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Sunday, December 31, 2017

Our lives are like an open book, written with the loving hand of God. While this years chapter has been completed, I look forward to watching God pen the future pages of my life. Each person is precious in the sight of God and each has pages waiting to be penned by God.



12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1-3




Our lives are like an open book, filled with exciting chapters hard to put down.

For those of us who are believers in the Lord Jesus, God often pens those pages. 

He is the author of our lives who speaks words of wisdom into our hearts when things do not go quite like the way we think they should go.

He speaks to us as we transverse through time

Alas, He is there when we were little kids falling for the first time and bellowing out to our mom and dad. 

Our pages are filled with birthday wishes, celebrations of accomplishments, and those occasional moments of sorrow when pain enters our lives. 

There are also those pages where God speaks to us through His word from those who lived before us all the way to the promises of God through the exciting Gospels of Jesus. 

Each year we live is an exciting one for us as we wonder how God will pen those future pages in our lives. 


In God's eyes, no life is considered worthless. He desires all of us to allow the hand of God to pen our chapters into pages of His fresh aroma filled with hope. 

You may have had a rough year in 2017, but one year shouldn't be viewed as a failure- not when God is still writing the pages of your chapters. 

Thank you, Jesus, for being the author of our lives, for giving us the promises you laid out to us in the holy scriptures. 


Thank you for each page-turning chapter and for the many ones that still remain unwritten. Thank you for showing me the way through troubled times, how you helped us navigate paths we seemingly thought impossible to travel.

Thank you, Lord, for those whose book has been completed and for the moment they experience the fresh aroma of your presence in a place we all yearn to be once our lives reach their mighty conclusion with the concluding words of your hand and the completed leather bound book ready to be read by others transversing through time, wondering as they might how their own chapters will read under the mighty hand of the Savior.

Saturday, December 30, 2017

Rare Look at the Underground Church in China



4 For we know, brothers and sisters[b] loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake. 6 You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. ! Thessalonians



As we continue to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, I'm amazed how God works. Jesus wasn't born into a Royal family, nor was he born into a family blessed with prestige and money. Jesus entered the world through a working-class couple. They didn't stay at the finest Inn, but in a place where the animals stayed. Nor did this baby entered the room in the finest birthing room in the newest hospital in the suburbs, but outdoors at the mercy of the elements. God wanted to experience life through the eyes of the common man. Entering this world in the life form of a baby and growing up and experiencing this life allowed God to reach more people with the gospel message.

God chose to take the hard road by working through persecuted people. Randy Alcorn's book, 'Safely home' has taught me that the greatest Christian revival is taking place in the country with the greatest number of human rights violations. While the government of China tries to stamp out the underground Christian church by sending it's pastors and believers to prison, the gospel reaches farther than it ever has before. One underground pastor smashed a glass on the floor with his foot to illustrate this point. Each time they attempt to smash an underground church, the shards of the gospel travel farther and spread to more people than it ever did before.

God works through the harshest of conditions.

While you may be lamenting the loss of a loved one this time of year and feeling the deep emotional pangs of that loss, you can rest knowing that the same God who is working in the lives of persecuted Christians around the world is the same God who wants to help you navigate this deep, profound sadness. As we spend time reading God's word, praying and lamenting to Jesus Christ, and meditating and memorizing the scripture verses, you will sense a deeper connection and feel the presence of God's holy spirit.


God truly does work through the harshest conditions of life.

Friday, December 29, 2017

After reading the book, 'Safely home' by Randy Alcorn, I believe we have a lot to learn form our suffering Christian brothers and sisters in other countries





 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. Ephesians 6:10



Imagine you live in a repressed country where it is against the law to openly express your Christian beliefs? Imagine, never being allowed to tell others what Jesus has done in your life through your suffering, through your pain, or through the joy that Jesus has given you when you were baptized, or when you confessed Christ as your Savior and Lord of your life.

Imagine the only time you could gather with other like-minded believers was after walking miles to the nearest house church through muddy patches of land looking over your shoulder for any government officials who might be on your trail? Imagine your love for our Lord is so strong that you are willing to risk imprisonment or death just to gather with those believers? Imagine having parents, grandparents, uncles, and aunts who lost their earthly lives from the harsh conditions of the prisons they were in?

Li Quan, one of the Christian characters in 'Safely home' said this about suffering:"Suffering reminds us we are in a Spiritual war. We know who we are fighting for. We know who the enemy is. Even in our cells, we pray for believers outside of China, especially in America. In your affluence and freedom perhaps you forget we are at war.." "I'll get your freedom." "Someone else has already done that. The Lion." "I'm talking about real freedom." "Yesu said, 'You shall know the truth and the truth will set you free.' (page282 'Safely Home by Randy Alcorn,


In America, we are drowning in Affluence. We are surrounded by so much 'stuff' that slowly it crowds out the most important person in our life- our Savior Jesus.

