Pine Tree Ministries Blog – Pine Tree Ministries

Pray for your pastor!

Sun, 26 Apr 2026 11:16:03 GMT

I was asked to speak at a men’s group of some church trials that I have faced in my life. It wasn’t to complain about my experiences but to challenge men to pray for their pastors. To pray for the shepherds who are to watch over their souls. To pray that their pastors will not take their eye off the ball.

Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you. Hebrews 13:17

Some men, who are called pastors, look at the souls mentioned in that verse as pew-fillers, or as giving units. They do not look at them as brothers and sisters in the Lord, fellow believers, or souls that Jesus Christ died for. They do not look at them as sheep that they as under-shepherds are to care for and that they will be accountable for.

Vance Havner wrote a book titled, “Playing Marbles with Diamonds.” The title is applicable in many churches where the man in leadership treats those whom Jesus Christ died for as chits in a game called “church.” “How many chits do you have?” is a way of determining which man is the winner. In sports it is how many yards you have gained, or how many games have you won, or how many goals have you scored? In church, it is how many people fill the seats and how much do they give?

Years ago, I joined the social media giant, Twitter. My pastor and others used that media to communicate, and I wanted to be a part of that. After a few months, I deleted my account. It was a numbers game. How many were in attendance? How many days in a row? How many salvations? It was not proclaiming the Holy Spirit’s work in the hearts of people, it was a way of judging the preacher’s status amongst his peers.

I pointed out to one preacher that numerous people were leaving the church under his watch. He quickly replied, “That’s okay, it is just the Lord, purifying His church.” No, they were souls in his care. Souls that someday he will give account to the Lord for. I look back at the people who left and at that preacher who left the ministry about 8 years after telling me that. I am not in doubt as to whose leaving most purified the church.

Looking back at some of the men who were to be a shepherd caring for me, the first preacher who had a major impact on my life was a pastor, an under-shepherd, whom the church jokingly nicknamed, “King Karl”. Their name for him came from his leadership style. He was an authoritarian man, retired from the military, who ruled “his” church with an iron fist.

If he ever read Hebrews 13:17, he seemed to miss the part about having to give an account for my soul, or for anyone else’s soul for that matter. It has been said about him by people who were supposedly knowledgeable, that he split six fundamental Baptist churches in his career.

He took his eyes off the ball. I was the ball, Fred was the ball, Larry was the ball, Paul was the ball, as were many others who were “the ball” that he was to watch over in that small church in a small town in Michigan. He didn’t. Rather than being a shepherd, he wanted to be a king. He lived out what it meant to be “King Karl”.

Sixty years later, solely by the grace of God, I am still in church, still desiring to follow the Lord. Fred and Larry left that church when their pastor decided to be a king and spent their lives in the pursuit of other things, worldly things. They made their own choices. They will have to stand before the Lord for their choices. But so will King Karl. The Lord spoke to shepherds who did not watch over His sheep: "Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the LORD. Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the LORD." Jeremiah 23:1-2

The Lord says these so-called pastors have scattered “the sheep of MY pasture.” He calls them “MY people” and “My flock.” It reminds me of the parable of the talents in Matthew 25. One man received five talents from the Lord and made five talents more. The Lord said, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.” Another man received two talents, and he made two talents more. The Lord commended him in the same manner. The third man received one talent, and he went and buried it, waiting for his lord’s return. When his lord returned, the man dug up the one talent and presented it to his master. And the lord said, “Thou wicked and slothful servant…” and took the one talent away from him and gave it to the men who had ten talents.

It is serious business when the Lord makes us responsible for His sheep. It is very serious business to be responsible for giving account to the Lord for Larry’s and Fred’s soul.

The Lord says, “Woe to the shepherds who take their eye off the ball, who fail to guard My sheep, who treat diamonds, the souls I died for, as chits in your game.” It is serious business with everlasting consequences.

For many reasons, I follow news reports about preachers who throw away their role as shepherds because of some great sin in their lives. The news is full of them. For those of us who sit in the congregation, it is not time to give up on church as some I know have. It is the time to pray for those men who watch over us. To not pray in a generic manner, “…and bless all the pastors…” But to pray for their strengths to be used by the Lord, and for their weaknesses to become strengths when used by the Holy Spirit, and for them to be doers of the Word, faithful to their wives, raising their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, and being examples to each of us to draw us closer to Him. To pray, as the pastor who penned the book of Hebrews asked: “Pray for us: for we trust we have a good conscience, in all things willing to live honestly.” Their care for us has eternal consequences. Our prayer for them does as well—don’t take it lightly.

Maybe King Karl failed the believers in his care and failed the Lord because those who were his subjects didn’t bother to pray for a king. Hopefully though, the sheep, you and me, are praying for our shepherds. They will give account for our souls. The Apostle Paul calls us to share in our pastor’s work with a simple request: “Brethren, pray for us.” (I Thessalonians 5:25)

Rocked

Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:51:33 GMT

I must admit that my life was rocked by the news of Philip Yancey’s 8-year affair with a married woman.

Unfortunately, his fall is not an anomaly. In the past few years, other men who have spent their lives in church work have made this kind of news all too common. With some men, it is easy to believe the worst about them. Their public demeanor. Their arrogance. Their love for the “good things” of this world is apparent.

But Yancey was different. He was the one who traveled to Japan to speak to the survivors of the tsunami. He met with the parents at Sandy Hook, speaking to them on behalf of God of how to deal with life when God seems absent at best or uncaring at worst. Yancey was the one who helped us see a glimpse of God’s hands and heart at work in the darkest of times. He gave us reason to hold on even when it made no sense to do so.

Who speaks for God now? Yancey admits that he has failed his wife, he has failed the people who look to him for an understanding of God’s Word, and he has failed the Lord. All of that is true. If it were only Philip Yancey, it would be easier. But it is Tony Evans. And Bill Hybels. And Ravi Zacharias. And James MacDonald and Robert Morris and Steve Lawson. And others.

They have given up their godly name for sex or money or power—or all the above. They have betrayed their families and their church and you and me. And they have betrayed the Lord. They chose to make sex, or money, or power, their god. Ego became the force that drove them to expound the Word of God to us while knowingly, blatantly, defying the God of the Word at the same time.

Who speaks to me on God’s behalf now? Who do I trust to stand behind the pulpit or the lectern, to open the Word and tell me how the Lord wants me to live while endeavoring to live that way themselves?

I have been in the church for 78 years now. I have yet to listen to a man on the other side of the pulpit who was perfect. At times, I also have stood behind that pulpit to speak to God’s people. I was not perfect either. But being imperfect is no excuse for falling into sin. It matters not whether these men slipped and fell into sin, or if they strode into sin with their eyes wide open. They each were living in what they knew to be sin without apology. Without repentance. Without confession.

How can you speak for God while living in rebellion to Him? It is not an imperfect man who does so, it is a rebellious man. A man who knew better than most that the Holy God has holy demands, high and holy standards for those who speak for Him, yet they knowingly betrayed those standards and spoke for Him anyway.

Alistair Begg said, “Watching my peers over the 40 years in the States, I would say that every major pastoral collapse can be traced to one thing, and that is just to pride, the rules no longer apply, I have transcended this.”

Is it that men who expound the Word for a living have become so inured to it and so impressed with themselves that they believe they have transcended God’s standards for mere men? It seems to be the only explanation.

In Psalm 50, God speaks, “The mighty God, even the LORD, hath spoken, and called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof.” And “the world is mine, and the fulness thereof.” And “I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.” But later in the same Psalm, He says, “you thought that I was a man like you.” And men, who have at one time professed their need of a Savior and who have taught their people about the God who is the Creator and Sustainer of the earth, think that they have transcended mere manhood and become almost like God Himself. The rules, God’s rules, no longer apply to them. Pride has overtaken them and they perceive themselves to live in a different world and by different standards than the people they teach and lead.

To whom shall I listen to hear God’s Word? Maybe I have been listening to the wrong voices. I have been listening to the eloquent voice. The polished voice. The confident voice. The voice that many others are also listening to. Maybe I need to be listening to the man who fears sinning against his God. To the man who loves me more than himself and who stands in the breech to warn me of my sin. To the man who boasts of the Lord instead of himself. To the man who has spent time in the Word today, not to impress others, but to grow in the nurture and admonition of his Lord. To the man who knows what a great gift to his ministry his wife is (and if she is not a good and godly gift he steps away from the ministry). To the man who not only wants to do well today, but who wants to finish well whether that appointment comes today or in 40 years.

And maybe, and I continually get more convicted about this every day, I need to pray for the ones I am listening to more and more as the day approaches. I need to pray that they are who the Lord wants them to be. I need to pray that their ego does not outgrow them. And I need to pray that the Lord gives me eyes to see as well as ears to hear—for His man, the one who has given his life to our Lord to be used up for Him.

I am one of the sheep. I am praying for the shepherd who desires to lead me, that he will lead as the Great Shepherd would have him to. And I am praying that the Lord will give me, and us, the wisdom to follow the shepherd who is following the Great Shepherd and no one else.

As one of the Lord’s sheep, He promises perfect peace to those whose minds are stayed (transfixed) on Him. [1] My peace does not come from Philip Yancey’s, or any other human’s, spiritual walk with the Lord. My peace comes from Him and from my walk with Him.

He promises perfect peace. Despite fallen leaders. Despite our love for the teaching of certain men who may fail the Lord. My salvation is not founded on any man. No man stands between me and my heavenly Father. No man can cause the Father to break His promise to take me to be with Him someday. I not only can have peace, I, right now, have perfect peace because my Lord promises it and because I am looking to Him and not to any man.

I pray that peace for you. And I pray that Philip Yancey can come to know that peace again as well. Looking to Jesus, the Author, and the Finisher of our faith.

[1] Isaiah 26:3

Getting Ready to Serve

Wed, 07 Jan 2026 00:22:24 GMT

I have been in the church my entire life.

I am confident in saying that I was in attendance the next Sunday after my birth (which was on a Sunday). My mother was not one to miss church for any reason. Looking back, I can’t say that I got much out of that first service. I don’t even remember the passage the minister preached from.

There have been other Sundays since then when I didn’t get much out of the service. Many times, it was my fault that I left the service unchanged.

Paul tells Timothy to be ready; “in season” and “out of season” to preach the Word. [1] In the same manner, it is incumbent on me to “be ready” to hear the Word, to be challenged by it, and to grow in it. Our gathering at church is for us to “exhort one another.” I am to be prepared when I walk through the doors to exhort; and to be exhorted. [2]

Sometimes I go to church with an “ear to hear.” Other times, my hearing is blocked by a million other things that have taken up residence in my mind. I may be focused on the past week or the coming week, instead of being present and sensitive to the needs of those around me.

My alarm is typically set for 4:30 AM. There are times when I sleep in a little and other times when I am awake an hour before the alarm sounds, but 4:30 is the appointed time. What I do with those hours between wake up and arriving at church will have much to do with whether I am blessed, bored, or angry by my time spent with God’s people.

My normal preparation is to watch a YouTube video from my pastor. I will read and meditate on the Word. I will pray for our time together as a church family. I will pray for the pastors and others who are ministering in any capacity that day. When I follow this routine, my entire Sunday is different. I feel as though I am spending a day of Sabbath rest with the Lord.

As I was thinking through this, I thought about the other days of the week. How do I prepare to be a blessing to those I will encounter? Do I take seriously, “whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do at work , do all to the glory of God.” (My paraphrase of I Corinthians 10:31)

Do I segregate my Sunday attitude of worship from my weekday attitude of earning a living? Should it be the same preparation? Of desiring to please the Lord? Of desiring to impact others with the God of the Word? Of pulling the Lord into every aspect of my day?

My aim is to consciously pray for each person I see walking towards my office, that the Lord would make me sensitive to their needs and give me words to say to help meet those needs. I always try to be sensitive to people, but that prayer has a way of focusing my thoughts on them. When I do that, I look at people with different eyes. More patient eyes. Eyes that take less offense. Eyes that see those people as the reason for my day, rather than as an interruption.

I was having a particularly difficult morning when my payroll system went kerflooey. My efforts to fix it were unsuccessful. I was sweating bullets under a looming deadline. And someone called. With a personal problem. That they needed to talk to someone about. I was that someone. What was I to do? To excuse myself as too busy to listen? Or to remember that Jesus died for people? He didn’t die for timely payrolls. He died for people…and I was talking to one of them on the other end of the phoneline. Were they an interruption? Or my purpose for being at work that day?

Just as I need to be ready with “an ear to hear” on Sunday, I need to be ready every other day as well. Matthew tells us that Jesus came to serve, not to be served. [3] And Jesus calls each of us to follow His example—to serve rather than to be served. What does that mean? To teach a Sunday School class? To work in the church nursery? Or does He expect me to serve the next person who walks into my office? Or to serve my employee who is having their own difficult day? Or my wife—in actually serving her rather than just “doing marriage”? Or the person in the church foyer who looks as though they are carrying the weight of the world all by themselves? Or the person in the same church foyer who looks as though they just won the lottery—even though they never play it? I am to weep with those who weep and to rejoice with those who rejoice [4] —because that is what it means to be a servant to them and to my Lord.

I forget, with regularity, that the world does not revolve around me and my wants and perceived needs. My world is to revolve around those for whom Jesus died. Those who Jesus wants me to minister to. Because I love them…or at least I say that I do.

If it is good to spend time getting ready for church, and it is, how much time should I spend getting ready to go to my secular job, where I will meet people all day long who live in Satan’s domain? And who know nothing different? To use an old saying, “I may be the only Jesus they ever see.” Will they see Him today…in me?

[1] 2 Timothy 4:2

[2] Hebrews 10:25

[3] Matthew 20:28

[4] Romans 12:15

The Baby Jesus - The Infant Savior

Wed, 24 Dec 2025 14:43:10 GMT

I have thought for many years

about the shepherds in the field the night the heavenly host announced the birth of the long-awaited Messiah. It had to be heady to be one of those shepherds kneeling before those angels and then going into Bethlehem to actually visit the new parents and the Baby. The baby? The Messiah is a Baby? A newborn, helpless, Baby?

“And you shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger”

“He was meek and lowly…”

“He had no form or comeliness…”

“There is no beauty that we should desire Him…”

“He was despised and we esteemed Him not…”

His parents fled to Egypt to protect Him from Pilate who sought to kill Him.

There were some closest to Him who thought that He was crazy.

The pious, religious leaders of the Jews sought to trip Him up and discredit His ministry.

The Romans scourged Him and spat on Him.

His opposition were given a choice to free Jesus or a criminal…they chose the criminal.

A Roman soldier drove spikes through His hands and ankles to attach Him to the cross.

When He was hanging on the cross, dying, soldiers gambled for His clothes.

And this is the Messiah? The One who will bring salvation to humankind? They taunted Him that day, saying, “How can He save the world if He can’t even save Himself?” And they laughed at the jokes they made about Him while He struggled to breathe.

A few men were pallbearers that day for the Eternal God, the Savior of the world; they carried His body to a borrowed tomb.

The Word tells us that the Heavenly Father uses the weak things of this world to confound the wise. It is common in the church for us to admire the flashy, the eloquent, the wealthy, the talented and the beautiful. I wonder what we would have thought of Jesus. That He was crazy? Or homely? Would we have rejected Him? Would we have voted for Barabbas? Would we have laughed that He couldn’t save Himself? Would we have walked back to our homes that afternoon and said, “Well, that’s over”?

Would we have missed the fact that the baby in the swaddling clothes was the Lion of the Tribe of Judah? That the itinerant rabbi was the Living Word? That the One who healed the sick was the One who holds universes together by His own power? That the One who died had conquered death and would soon be seated by His Father on Heaven’s throne? That the one who appeared to be defeated was instead the Victor? That He is coming back for His people to take them to be with Him? That He is worthy of honor and praise and glory and blessing?

The Apostle Paul tells us that He “…is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.” [1]

What will you do with Jesus? Will you accept Him as Savior? Will you obey Him as Lord? Will you serve Him as King? Will you watch the Eastern Sky for His return?

The nails did not hold Him to the cross that day—His love for you held Him there. He died so you can live with Him, now and forevermore.

Fear not! I bring you good tidings of great joy. For unto (insert your name here) was born in Bethlehem, the Savior, which is Christ the Lord. That announcement is as important to you and me today as it was to the shepherds that night two millennia ago. But it is only good news if you know Him as your Savior. Do you?

[1] Colossians 1:15-20

The Shepherds Returned

Tue, 23 Dec 2025 00:14:03 GMT

Every Christmas season for the past few years, my thoughts have gone back to the shepherds to whom Christ's birth was announced. Everything we know about those shepherds is recorded in just thirteen verses in Luke 2. We all know that story: from the angel’s first, “Fear not!;” to seeing the heavenly hosts, to visiting the Baby Jesus in Bethlehem. They never dreamed they would experience anything like this night—ever! And then verse 20 says, “And the shepherds returned...”

Did you ever stop to think about what they returned to? It was the same world they had left only a few hours before. Herod still ruled over the Jews. Roman soldiers had free reign to do pretty much as they pleased. Loved ones still got terminal diseases. Spouses and parents still died way too soon. Hucksters still cheated people out of their life’s savings, even in the temple. Children still went prodigal. And possibly, one of their young sons was killed in Herod’s vendetta to do away with the Baby King. Maybe that father wondered why the Infant Savior was hiding in Egypt and his son was killed. Shouldn’t the Savior save; instead of letting innocent babies die in His place?

They had to wonder when they would experience this great joy and peace and goodwill that was to be to all people. We can understand their questions. We can understand why the luster of that night with the angels and Baby Jesus would wear off for the shepherds who returned to the same problems they thought had been put behind them.

But we know that the shepherds did not see the whole story. We know “the rest of the story,” that the Baby came back from Egypt, we know that He healed the sick, raised the dead, and fed thousands of people with a young lad’s lunch. We know that He confronted the religious leaders who were perverting His Father’s message. And we know that He went to the cross, rose from the dead, and ascended into Heaven.

But just like the shepherds, we live in a world that has not yet been redeemed, we know what it is like to have a dear friend stab us in the back, to have a child go prodigal, to suffer financial ruin, to hear the doctor say, “you have cancer,” or to drive home from a cemetery, leaving behind the dearest person on earth to us.

Like the shepherds, we live life on this side of our Lord’s return. Many of us have faced great loss in the past year. Some of us carry a new grief into this Christmas season that we have not known before. But we do not grieve like those who have no hope. We reluctantly yet confidently face the days ahead with a tear in one eye and a ray of hope in the other. We look up for the glorious appearing of our Great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

We are to live life looking forward, knowing that someday death will be defeated, disease will be eliminated, sin will be judged, and evil will be banished to hell, never to be heard from again. The angel’s promise of good tidings of great joy will be fully realized when we see Jesus face to face and we are reunited with loved ones who have gone on before.

The angel said that night long ago, “Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.”

Just as prophecy was fulfilled in that little Baby in a manger, so will the promise of the Baby’s return be fulfilled. But this time, that little Baby will return as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. And the song will be sung, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.” “For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.”

And that is the promise He made, and this is our hope today and every day, no matter what grief our hearts may carry.

When Hope First Spoke

Fri, 19 Dec 2025 18:32:22 GMT

Jesus was long before Christmas, long before he was born in Bethlehem.

He existed at the very beginning(1). And soon after, sin entered the world through Adam and Eve, and the shame of sin is so deep and so dark. Adam and Eve hid. As God was walking in those cool evening breezes in the garden, looking for them, Jesus was already preparing for battle. God told them the consequences of their sin and immediately declared war and victory over evil(2). The plan had already been in place. He proclaimed the hope of Jesus to the first generation of man.

