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Friday, January 31, 2014

A simper prayer, a humble heart and a openness to God is all you need to have assurance.




Dear Jesus, I know I'am a sinner and that you died for my sin's. I know that nothing I can do in this life can earn me a place in heaven because you died in my place. I open the door to my heart and invite you in to be with me all the days of my life. I know that no matter what happens with my life I have the assurance of salvation because of what you did on the cross for me. Thank you Jesus for the free gift of salvation.

Some of us remember saying a similar prayer when we were just mere kids while laying in bed with our little hands folded responding to mom or dad's question 'if we wanted to accept Jesus into our hearts'. Still some have responded to this prayer in a Sunday school class, while playing with a friend who was a Christian, or when difficult times happen. Some may have had a 'George Bailey experience where out of the our desperate pleas for help we ask Jesus to save us from the mess we made. 

Alone and bewildered we cry out to God. With tears streaming down our faces we throw up our hands and commit our lives to God by acknowledging that there is nothing we can do to save ourselves. God responds best to us when he has our undivided attention.  No voices whispering to us  there is no God, or haven't you read Stephen Hawkin's scientific arguments why it is foolish to follow God? 

Away from the maddening crowd God does his greatest work. Away from the madness God has your complete attention. Just you and God and he reminds you that he finished the need for us to make ritual sacrifices for our sin. "It is finished" were the words of our Lord when he took his last breath on the cross. One moment he was dead and the next moment when the stone was rolled away from the tomb which he laid his body was gone and he was in heaven.

The decision we make to Jesus can for some be like that insurance policy we conveniently tuck away in some file, hoping to never have to use it. For some we make promises to God that after we have accomplished things in our lives we would  come back to God and listen to what he has to say to us. 

 For others the decision we make to accept Jesus evolves into a personal relationship we nurture with him all the days of our lives.  It is the latter God truly wants for each of us. It is the latter that fills our hearts with the beauty of God's word. It is the latter that brings us into contact with others who equally love the  Lord as much as we do and it is the latter that gives us the peace of mind that no matter what storm we encounter in this life He is there to guide us.

A simple prayer, a humble heart and a openness with allowing God come and change you is all you need to make that a reality.  In my own storm in 2007 I certainly found this to be true!

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

God's greatest gift to us is the power to forgive one another for the pain we bring into our lives


Isaiah 1:18 “Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.

Inside each of us is the capacity to want to play god. To be in control of all we do and to be responsible for the influences on others makes us feel good and ultimately gives us a sense of accomplishment. Playing god is taught to us throughout our educational years.  It begins with sending our child to public school where the mere mention of God is strictly forbidden. After all, we wouldn't want to 'offend' anyone.   This god complex evolves into stubbornness and a narcissistic thinking that 'I am totally self sufficient and do not need anybody to depend on to succeed in this life. The god complex grows at a exponentially high rate of speed in us like a bullet train on it's way to Tokyo, Japan.

When a loved one dies our god complex inside tries to wrap it's handle around the painful grief process without success. When our loved one dies through a sudden set of circumstances it becomes difficult to resolve it on our own. Oh, we try because of our god complex inside.  We lash out in anger at the system, whatever that system may be, that cause the tragic set of circumstances that caused our loved one to die. We search for trial lawyers in the yellow pages. We gather facts that will help us meet with the trial lawyers.  We vacillate between anger and depression as we try to seek retribution for our loss. We rock ourselves back and forth on the floor while clutching our loved ones article of clothing. Our cognitive ability to function at work declines and if we're honest with ourselves 'we're simply not the same people we before the loss'. Forgiveness is a foreign word to those who have the god complex. If we continue to travel this road we take up vices like smoking and drinking because those things bring comfort to our god complex. We begin to call in sick at work because of our anxieties caused by our unforgiveness.

