The Cure For Soul Cancer

By John Stallings


Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you with all malice. Eph.4:31


I read an Internet story that Hillary Clinton went to a primary school in New York City to talk about the world.

One little boy raised his hand & the Senator asked for his name. “Kenneth.” And what is your question Kenneth?

“I have three questions:

1. Whatever happened to your medical health care plan?
2. Why would you run for President when your husband shamed the office?
3. Whatever happened to all those things you took when you left the White House?

Just then the bell rang for recess. Hillary Clinton informed the children they could continue after recess. “Okay, where were we? Oh that’s right, question time. Who has a question?” A different little boy put up his hand. Hillary pointed to him & asked him for his name. “Larry.” “And what is your question Larry?”

“I have five questions:

1. Whatever happened to your health care plan?
2. Why would you run for President when your husband shamed the office?
3. Whatever happened to all those things you took when you left the White House?
4. Why did the recess bell ring 20 minutes early?
5. What happened to Kenneth?

Many people are asking tough questions these days. No question seems harder to answer than what to do with our hurts & betrayals. Is there a secret bubbling right beneath the surface of your heart? Is there an anger, even bitterness that blocks the flow of authentic joy in your life? Here are a few questions that come to mind;

Can you name a person whom you’d enjoy seeing fail?
Can you name a person whose company you avoid or enjoy least?
Can you name the person whose hurt you most?
Can you truthfully say you hate no one?

The wrong answer to these questions may mean you’re a bitter person.

Our word bitterness is from the Greek word pikria which is only found in four New Testament passages, [Acts 8:23; Rom.3:14; Heb.12:15; Eph 4:31.] Bitterness is defined as----

“Animosity, anger, harshness, a malignant disposition. “A bitter frame of mind.” A figurative term denoting that fretted & irritable state of mind that keeps a man in perpetual animosity—that inclines him to harsh & uncharitable opinions of others—that makes him sour, crabbed, & repulsive in his general demeanor—that brings a scowl over his face & infuses venom into the words of his tongue. A hostile disposition & a poisonous frame of mind that causes people to brood, scowl & become repulsive in demeanor.”

Have you ever seen bitterness go through a church or a family? I have & it’s an ugly, ugly scene. When bitterness passes through a family, church, work place or any group, the devastation makes hurricane Katrina look like a cool breeze on a hot August day. Why is this? Somebody decided to share. He/she is bitter & let the root bear fruit. He/she shared the malignancy & it crawled off of them onto others & they also became bitter.

The Bible warns about this;--Beware lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled. Heb.12:15

Bitterness can’t be hidden or contained. It spreads like the plaque. Some people are so bitter they can’t talk about their spouse, friends or relatives, pastor or church without expressing how much they’ve been hurt by them.

The story is told of a very bitter woman who was bitten by a rabid raccoon. Tests were run & the doctor told her she definitely had rabies. She sat down immediately & took out a pen & paper & began to write down names. The doctor asked, “What are you doing, making out your will?” “No” she replied, “I’m making a list of all the people I’m going to bite.”

It’s easy to recognize when someone is bitter. It’s easier, I might add to see it in someone else than ourselves. You can see it in the eyes & in the lines of the face. You can see it in their mouth & you can see it when they’re smiling or laughing. They are bitter & it shows. You can hear it in the tone of their voice. You can hear it when they protest that they aren’t bitter.

Seldom do you find anyone who will admit that they are a bitter person. They will deny it or disguise it. Can’t you hear them say, “Me” Bitter?” A bitter person is super-sensitive, ungrateful, and insincere, holds grudges & has almost unbelievable mood swings. Bitterness blows out the candle of joy & leaves the soul in darkness.

They might seem happy one minute & then almost anything can set them off. They’ll usually try to blame someone else for causing it. Everything with them turns into an emotional nightmare. Some, in the last stages of the soul malignancy will come right out & threaten violence, such as; I came close to kicking”……..or “I’m just sick & tired of”……well of course they’re sick & tired. As long as they continue to bite into bitter fruit they’ll keep getting sick.

In his book-None of these diseases, Dr. I. McMillen lists 51 diseases caused by emotional stress. There is no greater stress than an unforgiving spirit & the bitterness that goes along with it. Listen to Dr. McMillen;

“The moment I start hating a man I become his slave. I can’t enjoy my work any more because he even controls my thoughts. My resentment produces too many stress hormones in my body & I become fatigued after a few hours of work. The work I formerly enjoyed is now drudgery. Even vacations cease to give me pleasure. It may be a luxurious car that I drive along a lake fringed with autumn beauty of maple oak & birch. As far as my experience of pleasure is concerned I might as well be driving a wagon in mud & rain.