Ben Fielding, when it was time to leave his friend Li Quan and return to America said this to his friend," I will pray for you, too. This time I really will." Ben looked at Quan, "When you pray for me, what do you ask?" "That you will face persecution." "What?" " And that through it you will grow. That you will put your armor on and learn to use the sword of the spirit., God's word," /So while I'm praying you will suffer less, you're praying I will suffer more!". I do not wish to see my friend to suffer. But I believe it may be the only way for you to learn how to serve. In house churches, we have little to hope in but our God. In America, you have much to hope in besides God. None but he can bear the weight of your hope. But that is often forgotten. The test of prosperity is not easily passed.".

Yes, we can learn something from our neighboring Christian brothers and sisters. I count it all joy when I picture them praying for us in America.


Yes, we can truly learn something about what it means to suffer through their lives. Perhaps it will take our focus off of our Affluence.

Thursday, December 28, 2017

Lauren Daigle - Light Of The World with lyrics





21 A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come, but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world.John 16:21


Christmas time is the opportunity to celebrate the birth of Jesus-God's greatest gift for all mankind. While there will be those who will make light of this birth, others will bow to their knees and give thanks for the savior of the world from the most civilized countries to the most deprived ones where simply acknowledging you are a believer will risk imprisonment or death. While there was the pain in the beginning of Mary's childbirth, there was joy when this baby was born. Mary soon forgot the pain she felt leading up to the birth because she was filled with joy at the awesome sight of this child.


Just as childbirth begins with pain, those who grieve the loss of a loved one will experience pain in there suffering, but like Mary, their mourning turns to joy as they listen to the whispers of God reminding them that God is with them every step of the way on their journey.


He is with you when your loved one has died.
He is with you when you've been harassed- emotionally, physically, or sexually.
He is there when life hasn't exactly given you what you were hoping it would bring.
He is there to comfort you through disappointment, sadness, or when that diagnosis you were hoping to never received.
He is there when rejection comes your way,
He is there when you are hungry, or experiencing physical torture.


Jesus is your mighty comforter, the one who whispers in your ear that He is there to help you navigate through this pain.

Yes, Jesus is the greatest gift given mankind searching, it seems, through 'mortal' god's that remain buried. While other gods turn to dust, your redeemer lives on assuring you that the promises in your life will be fulfilled.

Yes, my Redeemer lives and for that reason, I celebrate God's greatest gift to mankind.

Monday, December 18, 2017

Remember, the birth of Jesus who later became our gift of eternal life is alive and dwells inside in the form of the Holy Spirit



8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:8-10



When we are down, He lifts us up. When we suffer in the throes of sorrow for a loved one who left us way too soon, He is there to carry you. As pain encroaches you He will fill your mind with the assurances of heaven. He breathes life into you where hopelessness once reign.

As you go about trying to find meaning in your life, Jesus waits patiently on the side hoping you will come to him. Whether it is burning incense or reciting mantras or cleansing your body of toxins, He wants no one to perish. He waits patiently while occasionally using others alive in Christ to utter words of hope into you.

He wants you to know that He's alive while the other so-called gods have died and remain buried. So many have followed false prophets without finding the true Christ. He wants you to find the true Christ! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_claimed_to_be_JesusChrist. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_claimed_to_be_Jesus

The real living Jesus is as close to the living gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John! He is literally standing at the door of your heart waiting for you to acknowledge his presence in hopes you might open up that door to allow him to come in and experience life where once darkness, guilt, and sin prevailed.

All you have to do is cry out to Jesus and ask him to come into your heart just as Revelations 3:20 reminds us: 20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.

Yes, Jesus is alive!

Friday, December 15, 2017

Do not fear" is said 365 times in the bible. That's one for every day of the year! ♡




Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God.I will strengthen you and help you.I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.Isaiah 41:10



Tonight, I joined my wife at Heritage Christian Academy for a great time singing Christmas songs and seeing a one-man drama. I was blessed by the Music performed by some of the Heritage choir and orchestra students, and I was blessed by this one man drama entitled 'Celebrate the Child' performed by Jonathan Swensen. There was one scene that brought me close to tears when he was saying goodbye to his child that died. I choked back tears reflecting on the night years earlier where, like the actor in this production, I too said goodbye to the little girl who left us much sooner than we had like.

When the production was over I walked over to the guy who played all the characters of the production and told him how that one scene brought back memories of our loss. I shared the God story from that first Sunday our family went to Church for the first time without our daughter when son thought about what I had said before it occurred to him that going to Church to honor our Lord should never be based on how we are feeling at the time.

