There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death. Proverbs 14:12
Up here in the Red river valley the land is so flat, far and wide that it wouldn't take much to lose your bearings and become lost. Which is why an experienced hiker always includes one of these as part of his essential pieces of equipment: his compass. It appears that our news is filled with so much news about sudden deaths, tragedies, bad cops, bad people and journalists in search of their next story that will propel them into the nations living rooms. As I watched mom's and dad's weep for their wayward children and analysts trying to explain why this kid or that kid went in and shot up public place leaving fallen bodies in its wake I began to get this sense that just maybe their moral compass was giving them the wrong reading. In this life there are many paths we can take, but not every path will be the best one. Every day is filled with choices that for some will lead to disastrous results. A wayward child choosing to sneak out of his bedroom at night to join his friends down by the railroad tracks to smoke some weed and drink a pint of beer will cause his parents grief when suddenly he feels tipsy just as the southern bound freight comes rumbling down the tracks. A teenage son, filled with rage, will cause grief to an entire community when he brings his gun to school and guns down his classmates. A young man, unemployed and unable to pay his bills, will bring on a lifetime of agony when he is arrested and sentence not long after robbing the local 7-11. As he sits behind bars 'doing the time' his parents are left in a pool of tears wondering what they did wrong. It doesn't surprise me to see increase incidences of grief and despair permeating on our national scene; not when every Sunday families are choosing not to include the ritual of attending church and worshiping the Lord of the universe as part of their weekly regimen. Choosing not to attend church will leave our moral compasses rusty and useless. No longer able to judge whether we are on the right path we begin searching for any path.
So much of our grief can be avoided if only the person causing the pain had made the right choices. Had the young teenager caught stealing from the local 7-11 made the decision to remain in his bed instead of sneaking off in the middle of the night would have save himself much grief by staying out of the criminal justice system. So much grief can also be avoided if families would choose to be involved in a brick and mortar church, Sunday after Sunday, attending worship and teaching their children and being the role models their kids need; instead of looking for other paths of enlightenment. What is your moral compass set at? Are you heading in the right direction? Are you on the right path? My decision to accept Jesus Christ in 1974 was the foundation that set my moral compass. It is my prayer that as you enjoy this time with family that you make sure your moral compass is pointing you in the right direction. Doing so will help avoid unwanted grief.
7 And she brought forth her firstborn son; and she wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Luke 2:7
It seems just moments before when I had drifted off to sleep thinking of the things I was going to do the next day with my friends. We met at a friends home to talk about spring trip plans to the Cayman Islands. After all, the spring semester had been hard at the academy we attended and all of our parents decided to reward us with free air travel and hotel just so we could unwind.
I was dreaming of of the flight being served first class food when suddenly I had this urge to use the bathroom. I tried to sleep through it, but my bladder was full and I knew I couldn't avoid the inevitable of walking up.
I search for the lamp stand, but didn't find it in the usual location I was normally accustomed to finding it. I slowly got up and immediately felt a draft of cold air from the window. This didn't seem right to me because my parents always kept the temperature at a comfortable level all through the night, leaving my brothers and sisters to sleep comfortable.
I slowly stood up while searching for the room light. I thought I felt a string hit the side of my face as I walked and so I naturally reached for it. I happened to pull it downward where immediately I was hit by the harsh light. As the suddenness hit me I realize that this was not the bedroom I was familiar with. Sure there was a bed in this room, but that was where the resemblance ended. My room was much bigger than the room I was presently in.
My room had a large desk with my computer, my printer, my video gaming system and my large flat screen Samsung television that sat on the wall. This room had none of that.Nothing matched in this room. Gone were the color coordinated patterns. Gone were the matching blankets. Gone was the spaciousness of my original bedroom. My eyes glanced at the wall and gone were the familiar pictures of friends, or my new car my parents bought me to honor me for successfully making the High school honor society. When I looked around the room I discovered that I no longer had my own room, but I was sharing it with another person. I looked at this sleeping figure and immediately noticed that he wasn't the same skin color as I remembered myself to be.
