By John Stallings
A few years ago former Vice President Cheney brought the word dithering to center stage describing our current President’s protracted agonizing over putting more troops in Afghanistan.
FAST FORWARD TO TODAY!
Unless you've been living in a cave you know that for the last several weeks Washington D.C has been in a dither concerning whether or not to intervene in the nation of Syria. It seems evidence is-- the government is using Gas on its own people with fatalities surpassing 100,000. Seems this is a perfect illustration of dithering.
The dictionary defines dithering as-“To act irresolutely; to act in fear and trembling.”
Maybe we’ve all been guilty of that from time to time, sometimes out of fear & worry & sometimes just not being able to come to a conclusion regarding a matter.
One man was asked if he had trouble making decisions. He hesitated for a few seconds & answered, “Well, yes & no.”
A dense fog that covers a seven-city- block area one-hundred feet deep is composed of less than one glass of water divided into sixty thousand million drops. Not much is there but it can cripple an entire city.
This is emblematic of worry & how something so vague & foggy can become so confusing to the mind.
I heard about a very good man who experienced a nervous breakdown. This man would work all day, come home & walk straight to his bedroom, then sit for hours & cry. Obviously he wasn’t available spiritually, physically or in any way to his wife & family. When his wife would come in to try to talk to him he’d express to her his worry about whether their son who had been killed was saved, & shed tears over the prospects of his being in hell.
He’d agonize & wonder if his mother & father made it to heaven or were they burning in hell. I think you’d probably agree that this sort of thing is abnormal, but in truth this is what can happen to any of us if we allow anxiety, fear & worry to crawl into the saddle & dig their spurs into our side. Worry & fear can turn us into obsessive /compulsive thinkers suffering from paralysis by analysis.
We weren’t created with the capacity to worry all the time & be mentally & spiritually well. Fear isn’t native to us, faith is. We just live better with confidence & faith than we do with fear & worry. I heard an eminent doctor say recently, “We don’t know why people who worry & fret die earlier than those who maintain good cheer, but they do.” Think about that. That isn’t a snake oil salesman trying to hype us up, but a medical man who lives in the trenches with the issues of life & death 24/7/365.
This is why Paul wrote in Philippians 4:6-7,
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer & thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God, and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts & your mind through Christ Jesus.
A worry- wart will spend as much as 30% of their time just worrying. Contrary to what some people think, worry is actually a form of action. It’s endless- “Dithering.” Worry is incessant mental rehearsal convincing a person they’re moving toward a solution. Energy is spent uselessly & vitality is drained.
A good way of describing worry is its like shoveling smoke. Energy is used up but nothing of value is accomplished. It’s like spending time wishing skunks didn’t stink. But a person can’t just tell themselves to quit worrying. I’ve had the experiencing of trying to quit worrying on my own & it’s much like telling yourself not to think about elephants. Every time I’ve tried that a whole group of elephants showed up wearing pink sunglasses. We must exchange our thoughts for God’s thoughts & fill our minds with God’s Word.
Recently several of our greatest television preachers & pastors have gone to heaven. None of them were as my grandmother used to say, “Dead with old age.” They were getting a little older but I would have expected them to live far longer than they did. Now I know that I’m not God & it isn’t my business to second guess their deaths, but I can’t help but wonder if they passed too soon.
Psalm 116:15 says, Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.
I can’t tell you how many funerals I‘ve preached using this verse as a comfort to the families, that “God was standing at the portico of glory, beckoning for his child to finally be home with Him.” One day a minister friend of mine told me, “John, did you know that word precious actually means costly?” Well, that put it all in a different light. Now we see God presented with the high cost of losing great & effective people in His kingdom.
I’ve heard people talk about why God took their loved one, & they’ll say, “Well, you know heaven must be lonely & they needed another flower to bloom in God’s bouquet. I know God must have needed another tenor singer in heavens choir.” Dear friend, if there’s any place in the universe that isn't lonely it's heaven.
Let’s go back to the ministers who've died lately & apply something my dad used to believe & speak of often. He studied the lives of all the famous preachers of the last one-hundred years. D.L Moody, the famous evangelist died at age 62. Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the great London pastor who was called “the prince of preachers” died at 58. The last year or two of Spurgeon’s life he was so sickly he spent most of his time in the South of France & mailed his sermons back to be read in his church.
My dad’s theory & I think he was right, was that stress brought on by too much popularity killed these men. They were in such world- wide demand that they abused their bodies traveling too much & working too hard. Also these men knew little about how diet & exercise affect the body so they spent most of their lives sitting & studying, hence many of them died with what doctors used to call, “Fatty heart deterioration.” One thing for sure, our bodies can’t tell the difference if we’re stressing out over little mundane things or if we’re being crushed by the weight of hurting humanity. Helping people is a noble cause but if we let people’s problems, even their spiritual problems get inside us; it can prove deadly.
There are certain natural laws of good mental & physical health we can’t break & do well, just as we couldn't jump off a bridge on our way to church & expect the law of gravity to be suspended for us.
A few years ago I lost one of my best preacher friends & we were about the same age. I knew him from a boy and always considered him to be in much better physical shape than I ever was. He was never hardly a smidgen overweight through all the years I knew him. On a Sunday evening he was getting ready to go to church & had a heart attack & was dead before the paramedics could get him to the hospital. I 'm no expert but I've always believed that stress killed him. He was a prince of a man, super-conscientious, a perfectionist, & very “military” in his thinking.
Let’s look at some things that cause anxiety & also a few ways to fight it.
1. A need to control can cause anxiety.
This quality can morph into a malignant motivation if not watched. Sometimes we can get over- inflated ideas of our own importance & forget the world will go on quite nicely when we’re gone. This thought helps us stay in touch with reality.
2. Deal with facts not hobgoblins.
A very sharp, intelligent person can think of more things to worry about before he/she put their feet on the floor in the morning than a “duller-knife” can conjure up in a week. But statistics say the person with the not-so-high IQ may well be more successful & will probably live longer.
Philippians 4:8-9 says,---Finally brethren, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of a good report, if there be any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy-meditate on these things. The things which you learned & received & heard & saw in me, these do, & the God of peace will be with you.
3. Humble yourself and pray.
1 Peter 5:6-7 says,--Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him for he cares for you.
Pride turned angels into devils. We need to let God search us & see what’s inside us. Pride will install itself in our hearts & cause us to be self-absorbed & unable to see our lives in proper perspective. When we become self-absorbed, we’ll see our problems in a warped light.
Cain told God when he was approached about killing Able that he feared “everyone was going to kill him.” Of course this sprang from his guilt, because how could everyone kill him? A person can only be killed once the last time I checked. This was paranoia in Cain, aggravated by his pride. The devil will try to make us think “everyone” is against us, when it just isn't true.
One man said, “Just because you’re paranoid doesn't mean they’re not out to get you.”
A young man went to his dad & told him he felt everyone hated him. The father answered him by saying, “Son, don’t say that, everyone hasn't met you yet.”
Other people have more to do than to go around thinking how to hurt & defeat us, don’t you think?
4. Release all your worries to God & rest in Him.
1 Peter 5:10 says, “But may the God of all grace who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a little while establish, strengthen & settle you.”
When I was five or six I remember asking my mother one day, “Mom am I saved?” Her answer stills reverberates in my mind. She answered, “Son, nobody can answer that question but you.” I had said the sinners prayer & been baptized but I still had that haunting question. What struck home with me was that it was actually my decision & no one but me could make it. My eternal destiny was in my own hands.
In 1 Kings 18:21 Elijah asked the people on Mount Carmel to make a decision. He told them if they wanted to serve Baal to go on & serve him, or if they decided to go with God, they should make a decision & stop halting between two opinions. He was saying in essence, stop dithering.
James said…For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea, driven with the wind & tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord. A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways. James 1: 6-8.
There are many landmines in the path of the believer not the least of which is procrastination. What decision do you need to make today? Will you make it & get on with your life or will you succumb to...
DITHERING?
Blessings,
John
Thursday, September 5, 2013
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
"The Fundamental Things Still Apply..."
By John Stallings
You knew him.
If you've been a church-attendee for very long this man is no stranger to you.The man usually wore dark clothing & donned the pulpit every Sunday, opened the Bible & preached. The thing you most remember is how dull & listless the sermons were.
You tried to blame it on the dull lighting, the rock hard pews & the drab surroundings but alas, what it was- was boring preaching, coming from a man who'd given up.This man had quit studying years ago & was simply reciting his old manuscripts. Though at the time, you may not have had enough experience to call it what it was, something in you knew he'd lost the joy, the enthusiasm of imparting God's Word to the people.
