Be Thankful... Part 2.

"Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace—and be thankful." 

I'm discovering in my present trial, you really learn to be thankful for something once you no longer have it. 

The operative words in the above passage from Colossians 3:15 are "let" and "be." These words are verbs. You have to choose to act on the imperatives given in this passage. "Let" the peace of Christ rule in your hearts. And "be" thankful.

If we truly are letting the peace of Christ rule in our hearts, then being thankful will be the natural result. I'd go so far as to say, you can't truly be thankful, unless you are letting the peace of Christ rule in your heart.

You simply can't have one without the other.

Letting the peace of Christ rule in your heart means that you have acknowledged that God is sovereign over everything that happens on earth, and nothing is happening in your life unless God allowed it, or directly caused it. You accept God's Lordship over your life, and you have gladly surrendered every area of your heart to Him—knowing that without Him—you can do nothing. (See John 15:5)

You have invited Him in to take His rightful place—seated on the throne of your heart—trusting Him to manage every aspect of your life.

If, in the midst of your extremely painful trial, you can faithfully proclaim, "True and righteous are your decisions O' God", then you are letting the peace of Christ rule in your heart. And the fruit of His peace ruling your heart will be to turn and thank Him for everything you have—and yes—even thanking Him for the extremely painful trial—knowing He has a purpose for allowing you to go through it.

If, on the other hand, the fruit of your lips constantly says things like, "My job sucks!" then the peace of Christ is not ruling in your malcontent heart. And while it may or may not be intentional, what your words are really saying to the Lord is, "God, I am NOT thankful for this job that You have given me, and I do NOT trust You to manage my life!"

Sound extreme? It's meant to be.

God hates murmuring. 

 He hates complaining. He hates unthankfulness.

Consider the malcontent Israelites, who, having been enslaved in Egypt for 400 years, were miraculously delivered through God parting the Red Sea. However, not long after being miraculously delivered from bondage, they began to murmur and complain: "We're sick of this manna from Heaven, why doesn't God give us some meat!?" "We need water to drink! Did God bring us out into this wilderness to kill us!?" (See Numbers 11:1-6).

After their constant complaining, what did God finally do? He let them wander in the desert for 40 years to try to soften their hard, unbelieving hearts. Sadly, most of them would not believe in God's promise to them, and they chose to continue to harden their hearts against God.

The end result—they died in a wilderness of their own unbelief.

Consider the law of sowing and reaping in your own life.

There are consequences to everything you do. If you are getting passed over for a promotion at work because your attitude sucks, or you got fired for your bad attitude—you are reaping what you have sown. And God is allowing you to go through the difficult trial that you have brought upon yourself. If you have liver disease because you drank heavily and partied for most of your life, you are reaping what you have sown.

Now, your response can be thankfulness to God—because you are letting the peace of Christ rule in your heart—or, murmuring against God—because you have hardened your heart against Him.

You decide.

But here's the deal: God will not force you to let the peace of Christ rule in your heart. He will not make you be thankful to Him. No, just like He did with the malcontent Israelites, God will let you wander in the wilderness of your own hardened heart, for as long as you choose to let it remain hardened.

You have to choose to let the peace of Christ rule in your heart and be thankful.

Now, here's God's amazing grace for you: for those 40 years that He let the Israelites wander in the desert, He was still with them. And He sustained the clothes on their backs, and the sandals on their feet so they could still survive. (See Deuteronomy 29:5). Think about that! Would your clothes and shoes last for 40 years of wandering through a desert? I think not.

God was still with the malcontent Israelites, even though they hardened their hearts against Him. All the while, for those 40 difficult years He was right there with them—waiting for them to turn their hearts back to Him—to believe what He had promised them, and to trust in Him.

But they still chose to harden their hearts against God.

What about you?

"Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, in the day of trial in the wilderness, where your fathers tested Me, tried Me, and saw My works forty years. (Hebrews 3:7-9)

What will you choose today?"


—God is Love and Love Never Fails.

Be Thankful for What You Have

"Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe..." (Heb 12:28)

The above passage really speaks to me today, because, as most, if not all of us, have experienced in recent times—the present worldly kingdom we are living in—can, and indeed is, being shaken.