That was when I noticed my reflection in the round mirror that hung from the wall of this room. In horror I looked at my hands and discovered they were not the typical Ivory color I was accustomed to seeing, but they were black. I felt my heart racing. I looked down at the sleeping figure and discovered he was the same skin color I found myself to be at this moment. He appeared much younger than I was.
My eyes darted throughout the room in search of anything that was even remotely looked familiar to me from before. I couldn't find any of my trophy's from my previous year. I couldn't find my honor society welcoming letter and I couldn't find any pictures of my mom and dad. I wanted to run and hide back under the covers thinking just maybe if I drifted off to sleep I would wake up in the right room and in the right skin color. I had never associated with any black people in my life and now here I am one of them.
For the first time I began having regrets for the name calling and the taunting I did to the few blacks I did encounter in my life, or the times I remember as a child sticking my tongue out at them as my family walked out of this really nice restaurant and I happened to see this colored family getting into their car across the street. My mind seemed to go into autopilot with images of what was yet to come as I encounter this new life.
I felt a single tear drop falling down my face as I realized I may never see my dad, famed surgeon at the Mayo clinic, or my mom, a biochemist at Medtronics and certainly my friends who I just had dinner with discussing our spring plans to the Cayman Islands. I felt the call to empty my bladder and decided to go in search for the bathroom. As I walked down the much narrower hallway I ever remembered from my other life with it's multiple spacious rooms I heard the voice of an older lady. She had been weeping.
"Michael, is that you?"
I wasn't sure if that was suppose to be me, but decided to come closer to her so she could see me.
"Michael, it is you. Come closer so I can give you a hug."
Mom had been crying. She had the television, not the familiar high definition Samsung I was most familiar with, but a simpler smaller flat screen resting, not in a wall mount, but on a stand in the living room.
"Mom," I decided to ask, " Why are you crying?"
Mom reached for a tissue and dabbed at the wetness around her eyes.
"Michael, I just got terminated from my job today". I thought to myself what is a termination? That was about the most foreign sounding non existent word from my other life. I never knew my parents losing a job. I always remembered them being promoted into bigger and greater positions and I always remembered when they did we would take a special trip somewhere overseas.
I looked into my mom's eyes.
"You will get another job mom". I encouraged her. Mom cried some more as she saw the pictures of her children on the wall. Then I noticed what looked like a memorial picture of a different son with a single candle sitting right by it with a note she had written to him. I glanced at my new skin color and noticed from my reflection that he looked like me. Then I saw the name, hand printed with the words 'in condolence' underneath it.
I watched my mom's eyes as she lovingly looked at this son's picture. For the first time I felt this heaviness of heart for the son that had died. Tears were now streaming down both cheeks thinking of all the cruelties I had dished out all in the name of fun. I wished I could have taken back all of the harsh words, taken back all of the rocks I had thrown and I wished I could purge from my mind all of the putrid hatred that came out of the mouths of the white supremacists talk radio personalities. For the first time I was now on the receiving end of all that hatred and certainly didn't like it. I gave my mom a hug and let her weep into my shoulder........
Sometimes, to truly understand perspective we must try to put ourselves into the other persons shoes.
As I focus on that thought it occurred to me that this was what God did when he allowed himself to be born in a manger two thousand years ago to a teenage mom who was ill equipped to be a mom. Through this miracle birth and growing up God got to experience what life was like for ordinary man.
Through it all he allowed himself to be convicted for something he didn't do, to be tortured at the hands of the Roman guards, nailed to the cross, left to die and be buried and on the 3rd day to take his life back where he appeared to thousands and in the final analysis assured us that Jesus Christ had paid the price for all us to see heaven. Because of God's ability to put himself in man's shoes He was able to change the course of history.
Just maybe if we all would place ourselves in the shoes of the other person we truly would understand!
