One Word - The 2017 Edition

It has been awhile since I posted, going back to school at 46 doesn't allow a lot of free time. However, I wanted to kick the New Year off the way I have the past few years.

In 2013 I became a Compassion blogger. I was drawn to the idea for 2 reasons. One, I love Compassion and have sponsored a few children over the years. Two was the challenge they put out encouraging people to seek the Lord for a word for the new year instead of making a new years resolution. I enjoyed the idea and have asked God for a new word each year since.

In 2013 I felt that word was PRAYER. In 2014 the word and pray I did.  Lots.  Things happened (concussions) which forced me to my knees in prayer before the Lord.  In fact I think I only survived that year due to prayer!

In 2014 that word was TRUST. Looking back over that year, I saw areas both personally and professionally where I had to learn to trust God more than ever.  I also saw God open amazing doors as I learned to trust Him more.

In 2015 I felt that the word He had for me was PEACE. A lot happened that year and my peace was challenged greatly at times.  Yet through all of the ups and downs, I felt the peace that passes all understanding!  (Phillipians 4:7)

In 2016 I felt the word the Lord spoke was BEGINNINGS. It was definitely a year of new beginnings. My daughter moved to Germany and my wife and I went back to school. We moved to Winnipeg and are now training to become Salvation Army Officers. Of course beginning mean endings as well and we had a few of those, from the loss of family to the moving away from our home town of 12 years. Yet God was and is good and sustained us through it all.

I never know how the word will be applied, what circumstances will arise, but when I reflect on the year that passed, I always see God has been true to His word.

Now we are on the cusp of 2017 and I have been praying for days asking the Lord what He is speaking to me for this year.

The word is COMFORT.

Two Scriptures come to mind. The first is in John 14:18. In the NIV it says, "I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you." Most translations use the word orphans but the KJV uses the word comfortless.  The second is 2 Corinthians 1:3, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort."

I have been a spiritual orphan but then I found Christ. I have lost one of my earthly parents, and Christ comforted me through that time. Many think of loss and comfort together. Yet I look at this word for the year and my thoughts drift to words written by Samuel Bringle. In his book Guest of the Soul he wrote, "When He comes, He arouses and quickens our dull minds, He opens wide the closed eyes and sealed ears of our soul, and we see and hear things that were hidden from us. He brings our inner life into harmony with the mind of God as revealed in the Bible." That to me is comfort!

I want that kind of comfort! I don't know what 2017 holds but I know God is in control. He has sustained me for 46 earthly years and sustained me in the faith for 33! I know whatever happens, He is the God of all comfort. I just want to lean into Him.

I am excited to see how this word applies to the coming year.

So what is God speaking to you for the New Year?

Baby Steps

Here in Canada, the CBC has a radio program called Under the Influence with host Terry O’Reilly.

http://www.cbc.ca/radio/undertheinfluence

It mostly has to do with advertising. On Feb. 4, 2016 they aired this story:

One day in Afghanistan, a small troop of American soldiers found themselves involved in an exchange of gunfire with a small group of Afghans.

The skirmish goes on for days.

It's a gun battle with no end, as each side just keeps firing shots in the other's direction.

The other group isn't associated with the Taliban, so the Americans aren't sure why they are being fired upon.

Finally, the American Lieutenant in charge has an idea.

He says, why don't we just ask them?

So the Lieutenant signals a ceasefire.

When the shooting stopped, he slowly walked over to the Afghans and asked, "Why are you firing at us?"

They tell him it's because the Americans are not paying rent for the land they're on.

The Lieutenant says, "Oh, OK, so we'll pay rent."

The Afghans say that's fine, but we have to warn you that another group will start shooting at you.

When the Lieutenant asks why, the Afghans tell him that the other group believes they own they land.

Then the Lieutenant asked this one simple question:

Is there a place we can move to where we won't have to pay rent?

The Afghans point to a place just 180 metres away.

So the American squad picked up their equipment, moved 600 feet to the left - and the shooting stopped.

That was all it took.

It was the smallest move that resulted in a surprisingly big gain.

As I listened to that story I thought about the story of Nicodemus in the book of John.

Nicodemus appears three times in the Gospel of John.

He first visits Jesus one night to discuss his teachings.[John 3:1–21]

Nicodemus didn't approach Jesus for all to see. He was curious but he was also a member of the Sanhedrin.  The Sanhedrin legislated all aspects of Jewish religious and political life within the parameters laid down by Biblical and Rabbinic tradition.

Nicodemus came at night to try to figure out who this Jesus was. He took baby steps towards Christ.

The second time Nicodemus is mentioned, he reminds his colleagues in the Sanhedrin that the law requires that a person be heard before being judged.[John 7:50–51]

Nicodemus must have liked what he heard because he puts himself at great risk to defend Jesus here. He is even accused of being one of his followers.

Finally, Nicodemus appears after the Crucifixion to provide the customary embalming spices, and assists Joseph of Arimathea in preparing the body of Jesus for burial.[John 19:39–42]

We have here a man who met Jesus at night, defended him publicly and then helped to bury Him after the crucifixion.

From baby steps to a follower of Jesus Christ!

We all are moving through life. We are either moving closer to Christ or further away.  The steps we take maybe small at first but when we discover who Jesus is, our lives will never be the same.