NOTHING NEW...
Nothing fresh fell from the lips of this man. It was in his voice & written all over his countenance. He had one special magic that couldn't be denied & no one could take it away from him; --He could make twenty minutes seem like two weeks. Be honest; you've known this man haven't you? He'd basically shut down. He'd lost the wonder. He was only in his early forties but he constantly used the word "old."
But having spent so many years in the ministry myself, it would be dishonest of me not to admit there have been times in my life, thankfully short-lived, when I endured spiritual dryness & faced head-on my powerlessness to do anything about it. I have looked into the abyss of spiritual burn-out & oblivion & wanted desperately to run & hide from the agony of it all.
Not that I was or ever will be a Mother Teresa, but I can understand her "dark night of the soul," holding on by the fingertips & longing so very desperately for God. Standing before the people more than once a week as a spokesman for heaven feeling deep within myself that I wasn't worthy. But also knowing unequivocally that God had called me to speak for Him & even, God forbid, if I went to hell I’d take that call with me. I've known Mondays when I was so emotionally exhausted & adrenaline depleted it was hard for me to talk. Mondays are days when I am most vulnerable to discouragement & despair after wringing myself dry emotionally & spiritually on Sunday.
There was a time when pastors always took Monday's off but that changed some years ago. Many ministers felt they'd be more productive to get into their offices on Monday & use the time to get organize for next Sunday since they couldn't relax anyway. As you know, preachers are only human. Their only hope of staying viable is to study & pray & once again be engaged by the presence of the living Christ as He speaks into their hearts & the Scripture is illuminated by His Spirit.
I have an electric razor with a rechargeable battery as I suspect many men do. I can unplug it & walk all over the house shaving which I often do. But when the battery starts to run low, I can feel it & then I hear it as it slowly loses power & cutting ability. At that point I know I'd better get it back to the electrical socket in the wall & recharge the battery.This to me is a metaphor of life. We can all run for a short time without being plugged in, but sooner or later it catches up with us & we must get back to the source of power.
The ministers I mentioned at the beginning of this article, many who have been & can still be some of God's most gifted men, just need to get back to the source of power that opens the mind, thrills the heart & causes us again to know the presence of the Living Lord.
TWO SAD DISCIPLES
In Luke 24, two disciples returned to Emmaus filled with despair with all that had happened
in Jerusalem on the previous days. They were drained & burned out. However a "stranger" joined them along the way & listened to their lament. Then as they walked He began to interpret the Word of God to them; the law, the prophets & the Psalms. He helped them to understand the necessity of the crucifixion they'd witnessed. As they walked, their hearts were burning.Then later they broke bread together & then they recognized the "stranger" as the resurrected Lord Jesus. Then He was gone, but they knew He was alive. He'd been with them & promised to come again to dwell with them through the power of His indwelling Spirit. In a manner of speaking this visit from the living Christ helped those thoroughly dejected men to survive, at least on the spiritual level.
JESUS SHOWED UP
What always saves the discouraged preacher or the downhearted Christian is when Jesus shows up & in his own wonderful way again stirs our spirit, & opens our eyes so that we again are aware of His presence at work -guiding, blessing, forgiving, & restoring hope. It's then that we see He is at work all around us in the lives of all whom we know & love. It's then & only then that the scales fall off our eyes & we're given glimpses of His divine grace at work everywhere. And to make it even more glorious, we see that even our perceived botching of the things we were trying to do for Him can so graciously & perfectly fit into the divine mosaic which is our lives.God never meant for anyone to be this way. He created us with a sense of wonder -with the capacity for passion, yet too many of us, like the preacher, shut down way too early.
Are you living every day filled with hope & expectancy? Are you living life to its fullest?So many people once were excited about the future but somewhere along the way life has knocked all that out of them & their appetite & "lust for life" has been lost. They used to pursue their dreams but then they hit some roadblocks, things didn't work out the way they had hoped they would & now they're just going through the motions. They've quit dreaming. They've quit pursuing their goals & tragically they've lost their purpose.It happens far too often; people have a great salvation experience. They become excited, devoted & committed. Every time the church doors open they're there. They can't wait to get there. The whole new world of faith has opened for them & it's all too wonderful for words. For months, sometimes years all goes well. They have no problems with their faith. But suddenly they began to have difficulties. They begin to drop out. The luster wears off; the excitement wears down & their devotional commitments shrink. Soon they disappear & become names on a dusty church role somewhere. No one sees them. No one knows them anymore.
In our youth, we were filled with joy & energy but now many of us have to work on stimulating them both. Why does this happen & how can we prevent it? How can we keep our spiritual experience vibrant & zestful?
How can we survive spiritually ? The answer isn’t deep or difficult to grasp.
THE FUNDAMENTAL THINGS STILL APPLY WHEN YOUR FAITH IS ON THE CRITICAL LIST. YOU AND I MUST...
1. PRAY
We find some fascinating & helpful clues in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus is facing death yet there are instructional keys to staying alive.We know the disciples saw Jesus do many great miracles. Yet we don't read that they ever asked, "Lord, teach us to do miracles." We know the disciples saw Him use His intellect to silence the sharpest legal minds, but we never hear them ask, "Lord, teach us your mental acumen." We know the disciples observed their Master’s awesome command of the Old Testament manuscripts, yet we never hear them ask, "Lord, teach us what you know about the law." We know He was a master of crowd control & fully understood what it took to keep the masses of human bodies under control, yet the disciples never asked Him to tell them how to handle the throngs of people who pressed in to hear Him.
But the twelve had watched Jesus closely. They'd seen Him rise without disturbing a single soul to steal away & commune with His Father. Behind all of His skills they suspected something else was at work. They knew His secret; His awesome power was embedded in His prayer life. So they asked, "Lord, teach us to pray."
Gethsemane was a tough & terrible moment. The cross loomed before Jesus. He didn't want to go to the cross. He prayed about it. Father, take this cup from me. It was an earnest prayer. He sweated drops of blood. This is serious business here! It was agony to pray, but pray He did. Yet He found strength to pray, - Not my will but thine be done.Do you see it? Prayer was Christ's way of keeping His faith alive.
Friend we all need prayer. Prayer is conversation with God. Prayer is friendship with God. Prayer is the way we keep the lines of communication open with God. The truth is, if we fail to pray our relationship with God grows dimmer & dimmer. We don't need a sanctimonious tone to talk with God. All we need is a willingness to communicate with Him & to be in His presence.In doing the fundamentals, some other things come to mind. To wit;
2. CONTINUE TO GROW & LEARN
In the Garden Jesus didn't exhibit close-mindedness. He didn't say, "Now see here God, we never did it this way before." No!! Our Lord was open to God's truth. He was open to God's will; He was open to God's direction.
One night a little boy fell out of bed. When his mother asked him his problem he said, "I think I fell asleep too close to where I first got in." The tragedy is that as soon as we stop growing & learning, at that moment our faith begins to shrivel, shrink & die. We are like plants in that we need light to grow. To keep our faith alive we must continue to pray, grow, study, think & learn.
In the aftermath of some of the airline tragedies in this country, the sad reality has been revealed that the pilots & co-pilots were not really up to date on some of the latest facts about the machinery they were using. It has yet to be decided where to place the blame but the tragedy still remains that many hundreds of innocents souls who wanted above all else to stay alive, were lost, perhaps due to nothing more than the crew simply not having a small piece of information.Other fundamentals that apply here are;
3. DO SOMETHING- BETTER YET, DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT!
I read a book years ago called, "Do one thing different." The gist of it is- if you want to affect change in your life, do just one thing different every day. Read a different newspaper. Surf TV channels. Though you may have to search,hard, you’ll surprised at the good stuff that’s available. You'd be surprised what would happen if you simply changed from fried chicken to oven- broiled or baked chicken for one year, or maybe fasted one meal a day or even one meal a week. Maybe..just maybe, give up powdered donuts for a few weeks.