The man I hate hounds me wherever I go. I can’t escape his tyrannical grasp on my mind. When the waiter serves me porterhouse steak & French fries, asparagus, crisp salad & strawberry shortcake with ice cream, it might as well be stale bread & water. My teeth chew the food & I swallow it but the man I hate will not permit me to enjoy it….The man I hate may be many miles from my bedroom but more cruel then any slave driver he whips my thoughts into such a frenzy my innerspring mattress becomes a rack of torture.”

Here’s the reality;

LIFE IS FULL OF HURTS & WILL BE AS LONG AS YOU LIVE!

Jesus Himself said; --it is impossible but that offenses will come….. Luke 17:1.

As long as you live people are going to hurt, offend & disappoint you. But you don’t need to be the “victim” of their offenses. You & I can live above life’s disappointments. A person who has become bitter is generally nursing anger or outrage at being unfairly treated.

HERE’S A BITTERNESS TEST;

1. Does it irritate you when you can’t manipulate people’s opinions?
2. Do you often think you’re right & others are wrong?
3. Do you find yourself giving more criticism than compliments?
4. Are you short & sarcastic with people?
5. Do you ask loaded questions & do you enjoy needling people & watching them squirm?
6. Do many of your conversations turn into arguments?
7. Are you always rehashing & replaying your grievances?
8. Do you have your own “rain-cloud” of hurts, mistreatment & betrayals that follows you around?
9. Do you feel God has let you down?
10. Do tests like this make you defensive?
11. Do you have a sharp memory for details—bitterness has good study habits, review, rehash, review, and rehash. You have thousands of conversations but most you’ve forgotten. But this one took place years ago & you still remember every single detail, his voice intonations & the inflection of every part of his voice. You know exactly what happened which means you’re bitter.
12. Do you yield to the temptation to strike out anonymously? Bitter words are frequently unsigned. Listen to the Psalmist;

Hide me from the secret council of the wicked; from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity. Who whet their tongue like a sword & bend their bows to shoot their arrows even bitter words. Psalm 62:2-4

13. Do imaginary conversations occur in your mind over & over? “I says to him/her I says…..”
14. Moral inversion occurs. Do you find yourself justifying & rationalizing things you’d never approve of in other circumstances? If so, you’re bitter.
15. Do you have a slanderous heart? Whatever comes out of our mouths doesn’t come from our heads it comes from our hearts…….Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. Matt. 12:34—Whose mouth is full of cursing & bitterness. Romans 3:14


If your answer was yes to any of these questions you are probably bitter. Bitterness is a spiritual malignancy that can start with a small “ cell-mutation” spurred by an irritation, which can lead to anger, which can lead to resentment, then into full-blown bitterness that will ultimately lead to hate & revenge.

If you like equations; --an irritation or hurt can lead to anger, which leads to resentment, which leads to contempt, which leads to hate, which leads to revenge, which leads to hell in which Jesus said there would be “Gnashing of teeth.”

Being a spiritual malignancy, bitterness breaks down our immune system & will eventually kill us so its progression must be stopped. The world recognizes two ways to deal with bitterness; keep it inside & make yourself sick or let it out & make everybody sick. God’s solution is to dig up the root. Diagnosing bitterness is a start but a far cry from getting free from it.

HERE ARE SOME KEYS TO OVERCOMING BITTERNESS;

1. Stop lying. Start telling the truth!—Now don’t get angry with me, I’m quoting Paul. Listen;

Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor. Be angry & sin not: let not the sun go down on your wrath.—Ephesians 4:25-26

2. Remember, bitterness & anger disrupts communication.

Think of the person you’re angry with & then ask yourself how long it’s been since you talked to them. If the individual lives in the house with you ask this question; have you talked with them or “at them?”

3. Stop backbiting & start building people up.

Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth but that which is good to the use of edifying [building up.”] Eph.4:29

4. Don’t be a drama queen [or king.] Don’t blow-up!

We can’t fuss & fume, throw things & slam doors then moan the blues because people don’t respect us. Being in control of our emotions is job one if we want to be thought of as a mature person.

Make a clean break with all cutting, backbiting, clamour [people yelling at each other] and profane talk. Be gentle with one another, forgive one another….Eph.4:31---The Message.

5. Don’t embrace garbage.

Here’s a simple illustration but I think one that is very practical. All of us have garbage that collects around us in our homes & living spaces. By very virtue of the fact that we’re alive, we have to eat, & waste products or garbage is a by-product of life, part & parcel of the living experience.