The Call

What are the different ways in which God calls us?

Before we get the call, we have to know His voice.  I am reminded of 1st Samuel 3. Samuel did not yet know the Lord, the word of the Lord not yet being revealed to Him. (vs 7) Three times the Lord called to Samuel and each time he went to Eli the priest whom he ministered to the Lord under. The first two times, Eli said he did not call him. Then Eli realized the Lord was calling Samuel and taught Samuel how to respond. Samuel had to learn how to hear the voice of the Lord.

Later in John 10:27 Jesus says that His sheep listen to His voice, He knows us and we follow Him.  I believe that as new believers we need to be discipled, taught to hear his voice and that as we lean in to Him, talk wioth Him, pray to Him, read His Word...we will begin to hear Him when He calls.

One way the Lord calls us is through prayer. I remember numerous times in our life when my wife and I spent time in prayer and the Lord spoke specifically to us, calling us to new pathds we had not thought of ourself.  One time, while living in Croatia, my wife and I were praying about taking an outreach team to Macedonia and then staying there ourselves when the team departed. I came home one day and my wife was crying. She said the Lord spoke to her some specific things in prayer about our next steps. I wanted to see the list she had made but she said if it was from God, He would speak it to me as well.  5 days later, as I was prayer planning an evening event in another town, I felt the Lord calling me to grab a pen and He clearly spoke some "next step" things to me.  When I got home a couple days later our list matched exactly.

I also believe the Lord calls us through His Word. My call to Salvation came through His Word. I saw the Scriptures and how clearly it says that I had sinned and Jesus made a way for me to be connected to the Heavenly Father via His death on the cross. I eagerly responded to that call. Later, I felt the Lord calling me to missions via the Great Commission. I spent 4 years in missions ministry as a result of that call.

Finally I belive the Lord confirms His call through the consulting of others. Two specific times in my life, in the above story of our future in Croatia and later when we prayed about a move that brought us to Canada, we consulted a pastor and another spiritual leader, asking them to pray with us and for us and to see if what we felt the Lord speaking was also witnessed in their spirit. Samuel went to Eli when he heard the call and I believe we also need to seek the wisdom of others when we feel God calling.

In summary, I believe God calls us through prayer, His Word and the wisdom of our spiritual leaders.

5 Questions With Pastor Gregg Matte

Welcome to 5 Questions With.....

Today's guest is Pastor Gregg Matte.

Gregg Matte is the senior pastor of Houston's First Baptist Church and founder of Breakaway Ministries at Texas A&M University, one of the largest college Bible studies in the nation. He is also the author of Finding God's Will and I AM Changes Who I Am. He and his wife, Kelly, have a son and a daughter and live in Houston, Texas.

I just recently reviewed his book, Unstoppable Gospel and Pastor Matte took time to discuss his book with me in a phone interview today.  What follows is a transcript of that call.

OK, let's get started:

1. Why did you decide to write Unstoppable Gospel?

I wanted the people of the church to be encouraged and offer them some practical steps in how to make a difference. We live in a culture where everyone is dogging the church or dogging Christians and acting like the church and the Christians are the problem when it really is the answer. We want to be a part of making the difference. So by looking back at the book of Acts we get some practical steps in how to make a difference, we also are encouraged that we can make a difference. Lastly, in the beginning of Acts, they are hiding, afraid that they are going to be killed just like Jesus was. The last verse of Acts says, "Then the Gospel went out unhindered." (Acts 28:30-31) So you have a very big difference there and that is what I wanted the people of God, the people of the church to really get, that through God we can make a difference. 

2. You mention in your book that we should define ourselves spiritually rather than vocationally. Can you explain that a bit more?

We have to see our primary identity first. That is really our eternal identity, that we are Christians, and then see our roles and our other identitys second. What happens is then you get the order right and that is where Jesus says, "seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." (Matthew 6:33) and C.S. Lewis says "put first things first and you'll get second things thrown, put second things first and you'll lose the both of them." So what I wanted people to do is to understand that the first thing that you are is a Christian. That is the number one thing that you are as a believer in Christ. Then fron that, that gives us the strength to then be a mom or a dad or a businessman or an engineer or whatever it is. We have to first see ourselves, with the Holy Spirit dwelling in us and Him moving through us. Often times we get it mixed up, so if I see myself as a businessman first, then I may never share Christ with anyone at the office or really want to make a difference because that would risk me being a businessman. Instead of having my primary identity being first and the resource of Jesus being from which I do everything.

3. What do you see as the difference between conviction and condemnation?

Condemnation is very ambiguous. Conviction is very procise. The conviction of the Holy Spirit is going to have a prociseness to it that we are going to go, "You know I need to stop doing this or start doing that, or I was rude or God is working on my pride, He is working on my selfishness. Conviction is like a laserbeam flashlight. Condemnation is just this big wet blanket of "Oh woe is me I am terrible." What does that mean that you are terrible? What specifically is God trying to get your attention on? The devil loves to give us condemnation. He just wants to paralyze us with a wet blanket thrown over us. God wants to give us conviction in order to bring growth. Condemnation sends us backwards, conviction sends us forward. Condemnation takes us away from God, conviction actually draws us to God. So they are very different, though they may feel the same because they have a twinge of guilt with them. We have to get past that and say ok I want to grow from this. 

