live in. What you will find are those pieces that fit beautifully into your life, but you must seek God first and then allow Him to help you find those other missing pieces that are just right for you.

I want to leave you with a wise warning: “If you search for good, you will find favor, but if you search for evil, it will find you.” (Proverbs 11:27)

 

Did you ever stop to think that envy and pride are simply two sides of the same coin?  That coin is comparison.  When we compare ourselves with others we toss the coin.  The envy side of the coin comes up when we think the other person is doing much better and we don’t measure up by comparison.  The pride side of the coin comes up when we think we are doing much better than the other person and we look down on or even pity them.

That coin of comparison is minted by the enemy. He knows God created each of us as unique individuals so comparing ourselves with someone else is always going to produce a false impression that will lead us into either the sin of pride or the sin of envy.  Heads he wins.  Tails we lose.

How do we avoid this con game Satan has devised?  First, we must realize that God has a unique plan for us that is different from His plan for any other person, so comparing ourselves to anyone else is unnecessary and futile.  Galatians 6:4 tells us, “Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else.”  The only comparison we need to make is comparing ourselves to the person God wants us to be.  That will help us measure up to God’s expectation for us.

The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence when we look at it through that “green-eyed monster” of envy.  We will defeat envy when we count our blessings and thank and praise God for each of them.  Our gratitude will eliminate our need for comparisons.  We will defeat pride when we become more sensitive to the needs of others.  We will encourage those who are doing well to stay on course and we will give a helping hand to those who are less fortunate.  When we humble ourselves before God pride is nowhere to be found.  As C. S. Lewis put it, “True humility is not thinking less of yourself.  It is thinking of yourself less.”

We have all heard that ancient adage, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” It did not originate from the Bible, but God’s word does have a lot to say about forming good intentions and following them up with decisive action.

When we hear that quotation our first reaction is to think of procrastination. Henry Ford said, “You can’t build a reputation on what you are going to do.” A good example of procrastination is all of those wonderful resolutions we made at the beginning of this year that we never put into action at least for more than a brief period of time. We meant well when we formed the list, but life happened or reality set in and they simply didn’t get done. The enemy loves to keep us from doing what is good in God’s sight. It could be that he froze us with fear of failing. Maybe he distracted us with “busy work”. He may have simply appealed to our lazy nature by getting us to tell ourselves, “Someday, but just not today.” However it happens, when we know to do what is good in the sight of God and fail to do it God’s word calls that sin. (James 4:17) Because it is a sin of omission we are tempted to overlook it when we repent of our sins, but God doesn’t overlook our failure to act and neither should we.

There is another way to look at the road paved with good intentions. Proverbs 14:12 tells us, “There is a pathway that seems right to a man, but in the end it’s a road to death.” We might sincerely believe our intentions are good but are they God-approved? You don’t have to look very hard to find someone who is sincerely wrong.  I’m sure that is what T.S. Eliot had in mind when he wrote, “Most of the evil in this world is done by people with good intentions.”

A third point of view is when people think they can get to heaven through their good works. We are saved through faith not by works (Romans 3:28). Even though we mean well if our intentions and even our actions are designed just to gain points with God they are only good as paving material on that road in the wrong direction. Our good works must come from our hearts in appreciation for what God has already done for us.  We show our love for Him by our acts of obedience because He first loved us.

As believers we need to ask God to give us intentions that are pleasing to Him and compatible with His intentions for us. Then we need to ask for strength to act on them with confidence. He has provided the Holy Spirit to guide us on the road He has prepared for us (Psalm 23:3). That road leads us right into God’s presence.

As I read in Leviticus about the elaborate procedures God’s people had to go through to approach Him I have a profound appreciation for our access to God through prayer today.  When Jesus died on the cross the heavy curtain in the temple that separated us from God’s presence was ripped from top to bottom allowing us to approach God directly in Jesus’ name. We could never begin to thank God enough for the wonderful opportunity to communicate with Him through prayer. But do we make the best use of that great privilege?