We recognize garbage for what it is; the refuse that collects after we have cooked & eaten food. Every human being produces waste, its part of their existence. But we recognize that garbage is for throwing away & isn’t to be embraced or kept around our domiciles. The thing that distinguishes a civilized country from a third or fourth world country is largely what they do with their waste products. If you’ve ever been to one of these countries you’ll know that the way they smell says a lot about where you are, simply because they don’t have the right approach to disposing of their garbage.

If you went to someone’s home & there was an awful odor & you looked around to see that their garbage was piling up all around them, you’d immediately know something was fundamentally wrong in that household. If they have two brain-cells to rub together the first thing they’ll do is get their garbage hauled off.

Likewise, all of us, in the process of our journey on earth will generate a certain amount of “emotional garbage.” You could say, “Stuff happens.” A large part of the success of our lives is our ability to discern what garbage is & isn’t. When you & I are generating a lot of unprocessed emotional stuff in our lives & allowing it to pile up, & we aren’t willing or able to let it go, we are in a sense “embracing garbage”

GOD’S CURE FOR BITTERNESS

Now I’m going to sound like I’m in kindergarten 101. I want to tell you something that will help you cut through years of agonizing & searching for deep profound truths. It isn’t all that deep but neither is it all that easy. God’s remedy for our hurts & betrayals, God’s cure for soul cancer, when it all boils down—is FORGIVENESS!

FORGIVENESS IS A CHOICE TO TREAT OTHERS AS GOD HAS TREATED YOU!

But bitterness will always point to exceptions/loopholes.

BUT—“I love hating him.”--Revenge
BUT--- “I’m too upset to think about forgiving right now.”-Anger
BUT--- “I can’t let them get by with this.”--Pride
BUT--- “I’ll just be hurt again.”-Fear
BUT---“I was right—they were wrong.” Arrogance
BUT---“I don’t feel like forgiving & I won’t try to force it.”-Emotion
BUT---“They don’t deserve forgiveness.”—Self-righteousness
BUT----“I can’t even forgive myself.”-Guilt
BUT---“I’m just too hurt right now.”—Suffering Saint—Get off the cross-we could use the wood!
BUT---“What if they aren’t receptive or reject me?”---Worry

HERE’S WHY WE DON’T FORGIVE… “I CAN’T FORGIVE BECAUSE I WON’T.”

Being healed of bitterness is more a choice than anything else. Paul said, --Put away these things---Eph.4:25

Many times we fail to see our own responsibility in these matters. The “bitter end” to bitterness is almost always some kind of open confrontation or show-down that nobody wins. I’ve seen it tried too many times & maybe you have too. People fantasize about an open face-to-face airing of their grievances but it ends in more hurt & more damage. I’m not opposed to confrontations if the time is right & people’s hearts are right.

BUT----BITTERNESS MUST BE DEALT WITH UNILATERALLY

REMEMBER---, bitterness, being a soul depleting malignancy isn’t able to forgive anyone so the bitterness must be dealt with personally before any kind of reconciliation is attempted.

Do you think I’m making too much of bitterness? Well I’ll tell you this. This sin is the reason so many families are in shambles, is also is the major cause of many of the problems in the church, & is the primary reason revival tarries in America. Satan is close to taking us all down the toboggan slide to destruction with something most of us haven’t even recognized yet as evil.

But you say, “I’m not bitter, I’m just easily hurt.” So you see the close relationship that exists between hurts & bitterness. Hurt is bitterness’ ugly cousin. The devil says, “Well when he quits lying or he quits doing this or that or when he says he’s sorry then you will feel better.” But suppose he doesn’t quit? Suppose he never quits? Are you going to be bitter the rest of your life because someone else is in sin? That makes no sense at all.

You may say, “I will forgive him when he says he’s sorry, but not until then. I have a right to my bitterness until then.” Now watch this; let’s hypothetically say this person whose hurt you finally comes & says “I’m sorry.”[In your dreams!] Do you think you can now forgive him? Nope! As we’ve said, bitterness doesn’t forgive because it can’t. In order to forgive this person when they say they’re sorry, you have to be ready when they say they’re sorry.

If you are ready to forgive them before they say they’re sorry then it doesn’t depend on whether they say they’re sorry or not. Again you get rid of bitterness unilaterally, or on your own. What the other person does or doesn’t do doesn’t matter. Bitterness is a sin & stands alone.

In order for me to get rid of bitterness I must see that it’s evil & that it is my sin & mine alone. I don’t get rid of it when the other person quits or dies. I get rid of it by seeing it as a sin against a holy God & receiving forgiveness & I can’t be free of it if I won’t let it go. I can’t shake it off I must cut the root, destroy it & eliminate the residual fruit & seeds lying around.

After the Civil War, Robert E. Lee visited a Kentucky lady who took him to the remains of a grand old tree in front of her house. There she bitterly cried that its limbs & trunk had been destroyed by Federal artillery fire. She looked to Lee for a word of condemning the North or at least sympathizing with her loss.