4. You mentioned the "ministry of interruptions" which really gave me pause as a pastor because I do not always look for that. Can you explain that phrase for our readers?

Yes, you know God has got you on a path and He is going to interrupt you throughout the day. What I mean by that is there are going to be people who come along that are either lost person in need of a Saviour or a saved person needing encouragement. When we see people spiritually that makes a difference. So then when the phone rings or someone crosses our path in need of help, we don't see it as an interruption, we see it as an opportunity. That is what they had in the book of Acts. You see Peter and John on the way to the temple and someone would interrupt them asking for money and they would say, "I want to give you Jesus." So they use it as a ministry opportunity. A lot of times we are focused, knocking it out and we have to see that God is going to bring some intersections into our path and those can sometimes be the greatest moments of our day. As opposed to just making it to the store and getting our grocery list checked. 

Let me add one other thing, as a leader, it doesn't mean everything that comes into your inbox is something that you ned to deal with at that moment. That is not what I am saying. I am not trying to call people to reactionary living, I am trying to be attuned with the Spirit to know when they need to turn aside and to take that time to encourage or help that person. There are a thousand things coming at you. You have to be strategic about that and have a listening ear to the Lord. 

5. How is your church, Houston First Baptist, sharing the unstoppable Gospel?

It has gotten a hold of us in a huge way. We're giving and we're going. We are a generous church and want to give financially and also of our time and be able to give and say lets let the Gospel go out, Acts1:8, to our city, nation, world. Also we want to be able to go. To be active in it.  We have people adopting children, we have folks teaching Sunday School, we have folks sharing Christ in their workplace. We want to be difference makers. 
 
Thank You Pastor Matte!

If you get the chance, check out Unstoppable Gospel

The Suffering Christ

Matthew 20: 18-19,  “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify. And the third day He will rise again.”

As I was preparing a talk for a joint Good Friday service, I realized that I don’t reflect enough on the suffering that Jesus Christ went through on the cross.  I don’t mean that in a morbid sort of way.  It is just that, beyond Good Friday/Easter Sunday, I don’t often meditate on all that He suffered on the cross.

After His arrest, the Bible describes how Jesus had a crown of thorns crammed on His head. He was spit on, mocked and then He was scourged.  I read the word scourged and I realize I don’t think much about what that actually means. 

When the Romans scourged someone, it would quickly remove the skin. Deep lacerations, torn flesh, exposed muscles and excessive bleeding would leave the criminal "half-dead." The Centurion in charge would order a halt to the flogging when the criminal was near death.

Jesus Christ suffered a scourging before He went to the Cross.

At the cross, the condemned was thrown to the ground on his back, with his arms outstretched along the crossbar.  The nails…the iron spikes…were driven into His hands and feet.  During the time on the cross, Jesus would have been in excruciating pain, struggling to breathe, enduing unimaginable horror. 

Then came that final moment, when His earthly suffering was over….with His last Words…”It is finished.” Jesus, the innocent Son of God, who bore our sins, died.

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. (John 15:9)

I asked the people in our congregation what came to mind when they thought of Jesus on the cross.  One lady said, “Unfathomable Love.”  I couldn’t say it any better.

Jesus went through all that suffering because He loved us…He died so that we could be reconnected with God the Father. 

Today, I urge you to take some time and reflect upon the Cross.  Reflect upon His suffering AND His Love.

Just One Word

A couple years back Compassion sent a challenge out to their bloggers  to seek the Lord for a word for the new year instead of making a New Years Resolution.  I enjoyed the idea so much I have asked God for a new word each year since.

Literally, ONE word.

If the Lord was to give me one word for 2015 what would it be?

In 2013 I felt that word was PRAYER and pray I did.  Lots.  Things happened which forced me to my knees in prayer before the Lord.  In fact I think I only survived that year due to prayer!

Last year that word was TRUST. Looking back over the last year, I have seen areas both personally and professionally where I have had to trust God more than ever.  I have also seen God open amazing doors as I learned to trust Him more.

Now with 2015 upon us, I asked the Lord what word He wanted to give me for this year.  I feel that the word He has for me this year is PEACE.

As I prayed about this year I felt the Lord remind me of two passages from His Word.

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." (John 14:27)

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Phillipians 4:6-7)

I don't know what 2015 holds.  I am making plans (vacation in Tennesee, book promotions, church, ministry) but I also know God can take things in any number of directions. My ultimate goal is to know Him and His will more. 

I am excited to see how this word applies to the coming year.

So what is God speaking to you for the New Year?

Jesus Loves Me This I Know

 I have been singing this children's hymn for over a week now.  Like any ear-worm, it has buried itself deep and I have even woken up in the middle of the night with the song on my lips.  However, this simple but profound song isn't driving me crazy, it's driving me deeper into the Word of God!
 
I found a definition of love that I have been using as a baseline as I read various scriptures on the topic.

Love - It is a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person.

Tender and passionate.  That is the kind of Love I believe the Lord exhibits towards us on a continual basis.  It is that passionate love that caused God to send His only Son to die for us!  It was that kind of love that caused Jesus to submit His will to the Father in the garden of Gethsemane.  A sacrificial love!

"And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." (Ephesians 5:2)

One of the most encouraging Scriptures to me is found in Romans 8:

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:35-39)

The key to experiencing that love is relationship with Him!  Recognizing and accepting the work he did on the cross!