It didn’t stop there. Jacob’s last words prophesied Jesus’ coming(3). Moses, in his last words given to the Israelites before his death, told them that God would raise up a prophet like him. Acts 3:24 tells us that, “Starting with Samuel, every prophet spoke about what is happening today.”

All throughout Scriptures, Jesus was there, giving hope and reminding people that He was coming to save the day. And when he did come, he fulfilled everything that the prophets had foretold.

Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem was the culmination of a promise, a step toward victory, the realization of a hope that had long been born. We celebrate not only His coming but His keeping a promise. We rejoice that his coming was not just for Israel but for us all. We have hope because His birth was just a part of the story and there’s so much more to come.

During this season, when the lights from your Christmas tree bring merriment to your cozy home, when outdoor trees sparkle with extra illumination, when homes once dark are now dazzling and shimmering, remember that “the one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world”(4) that night in Bethlehem.

What radiance that light gives to our lives! What hope! What peace! Believer, Jesus has been fighting for you since day one.

1 John 1:1

2 Genesis 3:15

3 Genesis 49:10

4 John 1:9

Envy the Youth

Mon, 13 Feb 2023 10:58:00 GMT

It is common for old-timers, a group in which I am solidly ensconced, to envy the strength and vitality of the youth. I envy the number of years they have ahead of them. I would love to do life over again, assuming I would know on the second pass through what I have learned through toil and trouble the first time along life’s journey.

But there is no guarantee of days. The “three score and ten” (Psalm 90:10) is an ideal, not an inviolable rule. And, standing on the far side of 70, I am thankful that there are exceptions. But there are exceptions on the lean side of 70 as well.

A few months ago, a wonderful friend died at the age of 49. Twenty-six years short of where I am right now. A wonderful family, a thriving business, sound financial position, good health…except for that cancer growing inside him.

This week, another friend died in a tragic accident at the age of 31. I admired him for many reasons: good bass singing voice, strong as a bull, athletic, mechanically minded, active in church work. But his days, according to Psalm 139, were known to the Lord before he made it out of the womb.

A year ago, if I were asked if I wanted to trade places with either of my friends, it would have been tempting to knock 20 to 50 years off my life and start over. But my envy would have been the literal death of me. I am 26 years older than one friend and 45 years older than the other—and still counting.

What is it about our life that makes us envy what others have, or better said, what they seem to have? Neither of those men saw fifty. I have been there, done that.

Is it number of days of the youth? Health? Wealth? Strength? Position? Career? Ministry? Or should I look at the life I have been born into and thank the Lord for it? Should I thank Him for the days I have been given, whether they be three score and fifteen (75), or one score and eleven (31)? Should I wish for the ministry of either of my friends? Or should I thank the Lord for whatever ministry He has given to me? I still have days to do that ministry. In what He has given, I must rejoice and be glad.

David’s words in Psalm 139 show the intimacy between God and His child. God, knowing while we are still in our mother’s womb, how many days our life will consist of. And David considers God’s knowledge as precious.

Psalms 139:13-18 KJV For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb. (14) I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. (15) My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. (16) Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them. (17) How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them! (18) If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.

Compared to the strength and vitality of my younger friend, I am decrepit at best. But I am not in a wheelchair as is one of my high school friends. I am still able to go to work every day, which is better than some other, even younger friends. I don’t have as much wealth as some much younger than I, but I have enough.

How do I determine blessings? Do I look to others? Or do I look within? Do I envy the young, or am I thankful for the wonderful helpmeet that the Lord has given me? For the children who know the Lord? For the health to go to work every day and be somewhat productive? Had I changed places with my 31-year-old friend the day before he died in order to add length to my life, I would have made a poor deal.

Maybe both the young and the old look at life wrongly. The young look to tomorrow with its hopes and dreams. “It is tomorrow when I will begin a new project, start a new ministry, or check in on a loved one.” The old look at yesterday. “If only I had more strength or more time, like I did years ago, I would begin a new project, start a new ministry, or check in on a loved one.” The call to us is to live the days that we have for the Lord for we never know how many we have left.

Don’t envy the days of the young, fill up the days you have with the Lord. Don’t envy someone else’s strength, praise the Lord for the strength He gives. Don’t envy someone else’s wealth, be thankful for the enough that you have. It is the Lord who gives to each one severally as He wills, be content with what He gives.

Wayne Foote

Mon, 19 Dec 2022 00:14:00 GMT

I received news just recently that one of my heroes had left this land for the better one. It was not unexpected, he had been in failing health for many months, needing more and more care from his family to stay in the home he loved at age 91.

We, my wife and I, became friends with his daughter and son-in-law many years ago when we all attended the same church. They invited us to St. Ignace to visit Glen Memorial Baptist Church, a small church in the small town where she had grown up and the church that her dad had pastored for many years.

We drove to St. Ignace one Sunday morning to witness for ourselves the church that was so important to her. I remember the services, the welcoming people, the great music and I remember the minister at that time giving a nice message. But the part of that day that sticks in my mind most of all, is that we were invited over to her parent’s home after church. My wife and myself and our three children. An important part of this story is that this is way out of my comfort level, to go to someone else’s home for any reason, people I had never met before, and to eat with them without vetting the food we would be obligated to eat. (I think those are the three strikes that should have kept me out of a situation like that. They did not.)

Wayne Foote was a “retired” pastor in name only because he continued to shepherd the family of God for his entire life. And his wife, Margot. And our friends. And us.

Five of us, strangers to everyone on “that” side of The Bridge. (The Bridge is the suspended highway that joins the Upper and Lower Peninsulas of Michigan. Appropriately, and with only a hint of disdain, people who live below the bridge are called “trolls.”) But in spite of our “below the bridge” status, we were welcomed with open arms, kind of like we were some part of the family.

I don’t remember what was on the menu for lunch. I don’t remember much of that afternoon, but I do remember spending time talking one-on-one with Rev. Foote. I don’t remember what we talked about, but I remember thinking how much I liked and respected this man even though we had just met.

He was graciously disarming. He was more at ease asking about my life and what was important to me than pontificating on his accomplishments. I felt “liked” by someone who had no reason to like or dislike me yet. We went up to St. Ignace a few more times to church but never went to their home again. Since that initial meeting, I believe I only saw Wayne Foote one more time in the intervening nearly 40 years. But I have never forgotten that day, in his home, alone for a half-hour, feeling like he really liked me—almost loved me. But whether it was “like” or “love,” I knew that this was a special man.

Love. It seems to be just another four-letter word that demands definition like all other words. It seems to be easily defined and the Internet does just that: “an intense feeling of deep affection, a great interest and pleasure in something, a person or thing that one loves (as in: “their two great loves are tobacco and whiskey”), feel deep affection for (someone), like or enjoy very much (as in: “I just love dancing”).”

The family that I grew up in was not welcoming to strangers and foreigners. I remember friends of the family stopping in at my parent’s house but not being invited in. Visitors were thought to be an interruption, an intrusion into the really important stuff like the daily schedule. Ruth and I experienced it, even with my own family, one of whom told us, “After this, if you want to see us, call earlier in the day before you just ask if you can come over” (we had called ahead but only by about ten minutes). I did it myself to a nephew from Grand Rapids. He, his wife and their small daughter walked across the yard to our house. I met them in the yard and made small talk, never inviting them in. As much as I remember Wayne Foote’s welcoming me in to his home, I remember me not welcoming my nephew.

Our two towns, St. Ignace and Petoskey, are less than forty miles apart. In my job, I have contact every so often with people from St. Ignace. I always say, “Do you know Wayne Foote?” I drop his name as I would drop the name of any celebrity, wishing to use their fame to make me look good. Thinking, “If you like Rev. Foote, and I know him, maybe you will think well of me.” And, unless they only sped through St. Ignace on their way to some far-off corner of the UP or Canada, they know Wayne Foote. And I have yet to hear anyone say a bad word about him, or even say a good word about him sarcastically.

Not too long ago, his daughter told me that her dad had sent money to a scam artist. Of course he did. Because he thought the best of people and his love for people demanded that he help them. The scammer promised that the money would go to help the church. And a 90-year-old man fell for it.

A pastor-friend told me one time that as people age and lose some of their grip on their mental faculties, that they become who they have always been but have been able to keep hidden. Even though Wayne Foote lost a little bit of judgment or discernment, he was who he always was, a man who loved the church and who loved people, and who knew that love demanded action. After all, in his world, people were far more important than money.

The Bible, as usual, gives better definition to the word love than the Internet: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son…” Love is not defined by other words, or even strings of them. Love is defined by action. God defined His love by loving unlovable people enough to send His Son. Wayne Foote defined love by welcoming five trolls into his house for an afternoon and making at least one of them feel loved. Wayne Foote defined love by the way he took care of Margot, the woman he met when they were both young teenagers, caring for her long after her dementia kept her from recognizing him. In ministering to her every day, he became the unofficial chaplain of the nursing home, showing everyone who took notice a little glimpse of “Jesus with skin on.”

Wayne Foote defined love by the way he lived his life in a small town where everyone knew everyone, and everyone knew if “everyone” was who they purported themselves to be or if they were a hypocrite living a lie. Wayne Foote’s humble life was no lie.

That long ago Sunday in their home Wayne Foote shared shelter and food with the trolls, but he shared for more, he shared his time. The house is still in the same place as when we visited. Grocery stores are still selling food every day. But the time he gave to me is gone. He gave me a part of him, of his life. There was a tiny part of me, that day and since, that wishes I were more like him, but the age of miracles, at least miracles that big, is over.

I admire him. For the life he lived, and not just for a year or a string of years, or fits and spurts, but for his entire life. I admire him for the family he helped raise. For some, Christianity is something that they put on and take off as it best suits them. For Wayne Foote, it wasn’t Christianity, a religion that he put on, it was living like Jesus, his Savior that he wore humbly.

Wayne Foote was my hero because he lived a life of truth and grace, not for a few moments, or a few months, or a few years. He lived his entire life that way. All of it. He didn’t live his life at the expense of others, using them to gain advantage for himself. He lived to serve others. (Matthew 20:25-28 KJV But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. (26) But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; (27) And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: (28) Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.)

I am thankful to have met him. In this day, when it seems as though character no longer matters, I am thankful for meeting a man who took seriously the life that Jesus calls each of us to. I am a better man for knowing him. If not actually being a better man, I am challenged to be so. I thank you Wayne Foote, for living a life like Jesus did—a life of grace and truth with skin on.

Obituary for Rev. Wayne Eddie Foote

Rev. Wayne E. Foote passed from life unto life on December 13, 2022, at the age of 91.

Wayne Eddie Foote was born in Eaton Rapids, MI on April 20, 1931, and was raised there. When he was 14 years old, on March 18, 1946, he understood that Jesus died on a cross to save him from his sin, he accepted that free gift and prayed to receive Christ as his Savior and Lord and was reborn as a child of God on that day. He has spent the rest of his life sharing the Good News of Jesus’ love.

At the age of 15, he met the love of his life, Margot Ralston (13), who was a student in his mother’s Sunday school class. After high school graduation, Wayne and Margot attended Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, IL. Wayne graduated on July 31, 1952, and Margot and he were married two days later, on August 2.

After their honeymoon at Thunder Lake, where Wayne’s family had vacationed since he was eight years old, they moved to St. Ignace to begin their lifelong work at Hiawatha Baptist Mission Church, which later became Glen Memorial Baptist Church (GMBC). The original church was a little log cabin in Evergreen Shores, and in October of 1953, construction began on the church building that stands to this day on Truckey Street. Much of the construction was done by Wayne’s own hands, men of the church and men who came to town to build the Mackinac Bridge.

Wayne also worked for 33 years as a letter carrier for the United States Post Office. He knew practically everyone in St. Ignace and was often found singing his way through town. He loved St. Ignace with all his heart and was the biggest fan of all things St. Ignace Saints, especially basketball and football! He was even honored with the title of Honorary Captain of the girls’ basketball team.

Wayne served as pastor of GMBC for 29 years and retired in 1981. Sadly, Margot suffered from early-onset Alzheimer’s Disease, and Wayne spent the next 20 years caring for her. When the disease progressed to the point where Margot was admitted to Mackinac Straits Long Term Care, Wayne lovingly visited her every day to feed her lunch and dinner. He told her until her dying day how beautiful she was, how soft her skin was and how much he loved her blue eyes. It has been said that the best sermon he ever preached was his loving care for Margot: feeding her day after day, caressing her cheek, and kissing her tenderly.

He is survived by his five daughters, Judy (Merv) Wyse, Janet (Steve) Peterson, Jeanne (Rick) Litzner, Jacque (Dick) Ward, and Jessica (David) Davis; 20 grandchildren and their spouses; 26 great-grandchildren and two on the way; as well as Margot’s sister, Nancy Livingston, of Sheridan, WY; three nieces and three nephews.

Visitation will be held Wednesday, December 21, 2022, from 5:00 PM till 7:00 PM and Thursday, December 22, 2022, from 10:00 AM till 11:00 AM at the Glen Memorial Baptist Church, 219 Truckey Street, St. Ignace, MI. The funeral service will follow at 11:00 AM. A luncheon will follow in the church fellowship hall.

Memorial contributions can be made to the GMBC new church building fund.

Burial will be at Lakeside Cemetery in the Spring 2023.

The Lord said unto him, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Matthew 25:23(a)

God is in Your Crisis

Sat, 10 Dec 2022 19:53:00 GMT

We might say to a group of people, “God is in your crisis.” But it is entirely different to look into the eyes of a hurting believer and say, “God is in your crisis.” This morning, as I read a commentary on the book of Isaiah, those words, “God is in your crisis,” popped off the page to me. I underlined them…and then I chewed on them as I drove to work. And God rephrased them, He re-emphasized them, “God is in YOUR crisis.”

I had been going through a months-long crisis of time management. I had been required to spend way more time at work than I wanted, I was attending more committee meetings at church and I was going through the final proofs of a book project while trying to write another one. The lawn cried for attention and getting ready for the upcoming Northern Michigan winter seemed important. I had way more to do, and way more stress, than I wanted. The day before I read those words I told my wife, “I think I have figured out why I am…” I was struggling for the words to finish my thought and she finished it for me, “…grumpy?” (Note: No one likes spouses who see you better than you see yourself.)

I saw no end to my crisis. I was looking to slow down at work, not speed up. I was looking for less stress, not more. I was looking for more time to write, not less. And for the next few years I knew there was nothing that was going to change, at least not drastically. “God is in YOUR crisis, Karl.” I know that God does not allow times of crisis for no reason; what was I to learn?

The same morning, as I was scrolling down through my Facebook feed, I stopped as I saw the post of a man who used to attend our church. He had moved to another state but social media allowed us to stay in touch by reading each other’s posts; that was the extent of our contact. But today it was different. He was reporting that his wife had just been diagnosed with “young onset Alzheimer’s.” How does someone survive such a diagnosis? How do you regain your breath as you try to gasp in air after being sucker-punched? What does the future hold? What will my life be like? Why me? And the words ring just as true for Kevin, “God is in YOUR crisis, Kevin.”

Satan, the Roaring Lion of I Peter 5, comes before the Lord one day, checking in with God as he must. God knows Satan’s desire to “seek whom he may devour” and He asks, “Have you considered my servants, Karl and Kevin?” And Satan reminds God of the hedge He had placed around us. And God says, “You can touch them but you can only go this far.” I don’t want Satan to go ‘this far.’ I don’t think Kevin does either. I don’t want the crisis. Many days I don’t even want the lesson the crisis is intended to teach.

But God is patient…and He is persistent…and He is good.

And the purpose of the crisis is the lesson. And the purpose of the lesson is my growth in faith. And faith in God is never disappointed (Romans 5:1-5).

“But I have learned that lesson,” I cry out to God. And He says, “I guess not, or we wouldn’t be back here now. I have something new for you, and better for you, and bigger. You will learn again that I am enough for whatever you face.”

God, who cannot lie, makes a promise that He will work ALL things together for good for His people. “Even for Karl’s mini-crisis?” Yes. “Even for Kevin’s major, life-changing, life-threatening, crisis?” Yes, ALL things.

And the God who loves me, more than I love myself, who knew me in the womb, who has numbered the hairs on my head, who knows the length of my days and who chose me before the foundations of the world were laid, knows that this crisis, this new one, this one that I just do NOT want to face, has an eternal purpose—in my life and in the lives of others. So I agree to face it reluctantly, but expectantly, knowing that He has a good and perfect purpose in my life. He is good…all of the time. Even when my faith is small.

Note: Since the writing of this, Kevin and his wife lived through years of her dementia, him ever by her side, doing whatever he could to ease her days and honor the vows he made before the Lord. “In sickness or in health.” No one, standing at the altar while the minister mouths those words ever imagines dementia might find its mark in their spouse, but it did for Kevin. And his grief moved from that of watching the love of his life become as a little child to the grief of her final breath and of his living alone. And is God big enough for this new crisis that Kevin faces? Absolutely. He has promised He is, now, and forever more.

Originally posted on Facebook, December 18, 2016

Romans 5:1-5 KJV Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: (2) By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. (3) And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; (4) And patience, experience; and experience, hope: (5) And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

Source

Steve

Thu, 24 Nov 2022 18:57:00 GMT

I remember the evening a few years ago now when a visitor attended our church service. He was a slender man with lots of energy and it was obvious he was trying to find a place to sit. Certainly, he was aware of the rules for the Crawford Section; that we were very selective about someone invading our turf…but alas, he was not cognizant of our rules made for such a time as this. I made casual eye contact with him which to me was a disinterested glance and to him was an invitation to ‘come on over.’ He side-stepped down between the pews, stuck out his hand, and said, “I’m Steve, what’s your name?” I told him my name which to a Crawford is more than enough information for the first five or six meetings and then he said, “Mind if I sit by you?”

Breaking all of my own rules, I suppose because he caught me off guard, I said, “No, I don’t mind.” I don’t know what color lie that was but it was some shade of a prevarication. I historically don’t mingle well with people I haven’t properly vetted. Steve never gave me a chance to check him out before he sat down. He thought he was already my friend, and if not my friend, at least a brother in the Lord. After about five minutes of conversation he was right, he was my brother in the Lord and he was also my friend.

My comfort level is to ask questions of the other people I meet, I don’t have that much to say about myself and feel much more comfortable learning their inner workings without sharing mine. Steve wasn’t satisfied with that. He wanted to know about my job and my family and if I knew of any good rabbit hunting spots.

But my favorite thing about Steve was on Wednesday evening services when Pastor would have us break into groups of three or four to pray. I always enjoyed praying with Steve. He would pray for my prayer requests and the next week he would ask if my request had been answered. He was one of those rare friends that actually cares about the other person and their concerns.

Then came the cancer diagnosis. There is no joy in watching a vigorous man, an outdoorsman, waste away to skin and bones. There is no joy in watching the inner man struggle with the end-of-life decisions that need to be made and the fears that are only natural. There is no joy in a Facebook posting that Steve has gone Home.

But there is a lot of joy in the memories. I think back to that evening he blatantly invaded the Crawford Section to sit next to me. I think of the friendship that budded that evening and blossomed over the years. I think of the Sunday evening service when Steve, with his feeding machine plumbed into his body, fell to sleep during the service because of the medications he was on. In super slow motion he would fall forward and to the side, almost falling out of the pew. My wife was afraid he was dying so I traded places with her and sat up next to Steve so when he would begin to fall asleep he would ‘fall’ into me. I did that because I loved him, even though he was invading my space yet again.