After a brief silence, Lee said, “Cut it down, my dear madam & forget it.” It’s better to forgive the injustices of the past than to allow them to remain & let bitterness take root & poison the rest of your life.

A major component of ridding ourselves of bitterness through forgiveness is the recognition that Jesus paid it all for our sins & for all the sin done to us. If we allow God to give His grace freely He can & will take the disease away.

Unforgiveness is a hell-bent sin & Jesus said plainly in Matthew 6:15 if we don’t forgive others, we won’t be forgiven. If we will not allow Jesus to take our bitterness, then we take it on ourselves. If we say NO! They must pay! God says, NO! You must pay!

There is no area of our lives where we can be more Christ like than when we forgive. The powerful positive principle of forgiveness will unlock our embittered spirits & set God’s power free in our souls.

Once the chains have been broken & we are free, God forbid that we ever pick up the chains of bitter bondage again.


Blessings,

John

Hurt people hurt people

By John Stallings


Recompense to no man evil for evil……Romans 12:17


In 1992, Andre Dawson was playing for the Chicago Cubs & came up to bat. He struck out & had an argument with the umpire about the call. He thought it was a bad call & kept on arguing with the umpire until he was thrown out of the game.

Dawson was fined $1,000. He willingly wrote the check which for him wasn’t all that big a deal. But on the bottom of the check in the memo lines he added these words: “Donation for the blind.”

Dawson couldn’t resist that all too common impulse to tweak the nose of those who’ve rained on our parade.

Have you ever noticed that hurting people end up hurting others & healed people end up healing others?

A few months back I wrote a blog named “The rape of Dinah.” You will probably remember from Genesis 34, that young Dinah was violated by a fellow named Shechem. Her brothers took matters in their own hands & wreaked vengeance on the Shechemites. They savaged & killed a lot of innocent people.

Their response to their father was, “well they shouldn’t have treated our sister the way they treated her.” Sounds about right doesn’t it? I don’t mean Right-right, I mean it sounds about the way we all sometimes act & overact when people cross us in some way. We don’t do as bad as these boys did but still we react in some way that too often isn’t the Calvary way.

Here’s a fact that we all should be aware of; it’s not our actions we have to keep a close watch on as much as it is our reactions. It’s not that hard to go along not having much of a problem as long as we aren’t agitated in some way. Put us in a room alone or in a cubicle all by ourselves & we don’t have that many problems. But get us out among people & let someone say or do something that rubs us wrong & watch out, a reactions coming.

It seems as though hurt people end up hurting other people. But sadly the people they hurt usually aren’t the ones who hurt them in the first place. The kid who beats up a kid at school is often the kid who was beaten by dad the night before. Sometimes a wife who is subjected to unfair treatment by her husband will inadvertently take it out on her kids.

When people are hurting, they act in strange ways. If you’ve ever been in a delivery room when a woman was giving birth you’ll know what I’m talking about. I’ve never had the stomach for it but I’ve heard all about it.

People in emotional pain will do the same thing. If you’ve ever been betrayed or rejected you know how it felt. You may have lashed out at other people who hadn’t hurt you in a vain attempt to ease your pain over one who had.

Joseph in the Old Testament was hurt by many people on his journey & experienced much unfair treatment. Yet he allowed God to bring healing & restoration to his life. At the end of Genesis, Joseph who’d been sold down to Egypt as a slave by his brothers when he was only seventeen, let them know that had nothing to fear from him. He said, --You meant me harm but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”

See the contrast? Dinah’s brothers, because they chose to retaliate against the perpetrators of their sister’s rape, wiped out just about a whole nation. But Joseph chose to not allow bitterness & hatred to consume him & consequently a whole nation was saved from starvation, including his family.

Joseph, a healed person was bringing healing to a whole nation. I would rather be a healed person who heals others than to be a hurt person who hurts others, wouldn’t you?

A few years ago there was a very popular movie called “Pay it forward,” based on the idea that when good things happen to us, instead of “paying it back,” we pay it forward, passing the goodwill to the next person we meet. Wouldn’t you like to be one of those who break the cycle of passing on our hurts & grievances to others? I know I would. A healed person heals other people.

In 2 Corinthians 2:3-4 Paul says,---We praise the God & father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the father of all comfort who comforts us in all of our troubles so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.

What Paul is saying is, we who’ve been through trouble & were comforted by God, instead of hurting others, should be a source of healing & pass this comfort along to those around us.