From the Garden of Eden to the Book of Revelation, Love Permeates the Bible.  Yes,  at times God has had to discipline His children, we have suffered the consequences of our own sinful actions, but His love is there, wooing, calling, and available.

“And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” (Joshua 24:15)

If we except, or have excepted that love then we can also rest in that love:

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. (John 15:9)

To Abide meas to: to remain or continue, to dwell, or my favorite, to await in expectation!

Jesus love us, let us abide in His Love!

I Am a Citizen

I am both a US Citizen and a Permanent Resident of Canada.

I love my country of birth and my country of current residence.  My family celebrates both the US and Canadian holidays.  Though I am proud to be an American, because my wife and kids were born in Canada, I will likely one day seek dual citizenship.

We have just celebrated Canada Day and the 4th of July and as these patriotic holidays pass,  I am reminded that this is my temporary home.  I am not talking about where my earthly citizenship resides but where my eternal citizenship is registered.

“For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,”   (Philippians 3:18-20)

I am a citizen of 2 worlds.  The one I live on in the here and now and the one to come.  Jesus spoke of this second world leading up to His crucifixion.

John 18:36, “Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world.  If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders.  But now my kingdom is from another place.”

I am proud to be an American but I am prouder still that my name is written in the Book of Life.  I am filled with joy to live in Canada but will have joy never-ending the day I enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.  One day this life will pass and my eternal life will begin.   On that day, I will gladly exchange my citizenship on earth for the one that will not end.  I look forward to spending eternity with Jesus Christ.

Everything else pales in comparison.

5 Questions With Edgar Harrell

Welcome to 5 Questions With.....

Today's guest is Edgar Harrell.

I just recently reviewed his book, Out of the Depths and Mr. Harrell has graciously agreed to discuss the book and his experiences here.

A brief bio from his website, www.indysurvivor,com:

Edgar Harrell owned and operated the Pella Window Company, Inc., Rock Island, Illinois for thirty-five years until his retirement in 1985. During the years 1970 to 1985, he served on the board of trustees of the Moody Bible Institute, in Chicago, Illinois, and has been a popular Bible teacher and lay minister throughout his adult life. He has enjoyed many years of fishing and big game hunting in the Rocky Mountains from Alaska to New Mexico, and currently resides in Clarksville, Tennessee with his wife Ola, together enjoying their two children, eight grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. As a survivor of the USS Indianapolis (www.indysurvivor.com), Mr. Harrell speaks extensively around the United States about his experience at sea.

OK, let's get started:

1. During the tail end of WW2 your ship, the USS Indianapolis, was sunk by Japanese torpedoes. You and your shipmates were in the water for 5 days. Was there ever a moment where you felt like giving up?

I must say there were moments when I believed life on this earth might be over, especially when I saw the carnage of the many bloated bodies, unrecognizable, floating in our very midst, even slamming into us as they tumbled off a 10 foot wave of water, leaving some of their putrid flesh on us. Likewise, seeing a shipmate so exhausted that they were willing to just give up, or hearing that blood curdling scream, to see that kapok go under and see it surface in a school of sharks was indeed a test of faith. 

From the 80 or so in our group just after leaving the ship, and only 17 the third day at noon, was a test of our endurance. I often say "it is much easier to die than to fight to live". To see a body that had been disemboweled, or the bottom torso gone, left you with despair. Some of our shipmates were drinking salt water and became delirious and thus your enemy, even thinking that you had a canteen of water in your kapok jacket and thus might stab you  to get that sacred water. However, there was too many things happening daily that told me that somehow or someway I would survive. I had that assurance given to me when I looked into the oil covered water below when I was praying just before I left the ship. I had poured my heart out to the Lord, whom I knew, telling Him, "I don't want to die, I want to live. I have a Dad and Mom back home, two sisters and six younger brothers. I also have a brunette that promised to wait for me." (Yes and she waited and has been my companion for these past 67 years.) "I want to live and have a family, I want to live for you." As I prayed, the Lord responded by calling to mind the Scripture that says I will never leave you or forsake you or John 14:27, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." Those words flashed into my memory as if the Lord was personally speaking to me. That was the hope that ultimately sustained me those days. That too became my prayer of praise and thanksgiving, yes His Divine Providence.

2. Have you ever felt bitter about what happened?

With Commander Hishimoto? No.  With the Japanese people? Absolutely not. I would liked to have met Commander Hishimoto and thanked him that he did not surface and strafe us. I have met his grand-daughter and great-grand-daughter and embraced them with tears and delight of restitution on each of our parts.

3. Your Captain was eventually exonerated of culpability in the sinking of the USS Indianapolis. How important was that for you and your shipmates?

Three hundred seventeen survivors fought for 50 years with the Navy, Pentagon & Washington to have our good Captain exonerated. This took the survivors organization going before the Armed Service Committee in Washington, DC and getting a joint resolution from the House and Senate, which President Clinton signed, getting Captain McVay exonerated. We could wish that our present President would go the next step and have the Court Martial EXPUNGED from the record. That is the need today for the miscarriage of justice and the court martial of Capt. Charles B. McVay III in 1945.

We have been promised by the Sec. of the Navy to have another surface USS Indianapolis in the not to distant future.