One of the fastest ways to run out of steam is to operate as a lone wolf. We must love our enemies but we're under no mandate to work with them, if we're constantly having "dust ups." Work & fellowship with people who don’t have agendas & with whom you can be peaceful . It’s been my experience that the fastest way to break through the wall of helplessness & hopelessness is to act. Do something. Don't just be a hearer of the Word, be a doer. Next;
4. RETAIN YOUR CHILDLIKE SENSE OF WONDER
What do you think is the most important spiritual grace? If you say love, you'd certainly be on the right track, & you'd have the apostle Paul, the greatest Christian who ever lived- in agreement with you. But if you asked Jesus that question--what's the greatest spiritual quality we could possess, you'd get another answer. Can you guess what that answer would be? Wait for it.........it's the Child-likeness of "A little child."Did you notice the answer wasn't--child-likess? It was the -child-likeness of a "little child." What's the difference in a child & a little child? If you've raised children you know very well that there's a great difference in a child at about four or five, than a child at about six or seven. What's the difference? Among other things, it’s a sense of trust. One of the biggest differences is-a little child is unimpressed with any one's station in life. They will play with other children of any color, race or creed & pay no attention to pedigree or who the other kids are.
But twelve or eighteen months later you have a different child. Now you'll hear them say things like, "My daddy is the president of a bank," or, "My daddy has more money than your daddy." You'll probably hear them talking about their new item of clothing & what the brand name is. Isn’t it interesting that Jesus called a child to him one day & said--Unless you become as a "little child" you can't enter the kingdom of God?
5. DON'T QUIT-NO MATTER WHAT!
Let me ask you a very important question; did the Wright brothers quit? No! Did Charles Lindbergh ever quit? No! Did Joan of Arc ever quit? No! Did Jesus, or Paul, or James or Daniel or Elijah ever completely quit? Of course they didn't quit. Did Thorndyke Mckeester ever quit? The reader may ask, "Who on earth is Thorndyke Mckeester? I never heard of him!” Of course you never heard of him. He quit!
In the early church, there was a leader who was close to the Apostle Paul. He was talented, bright, capable & full of potential. But we hear few sermons about him because he quit. His name was Demas. Some of the saddest words in the New Testament are found in 2 Timothy 4:10—Demas ……has deserted me…. Friend, we have to make up our minds to stay with it. Demas was destined for greatness but he got lost in the shuffle & quit. Don’t quit on life. Don’t quit on the church. Make up your mind to stay with this faith pilgrimage whatever the cost. It takes a lot of prayer, a lot of obedience, a lot of determination & a lot of grit & grace to continue sometimes. Don’t forget to;
6. CELEBRATE SMALL VICTORIES
Your arthritis may not be totally healed but is it better? Then praise God for it. If you have fewer migraines than you once had, praise God for it. It may sound insignificant but still it’s important that you do it. Celebrating incremental victories is important in all of life. If you’ve only lost an inch in your waist-line, celebrate it & believe God that soon you’ll be able to look at that side view of yourself in the mirror without being depressed.
Elijah saw a cloud so small it could be compared to a man’s hand but he respected it & kept praying until it turned into a deluge of rain.David encouraged himself with the fact that he had killed a Bear & a Lion & it gave him the faith to kill a ten foot giant with a rock. Here’s something fundamentally important;
7. ENJOY LIFE
George H.W Bush may not go down in history as a great president but every time he jumps out of a perfectly good airplane to parachute- I cheer him on from the safety of my couch. What a guy. The man is in his late eighties. While he’s jumping I’ll be fishing.
Each morning when we rise we’re faced with the decision to either save the world or savor the world. It really makes it hard to plan the day. My suggestion is, -do both. First pray & ask God for directions, then smell the roses. The Bible tells us…. God has given us all things to enjoy.
I’ve had more impact on the lives of people by being of good cheer than with a lot of sermons I’ve preached. The sermons are not only important they are imperative but it’s also important that we spread good cheer whatever the endeavor we’re engaged in.I know things don’t look good right now in America folks but let's celebrate the victory we just experienced at the polls. Don't forget, Messiahs coming & He’s coming soon. Soon & very soon the right foot is going to step into the stirrup & the King of Kings will swing into the saddle. Things will be set right & …he shall reign forever & ever. Praise His Name!! Next;
8. DEVELOP NEW INTERESTS
I never touched a computer until I was sixty & you’d be surprised how much I’ve learned. A few years ago if you’d have told me I’d be writing a blog I would have thought you “off the rails.” I want to say fully alive, don’t you? Don't forget to;
9. KEEP READING THE WORD
If you expect to be able to withstand the shaking that’s coming you will have to be anchored in the Word of God. We will have to study the Word & build a dynamic relationship with God. Some simply won’t stay alive when hell begins its all out vile assault against the faith. Some will leave because someone said something to hurt their feelings. They have spiritual myopia & can’t see further than their neighbors faults. Some won’t stay alive to Christ because of what the church treasurer, a deacon, the choir leader or the pastor did. It really doesn’t matter why they leave; it just means they weren’t rooted enough in the Word to survive the shaking.
Some will leave the faith because of what an unscrupulous TV evangelist did or said. But mainly people will lose heart because they don’t read the Word of God & read it every day. It’s God’s Word that will fortify the heart & mind against error.
10. TO FORGET THIS CAN BE FATAL
Don't get bored with doing the basics. I read an article some time back about why a large percentage of American evangelists get into mid-life and “flame out.” I’m not necessarily speaking of backsliding or even leaving the ministry although this does happen. I speak of preachers in mid-life who get bored with doing "the same old same old "and want to “stir things up” and do something radically different.
Oral Roberts comes to mind, though I always held him in high esteem and still do. It's my humble opinion that he grew tired of doing the basics. Remember he built a hospital at age 50? Not a criticism, just an observation. I was preaching in Tulsa about the time Oral announced his coming hospital. The word on everyone’s lips was that Tulsa already had thousands of empty and unused hospital beds, now Roberts wants to spend millions for a hospital. Roberts forged on anyway and built the facility, which by the way was absolutely beautiful. However it wasn’t long until the endeavor was in serious financial trouble and the hospital was standing empty.
One powerful exception to this is evangelist Billy Graham. Billy has many fine characteristics, but I believe his greatest quality through the years has been that; although he preached from all parts of the Bible, it all would come back to the simple message of Salvation through faith in the shed blood of Christ on the cross, and God’s fathomless reservoir of love and forgiveness toward anyone who’d place their trust in Him.Indeed,-The fundamental things do apply, so at any juncture of our lives and in whatever battle we might find ourselves fighting, let us never stop doing the basics that I’ve humbly tried to list here.
I don’t have to tell you there are going to be dark days ahead. Back during World War 2, Ruth K. Jones was reading 2 Timothy 3:1—this know that in the last days perilous times will come…. Moved by the Holy Spirit, she picked up her pen & wrote;
In times like these, we need a Savior. In times like these we need an Anchor. Be very sure, be very sure, your Anchor holds & grips the solid rock.
Where is your anchor today?
Is it upon the solid rock? We’ll not only stay vital and alive but thrive in the worst of times if we’re anchored upon Christ Jesus,…… the only solid rock.
Blessings,
John
You knew him.
If you've been a church-attendee for very long this man is no stranger to you.The man usually wore dark clothing & donned the pulpit every Sunday, opened the Bible & preached. The thing you most remember is how dull & listless the sermons were.
You tried to blame it on the dull lighting, the rock hard pews & the drab surroundings but alas, what it was- was boring preaching, coming from a man who'd given up.This man had quit studying years ago & was simply reciting his old manuscripts. Though at the time, you may not have had enough experience to call it what it was, something in you knew he'd lost the joy, the enthusiasm of imparting God's Word to the people.
NOTHING NEW...
Nothing fresh fell from the lips of this man. It was in his voice & written all over his countenance. He had one special magic that couldn't be denied & no one could take it away from him; --He could make twenty minutes seem like two weeks. Be honest; you've known this man haven't you? He'd basically shut down. He'd lost the wonder. He was only in his early forties but he constantly used the word "old."
But having spent so many years in the ministry myself, it would be dishonest of me not to admit there have been times in my life, thankfully short-lived, when I endured spiritual dryness & faced head-on my powerlessness to do anything about it. I have looked into the abyss of spiritual burn-out & oblivion & wanted desperately to run & hide from the agony of it all.
Not that I was or ever will be a Mother Teresa, but I can understand her "dark night of the soul," holding on by the fingertips & longing so very desperately for God. Standing before the people more than once a week as a spokesman for heaven feeling deep within myself that I wasn't worthy. But also knowing unequivocally that God had called me to speak for Him & even, God forbid, if I went to hell I’d take that call with me. I've known Mondays when I was so emotionally exhausted & adrenaline depleted it was hard for me to talk. Mondays are days when I am most vulnerable to discouragement & despair after wringing myself dry emotionally & spiritually on Sunday.