I think of the first night of my classes on grief when Steve attended and at the end we spent fifteen minutes praying for him and telling him how much we loved him and what a great example he was to anyone who was watching. There were few dry eyes in the room that evening.

A book that I read contained a story about a man who was at his own end-of-life moment. The doctors told him they could give him medication that would comfort him but he would be in an unconscious state. He said, “No, I have spent my life trying to show others how a Christian should live, now I hope to show them how a Christian should die.” Steve showed us how to live by refusing to give up, even while staring death squarely in the face—and he showed us how to die. I owe Steve a debt of gratitude, I am better for having known him.

I look forward to that day when I arrive on heaven’s shores. I will look around, maybe not see anyone right away that I know but when I see Steve I am going to walk over, stick out my hand and say, “Mind if I sit here by you?” Even if it means invading his space in the Steve Long Section of heaven’s cathedral. I bet he won’t mind.

Source

Roe v. Wade? Or love?

Sun, 10 Jul 2022 12:17:00 GMT

Roe v. Wade is the name of a Supreme Court case decided back in 1973. A case that has divided much of the nation since that day. In my social circle in my tiny berg in Northern Michigan the 1973 decision did not have much impact at the time. Over the years, the gravity of taking the life of an unborn human being by the choice of the mother seemed very wrong to me. I began to be more involved in the prevention of teen pregnancy by being on the board of a group that went into high schools and churches with the message of abstinence. My wife and I supported the group with our finances and our time.

If prevention of pregnancy did not work, we donated to groups like pregnancy resource centers in the hopes of preventing the abortion; instead giving the gift of aftercare to those who decided to keep the baby. We voted pro-life for governor and president which was the initial determinative factor in our vote. All other factors were considered secondary to that pivotal one.

On May 2, I, along with the rest of the nation, heard the news, “the leak,” that Roe was going to be overturned in June. It was a melancholy moment for me which continues to this day. I was pleased on one hand and sad on the other. My joy came from the belief that some babies would live that may have died a year ago. My sadness came from the knowledge that the legalization of abortion which had divided our nation for almost 50 years will continue to divide us for the next 50 years.

The SCOTUS decision of 2022 did not change a single heart. Those who were staunchly pro-life before the June decision are still staunchly pro-life. Those who were adamant about a woman’s right to choose are still adamant. The fact that each of the fifty states is now going to be charged with the decision does not change a single heart. In fact, it intensifies the debate.

Those who had the freedom to abort their baby from 1973 to 2022 will now have to fight for that right by getting out the vote, by traveling to another state for an abortion, or by moving to a state in the union that is sensitive to their position. And those in the pro-life camp will continue their campaign to elect politicians to protect the life of the unborn.

But not a single heart has been changed.

I can only speak to my side, the pro-life side. And to us I use the words of a friend who was much more involved in the Right to Life movement than I have ever been, “It is not time to spike the football and say, “We won!””

The battle for votes will still go on. The political action committees on both sides will still beg for money and for bodies to hand out literature and picket a facility of the opposition. Politicians will still cater to whichever side will garner them the most votes. Women and girls will still get pregnant with a baby that they do not want. And some will still look for a way to abort that baby whether it is legal or illegal. The fight will still go on with only the campaign slogans changing. And my heart says that we have “won” nothing.

But we said, those of us on the pro-life side, that we were most concerned about life. The life of the baby and the life of the mother. And in order to save those lives, we hoped to win the heart. Hoping that the heart of that young girl would decide to wait until marriage to have sex. Hoping that the heart of that one who was faced with an unwanted pregnancy would come to love that baby in her womb too much to abort it.

And it continues to be about changing hearts. I will never change anyone’s heart with my yard sign or my political campaign poster no matter how slick its slogan. My only chance to change someone’s heart is by the old-fashioned method of love. Jesus told us that “all men will know you are My disciples by your love one for another.” The New Testament teaches us that the summation of the Old Testament law and prophets is to love the Lord first and secondly to love our neighbor as ourselves.

It is difficult to make that case for love by bombing an abortion clinic. It is difficult to make a case for love by voting, or donating, or by involvement on a political action committee. It is even difficult to make a case for loving my neighbor who is considering abortion by telling them how much I love them. Love is a verb; it is my heart and feet and hands taking action to impact your heart that shows my love.

In my estimation there is as much, or even more place for the Crisis Pregnancy Center or Pregnancy Resource Center today as there was prior to the SCOTUS decision in June. We should not be about spiking the football but about loving the one who has found herself with an unwanted pregnancy. Not to change which party she votes for, but to change her heart. Not to win the battle over abortion, but to win her heart—whether she continues with the abortion or not.

A friend, knowing that it is likely that Michigan will be one of the states that will quickly approve abortion on demand said that he and his wife will probably leave the state if that happens. But what about the women who will need to know that someone loves them and will walk with them in one of the most problematic decisions of their life? And will walk with them after the birth or the abortion? We still love them, even if they choose the way most abhorrent to us—don’t we?

The fight, codified as law in 1973, continues to go on. Nothing has changed, we have only swapped ends of the playing field as a football team would do at halftime. And for those of us who believe in being pro-life, the call to change hearts continues to go on. If our call these last fifty years has been centered on the wrongness of Roe, maybe the first heart that needs to be changed is ours, is mine. I am called to love regardless of which side of the political divide I am on at the time. It is not about the decision of a group of judges, it is about life and the heart—whether that heart agrees with me or not.

The verse we use to show God’s immense love for us, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son…” is not just about Him and His action; it is to be the example for my life and my actions. He sent His Son, not to change minds, but to win hearts. And during Roe, and after Roe, the call to us has not changed. As children of God, we are called to win hearts to Him by patterning our love after His. God sent His Son to die for the entire world, but hearts are changed one at a time.

If the other “side” only knows one thing about us, let them know that we love them.

Do You Trust God?

Sat, 26 Mar 2022 22:36:00 GMT

We all remember the story of Abraham and Sarah waiting so many years for the male child that God had promised them. This was the only child who could fulfil the promises God had made to them on multiple occasions. (That promise to Abraham and Sarah was made to you and me too. The promise was not only for their progeny as the sands of the seashore but for a Deliverer. That Deliverer is as important to me thousands of years later as it was to Abraham and Sarah at the time.)

And then, many years after Isaac’s birth, in some mysterious twist in the storyline, God asks Abraham to take the boy up on the mountain and put him to death, to offer him as a sacrifice back to the One who had given him. Isaac’s death would cause God’s promise to Abraham and to me to be broken. There would be no progeny, there would be no Deliverer.

At first glance, it is difficult to imagine what was going through Abraham’s mind as he, Isaac, and a servant made the three-day trek to the mountain. Did Abraham sleep at all on that journey? Was he moody and sharp-tongued when Isaac asked him the question every child is obligated to ask, “How much farther Daddy?” And “Are we there yet?” Was Abraham angry? Despondent? Depressed?

How could God cause Abraham and Sarah to go through yet another time of testing? What possibly could be the purpose? God knew before the foundations of the earth were laid how they both would respond—and yet the instruction to go to the mountain was given.

Abraham did not know how he would respond. He did not know how he would answer Isaac’s questions or protestations as they neared the mountain. He did not know that God would supply a ram at the last second. And yet he went on towards the mountain, step after agonizing trusting step. He walked on because he knew one thing—that God would keep His promise.

By the time Abraham got to Mt. Moriah, he had God’s plan figured out. Abraham would place Isaac on the altar that he had built, he would build a fire with the wood he had brought and then Abraham would raise his knife and slay (sacrifice) Isaac as God had commanded. He would take the life of his own son. According to the book of Hebrews, Abraham also knew that God would keep His promise of a grand heritage by raising Isaac from the dead.

Abraham was willing to do his part in taking his son’s life by being a servant in God’s plan, a plan which made no earthly sense.

He knew:

God is faithful
God keeps His promises, all of them.
That obedience is the key. He had tried to help God out of a previous predicament by having a son with Hagar. He knew obedience to God was his part—and God would take care of His part.

When I was a teenager working with grown men and when they were asked to do some job that made no sense to them, their favorite saying was, “Ours is not to reason why, ours is but to do or die.” I thought it was just another one of those sayings that they used. I came to find out that it was from Alfred Lord Tennyson’s poem, the Charge of the Light Brigade. Those words could have been written about Abraham.

Our trials come in those times when we lose sight of God’s plan for our life, or at least what we think His plan should be. We may not know what God is doing but that does not mean that we do not know God. And if we know Him, we know He always keeps His promises. We know that He will provide. And we know that our part of the plan is obedience in faithfulness.

Whether it is Abraham at Mt. Moriah, Joseph in Potiphar’s prison, Moses before Pharaoh, Esther before Ahasuerus or Jesus praying in the Garden, or Paul in prison, the Father keeps His promises. He does not keep the promises we make on His behalf as the health and wealth teachers would have us believe. But He always keeps the promises that He makes.

A pastor-friend was facing a serious operation which became another operation to correct the first and many months of rest and visits to doctors downstate and the lengthy process of healing. His prayer, as he was on this way to surgery was, “Lord, I don’t want to waste this.”

What followed was a series of “opportunities” to witness to many in hospital rooms as he lay surrounded by medical resources that were doing the earthly part of keeping him alive. He met people in hospitals in cities other than his own. Without his physical trials he probably would never have met any of them. He could tell them about Jesus. He could show them Jesus’ love. He, the one in physical need, could give comfort to those with spiritual needs.

Couldn’t the creative God come up with some other way for my pastor friend to meet and speak to these people? Perhaps, but He chose this way—the way of pain, and surgery, and tests, and surgery, and medical machinery, and hospital food, and letting someone else mow his perfect lawn. Months of recuperation and being less physically capable than he wanted was the path God chose for him. And because God’s ways are infinitely higher than ours, we know that it was the best path. (We usually know the difficult path is the best until we are the one walking it.)

That stretch of time was not an interlude or interruption in God’s purpose for His life—it was God’s purpose for his life at that time. The lessons learned, the ministry given, the re-examination of priorities, the acceptance of not being in charge of how days are ordered became the testimony of God’s faithfulness even when the path takes an unexpected, unwanted, turn. All of this combines to give immense value to the days when God is allowed to be God, and we are reminded that we are not.

Why does God:

Choose the weak to confound the strong? God almost always chooses to work through our weakness because in our strength we offer Him no place to work.

Use the thorn as the way to strength and to God’s glory? And why do we continually need to be reminded of that?

Allow any of us to have any strength at all when we almost always use it for our glory rather than His?

Test His children? It is not so God will know the depth of our character and the focus of our life—it is so we will know. And in knowing, we are called to yield more and more of our self to Him.

The question for us then is, are we the Abraham who decides that God needs Hagar’s help? Or are we the Abraham who believed that God would work any miracle necessary to fulfil His promise to the child He loves? Are we the Abraham who doubts? Or the Abraham who trusts?

Are we the one who gets bitter when life does not go the way we want? Or are we the one who prays on their way to surgery, “Lord, I don’t want to waste this”?

I have great admiration for some of my heroes of the faith, who have faced the most difficult of paths, and have decided to walk that path while trusting in the One who NEVER fails to keep His promises to His children. They are like Abraham on the way to Mt. Moriah, they do not know the answers to all the questions, but they know the One who is walking with them. And He is Enough.

A Long Decade? Or a Few Short Years?

Sat, 12 Mar 2022 20:46:00 GMT

The last few years have been difficult since we were made aware of some new type of flu found in a place called Wuhan on the other side of the world. “Normal” has become a fading dream as the results of that medical discovery have changed our personal world and our greater world. I remember the first time I heard on the news of this new virus: “It will affect mainly older people and those with comorbidities” the young newscaster intoned. He seemed relieved by his words. I was alarmed. “That’s me!” my inner me said to anyone listening. His words were something like, “This will mainly kill older people.” What I heard was, “This will mainly affect people with one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel” to dredge up an old saying from the past. I took offense, banana peel or no. And I was a little frightened because my wife and I both fit the demographic.

The news slid rapidly downhill from there. The virus was not contained in Wuhan nor in China. Bans on foreign travel were too late and too few. Masks, double masks, and six feet of separation did little to slow its spread. My wife and I shopped at the grocery store at 7:00 AM as soon as the doors first opened. We stopped eating out, first by choice and then by governor’s mandate. Amazon, Instacart and Hulu streaming became our contacts with the outside world. And even that contact was limited because we wiped any trace of our newfound friends from the packages left on our doorstep before we opened them. Church attendance was replaced by listening to a sermon in our living room, with the comfort of our couch and sweatpants.

But the disease was more than an inconvenience or a disruption of our “normal.” Friends contracted the disease and died. Some of them who were not old, who had no comorbidities, and who were outside the demographic. The silent assassin called Covid-19 seemed frivolous in its alliance with the Grim Reaper—killing a young healthy person and sparing an older person already weakened from cancer.

The disease brought another assassin. This one had its sights set on driving the final nail in civility’s coffin. And we drew up sides: whether to mask or not, whether to congregate or not, and whether to congregate with a mask or not, whether to take the vaccine–or not. Churches split, not over doctrine, not over the virgin birth, but over a 90-cent mask. Neither “side” kept their opinions of those on the other “side” to themselves as Facebook and other social media were full of dripping disdain for those who didn’t share the “right” opinion.

God’s desire that our love for one another prove we are His children was postponed until we could get some of the more important issues of the day taken care of.

After the vaccines were out and readily available, a friend said, “Now that everyone can get the vaccine, if someone chooses not to get it and dies, I don’t care. It is their own fault.” There is something that bothers me every time I read those words. Did the pandemic change us that much? Or did it only reveal who we already were?

Along with the virus came a presidential election filled with an excessive amount of vitriol from both sides and then claims by the loser that the whole thing was rigged. This was followed by January 6th in Washington D.C. Depending on your political persuasion, this was either an armed insurrection or some well-meaning citizens visiting a public building on their day off. As waves of new Covid variants surged across the nation and the world, we witnessed a disastrous pullout of our people from Afghanistan—followed in a few short months by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and threats of nuclear war.

This is not the recap of an era, or a decade. This is an overview of a little more than two years. The Bible had warned us that things would get worse in the last days—I just didn’t think that it meant it would happen in my lifetime, or this quickly. Is there even more to come?

How can we not be fearful? How can we not be burdened by the life-changing, world-changing events taking place around us? How can we find peace where there is none to find—anywhere?

Somehow, God knew this day, and others like it, were coming. To give us perspective, He guided the Apostle Paul’s hand to write a letter to the church at Ephesus—and to us. He begins, “Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Some Biblical scholars seem to dismiss these words of comfort as a normal greeting of Paul’s day. To make sure that we don’t do the same, Paul adds: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ”

He, God the Father, has blessed us with ALL spiritual blessings. The Holy Spirit goes on to list many of those blessings:

He predestined us for adoption as His children
He blessed us with His glorious grace
He redeemed us
He has forgiven our sins according to the riches of His grace lavished upon us (did you catch the fact that His grace is LAVISHED upon us?)
In Him we have obtained an inheritance
He has sealed us with the Holy Spirit—the guarantee that every aspect of our salvation will be come to pass
He Himself is our peace
The Apostle, through the guiding hand of the Holy Spirit reminds us of God’s love, His grace, His peace, the hope we have in Him, and countless other blessings.

What does this all mean?

In these past 2+ years, not a single promised blessing from our Heavenly Father has been withdrawn. In the single most important part of our life—our relationship with God the Father—nothing has changed. Nothing. Nada. Not one jot nor one tittle of the Word of God has been altered because of a world full of peace destroyers.

Not only is eternity promised and guaranteed, but grace and peace are promised for us here and now. Are we surrounded by peace? Or course not. Jesus told His disciples, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." (John 16:33 KJV Emphasis added). There was never a promise that life in this world would be peaceful but that we could have peace in our inner man regardless of what is going on around us.

There will not be peace around us as long as wars, and rumors of nuclear wars and global pandemics flood our television screens. Not as long as good people are willing to fight over masks and vaccines. Not as long as families are willing to give up on each other over petty differences. Not as long as churches are willing to split over anything and everything.

But peace is available to us; a peace that passes human understanding is promised to us if we take our eyes off this world which is in full-on self-destruct mode and place them on Him—the Author of and Perfecter of our faith.

These chapters of Ephesians that are filled with God’s promises are still true. God warns those who would add to or take away from His Word. His Word is settled. There are no new promises made and none withdrawn.

I told someone the other day that I try not to take on fights outside my weight class. Wars, whether rumored or actual, are way outside my weight class. Global pandemics are as well. Politicians with their finger to the wind to determine whether we flirt with WWIII or not are beyond my control. A schizophrenic economy that gives credence to “it was the best of times; it was the worst of times” is too fickle to have faith in.

But what is in my weight class is trust—trust in the Lord who has never failed to keep a promise. And if my trust begins to falter? I only need to ask the Father for more. I stand with the father of the demoniac and say, “Lord, I believe, help my unbelief.” Does my trust and my prayer for more trust work? Every single time. Unless that is, I read the promises of God’s inseparable love in Romans 8 and decide that God is no longer up to the task. Or if I decide that those words were only for another time and place. But my failings to trust do not affect His promises. It just leaves my inner peace to the whims of politicians and tyrannical despots and manipulations of the financial markets.

I think I will choose Him over them. I will join with Peter who said, “Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.” If it is peace that we long for, it is only found in Him.

Jesus, in His first coming, told us about His second coming, “And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.” It is still God’s advice to us today. To those whose citizenship is in heaven—look towards home where peace—inner and outer—will never be interrupted again!

For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom 8:38-39 KJV)

Kenda

Wed, 16 Feb 2022 10:46:00 GMT

My sister-in-law, Kenda, passed away almost 22 years ago now. It doesn’t seem like it could possibly be that long since we have been together. It would have been about this time of year that I would have done her income tax for her after her husband died. And she would have been flummoxed because she was so uncomfortable having people do things for her, in her mind it was to be the other way around.

I woke up this morning thinking about this little thing that I wrote after she had passed away at the far too young age of 62. I have always managed to give everyone close to me reasons not to love me, but Kenda never took the bait. As I was reading my Bible this morning, I was reading about love in Paul’s letter to the church at Ephesus. Reading about love is good, especially from the Word of God. Thinking and meditating about love is good too. But actually loving people, especially unlovable people, is far better.

Kenda Martin

This world is a little poorer today. A little part of the life of Jesus Christ has left this earth and has left us. Kenda Rae Shinn Martin died on May 8, 2000. There is a hole in our hearts, a black hole that is not filled by the rushing in of whatever is on either side.

Kenda, while having her share of faults, tried to live out Jesus Christ, the Servant, to those around her. At every family event, and I assume most other events as well, Kenda was the servant, the one who made sure every one else was taken care of before taking care of herself. “Do you have enough to eat?” “Can I get you something different?” “I got this special for you, because I knew you liked it.” Kenda was always the last one done eating—for two reasons. One, because she ate slowly, but mainly because she started last. She needed to see to everyone else first.

We called her the General. It was a title that suited her well. She was a benevolent general…most of the time. She wanted everyone to have a good time and was going to see to it—or else. It was not ego or power that drove her to be general, it was her desire to make sure that each of the troops was taken care of—whether they wanted to be fussed over or not.