My good friend Dewey stopped by our house on his last visit to town and prayed for me and encouraged me a great deal in my present trial and infirmity. He spoke of the unfortunate bill of goods that so many Christian people have bought into in today's 'modern Christianity' and that is a religion of "easy believism."

I know that term can mean a lot of different things to different people, but I'm specifically talking about the lie propagated by the "name-it-and-claim-it" religious crowd that believes that you as a 'Christian' are always going to have perfect, continuous health and wealth.

I mean, we all want those "blessings" from God, right?

Who wouldn't.

But the punch line is...we have not been promised continuous health and wealth in this life.

Christ never promised us an easy, care-free life.

Oh sure, in the next life, if you are a child of God, saved by the blood of Jesus Christ, you will live with Him forever—in a place of perfect peace—where there will be no more pain, sickness, tears, sorrow or death.

Trust me, we won't have any health issues or financial problems there.

But that comes later. For the time being... we're not in Heaven.

So—getting back to this present world—how are we supposed to live?

For starters, we need to live in the present reality that Christ told us about beforehand.

"In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)

The biblical word "tribulation" used here means, "afflicted, anguish, burdened, persecution, trouble."

Maybe it's just me—but, somehow, the biblical word tribulation used by Jesus just doesn't seem to fit into today's "health and wealth" prosperity gospel.

So, in the midst of our great trials, suffering, sickness, disease, and looming financial disaster in the world economy, what are we supposed to do?

Be thankful. 

That's right, be thankful, knowing that God would not allow us to go through these trials unless He had a purpose for doing so.

Consider this—maybe God chose you and me to suffer for His name, and for His glory. And then, be thankful that we, as the writer of Hebrews wrote, are "receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken." The bible says that we are aliens in this world—sojourners—just passing through. This fallen world is not our home. As it says in Hebrews 13, "Here, we have no continuing city—but we seek the one that is to come."

As I am learning through my current trial and infirmity, God is indeed using it all for good—to bless others. And for that, and for everything and everyone else He has placed in my life, I am so very thankful to Him. Through Him blessing others in this unexpected way, I am being more blessed than if I were receiving something for myself. As Jesus said, "It is far more blessed to give, than to receive."

So thank the Lord every day, and thank Him often, for whatever He has given you. As I am learning, the situations in your life can change instantly. The things or people that are a blessing in your life right now, may or may not be here tomorrow.

A line from Paul Baloche's song "shaken" was inspired by Hebrews chapter 12 - "Everything that can be will be shaken, but only You remain."

Here's the passage from Hebrews 12:25-27,

"See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.” Now this, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain."

Going back to our opening verse, Hebrews 12:28:

"Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe..."

By being thankful to God for everything, we worship Him. So let us do so acceptably, with reverence and with awe.

How many of us truly worship God with reverence and with awe?

Just by observing the weekly services at church, I mean, let's be honest... it's pretty casual. "With reverence and awe" doesn't really define what we do in church on Sunday mornings. Much of the time, the music is not much more than a big show, and most of us can't stop playing with our i-pads and cell phones long enough to really hear what the pastor is saying.

Yes, I know... I will probably get a few boos for that last sentence, but honestly, am I wrong here?

I mean, if God were physically, visibly attending our church services and He was seated on a throne on the stage, would we be chatting to our buddies during the praise and worship service, and playing with our cell phones when He was speaking?

I sure hope not.

No, we'd be on our faces, in reverence and with awe, in the presence of the King of kings Himself. 

The end of that verse in Hebrews says, "For our God is a consuming fire."

Much of "modern Christianity" has reduced Jesus to a cool, laid-back, limp-wristed, 'surfer dude'-kind-of-savior, who basically says, 'everything goes.' But the Bible never portrays God our Savior that way at all.

Seattle pastor Mark Driscoll says of Jesus: "You have no idea who you're dealing with!"

How many of us ever speak of Jesus as if He is a consuming fire?

This wake up call from the Lord today really convicts me to be much more thankful for everything in my life; even the extremely painful trial of my neurological condition. 

And I'm even more convicted to worship God—in my actions, in my thoughts, in my words; acceptably, with reverence and with awe—knowing that the God of love and grace is also a consuming fire; just as His Word says.

I'm His son, through the blood of Christ. I know He loves me. Nothing can ever change that. But He deserves to be worshipped acceptably with reverence and awe, and I have not been doing that very well.