4. Throughout your book, Out of the Depths, you talked about the Lord protecting you, providing for you, etc. Did your understanding of God and His grace change in any way through the experience?

Yes, yes in many ways. It has become one of praise and thanksgiving. It has driven me closer and closer to the Lord. There is never a day that passes but what I remember those days and remember His assurance, plus His mercy and grace. Each of those 4 1/2 days God revealed Himself to my most present needs.

5. What do you hope readers will take away from your book?

I could wish that readers would read the details of our daily experiences, plus realize the cost paid by my shipmates, which was the largest disaster at sea in the history of the US Navy. Respectt our service men who have and our presently sacrificing for our freedom.
 
Thank You Mr. Harrell!

God Bless & Semper Fi

Edgar Harrell USMC
Survivor USS Indianapolis

If you get the chance, check out Edgar's website here 

Notes on the above interview: 

A kapok is a type of flotation device. 
Commander Hishimoto was the Captain of the Japanese submarine I-58 that sunk the USS Indianapolis. 

I Wil Draw Near

My beautiful wife never ceases to amaze me.  She wrote this worship song last week for our upcoming Sunday service. Preceding the song will be Scriptures that contributed to her thought process.  I include those passages here and encourage you to spend time looking them up.

Here are the words to her song:

I Will Draw Near

 

Fountain of Life, flow over me

'till I'm filled with Your glory

Spirit renew the fire that once drew

me into the Holy of Holies

And I will draw near, as I wait here

I will return to my Father

My heart of stone, I lay at Your throne

That I may know You and be known

The sound of Your voice, fills me with joy

You turn sorrow to gladness

You don't disappoint, You never leave

and I am changed in Your presence

So I will draw near, as I wait here

I will return to my Father

My heart of stone, I lay at Your throne

That I may know You and be known

Only in You are justice and truth

and mercy binds me to You

How high are Your thoughts, How great are Your ways

Your covenant is my peace

Bridge:

You satisfy my soul with good

You bought my freedom with Your blood

Your fire consumes my sin

You captivate my heart

So, I will draw near, as I wait here

I will return to my Father

My heart of stone, I lay at Your throne

That I may know you and be known

© Sarah Apperson, 2014

Psalms 94:14; 107:9; 111:9-11 

Isaiah 31:3; 40:31; 54:10; 55:6-8

Jeremiah 2:13; 3:12; 3:19; 31:13

Ezekiel 36:25-27; 43:5

John 4:14 

Acts 2:2-4 

Ephesians 1:7-8

Titus 3:4-7

Hebrews 12:29

Christians and Mental Health - I Can See Clearly Now

Fog.  Thick, thick fog.

Swimming through molasses.    

These are just a couple of the ways I have explained the feeling in my head since my last concussion.

It is hard to explain that feeling of being detached from yourself.  It is a scary feeling.  At times I have felt frustrated and overwhelmed.  I wasn't depressed but I sure was discouraged.  After a year and a half, I was not sure if I would ever see relief.  I was ready to concede that this was the new normal. 

The holidays were rough.  It took all of my energy to focus on the work before me and by the time I got home, I was spent.  I prayed and prayed for a healing but each day was the same.

Finally, I visited the doctor.  After some conversations about where I was emotionally, physically and mentally I decided to broach the subject of medicinal help for my situation.  The doctor prescribed me an anti-depressant that works more as a sleep aid than anything else.  I thought that some of my post-concussion symptoms could be improved with a good nights sleep.

All I can say is Praise God.  I am sleeping well and for the first time since my concussion, I no longer feel the foggy brain when I go through my day.  I am rested and relaxed and feel more like my old self. 

I know some Christians are vehemently opposed to prescription drugs, esp. anti-depressants.  Hey, I've been there.  I see now that I was being judgmental.  Jesus Himself used various means to heal people.  John 9:1-7 talks about a time when Jesus made mud with a little spit and told a man to go wash it off in order to be healed.  In the OT, we have the story of Elisha who told one sick man to go and dip in the river 7 times in order to be healed. (2 Kings 5:1-15)

If God can use the rivers and pools, mud and spit, why can't he use medicine?

Today I am clear headed and I feel better able to focus on all that God would have me to do.  I thank God that He still heals today and I am no longer opposed to how He chooses to do it.  Be it a word, a touch or a pill...God is the one who heals.  

Other Topics in the Christians and Mental Health series:
What are we afraid of?
How Should the Church Respond?
 

5 Questions With Don Richardson

Welcome to 5 Questions With.....

Today's guest is Don Richardson.

Following his 15 years of missionary service under World Team among tribal peoples in Papua, Indonesia, Don Richardson became a conference speaker representing World Team on behalf of Christian missions. He has authored numerous books.  His teaching and writing ministry has spread internationally and continues to this day. 

Don's books, Peace Child, Eternity in their Hearts and Lords of the Earth were the first mission books I ever read and profoundly influenced me as I began my own time as a missionary in Croatia.

OK, let's get to it:

1.What are Redemptive Analogies?

A redemptive analogy is something within a culture - a custom, ritual, tradition or story - that is cherished by the people in that culture but also anticipates an aspect of redemption provided in Jesus Christ. By the way, redemptive analogies are redemptive only in the sense of facilitating understanding as a lead-up to redemption.  Redemption itself rests solely on Christ's atoning self-sacrifice.  Redemptive analogies are either specific or generic.  