Like most servants she struggled with being served. She wasn’t used to having people ‘do for her.’ When someone did something nice for her she would always say “You shouldn’t have…I don’t deserve this.” She had difficulty with people giving to her to the point where it became a family joke. Her sister said, “Kenda, just say thanks, and that’s all.” So after a few tries, Kenda would say “Thanks…and that’s all”—and everyone would laugh. But she was still more comfortable being the servant rather than being served. That reminds us of Christ’s words in Matthew 20 “I have come from the Father to serve—not to be served.”

That is one of the reasons why there is a hole, a black hole, in our hearts today. A little bit of Jesus Christ, the humble servant is gone from us. There are not that many servants out there, most of us are perfectly willing to have life revolve around us and around our ‘needs.’ Kenda reversed the trend, she broke the mold…she served.

Another way she broke the mold was in the way she loved people. Some of us see the faults in the lives of others and promise to love them—as soon as they change. Some pay so little attention to other people they never notice their faults.

Kenda saw the bad in others as clearly as most of the rest of us. But she loved the person far too much to dwell on the bad. When reminded of someone’s faults, the glaring errors of their lives, Kenda would just say “I know they tend to be that way—but they are my friend—and I love them.” And that settled it. Jesus Christ did that too. With the ones stricken with leprosy, the blind and lame, the prostitutes and other ‘sinners’ He saw something behind the faults—He saw a heart, a life, that was worth saving. That is why I cried today, not because I would want Kenda to come back from her walks on the golden streets of heaven in the presence of her Savior, but because there is one less person in this world who saw all my faults…and loved me anyway.

Psalm 23—For Where I am, and Where You are, Right Now

Sat, 12 Feb 2022 18:50:00 GMT

I have been reading/studying/meditating my way through the Psalms in 2022. I am reading the Bible and through 4-5 commentaries and am at different points in each of them. This week, I came to Psalm 23 in one of the commentaries. I had already read it in the Scriptures and, like you, can pretty much quote it by heart. When I read it in the Word, my mind fell back on what I already knew, “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want, He…” You know the rest of the words too. I read them, I was blessed for reading them, but I did not “hear” them.

I have heard this Psalm in my profession as a cemetery worker many, many times. Standing within earshot of many graveside services, I have heard pastors, and sometimes mourners, say these words from memory. Everyone in attendance may not have known the entire Psalm, but all together they drew from each other the right words to say in the right order. It is a comfort, standing by the still empty grave to hear the promise, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me…” If ever there is a time that we want God to be near us, it is at the time of life’s greatest enemy—death.

I must confess, I have always looked at this Psalm in three sections: the green pastures as a short respite from the harshness of life now, the Lord walking with us through the valley of the shadow, and our future in heaven when this life is over. But this time when I read the same words, I remembered the words of another favorite Psalm, number 46.

“Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.” Psalm 46:2-3 KJV

No quiet pastures there, the mountains are crashing into the sea. No still waters there, the seas froth and churn as tons of mountain granite falls into them. And I wondered, how do I reconcile the two psalms?

As I stand with the psalmist who wrote Psalm 46, I can see in my mind’s eye, the roar of the waters and the mountains shaking and crashing into the sea. It is a fearful sight, maybe at the end of this age, that we see everything that we have held dear coming apart at the seams. Who can watch it without fear? And yet, the same psalmist writes down God’s response, “Be still, and know that I am God.” Be still? Even when the world is coming apart? Be still? Even when MY world is coming apart?

It seems as though the two psalms must be written to different people, or at least, the same people at widely divergent times in their lives. And yet, if we look closely, the psalms are in complete agreement.

Psalm 23 is not the three-phased psalm that I imagined it to be. It is all for now, it is all for today, including the final verse. It is a deeply personal psalm. David writes: “The Lord is MY shepherd, he leads ME.” Each pronoun is personal. Some psalms are corporate and speak of the Nation of Israel and God’s judgement or protection over them. This Psalm is intensely personal. It is a pact between God and David. That same pact, between Father and child, that is ours.

Some think that Psalm 23 was written when David was a young lad, tending his father’s sheep. But many who write commentaries believe that this Psalm was written much later in David’s life, after he had killed the bear and the lion, after he had faced Goliath, after he had been chased by Saul, after his sin with Bathsheba, and after his murder of Uriah. He is able to write these words at this time of his life because God’s mercies are still new and fresh every morning, and God’s mercies follow David every day of his life.

David can enjoy the green pastures, even in the midst of enemies. David can drink of the still waters, even in the valley of the shadow. The Lord restores his soul, even when this life is at its worst. And this is the link between Psalm 23 and Psalm 46. There, the mountains are crashing into the sea and God says, “Be still, and be comforted by the green pastures. Be still and enjoy the still waters. Be still, I will walk with you through the valley. Be still, I will prepare a table for you in the presence of your enemies. Be still, because goodness and mercy will follow you every single day of your life. Be still and know that I am God.”

Psalm 23 is that idyllic psalm that we use to indicate that all is well in our world. Still waters. Green pastures. But it is every bit as much the psalm of shadowy valleys, and surrounding enemies. It is every bit as much a psalm of comforting rods, banquet tables, cups that run over with His plenty, anointing oil, goodness and mercy, restoration, and living in God’s presence forever.

Even if your life right now is a Psalm 46 experience with roiling waters and mountains crashing, be that one who is a Psalm 23 Christian who is longing after the intimacy of God’s heart no matter what you are experiencing. If David did it, you can do it, and so can I.

There is an old chorus from my youth that says, “God hath not promised, skies always blue, flower-strewn pathways all our lives through. God hath not promised sun without rain, Joy without sorrow, peace without pain.” The chorus goes on to tell us what God hath promised. “But God hath promised strength for the day, rest for the labor, light for the way, grace for the trials, help from above, unfailing sympathy, undying love."

But even better than the truths of the chorus is that God’s Word tells us what He has promised. He has promised us Himself—He has promised to be our Shepherd—and that is enough, for whatever the day brings.

Source

Happy New Year!

Sat, 01 Jan 2022 16:03:00 GMT

Every December 31, the next day is anticipated as “the year” when a fresh start is given to each one of us. A new chance to get our weight under control, a new hope for better family relationships, a better job, or more security for our future. Some resolve to begin daily devotions for a closer walk with the Lord. Some hope for a fresh start for their marriage, while others hope for someone to marry. Someone on Facebook said that the new year presents us with 365 clean slates, 12 months of new opportunities to get it right.

Without trying to ruin the hopes of a new year, the same thing could have been said on January 1 of 2020 as well. We know what a disaster of a year that turned out to be.

I correspond with a couple in the ministry who are getting on up in years (early 80s). She and her husband are still very active in a vital ministry. They do more than many who are 20 years younger than they. But they both are experiencing the frailties of failing bodies. Add to that the burden of the many trials their children and grandchildren are facing. After writing me about all of those issues, she said, “we (my husband and I) just want to hold hands and be transported together to heaven.”

After reading the list of maladies, physical and relational, that they were facing, who wouldn’t want that escape from this life to the next?

I wrote back to them these words: “God with us. Can you imagine facing all of the crud of the past few months that your family has faced without “God with us”? It is nice that you want to go there, hand in hand, to be with Him, but He, Himself, has come to be with us. I guess He couldn’t wait for us to get to heaven, so He came here.”

I watched a church service from a church we used to attend. An elder, holding back tears, told of the death of the wife of one of the church’s pastors. A young woman, with two young children, died on Christmas Eve. January 1, eight days later, doesn’t hold the promise for this young pastor that it does for so many of us.

This young pastor’s wife is in heaven, he and his children are here, each experiencing a new, to them, version of aloneness. But God is not waiting for them to come to Him in heaven, He has come to them. God does not only hold out hope for tomorrow but gives hope today, right now, by dwelling in us. Colossians 1:27 is realized: “To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

Christ in us, the hope of glory. It is not the change from one year to another that gives us hope, it is Christ in us. It is not the drop of some ball in New York that gives us hope. It is not “365 clean slates” in 2022 that give us hope. It is Christ in us. The God who came and tabernacled in us.

My brother did a Bible study one time and used the illustration of the people of the Exodus when God was tabernacled with them in a tent nearby. He said that, in the beginning, the Israelites would walk by the tent and speak in hushed tones, being careful what words they used. No one wanted to offend God when He lived next door. Only a few months later, the kids were using God’s tent for a backstop for their pickup baseball games (my brother was avid about baseball). His point was that the Israelites, over a period of time, became used to God being next door. It is a good point, and it relates to us. We become used to God living, not next door, but in us. We forget, that the “I Am” dwells within us. That He empowers us…if we choose to let Him. That He convicts us…if we do not become hardened. That He comforts, and guides, and listens, and strengthens.

I have wondered over the years, why God’s Son has been given so many different names. Isaiah 9:6, a favorite Christmas passage, says, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”

Five different names in one verse of scripture, each describing the same Person. A cursory search on the Internet reveals “The 20 Names of Jesus”, or “The 50 names of Jesus”, with one claiming to list “The 200 names of Jesus.”

Why so many names? Why not just Jesus? Or Jesus Christ? Or even, the Lord Jesus Christ? If you go down through the list that follows, you will find Him in a way that meets your needs today. It may be as the Advocate; as the Bread of Life, as the Author and Finisher of our faith, or God with us. Maybe you need Hope today or the Wisdom of God. He is those, and more.

When you wonder about whether “I will never leave you nor forsake you” is true, read the list that follows. He is active in every single facet of our life. He is Lord of every possible way in which we could possibly need Him. The New Testament expands on the names for Jesus that we find in the prophecy of Isaiah. His name, “I Am” gives a covering over every possible way in which we could need Him. It hearkens back to the book of Exodus, when God was telling Moses how He should be identified to the people in bondage in Egypt. God instructs Moses to tell them, “I Am” has sent you to them. If they need ten plagues to convince Pharaoh to let them go, “I Am” will provide. If they need safe passage across the Red Sea, “I Am” is that passage. If they need daily food, “I Am” will provide fresh food. If they need water, “I Am” will provide water from a solid rock. If they need passage across the Jordon, or a way to defeat Jericho, or safety in a thousand different times and places, “I Am” will pr ovide that safety. “I Am” is the cloud by day and the fire by night.

And Jesus Christ, Wonderful, Counsellor, the Prince of Peace, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, is our “I Am”. He is our “Enoug h”, for whatever we could possibly face. And He dwells in us.

Herbert Lockyer, in his book on the names of God writes:

“There is a legend to the effect that an artist tried to paint a portrait of Christ, but every time he tried, he failed. Disconsolate he went to Him and asked the reason for his lack of success, and Christ simply smiled and said, “No one can paint a picture of me for anyone else, for if he did, it would be said that the Christ was thus and thus; every one must paint his own picture.” Is this not what every man does when he answers the question, “What think ye of Christ?” He challenges the world by His wonderful versatility and presents an amazing revelation of qualifying attributes.

“A remarkable feature of Jesus Christ is the way He fits into everyone’s thinking. He is so many-sided each can find Christ in the mold of his own occupational life and day-by-day experience. In this respect He challenges the attention of the world and meets the needs of all classes of men. As deep answereth to deep, so Jesus responds to the movings of each soul of man. Life is varie d, just as occupations are, and all, no matter what their round of duty may be, can find in Him the Saviour who is able to meet the particular need of each.

To the Architect—He is the Chief Cornerstone (1 Peter 2:6).
To the Artist—He is the One altogether lovely (Song of Solomon 5:16).
To the Astronomer—He is Sun, and Morning Star (Revelation 22:16; Malachi 4:2).
To the Baker—He is the Living Bread (John 6:35, 51).
To the Banker—He is Unsearchable Riches (Ephesians 3:8).
To the Biologist—He is the Life (John 14:6).
To the Botanist—He is the Plant of Renown (Ezekiel 34:29).
To the Bride—He is the Bridegroom (Matthew 25:1).
To the Builder—He is the Sure Foundation (Isaiah 28:16).
To the Carpenter—He is the Nail, and the Door (Isaiah 22:23; John 10:9).
To the Christian—He is the Son of the Living God (Matthew 16:16).
To the Disconsolate—He is the Comforter (John 14:1).
To the Drifter—He is an Anchor (Hebrews 6:19).
To the Doctor—He is the Great Physician (Matthew 8:17).
To the Educator—He is the Superb Teacher (John 3:2).
To the Engineer—He is a Polished Shaft, and a Living Way (Isaiah 49:2; Hebrews 10:20).
To the Farmer—He is the Sower, the Wheat, and Lord of Harvest (Matthew 13:37; John 12:24; Matthew 9:38).
To the Florist—He is the Rose and the Lily (Song of Solomon 2:1).
To the Friendless—He is the Friend closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24).
To the Genealogist—He is the Name above every name (Philippians 2:9).
To the Geologist—He is the Rock of Ages (Isaiah 26:4 ASV).
To the Heavy-Laden—He is Rest (Matthew 11:28–30).
To the Herbalist—He is the Ouster of Camphire and Root of Jesse (Song of Solomon 1:14; Isaiah 11:10).
To the Horticulturist—He is the True Vine (John 15:1).
To the Jeweller—He is the Precious Stone (1 Peter 2:6).
To the Judge—He is the Righteous Judge, Judge of all (2 Timothy 4:8).
To the Juror—He is the Faithful and True Witness (Revelation 3:14).
To the King—He is KING of kings (Revelation 19:16).
To the Lawyer—He is Counsellor, Advocate, LawGiver (Isaiah 9:6; 1 John 2:1, 2).
To the Lonely—He is the Abiding Companion (Hebrews 13:5).
To the Lover—He is the Betrothed (Song of Solomon 2:16).
To the Metaphysician—He is Alpha and Omega (Revelation 22:13).
To the Newspaperman—He is Good Tidings (Luke 2:10).
To the Oculist—He is the Light of the Eye (Matthew 4:16; 6:22).
To the Outcast—He is the Friend of Sinners (Luke 15:1, 2).
To the Philanthropist—He is the Unspeakable Gift (2 Corinthians 9:15).
To the Philosopher—He is the Wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:24).
To the Photographer—He is the Exact Likeness (Hebrews 1:3).
To the Pilgrim—He is the Way (John 14:6).
To the Potter—He is the Vessel of Honor (2 Timothy 2:21).
To the Preacher—He is the Model Preacher, and Word to preach (Luke 4:18; Revelation 19:13).
To the Ruler—He is Ruler of the Kings of Earth (Revelation 1:5 ASV).
To the Sailor—He is Master of ocean and sea (Mark 4:41).
To the Sculptor—He is the Living Stone (1 Peter 2:4).
To the Servant—He is the Good Master (Ephesians 6:9).
To the Shepherd—He is the Lamb (John 1:29), and Good Shepherd (John 10).
To the Sinner—He is the One born the Saviour (Matthew 1:21).
To the Slave—He is the Redeemer—One who buys back (Galatians 3:13).
To the Soldier—He is the Captain (Hebrews 2:10; Psalm 24:8).
To the Statesman—He is the Desire of all Nations (Haggai 2:7).
To the Stormtossed—He is a Refuge in storms (Isaiah 25:4).
To the Student—He is Incarnate Truth (John 1:14; 14:6).
To the Theologian—He is the Author and Finisher of Faith (Hebrews 12:2).
To the Thirsty—He is the Water of Life (John 4:10).
To the Toiler—He is the Rest-Giver (Zephaniah 3:17; Mark 6:31).
To the Traveller—He is the Guide (Psalm 48:14).
To the Unclean—He is the Fountain of Cleansing (Zechariah 13:1).
To the Weak—He is the Power of God (1 Corinthians 1:24).
To the Widow—He is the Husband (Isaiah 54:5; Jeremiah 49:11).
To the Wise—He is the Wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:24, 30).
To the Zoologist—He is the Lion of Judah (Revelation 5:5).

Herbert Lockyer: “All the Divine Names and Titles in the Bible”

For some, 2021 was just about the best year imaginable. Our grandson and his wife welcomed a beautiful baby girl into their home. What can be a more precious gift than that? For others, 2021 was the year that their spouse died, or a child, or a parent and life as they know it has changed forever.

Whether you are looking forward to the very best year of your life, or to the fulfillment of your worst fears, Jesus Christ is the great “I Am”. He is enough for whatever this year brings. And, if you know Him as Savior, He loves you so much that He has come here to live in you now, until that day He takes you to live with Him there.

It is His promise.

Wilbur

Thu, 23 Dec 2021 10:18:00 GMT

Do you ever get the idea that some people are going to be with us forever, that other folk will die, but not them? I think that Wilbur Wagenschutz was one of those people for me. When I see his obit on my desk, it jolts me, it doesn’t seem real.

Wilbur had been a long-time friend of my wife’s family, and when I came into her family, I became a friend of Wilbur’s as well. He had known my brother already and so we had a certain bond. And we were both Christians, another bond. And we both liked Ruth, another bond. And he was crazy (said in the most endearing way possible), another bond.

We all know that life on this planet has a beginning and an end, but somehow, Wilbur seemed a little bigger than life. Maybe he would be the exception to the rule. The adage tells us that there is an exception to each and every rule. Unfortunately, death is the exception to that rule, there is no exception to it.

For many, the first impression of Wilbur is that he was nuts, full of fun, crazy, loud, and always with a wisecrack. That is true.

To others, he was a man of the Scriptures, a truth holder, strong in his beliefs and willing to stand for them, whether anyone else did or not. That is also true.

To others, he was a family man. He loved Carol, and his children, and his grandkids, and his siblings, and anyone else who became a part of the clan. Another truth.

I suppose to others, he was a good barber, or co-worker. I never knew him that way, but from everything that I have heard, it is true.

Ruth and I have gone years at a time without seeing Wilbur and Carol. But Wilbur would call Ruth every so often, the older brother calling the little sister, catching up on life and that which surrounds it. I heard only one side of the conversation, but there was almost always laughter…mixed with concern for someone who was ailing or for the family of one who had passed.

When Wilbur was taken to the hospital in Grand Rapids and then made it back home, I was not surprised. He had the same ailment that killed my father and my brother, but it didn’t surprise me that it didn’t kill Wilbur. How do you take life from the one who is larger than life? But the call did come, the one no one wanted to make and that no one wanted to receive. Wilbur had passed from this life.

There are the obligatory declarations that “he is in a better place” and so on, but he is supposed to be here—in this life—in this place. There are not that many people around that love you like Wilbur did. There are not that many people around who are willing to stand for the Truth like Wilbur did—even if it costs. We shouldn’t lose them.

Was he really larger than life? Yeah, he was, and he is. The fact that I am writing this after his death, the fact that he has left a hole in my heart, the fact that he set an example for me, the fact that I am going to miss him, is proof that he was indeed larger than this life. The fact that there are some who are going to be in heaven because of him is certainly proof that he was larger than just the life he lived here. The fact that there are many who will miss him way more than I will, who loved him far more than I did, who have a larger hole in their heart than I do, is proof that Wilbur was more than the few years of life he lived here on earth.

I remember the fun Wilbur, the jokester, the one always ready with a wisecrack followed by his signature laugh. I will remember even more the Wilbur who stopped the jokes to talk about the Word of God with a seriousness and commitment that few others possess. He was, and is, an example to follow. I am thankful to have known him. I am even more thankful that I will see him again someday. I am left with one question: can you even tell jokes in heaven? If so, there are saints and angels enjoying a good laugh right now. Unless, that is, Wilbur is sitting at Jesus’ feet, the One he served for so many years.