Ten years later my son texted me and asked if I remember that conversation we had. He said that was a pivotal moment in his life because he was angry with God for taking his sister, but then he said:" when I saw that my dad wasn't going to quit, he wasn't going to quit either." The thought occurred to me that your children will do the things you do. Our job as parents is to show our children what it means to honor God when we do not feel like it.

At that point, Jonathan said that before he was born his parents lost a child and he remembers when they went to the gravesite how broken up they were- 30 years later- when they broke down crying as though the wounds of their grief were still raw. Then he said," it doesn't matter how old the child is when death occurs because there is nothing that prepares a parent for outliving their child.

As we talked, I learned that his ministry includes doing drama for grief workshops, camps, etc. My mind at that point started thinking all kinds of possibilities about pulling together an all-day conference on grief and including drama, music and encouraging teaching from those 'who've been there'.

Whether we know it or not, our God is in absolute control of our lives. God's greatest gift was sending his Son into a hurting world filled with people looking for a purpose. We may feel miserable walking into Church after the loss of our loved one, but the same Jesus who escorted your loved one to heaven is the same Jesus walking with you, and sometimes carrying you, through your journey of grief.

Because of that thought, you have reason to not be afraid of the cascading emotions broadsiding you and have a reason to celebrate the birth of Christ!





Tuesday, December 12, 2017

Moving forward, the new normal, the reality that happiness and sadness can coexist








Job 5:11 (NKJV)He sets on high those who are lowly, and those who mourn are lifted to safety.


This week, my wife and I hit a major milestone toward our new normal when we hosted 3 couples to our home for our Lifegroup meeting.  This may seem insignificant to many, but the reality is when loss of a loved one occurs you become so enameled by that loss that you can easily close off your home where it becomes a literal human cocoon. Yet, when I glanced at our families guest book prior to 2007 it was filled with pages upon pages of visiting friends.  Hosting people was something that I missed.

My relationship with my living Savior, Jesus Christ, helped me to transverse across all of the emotional upheavals of my grief until the emotional roller coaster starts evening out with only the occasional 'hair-raising blip'.  This week's grief share presented many stories of those who developed this new normal.  One dad, who taught business at Virginia Tech on the day of the mass shooting that took his daughter's life, said that he took on a new mission of taking missions trips to Haiti and help with raising the funds for school buildings in his daughter's honor. 

Another individual described getting involved in the Grief Share ministry and helping others heal from their grief.  In every case, there were people in the midst of their pain now further along who are now smiling and telling jokes like they did prior to their loss

It is so easy, it seems, to want to grab the nearest liquor bottle and drown your sorrows when a loss occurs. Yet, when we do, it opens up another 'pandora's box leading to potential DUI offenses, going into debt to pay attorney's fees, divorce, homelessness, job loss due to absenteeism, and the list goes on. As I and others have discovered with our journey, God does keep his promises by giving you this new normal

This is why it is so important to choose the right 'worldview'.  To choose God's free gift of eternal life through the gift of his son, Jesus Christ, will give you someone who will whisper God's promises into your ear, or through Bible verses that this pain is temporary and that He will stay with you for however long it takes to develop your new normal. 

The decision I made to accept Jesus Christ as the cornerstone of my life was perhaps the greatest decision I made for my life, and the means to help me reach the new normal of my life. 

How about making it yours?

Sunday, December 10, 2017

Paul Harvey, the man and the birds and a reminder of the gift God gave us through His son.



20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. Revelations 3:20


Paul Harvey's'a man and his birds' has become the classic of mine every holiday season. A poetic reminder of God's greatest gift to mankind, the gift of God's son, Jesus to a world starving for significance. Yet, the true gift wasn't realized until the sorrow overwhelmed us when Jesus took his final breath on the cross.

 Those who might have walked away from Christ believing this was just another broken promise from God never got to see the greatest Spiritual revival in the history of mankind when Jesus reappeared in his new heavenly body and witnessed by thousands of people. 

Nor was their faith strong enough to firmly believe Jesus Christ and accept Him as their Savior and Lord of their life.

 In the book of Acts 1-2, we read these words from Jesus3 After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.

Later in that Chapter are these words of encouragement from our Lord Jesus, "7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

The greatest gift wasn't realized until after the final blow and the final breath was taken, but after he was resurrected and came back to fulfill the promise God made to His people. Shortly before Jesus took his final breath, he uttered those words found in John 19: 28 'After this, Jesus, knowing[a] that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, “I thirst!” 29 Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there; and they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to His mouth. 30 So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.

How easy is it for us to rush our grief by engaging in mindless activities that do nothing but ruin our souls! I would have loved to be in that room when Jesus made his appearance or witnessed those words found in John 20 to Thomas, one of his disciples, '24 Now Thomas (also known as Didymus[a]), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

There is a reward for those who trust the living Savior that He knows what to do with your pain and suffering. To those who trust and lean on their emotions will find healing. When we accept the living Savior into our heart, he promises to walk with you on your journey of life, just as Revelations 3:20 reminds us.