12 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 [a]fixing our eyes on Jesus, the [b]author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1-3
In the ancient Jewish times it is said that the Jewish people were picture people. Which explains why as you read the texts why Jesus chose to appeal to them with word pictures. In many ways modern man is the same way. We want to believe, but we want to be shown why we should believe. Show me God why I should leave what I am doing and follow you. Help me see the big picture.
People from every walk of life, I believe, want hope for their lives which explains why many of us strive to do good things through out our lives. Good works tends to be our insurance policy so we can tell God to see what great works I have done and surely I am good enough to make it into heaven. I have this mental image of all of us riding individual elevators toward heaven. The height you go in your individual elevator is determined by the number of good works you do in this life. The problem becomes when you fall just short of the standard set by God such as the words of Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God". Imagine, if you will, the horror if at the end of your life none of your good works were good enough to get you into heaven? The awards you accumulated, the promotions you received and the church positions you held all were not good enough?
The good news is that God made a provision by sending his son into the world who became the perfect sacrifice to satisfy all of the requirements to enter into heaven. Through Jesus Christ a single door was provided that enabled everyone to pass through without any justification of their own perfection. What is more God knew that we are picture people and when the gospels were written Jesus spoke to us in word pictures so that we will be able to see. In Mary Beth Chapman's book entitled 'Choosing to see' the author writes about a picture that her daughter drew just months before her untimely death that she believe was her daughter reminding her to 'see' the big picture of heaven. Our family had that similar reminder when our daughter drew a picture of herself looking down on the rest of us just weeks before her untimely death.
I was told in response to my question 'how do we share Christ to a Muslin' to share the word of God through your dreams. Muslin people are no different from the rest of us in that they are picture people and want to 'see' why they should believe.
Lastly, I have this mental picture in my mind that heaven is going to be filled with people from all nationalities. God wants no one to perish. He wants us to fix our eyes and 'see'Jesus as we read the gospels. I hope this Ray Vanderlaan video will help you see the the gospels in a new light.
28 And we know that to them that love God all things work together for good, even to them that are called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28
Last night my wife and I went back to Legacy Christian Academy to watch as many of Maria's classmates acted in Pride and Prejudice. From I could see as I talked with people God really does make all things new again!
I crossed paths with Joe who just 7 years ago was in the throes of despair when his wife died from her disease. His wife was their for my wife during her grief journey, praying fervently with her and leaving encouraging pearls of wisdom from God's word that the holy spirit had laid on her heart to share. God made all things new for him when a new Christian lady came into his life. Joe's son, Jake, was elevated to the rank of Principal to guide this school. This man of God, who refused to compromise God's word, found himself in a new role to guide this school on Christian principles.
Then there were the girls Maria became good friends with during her short stay on earth. Friends, I remember, who were there when we celebrated Maria's earthly birthday parties. Friends who were profoundly impacted when Maria left this place prematurely. Many of her friends were in the play we saw last night. There was Jillian who had one of the major roles in the play. Then there was Ashley who did an amazing job in that production. I crossed paths with her dad, one of the people that wasn't afraid to talk to me when I was in the depths of my despair. I could tell from all the moment I walked into that school that no longer did I feel like turning around and running from the previous images I felt shortly after our loss, but I could with a smile on my face enjoy the play with many of her earthly friends.
I learned something else while watching this production and that is the importance of leaning into your grief and trusting that God knows what he is doing with it. Avoid trying to bury your grief in hopes it will just go away.
Then there is the song posted on this blog. A song sung by Steven Curtis Chapman who God also made all things new again when his daughter Maria left their family prematurely 1 year after our tragedy.
God really is in the business of making all things new again!
24 We should keep on encouraging each other to be thoughtful and to do helpful things.25 Some people have gotten out of the habit of meeting for worship, but we must not do that. We should keep on encouraging each other, especially since you know that the day of the Lord’s coming is getting closer. Hebrews 10:24-25
I had this dream I have to share with you. In my dream I asked the question, 'What is relevant Christianity'.
In my dream there was an open expanse of water of which you could see for miles and miles. On this open expanse, all spread out, were life rafts filled with people. They too were spread out. Occasionally, people would wave to one another. It was a calm and sunny day and people were splashing the water around. This was fine until the weather started getting turbulent and the winds began picking up.