Christmas Past…and Present

Sun, 12 Dec 2021 21:14:00 GMT

Christmas, the time of year, brings many emotions as our thoughts of the holiday are formed by our past experiences. My parents were fully involved in Christmas. My father sold Christmas trees from his salesroom, formerly known, as recently as a few weeks before, as the family’s two-car garage. My mother made wreaths and other items in her workshop, which also doubled later that day as the dining room table. The look and smell of Christmas was evident throughout the property because everyone’s clothes had a dab of pine pitch somewhere on them.

When I was a child, my family had certain traditions. Not only did we have family time (and gifts) on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning, but we also celebrated Christmas Eva, when my mom, dad, and myself, each opened one gift. My dad, always up for any reason to have special food and a gift, thought it would be good to celebrate Christmas Eva-Eva when we would open gifts received from various vendors that he worked with. Year after year there were at least four celebrations, each with their own traditions of food associated with them. It was a wonderful time spent between the dining room table and the cracking fire in the fireplace. The kitchen was filled with the smells of freshly baked pies and the living room smelled of the various logs burning in the fireplace.

I think back to 70+ years of church Christmas programs, of my involvement, or our children’s involvement, and eventually our grandchildren’s involvement. We laughed, because many of the programs included young boys whose voices were changing or innkeepers who lost their ability to speak their one line. Each program had its own rendition of Joseph or Mary, of an angel, or of Herod. I think back to multiple Christmas cantatas, another tradition, in which Ruth and I sung. I still remember some of the songs that made a great impression on my mind and heart.

Traditions are good. Christmas plays at church are good. Cantatas are good. We can spend much time looking back at them and also looking back at the birth of a Savior. The church plays, done by Mrs. Allerding’s Sunday School kids, remind us of the details of that first Christmas.

It is good for us to remember. The birth of the infant, who really was no infant at all. He was Immanuel, “God with us.” The gifts of the wise men. The appearance of the angels to the shepherds. It is easy to remember all of that as a past event that occurred more than 2,000 years ago when actually it is an ongoing event…in our lives…today…and tomorrow.

The angelic host proclaimed to those shepherds, “Fear not, for unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” The angels say those exact same words to you and to me today. “Fear not!” The Jesus Child came to dispel fear and to bring peace into our lives today. Many years later, the Baby told us we would face many tribulations in the world, and then added, “But be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

The Baby, who would be taken to Egypt to keep from being killed, would later face death on the cross to give eternal life to all who believe on Him. The Baby, who came to give us life, would give up His own. The One who came to bring peace was killed in the most brutal of man’s ways.

The Birth, the Baby, the family traditions, the church plays, sometimes serve up a rather nostalgic collection of remembrances of a time gone by. But for today? Many are facing loss from the pandemic. It may be the loss of health or the loss of a dear loved one. Many families are torn apart by disagreements and fights over masks or vaccines. Many churches have seen splits in the past two years with the devastation that causes. We attend “church” on a TV or computer screen.

Wouldn’t it be nice to go back to that idyllic time, to those feel-good traditions of some yesteryear? The times which we remember with fondness that they happened, and with sadness that they are gone? We know that we cannot go back to the traditions of a different time. But the promise that the Baby brought was not for a time long ago, or even pre-pandemic. The Baby’s promises of good tidings of comfort and joy are as much for our right now as they were the moment the angel proclaimed them.

Luke 2:10-14 KJV And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. (11) For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. (12) And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. (13) And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, (14) Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

I do not know what you are facing this Christmas season. I do know that the pandemic has been difficult for me. It has reduced much of my ministry to those who are grieving. While I am not a gregarious person, the lessened contact with people has been difficult. I have lost many friends to death in the past two years. Church on-line and then moving to a different church has not been what we have wanted. The vitriol that is expressed by those with differing opinions has broken friendships. The inability of government leaders to govern causes our nation to flounder. Society’s embracing of sin adds to the sadness.

And some of you have experienced much worse, far deeper pain.

And yet…the Baby did not put a deadline on His promise. The “good tidings of great joy” shall be “for all people.” The good tidings are as much for you and me today as they were for those shepherds that joyous night. The good tidings are as much for today as they were before we knew what a pandemic was. The Baby, who went to the cross, who rose from the grave, who ascended into the heavens, is, even now, preparing a place for His children, and is coming back for us. It is His promise.

The Baby, carried about by His mother Mary, is also the Lion of the tribe of Judah. The Lion who is worthy to open the Book, to redeem His people. The Baby in the manger is also the Coming King. The Baby who came for us, also lives in us.

Maybe this is a Christmas not to look back at family traditions, not to look back at what we have lost, but to look around at the world in which God has called us to minister, and to look up for that “blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.”

We do agree that the glorious appearing is far closer now than we ever imagined…don’t we? And while we are sad for the people and traditions that we have lost, we look up. The Baby, now called the Blessed Hope, is closer today than He has ever been.

The Thorn's Gift

Sun, 27 Jun 2021 20:33:06 GMT

There are certain writers whose writings I am drawn to: Philip Yancey, Elisabeth Elliot and Joni Eareckson Tada seem always to speak to my inner me. As I write these words, I have hundreds of books within my reach but the ones that I reread are written by those authors. They share a common message; the author has gone through difficult times. They have wrestled with the pain caused by those trials. They have wrestled with the promises of God—and they have chosen to believe and to trust Him. They call me to believe and to trust as well.

Philip Yancey has seen the vicious underbelly of the church and has been shaken by it. For a period of time he walked away from the church. He said that he left because he found so little grace there, he came back because he found grace nowhere else. His critical thinking on suffering has allowed him to speak to survivors of tsunamis and school shootings. He sees God in ways that have been invisible to me but they are ways that grow my understanding.

Elisabeth Eliott lost three husbands to death. The first, Jim Elliot, was doing God’s work in taking the message of salvation to the Auca Indians when he was martyred by them. Elisabeth went back with her young daughter and lived with the same Indians who killed her husband. Her lifelong ministry in her speaking and writing was about the God who keeps all of his promises, even when life hurts the most.

Joni has spent the past 50+ years of her life in a wheelchair with friends to help her get up in the morning and make her presentable to meet the day. To read Joni is to hear the depression in her words as she struggled in the early days of her paralysis with the “Why?” and the “Why me?” questions. But she did not give up, she grappled with the promises of God until she came to the place where she believed every single promise is true. God is still good when we are broken, physically or otherwise. In fact, He may be the best good to those who are broken—because they see His goodness rather than their own. One of Joni’s quotes is written in the flyleaf of my Bible, “God allows what He hates to accomplish what He loves.” Sometimes that means that He allows what we hate too.

Psalm 139 tells us that we are “fearfully and wonderfully made.” It is natural for us to be thankful for the gift of life. The problem arises for most of us when we think that the family we were born into, the talents and strengths that we have, the weaknesses we have overcome, and the things we have accomplished, all serve to give our lives, to give “us”, value. That we are truly, for lack of a better word, wonderful.

The trials of life, the wrestling with God, the proving of His Word, work together to teach us that any wonder, any “good” in our life, comes from Him. Not in our created body, but in Him shining out from our broken inner man. Joni says, “God always seems biggest to those who need Him most.” And we see that truth in the lives of people we know who have realized that God must be seen in us if our life is going to count for anything. It is as John the Baptist said, “He must increase, and I must decrease.”

I grew up thinking that I must be better than anyone else and that could be accomplished by either building myself up, or by tearing them down. But God says that I must decrease, that it is Him that others should see, not me. My mind knows that to be true, my self has not always accepted it as a viable truth—what happens to me if all people see in me is Him?

Most of us do not mind the idea that God would increase in us. It is that we must decrease that weighs heavily. John, the man that people came from town out into the wilderness to see, decreased to prison when Jesus came on the scene. Then he decreased again and was beheaded at the whim of someone he offended by preaching truth.

The lives of those around me are not going to be changed heavenward by the glitz and glamour of my life. But they are being changed for eternal good by God every day. If I truly love the Lord, do I want people to see me? Or Him? Do I want them to go through life thinking what a truly great guy I am? Or do I want them to go to heaven knowing what a truly great God their Heavenly Father is? If I truly love people, do I want people to see me? Or Him?

The trials that God allows into my life, the brokenness, the heartache, the struggling with God, all lead to fashioning me into someone who can be used by God.

God gave the words to Paul, and He wrote them to us, “My strength is made perfect in your weakness.”

2 Corinthians 12:7-10 KJV

(7) And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.

(8) For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.

(9) And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

(10) Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

The thorn’s prick (verse 7) would never have touched Paul had God not allowed it to do so. This may have been one of those scenes in heaven as it was in the opening chapter of Job where Satan presents himself before God. God asked Satan what he was up to and Satan replies, “Going to and fro in the earth, seeking whom I may devour” (I Peter 5:8). God, knowing his evil intentions, says, “Have you considered My servant Paul?” And Satan is more than eager to put Paul to the test, to destroy his faith, to undo his ability to write scripture, to damage his testimony before the churches, to invalidate any hope of his winning any more souls for the kingdom. The thorn pierces Paul’s skin and the Tormenter eagerly waits for his desired outcome.

At the time he speaks of the thorn, Paul had already been whipped with 39 stripes five different times, he had been beaten with rods three times, and he had suffered stoning once. He had been shipwrecked three times and had suffered a laundry list of perils at the hands of robbers or his own countrymen. He would ultimately spend about five years of his Christian life in prison. Paul’s thorn then must have been a very serious affliction which caused him serious discomfort for he singles this affliction out above the others. This man of prayer prays three times for the thorn’s removal, and the answer to his prayer is that the thorn has a godly purpose—and it is his to keep.

Paul responds something like this, “if God’s strength is made perfect in this thorn, in my weakness, then I will be thankful for the thorn so God can do His work through me. I want God’s work to be accomplished in and through me more than I want to be free from the prick of the thorn.”

There may come a day when God allows our life, yours or mine, to be touched with the prick of the thorn. We are then faced with the same choice of so many saints before us: walk away from—or walk towards God. Will we resent the thorn and its painful disruption of our life? Or will we, through tears, thank God for the thorn that allows Christ to be seen more clearly in us?

Our thorn may look nothing like Paul’s, or Philip’s, or Joni’s, or Elisabeth’s, or Job’s, or anyone else we have ever known. But the thorn’s prick and the weakness it brings, does not have to destroy us. Its painful effects can strengthen us more than we had ever hoped or prayed for. It will depend on whether we want Him to be seen—or us. Whether we want His life to be lived through us—or want our own life with our hopes and dreams and loves to be what people see.

A young man whom I have watched blossom into manhood in the past few years told me, “I pray every morning that God will make me the man, the husband, the father, the leader, that He wants me to be.” I love that about him. I love his desire. I love his prayer. But that prayer often comes with a cost. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, writing in The Cost of Discipleship, says “when Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” I am fearful for that young man as to what cost he may have to pay to have his prayer answered. I hate that he may have to pay the cost. I pray for him that he will pay it, that he will choose to decrease—to give room for Him to increase.

When God calls us to die, it does necessarily mean physical death.

Galatians 2:20 KJV I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

It means dying to self, a commitment that is easy to say and difficult, in fact it is life changing, to do. It means wanting God’s will more than our own. It means wanting to glorify Him more than satisfy self. It means giving up self’s hopes and dreams in favor of Him. It means that all of that is easy to say and to write…it most likely will be excruciating to live out. I have been at the bedside of dear loved ones and watched them pass from this world to the next. My mother’s death was laborious as she struggled to breathe. She would take a deep breath that would cause her body to tremble…then expel it…and we would wait, sometimes almost a minute, to see if that were her last breath, before another, equally laborious breath came. This process went on for many hours. Her spirit was ready to go to her new home but her body was unwilling to leave this one.

It is no less easy for our heart, soul, and spirit, to die to self and move to God’s deeper calling. We must give God every fiber of our being for His purpose. Watching someone you love go through the pain of death to self, even though you know that God has promised to work good of that travail, is just as difficult as it was for me to watch my mother die her physical death.

Think back to the travail of some of the Old Testament and New Testament men and women. Very few times do you see a “health and wealth” life; more often you see someone who has groaned in agony of heart as their old man dies to make room for the new man to have control. Hemen, the earthly author of Psalm 88 says:

“O LORD God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before thee: Let my prayer come before thee: incline thine ear unto my cry; For my soul is full of troubles: and my life draweth nigh unto the grave. I am counted with them that go down into the pit: I am as a man that hath no strength: Free among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, whom thou rememberest no more: and they are cut off from thy hand. Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness, in the deeps. Thy wrath lieth hard upon me, and thou hast afflicted me with all thy waves. Selah.”

(Psalms 88:1-7 KJV A Song or Psalm for the sons of Korah, to the chief Musician upon Mahalath Leannoth, Maschil of Heman the Ezrahite.)

Hemen, in desperation calls out to the God he believes has abandoned him, yet to the God he knows is listening. And it always amazes me that the Holy Spirit guided Hemen’s hand to write these words to be one of the songs sung in temple worship. The same Holy Spirit guided David to include this Psalm in Holy Scripture. And the same Holy Spirit speaks to my heart when I read those words. God works all things together for good for His children, just as He promised. I do not know what good Hemen saw in the days or months after writing this, but I do know that God has used Hemen’s afflictions, his thorn, to give comfort to Believers down through the ages. Someday, on heaven’s shore, I will look for Hemen and thank him for the cost he paid to bring comfort to me.

We can read Elisabeth Elliot’s story, or Joni’s story, as words on a page, as days in the life of someone else whom we admire from afar for their courage and strength. And something in us says, “I could possibly do that if I were forced to.” And then we face our own thorn, and it is much more difficult than we thought. The pain is bone deep and is felt in the depths of our marrow. The depression is soul deep and seems that it will last forever. The loneliness leaves us abandoned—even in the most crowded of arenas. The few times we smile or laugh are fake—they do not represent who we know ourselves to be. It is then, at that time, when we begin the process of learning that God’s promises are true—that He really does not leave nor forsake us—even though it still seems, at times, as though He has. And the pulse of our faith, about a quarter of the size of a mustard seed, begins to beat again. Our trust begins to deepen, to recognize God is still alive—and that He loves us—just as He loved David, and Job, and Paul, and Joseph, and a million other saints in the times when they felt abandoned.

The saint who wrote Psalm 88 writes the most depressing of all the Psalms—and God includes it in the hymnbook of the Nation of Israel and the Church, for us to read over and over and over again. Our spiritual ancestors understood the loss and abandonment that you feel—and the Holy Spirit guided their fingers to write the words that will assure us that the Father God loves us. He loves us so much, that He allows us to face these soul-wrenching times that teach us how to love and trust Him more than we ever thought possible. It is in the darkest of times, when the thorn’s prick is most painful, that we truly know the depths of His promises.

The Gift No One Wants-Really!

Mon, 07 Jun 2021 20:36:47 GMT

I write about grief often; it is what seems to be in the ink of my pen as it touches paper. I begin to write with some other theme in mind…and before too long I am writing about grief, and heartache, and loss. But in writing about the trials of life, I must also write about the faithfulness of God who always keeps His promises to care for His children.

Just as I believe that this life may be full of heartache, I believe that God is the “God of all comfort.” I believe He is a “man of sorrows and acquainted with our grief.” I believe that the psalmist was honest and correct as he penned the words the Spirit guided his heart and his hand to write when he said, “it is good for me to have been afflicted, that I might learn Thy statutes.”

I say that because I hope you will believe those truths as well. God’s promises carry little significance for us if we do not believe them or if we wonder if He keeps them. The promise that He will walk with me through the valley of the shadow of death means nothing to me if I go through the valley kicking and screaming or with a heart full of fear. Rather, David shows in Psalm 23 a quiet confidence in the Shepherd who will walk with him through the valley of the shadow with rod and staff to guide and protect. No kicking. No screaming. No fear. Just a quiet trust in the promises of the Shepherd.

The same Shepherd promised to work “all things” together for good for his children. Not most things, not some things, but ALL things. And this is the problem for us when we are facing a grievous trial—do we believe His promise? Is the promise true for some others but not for us? Do we try to let God off the hook for making a seemingly unkeepable promise by making exceptions to it? Or are His promises always true for all of God’s people?

If we were in a courtroom right now, I would offer up the following witnesses:

David, the writer of Psalm 23 and the compiler of the Psalms would speak of Psalms 119:71 “It is good for me to have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.”

Joseph, after spending years in prison because of the hatred of his brothers would speak of what he said to those same brothers, “But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.”

Esther, would remind us of Mordecai’s words at a time when Hemen’s evil plan was to kill all of the Jews, “who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” And she was there, in that earthly kingdom “for such a time as this.” And Hemen’s plan was thwarted, and he was put to death rather than God’s people. Esther’s trial, difficult as it was, saved the Nation of Israel from death.

Job, after the loss of everything dear to him repents to His God and says, “I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear; but now my eye seeth thee.” The trials, the loss of everything, helped him to come to know the Father in a much deeper fellowship.

Paul, after spending an entire chapter of scripture delineating the hardships of beatings, stonings, whippings, and other persecution he had suffered, says, “I will glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then am I strong.” The “good” that Paul wanted was to know and to serve God, the trials helped him do that.

James, who would be martyred for his faith, would remind us to “count it all joy, when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.” James reminds us that the testing of our faith works good in our life.

Joni Eareckson Tada, who has spent the last 50+ years in a wheelchair, has written these words, “He has chosen not to heal me, but to hold me. The more intense the pain, the closer His embrace.” And “Heartache forces us to embrace God out of desperate, urgent need. God is never closer than when your heart is aching.” And she adds “Deny your weakness, and you will never realize God’s strength in you.”

Fanny Crosby, blind from infancy, said these words, “It seemed intended by the blessed providence of God that I should be blind all my life, and I thank him for the dispensation. If perfect earthly sight were offered me tomorrow I would not accept it. I might not have sung hymns to the praise of God if I had been distracted by the beautiful and interesting things about me.” Or she might quote the first verse of one of her hymns, “All the way my Savior leads me, What have I to ask beside? Can I doubt His tender mercy, Who through life has been my Guide? Heav’nly peace, divinest comfort, Here by faith in Him to dwell! For I know, whate’er befall me, Jesus doeth all things well;”. God doeth all things well, even if it means being blind from infancy.

I have friends who have suffered unbelievable tragedy, who are continuing to live in the heartache of their trial. I have spoken with them enough to know that they would say, “I hate this trial. I hate the losses I have suffered. But I trust my heavenly Father will work good as only He can.” Some of them have seen that good already.

God’s promise to work good is absolutely, irrevocably true and He will keep that promise whether we believe or not. We can, however, choose to go through life’s trials with resentment and with a refusal to see the good. Our refusal to see it, does not mean the good is not there. The good that God promises is His good. It does not mean the lame will always be healed, or that the blind will always gain back their sight. It does not mean that Alzheimer’s will not touch the child of God. It does not mean the prodigal will come home. It means what the Word promises, that God will work good out of all things.

My wife and I differ on foods that we like. She can fuss around with a food that I really do not care for by adding a few condiments and ingredients and pronounce it is now “good”. Sometimes, in my estimation, it is still unfit for human consumption. We have a differing opinion of what “good” tastes like. It seems silly to compare my illustration to that with God and His children, but maybe not. God, the one who holds all of creation together by the word of His power knows my frame and works good for my life. His ways are not my ways. His thoughts are not my thoughts. The foolishness of God is greater than my best wisdom on my best day. And if He says something is good, it is good whether I think so or not. His promise remains true, and I should have an inner thankfulness that I am part of God’s greater plan. I should be thankful that the eternal purpose God is accomplishing in my life is greater than my mundane wants and wishes. My wife and I arguing about whether pineapple on pizza is fit for humans to eat is silly. For me to argue with God about what “good” should look like is even more silly.