There was a time when pastors always took Monday's off but that changed some years ago. Many ministers felt they'd be more productive to get into their offices on Monday & use the time to get organize for next Sunday since they couldn't relax anyway. As you know, preachers are only human. Their only hope of staying viable is to study & pray & once again be engaged by the presence of the living Christ as He speaks into their hearts & the Scripture is illuminated by His Spirit.
I have an electric razor with a rechargeable battery as I suspect many men do. I can unplug it & walk all over the house shaving which I often do. But when the battery starts to run low, I can feel it & then I hear it as it slowly loses power & cutting ability. At that point I know I'd better get it back to the electrical socket in the wall & recharge the battery.This to me is a metaphor of life. We can all run for a short time without being plugged in, but sooner or later it catches up with us & we must get back to the source of power.
The ministers I mentioned at the beginning of this article, many who have been & can still be some of God's most gifted men, just need to get back to the source of power that opens the mind, thrills the heart & causes us again to know the presence of the Living Lord.
TWO SAD DISCIPLES
In Luke 24, two disciples returned to Emmaus filled with despair with all that had happened
in Jerusalem on the previous days. They were drained & burned out. However a "stranger" joined them along the way & listened to their lament. Then as they walked He began to interpret the Word of God to them; the law, the prophets & the Psalms. He helped them to understand the necessity of the crucifixion they'd witnessed. As they walked, their hearts were burning.Then later they broke bread together & then they recognized the "stranger" as the resurrected Lord Jesus. Then He was gone, but they knew He was alive. He'd been with them & promised to come again to dwell with them through the power of His indwelling Spirit. In a manner of speaking this visit from the living Christ helped those thoroughly dejected men to survive, at least on the spiritual level.
JESUS SHOWED UP
What always saves the discouraged preacher or the downhearted Christian is when Jesus shows up & in his own wonderful way again stirs our spirit, & opens our eyes so that we again are aware of His presence at work -guiding, blessing, forgiving, & restoring hope. It's then that we see He is at work all around us in the lives of all whom we know & love. It's then & only then that the scales fall off our eyes & we're given glimpses of His divine grace at work everywhere. And to make it even more glorious, we see that even our perceived botching of the things we were trying to do for Him can so graciously & perfectly fit into the divine mosaic which is our lives.God never meant for anyone to be this way. He created us with a sense of wonder -with the capacity for passion, yet too many of us, like the preacher, shut down way too early.
Are you living every day filled with hope & expectancy? Are you living life to its fullest?So many people once were excited about the future but somewhere along the way life has knocked all that out of them & their appetite & "lust for life" has been lost. They used to pursue their dreams but then they hit some roadblocks, things didn't work out the way they had hoped they would & now they're just going through the motions. They've quit dreaming. They've quit pursuing their goals & tragically they've lost their purpose.It happens far too often; people have a great salvation experience. They become excited, devoted & committed. Every time the church doors open they're there. They can't wait to get there. The whole new world of faith has opened for them & it's all too wonderful for words. For months, sometimes years all goes well. They have no problems with their faith. But suddenly they began to have difficulties. They begin to drop out. The luster wears off; the excitement wears down & their devotional commitments shrink. Soon they disappear & become names on a dusty church role somewhere. No one sees them. No one knows them anymore.
In our youth, we were filled with joy & energy but now many of us have to work on stimulating them both. Why does this happen & how can we prevent it? How can we keep our spiritual experience vibrant & zestful?
How can we survive spiritually ? The answer isn’t deep or difficult to grasp.
THE FUNDAMENTAL THINGS STILL APPLY WHEN YOUR FAITH IS ON THE CRITICAL LIST. YOU AND I MUST...
1. PRAY
We find some fascinating & helpful clues in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus is facing death yet there are instructional keys to staying alive.We know the disciples saw Jesus do many great miracles. Yet we don't read that they ever asked, "Lord, teach us to do miracles." We know the disciples saw Him use His intellect to silence the sharpest legal minds, but we never hear them ask, "Lord, teach us your mental acumen." We know the disciples observed their Master’s awesome command of the Old Testament manuscripts, yet we never hear them ask, "Lord, teach us what you know about the law." We know He was a master of crowd control & fully understood what it took to keep the masses of human bodies under control, yet the disciples never asked Him to tell them how to handle the throngs of people who pressed in to hear Him.
But the twelve had watched Jesus closely. They'd seen Him rise without disturbing a single soul to steal away & commune with His Father. Behind all of His skills they suspected something else was at work. They knew His secret; His awesome power was embedded in His prayer life. So they asked, "Lord, teach us to pray."
Gethsemane was a tough & terrible moment. The cross loomed before Jesus. He didn't want to go to the cross. He prayed about it. Father, take this cup from me. It was an earnest prayer. He sweated drops of blood. This is serious business here! It was agony to pray, but pray He did. Yet He found strength to pray, - Not my will but thine be done.Do you see it? Prayer was Christ's way of keeping His faith alive.
Friend we all need prayer. Prayer is conversation with God. Prayer is friendship with God. Prayer is the way we keep the lines of communication open with God. The truth is, if we fail to pray our relationship with God grows dimmer & dimmer. We don't need a sanctimonious tone to talk with God. All we need is a willingness to communicate with Him & to be in His presence.In doing the fundamentals, some other things come to mind. To wit;
2. CONTINUE TO GROW & LEARN
In the Garden Jesus didn't exhibit close-mindedness. He didn't say, "Now see here God, we never did it this way before." No!! Our Lord was open to God's truth. He was open to God's will; He was open to God's direction.
One night a little boy fell out of bed. When his mother asked him his problem he said, "I think I fell asleep too close to where I first got in." The tragedy is that as soon as we stop growing & learning, at that moment our faith begins to shrivel, shrink & die. We are like plants in that we need light to grow. To keep our faith alive we must continue to pray, grow, study, think & learn.
In the aftermath of some of the airline tragedies in this country, the sad reality has been revealed that the pilots & co-pilots were not really up to date on some of the latest facts about the machinery they were using. It has yet to be decided where to place the blame but the tragedy still remains that many hundreds of innocents souls who wanted above all else to stay alive, were lost, perhaps due to nothing more than the crew simply not having a small piece of information.Other fundamentals that apply here are;
3. DO SOMETHING- BETTER YET, DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT!
I read a book years ago called, "Do one thing different." The gist of it is- if you want to affect change in your life, do just one thing different every day. Read a different newspaper. Surf TV channels. Though you may have to search,hard, you’ll surprised at the good stuff that’s available. You'd be surprised what would happen if you simply changed from fried chicken to oven- broiled or baked chicken for one year, or maybe fasted one meal a day or even one meal a week. Maybe..just maybe, give up powdered donuts for a few weeks.
One of the fastest ways to run out of steam is to operate as a lone wolf. We must love our enemies but we're under no mandate to work with them, if we're constantly having "dust ups." Work & fellowship with people who don’t have agendas & with whom you can be peaceful . It’s been my experience that the fastest way to break through the wall of helplessness & hopelessness is to act. Do something. Don't just be a hearer of the Word, be a doer. Next;
4. RETAIN YOUR CHILDLIKE SENSE OF WONDER
What do you think is the most important spiritual grace? If you say love, you'd certainly be on the right track, & you'd have the apostle Paul, the greatest Christian who ever lived- in agreement with you. But if you asked Jesus that question--what's the greatest spiritual quality we could possess, you'd get another answer. Can you guess what that answer would be? Wait for it.........it's the Child-likeness of "A little child."Did you notice the answer wasn't--child-likess? It was the -child-likeness of a "little child." What's the difference in a child & a little child? If you've raised children you know very well that there's a great difference in a child at about four or five, than a child at about six or seven. What's the difference? Among other things, it’s a sense of trust. One of the biggest differences is-a little child is unimpressed with any one's station in life. They will play with other children of any color, race or creed & pay no attention to pedigree or who the other kids are.
But twelve or eighteen months later you have a different child. Now you'll hear them say things like, "My daddy is the president of a bank," or, "My daddy has more money than your daddy." You'll probably hear them talking about their new item of clothing & what the brand name is. Isn’t it interesting that Jesus called a child to him one day & said--Unless you become as a "little child" you can't enter the kingdom of God?