And for that—I'm sorry Lord.

How about you? Where do you stand with Jesus Christ?

For those who think you have all the time in the world to get right with Christ—you don't know what's going to happen tomorrow.


—God is Love and Love Never Fails.

The Blessing of Pain

How on earth can pain possibly be a blessing?

Over this last week—though I certainly didn't ask for it—I have been quite "blessed" to find out.

One way that pain can be a blessing is that it quickly gives you much more compassion for other people who are suffering. If you know people who are suffering through a painful, debilitating disease—it helps you to relate with those people, with whom you couldn't really relate in the past. I find myself praying more for the people I know who are going through extremely difficult times, or suffering with a horrible disease, and offering them words of encouragement whenever possible. It truly brings home the scripture that says, "Weep with those who weep." (See Romans 12:15) The purpose of God allowing us to suffer through pain becomes a bit clearer when viewed through this perspective—that it is so we will be more compassionate, as Christ was compassionate. And who suffered more than Jesus that day on the Cross?

Pain is also a blessing in that it draws your true friends around you when you're going through a difficult, painful time. This last week, I have received an outpouring of prayer, love, support and encouragement from friends, family, and people that I don't even know. Just when I think I couldn't possibly get any more blessed, another friend calls or stops by, and blesses me to tears with their love and friendship.  I keep telling my wife, "George Bailey here!"  

Whenever I watch the classic movie; "It's a Wonderful Life", the scene pictured above, where all of George's many friends, and then his dear brother, come to his rescue in his greatest time of need, always brings me to tears. And this has been my own "wonderful life" lately.  I even recently put a picture of George and Mary Bailey as my avatar photo on my Facebook page. In a closing scene from the movie, George's guardian angel, Clarence, leaves him a note in a book he gave him that says: "Dear George, remember, no man is a failure who has friends." I too, feel like I am the "richest man in town" because I have been so blessed with a wonderful wife and children, and with true friends who stick closer than a brother. (See Proverbs 18:24)

Another way that pain is a blessing, is that it helps you to love more deeply, and with a sense of urgency.  What do I mean by that? I mean that when experiencing the kind of painful attack that I had last week, I was instantly faced with my own mortality.  "Am I going to survive this?" was certainly a thought that was swirling through my pain-wracked head. When you don't know if you are going to live another day or not, you instantly re-evaluate your priorities in that desperate moment. I couldn't wait to get back home to Boise from Pocatello, and hug and kiss my wife, and tell her how much I love her, and how much she means to me. I couldn't wait to talk to my children, and to my friends. In that scary moment, nothing else mattered. Not my job, nor my finances, nor when my next fishing trip was going to be. 

I just needed to to get back home.

Lastly, but by far most important—pain can—if you let it—draw you closer to God.  

On Monday afternoon when I was walking into the store in Pocatello and I had my seizure, I did not hesitate, in fear and trembling, to desperately cry out to God: "Jesus, You have to help me! Jesus, You have to help me!" And after I was released from the emergency room, I have never talked to God more than I did that night driving back to the hotel, and in my lonely room in Pocatello, Idaho. The entire long drive back to Boise the next morning was a time of talking to my Heavenly Father—offering up my life to Him, asking Him to be glorified in it—come what may.

This painful new chapter in my life truly has increased my faith.  It truly has drawn me closer to God, and to those whom I love.  It truly has given me much more compassion for those who are suffering and in need.

And as counter-intuitive as it sounds, I am extremely thankful to God for allowing this painful trial and strange neurological condition to pop into my life. 

And not just "in spite of"—but because of the pain—it truly is a wonderful life.

Thank You to my compassionate God and Savior Jesus, and may all the glory be to Him—who never stops loving me, and who calls all those of us who are weary, and with heavy burdens that we cannot possibly carry, to come to Him, and He will give us rest (Matthew 11:28):

"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

—God is Love, and Love Never Fails.

The Blessing of Not Knowing Why

"Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him."

Job, a patriarch of the Old Testament, uttered these faithful words in the midst of intense suffering and searing, personal loss.

Who among us could truly proclaim our faith in this same way, in the midst of our own greatest tragedy and trials?

When the rubber meets the road, I'm still not 100% certain that I could do so, in the same way that Job did. But I want to hope that I could have this kind of unwavering faith in the midst of my darkest hour.