It wasn't until I decided to trust God and hand him over the messes my god complex had made of my grief and loss that God truly helped me to see the power of forgiveness and how this would bring healing into my life.  God reminded me, for example, that He understood what it was like to lose a child.  He reminded me He did so willingly because it meant all of us can see the power of forgiveness in our lives.  If you have read my blogs you will know that God did some amazing things in my life to let me know how much He loves me and how much He cares for me.  Best of all He showed me through God orchestrated events the power of forgiveness and the refreshing aroma forgiveness it brought to me once I  turned to God with the unchangeable things in my life.  This same fresh smelling aroma of forgiveness is available to all who cry out to God and invite Jesus to come into their life and take control of their unchangeable circumstances.

I highly recommend this movie to everyone who finds themselves unable or unwilling to forgive the unforgivable. Whether it is outside circumstances, people who might have hurt you, or in my case a perfect storm of events that caused my little girl's sudden death God wants to take all of those hurts that have kept you from moving forward and replace it with a fresh aroma of Christ love that will bring you healing. The next time a tear comes to your eye as you painfully remember your loved one remember that God made it possible for all of us to experience the place of heaven much like our love one is experiencing right now. Replacing your god complex for truly knowing God means we have a new mission in life. A mission of telling people the good news and letting them know that Christ wants to be there for them when the unthinkable happens in their life.


Wednesday, January 22, 2014

We all love a good over comers story!


"Jesus looked at them and said, 'With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.'"(Matthew 19:26, NIV)

We all love a good over comers story!


In less than two weeks the NFL will stage the most watched televised sporting event the world has ever seen, the Super bowl.  No doubt we will hear stories of how players overcame things in their life to be on their prospective teams. Stories of drug addictions, stories of endless failures and stories about God finally reaching their souls and turning their lives around all make great news room fodder because after all we all love over comers.

In Minnesota we are state dedicated to the over comers. A state filled with treatment centers galore because we offer people opportunities to turn their lives around.  We have become so effective helping over comers that it is the reason why people traveled to the frozen tundra just so they can write their own over comers story.  There is a reason why celebrities will travel to Hazelden for chemical dependency rehabilitation and why people will come from far reaching places to participate in medical treatment at the Mayo Clinic.  We simply have become very effective in helping people overcome whatever ails them..

Grief is an area God uses to help people write their own over comers story.  God provided a way simply by offering his son, Jesus, as the ultimate sacrifice, to finally take away the sting of death.  God gave us hope by revealing to us His ultimate plan of a heavenly homecoming.  Though the sting of death may hurt for a little while He reveals to us that if we just lean on him, like a good shepherd leads his flock and allow him to guide us in the grief process that we too will have a over comers story.


One area Minnesota has never had success on the grand stage has been the Super bowl. Our friends from Wisconsin love to constantly remind us of this fact. One day, though, I believe our Vikings will be victorious even on this stage. Why? Simply because we all love a over comers story!

Sunday, January 19, 2014

The Cornerstone of faith


19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. Ephesians 2: 19-22

I love architecture and at one point in my life my goal was to study architectural drafting in college. I love drawing and often would draw elaborate city scapes when I should have been studying.  I would draw the buildings of my imaginary city in three dimensional and as one piece of paper filled up I would attached another one and continue my city by drawing parks, homes, shopping center, freeways, lakes and more buildings.  I would continue this until I had12 sheets of paper all scotched tape together. I often told myself that had God not called me in the direction I am in I would have been very happy being a city planner.

I love architecture for it's amazing beauty.  Each building has it's own cornerstone and on that cornerstone is the date when it was completed. God reminds us through his word that we also have a cornerstone; a reminder that God is there for each of us who choose to make it their cornerstone. On my life's cornerstone the year 1974 was etched prominently on it as a reminder that it was the year I chose to follow Christ.

Sometimes while we are going through difficult and painful times the only thing we can do is look back at our life to the day we made Christ our cornerstone.  By looking back to our cornerstone we are reminded that Christ is walking with us through the storms of this life and that he would never leave us. A verse from Romans 8:38-39 reminds us, 'For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[a] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.'


Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Tell your story of God's faithfulness



James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings. Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. James 1:1-27


No one that I am aware of desires to go through painfully difficult times. After all we live in a society that thrives on good feelings, good friends, and good times. Pain and suffering shouldn't be part of that equation. Sigh... What is a person to do when suddenly they find themselves in the midst of calamities and tragic situations? Especially, when they look around them and see their friends continue to experience good feelings, good friends and good times? It is as though they had been placed on a cruise of mourning and taken to a deserted island where they live alone in the midst of their pain. A place where no one else lives. A place that time has forgotten.

God had other plans for you. He reminds you that 'He will make all things new again'. He reminds you that your life has not ended, but He has a plan for you. You may not know it at the time of your sudden thrust into your pain and suffering, but God is writing your story. He is preparing you for the day when you will be a useful instrument to reach those, like you, are just entering their own pain. Like a soldier being prepared for battle God is going to prepare you to reach others in pain.

Alas, when you have reached a certain point of healing God will reveal his story to you. You will be ready to reach others to show them that it is possible to recover from one's pain and suffering. You will remind them how God had been there for you every step of the way and how the good shepherd, Jesus Christ, walked every painful step with you. You will remind them that when life on earth comes to a mighty conclusion Jesus will be ready to welcome you home.

You have a story that continues to be written by God. Just as our loved ones are experiencing the most incredible sensory experience of being in heaven God is going to use your story to bring others without hope into the loving arms of the Savior!
















Monday, January 13, 2014

The most poetic line from last night's episode of Downton Abbey

The Most meaningful Line from last night’s episode of Downton Abbey worth staying up watching




Even if I go through the deepest darkness, I will not be afraid, Lord, for you are with me. Your 
shepherd’s rod and staff protect me. Psalm 23:4

Ending a good day of moving our son back into his dorm we decided to  watch last night’s episode of Downton Abbey.  Actually, my wife was going to watch it regardless and I had to decide if I would trade in my man card and watch it with her, or do something else to occupy my time. I chose to watch it with her and to be perfectly honest I was glad I did.

It didn’t take long watching before the most honest and poetic line of the show appeared. In this episode, Lady Mary who is grieving the loss of her husband, Matthew, uttered the line that all of us who grieve can relate too. Her line and I am paraphrasing it goes like this: “ I am not sure who I miss more, my loved one who died, or the person I was before my sorrow”.  To those who haven’t suffered a significant loss that line likely fell on deaf ears, but those who have that line hit us between the eyes.

That is probably the most painful part of grieving a loss. You simply become someone you never intended to be. Tears flow easily as thoughts of your loved one come to the surface and smiles are harder to make.  Alas, when the rubber meets the road this is where faith comes in.  Faith really works best when we are going through tough and painful times, not necessarily when life is good and the barnyards are being filled.

When sorrow surfaces in our life sometimes the only thing we can do is to be silent until we hear the voice of the Lord. Sometimes the only thing we can do is place one foot in front of the other foot and keep moving forward Sabbath after each Sabbath.  Sometimes we have to remind ourselves that our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, is also walking this journey with us and sometimes we have to remind ourselves from the lives of other people who have been there that it is possible to recover from the sorrow of a loved one and ‘yes there will be a day where we will once again smile and laugh again.. 

Finally, I am reminded with this image of a mountain climber. He is grudgingly climbing with all of his might and energy, sweating as he goes. He pauses every now and then to hydrate himself before continuing on his quest for this mountain.  He chooses to look ahead  and not behind, unless he desires to lose his equilibrium. He presses on with no desire to quit until he reaches the very pinnacle which literally takes his breath away when he sees the most incredible panoramic view that would not have seen if he can quit before reaching that spot.  He realized that all of that pain, all of those tired muscles was worth it to view the one thing that would give him the opportunity to smile.

Like the mountain climber a person in sorrow can reach the conclusion of their grief simply by pressing on through the pain on one's grief, through the tears and they will know they have reached recovery when that one moment comes and they are able to laugh and enjoy life once again.   If we set ourselves on the end goal of our grief and keep moving forward and trusting God that He knows what he is doing we will come out stronger and more resilient than when we first entered that sorrow.