Isn’t it true that too often when we’ve been hurt we want to pass the hurt to others? We get hurt by someone & store the knowledge of that hurt so when the time comes we can make someone else feel the same pain & humiliation we’ve felt. Instead of absorbing a hurt & consigning it to the bone yard of our past because we know how nearly lethal it was to us, we put the experience in a file & now we have a tried & true way to devastate someone else. We’ve felt the sting of that particular hurt & we know it works. I have often called this Christianity in reverse.

It’s so beautiful to see a woman whose experienced abuse in her life that is healed & able to help heal other people who’re going through the same thing she’s been through. It’s beautiful to see a kid who’s grown up with abuse by his parents but instead of passing that on to others, later in life, even with his own kids, he steers as far away from that kind of behavior as possible & brings healing to those going through what he experienced. Healed people heal people. Don’t you want to be one of them? Have you ever noticed;

LITTLE PEOPLE, BELITTLE PEOPLE?

It’s true. People who feel little make others feel little if they possibly can. In 1 Samuel 17, there’s the story we’re all familiar with; David & Goliath. David shows up & asks what he can do to help slay this giant who’s defying the armies of Israel.

His older brother Eliab says to him, --what did you come down here for, & who did you leave those few sheep with? I know how conceited & wicked your heart is.

What would make his brother talk such trash & speak so hateful to David? Why would Eliab be so abusive to his young brother & do everything in his power to humiliate him? Do you know why? Because for 40 days he’d been cowering like a baby in the face of the giant. He was so weak he was ready to throttle David when he started to look strong.

Have you ever noticed that an individual who feels physically inferior will try to make others feel intellectually inferior? They feel stupid in some area so they don’t have a problem making someone else look stupid where they consider themselves strong. Little people belittle people- have you noticed that? They do it all the time. If we get it our minds someone is strong in an area where we’re we weak, if we’re not prayed up, we’ll start busting their chops to try to pull them down to our level.

But thankfully, the reverse is also true; little people belittle people but strong people strengthen people. Isn’t it great how strong people can make others strong?

Moses originally felt bad about himself. He told God he couldn’t go to Egypt because he had a stuttering problem. We all remember the way God worked with Moses & made him a great man. Later a young man named Joshua came into play. Because Moses had failed God with his temper, God was going to use Joshua to take Israel into the Promised Land. Instead of belittling Joshua, Moses calls him in front of all the people & tells him to be strong & courageous. He tells Joshua that God will be with him & never leave nor forsake him & not to be afraid nor discouraged. It’s like Moses is saying, “Joshua, I want to build you up & encourage you all I possibly can.”

Wouldn’t you like to be a person like that? I would!! Wouldn’t you like to know that when people think of you they don’t get this picture of a weasely, small-minded person; a person who’s threatened by everything & everybody & does all possible to put other people down because that’s the only way they can feel good about themselves? Damaged people damage other people but healed people heal others. Have you ever noticed;

REJECTED PEOPLE REJECT PEOPLE?

In Genesis 4 we meet this guy named Cain who has a brother named Abel. Abel’s offering was accepted by God but Cain’s wasn’t, so Cain got all bent out of shape about it. Notice Cain never repents or asks God for a second chance. His attitude is horrendous. Cain so hated his brother for this, he took him out & killed him because his offering had been rejected & Abel’s was accepted. That’s what the Columbine schools shootings were all about. It’s horrible what the feeling of rejection will lead people to do. Rejected people reject others all the time.

In Acts 9, Paul was rejected by the Christians in the early church. Nobody trusted him & nobody wanted him around because of his background of incarcerating & killing Christians. But a man named Barnabas wasn’t having a bit of it & he stood with Paul bringing him to the people & more or less sponsoring him. He laid his name & reputation on the line for Paul. Wouldn’t you like to be a person who would say, come on, let this person in? Accepted people accept people. Have you ever noticed;

CONDEMNED PEOPLE CONDEMN PEOPLE?

Have you ever noticed that often people who live in glass houses will be the first to throw stones at others? They seem to have a blind spot in their lives & can’t see what everyone else clearly sees.

Years ago I knew a pastor who also sat on a board of directors for his regional church denomination. This group of men had the duty of interviewing fellow ministers who’d been accused of some infraction, very often it would be a moral complaint or maybe a total moral collapse. The pastor I knew was always the hardest man on the board in dealing with the preachers who’d failed & were in need of prayerful correction & discipline.

A few years later this minister fell into a moral sin himself & came before this board in dire need of mercy. It didn’t go unnoticed among the other men on the board that this man who’d always been so rough on those who came seeking mercy, now had his proverbial hat in his hands needing the mercy he’d always withheld from others. Isn’t that strange? It’s clear that by taking such a hard-nosed judgmental position with other ministers, this pastor, maybe not realizing it, was vicariously punishing himself.