This last Saturday, I was blessed to go fishing with a good friend.  My friend told me about his son who is suffering through a serious, debilitating disease.  His son is apparently disillusioned and "mad at God" for letting this happen to him.

I told my friend that I have much compassion for his son, because I truly don't know what I would do if I were faced with a serious condition, such as his son is dealing with.

Funny timing.

Three days later, as I was out of town on business, I was walking into a store to see one of my customers and I had some kind of attack that felt like a brain seizure.  I can best describe the pain as like having an ice pick jabbed into my brain, but with a strong electric shock attached.  If you've ever been stung by Stinging Nettles, it felt like that, only ten times stronger, and inside of my head.

Immediately upon calling a good friend, who is an ER doctor back in Boise, I decided to get to a local hospital and into the emergency room right away.

After what felt like hours of waiting..."Trigeminal Neuralgia" was the doctor's cold diagnosis.

'Trigemi-what?'

I've never even heard of that before.

You should have seen that ER docs' face.  "Grim" can't begin to describe his expression and demeanor.

"Oh great..." I thought.

When I read the details about this disorder on Wikipedia, my heart sunk.  I would rather that doctor tell me that I had a brain tumor and have six months to live, than to be diagnosed with a painful condition that will most likely worsen and may never go away.

"Extremely debilitating" was one of the things the doctor said about my new found condition.

"Why?"

That was the question I kept asking God as I drove back to my hotel room in Pocatello.

"Why, Lord...?"

It just doesn't make sense.

After being out of work from September of 2010 to December of 2011, the Lord blessed me with a great job that everyone who knows me said is "the perfect job" for me.  I'm on the road a lot, and I love it.  I get to travel to some beautiful places, and talk to people about fishing tackle all day.  I have a very supportive boss and a freedom in my job that I have never had before.  The last six months have been an incredibly blessed time for my wife and I, and this great job that the Lord has blessed me with has been a large part of that.

But now I am faced with a debilitating condition that may render me unable to work.  Certainly, unable, in my present condition, to drive safely across three states.

"Why, Lord?"

"Why would You bless me with this great job, and then take it away just 6 months later?"

As a man, I have never felt more 'less than worthless' than when I was out of a job and unable to provide for my wife.

I know....I shouldn't jump the gun. This thing is not a done deal yet. God can heal all sickness and disease.  I absolutely know that He "can."  But the fact is, He doesn't always choose to do so. But why?

I've learned in this life, through my own personal experiences and trials, and through the trials of others, that God rarely tells us why He allows (or directly causes?) trials and situations in our lives.

You could say we're on a "need to know basis" with God.

If God wanted us to know why He does anything He would tell us.  But the truth is, "His thoughts are higher than our thoughts, and His ways, higher than our ways." (Isaiah 5:8-9)

"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts."

God's purpose and reasons for doing anything are purely according to His own will and design.  And my inability to understand or know "why" does not deter Him from His divine purpose.

So how is that a "blessing?"

In the last days that Jesus was with His disciples, before He ascended back up to Heaven, He said to them:

"I still have many things to say to you—but you cannot bear them now." (John 16:12)

Looking at these precious words from our compassionate Savior, I believe that God spares us from an explanation of what He is doing, and why—because He knows that we simply couldn't handle it if we knew.

And that's the blessing.

It's because He loves us.

God, in His abundant, compassionate mercy, spares me from the worry or confusion that my little brain would suffer if I knew everything that He knew and why He does it.  I simply could not bear it right now, just as Jesus said.

And if I knew everything that God was up to I would probably mess it all up by doing my own thing and leaning to my own understanding.

"All we like sheep have gone astray—we have turned, every one of us, to his own way..."  (Isaiah 53:6)

I guess the real question for all of us here is: "Am I really going to trust God—no matter how hopeless my situation looks to me right now?"

Everything that happens to us in this life is either something that God has allowed to happen, or it is something that He directly caused to happen. He is sovereign over all creation.  He is fully in control and is seated on His throne.

I either believe that, or I don't. Friends, I choose to believe.

Maybe I don't like my current trial.  Lord knows, I certainly don't understand it.