5. DON'T QUIT-NO MATTER WHAT!
Let me ask you a very important question; did the Wright brothers quit? No! Did Charles Lindbergh ever quit? No! Did Joan of Arc ever quit? No! Did Jesus, or Paul, or James or Daniel or Elijah ever completely quit? Of course they didn't quit. Did Thorndyke Mckeester ever quit? The reader may ask, "Who on earth is Thorndyke Mckeester? I never heard of him!” Of course you never heard of him. He quit!
In the early church, there was a leader who was close to the Apostle Paul. He was talented, bright, capable & full of potential. But we hear few sermons about him because he quit. His name was Demas. Some of the saddest words in the New Testament are found in 2 Timothy 4:10—Demas ……has deserted me…. Friend, we have to make up our minds to stay with it. Demas was destined for greatness but he got lost in the shuffle & quit. Don’t quit on life. Don’t quit on the church. Make up your mind to stay with this faith pilgrimage whatever the cost. It takes a lot of prayer, a lot of obedience, a lot of determination & a lot of grit & grace to continue sometimes. Don’t forget to;
6. CELEBRATE SMALL VICTORIES
Your arthritis may not be totally healed but is it better? Then praise God for it. If you have fewer migraines than you once had, praise God for it. It may sound insignificant but still it’s important that you do it. Celebrating incremental victories is important in all of life. If you’ve only lost an inch in your waist-line, celebrate it & believe God that soon you’ll be able to look at that side view of yourself in the mirror without being depressed.
Elijah saw a cloud so small it could be compared to a man’s hand but he respected it & kept praying until it turned into a deluge of rain.David encouraged himself with the fact that he had killed a Bear & a Lion & it gave him the faith to kill a ten foot giant with a rock. Here’s something fundamentally important;
7. ENJOY LIFE
George H.W Bush may not go down in history as a great president but every time he jumps out of a perfectly good airplane to parachute- I cheer him on from the safety of my couch. What a guy. The man is in his late eighties. While he’s jumping I’ll be fishing.
Each morning when we rise we’re faced with the decision to either save the world or savor the world. It really makes it hard to plan the day. My suggestion is, -do both. First pray & ask God for directions, then smell the roses. The Bible tells us…. God has given us all things to enjoy.
I’ve had more impact on the lives of people by being of good cheer than with a lot of sermons I’ve preached. The sermons are not only important they are imperative but it’s also important that we spread good cheer whatever the endeavor we’re engaged in.I know things don’t look good right now in America folks but let's celebrate the victory we just experienced at the polls. Don't forget, Messiahs coming & He’s coming soon. Soon & very soon the right foot is going to step into the stirrup & the King of Kings will swing into the saddle. Things will be set right & …he shall reign forever & ever. Praise His Name!! Next;
8. DEVELOP NEW INTERESTS
I never touched a computer until I was sixty & you’d be surprised how much I’ve learned. A few years ago if you’d have told me I’d be writing a blog I would have thought you “off the rails.” I want to say fully alive, don’t you? Don't forget to;
9. KEEP READING THE WORD
If you expect to be able to withstand the shaking that’s coming you will have to be anchored in the Word of God. We will have to study the Word & build a dynamic relationship with God. Some simply won’t stay alive when hell begins its all out vile assault against the faith. Some will leave because someone said something to hurt their feelings. They have spiritual myopia & can’t see further than their neighbors faults. Some won’t stay alive to Christ because of what the church treasurer, a deacon, the choir leader or the pastor did. It really doesn’t matter why they leave; it just means they weren’t rooted enough in the Word to survive the shaking.
Some will leave the faith because of what an unscrupulous TV evangelist did or said. But mainly people will lose heart because they don’t read the Word of God & read it every day. It’s God’s Word that will fortify the heart & mind against error.
10. TO FORGET THIS CAN BE FATAL
Don't get bored with doing the basics. I read an article some time back about why a large percentage of American evangelists get into mid-life and “flame out.” I’m not necessarily speaking of backsliding or even leaving the ministry although this does happen. I speak of preachers in mid-life who get bored with doing "the same old same old "and want to “stir things up” and do something radically different.
Oral Roberts comes to mind, though I always held him in high esteem and still do. It's my humble opinion that he grew tired of doing the basics. Remember he built a hospital at age 50? Not a criticism, just an observation. I was preaching in Tulsa about the time Oral announced his coming hospital. The word on everyone’s lips was that Tulsa already had thousands of empty and unused hospital beds, now Roberts wants to spend millions for a hospital. Roberts forged on anyway and built the facility, which by the way was absolutely beautiful. However it wasn’t long until the endeavor was in serious financial trouble and the hospital was standing empty.
One powerful exception to this is evangelist Billy Graham. Billy has many fine characteristics, but I believe his greatest quality through the years has been that; although he preached from all parts of the Bible, it all would come back to the simple message of Salvation through faith in the shed blood of Christ on the cross, and God’s fathomless reservoir of love and forgiveness toward anyone who’d place their trust in Him.Indeed,-The fundamental things do apply, so at any juncture of our lives and in whatever battle we might find ourselves fighting, let us never stop doing the basics that I’ve humbly tried to list here.
I don’t have to tell you there are going to be dark days ahead. Back during World War 2, Ruth K. Jones was reading 2 Timothy 3:1—this know that in the last days perilous times will come…. Moved by the Holy Spirit, she picked up her pen & wrote;
In times like these, we need a Savior. In times like these we need an Anchor. Be very sure, be very sure, your Anchor holds & grips the solid rock.
Where is your anchor today?
Is it upon the solid rock? We’ll not only stay vital and alive but thrive in the worst of times if we’re anchored upon Christ Jesus,…… the only solid rock.
Blessings,
John
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Saturday, April 20, 2013
The Blinding Power of Wounds
By: John Stallings
It’s probably happened to all of us at some time or
another.
Someone offended us by what they said or did. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, an offense is “something which outrages the senses.”
Those who are offended are sometimes described as “hurt, wounded, upset, insulted, disappointed, irritated, or angry”.
It’s unfortunate that offenses ever occur, but the Bible indicates that if we keep our focus upon God and His Word, He will maintain such peace in our heart that we can become resistant to offenses. “Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them” (Psa. 119:165 KJV).
Obviously, offensive things will still come our way, but we need not be offended by them. The Lord is our reliable source of peace in all the circumstances of this life. “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You” (Isaiah 26:3).
GUARD FROM CAUSING
OFFENSES
We are also charged with a responsibility to guard our own conduct from causing offenses which could harm the faith of other believers.
Jesus gave a somber warning, reminding that we are accountable for the care of our brethren. He said,
“It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come! ”It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones” (Luke 17:1-2).
Jesus said “It’s inevitable that offenses shall come.”
When He uses that word “offense,” it’s actually the Greek word “Scandalon,” from which we get “scandal” or “scandalized.”
That word can be interpreted as a trap because originally a scandalon was the bait that was used in a trap. It can be translated as “snare” or “an offense,” or anything that hinders our walk with God. Jesus said that it is inevitable that these types of snares and traps will come.
SUFFERING WRONGS/HURTS/OFFENSES
Let’s look at how Satan uses wrongs/hurts and wounds to erect a wall between us and God. If we falter here, we can’t move ahead spiritually, thus we’re stuck where we are.
A large part of the challenge is centered on bringing about reconciliation between wounded parties. Reconciliation isn’t always possible, but we should always attempt it. IMO you and I should try to be reconciled with those we’ve hurt or who’ve hurt us.
It’s vitally important that we have a conscience that is free of offense before God and man. Sometimes we forget that it’s clogged human relationships that hurt our relationship with God.
I can remember as a kid, playing with water hoses. A hose can easily be knotted or twisted, stopping the water from flowing. To get water flowing again, it isn’t necessary to turn the water on, it’s already on. All that’s needed is to untwist the hose and the water- that was backed up- comes gushing through.
Our “spiritual hoses” can get clogged, much like gunk can clog our natural arteries. To point out the obvious, what you and I need is to get rid of the clutter and debris that’s in our lives.
As we walk with God, these dings get in our way. And usually they are offenses from people who’re closest to us. It would be a little easier to deal with our enemies, we expect that from them.
Listen to the words of David in Psalms 55. He says,
“For it is not an enemy who taunts me, then I could bear it. It is not an adversary who deals insolently with me, and then I could hide from him. But it is you, a man, my equal, my companion, my familiar friend. We used to take sweet counsel together in God’s house as we walked in with the throng or the congregation. It’s you, a friend.”
This is why divorces are so nasty and bitter. It’s because someone we love, someone who’s in our house, someone with whom we shared a bedroom.... that’s the one who has hurt us… and those hurts go deep.