In Matthew 18 there was a man like that. He owed a king a great debt so the king decided to forgive him the debt. But just as soon as he left the king’s presence, joyous at being forgiven, he saw a man on the street that owed him a little piddling amount. He went up & tried to collect the money from him & when the man couldn’t pay him the small amount; the forgiven man had him thrown in jail.

My father told me when I was just a kid to watch people who always suspected others of lying, because they were usually liars themselves. They were merely judging others out of their own guilty hearts. The thing we won’t like about another person will often be our own weakness we spot in them. If we didn’t have that problem we probably wouldn’t have spotted it. I guess what we knew in fifth grade is true, “it takes one to know one.”

Unforgiving people don’t feel forgiven so they aren’t going to forgive others. Judged people judge others & condemned people condemn others. I will guarantee you that if you find a judgmental, condemning person, they are struggling with the very thing they are condemning in others.

In Roman 2:1 Paul said, You therefore have no excuse you who pass judgment on someone else for whatever point you judge the other you are condemning yourself because you who pass judgment do the same things.

My friend, it doesn’t get much clearer than that does it? Abused people abuse people. Damaged people damage people. Rejected people reject people. Condemned people judge & condemn people. As long as you & I hold onto all the stuff that’s happened to us we will just end up passing it on & perpetuating the sickness.

But healed people heal people. Strong people strengthen people, accepted people accept people, and forgiven people forgive people. Do you need to be healed, strengthened, accepted, forgiven so that you can be an instrument of blessing?

Listen to the words of Paul in Romans 12:17-21---Recompense to no man evil for evil….if it be possible live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved avenge not yourselves ….for it is written vengeance is mine saith the Lord…Therefore if thine enemy hunger feed him if he thirst give him drink…….

God can help us with our temptation to perpetuate what has been done to us. Would you like to spend the rest of your life touching & healing others rather than fighting them? Tell God you need the healing only He can give so that in the time you have left on this planet you can be an instrument of healing to all with whom you come in contact.

Jesus said, --Blessed are the merciful for they shall receive mercy. Who are the merciful? They’re the ones who help & bless others & forgive freely. They are the ones who understand that since God has been merciful to them, they should be merciful to others.

Mercy begets mercy, which in turn begets still more mercy.

In Christ we have the perfect example of what to do with our pain & hurt. He was hanging on a Roman cross in mortal pain but He never lashed out at His tormentors. He could have said many things to them & they would all have been true but He didn’t think of Himself. Rather He thought of the ones He loved.

He looked at His mother & gave her a replacement son—Woman here is your son. And to John, here is your mother. He thought of others in the hours of His greatest pain & agony.

Christ is at work in us, helping us to live lives that are a blessing to others. And what a marvelous & miraculous thing to know, that –

By His painful wounds we’ll be healed.

Blessings,


John

America's Greatest Possessions/ America's Greatest Need!

By John Stallings

Righteousness exalts a nation but sin is a reproach to any people. Proverbs 14:34

Humorist Will Rogers was covering the 1932 presidential campaigns. At one national convention a reporter cynically said to him; “Will, I’m covering the serious side of the convention. If I see anything humorous I’ll let you know.” “Thanks” said Rogers, “And if I see anything serious I’ll let you know.”

Though America has problems, what Abraham Lincoln said of her still stands; “America is the last best hope of the earth.”

Thomas Jefferson said, “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.”

In our U.S Constitution, our Founding Fathers drew up, if not the greatest, certainly one of the greatest documents mankind has ever produced. The following is an excerpt showing what they envisioned in the six fundamental functions of the federal government;

“We the people of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

TODAY WE FACE POLITICAL CHAOS

One day a surgeon, an electrician and a politician were discussing which one of their professions was the oldest. The surgeon said, “When God formed Eve out of a rib in Adam’s side, that was the work of a surgeon.” The electrician said, “Yes, but on the first day of creation the world was in a state of chaos and God said, “Let there be light,” and that was the work of an electrician.” “Yes” said the politician, “but who do think created the chaos?”

LET’S LOOK AT SOME OF AMERICA’S BLESSINGS

1. FREEDOM

The Bible says, -Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom... 2. Cor.3:17. Whenever we champion freedom we’re doing the will of God. God sent Moses to Pharaoh with the command--Let my people go. Ex.5:1. The Liberty Bell bears an inscription from Leviticus: Proclaim liberty throughout the land unto all the inhabitants’ thereof.—Lev. 25:10

I don’t need to tell you how precious it is to breathe the rarefied air of freedom. Juda & I just got through watching “Hotel Rwanda” a movie about the civil war that devastated the country of Rwanda in the mid-nineties leaving over one million corpses. It has been called an African Schindler’s List. The movie highlights some of the worst atrocities in the history of mankind but in an era of high-speed communication & round the clock news the events went almost unnoticed by the rest of the world.