After God had spoken to Job and Job had repented of his inability to understand who God really was, he began to praise God. He praised Him, even though his children were still dead, his fortune was still lost, the young men still laughed at him, and his friends still thought his trials were because of his sin. But now Job saw the “good” that had been taking seed since the moment God asked Satan if he had considered tempting Job. In his repentance, Job does not say he saw good—he said he now saw God—and that was good. Job became the man who wanted to know God—even if it meant the loss of everything dear to him.

When Paul praised God, he still had the thorn in his flesh. He kept the thorn until his death as far as we know. He continued to spend time in prison rather than be free to preach the gospel. He continued to be persecuted for preaching and teaching. He died a martyr’s death. If we were to interview Paul today, would he say that God worked good? I think we know the answer to that.

Imagine you are one of the disciples. You have walked with Jesus for three years. You have watched as Jesus raised dead people to life, caused blinded eyes to see, and touched lepers with His healing power. You have even participated in His miracles when Jesus fed thousands of people with two loaves of bread and five small fish—and then you helped pick up baskets of leftovers. You have walked with the one who claimed to be the Son of God, you have fished with Him, ate meals with Him, asked questions and listened to divine answers. Then, in a matter of hours, Jesus is arrested, tried, convicted, and is struggling to carry His cross towards Golgotha. You know that this Jesus has committed many miracles in these past years, and you are sure that He has a plan to escape death even now. You watch as He is nailed to the cross and the wood and nails do their evil work—Jesus dies. You would not have Paul’s words to give you strength, but you knew Joseph’s words to his brothers, “you meant this for evil, but God meant it for good.” And where is the good in this? Did you just waste three years of your life? Was this all a farce? How can God die, or allow His Son to die? He raised others from the dead, why not Jesus? You ask yourself if this can possibly be good…and every molecule of your being screams “NO!!!!” as you run from the wretched scene and from an unimaginable nightmare, knowing that you could be next on that cross.

But God was not done, death did not thwart His plan to work the best good mankind will ever know. He raised Jesus to life. Sin’s power had been broken. Satan was defeated. A way for sinful man to become joint-heirs with the Lamb of God was established. Jesus began working on a new eternal home for those who would become His child. He sent the Holy Spirit, not to walk with us as Jesus had done but to live in us. He intercedes with the Father on our behalf. You ask yourself again if this is good…and you fall on your face in humble adoration for the God who works good, even when it seems that evil and tragedy have triumphed.

The same is true for those today who must wonder if God keeps His promise to work good. Our finite minds that are clouded by anguish and pain caused by the trials we face may not, can not, see as clearly as does God, and we are left to believe and to trust Him, even when we are living in the tangled underside of the tapestry.

And the life that has been crushed by God is healed—almost. Jagged holes in the clay pot that is who we are now remain to show forth the God inside us. The God who shines out of those ragged cracks to proclaim that HE works ALL things together for good for His children.

Trials have changed our life. Brokenness has brought weakness. Confidence has been replaced by worry. Sadness fights with joy. The once proud vessel that was our life now shows ragged cracks. It is our choice whether to let darkness invade those imperfections or to allow the radiance of the Comforter to shine out. We can try to plaster over the cracks to maintain what we want people to think of us—or we can be thankful for the opportunities to tell others about the God who ALWAYS works good in the life of His child. Choose you this day…

Safe In The Arms

Sun, 30 May 2021 20:50:48 GMT

My verse, my only verse, in the depths of my black years was Deuteronomy 33:27 “The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.” I know that is not the whole verse, but I always tell people, half jokingly, that I wasn’t strong enough to handle a whole verse, a half of a verse was my limit.

My prayer to the Lord at that time was that even if I could not feel those arms that He would help me to believe that verse anyway. And He did. I didn’t feel His arms, but I knew, with no doubt, that they were there. And that helped me as I read through the Psalms and found other verses that described God as my refuge.

This week I was reading Peter’s first letter and caught a glimpse of what it means for those arms to be underneath. In Chapter One, Peter makes a list of what comprises those arms:

Verse 2. Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.

We know that God gives grace and He gives peace, but Peter says that they both are multiplied. Not just grace or peace like I might offer someone but God’s grace and God’s peace and both multiplied to His children.

Verse 3. His abundant mercy

From one end of the scriptures to the other we know that God is merciful, but Peter reminds us that His mercy is abundant. Grace and peace are multiplied and mercy is abundant.

Verse 3. [He] hath begotten us again unto a lively hope.

God has birthed us into a living hope. The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead has given us birth into a hope that is alive. The hope is here, it is ours, it is now.

Verse 4. To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,

The hope also looks forward to that day of my resurrection, the inheritance as a child of God of a reserved seat at heaven’s table that is uncorruptible, undefiled and cannot fade away.

Verse 5. Who are kept by the power of God

My salvation is secure, not because I am securing it, but because God is. There were many times in my black years when I was just positive that I couldn’t possibly be a Christian because no Christian could feel as alone as I did. I could point back to my salvation at age 10 and tell you the section of the church I was in when I went forward to talk with the evangelist. I could remember my brother-in-law going forward with me. I could remember the evangelist as he led me to pray.

I had doubted my salvation many times as a teenager, but this was different. I felt more alone than any time in my life. Peter reminded me that my salvation is kept by God’s power. My name is written on the palms of His hands and no amount of black times are going to change that.

This is what comprises those everlasting arms: multiplied grace and peace, abundant mercy, birthed into a living hope to an undefiled and incorruptible inheritance in heaven that cannot fade away, and kept by the power of the Almighty God.

Even in those black times, when I cannot feel the arms, they are there. He promised they are. And in case I forget? He had Peter make a list for me to remind me of the power in those arms. I want to thank Peter someday for his words, but more importantly, I want to thank the Lord for His promise that I am kept by His power, not mine. That is a good thing. No, that is the best thing.

And the black days, months, or years? Peter says they are only for a season. They may seem like a lifetime when we are in the middle of them, but they are for a season of time and they have a purpose:

Peter goes on:

“Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: 7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: 8 Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: 9 Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.” I Peter 1:6-9

When I am in those black times, I may not be ready to “count it all joy”, but I can have a confidence, a settled confidence, that the Eternal God is my Refuge and underneath are His everlasting arms. For that, I am very thankful. By that, I am very secure.

The Gift No One Wants

Sun, 30 May 2021 20:44:27 GMT

I, like many young children, used to scour the house for unwrapped Christmas presents, longing to know what I was going to receive for Christmas that year. Sometimes I would find something that I knew was to be mine in only a few more days. There was something about the search, and the finding, which made the threat of being caught worth it. My folks always purchased nice gifts for me and there was great pleasure in finding them and, ultimately, receiving them. (My mother did suspect my character which caused me to snoop and my acting ability when I tried to act like I didn’t already know what the gift was.)

God has gifts for us that, if we were to snoop through the closets, we would be pretty excited about: grace, joy, peace, love, and others. Imagine, knowing that in only a few more days that perfect peace would be given. But God has another gift that we would be pretty disappointed in discovering, either by snooping or by receiving—the gift of pain, of heartache, of disappointment.

The scriptures are clear that one of the gifts God gives His children is the gift of suffering, of trials, of pain. Why in the world would anyone ever want a gift like that? What good can ever come from pain and heartache? Why would God, who promises to work good out of all things for those who believe in Him, send trials which can have such a negative effect?

Joseph told his brothers that the evil things they had done to him they meant for evil, but God meant those same things for good “to save much people alive.” What his brothers meant as evil, God meant to be a gift.

If Joseph was consumed with living a life of ease, then the prison years in Egypt were a horrendous trial. If Joseph was interested in serving God, in doing His work and will, then the prison years led to Pharaoh’s palace and being instrumental in moving the family of Jacob to becoming the Nation of Israel.

Paul wanted the thorn in the flesh to be removed and he prayed accordingly. He could even have posted on Facebook for his friends to be praying about the thorn. Satan intended the thorn to be evil. God meant the thorn as a gift. Paul wrote, “Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” Paul was faced with a choice, the same choice that we have today, either he could walk away from serving the Lord, or he could embrace the thorn.

As has been our theme in other blogs, Joseph and Paul did not waste the trial, and in embracing the trial, it became the gift God intended.

Now all of that is nice. Try telling someone who is suffering a horrendous trial that it is really a gift. Try telling yourself when you are in the depths of loss and grief that God loves you so much that He wanted you to have this heartache. It is a difficult sell. But the principle is true, God uses difficult, life-changing trials specifically because He wants them to be life-changing for us.

What is God doing in you to make you more like Him? It is the pattern of the Old Testament that the people went through cycles. God blessed them beyond measure, and they praised Him for it…and then they began to intermarry and worship the gods of the heathen. Then God would judge them, and they would go through some difficult period of time and then they would call out to Him for deliverance. He would hear, and would deliver them, and they would praise Him, and then they would find the gods of the heathen more appealing…and God would judge them and…

Trials test us. They reveal what we are made of spiritually. Will we walk away? Many did and many still do. Will we walk closer to Him and with Him? Peter spoke for the other disciples when Jesus asked them if they were going to leave Him, “to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.”

Trials that cause us to run to God, are gracious gifts from the hand of the Father. He loves us too much to leave us the way we are, He sends trials to draw us to Himself. Even though it does not feel like it in the midst of our heartache—the trial is His precious gift.

So, You Are Telling Me There Is A Chance?

Sun, 30 May 2021 20:41:37 GMT

A while back I felt compelled to study the Sermon on the Mount again. I thought I should start in chapter 4 of Matthew to get a run up to the sermon, to have some context.

I was immediately struck by the words “Jesus was led up…to be tempted by the devil.” Who thinks it is a good idea to tempt God? Just exactly what does one tempt God with? The One who has spoken all things into existence and holds them together by the word of His power? The Great “I Am”, the All-Sufficient One? What would I offer Him to tempt Him to turn away from the Father?

Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. (2) And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. (3) And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. Matthew 4:1-3 KJV

God seemed to have His plan, set in motion before the foundations of the earth were laid, pretty well mapped out. The Son’s failure to do the Father’s bidding does not seem likely. And yet, the Tempter tempts. That is his name, that is what he does. Satan knows God’s immutability better than any of us, and yet the Tempter feels it fair game to tempt God.

And who knows? There is always a chance, right? That the strongest pastor or the weakest member may fail. To tempt and fail is no loss for Satan. To tempt and win is a great victory for him.

Those who send spam emails understand that they are going to send thousands, or maybe millions of offers for wealth or healing and 99% of those emails will be blocked by a spam filter or a wise person on the receiving end. But the spammers make their money on the 1% who fall into the trap. Satan sets snares for us with the ultimate spam (1 John 2:16).

For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 1 John 2:16 KJV

There is an old saying, “If it sounds too good to be true…it probably is”. Yet the Nigerian Prince and Satan do not stop trying to tempt us. And too often they both find success.

Why does it tempt me when Satan offers “stuff” when God has given me “all things in Christ Jesus”? Satan offers me happiness for the moment, Jesus promises me joy forever. Satan promises temporal, Jesus guarantees eternal. Why do I, given riches in Him, turn away to the Tempter’s baubles? Why do I gravitate to my friends who are caught up in this world and leave my brothers and sisters who are on their way to the next world? Why do I joy more in the fallen creation than in the Perfect Creator?

So, we settle for Satan’s way. God says to forgive as He forgives. Satan says that if I forgive them, they will be let off the hook, and that I will enable them. God says I am to forgive “seventy times seven times.” Satan says that does not mean 490 times, it means 77 times…and when he says it that way it seems as though I am let off the hook for having to forgive at all.

Satan offers an easier way than serving the Creator God. He offers “little g” gods that I can look to for peace, and joy, and safety. I chose to find my security in my finances, my happiness in sports, my fulfillment in my job, my purpose in church jobs, my enjoyment in my family, and other “gods” that met each of my needs. But they offered only counterfeit security, happiness, fulfillment, purpose and enjoyment. When the dark times came there was no satisfaction in them; they failed me miserably.

We look for excuses to choose the counterfeit from the Chief Purveyor of Spam rather than the truth that comes from yielding to the Holy Spirit. The Spammer offers a fast track to riches.

This was in my email in-box just recently: “Dear Customer, My name is John Chamber of Citi Bank Texas,How are you doing today? I wish to inform you that your total fund of $4.5 Million was deposited here by the United Nation compensation board and we have made all the good arrangement on how to ensure that your fund hits your account. You are advised to provide the information below to us to enable us enhance the transfer.

I do not know John, I have never done any business with Citi Bank of Texas, I am not sure why the United Nation compensation board owes me money, nor am I sure why John did not run his email through a grammar checker, but I do like the idea of having an extra $4.5 million in my checking account. So why not just click the link and answer the questions, what harm can it do? There is always a chance…right?

Satan cannot offer me true peace, true joy, true hope, true love, true grace, true mercy, or true truth. He can only offer me cheap imitations. And yet he tempts me with his baubles…and sometimes, even though I know better, I click the link in whatever form that comes…because there just might be a chance…

Why would the Tempter tempt Jesus Christ, God’s Son? There must have been, in his mind, a chance. Why would he tempt great Christian leaders whom we all respect? Because there is a chance. Why does he tempt you and me? Because he knows there is a chance…and he is right.

How do we avoid falling for the spam? By being doers of the Word instead of hearers only. By prayer for our own strength. By praying for others just as Jesus prayed for Peter. By being active, functioning, parts of the Body of Christ where we draw strength from each other. By the weak learning from the strong. By finding our center in Him and in Him alone.

The Writer's Womb

Sat, 29 May 2021 21:03:16 GMT

I would write about the difficulty of writing, but I have tried, it is too difficult. I have long thought that the most difficult job in the world would be to have to write a daily, or even a weekly, column for a newspaper or periodical. How would I write something that is “me” when the “me” I am looking for is nowhere to be found? My writing is an extension of the me that few people see until my inner self is revealed in words on paper. Sometimes I don’t even see the me inside, so how can I write?

There are times when I cannot write fast enough to express myself, losing brilliant thoughts as fingers cannot put words to paper before the flashes of brilliance are gone. Other times, I force myself to write something—anything. I start with some inane thought, hoping it will be the nucleus for a greater thought or that it will lead to a series of thoughts to be developed into a cohesive string. It works that way sometimes. Other times? Other times my inane thought is just that—inane. I put words to paper and wonder why I just wasted so many words and so much paper. As I read it over later, I am even more convinced that the time spent writing was lost to me forever. I may as well have spent time counting the grains of sand on the shore, it would have been more productive.

Wondering if the writing is in the utensils rather than in the author, I buy a new writing pad even though my favorite is well established. I try a different color pen, but not a different size point—anyone knows that a Pentel Energel blue 0.5 point is the only pen to use if you want to be a serious writer. I read Elisabeth Elliot or Phillip Yancey for inspiration. I go for a walk in my favorite woods to gain inspiration, in search of my soul.

Why do I write? A man who had just finished a multi-volume tome on an historical figure was asked why he wrote. He answered, “Because I can’t not.” Neither can’t I. I feel an emptiness in my “me” if I do not write. I am most afraid of the times when I do not feel the emptiness.

And I sway between two extremes, that of writing every chance I get because my pen expresses the thoughts of my heart on paper. And the other extreme where my writing would be considered trivial banality by any objective reader (including myself) and I cannot force myself to pick up pen, paper, or keyboard. My friend says that she also “Can’t not write”. Except for those times when, in her words, “I can not.” And it is the fact that she is able to not write that bothers her.

The words on paper express my thoughts but they come from my womb. The writer’s womb that comprises my heart, my soul, my mind…my id as some might say. And like the product of the mother’s womb, the product of my womb is my baby, a part of me that stands apart from me but reveals me to others if they read not only the lines, but between them. One time my writing produces a baby with a body that is perfectly formed, with a wisp of hair and a smile that melts hearts. Other times my baby is built of irregular scraps of plywood and random-length 2×4’s, nailed haphazardly together with pieces parts jutting forth where none belong. It is the same womb, the same pen, and the same paper that produces both. The scary part? Both babies reflect what is going on inside me.

No baby should lie there without comment. “It is so cute!” “He looks just like you.” Or “Look at that smile!” Followed closely by, “No, it is not gas!” My writer’s womb cries out for comment on my “baby”. “You said it so well.” “Now I understand.” “Thank you.” The nicest comment I ever received was from a friend, who was not particularly free with compliments, who said, “Your writing gives words to those of us who cannot express our feelings.”

There it is. My heart on paper. To be read, mulled over, misunderstood, argued with, hated or loved. It is my baby—it is me.

Too Hard For God?

Sat, 29 May 2021 21:01:06 GMT

“I am the LORD, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me? Jeremiah 32:27

Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return to you at the appointed time next year, and Sarah will have a son.” Genesis 18:14

“Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.” Jeremiah 32:17

If I were in front of a room of 32 Christians and asked each one individually, “Is anything too hard for God?” How many do you think would answer that there are at least a few things that are too difficult for Him? My thoughts: None! Not a single “good” Christian would say, “Well, what is going on in my life is something that He just is unable to handle.”

We all would be in agreement, in principle, that there could be nothing too difficult for God: the One who spoke worlds into existence, who keeps those worlds held in place by the Word of His power, who died on the cross for us, who is coming back to take us to be with Himself, the one who knows when a sparrow falls out of the sky, who clothes the lilies of the field, and who knows my thoughts before I think them. With all of that on His resume, how could anything we face be too much for Him?

Now, follow those same people home from that meeting and watch how they (we) live out our daily lives. Do we really believe that there is NO thing too hard for God? Or are those pious words that we say but do not live by?

One of my all-time favorite psalms is Psalm 73. Asaph starts out,

“Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart. But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped. For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.”

He is in effect saying, “God is good! But not to me, not in this instance, not at this time in my life, not in comparison with the ungodly who seem to have everything that they want.”

When we are going through trials, is God enough? When we are being persecuted, is God enough? When a close loved one dies, is God enough? When our church splits, is God enough? When we face a pandemic, is God enough? The 32 Christians in that classroom would answer that He is. But how does our life answer? Is anything too hard for God? If there is not, then why do you fear? Why do you lose sleep?

There is another side to this. The question implies that there are going to be times in our life when God is going to ask us that question, “Am I enough?” Some of us have never come to that place where we need God all that much. We think there is nothing too hard for us to handle. If we ever get to the place where we really need God, then we will turn our problems over to Him, but for now…we have got this. One problem is thinking that God cannot handle the trials that come into our life. The other problem is thinking that we can handle any trial that we face and we don’t need Him.

I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20 KJV

My life, minute by minute, second by second, is to be in harmony with God, trusting His strength rather than my own, living each second by faith in the Son of God.

I used to worry to the point of panic about my wife or my kids being out of my sight and control. I remember years ago when my wife was coming back from Tennessee in a terrible snowstorm. I had to meet with a family that Saturday afternoon in the course of my job and my wife’s journey came up in the conversation. One of the men, whom I had no clue was a Believer, said, “Well, we will be praying for her.” He meant it.

I had been praying for her, but my prayers were panic prayers, or bargaining prayers (I will do this for You God if You bring my wife home safely). His prayer was, “Lord, we know You can bring Ruth safely back to Karl, in spite of any storm.” I liked his prayer a lot better than mine.

So, and here is the moral of the story, if we truly believe that there is absolutely NO thing that is too hard for God, shouldn’t we live that way? All of the time?