In the summer of 1963, I was a twenty-year-old airman first class stationed at a remote communication site on Okinawa. Every Sunday morning I took the bus to Kadena Air Base to worship and to teach a Sunday school class of dependent youngsters.  As a result, I was invited to attend a three day religious retreat at a resort at the foot of Mt. Fuji in Japan.  That retreat had such a profound effect on me that I still remember it clearly today. The theme of the retreat was prayer and the three men of God who led the services were Colonel Terry (Commander of Air Force Chaplains), Dr. Oswald Hoffman (Lutheran Hour radio host) and Dr. David H. C. Read (Pastor of Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York City).

(A quick side note. On that trip I discovered America isn’t the only place with regional accents. While in Japan I tried to use the little Japanese I had picked up and every time I did they would smile and say, “Okinawa.”)

As you can imagine, much time at the retreat was spent on Jesus’ example of how we should pray. We call it the “Lord’s Prayer”, but it really is a basic guide for us to follow when we pray.  The actual prayer of our Lord is, “My Father! If this cup cannot be taken away unless I drink it, your will be done.”  (Matthew 26:42)  That prayer and His obedience to the will of His Father make all things possible for us including our prayers to God in Jesus’ name.

They also covered different types of prayer.  One type they called the foxhole prayer.  It is simply, “Lord, help me,” followed a little later by, “Thank you, Lord”.  After my wife died I became the king of foxhole prayers asking for God’s help literally hundreds of times a day and thanking him just as often.  Since then, I have tried to stand on God’s word that He will be with me always, so now I just thank Him when I feel His hand at work in my life which is still quite often.

Another type of prayer they talked about was intercessory prayer.  Praying for others is an act of love that blesses us as much as the one for whom we pray.  Being part of the CLC prayer team has truly blessed me.  It has taken my focus away from me and onto the needs of others.

When and where should we pray?  Of course we have access to God at any time, but Jesus seemed to prefer early morning even before daylight. (Mark 1:17) He also liked to find a quiet place away from distractions.  Jesus doesn’t tell us not to lead a group prayer out loud, but he does warn us if we pray publicly to impress men, that will be the only thing our prayer will accomplish. (Matthew 6:5)

Jesus didn’t teach us how long to spend in prayer but He didn’t put a time limit on His prayers (Luke 6:12), so what is long enough?   As our love for God grows we will automatically want to spend more time with Him, but even back in 1963 the hymn “Sweet Hour of Prayer” was an ideal and not a reality for most people.  The important thing is that we spend time listening for God’s response.  Otherwise we are just leaving a message on His voicemail.

We need to prepare our hearts and minds before we pray.  When I need an ego trim or an attitude adjustment before approaching God I repeat the words of a song I learned long ago.

“I can’t calm the raging sea, but God can.

Can’t make honey like a bee, but God can

Can’t turn darkness into light

Can’t make mountains snowy white

Can’t give blinded eyes their sight, but God can

For His power is unlimited by bounds of time and space

And every soul that breathes a breath is covered by his grace.

He makes sin clouds fade away

His touch turns the night to day.

Man can’t help me when I pray, but God can!”

With renewed respect for God’s power and full awareness of my weakness, I am ready to kneel before the throne in prayer. My knees no longer allow me to kneel physically, but I still kneel in spirit. By the way, I love the fact that Jesus prayed for me. “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message.” (John 17:20)

 

 

 

 

For centuries it has been accepted that science and human intellect are incompatible with faith in God. Nothing could be further from the truth. Each scientific discovery brings us to a higher understanding of God’s creation and God Himself. St Augustine wrote, “God does not expect us to submit our faith to him without reason, but the very limits of our reason make faith a necessity.” Our finite minds can’t grasp the full magnificence of all God has created but as we learn more about our universe, our world and ourselves faith in God and His word are confirmed, not contradicted. Scientific theory and opinion often oppose faith, but scientific facts do not.