As I looked across the open expanse I could see terror in the eyes of the people in those life rafts. The same people who moments ago were splashing the water around and having fun were now terror stricken and wondering how they would survive the approaching storm.
So often we are more concern about the number of tassels we see on the heads of those around us, or the number of biblical courses they have taken that we forget that relevant Christianity isn't about that, but relevant Christianity is about watching God write your faith story and helping you unfurl it for all the world to see.
Our faith story ought to be brought above the surface where hurting people can see how relevant Christianity really does help someone survive the storm. People are searching for hope in this hopeless world we live in and often that hope is as near as the person they are sitting by in the pew.
We were never meant to be lone rangers telling ourselves that 'I don't need the church, or I can get my bible teaching on-line or watching the church service on the high definition television.
When Maria died in 2007 I decided I would cling to my faith commitment and continue attending my local church week after week, no matter how I felt because I knew that God was going to one day take my horrible journey of loss I was on and use it as my faith story. I knew I needed to attend church just so I might be able to receive an encouraging word from those around me. If you are having a terrible time dealing with grief and loss I encourage you to seek out a local Christian church and like me place one foot in front of the other and keep attending no matter how you feel.
As I watched the video in this post it occurred to me how God individually tailors his message to reach each person at a time. Like two snowflakes each Holy Spirit way of reaching people is different. As unique as our personal testimonies are, together they have a similar message which is how God makes Himself known to his people. If you are in a terrible storm and you do not know if you will survive it I encourage you to listen to some personal testimonies because in their message you will find that hope only can be found in Christ Jesus.
I found this article especially intriguing since I have seen this same evidence in other research studies. What this article suggests is the importance of totally allowing yourself to work through your grief and loss issues. Doing so will help assure better health.
Grief is a risk factor that can contribute to other health problems.
Whether you lose a loved one to disease, war, or a natural disaster like the tornado that tore apart Moore, Okla., last week, grief is the unwanted visitor that comes knocking at your door.
How we wrestle with grief — and ultimately push ahead to a new life — varies among individuals. But many of us who need help to bounce back are not getting it, health experts warn, jeopardizing our mental and physical health.
Toni Miles, director of the Institute of Gerontology at the University of Georgia, is embarking on a research project to find out how loss impacts health and what to do about it.
"Loss creates injury,'' Miles says. "It is a new risk factor for poor health in the public sphere."
Miles suspects grief is behind much of the nation's obesity, depression, diabetes, smoking and hospitalization.
"When you study caregiving, you know (grief) kills people,'' Miles says. "Obesity is also a big problem among caregivers
Finding support can be the key to a person's recovery and acceptance of the loss, says the American Cancer Society. Support can come from friends, physicians, spiritual leaders or mental health professionals. Everyone reacts differently to grief and for different periods of time. There's not one easy solution or answer, Miles says.
Getting the right amount of support is rare, according to a 2004 study on family perspectives on dying in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Lead researcher Joan Teno asked participants "during the last month (of their loved one's life), how much support in dealing with your feelings about a patient's death did the doctors, nurses or other professional staff taking care of him or her provide you: less support than was needed, about the right amount or more attention than you needed?''
Overall, 20% of the family members stated they did not have the right amount of support, and most said they got less support than they needed.
Teno, a professor of health services policy and practice in the Public Health Program at Brown University and a palliative care physician at Home & Hospice Care of Rhode Island, says her research shows families who use hospice at the end of life cope better than those who don't.
Donald Rosenstein, a professor of psychiatry at the University of North Carolina, is charting new territory into the bereavement process of fathers who lose their wives to cancer. He started a first-of-its-kind support group called Single Fathers Due to Cancer Program, part of the UNC Comprehensive Cancer Support Program.
"Everyone has a different reaction to grief,'' Rosenstein says. "We (health care professionals) don't have a lot of good information about how to get people to move on. But these fathers have been been teaching us."