UNFULFILLED PROMISES
Satan uses unfulfilled promises to keep us bound. We’ve all had that experience. You lend somebody some money and they say, “I’ll get it back to you as soon as I have it.” And later on you see they have it because they buy a new car, pretending everything is fine.
In my early, naive years as a pastor a lady in a church I pastored asked to borrow $1,000 to catch up on her house payments. She and her husband were gainfully employed. I was only able to loan the lady half what she asked for. Shortly afterward she left the church. Another of my lady parishioners who knew the story saw the lady in a store and asked why she’d left the church and hadn’t paid the pastor the money he’d loaned her. The ladies answer: “Oh -I don’t owe him that money because we don’t go to his church now.” God helped me to get the money back and I grew up fast.
I heard of a dentist that did a lot of work for Christians. He stopped going to church because he said there were too many choir members singing through teeth that he had fixed and they hadn’t paid him.
Breaking of confidence- You tell someone you think you can trust something of a sensitive nature and then are shocked to learn they’ve spread it everywhere like a child spreads peanut butter.
Rejection, abuse, etc. are all kinds of different means of rejection. One cutting remark made in the summer can last all winter and beyond. Several winters, as a matter of fact. If you think you can say something to someone, [although to you it seems innocuous,] that may bruise a person’s ego and appear to them to be a “put down” and not have it boomerang on you at some later date, please think again. You just may have some major things to learn about human nature.
False accusations: here’s a girl who accuses a boy of something and the boy absolutely denies it. The two families are friends but now there’s a wedge between them. Parents tend to defend their particular child, so the parents say, “Our daughter would never lie.” And the other parents say, “Our son would never do this!” And there you go – false accusations. You’ve got a fight going .
WALLS, BARS
Proverbs, chapter eighteen, verse nineteen says:
“A brother offended is more unyielding than a strong city, and quarreling is like the bars of a castle.”
A brother offended is more unyielding… you can more easily conquer a castle, a city that’s defended with high walls. But even though it appears impossible -it’s possible. With God all things are possible.
Now if you have a city like that, what’s the purpose of the walls? The walls are to keep people out.
A brother offended is going to build walls. He’s going to lay deep foundations to make sure that the wrong people don’t ever come into his life again, sometimes living in isolation because he doesn’t want anyone to “get to him” again.
And then what does the verse mean when it says “quarrelling is like the bars of a castle.”? Is it easy to take away the bars of a castle? Can you remove them? No. That’s the way it is with people who quarrel. We’re talking about strongholds. We’re talking about walls, and bricks. We’re talking human relationships.
Let’s look at some characteristics of the person who has an offense/hurt … and who will not give it up.
BLINDNESS
We become blind to our own faults- blind to our own offense. In the walls of this castle since they control who comes and goes, an offended person will make sure that the only information and the only people that are allowed through the gate is someone whom he enlists and agrees with him… someone who takes his side. All other information is filtered out. There’s no possible way that anyone else can touch him because the walls are so high and the gates are so thick. And so he can’t see his own faults. When we have an offense we are blinded to our own faults.
I think this is what Jesus meant when in Matthew, chapter seven, you remember He said, “You know, you think you have a speck of sawdust in your own eye, but you don’t realize there’s a beam in it.” And so you have guy and he has the beam. He’s the person you see, who is agenda-driven. He’s the one who’s got this beam, this 2x4 in his eye. He thinks it’s a piece of sawdust, but it’s actually a 2x4. And as he looks at others he is absolutely confidant that they all have 2x4’s. He thinks he only has a piece of sawdust, and they are the ones with the 2x4’s.
What he doesn’t understand is that when he looks at them, what he sees in their eye is a reflection of what is in his own eye. But he can’t see it. He’s blinded by it; he’s blinded by Satan. His hurt runs so deep that he says to himself, “No matter what I do to other people, it can’t possibly be as great as the harm that’s been done to me. Therefore, I have a right to hurt other people, because after all, I’ve been hurt.” He justifies it. He’s blind to what he is doing.
Paul says in Romans 12:9,
“Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to the good. Love one another with brotherly affection; out-do one another in showing honor; do not be slothful in zeal, but be fervent in Spirit, serving the Lord.”
Verse fourteen says: “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep, live in harmony with one another, do not become haughty but associate with the lowly, never be conceited.”
Why is He saying that? It’s because offended people are often very conceited. Their pride gets in the way, and they become blind to it. And then it says,
“Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God.”
The individual who holds an offense that sticks like Velcro to his soul will always seek
“justice” but too often what they want is vengeance. It’s the desire to see someone destroyed, the desire to absolutely do all that you possibly can to make people pay the utmost farthing.
A person like this believes that if he were to forgive, he would trivialize the offense. So, there is no way he is going to lay down his bitterness. That would mean it’s small in his eyes, and, therefore, he hangs on to it.
And then he spends a lot of time trying to convince God to hate the same people whom he hates. And so he gives all these reasons to God as to why God should be as angry at them as he is. Like the Sons of Thunder in the days of the New Testament, the people of Samaria,
“God, do you want us to call fire down from heaven and consume them?” Jesus said, “You don’t understand what spirit you are of.”
A man left a Christian organization that he felt had wronged him. They had promised him a certain number of things, and they didn’t come through with the promise. And they had some personality conflicts. But he thought that he was right and they were wrong. And so when he was released, he was so angry he stomped the dust from his feet and prayed that God would curse the place and shut it down.
Years later he had to confess that all that God did since he left is to bless the place. It grew; the ministry was used mightily of God and still is used by God today. That’s something like Balaam. You remember He tried to curse Israel, and all that would come out is blessing.
Have you ever noticed that God sometimes blesses people that you and I think He shouldn’t? Has that ever crossed your mind? It’s certainly crossed mine.
What happens now is this person in his vengeance will believe only evil about a person. All good information is filtered out. Because he is standing there at the door of his castle making sure that the only information that is fed to him confirms his own feelings… everything else is censored, and can’t, according to him, apply. The only thing getting through is that which confirms his predisposition.
Hate is a terrible thing. If you hate a political leader, you’ll connect dots and make accusations whether you have evidence or not. All that matters is that you latch onto something that confirms your hatred. Oh, the power of hate. Hate filters out the good and embellishes the bad, regardless of what we hear about those whom we hate.
DESTROYERS
There’s another characteristic of offended folk, and that is they can become destroyers. John 10:10 says this of the enemy, Satan. But if you and I hold onto an offense we’re in league with the devil. We can become destroyers. John 10:10: “The thief comes but for to steal, to kill and to destroy. I’ve come that you might have life, and have it more abundantly.” The thief destroys.
As tragic as it may be, there are some people who get their sense of significance from destroying others. Really! I could tell you lots of stories about that. There are people whose whole sense of value, and self-worth, and power is tied up in the ability and the desire to destroy people.
HURTS AND OFFENSES GO INTO OTHER RELATIONSHIPS.
I read that 66% of all divorced people get divorced a second time. The reason is they take as much baggage into their new relationship as they had previously… maybe more. And so they bring all of this into the second relationship believing of course that they are not at fault, and possibly they might not be… but so often unresolved issues spill over. So what happens is the whole world revolves around the offense and the bitterness.
A person who holds onto an offense/hurt succumbs to idolatry. John says in 1 John 5:21. “Little children, keep yourself from idols.”
Please think with me on this for a moment. An individual, who harbors a hurt or an offence, has an idol. What he’s saying is this: “I’m willing to give up on God until this matter is resolved. And unless I can get vengeance,” or whatever he wanted, “unless this matter is somehow addressed to my satisfaction, I can just tell God to ‘Take a hike.’ I can stop going to church, I can stop being with Christians, I can just do whatever I like because my relationship with God is negotiable. “
You see the idols of the heart? Do you see how easily we can be blinded and are willing to give up on God and to put our relationship with Him on hold, until something else is resolved? Is that not idolatry? When we say, “Something else is more important than my relationship with God, and that is the resolution of the evil that has been done against me” …that’s idolatry and should be identified as such.
What do we do about it? We must confront our idols. What is standing between you and
your relationship with God today… something that somebody did or some offense that cleaves to your soul? And you say, “I can’t walk with God, I can’t be with the people of God. Because, look at what has happened to me!” It’s the blinding power of a hurt. And whatever you and I hang onto that is more important than loving the Lord with all our heart, mind, and soul is idolatry. Here’s the “kicker”…we can’t see those idols unless God reveals it to us as we spend time in His presence.