This was the second time we’d watched the movie but still we were profoundly moved by the cold, barbaric way the innocent men, women & children of that little nation were treated during that blood-bath.

As we watched, we were reminded again how blessed our lives have been by virtue of the simple fact that we were born in the U.S.A. I rise every day & after I tell Jesus good-morning, I thank Him that I haven’t lived a day of my life under the jack-boot of a tyrannical regime’.

It isn’t my job or my calling to endorse a candidate for president nor would my endorsement carry much weight outside a few of my immediate family. Nor is it my intention to glorify any man.

Having said that, I’d like to ask you a question; do you remember the seventies? Do you remember as I do how bad things were? There were gas lines, interest rates were through the roof & we lacked the level of national pride that had always been an American hallmark.

One of the reasons I remember it so well was I voted for the first time in a national election at the end of that decade. I took a snack & stood in a long line to vote that year. Let me ask you another question; what was wrong with us back then? Why were we so frustrated & unhappy? IMHO it was the fact that our national soul was suffering. We looked at the Soviet Union & wondered what to do about them. As I traveled the country I heard people asking if there was any hope for us. Maybe you didn’t see it like I did but looking back; we almost collapsed as a nation during the seventies.

How did we get through it? I can answer that in four words; The Lord & Ronald Reagan. I’m not saying that from a political point of view as much as I’m saying that Ronald Reagan, though certainly not perfect, was God’s man for the hour for America.

What did Reagan do for us? I believe he simply gave us new hope & sense of national pride. As he was delivering his inaugural address, the Americans who’d been held hostage in Iran for a year were winging their way back to America. He said, when asked how he saw the Russian situation, “It’s simple. We win, they lose.” I like that don’t you? It gave me chills then & it gives me chills now. He went to East Berlin & called to the leader of Russia, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall,” when the State Department had taken those words out of his speech four times. You will remember that a short time after that, the Berlin wall fell without a shot being fired.

One of my very favorite patriotic songs is; “God bless the U.S.A.” I doubt very seriously if that song could have gotten popular during the 70’s. This may surprise you, but I doubt seriously if Lee Greenwood introduced that masterpiece right now, if it would be that great a hit in today’s national funk. I could be wrong but I doubt it. Though we are now in a state of chaos, I believe God has another leader for this great republic who will come on the scene & help to defeat the specter of despair that once again threatens to engulf Americans. Another great possession that America has is;

2. FAITH

Let’s face it, nations die. But America has stood because she was founded on principles of Scripture & Christian faith.

George Washington said, “It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God & the Bible.”

John Adams said, “The highest glory of the American Revolution was this; it connected in one indissoluble bond the principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity.”

America was founded on the belief that Christ is the answer to every problem. John 14:6. Yes, there are many religions but there is only one Savior.

William Penn [1644-1718,] English Quaker & founder of Pennsylvania, stated, “If we are not governed by God we will be ruled by tyrants.”

Psalm 20:7 says, --Some trust in horses & chariots but we will trust in the name of the Lord our God.

Politicians in modern day America have long had to face the fact that love for God & religious traditions run deep in this country & aren’t about to go away. You probably noticed that July 5th when Barak Obama vowed to expand President Bush’s emphasis on Faith based programs. That’s a definite move to the middle for him, although I’ve never been as interested in “right wing” or “left wing” as I have in the whole bird flying straight.

We’ve seen nothing but decline in our public schools since the Supreme Court ruled in 1963 that prayer & Bible reading in schools were unconstitutional. Please understand me here; I don’t believe school prayer was important because it somehow would force religion into the schools. Certainly the kids could & should pray at home. In my mind its importance lay in the fact that it would cause our youth, regardless of their religious belief or lack of, to stop for a brief moment each day & give consideration to a power beyond themselves. This could have done no harm but would have beyond a doubt lent dignity to human life in the minds of the students. Minus that prayer, we can easily date & chart the downfall & desolation of our public schools.

Thankfully our Supreme Court made what I believe to be a good ruling recently when they handed down the opinion in favor of individual gun rights. But they made a bad one in late June when they rejected the death penalty for child rape.

There’s much to be positive about but there’s still work to do in our great country. Remember, Jesus called Christians the “salt of the earth” not the salt of the church. We need to stay involved & understand that every time we stand up for Christ we’re standing up for our Country. The third thing America possesses is;

3. FULLNESS

Think of how differently we live than people do in other regions of the Planet. The poorest individuals today in America live better than kings lived centuries ago. We sit in our comfortable homes with our TVs, DVDs & computers & ride to local grocery stores stocked with an unbelievable array of food choices. We are reaping the rewards of 230 plus years of hard work & sacrifice in this country & we have more than any nation that ever existed on the planet. God has indeed blessed America with fullness.