Rosenstein says in addition to learning what the fathers need – how to discipline children by themselves, how long to wear their wedding bands, when is it OK to date, how long to call their in-laws in-laws — they're also learning how to help their children.
"For instance, moms always want to keep fighting and stay alive as long as possible for their families, but we're learning it's important for them to say goodbye," to provide a sense of closure for their families, he says. "We are also learning how much that helps the children and how to have that conversation with children."
Miles agrees that children are especially vulnerable: "Time doesn't heal all wounds,'' she says. "People in public health need to be discussing this topic more. There can be healthy outcomes from loss. It's up to us to help to find ways to make that happen more often and to push for policy that guarantees it."
ADVICE FOR DEALING WITH GRIEF
Grief is a typical reaction to death, divorce, job loss, a move away from family and friends, or loss of anything that is important to you, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services:
It can last from several months to several years, and can be accompanied by feelings of guilt, sadness or numbness. It might cause trembling, breathing difficulties and sleeplessness. It is also normal to feel joy and to express humor.
People who don't process their grief can become angry, guilt-ridden and fail to care of their health. Here are the four steps along the way to healing from grief:
• Accept the loss.
• Work through and feel the emotional and physical pain.
• Adjust to living in the world without the person or lost item.
• Move on with life.
For more advice, an online guide to grief and bereavement is available from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
'For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God ' Ephesians 2:8
Very early in my grief journey when I was unable to pick up the bible I would often listen to Ray Vanderlaan's messages about the Holy land. His style of communicating and his knowledge of the bible bought these biblical truths to light. I recently read through the book of Ephasians. Paul, a Jew who later because a Christian when he was suddenly blinded on the road to Damascus became so convinced that Jesus was the Lord of Lords and King of Kings that he grew in his desire to share it in his travels. It was in Ephesus that Paul was thrown in prison. As I read the book and viewed the Ray Vanderlaan video I began to see why. Ephesus was a very proud city with hard working men and woman who built a city in honor of the god of fertility, or whatever god became popular at the time. Ephesus was a city on the Mediterranean with expansive hills where the wealthier people live in homes that had hot and cold showers and indoor toilets. In the city were altars that were built so people could pay homage to the man in Ephesus that declared himself the Lord of Lords. In other parts of the city you will find a carved fish by the home that followed Christ. Perhaps, as Ray Vanderlaan pointed out this was how the symbol of the fish came to being in our modern society. What this says to me is that Jesus Christ is very real, the resurrection really did happen and he is alive and wants to continue changing lives and bringing people into God's kingdom. I hope his message on the book of Ephesians will cause you to dig deeper in the scriptures like it did me.
12 Dear friends, God is good. So I beg you to offer your bodies to him as a living sacrifice, pure and pleasing. That’s the most sensible way to serve God. 2 Don’t be like the people of this world, but let God change the way you think. Then you will know how to do everything that is good and pleasing to him. 3 I realize how kind God has been to me, and so I tell each of you not to think you are better than you really are. Use good sense and measure yourself by the amount of faith that God has given you. 4 A body is made up of many parts, and each of them has its own use. 5 That’s how it is with us. There are many of us, but we each are part of the body of Christ, as well as part of one another. Romans 12:1-3
The last couple of days my mind has traveled down memory lane to the days when I was a child when the my family would travel downtown Minneapolis to see the Christmas window decorations. I remembered my eyes growing as big as saucers at the large mechanical figurines as they lead us on a journey, window after window, about Santa Clause, his elves, and all the things we as kids hoped we might be getting Christmas morning. More importantly than seeing the displays the three of us got to spend time with mom and dad while taking in the sights of sounds of the city decorated in all the vivid Christmas lights. As I look back it was really a buffet for the senses I loved the most about our annual Christmas trips downtown.