But this I do know:

"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28)

God, in His infinite wisdom and foreknowledge, has a divine purpose in allowing me to go through this trial, and His promise to me is—He will cause it all to work together for good—because I love Him, and because I am called according to His purpose.

And in that promise and truth I must rest.  I will rest.

As Peter said:  "Lord, where else would we go?  You have the words of eternal life."

You and I are in good hands...and no one can snatch us from our Father's hand. His promise to us is—He has good thoughts and good plans for us.  He has given us a hope and a future.

The Lord is gracious and compassionate.  His love and mercy endures forever.

So, dear friends, the true blessing of God not telling us why He is allowing a great trial in our life, is because He knows that we could not bear knowing "why" right now.

That's how much He loves us.

And for that, I am eternally grateful to Him.

—Trust in the Lord.

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear—but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." (2 Timothy 1:7)

—God is Love, and Love Never Fails.

The Seasons of Life

One of the constants in my life has been that things are always changing.

And those changes have not always been easy.  Many have been quite painful, and some still are.

Perhaps the most difficult changes have been when friends move on. Some of my closest friends in this life have moved away over the last couple of years. Job changes. Family ties. All good reasons, I suppose.

It is what it is.

God brings amazing people into your life and you enjoy the blessing of spending quality time with those friends. You can be spontaneous and call up your buddy and say, "Let's hit the river today!"  Some of my best memories are times such as these, spent with a close friend.

But I am learning that these amazing people that God brings into our lives are for a season. Some of the seasons are long, while others, not so long.

It's all about appreciating the time that you do have with friends, and making the most of that time while you have it.

What I am learning is to expect situations to change in this life, and to turn and thank God when it happens.

I know it's an over-used cliche' but there is a "reason for the season."  

God brings people into your life for a reason. He has a purpose for aligning you with someone.  And even though the distance may increase between you geographically, the true bond of love and friendship cannot be broken. If you have friends who are also your family in Christ, that friendship is forever.  And the relationship you enjoy now is merely a small taste of the kind of eternal fellowship you will enjoy with those true friends after this temporary life comes to a close.

  

And I believe that part of the reason that God allows, or directly causes our seasons of life to change, is so that we do not become so enamored with other people, things, or situations, that they could come between our relationship with Him.

So, knowing that, I have learned to not hold on to the things of this life so tightly that it will ruin me if those things or people in my life were to suddenly go away.

In this current season of my life things are particularly sweet. I have an amazing relationship with my wife, and after being together for almost thirty years, things just seem to keep getting better.  My job has been called the "perfect job" for me by several of the people that know me best. I enjoy a freedom in my job that  I have never experienced before. We have some amazing friends and we get to spend quality time with them on a regular basis. Life is pretty good right now.

But I don't know what's coming tomorrow.

There is a street sign a block or so from our house like the one pictured here that says, "Bumps ahead."

At times in the past when things have been going well, I noticed that sign and God reminded me that trials, trouble and suffering are a part of this life.  While I know that is true, I haven't always been amused by that truth.

But as I write this today, I can look back and smile, and gratefully remember that, while the bumps in the road from yesterday were uncomfortable at the time—some extremely painful—God always got us through those bumpy and difficult times.

Suffering and fiery trials were no stranger to  the first disciples of Christ.  The Apostle Paul writes in Romans chapter 5:

"We also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us."

God has a divine purpose in allowing you to suffer through the difficult trials of this life. But we have learned through life experience that we can have absolute hope and assurance in any difficult situation, because God has faithfully brought us through every trial we have ever faced.

Another unexpected blessing throughout my ever-changing seasons of life has been that when friends have moved on, God has brought other people in my life that have become of some of my very best friends.

If you are suffering through a dark, winter-like season of life right now, have hope in Christ; for this trial too shall pass. The bright, sunny days of summer are coming. 

The Harvest is near.

Appreciate the people who are in your life right now. Don't let precious time slip away from you because of the distractions and busyness of this present life.  Spend quality time now with the people who God has put into your life. Let those precious people know just how much you love them.

The time is short.

If you are a follower of Christ, you are not alone. He has not left you as an abandoned orphan.  You have a faithful Eternal Father who will never leave you or forsake you.  He will never stop loving you.

As the song says, "And though our sorrow may last for the night—joy comes in the morning!" 

Hope does not disappoint.

—God is Love and Love Never Fails.