Then we must turn this stumbling block into a stepping stone. You have to believe that God is saying to you, “If you can overcome this in your walk, then you can go on to new heights and new challenges in your relationship with me.”
This takes a great deal of real honesty, humility, and brokenness in the presence of God.
What we need to do is to follow Christ’s example. When He was reviled, reviled not in return, He uttered no threats, but committed himself to Him that judges righteously.
Oh, but you say, “I’ve invested so much in it! I’ve had it for so long! I’ve made sure that these wounds would never heal, and now you are asking me to just give it up?” Yes, I’m asking you to just give it up. Brother/sister -just lay it down.
Many of us say, “If only the people who hurt me would show some remorse, some sorrow, then maybe I would forgive them.” But consider Jesus on the cross. No one seemed sorry, quite the contrary-- they laughed, mocked & jeered at Him. They hurled insults at Him. The people who killed Him were pleased with themselves. Pilate washed his hands of the whole sordid affair. The Jewish leaders hated Him with a fierce irrational hatred. They were happy to see Him suffer & die.
Evil was in the air that day. The forces of darkness had done their work & Jesus would soon be in a tomb. No one said, “I was wrong, this is a mistake.” And yet He said, “Father forgive them for they don’t know what they are doing,” --this is precisely what we must say to the people who hurt us deliberately & repeatedly.
We must say it to those who intentionally attack us.
We must say it to those who casually & thoughtlessly wound us.
We must say it to those closest to us, to our husband or wife, to our children, to our parents, to our friends, to our neighbors, to our brothers & sisters.
The Bible says, “Examine yourself before you eat.,” speaking of the Communion elements we receive at The Lord’s table. Examine what is in your heart that stands in the way of your relationship with God.
Are you willing to tell God… “God, I’m willing to give up my idols, I’m willing to lay them down, to -by your grace, nail them to your cross.
For some -the idol of pride has to be laid down, and you have to receive the forgiveness of Christ for the first time. You have to say, “Jesus I am a sinner. Save me.”
After all, He died for people like you and me.
Blessings,
John
Sunday, April 14, 2013
Goodnight Brother, I'll see you in the morning!
By Dan Welch
Our son Dan who lives in Philadelphia with his dear wife and five children, recently and suddenly lost a precious friend. He posted the following tribute on Facebook but I was so moved by it I wanted to share it with my blog readers.
I have a dear beloved brother whose name is David Sacks,
His torch burns brightly for the glory of the Lord,
He is an magnificent man who is a man of many gifts.
He is a Man of God, who used his gifts as a photographer to capture,
Joy in the midst of despair, Hope, in the midst of poverty. He saw beauty where others would see only want.
His torch burns brightly for the glory of the Lord,
He is an magnificent man who is a man of many gifts.
He is a Man of God, who used his gifts as a photographer to capture,
Joy in the midst of despair, Hope, in the midst of poverty. He saw beauty where others would see only want.
He was a rich man. Not because of his worldly
successes; he has the jewels of a wonderful Wife, Children, Brother, Sisters,
Mother, Father and extended family of which no bank's coffers could ever hold
the wealth thereof.
Last night, he stepped from the latitudes of earth,
onto the latitudes of heaven.
His eyes are now seeing the glories that he so often spoke of beholding. My eyes are obscured by my tears of missing my dear brother.
His eyes are now seeing the glories that he so often spoke of beholding. My eyes are obscured by my tears of missing my dear brother.
I know that I will see him again. His legacy will
not fade, no; his example leads me on; in hope in Jesus. Lord, could I only be
as brave as my dear brother? I speak of him as alive because he is alive in a
way that I can only hope to be.
I pray that I can follow his example of walking to
the end of my time on earth in the same way that he did. Knowing that there is
yet a Kingdom to come. Knowing that we will all be together in paradise.
Monday, January 7, 2013
Every breath You Take... Every move you make...
By John Stallings
Disaster strikes.
A gunman opens fire in a theater killing scores of people. Another gunman opens fire in a school killing 20 children and six adults. The children were all six and seven years old.
A mega-storm hits the coastline changing the
landscape and destroying multitudes of homes and killing scores of people.
What is your first reaction? Is our most stabbing
question though we may not give voice to it…Where is God in all this? Doesn’t
He care what’s happening to us?
Yes, Jesus does care.
He
cares enough to allow disaster and he cares enough to stop it. He wants us to
trust him regardless of the circumstances.
Mark 4:35-41 finds Jesus by the Sea of Galilee. Leaving the crowd behind, He took His
disciples in a boat to go to the other side.
All seemed well, until a furious squall
came up. The Sea of Galilee is actually a fresh water lake in northern Palestine. The Lake was subject to violent storms.
It sat 680
feet below sea level, which made it warm, but was surrounded with mountains
shaped like funnels that allowed higher, cold air to whip down and mix with the
hotter climate. This causes hurricane like winds.
The disciples were scared to death and humanly
speaking, they had every reason to be. Waves
broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Imagine the
scene: the disciples working hard trying to steer the ship as wave after wave
pounded them. The lake began spilling into the boat and the disciples panicking.
Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a
cushion.
“How could Jesus sleep? Doesn’t he feel the waves
and wind? Doesn’t he hear our cries? We’re dying here, and he is sleeping like
there is total calm.”
The disciples woke him
and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?” What the disciples did was good and bad. It was good that they finally
turned to Jesus for help.
The LORD
says: “Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will
deliver you, and you will honor me." (Psalm 50:15)
Jesus knew sooner or later the disciples would need
an audio visual “sermon” on faith. This is why he allowed the disciples to
struggle so hard – in order to test and strengthen their faith.
Then Jesus gave them a picture of
faith… he slept secure in the back of the boat.
How is this a picture of faith? Jesus’ calm sleep
showed that He was not afraid, but trusted His Father’s loving providence,
regardless of how dire things got. And Jesus wanted the disciples to have this
same trust in Him, His power and His love.
Sadly the disciples didn’t display such trust. They
saw Jesus as their teacher, their master, but not their all powerful God. They
even questioned his love.
It’s comforting to know The Creator of the heavens and the earth knows us by name and loves us. When we consider this vast universe, it’s astonishing to know that God knows our needs and provides for us like a loving father.
I believe the three Hebrew boys, could witness that God will take care of you. Daniel would tell you he will take care of you. I know Job would tell that not only will He deliver you, not only will He take care of you, but sometimes He’ll give you double for your trouble.
It may seem like you can’t see your way through, but watch God come through.
As a kid I knew a man in a church my father
pastored and with whom I spoke several times a week. After years, this man
still didn’t know my name. He’d always call me by some other name, not mine.
The last time I checked, John [my name] is a rather common name, and not that
hard to pronounce.
I was young and inexperienced and I didn’t really
know how to catalog what I felt. I observed that the man didn’t have a large memory
deficit because he seemed sharp as a tack about other things including names. This
good man taught me a very valuable lesson.
I determined then and there, by God’s grace that I’d
never be dismissive and absent minded toward people as this man was to me. I
feel sure that he, if faced with his behavior would have been apologetic as I
never got the feeling he was mean spirited. It was probably a “blind spot.”
I’m sure I’ve failed at times but I’ve always made
an effort not to treat anyone, especially the young as if they were of no
significance.
“NOBODY
CARES BUT JESUS.”
Do you ever feel that no one is listening and that people, who should be concerned, hurt you, rather than minister to your need?
Sometimes these are just our perceptions- but
often, they are a reflection of the hard-heartedness and self-absorption of
those around us. Yes, even of Christians!
Sir, do you ever experience coming home from an
unbelievably hard day at work and start to unload on your wife and family? Have
you learned yet that 99% of the time the family isn’t interested in your hard
day at work? I don’t mean to sound cynical or unkind here. But let’s face it; a
wife whose been running a house all day long, with all the pressures that
entails, isn’t going to be interested in your difficult day at work. Face it
sir, at least you got out of the
house and had a little change of scenery.
“Nobody
cares but Jesus.”
Lady, have you ever tried to unpack your day on a
frazzled out husband just getting in the door from work? Have you learned yet
that for the most part, he’s not really interested in hearing it, at least not
until later…much later?
“Nobody
cares but Jesus.”
We could ask the same question of our children and
it’s a “slam dunk” that they understand this problem too; trying to communicate
with nobody listening.
It’s not that we don’t love one another, it’s just
that in today’s world we’re all hanging on by a thread and stressed beyond
belief. At the end of a hard day our shoulders are so up around our ears that we resemble the Hunchback of Notre Dame.