When I became a Christian I began to see how secularism began it's pushing the real meaning of Christmas off into the background. We are told that to avoid offending any one religion that our faith in Jesus must remain private. Our retail stores became concern over offending any group of shoppers at a time profits relied on all groups buying. Target stores decided to end the tradition of Salvation Army bell ringing, forgetting that very organization has contributed to the physical and emotional healing following major crisis around the country. I actually had someone tell me to keep my pontificating to myself when I was merely sharing my testimony of God's grace reaching into the inner most depths of my soul and making me alive.
Now days, it seems, we have become a nation more concern for the outward appearances of success than the inward appearances of our heart. Maybe I have grown more sentimental since the losses I had gone through, but I do know that those losses with my subsequent journey has taught me that material possessions do not satisfy what my aching soul longs for. Spending time with the Lord in his word and trying to do the things to please him means more to me than accumulating the trappings of success.
As someone who has enjoyed a very satisfying career helping people overcome their barriers I know that, contrary to the public opinion of some, that there are people who are unable to 'pull themselves up by their boot straps' because of significant crisis's that happen in their life. Many simply do not have the means of pulling themselves up unless someone gives them a hand. If instead of focusing on the trappings of our success and asking God to help us rearrange our priorities from one of accumulating those trappings to making this world a better place by helping someone in need we will have made the world a better place.
That, my friends, brings us the greatest joy and pleases God!
All too often, it seems, that man's questions about God's existence enters the thought process when pain and suffering enter their lives. It is as though we expect God to be this celestial Santa Clause showering us with gifts of gratitude every day of our lives, but when we enter that disparately forlorn place of suffering we automatically toss God out because, after all, if he were real I wouldn't feel the way I do. Suffering, it seems, propels some to leave their faith and pursue a godless world view. Then I am reminded of these words from Paul in the book of Ephesians. Paul, once a hater of Christians and a vowed pursuer of their deaths, had his encounter with God when suddenly blinded on the road to Damascus. He gain his sight when another follower of Christ named Ananias of Damascus received word to go to Paul after three days when his sight was restored by and Paul began to preach that Jesus of Nazareth is the Jewish Messiah and the Son of God. Paul penned these words in the book of Ephesians: "I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beseech you to walk worthily of the calling wherewith ye were called," And in the book of acts Paul writes in Chapter 16:25-34:
25 And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. 26 And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed. 27 And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. 28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. 29 Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, 30 And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? 31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. 32 And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. 33 And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. 34 And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house. King James Version (KJV)
Paul could have thrown in the towel once he found himself sitting in the prison cell chained and bound, but he didn't. Instead, he sang praises to God and God used his current predicament to bring salvation to the jailer. Years later my son said to me and I paraphrase "When I saw in your life that you were not going to be a quitter after Maria died, I knew I wasn't going to be one either." In the days following our loss I found great solace reading about the sufferings of God's people in the bible because I saw in their suffering God's redeeming grace. Instead of losing hope, I clung to the original commitment I made to my Savior, Jesus Christ, that early spring day in 1974 when Christ became my cornerstone where the rest of my life laid. In this video clip Apologetic Ravi Zacharias answers questions from the John Hopkins student body on the very question on pain and suffering. He presents valid arguments that will strengthen your faith in the face of suffering. You may want to view this clip in short installments because of it's length, but do view it as it will help you understand why we suffer.
When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, "Who then can be saved?" Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." Matthew 19:25-26
Just as I normally do on any given Sunday I would often drop my wife off at the front entrance before parking the car. Last Sunday my wife and I decided to drive separately since she had to be at church earlier because of her choir commitment. So I took a seat inside the sanctuary saving a space for my wife to join me.
As I entered and sat down it was during the first ever morning baptism of several of our children and youth. Before each of their baptism a picture of them was seen overhead with a confession of their personal commitment to Jesus Christ.We knew most of these kids and were excited by their personal commitments they had made in their lives. Straight ahead of me from where I sat was a mom cradling her new born baby. I watched how careful she was with her child, as though she was responsible for the most previous thing in all the world. She was. After all, she was caring for tomorrow's generation. At one point this new born babe looked at me. Her innocence was a reminder of another new born baby held and cradled by his mom, Mary, 2000 years ago. As I watched this earthly mom cradling her new born child I began reflecting on what must have gone through Mary's mind as she realized that the child she was holding would one day bring salvation to the world? Through the child she was cradling the Jewish people would no longer have to ritualistically present sacrifices at the altar. In this little child we would all be predestined and sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise. In [q]Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also [r]believed, you were sealed in[s]Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is [t]given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.Ephesians 1.