A. Specific redemptive analogies are found only in one culture or a select group of cultures: e.g., the Sawi peace child, the Asmat new birth, the Yali place of refuge, the Dyak scapeboat, the way the Chinese formed their word for "righteous," etc. The Apostle John favors specific redemptive analogies: logos, lamb of God, serpent of brass, et al in his Gospel. 

B. Generic redemptive analogies are common to all or almost all cultures: e.g., analogies based on marriage, parenting, farming, building, teaching, warring, commerce, working, music, sports, etc. The Apostle Paul, who moved constantly from one culture to the next, favored generic redemptive analogies in his epistles. 

2. Where do you see missions today as compared to 30 years ago?

Today's missionary activity is ever so much more varied, culture-sensitive, widespread and focused than it was in the past, especially more than 30 years ago.  Opportunities abound for people of all ages and from all walks of life to participate in cross-cultural ministry via short-term, project-focused trips. Veterans of such trips frequently commit to longer-term service.  Missionaries now serve in countries where a visa stamp of "missionary" prohibits entry; but they artfully enter and work therein as educators, medical professionals, engineers, environmental specialists, artisans, etc. Many mission agencies now recognize the wisdom of sending out workers with a heart to take the Gospel and help plant churches, via professions desired by the "host" countries.    

3. In your opinion, what challenges lay ahead for missions?

A. Recession-induced difficulty of raising and then retaining, let alone increasing, levels of financial support.

B. The resurgence of ultra-Calvinism in our midst. If this claim startles you, read my latest, Heaven Wins (2013). Surprise will soon give way to shock as I expose the aberrations that Augustine, Calvin, Luther and their state-church-favoring ilk imposed in place of the benign apostolic character the Church was meant to manifest and the mission she was created to fulfill. Tens of thousands of graduates from Reformed seminaries have been 'left in the dark' about the full story. Chagrin follows shock when readers discover how each aberration corresponds to at least one aspect of Calvinism's 'TULIP' formula. Defining God's grace as a force that operates irresistibly, for example, translates to the church unleashing similarly irresistible force against fellow-Christians like the Donatists, against critics, heretics, Jews and Muslims. Dutch Reformed Christians in South Africa, e.g., found racist apartheid to be thoroughly consistent with their theology. They refused even to baptize blacks who believed in Jesus. When Anabaptist missionaries arrived later and insisted on baptizing black converts, Dutch Reformed Christians forcibly deported the Anabaptists from South Africa! Any resurgence of that kind of theology - even if it seems benign at first - has the potential to resort to its own historical precedents over time.

C. The American population's naivete regarding what Islam is up to and capable of. I wrote Secrets of the Koran (2003) hoping to dilute that naivete to at least some degree. 

4. I noticed on your website that you have turned to creating amazing works of art. How did that develop? 

In my youth, I constantly drew and painted my favorite things. Many thought I was destined to a career in art. Eventually, finding that whereas pictures tend merely to captivate, words have a much greater potential to motivate, I shifted my focus to speaking and writing.  However, in late 2007, after 44 years without touching a brush to canvas, I sensed God leading me to rediscover and employ the gift He had imparted earlier so as to depict positive aspects of Papuan humanity.  

5. You served on the mission field for years, then later worked with the US Center for World Missions, what are you currently involved in?

As minister-at-large for World Team, I accept invitations to speak nationwide and, to a lesser degree, worldwide. Yet all the while I have kept pursuing, and believe I have actually found the ultimate redemptive analogy for all of mankind. It proves to be a comprehensive, fully-integrated 22-law 'unified field' under-girding everything that true theology and valid science have been testifying to for ages. That is what my 5th book, Unhidden (2010, 2nd ed.--available on my website, www.donrichardsonbooksales.com)--is all about. In Unhidden, I zealously defend, for example, God's Genesis 1:6 planar mode of creating the cosmos against the Big bang Cosmology's everything-emerged-from-a-single-point concept.  

First God selects an "expanse" in space-time. On that vast expanse, God first creates and then immediately "separates" an atop-the-expanse plasma of antimatter (designated as "waters") from a seemingly identical under-the-expanse plasma of matter ("waters" again).

This contrasts ever so opportunely with Big Bang Cosmology's concept of a beginning in which matter and antimatter from catastrophically intermixed at a single point, resulting in their immediate mutual annihilation followed by the arduous task of trying to explain how this well-ordered cosmos could result from such and utter disaster.
 
Thank You Don!

Bless you Rick!

If you get the chance, check out Don's website here.  

Finishing Well

The end of the year is fast approaching and before we know it, Christmas will have come and gone.

I do enjoy celebrating the birth of Christ.  However, I believe we should celebrate His birth year round.  Jesus came for a reason and it was not so that we could give lots of presents and sing fun songs.  (Nothing wrong with those traditions by the way.)

Jesus, loved us so much that He came to die! John 3:16 is not just a cool memory verse.  It was the reason Jesus came into this world. He lived to die!

That is the reason I celebrate Christmas.

I enjoy the Christmas parties and presents, but I enjoy spending time in His Presence more.

The older I get, the more I realize how much time I waste on things external instead of things Eternal!  I find the end of the year is a good time to reflect on whether  I am loving the Lord with all my heart, soul, mind and strength and my neighbor as myself.  (Luke 10:27)   Am I spending time with the Lord, seeking His face with my whole heart?