In this world people often act around us as though
we don’t even exist. But God not only knows that you exist, He knows your name.
Listen;
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine” (Isaiah 43:1). “I know you by name” (Exodus 33:17).
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine” (Isaiah 43:1). “I know you by name” (Exodus 33:17).
We are not just numbers in God’s big database. He
knows our names and not only our names, but everything about us. We often find
it hard to understand how God can know us by our names when people around us
don’t. That’s just the problem. We tend to feel that because people don’t care,
God also doesn’t care. But God does care even more than we can
imagine.
He keeps track of every bird that dies and of every hair on our heads (Matthew 10:29-30).
He keeps track of every bird that dies and of every hair on our heads (Matthew 10:29-30).
If He’s
concerned about such unimportant details, don’t you think that He’s even more
concerned and informed about those major issues you’re wrestling with? Of
course He is. There’s no problem in your life that’s too big or too small for
God to know about and to care about.
I‘ve never come across anyone who counts the hairs
on their head, yet God does. So if he is concerned about the least of our
worries, is He not even more concerned with those major problems, traumas,
upsets, fears and frustrations that you face?
Often people say they care yet you know that they remain unaffected by your situation. But God not only knows about your heartache, He feels with you and for you. Have your friends forsaken you, do people misunderstand you, do they turn your words into something you didn’t mean, do they slander you, do they actually try to hurt you (physically and emotionally), do they act as though you don’t exist
Often people say they care yet you know that they remain unaffected by your situation. But God not only knows about your heartache, He feels with you and for you. Have your friends forsaken you, do people misunderstand you, do they turn your words into something you didn’t mean, do they slander you, do they actually try to hurt you (physically and emotionally), do they act as though you don’t exist
and your opinions aren’t
worthy of consideration?
LOOK TO JESUS!
They did the same to Jesus, and much more, so He’s
touched by our struggles. He feels with
us, and feels for us when we
go through tough times. There’s not a single hurt that you feel, that he doesn’t
feel as acutely as you do.
God has compassion on us. People often respond to our problems by saying that we have brought it on ourselves, and often that’s true. But God isn’t in the blame business. He loves, cares, is concerned and is merciful on all who are in need.
Sometimes we can’t bear to look upon other’s hurt- it’s too much for us to countenance. But God never turns His face away, no matter what happens.
God has compassion on us. People often respond to our problems by saying that we have brought it on ourselves, and often that’s true. But God isn’t in the blame business. He loves, cares, is concerned and is merciful on all who are in need.
Sometimes we can’t bear to look upon other’s hurt- it’s too much for us to countenance. But God never turns His face away, no matter what happens.
STEPHEN
When those
rocks were crushing Stephen’s bones, and his ears were filled with blasphemy,
insults and accusations, and his friends fled, Jesus stood at the right hand of
the Throne and took every blow together with Stephen. It was just as though
Jesus was right next to Stephen on that landfill as they buried him under the
rocks and the insults.
People’s insensitivity and hardness to our needs often hurt more than the problems. But God is sensitive, merciful, tender, compassionate, kind and gentle with those who’re struggling. The problem is that we are sometimes so concerned with reaching out to people for help we forget that our God is actually reaching out to touch us in our moment of weakness.
Peter, writing to suffering Christians says:
People’s insensitivity and hardness to our needs often hurt more than the problems. But God is sensitive, merciful, tender, compassionate, kind and gentle with those who’re struggling. The problem is that we are sometimes so concerned with reaching out to people for help we forget that our God is actually reaching out to touch us in our moment of weakness.
Peter, writing to suffering Christians says:
“...casting
all your care upon Him, for He cares for you” (1Peter 5:7).
Yes, He indeed cares for you but you and I need to
cast our cares on Him. So often we try to bear them ourselves. We often bemoan
the fact that no one else cares to lift a finger to help us with our load when
the Lord Jesus is just waiting for us to unload it all on Him.
You and I need to think hard and
long before we unload our problems on another person. In all likelihood they
already have about all they can deal with. Tell it to Jesus!
Jesus spoke of the scribes and
Pharisee's who bound up burdens too heavy to carry and then put them on the backs of others, but would not as much as move their little
finger to carry the load.
Maybe as we begin a New Year you need to come to
Him and place your burdens at His feet. The problems may not immediately vanish,
but knowing that He is sharing the load makes it so much lighter and easier to
bear.
HANNAH
Hannah the mother of Samuel had
great cares.
In that culture, she shared her
husband with another woman. She suffered under a cultural curse of not being
able to bear a child.
The other wife who was jealous of
their husband’s obvious preference for Hannah was able to bear many children
and would taunt Hannah over her barrenness. The heavy care was more than she
could bare, and she found herself often weeping and unable to eat.
It finally brought a rift between
her husband and her, for one day as they were traveling together he asked her
why she was weeping and was not eating.
He couldn’t understand her deep
longing for a child. Like a typical husband he thought, "She has me, what
more could she want?" We read that as they were in Shiloh worshipping the Lord she was in
bitterness of soul and weeping as she was praying. Her grief was so deep that
she could not audibly utter her prayer. Her lips were moving but no sounds were
coming out.
As the High Priest Eli passed by
and saw her in this condition, he thought she was drunk and said, "How
long are you going to be drunk, get rid of your wine." She answered the
High Priest, "I am not drunk, I am a woman with a sorrowful heart, and I
have poured out my soul unto the Lord."
She had cast her care upon the
Lord.
Note that when she cast her care
upon her husband, he didn’t understand her, and it brought sort of a rift. When
she cast them upon the Lord she received the assurance that God would grant her
petition, and she ate and began to rejoice.
It’s interesting how Satan begins
to play his games in our minds. He seeks to make us feel that no one has ever
suffered as much as we have-that we’re all alone in our fight for
righteousness.
Like Elijah we often feel that “I,
only I am left, and they are seeking my life.” But God comforted him assuring
him he wasn’t alone in the fight. What a comforting thought to know God
cares.
Though all may fail and forsake
me, He has promised never to leave me or forsake me.
This thought ought to encourages us,
that
He cares for us more than we can
ever realize.
How do we know that He really
cares for us?
Jesus was constantly telling the
disciples of the Father's care for them. He told them that they didn’t have to
worry about things. Their Father sees that the birds are fed. He sees that the fields are robed in
beautiful colors. If He sees to the birds needs, how much more will He see to
the needs of His children. The Father knows we have need of these things.
If you’re ever tempted to question
or doubt the care that God has for you, just look at the cross. There God
showed you just how much He cares.
Paul said,
"If God spared not His own Son, but
delivered Him up for us all, how much more shall He not freely give us all things?
The presence of God is portrayed in Psalm 139 as all-pervasive and all-knowing of humankind’s thoughts and actions.
The presence of God is portrayed in Psalm 139 as all-pervasive and all-knowing of humankind’s thoughts and actions.
The Psalmist said, “Thou
searchest out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. . . . Whither shall I go from thy Spirit” (Psalm 139:3, 7).
I like the way The Message translates this passage;
“God investigate my life; get all the facts firsthand. I’m and open
book to you; even from a distance, you know what I am thinking. You know when I
leave and when I get back; I’m never out of your sight. You know everything I’m
going to say before I start the first sentence. I look behind me and you’re
there, then up ahead and you’re there, too–your reassuring presence, coming and
going. This is too much, too wonderful– I can’t take it all in! Is
there anyplace I can go to avoid your Spirit? To be out of your sight? If
I climb to the sky, you’re there! If I go underground, you’re there! If I
flew on morning’s wings to the far western horizon, You’ll find me in a minute–
you’re already there waiting! Then I said to myself, ‘O He even sees me
in the dark! At night I am immersed in the light!’ It’s a fact: darkness
isn’t dark to you; night and day, darkness and night, they are all the same to
you.”
Let me close with this verse that has always been a comforting one to me.
Indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep. Psalm 121:4
The Psalmist tells us that our God never slumbers nor sleeps. What’s the difference in sleeping and slumbering? None that I can see. Maybe the writer just wants to put extra emphasis here.
If you find yourself tossing and turning at night trying to figure out the solution to every possible dilemma, here’s a New Years suggestion for you:
Since God never slumbers or sleeps, you might as well get some rest.
If something’s got you worked up today, remember, God’s on the clock, He’s on the throne, and He’s got you covered.
Every step you take, every move you make, He’ll be watching you.
Blessings,
John
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