The way of the world and the way of God oppose each other. In the world, it seems, men and woman are more impressed with others who are polished, well dressed, with degrees, and with a speech that is as slick as oil. God could have chosen to come in this manner, but instead he decided to come into the world in the form of a humble babe raised by a simple carpenter in a lowly hard working Jewish family. This child amazed the elders of the local synagogues with his knowledge of the Torah and as he grew he preached a message of hope of salvation.
Isaiah 9:6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
God did not have to do what he did, but he knew that in order to convince the very people he created to come to him he needed to enter the world as a simple baby bringing hope as he grew into a young man.
Through the eyes of a child salvation comes Through the confessions of faith these children and youth made before their baptisms that morning seeds were being planted to those searching for hope that morning at New Hope Church. Through the eyes of a child salvation comes.
But if you refuse to serve the LORD, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the LORD." Joshua 24:15
Yesterday was my birthday. Not sure why I felt so down and I guess for me birthdays are a time of reflection on the my relationship with God, my wife and my son. Perhaps, birthdays for me is a reminder that I am one step closer to meeting my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Perhaps, like the mile markers on the highway, birthdays are a reflection of all the things I have accomplished in this life.
Yesterday evening I attended the Men's Equipt conference at New Hope Church. This was a small conference designed to bring men together for encouragement and support to so they can be better leaders at home. I went because my wife and son are counting on me for set the example of godly leadership. I went because I needed spiritual nourishment to refresh my soul.
Reflecting back on my life I remember all of the earlier men's conferences I attended from the Football fill stadiums full of 'Promisekeeper's to men's retreats at Camp Forest Springs. Each one I walked away with just a little bit more to inspire my walk with Jesus. This conference was much smaller and after hearing that they wanted to try to reach out to more men who couldn't afford the earlier expensive conferences I thought it made sense offer a conference close by at a price that all could afford.
Last night this small group of guys heard former Minnesota Viking Jeff Siemon talk about the glory days of Viking football and his personal testimony of coming to Christ. He reminded us who came that life is filled with tribulations and just as John 16:33 reminds us, "I have overcome the world".
Thou your life may be filled with sorrow and though it seems that the lasting effects of sorrow will always fill our hearts our speaker reminded us that Jesus will help us through those troubles.
As men, we owe it to our families to set our sights on Jesus Christ and pick up his cross daily. As men, our families are counting on us to lead even when hard times and sorrow make us the unlikely candidates to lead.
As I reflect back on my life would I trade everything not to have the tragedy in my life? Absolutely not! Through it all Jesus Christ was there every step of of my grief journey. I consider it all joy just knowing that He was the shepherd that lead our family the night we suffered our tragic loss.
Looking back, I am amazed of the many blessings God has given each of my family members. My wife found a librarian job she truly loves at a great Christian school like the one she was previously at. Jesus Christ helped make all things new again for each member of my family.
At this conference I am reminded through speakers, like Jeff Siemon and Geoff Stafford, that God can use any life story to bring others into God's Kingdom.
Why did I go? I guess it is because my family is counting on me to be spiritually equipped to lead them in this life.
I I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God. who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20
It seems that we live in a culture that is obsessed with death. The recent suicide by the young woman who moved to Oregon which supports euthanasia for those dying from terminal diagnosis illustrates why this is a slippery slope we must never venture down.