Our free market system is another marvel & works because it’s based on competition to achieve higher levels of excellence. It rewards work with greater profits & punishes laziness. It’s based on supply & demand but its danger is greed & oppression of the working man & woman.

Socialism stifles creativity & fails to reward hard work which leads to communism & we saw the effects of that on Eastern Europe during the 20th century.

A student at Columbine High School shared these words about life in America shortly after the tragic shooting that occurred on the school campus in Colorado.

“The paradox of our time is that we have taller buildings, but shorter tempers; wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints, we spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy it less; we have more degrees, but less sense; more knowledge, but less judgment; more experts, but more problems; more medicine, but less wellness. We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom and hate too often. We’ve learned how to make a living, but not a life; we’ve added years to our life, but not life to our years.

We’ve been to the moon & back but have trouble crossing the street to meet our neighbor. We’ve conquered outer space, but not inner space; we’ve cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul; we’ve split the atom, but not our prejudices. We have bigger incomes, but lower morals; we’ve become long on quantity, but short on quality.

These are the times of tall men & short character; steep profits & shallow relationships. These are the times of world peace, but domestic warfare; more leisure, but less fun; more kinds of food, but less nutrition. These are the days of two incomes, but more divorce; of fancier houses, but broken homes. It is a time when there is much in the show window & nothing in the stockroom; a time when technology can bring this letter to you & a time when you can choose either to make a difference---or just hit delete.”

[The authorship of this writing is attributed to Dr. Moorehouse & was published in 1995 in his book—Words aptly spoken.]

LET’S LOOK NOW AT AMERICA’S GREATEST NEED

1. LOOK CLOSELY AT THE MEANING & IMPLICATIONS OF THE WORD “CHANGE.”

Words are used both to reveal & conceal information. Change has become a new buzz word but we need to learn all we can about what is meant by change. Have you noticed that a lot of fairy tales start with the words, “If elected I promise….?” One humorist said, “It might end up meaning we’ll all have nothing but change jingling in our pockets.” It also could be a “Freudian slip,” describing a politician’s ability to change his mind & policies every other day.

What do you think about more taxation, the right to privacy, Government infringement, rising gas prices, drilling for oil, searching for alternative energy sources, energy independence, protecting the environment, & the protection of marriage as a sacred relationship between one man & woman? What do you think about illegal immigration, protecting our borders, social medicine versus personalized medicine, & the right for our kids to pray in school? What do you think about giving amnesty to 14 million illegal aliens & rewarding them with the same Platinum Heath care our Congressmen have? The list is almost endless, giving us much to study, think & pray about.

Every candidate is different & certainly none is perfect, so you & I must look at the bigger picture, & weigh the importance of issues in the light of the fate & future of our Republic.

I don’t know about you but I’m not wise enough to have all the information I need but the Holy Spirit can give us wisdom, guidance, discernment & insight.

2. GET INVOLVED IN THE LIFE & FUTURE OF YOUR COUNTRY.

Vote your convictions. Again, don’t look at the wing, look at the whole bird. If we don’t participate we lose our complaining rights. Early Christians didn’t have a vote under the Romans. Most of Paul’s writings are telling Christians how to exist in a pagan society. Many nations would cherish the opportunity to have free & open elections. The people of Zimbabwe have just been given a presidential election with only one man’s name on the ballot. People around the world have undergone terrible intimidation tactics & violence to prevent them from a real democratic election.

You may say, “I’m only one vote.” But in 1776 it was one vote that gave America the English language instead of German; in 1845, one vote brought Texas into the union; in 1868 one vote saved President Andrew Jackson from impeachment; in 1876, one vote gave Rutherford B. Hayes the U.S presidency; and in 1923, one vote gave Adolph Hitler control of the Nazi Party.

3. PRAY, PRAY, PRAY FOR AMERICA

Pray for God to guide us & to provide Godly leaders. We need & God can give us politicians like Joseph in Egypt & Daniel in Babylon.

Proverbs 21:1 says,--The heart of the king is in the hand of the Lord & He directs it like a watercourse wherever He determines.

1 Timothy 2:1-2 says, I urge then first of all that requests, prayers, intersession & thanksgiving be made for everyone—for kings & all those in authority that we may live peaceable & quiet lives in all godliness & holiness.

Maybe this is the greatest challenge of all;

If my people who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, I will forgive their sin and heal their land.—[2 Chron. 7:14]


Blessings,

John