Thursday, January 9, 2014

The truth about Scientology as told by L Ron Hubbard's great grandson


And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. John 8:32



My relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ is said to be the most significant relationship in my life. Spending time in God's word when life was going good helped plant my feet on solid ground so when the winds blew and the waves were about to push me over I knew that my Savior would prevent me from falling over. There has been many storms in my life, but nothing as significant as the storm that caused my 10 year old daughter's untimely death following her successful surgery in 2007; a surgery that was meant to help improve the quality of her life I often thank my living Savior for coming in my life that spring of 1974 and changing me from the inside out.

As I write these words I am reminded that there are many people who for some unknown reason have either decided to walk their own path in life without any faith commitment, or they are following other foreign and strange Eastern practices that are nothing more than superstition. L Ron Hubbard was such a man. A man who chose to invent a religion. A man who was able to win converts over to his cause and build a massive money making venture.

The man you are about to hear is the great grandson of L Ron Hubbard. He was raised as a Baptist Christian and he saw the darkness and evil that flows out of the Church of Scientology. As you listen to this man's message please remember that it actually takes more faith to believe the things that flow out of his invention of Scientology than it does in believing the time tested historical record we have come to know as the Bible. After you listen to this man's message you just may want to read the first four chapters of the New Testament gospels better known as Matthew, Mark, Luke and John which tells us about this living Savior we know as Jesus Christ.

It was my personal relationship with Christ that enable me to survive a very painful grief journey of losing my daughter. It is my sincerest hope that you will lean on to Jesus in the dark days of whatever journey you may be on.

Saturday, January 4, 2014

Think it's cold? This is just the opening act...







Proverbs 24:12
12 Don’t excuse yourself by saying, “Look, we didn’t know.” For God understands all hearts, and he sees you.

In Minnesota and the rest of the upper Midwest we are going to experience lows like we haven't experience is a long time. Right now it is sleeting outside and according to the Doppler radar right behind this sleet is a massive cold front that will bring temperatures down to -70 degrees windchill and we will be in this perpetual state of freeze until at least Wednesday of this coming week.

 For the first time in history the Governor of Minnesota closed all public schools because of a concern for the children walking to school bus stops and waiting for school buses that may or may not come because mechanical issues of operating them in the cold. 

This same week two ships carrying scientist on a mission to explore the impact of global warming in the Antarctica are stuck in the ice because their passageway froze up which meant they had to send in rescue helicopters to bring the tourists back to safety. 

Billions are spent on elaborate systems to help us understand weather patterns.  We know more about weather thanks to the Doppler radar system than we ever knew before.

 The mission of the scientific mind, it seems, is to to discredit God and everything that is written about Him in his word.  In Turkey, for example, the recent melting of some of the mountain peaks has revealed the outline of Noah's ark. Steering at this evidence man still tries to find a way to discredit the very reality of the Bible's existence by pursuing other explanations that only the scientific mind can create.

 There is one thing that the scientific model can never touch.  They try to touch it by redefining the human condition. They call an unborn baby, for example, as mere blood and tissue.  They try to convince us that when we die we just go into a state of 'nothingness' where life ceases to exist.  Despite of it all God has a way of humbling the scientific mind.  

The scientific mind is worthless in terms of addressing the needs of the human condition..  When grief and sorrow occur the scientific mind tells us to just get over it.because our loved one is simply in a state of nothingness.Issues such as grief and sorrow can never be explained through science.. Those of us who have lost a loved one understand this better than most and we understand that being in God's word and praying when in crisis is the only thing that brings any sort of comfort to us.

  I know when we lost our little girl our ache could only be comforted through the words we read in his Bible and simply placing one foot in front of the other and attending a place of worship.  Just knowing that when life on earth ceases to exist and we are ushered into Heaven because of what Jesus Christ did on the cross of Calvary brings me comfort. Just knowing our loved one is in Heaven experiencing eternal life because of what Christ did gives my grieving soul comfort. 

This weekend, aside from watching the Green Bay Packer's play in the ice bowl, I will be respecting the extreme cold and spending some extra quality time 'swimming' in God's word.  Perhaps these extreme weather patterns we are experiencing is God's way to reminding us to slow down and listen to what he has to say to us in the word of God. So grab a hot cocoa, find a quiet spot to read and let His word sink in. You will be glad you did.