My opinion is that we have become a nation of quitters. When things do not go the way you thought they should go you quit. When you got the diagnosis you didn't like you try to take matters into your own hands and decide when to die. You quit. The Wisconsin father who didn't like the fact that his wife was leaving him decides to get even with her by murdering his daughters. He quit. The Oregon mother who tossed her disabled child over a bridge into certain death decided she didn't want to be his mother and she quit. The East coast pharmaceutical executive who decided to take her autistic son's life because she no longer wanted to be his mom decided to quit. Every day there are people who see works of these death proponents and use it to determine their own demise. They quit.
There is one missing common denominator in these tragedies. The absence of any life giving faith. In one poll it was reported that 4 out of 10 people attended church the week before. Church has lost it's relevance in many peoples lives. http://www.gallup.com/poll/166613/four-report-attending-church-last-week.aspx When relevance is lost then gone is the frame of reference we have to make crucial day to day decisions. If we know that we are children of God and that God lives in us in the form of his Holy Spirit is it quite possible that we well respond differently to life situations than someone who subscribes to the humanistic idea that human beings no longer have purpose when disability occurs, or when the caregiver decides to just quit? In my opinion throwing your child off a bridge is pure unadulterated evil and must never be tolerated. Not in this day of age when there are so many families that would welcome a child such as that. Yet, the death proponents have caused us to venture down that path precisely because Church has essentially become irrelevant and ineffectual in peoples day to day lives. What if people believed these word in Galatians 2:20? You have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God. who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20
What if they attended church, got involved in a caring community of people who loved them and prayed for them? What if those who killed their children saw themselves 'filled by the Holy Spirit' and worked feverishly to know God with all their heart and leaned on God to get through whatever ails them in this life. What if they saw how much God loved their children and even when they feel like quitting they have a Savior to help them carry on and helped them care for them?
The absence of knowing God on a personal level and allowing the holy spirit to dwell within is what is causing the death proponents to push for their humanistic approach to life. As believers we must continue to share the love of Jesus with everyone we meet and be willing to share our own personal faith story to those suffering.
The words from Galatians are a powerful reminder of God's love for all human life and why his love will give people a new frame of reference to continue on with living. Won't you consider making this verse central to your life and becoming a Galatians 2:20 Christian?
For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1
Over the years of performing election judge duties I have been asked "why do I do it, don't you have better things to do with your time, and why sit there for hours waiting for voters to drift in when you could have done other things that bring far greater rewards?" No, I say, the financial rewards are not great. Yes, I could have found greater things to do with my time. Yes, time drags on when few people come to the polls because of voter apathy. But, that isn't why I do it.
To see the first time voter come in with his parents with smiles on their face as they complete the voter registration paperwork and then to see them pound their fist in the air as they cast their first vote is all the incentive I need.
To see the new American casting their vote in the land of the free after spending years under tyranny in their native homeland is all the payment I need to keep going. America, I found, is the only nation that gives the down trodden a place to make a better life and be successful. With all of the educational options we have in this great country, young people have the ability to choose a career they can excel at. Only in America do people of all economic levels have access to education, not the privilege few. America, I found, is the only nation that gives those faced with significant barriers a place where they can overcome such barriers with the proper training and support. In other nations of the world people with disabilities are relegated to the street corners to beg for their food, but in America many of them find careers to spend a lifetime earning money to support their new family.
To be there behind the table when Presidents and Governors won by landslides and quietly acknowledging that I was there when victory was made is all the rewards I need to continue.
Serving as a election judge doesn't bring vast financial rewards, but the memories that were made each time I do perform those duties make it so worthwhile. Memories of my wife bringing our two children to the poll with me entertaining them while she voted was worth it. To be able to model to my children what it means to live in a democracy and the responsibilities that come with it makes it worthwhile.
Who can ever forget when the first voters, with ink stained fingertips, cast their votes in Iraq's first democratic style election, even under the threat of assassination by those who hate such freedom? I could only imagine their family telling them not to vote because of the threat of death. Fortunately, they didn't listen to such naysayers.
Why, do I do it? The responsibility of being a judge is the least I can do to say thank you to the men and woman who died for my country. The freedom of working as a judge came with a cost and doing so is my way of thanking them for their sacrifice.
America, is still the greatest nation on the face of the earth!