When you trust the living Savior with your pain,  one day you will once again laugh and giggle just as you had before your loss. 

He really does make all things new!

Thursday, December 7, 2017

Joy






For this is what the Lord says— he who created theheavens, he is God; he who fashioned and made theearth, he founded it; he did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited— he says: “I am the Lord, and there is no other. Isaiah 45:18





I spent the best of two days putting up Christmas lights which means I was outdoors enjoying nature,  sunshine, and getting physical exercise.  The by-product of this effort left me with a feeling of euphoria. It was like I had this overflowing river of joy brimming up from below. 

While driving to the hardware store to buy an item I didn't have, I had my radio tuned to our local Christian FM radio station otherwise known as KTIS which this time of year has been playing joy lifting Christmas songs.  

Between the time I spent outdoors soaking up the radiance of the sun and everything God's abundant nature provided from the bunny running through the yard to dogs playing fetch to the birds flying overhead, I sense this brimming source of optimism radiating through every vein and artery of my body. 

At dinner time we heard this news report that perfectly defined what it was I was experiencing: Eco-therapy.

Ecotherapy is the name given to a wide range of treatment programmes which aim to improve your mental and physical wellbeing while doing outdoor activities in nature.https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/drugs-and-treatments/ecotherapy/#.Whp__EqnHIU  

Once God created the earth and all of the animals and nature, he made man to be the overseers of the earth. This meant he wanted men and woman to enjoy all of the fruits and benefits of God's creation by occasionally going outdoors for long walks, hiking in the park, camping, or simply sitting in a chair by a gently flowing creek.

  How we forget these simple things when pain and grief enter our lives where our first inclination is to stay in a darkened room. away from the health benefits of nature.  Since I began facilitating grief share, I have heard stories miracle stories of what happens when grieving people venture outdoors-  God does wonderful things to lift them up.  Doctors are now encouraging their patients to take walks in the park as a way to help them feel better. 

If we all did this, think how much better our bodies would feel? Our world has incredible beauty spread on all the far-reaching continents for people to enjoy. We were made to be in balance with nature.


We were meant to enjoy the great outdoors.

Monday, December 4, 2017

At times the waves of grief may seem like t hey will never end.....




That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” 36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!”Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”41 They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” Mark 4:35-41

A song I loved singing as a child was 'Jesus loves me, yes I know, for the bible tells me so.' Anyone who've experienced singing in children's church will likely know the rest of the words of that song. It is a poetic reminder of how much God truly loves you and me. No matter what happens to us on this journey called life, God is watching out for you.

Yet, when we lose someone special to us and we feel the torrent of emotions hitting our lives, we get this feeling that God abandoned us, and this forlorn journey of grief would never end. It is as though we are in this wooden boat on the stormy sea bailing water just to try to stay afloat. As we hear the thunderous roars and see the huge lightning beams all around us, we wonder if this is the end.

In the 4th chapter of the Gospel of Mark, Jesus is reclining at the back of the boat when his disciples experience a storm that is so bad that it looked like they would be capsized. The disciples woke Jesus up and said, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” A natural response of anyone who has ever been in a boat when a storm comes from nowhere!

He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!”Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

Jesus next response was, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” Can you imagine what your response might have been if you were in that boat and you witnessed the wind died down and the sea returning to normal?

His disciples did when we read these words, They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” I think Jesus's words illustrates for all of us that when we are in the storms of life (and grief is categorically one ) He will walk with us through the muck and mire of our pain no matter how long it takes.

Instead of grabbing the nearest alcoholic beverage or that addictive sedative to down your pain, trust Jesus Christ by asking him to cope with it. In time, those rough seas that you thought would swamp you will even out with just an occasional high wave you know you can face head-on and recover.

The grief journey you are on can be the signature moment of your life when God felt moments come to you through dreams, bible passages, or through conversations with your friends who were given a word of encouragement to encourage you.


Just as the words to that song, you will one day be singing the rest of  those lyrics!

'
Jesus loves me! This I know,
For the Bible tells me so;
Little ones to Him belong;
They are weak, but He is strong.
Refrain:


Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
The Bible tells me so. 


Jesus loves me! This I know,
As He loved so long ago,
Taking children on His knee,
Saying, “Let them come to Me.”
Jesus loves me still today,


Walking with me on my way,
Wanting as a friend to give
Light and love to all who live. 


Jesus loves me! He who died
Heaven’s gate to open wide;
He will wash away my sin,
Let His little child come in.
Jesus loves me! He will stay
Close beside me all the way;
Thou hast bled and died for me,
I will henceforth live for Thee.