Going back to Psalm 73, Asaph questioned the value of being a Christian. He said in verse 13, “Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain.” He felt that way until he went into the sanctuary of God, “then understood I their end.”

Asaph finishes the Psalm with,

“Thus my heart was grieved, and I was pricked in my reins. So foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast before thee. Nevertheless I am continually with thee: thou hast holden me by my right hand. Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever. For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish: thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee. But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all thy works." Psalms 73:21-28 KJV

Question #1. Is anything too hard for God?

Question #2. Do we live our daily lives as though that is true?

God Is Big Enough-Even For Today

Sat, 29 May 2021 20:54:11 GMT

Every so often, my wife and I will get word that a grandchild and their spouse are expecting a new addition to their home. Each time, we will look at each other and say, “I would hate to be bringing another child into the perversion of this world.” They are probably similar words to what my parents said when my wife and I announced the pending birth of our children. Each generation believes that raising children in their day was difficult enough, how much more sin and degradation can these young people face? But God…

But God is not surprised. Jesus told His followers that evil men would wax worse and worse. He had this day in mind when He said those words…and however many days follow it. Yet He never warns a generation to stop having children at a certain point. Rather, He tells us that His grace and His strength is sufficient for whatever day we face. That no matter how much evil piles up, the grace piled upon grace is even greater.

Maybe, and this is just a wild thought, God’s promises are as true for the world we live in today as they were the day, centuries ago, when He made them.

I borrowed this from an unidentified “dad” on Facebook. This dad could have written these words when the Christians were fleeing to other parts of the world to escape persecution before the end of the first century. He could have written them when Christians were being burned at the stake. He could have written them in the depths of WWII when millions of people across the globe were dying, or he could write them today. They are timeless words.

Don’t feel sorry for or fear for your kids because the world they are going to grow up in is not what it used to be. God created them and called them for the exact moment in time that they’re in. Their life wasn’t a coincidence or an accident. Raise them up to know the power they walk in as children of God. Train them up in the authority of His Word. Teach them to walk in faith knowing that God is in control. Empower them to know they can change the world. Don’t teach them to be fearful and disheartened by the state of the world but hopeful that they can do something about it. Every person in all of history has been placed in the time that they were in because of God’s sovereign plan. He knew Daniel could handle the lion’s den. He knew David could handle Goliath. He knew Esther could handle Haman. He knew Peter could handle persecution. He knows that your child can handle whatever challenge they face in their life if they trust in Him. He created them specifically for it! Don’t be scared for your children, but be honored that God chose you to parent the generation that is facing the biggest challenges of our lifetime. Rise up to the challenge. Raise Daniels, Davids, Esthers and Peters! God isn’t scratching His head wondering what He’s going to do with this mess of a world. He has an army He’s raising up to drive back the darkness and make Him known all over the earth. Don’t let your fear steal the greatness God placed in them. I know it’s hard to imagine them as anything besides our sweet little babies, and we just want to protect them from anything that could ever be hard on them, but they were born for such a time as this.

Just some thoughts from a dad who is rocking his sleeping baby and thinking about what a crazy day it has been in our country.

Some words from the Apostle Paul:

Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; 2 Corinthians 3:5 KJV

And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work: 2 Corinthians 9:8 KJV

May I Be Excused From Church Now?

Sat, 08 May 2021 21:05:40 GMT

The Church, the Body of Christ, evokes widely divergent responses depending on your latest experiences in church. Some have warm feelings of a loving body of believers who seem to exist solely to draw each other closer together in Christian unity. Some others may be feeling the pain, the grief, of a church split, a messy divorce as brothers and sisters in the Lord wage war on each other. There are a thousand variations of the above two choices.

How does one live through the church split, the divorce, the war between the saints? How does one work through, spiritually and emotionally, the havoc caused by the abject failure of those to whom we are called to trust and to submit? How does one deal with the fallout, as close friends, brothers and sisters, believe lies rather than the truth or use the world’s ways of solving disputes rather than God’s?

There are no easy answers to any of the above questions. Sometimes, it seems as though there are no answers at all.

But the larger question, what does one do with God, when His Church, His Body, His Bride, fails to protect and nurture His people—us?

This has been a problem down through the centuries, since the dawn of time. How does the small family in the beginning deal with Cain killing Abel? How does Job deal with the rejection by his wife and the snide remarks of his ‘friends’? How does Abraham and Sarah deal with Lot’s prideful desires? How does Joseph deal with the persecution of his brothers? How do the prophets deal with the refusal to repent by the people they came to warn? How does one deal with Eli’s sons and their treatment of women in the temple of God?

The Old Testament is full to overflowing of family problems—God’s family’s problems. Problems of sexual rape, murder, selling family into slavery, sacrificing their own children to a foreign god and other gross sins pervade the People of God, the Nation of Israel, God’s chosen ones, the ones whom He loves.

For some reason, we in the church seem to believe that on this side of the cross, that human nature will have changed, and all those sins will have been swept aside, put away from God’s people. They have not. Jesus Christ gave instructions about settling disputes, unforgiveness and unsaved leadership in the church in His first major sermon—before there even was a church. Paul’s warnings and instructions in the letters to the churches all serve to teach us that there is sin, not only in the world, but within the church.

I shake my head when I read the parable of the tares in the wheat. Why wouldn’t it be best to pull the tares now? Why do we have to wait until God’s timing? Shouldn’t His timing be now—to warn those within every church that tares are not welcome? And yet, in God’s wisdom, He knows it is best to wait, so it is. But that leaves us, His people, in a local church that is only partially safe, only partially holy, only partially His.

Ephesians 6 reminds us that we “wrestle not against flesh and blood” but against Satan and his demons, against every form of evil we can imagine and much that we cannot. And sometimes, the tares in the church, the ones who are doing so many things to make them appear godly, the ones who are gifted in making themselves look superior, are the very forces of Satan that we must be fully clothed in God’s armor to protect against.

Church today is no more safe from the sinfulness of man or the attacks of Satan than was the Nation of Israel or the family of Adam and Eve or the early church. It seems to be unrealistic to believe that we can find the perfect church, the one who lovingly ministers to the needs of its people, the one who preaches truth and lives grace, the one who reaches out into the highways and byways to win the lost. But we can hope, and pray, to find a church that is closest to those ideals and then we can diligently work and minister to ensure that we do our part to keep that church heading in the right direction.

But the fact that churches have sinful people in them who do sinful things is neither a reason to give up on God nor is it a reason to give up on church. We are no more allowed to do that than the people of Israel were to leave the Nation of Israel. We are never as strong alone as we are in the Body (Ecclesiastes 4:12 “a threefold cord is not quickly broken”) and God is with the assembled Body in a greater way than with individuals (Matthew 18:20 “where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”)

To separate from the assembled church makes us colder, not warmer for the Lord, it gives us less opportunity to minister not more, it separates us from the people with whom our spiritual gift(s) are to be used, and it disobeys the clear teaching of the Lord.

It seems that there are times when Jesus Christ is no more welcome in the church than we feel at times: Revelation 3:20 KJV “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” And yet, nowhere in the scriptures are we given permission to cease attending church. We may leave one for scriptural reasons, but we must find another in which to use our spiritual gift to “exhort one another, and so much more, as ye see the day approaching.”

Have you left a church for some reason that has left you angry or distrustful of the church? Are you shell-shocked? Are you wondering if you can ever find the strength, or the desire, to ever attend church again? Anyone who has ever been in your place understands. But there is no other choice if we are going to be obedient to the Father. The Christians who were members of the early churches, the churches to whom the apostles wrote strong letters, were not given the option of sitting it out until the Lord’s return…and neither are we.

One Plot, A Million Movies

Fri, 07 May 2021 21:11:47 GMT

Anyone who has watched three or more Hallmark movies, now knows the plot for every Hallmark movie that follows. A young woman leaves her high-pressure, big city career to travel back to her small hometown. On the way, her car breaks down and the man who operates the only wrecker service comes to help her. The tension between them is immediate and palpable. Their dislike for each other cuts through the air. At this point, there is one thing you can be sure of, these two will fall madly in love before the final credits roll.

As I was thinking about this, I thought how this does not even deserve to be called love—not when compared with God’s love. God’s love begins with His character and His choice, followed by His action.

John 3:16 KJV For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Deuteronomy 7:7-8 KJV The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: (8) But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

Romans 8:38-39 KJV For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, (39) Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

God’s agape love loves without thought of return. So, this is NOTHING like a Hallmark movie. And then I realized, that this is exactly like the beginning of a Hallmark movie. The tension between God and mankind is immediate and is palpable. An unrighteous sinner standing before the holy God.

For God to love you, or me, or any other human being is the most unlikely love combination ever imagined—the Holy God and the heinous sinner. The script of eternity teaches that God loves the unlovable, the chief of sinners. His enduring love for the prodigal, His forgiveness of the unpayable debt, His use of Peter after his string of failures, and His love for me are proof of His unlikely, yet enduring love.

The difference with the Hallmark movie is that God, in eternity past, chose to love me, to choose me to be His child, before the movie begun, even before the script was written. He chose to love me before I was born, even though He knew me and what an inconsistent life I would live even after knowing Him as Savior.

And God asks me to choose to love others—even though they may be the most despicable folks I know. It is not an emotion that is supposed to slowly overtake me as they prove themselves lovable. It is to be a choice that grows within me to become an action and then a multiplicity of actions.

I do not like the saying that says, “I love you even though I do not like you.” I hear God saying that I am the “apple of His eye”. That He sings over me. I hear Jesus saying that he wants to “gather His wayward children as a mother hen gathers her chicks to her breast.” He sets His affection on a grumbling, disobedient, bunch of people who never seem to get it right. He washes the feet of the disciples in the upper room—including both feet of His betrayer—Judas. I wonder if Jesus even spent a little extra time washing and wiping Judas’s feet, just to let him know that He loved him. That is love. “Like” is never mentioned. I think that when God loves us, that “liking us” never enters His mind or heart. He loves me—period. I am His.

I have heard many preachers say, especially on Mother’s Day, that a mother’s love is most like God’s love. But mothers, even the best of them, are not the standard for God. He says (Isaiah 49) that a mother may forget to nurse her baby, but He will never forget us. He says we are engraved on the palms of His hands.

He sings over me. He stands on the porch and yearns for the prodigal me to return. Other times, He goes out into the darkest night to seek me, the lost sheep, and bring me home. He is preparing a place for me to dwell with Him. He is coming back for me to take me to that place to be with Him—forever. That is love as God does it.

And my love is to be just as decisive and just as actionable as His love. And just maybe, if I begin to make an effort to love that way, other church members will begin to love that way too. And just maybe, here and now, in this life, the outside world would begin to notice that we, you and me, just have to be Christ’s disciples.

That would be a good thing.

John 13:34-35 KJV A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

I Would Have Pulled You Out

Fri, 07 May 2021 21:08:55 GMT

One of my worst nightmares (seriously) growing up was being caught in quicksand. It was not something I should have been too concerned about because I have lived my entire life in Northern Michigan on pretty high ground where I hardly ever read in the local newspaper about some hunter or mushroom picker being swallowed by quicksand.

We didn’t have television when I was young, but every so often we would visit a favorite uncle who did have a black and white set. Am I dating myself yet? And there was one program that ended up with a prison escapee trying to elude the police and he falls into quicksand. The show ends with his hat laying on top of the quicksand and he has been swallowed up. And to make sure that I didn’t forget the image, I saw the same show in reruns—twice. It was the cause of many nightmares.

Had I been that man, I would have wanted someone, anyone, even someone who would have said, “I told you not to go in there” to pull me out. So, the words, “I would have pulled you out, but…” would not have been what I wanted to hear. That “but” and the explanation that followed would seem pretty lame as the quicksand was nearing my chin.

Someone included these words by Kimberly Henderson on a Facebook post, and I include them here because they are so well said:

“I would have pulled Joseph out. Out of that pit. Out of that prison. Out of that pain. I would have cheated nations out of the one God would use to deliver them from famine.

I would have pulled David out. Out of Saul’s spear-throwing presence. Out of the caves he hid away in. Out of the pain of rejection. I would have cheated Israel out of a God-hearted king.

I would have pulled Esther out. Out of being snatched from her only family. Out of being placed in a position she never asked for. Out of the path of a vicious, power-hungry foe. I would have cheated a people out of the woman God would use to save their very lives.

I would have pulled Jesus off. Off of the cross. Off of the road that led to suffering and pain. Off of the path that would mean nakedness and beatings, nails, and thorns. I would have cheated the entire world out of a Savior. Out of salvation. Out of an eternity filled with no more suffering and no more pain.

And oh friend. I want to pull you out. I want to change your path. I want to stop your pain. But right now I know I would be wrong. I would be out of line. I would be cheating you and cheating the world out of so much good. Because God knows. He knows the good this pain will produce. He knows the beauty this hardship will grow. He’s watching over you and keeping you even in the midst of this. He’s promising you that you can trust Him. Even when it all feels like more than you can bear.

So instead of trying to pull you out, I’m lifting you up. I’m kneeling before the Father and I’m asking Him to give you strength. To give you hope. I’m asking Him to protect you and to move you when the time is right. I’m asking Him to help you stay prayerful and discerning. I’m asking Him how I can best love you, and be a help to you. I’m believing He’s going to use your life in powerful and beautiful ways. Ways that will leave your heart grateful and humbly thankful for this road you’ve been on.”

Kimberly Henderson Proverbs 31 Ministries

We all want to be pulled out of the quicksand of spiritual trials, but Joseph, and David, and Esther, would have been cheated out of such spiritual growth and ministry to God’s people if we had done so. And pulling Jesus down from the cross would have cheated the world out of the only Savior. Martin Luther King, Jr., a man who knew something about trials, said “there is a cross to bear before there is a crown to wear.”

My wife and I experienced a number of “black years” that radically changed us both—in some good ways, and in some not so good ways. A friend, a Christian counselor, who specialized in helping people who were struggling with a myriad of issues said, “I wish I had known; I would have helped you.” I told him that God did not want him to help me. I needed to experience the depths of that time, to “break me, mold me, fill me, use me” as the chorus says. I had sung that chorus hundreds of times and now God wanted to know if I meant it.

What if someone had thrown me a lifeline and I could have grabbed it? Would God’s plan for me (Jeremiah 29:11) been thwarted? Would I have grown? Would I have written?

This is not an excuse to ignore someone’s pain. But it is a challenge to pray first for guidance, to let the Lord help us to know whether to lift them out—or not. And if we are not to go to them, we should lift them up in prayer.

Psalms 119:71 KJV It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.

2 Corinthians 12:7-10 KJV And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. (8) For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. (9) And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. (10) Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

If you have been in a spiritual wilderness for more years than you wish to count, I am saying, through a heart that aches for your healing, that God is just as faithful to His children today as He was to the Psalmist or to the Apostle Paul. He has a purpose in your trial. Look to Him and in His Word for the answer.

Getting In Shape

Sat, 01 May 2021 21:15:25 GMT

I decided that I wanted to get in better physical condition before my next birthday. I enjoy walking in the woods so thought that would be the place to start. My favorite place to walk is at the Wildwood Cross Country Ski Trails. I have explored that area with my father and other family members since I was 12 years old, so it has many warm memories as well as a place for me to enjoy the out of doors.

At my next birthday, my physical self will register 74 years of age. I do however, have a 20-year-old (yo) that co-habits with my aged self. My aged body creaks and groans when I even think about exercise but my 20 yo self is quite convinced that we can still do what we did 50+ years ago.

If one is going to take on a challenge like this, it is necessary to pick a starting date, otherwise the birthday comes and goes and nothing was ever done. I chose Saturday, May First, the year of our Lord, 2021 as the kick-off date. I dutifully drove to the West parking lot to begin my hike. On the way there, my 20 yo self suggested that it was a long way to drive to only bite off a small section of trail. My aged self suggested waiting to see how things went before committing to the 8-mile loop.

We started down the trail. My 20 yo self said, “Let’s run.” My aged self said, “We are.” It all kind of went down hill from there. Not the trail mind you. That was mountainous terrain, all of it uphill. But my two selves were not in agreement as to the plan for the day or how it was progressing.

There are four stages of exercise that most of you will recognize. There are runners, there are joggers, there are walkers…and there are trudgers. I would have to say my exercise style fit neatly into the latter designation.

We arrived at the first intersection, slightly out of breath and sweating profusely (not glowing, not perspiring, we were sweating). This is where the runner (trudger in my case) must choose between the 4-mile loop and the 5-mile loop. The decision had already been made on the way out that we would start with the 4-mile loop and work up. But then, my aged self had a really quality idea—let’s just turn around and go back. And we did—creating of our own accord a 2-mile loop which, as fate would have it, was all uphill as well.

On the way back to town, I decided that I had made one large error in my planning for getting in shape. I waited until May 1 to begin my training regimen…and May 4 is my birthday. I think I should have started days sooner.

It reminds me of the Christian who is blindsided by the trials of life. Jesus told His disciples that “in this world, you WILL have tribulations.” He did not say “maybe” or “possibly”. He said “will”. And the Christians who have less difficulty with those tribulations are those who are grounded in the Word, who wear the armor of God, who know His promises, and who trust He will keep them no matter what.

Some of us however, choose to wait until the tribulations come before we get in spiritual shape. We don’t read the Word, we don’t know His promises, we don’t wear the armor, and our trust muscles are weak. We believe that we will always have time to read the Word and for prayer…tomorrow. And when the tribulations come, we are as out of spiritual shape as my aged self’s physical shape.

There is an old Chinese proverb that says, “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second-best time is now.” The best time to begin exercising our spiritual muscles was 20 years ago, the second-best time is today. You won’t be sorry—neither will I.

How Much Can The Locusts Eat?

Wed, 28 Apr 2021 21:24:26 GMT

Joel 2:25 KJV And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpillar, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you.

Every so often my mind wanders back to a bygone time. Some days that time seems like only yesterday and other times, it seems so far away I wonder if it really ever existed at all. Was it all only a dream? Or a nightmare?

There we were, my wife and me, two twenty-somethings living the dream. It may not have been your dream, but it was ours. I worked all day to come home to the wife and kids in the late afternoon. We would eat supper and then go for a ride in our car. The two of us with our two kids in our 1969 Ford two-door Fairlane with the 8-track tape player (neatly installed under the dash by yours truly) blaring Southern Gospel songs: the Gaither Trio, the Speer Family, and Henry and Hazel Slaughter. Ruth helped on the alto parts and I helped with the bass. The kids sang along where they could because they had heard all the songs hundreds of times before.

No restrictive car seats (or mandatory seatbelts) and with the windows rolled down (because air-conditioning was a luxury no one gave much thought to in 1969). Life was good and hitting on all eight cylinders. That is an old codger’s way of saying that life was really good. Family was good, church was good, job was good, finances were good…life was good.

If you were to ask either of us if anything, ever, could destroy even a portion of this “good” we would have scoffed. Even politics and politicians seemed to be palatable back in the day.

But…

The Christian School movement caused us to move our now three kids to a two-year-old Christian school with leadership that had never led much of anything, let alone God’s school. Schooling became a struggle that lasted from then until 13 years later when our last child graduated.

We moved to a different church, believing we were doing God’s work that instead devolved into a nasty church split. What we thought was to be a reconciliation became new unforgiveness piled on top of old anger and bitterness and apathy and leftover unforgiveness from years before.

The job which I had grown up in and loved was hanging by a thread. One strong-willed board member took it as his calling in life to make a name for himself at my expense. I lived from meeting to meeting and day to day with the expectation that I could be fired at any time.