Thursday, January 2, 2014

For Better or for Worse, Marriage is for a lifetime


Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens! Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals! Psalm 150: 1-6


For better or for worse marriage is for a lifetime. Many of us recited that phrase in our actual ceremony without anticipating the worse.  The odds were that the moment we fell in loved it was with the intent that our life   together would bring fulfillment of dreams:  life in the suburbs, a nice yard for the kids to play in, a double car garage to hold the cars we love to drive and simply a desire to have a friend to love and who will love us all the days of our life. 

 But, we never anticipate the worst.  I know I certainly didn't. I never anticipated that after just 8 years of having our adopted daughter, Maria, that we would lose her suddenly and tragically. I never anticipated that my wife and I would be raising our son through his formative middle and high school years while grieving for the loss of our daughter, but grieving we did. I never anticipated the recessional cycles that would bring layoffs, decrease income with increased utility costs.

There is nothing more that takes it toll on a marriage than disappointments in life. Broken dreams, death of a child, loss of a career you strove so hard to pursue, or the loss of some other significant loved one are some of the things that can tilt he marriage into instability. 

Over the years I have witnessed friends who  I thought would never divorce do so. The rallying cry that is heard from couples in turmoil is irreconciable differences. A term that is often heard from trial lawyers at the late hours many couple find it hard to fall asleep. Two things you can always count on watching at that hour are trial lawyers advertising how precious their services are to you and infomercials on fly by night schools advertising degree completion in as little as 5 weeks.

 I have learned in my grief journey that there is no such thing as forgiveness in the eyes of an attorney.  I learned that through my own personal encounter with one when one attorney told me to not pursue forgiveness 'just in case' one day the evidence suddenly shifts to a open and shut case.

Many of them want you to hang onto the vile and the poisons that drove the wedge  in your marriage because many want to profit off of your pain.  For example, in a contested divorce the average legal cost can run up to 15,000 or more. Divorce isn't cheap.By the same token the average cost for marriage counseling runs from a low end of 75.00 to 100.00 per hour with the total topping off at the 1200.00 mark. 

The reality is it is a w hole lot less expensive to work on  your marriage through counseling than it is to hire an expensive attorney and see your expenses run up to 15,000, or beyond.

We live in a do it yourself era. An era where people will attempt to work on their marital differences on their own. You wouldn't try to perform open heart surgery on yourself, would you? So why would you mess with trying to put your marriage back together without trained professional therapist to help guide you through the process.  These dedicated men and woman are skilled and trained to guide you through all of the pit mines that creep up during the process of therapy so neither one of you are tempted to throw in the towel.

Why take the risk and do the self therapy approach to marriage restoration just so you could save some money while winding up paying  up toward 15,000 to an attorney in a contested divorce?  The professional counseling my wife and I received in the aftermath of grief continue to pay dividends long after the therapy ended.  Occasionally, I will hit a wall with our grief, but remember what the therapist said to me and like the guy in the V8 commercial go " wow, that really made sense."

 If you recently lost a child and are noticing the two of you grieving so differently please go easy on your marriage. For a little while you will notice the two of you traveling on two very different pathways, but in time as you each work through  your marriage will wind up on the same path again.  When we enter marriage we do so with our eyes wide open.  When our daughter died I had a conversation with my son one Sunday morning before church. His eyes were sad thinking of his sister and then he asked me the most important question I had heard coming out of his mouth, "Dad, do we really need to go to church? I do not feel like it"

Sensing this was a holy moment I knew I must not mess up I said, " Son, you know I do not feel like going to church, and you mom certainly doesn't feel like going to church and we could all stay home, but then we would deprive ourselves of the opportunity for a kind word from strangers,  a word from the Pastor and the friendship from our friends."  My son sat quietly before getting ready for church. He saw in his dad that I wasn't going to quit on him even in the face of the most painful crisis of his life. 

When in crisis do what I did and turn your face to the Lord of lords and the King of kings and ask him to guide you through whatever crisis you may be having and he will firmly plant your feet on the right path.