I ask these questions because I want that relationship with Jesus Christ to grow, day by day, until my life on this earth is no more.

I want to finish well.  This year, next year and for all the years to come!  I want to know Him more.
His birth is only the beginning of the party.  There is a greater one coming, one I look forward to more and more each day.

(The image above is attached to a neat Christmas devotion for families:  http://www.southsidebiblechurch.net/Content/10300/235010.pdf)

Christians and Mental Health - How Should The Church Respond?

What should the church be?

The church should be a place where it’s OK to struggle with depression.

The church should be a place that’s home to the recovering and the relapsing addict.

The church should be a place where leaders can have faults and not be afraid to share them.

The church should be a place where we’re not afraid of pain.

The church should be a place where condemnation is replaced by redemption.

The church should be a place where love becomes an action verb.

The church should be a place where people with mental health issues feel loved and cared for.

In fact, the church should build up their knowledge on mental health issues. The church should understand the symptoms and make themselves aware of the resources available in their community.  

A few years back I took a 10 week course that dealt with various kinds of mental health issues and it was an eye-opening experience.  My whole view was shifted in so many ways.

What should the church be?

It should be a place where love prevails.  

I have seen that love in church after church around the world.  I have seen the love of God displayed over and over to those in need.  

Sadly, I have also seen the opposite.  

I find myself reflecting on how Jesus would respond to someone in pain.  Of course we have numerous pictures of how Jesus ACTUALLY did respond.

Jesus healed the sick.

Jesus called people to the Father.

Jesus spoke to the need and provided living water.

Jesus forgave.

Jesus loved.

Not only did Jesus love but He also told us to love one another. (John 13:34)  That is how the church should respond to people with mental health issues.

By loving one another.

God is...? - Just A Thought #56

Here's a challenge.  When you see the phrase, "God is...?", how do you complete that sentence?  What were the first words that came to your mind?

How you answered might say a lot about where you are right now in your walk with the Lord. 

Did you say God is good? 

I know many people who have said that.  One person told me recently that they know He is good but they don't always feel He is good.  Their head says yes, their heart says I don't know.  The question becomes, does God have my best interest at heart?  The truth can be pointed out through the Scriptures but when the rubber meets the road, do we truly believe it in our hearts and live it out in practice? 

Did you say God is great?

What does that mean to you?  Great at what?  Or is great defined as "having considerable power?"  If God is great, how does that effect the way we live? 

Did you say God was loving?

God so loved the world that He gave His only Son. (John 3:16)  Do we feel that love?  We may know that we are loved but do we really believe it?  Do we live as though we know God truly cares about our needs? 

All these questions and it all goes back to one thing in my opinion.  Do we trust God to be the God of all?  Do we believe He truly is fair, loving, kind and filled with truth, or is He only those things when we get our own way?

Proverbs 3:5 says we are to trust in the Lord with ALL of our hearts and not to trust in our own wisdom or way of understanding things. 

We may not feel it, we may not truly believe it, but it does not negate this truth:

"For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations." (Psalm 100:5)

Be encouraged.

Do You Feel Loved Today?

Do you feel loved today?  Do you think that if people knew the real you they would still love and care about you?  Maybe you have never felt loved. I think, rather we would admit it or not, all of us long to be loved unconditionally.  We want to know that, even if we mess up, we are still cared for.

Well I have good news!

Romans 8:35 asks, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?”

The answer comes a few verses later: “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.  (Romans 8:38-39)

Jesus Christ offers that.  He offers that unconditional love.  You are going to mess up.  You WILL make mistakes and you will encounter hardships in this life.  So many of us feel unloved and/or unlovable.  We might feel that we have gone too far to turn back from the bad choices we have made.  The good news is that it is never too late.

God loves us and He loved us so much that He sent His Son Jesus to take it all of our mistakes and bad choices on the cross.  (John 3:16)  This is not a license to do what we want. This is a call to accept His love.  Who else loves you enough to die for you?  To forgive you unconditionally and to not hold your past, present or future against you?  Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

The choice is yours.  Will you accept that love or will you walk away from it?  Only you can answer that.  Jesus Christ is waiting with open arms.  Why not run to Him today? 

An Act of God! - Just A Thought #54

I heard the term, Act of God, quite a bit this past week.  It was used in the media to explain hurricane damage, floods and earthquakes.  I even heard it used to describe a crane being bent in half by the wind and dangling 750 feet (228 meters) in the air.   

Two things went through my mind while watching these broadcasts.  One, I did not know so many people in the media believed in God.  Two, why does God not get recognized for all the good things He does?

I know that an “act of God” is legalese for any act which is outside human control and therefore not the responsibility of any individual or corporation.

I also know it is always defined as a bad thing, like a tornado!

God gets a bad rap!

I want to see God’s children redefine an act of God.  Let’s take this phrase and turn it on its ear because when I wake up each morning, I consider that an act of God! 

“I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the LORD sustained me.” Psalm 3:5

I look out my window, see the sunshine and the rain, the snow and the stars at night, and I see an act of God.