Our finances, which we never had to give a second thought to, now needed a third, fourth and fifth thought. We were sliding steadily backwards financially. We had always tithed and more since we were pre-teens, but the holes in our pockets were real, and they were growing.

My health, while never perfect, became more difficult for me to live with and I became more difficult for my wife to understand—and to live with.

I am not a crier—but I learned what it meant to mourn over what I had lost, the tangible things I could hold in my hands and the dreams I slowly lost hope in. Dreams, once cherished, now became painful to even think about and were relegated to the growing trash heap that seemed to be my life.

Our marriage vows, taken as seriously as a naïve 20-year-old boy could take them, involved that plagued phrase “for better or worse.” Neither one of us knew that “better” had an evil twin named “worse” when we glibly mouthed the words, “I do” on that Friday night in front of family, the preacher, and God. We, over time, learned more about that twin than we ever wanted.

Scripture, which had been something to teach, or to hear preached, or to argue about now, became like really dry dust. And God was silent. And prayers became only obligatory because it seemed as though no one heard…and if they heard, they did not care.

I did not know who I was anymore. Friends turned their backs on us, some of them stabbed us in ours. Pastors lied about us and to us. Some friends we had taken into confidence twisted our words to attack us in church meetings.

Family, close-knit, loving, family fell apart. Some dear loved ones died far too soon. Some family could not understand what was wrong and gave up on us. Some moved on with their lives, leaving us behind.

Did we do everything right? Absolutely not. It seemed as though our lives were like looking out the porthole of a sinking ship as the water rose steadily to finally cover the entire porthole. We were bystanders, watching a movie of our lives being destroyed and we could not stop or rewind the projector.

I drove my deceased father’s pickup truck because I had to sell my truck to pay bills. His truck had a cassette player, and I would drive around the roads at my place of work and play one song over and over. It was Steve and Maria Gardner’s song: “Nothing will happen to me today, nothing good, nothing bad. Nothing will happen to me today, without passing through my Father’s hand.” I would try to sing along with them, but it was hard to sing with the tears streaming down my face and my jaw quivering.

I clung to the Scripture, “The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.” It was the only verse in either Testament that brought any comfort.

The poor health continued. The financial woes continued. Church continued to pile affliction upon affliction. The trials at work continued to mount. Family continued to fall apart. And our marriage continued only because of a vow, “for better or worse, until death do us part.” Neither one of us could help ourselves, we certainly could not help each other.

That 1969 Ford Fairlane with the 8-track pumping out gospel songs and us singing and laughing—and loving—was a fading memory of some distant time, maybe of some other family living long ago in Perfectville. It could not have been us.

I used to say that I would not wish those years on my worst enemy, but I would not trade them for the world. That was a stupid thing to say. I miss the Ford Fairlane days. I miss family and friends and laughing and loving. The loss is palpable, it is real, it is ever present.

Did the loss yield good? Yes. A new ministry. A new depth of soul. God worked in both of us. We are more like Him because of all those losses. But there is an emptiness that remains, the locusts have eaten and the years they have taken from us have not been restored yet. And here we are. We are on the path from somewhere back there to somewhere up there. We cannot go back to a world that no longer exists. We do not fit in well here and now. And the path ahead, while promised by God Himself, is seen only through a glass darkly.

When I close my eyes, I can still hear Steve and Maria sing, “nothing will happen to me today…without passing through my Father’s hand.” And their words are still true. We live, not in the past, but we live in the promise of God for today and for tomorrow—that He does indeed work ALL things for good, even though we may not know that good in this life.

I do not pretend to compare our losses with Job, or Joseph, or Paul, or yours. Some of you have experienced so much more loss than we have ever known. Some of you are living in the murky depths of that loss right now. Your trials may be doubly hard—but God’s grace is doubly sufficient for today and each of your tomorrows. There is an inner confidence that comes as His Spirit communes with our spirit, that God is still on heaven’s throne and nothing, ever, comes into our life without passing through His hands and His heart. We may not see the path ahead, but He does, and He walks it with us.

The book of Job opens with an interesting, but scary, scene. It is assuring in that we see Satan the Tempter, one on One with God the Father. God is in control of that scene just as He is in control of every scene throughout eternity. Satan is a force, but he is not in control. The scene with Job is scary because in some other meeting, in another time, God may look at Satan and say, “Have you considered My servant, Karl?” While there may be some honor there, the thought of being tested as Job was holds no allure for me. It reminds me of yet another scene, this time in the New Testament, when Jesus tells Peter that Satan had requested him. Rather than Jesus denying Satan’s request, the Advocate prays that Peter will stand firm. Jesus is not oblivious to my hard times; He is praying for me.

Maybe I am better off not knowing that God allows these trials in my life. Why would He allow them? If He is love? If His benefits are peace and joy? If He wants only what is best for me?

The question hangs there, is God in control and is He good?

Job, after losing everything that mattered to him, including his health, answers:
Job 42:5-6 KJV I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. (6) Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.
Asaph, after seeing that the ungodly seemed to have more of life’s good than he did, answers:
Psalms 73:17 KJV Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end. Psalms 73:23-25 KJV Nevertheless I am continually with thee: thou hast holden me by my right hand. (24) Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. (25) Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee.
The Psalmist, faced with the question, why do good people face trials, answers:
Psalms 119:71 KJV It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.
Paul, while in prison and praying for relief from some added affliction, answers:
2 Corinthians 12:9-10 KJV And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. (10) Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
James, knowing the trials that many Christians will face, answers:
James 1:2-3 KJV My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; (3) Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
Stephen, being stoned to death for his faith, answers as he looks up into heaven and sees the Father:
Acts 7:55-56 KJV But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, (56) And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.
Habakkuk, after questioning God, answers:
Habakkuk 3:17-19 KJV Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: (18) Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. (19) The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments.
Those in Hebrews Hall of Faith, being put to death for being a Christian, answer:
Hebrews 11:36-39 KJV And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: (37) They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (38) (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. (39) And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:
Jesus, walking towards His death, answers:
Hebrews 12:2 KJV Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

The question for me, is, how will I answer? Will I say, “Surely, a lot of so-called friends meant it for evil, but God meant it for good—and I thank Him for it”? Will I “count it all joy”? Or will I live in the present while longing for the past?

We can, while in Joseph’s prison, with Job’s sores, with Paul’s thorn, and Asaph’s doubts, trust in God through the promises in His Word. Our circumstances make the promises no less true. The God of truth and grace, who promised throughout Scripture to never leave us nor forsake us, has not forgotten to keep a single one of His promises. Nor will He…ever! And no thing, no good thing, nor bad thing, will enter my life today, without passing through my Father’s hand. That is His promise.

Grammar

Wed, 28 Apr 2021 21:18:59 GMT

I have a love/hate relationship with those who are gifted in grammar. In 2008, I was part of a group writing a history book of some important people buried in Greenwood Cemetery. A relative of one of the families we were writing about asked to see the draft copy before we printed the book. After reading about two sentences, she saw a need. In her subtle, yet direct way she suggested it might be good if she cleaned up some of my grammar. I agreed without hesitation. After all, how many errors could there be? (I had graduated high school, partly because Mrs. Inglis, my English teacher, saw no reason to hold me back in some hope that diagramming sentences would somehow drift into my consciousness, sub or otherwise.) After she went through the draft copy, there were more red pencil marks in the books than words it seemed. And after I corrected all of those, she went through it again with a whole new box of red pencils. I was thankful for her help and have used someone gifted in grammar etiquette for each of the books we have published at Greenwood since.

In Bible translation, there are “word for word” translations and “thought for thought” translations. Obviously, some translations focus on getting the words right even if the translation is not as readable as some would like. And others focus on getting the thought right, even if some words that are substituted may not be technically correct.

I took a semester of typing when I was in high school. I learned at that time that “everyone” put two spaces between sentences. Now, Microsoft and some of my friends have decided that one space is correct. It has been a few years (I started on a manual typewriter) since I took that typing class and I don’t think my fingers will allow me to do just one space. My rule is, if you are going to make a rule, then stick with it. No changing in mid-stream. And that is a rule that I stick to without fail…most of the time.

I am asking you to read these blogs as a “thought for thought” exercise without getting hung up on every grammar error I make. I promise to do better than Facebook grammar with its problems with “your” and “you’re”, “there” and “their”, etc. As an observation, no two grammarians agree on every jot or tittle either. I figure that if they cannot agree, then my life is way too short to seek to please everyone and feel quite proud of myself if I please anyone.

I say these things to remind you to read my words as best possible, ignore my grammatical mistakes, and together we can discuss what God wants to do in our lives. And no, it is not His calling on my life that I be a better grammarian. I have peeps for that.

Famous Last Words

Mon, 26 Apr 2021 21:33:51 GMT

Many years ago, my brother faced a severe medical challenge. By the time my sister, myself, and our spouses, made the 180-mile trip to the hospital, he was hooked up to just about every machine the hospital owned. As we walked into his room, he opened his eyes and said in a very weak voice, “Well, this can’t be heaven, Karl is here.”

We stayed for a few minutes, trying to carry on a conversation but mainly trying to let him know that we loved him. More words were said before we left to begin the trek back home, but those words that this can’t be heaven are the only ones I remember. As far as I am concerned, those were Joe’s last words to me, and they bring a smile to my face every time I think of them. It is Crawford humor. It was a sign that everything was going to be alright. I made more trips to Grand Rapids to visit him, to stand in his hospital room and watch the machines keep his body alive, until they couldn’t anymore, but he never spoke to me again. His children graciously allowed my wife and I to be present when Joe breathed his last breath here on earth and we sang songs about the faithfulness of God. Joe was right, the ICU ward of Spectrum Hospital was not heaven, but he saw the real thing that day as he moved from one land to the next.

My wife’s mom, one of the godliest women you could ever know, struggled with her salvation for fifty plus years. I knew her for 37 of those years and she was the least likely person to have to question her salvation. My wife and I stood near as she lay in her hospital bed and said, “I was reading First John this afternoon and John said, “these things I have written that you may know your salvation is sure…and I think he wrote those words because there were others that wondered about their salvation. I don’t wonder anymore, now I know for sure.” We said other things before we left her room with the promise we would be back…but the phone call came only a few hours later from the hospital that she had only minutes left to live. We rushed to be with her, but she never spoke another word to us and her last words, in my mind, were “I don’t wonder anymore, now I know for sure.” It was her way of saying that everything was going to be alright. Only hours after she spoke them, her knowledge proved true as she met her Savior face to face.

A few years later, my mother faced her own medical trauma. The doctor asked her if she wanted an operation that might prolong her life but also could end it in surgery. She, at age 94 and 364 days, did not want surgery, she was ready to go home. Later that afternoon, spending some time alone with her in her room as she drifted in and out of consciousness, I told her that I loved her and she said, “I will be looking for you.” She knew she was on her way to her new home and that someday I would join her there. Those were her last words, her way of saying that everything was going to be alright. And it was. Two days later, the day after she turned 95, she slipped away from her hospital room on the shores of Little Traverse Bay to see Jesus on heaven’s shores.

At my mother’s funeral, I read the following last words of famous people:

How were the receipts today at Madison Square Garden? P. T. Barnum, entrepreneur, d. 1891
Before slipping into a coma, Winston Churchill said “I’m bored with it all.” He died 9 days later. Winston Churchill, statesman, d. January 24, 1965
All my possessions for a moment of time. Elizabeth I, Queen of England, d. 1603
Codeine…bourbon. Tallulah Bankhead, actress, d. December 12, 1968
Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit. From Luke 23:46, Jesus Christ
Nothing matters. Nothing matters. Louis B. Mayer, film producer, d. October 29, 1957
Lord help my poor soul. Edgar Allan Poe, writer, d. October 7, 1849
Don’t let it end like this. Tell them I said something. Pancho Villa, Mexican revolutionary, d. 1923
“I’ll be looking for you.” Ida Crawford, d. January 27, 2004

Of all the famous last words, only the words of Jesus and Ida Crawford let us know that everything is going to be alright.

This prompts me to wonder, if I were lying in a hospital bed with somber nurses tending a multitude of machines, what words would I have to say? Would I be concerned with the past? Would I try to tie up loose ends? Would I apologize to my family for all my failures? Or would I be about the business of letting anyone know who would listen, everyone within earshot, that everything was going to be alright? I pray it will be the latter. Because it will be alright.

I spent many years questioning my salvation, just like my mother-in-law. I will meet her there and we will share a smile because our salvation is not dependent on us, but on the precious work of Jesus Christ. I will look for my mother and she and I will both experience heaven’s healing in all sorts of ways. I will find my brother and tell him he was right about that hospital bed in Grand Rapids, it most certainly was not heaven. But most of all, I will fall at my Savior’s feet in worship, the One who made it alright.

What about you?

Wrestling in The Streets

Mon, 26 Apr 2021 21:27:28 GMT

I spent an hour in District Court this morning, not as a participant thankfully but as an observer. I was interested in a case dealing with a mentally challenged young man who inserted himself unknowingly into my life a few months ago. He has struggled with this affliction for many years, been in and out of trouble with the law and society and in and out of mental institutions. Because the proceedings did not start on time I had time to think…and to pray. I felt so badly for the young man, unidentified to me at that point, but likely in the room. I had been told by a police officer that his family had given up on him, unable to control the wide ranges of behavior and unable to deal with the fallout of his destructive actions. Who can blame them?

I watched the attorneys, some of whom I knew, discuss how the legal system should deal with some person who was sitting five feet away from them as if they were a nameless chit in the legal system—he who wins the most chits is the most respected attorney. I watched as an attorney, in a suit he must have slept in for weeks, sat down in front of me and spoke to a young man. I was close enough to pick up bits and pieces of the conversation. The young man spoke in a mumbling voice with thoughts that rambled aimlessly but he assured the attorney that he was going to attend college soon.

I prayed for the young man whom I was there to see as well as the others in the room around me. Each of them was there because of some disagreement with society. It was obvious that this was not the place to come though if you want help. The legal “i’s” and “t’s” may be taken care of in decency and in order, but will anyone walk out of this courtroom, or any courtroom, a better person? Will they walk out knowing that someone, that anyone loves them? I was struck by Paul’s words, “we wrestle not against flesh and blood…” I was struck by how little positive affect the court system can have on the “least of these.”

I wondered what Jesus would have done had He been sitting in my place today? The dregs of society loved to be around Jesus. He was able to show them love and grace mixed with truth when no one else would. Jesus would have known about the “powers and principalities” we wrestle with and He would have known that the court had no power over them.

I went to court today disappointed with the failure of the system to do what is necessary to help a disturbed young man. I came away with the realization that they have no power to help, only to maintain some hoped for balance in the status quo.

It may seem like a strange leap but this reminded me of our present (2016) political climate. This election is not about Hillary and The Donald, it is about powers and principalities. And, just as in the small courtroom in a small town in Northern Michigan, the political system has no power over the evil that surrounds us. The system, whether it is the court system or the political system, does not wrestle with Satan and his minions, Paul says that “we” do that. We are the answer, not The Donald, not Hillary, not Paul Ryan or Harry Reed nor the Judge in Emmet County District Court. We are the ones who wrestle with, or are supposed to be wrestling with, the “rulers of the darkness of this world.” We are to be Jesus, waging war in a battle that we, in our strength, cannot win.

The young man, the one mumbling about going to college, the skinhead with the hoodie, the one sitting directly in front of me, was the one I was there to see today. He did not look evil, he looked like a lot of other young men we would pass on the street every day. He reminded me that today, and every day, I am to buckle on the armor of God and take Jesus to the streets. I am to show the least of these grace and love with a healthy mixture of truth—Just like Jesus did. After all, He is the only answer.

This was written a few years ago, but it reminds me that we are in a battle that is way over our heads. It reminds me to pray for that young man. He was sent off to a psychiatric hospital following those proceedings, but I don’t know where he is now. It reminds me to pray for his parents, for his mom who worries that her son, the one she carried in her womb, may harm himself or someone else, and for his dad who had to choose between protecting his wife and asking his son to not come back home again. The court system has long since moved on from that young man’s hearing…but I can still pray.

Ephesians 6:10-13 KJV Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. (11) Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. (12) For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. (13) Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

What Is My Purpose?

Tue, 23 Mar 2021 21:43:37 GMT

I believe that is a question that God expects us to ask and answer. I have some friends who have spent their life driven to reach certain goals that they believe God has called them to. I also know some folk that seem to drift through life as a cork on a lake, never really imagining that the Lord has called them to anything more than getting from birth to death as easily as possible.

I think it is fair that we should ask ourselves, what is my purpose here on this planet we call earth? If you are a born-again child of God, do you have a purpose other than taking up space and recycling air? In those days when I am beating myself up for some reason, I claim my best claim to fame is to be a bad example. i.e., A mother saying to her son, “You don’t want to grow up to be like Mr. Crawford…do you!?!” At which point the child, realizing the gravity of their actions, apologizes to his mother and promises never, ever, to act like that again.

Assuming for a minute that God has some other purpose for my life, the question would be, what is it? I guess if I had to pin down a direction for where I am headed with this blog, at least initially, would be to answer that question—what is my purpose and how do I live it out in this life today?

I think a good place to start is with the greatest commandment. You remember when Jesus was asked to name the greatest commandment in all the Scriptures? He said we are to love the Lord our God with our Alls.

Mark 12:28-31 KJV And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all (29) And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: (30) And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. (31) And the second is like, namely this, thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

If we love Him with each of the alls, there is not much of our life uncovered by that imperative. In fact, I am not sure what would be left. If I commit to giving Him my heart, soul, mind and strength, there is nothing left for me. My heart will be towards Him, not my possessions. My mind will be towards Him, not what I want for me. My soul will be grounded in Him. My strength, my force, my output, will be focused on Him.

One of my favorite verses, because it convicts me, not because I always live it is:

1 Corinthians 10:31 KJV Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

And another:

Colossians 3:17 KJV And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

The key word there is “whatsoever.” Whatsoever you do, do it in God’s name. Whatsoever you do, do for His glory.

Matthew Poole, a 19th century theologian said:

And whatsoever ye do: here the apostle gives a universal direction how in every capacity, both personal and relative, in every motion, a Christian may do all so as to find acceptance with God. In word or deed; and that is in his expressions and actings, viz. comprehending his internal as well as external operations; his reasonings and resolutions within, as well as his motions without; the thoughts of his heart, as well as the words of his tongue and the works of his hand; to take care as much as possible that all be in the name of the Lord Jesus: elsewhere writing the same thing, the apostle adds Christ, That is loving Him with our Alls. Not just loving Him for a little on Sunday morning as we watch an online service in our pajamas. Not just loving Him in person at church. Not just loving Him in our devotions or when we get a raise at work. But loving Him, serving Him, glorifying Him with our Alls – all of me all of the time. All of you, all of the time. 1

So, the questions are:

Is this true? In my very first blog have I totally misrepresented Scripture?
If it is true, is it doable?
If it is doable, do you, do I, do it?

Do you live by the words of I Corinthians, “whether you eat or drink” two of the very most basics of daily life, do you take the time to think, is this for God’s glory? Or mine?

Do you live by the words of Colossians and do “all (another “all” word) in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ?”

Last question. If we don’t live by those two verses, can we say that we love Him with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength? If we don’t live by those two verses, are not we loving our self more than Him?

I would love to hear from you. I would love for you and me to grow to be more like our Blessed Savior together.

____

1 Poole, M. (1853). Annotations upon the Holy Bible (Vol. 3, p. 726). New York: Robert Carter and Brothers.