The biggest divide between faith and science had to do with the creation of the universe. Most scientists believed that the universe had no beginning or end and had always been in existence contradicting the very first verses of Genesis. A few years ago scientists discovered evidence of a single cosmic event that brought the universe into existence and suddenly the Genesis account no longer sounds so far fetched after all. Dr. Gerald Schroeder, retired MIT physicist, has an interesting video on YouTube titled “Believe in God in five minutes” that shows how scientists may have unintentionally proven the existence of God.

Not one of the countless archaeological discoveries in my lifetime has disproved anything in God’s word. On the contrary, evidence has been found to confirm Bible accounts. When scientists discovered and mapped the human genome, another barrier between faith and science came down. At the press conference announcing their work, I heard one of them state that the complexity of a single living cell makes it impossible for that first cell to have developed by chance (a common theory explaining how evolution began).

In 1981, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony from a group of internationally-known geneticists and biologists representing the scientific community. Their testimony lasted two days as they each answered the question, when does human life begin? All but one agreed that life begins at conception and that lone scientist, representing the abortion industry, did not dispute the others but simply stated his opinion that it is impossible to know when life begins.  Dr. Jerome Lejeune, known as the father of modern genetics, told the committee, “To accept the fact that after fertilization has taken place a new human has come into being is no longer a matter of taste or opinion…it is plain experimental evidence. Each individual has a very neat beginning, at conception.” Pro–choice proponents continue to ignore scientific proof that a new human is being killed each time an abortion takes place, but God knows each of us in our mother’s womb just as He did Jeremiah. (Jeremiah 1:5)

I have had the privilege to know and love some wonderful men and women who have had successful careers in medicine, biology and other branches of science and are believers. I am convinced that as science learns more about us and our environment, the easier it will be for faith and science to work hand in hand until that day when our faith will truly become sight.

It is February 15^th, Carol’s birthday and the day after Valentine’s Day. Throughout our fifty years of marriage I always did my best to make it an annual two day celebration of my love for her. This is the third time that I have spent these two days without her. In her honor I want to share this brief article I wrote about love.

What is love? The dictionary definitions use words like feeling, affection, emotion and attraction, but if any or all of those words apply, then how can we stand before God at the altar and vow our love to our bride or groom “until death do us part”? Feelings, affections, emotions and attractions all fade or change over time. We can’t rely on them to remain strong and we can’t summon them back at will when they begin to fade. No wonder so many marriages end in divorce as their feelings change. I used to wonder if our love would stand the test of time under those conditions. It was our mutual love of God through Jesus Christ that held us together.

Carol and I often vacationed in Branson, Missouri. One summer, after we had celebrated our 30^th wedding anniversary the previous December, we visited the Wilderness Church, a log chapel built in the Ozarks over 120 years ago. We noticed that you could sign up to renew your wedding vows and we thought that was something we would like to do. After we exchanged our promises to each other once again, that wise old parson asked us to promise him something. He said, “When you get back home, I want you to find a quiet spot and read the thirteenth chapter of I Corinthians together. We told him we would and we honored that promise.  We read, “Love is patient. Love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”  Wow! There it is – a definition of love that we can vow to keep all of our lives because it is not a feeling, affection, emotion or attraction. It is a way of life that can become a permanent habit.

I was on my way to lunch after attending the noon service at CLC one Sunday. The words of one of the worship songs kept echoing in my mind; “I love you because you first loved me.” Then it hit me. I began to tie those words to that Biblical definition of love. I had read that passage again and again after we renewed our vows as a reminder of what my love as a husband should be. Now I see that it is also a definition of God’s love for us. Because he first loved us in that beautiful fashion, we can love Him that way too.  Jesus orders us to love others with that same enduring love. “This is my command: Love each other,” (John 15:17) not just on birthdays or holidays but every day of the year.

By the way, that part in the wedding vows about “until death do us part”? Don’t believe it. Love doesn’t end just because one of you dies. It may not be as tangible as before, but it is still there as strong as ever.