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1

“In his hand are the deep places of the earth, and the mountain peaks are his. The sea is his. He made it, and his hands formed the dry land.” Psalm 95:4-5

We take the good things for granted and blame God for the bad.  God did not create the chaos we see around us.  He provided a way out.  (John 3:16)

We blame God for death, mayhem and destruction.  How often do we thank Him for our very life? 

The next time you walk outside; why not stop for a moment and thank God for His mighty act of creation. 

The Father's Love Letter

My Child,
   

You may not know me, but I know everything about you.
Psalm 139:1

I know when you sit down and when you rise up.
Psalm 139:2

I am familiar with all your ways.
Psalm 139:3

Even the very hairs on your head are numbered.
Matthew 10:29-31

For you were made in my image.
Genesis 1:27

In me you live and move and have your being.
Acts 17:28

For you are my offspring.
Acts 17:28

I knew you even before you were conceived.
Jeremiah 1:4-5

I chose you when I planned creation.
Ephesians 1:11-12

You were not a mistake, for all your days are written in my book.
Psalm 139:15-16

I determined the exact time of your birth and where you would live.
Acts 17:26

You are fearfully and wonderfully made.
Psalm 139:14

I knit you together in your mother's womb.
Psalm 139:13

And brought you forth on the day you were born.
Psalm 71:6

I have been misrepresented by those who don't know me.
John 8:41-44

I am not distant and angry, but am the complete expression of love.
1 John 4:16

And it is my desire to lavish my love on you.
1 John 3:1

Simply because you are my child and I am your Father.
1 John 3:1

I offer you more than your earthly father ever could.
Matthew 7:11

For I am the perfect father.
Matthew 5:48

Every good gift that you receive comes from my hand.
James 1:17

For I am your provider and I meet all your needs.
Matthew 6:31-33

My plan for your future has always been filled with hope.
Jeremiah 29:11

Because I love you with an everlasting love.
Jeremiah 31:3

My thoughts toward you are countless as the sand on the seashore.
Psalms 139:17-18

And I rejoice over you with singing.
Zephaniah 3:17

I will never stop doing good to you.
Jeremiah 32:40

For you are my treasured possession.
Exodus 19:5

I desire to establish you with all my heart and all my soul.
Jeremiah 32:41

And I want to show you great and marvelous things.
Jeremiah 33:3

If you seek me with all your heart, you will find me.
Deuteronomy 4:29

Delight in me and I will give you the desires of your heart.
Psalm 37:4

For it is I who gave you those desires.
Philippians 2:13

I am able to do more for you than you could possibly imagine.
Ephesians 3:20

For I am your greatest encourager.
2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

I am also the Father who comforts you in all your troubles.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4

When you are brokenhearted, I am close to you.
Psalm 34:18

As a shepherd carries a lamb, I have carried you close to my heart.
Isaiah 40:11

One day I will wipe away every tear from your eyes.
Revelation 21:3-4

And I'll take away all the pain you have suffered on this earth.
Revelation 21:3-4

I am your Father, and I love you even as I love my son, Jesus.
John 17:23

 For in Jesus, my love for you is revealed.
John 17:26

He is the exact representation of my being.
Hebrews 1:3

He came to demonstrate that I am for you, not against you.
Romans 8:31

And to tell you that I am not counting your sins.
2 Corinthians 5:18-19

Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled.
2 Corinthians 5:18-19

His death was the ultimate expression of my love for you.
1 John 4:10

I gave up everything I loved that I might gain your love.
Romans 8:31-32

If you receive the gift of my son Jesus, you receive me.
1 John 2:23

And nothing will ever separate you from my love again.
Romans 8:38-39

Come home and I'll throw the biggest party heaven has ever seen.
Luke 15:7

I have always been Father, and will always be Father.
Ephesians 3:14-15

My question is…Will you be my child?
John 1:12-13

I am waiting for you.
Luke 15:11-32

Love, Your Dad
Almighty God

Father's Love Letter used by permission Father Heart Communications
© 1999-2011 www.FathersLoveLetter.com

Everyone Has A Story

For the past six years I have worked with the Salvation Army.  I have seen a lot over these 6 years, not all of it pretty.  I’ve learned a lot as well.

One thing I have learned is to listen for the story.   

There is a cynicism that has crept into our society where we act like everyone on the street is a substance abuser, makes the wrong choices and “has an excuse (story)” for their actions.  I have learned how far from the truth that really is.

It’s true, some of the “street” people abuse substances and make other poor choices, but many have suffered sickness, got behind on a bill or were laid off when the company downsized due to a poor economy.  Lest we forget though, ALL were created in the image of God.  (Genesis 1:27)

“Rich and poor have this in common: The LORD is the Maker of them all.” Proverbs 22:2

When we walk down the street and see those in need, do we see God’s image in the person we try to ignore?  Do we see the image of God in the poor, the needy, and yes, even the substance abuser?

How often do we think about the soul of the man or woman on the street? 

I will say this, God thinks of them DAILY!  (Psalm 139)

He loved them enough to send His Son for them.  (John 3:16)

Can we not stop and hear their story? 

I mentioned that I have learned to listen to the story.  It isn’t always easy but with practice, we can look beyond the symptoms and listen to what is going on in the heart of the down-and-out person.  A cup of coffee with a stranger may place us outside of our comfort zone for a moment, but it can change a life forever.

These are my neighbors.  This is my mission field. 

Will you listen to someone’s story this week?