Saint Paul and Us

      I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service.  Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

(1Timothy 1:12-14 NIV)

     Remember, Paul was, in the beginning,, a hater of our Lord and a persecutor of Christians, but the Lord makes use of the most unlikely people to serve him...like you and I.  Pray, have faith, and it shall be given to you a mission for him.  What seems like the most trivial mission, is as important in the eyes of our Lord as the most involved missions. 

Be Someone’s Light at the End of the Tunnel

     As a Christian, there are times when we must show others the light at the end of the tunnel.    We must show them that loving light of our Lord that we know and, perhaps, they have lost sight of in their anguish.  In these times, the Lord may ask us to come out of our comfort zones to accomplish this.

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”                                                       (John 8:12 NIV)

     Occasionally, my friends and I, in our younger days, would fish the farm ponds north of our town in the evenings as relaxation.  Afterward, we enjoyed stopping in at one of the country bars in the area for a couple of beers and a chat with the country folks.  These were family places.  One would hear the good and bad of family life shared openly.  Their stories could be enthralling or amusing.  However, anytime I heard distress in a person’s voice or it was displayed in their manner, they had my full attention.  At this point, my Lord would transform me into a fisher of men.  This is an improvement my faith has brought upon me.

     One of those particular evenings, I sat talking to one of those distressed persons.  He intimated his wife of several years had, without any warning signs (though I doubted that), left him for another man.  This had ended in a heart crushing divorce.  He was wholly devastated.  His was a devastation that was quiet and very inward.  That form can be more worrying, in my thinking, than the outward, brash form of devastation.

     We talked about it for some time back and forth.  Then I looked him in the eye, asking him if he believed in Christ.  He told me yes, though he hadn’t attended church in years.  I believed that, in his condition, he could not see the light at the end of the tunnel.  Life for him was over…figuratively and, possibly, literally.

     At this moment, I told him, in no uncertain terms that he is not going to find relief or a new beginning in a bar.  If the bar became his life, it would be depression on steroids.  I stated what I knew; Jesus is sitting with us at this very moment listening to our every word, and waiting for you to turn toward him.  Some overly stimulated Christians think Jesus would not be caught dead in a bar.  This man needed to know, with absolute certainty, that Jesus was there, and the fact that in our Lord there is the light of life…in the bottle, only darkness.

     As the conversation and the man turned toward Jesus’ light, he was truly affected.  A short time later, we walked out together.  I do not know the end of his story, but I do know the beginning.  There is Jesus’ light at the end of the tunnel with that beginning.  Jesus brought us together that evening, and the holy spirit was strong within that man as he left.  I fear the best, with a smile.

     As Christians, we need to be vigilant in watching over our brothers and sisters.  Picking up on a nuance in a friend or a person we meet in passing, may save a soul as well as a life.  We are not heroes when we do these things, but instruments for our Lord to carry out his will.  We must keep in mind the difficulties of seeing light in a dark and overpowering period.  You may be stepping out of your comfort zone to be our Lord’s instrument, but you will be blessed for the effort.

This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.

(2 Corinthians 9:12)

    

Light In the Darkness

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

(John 8:12 NIV) 

     Is there a darkness in your life?  Follow our loving Lord, Jesus, and you shall never again walk in darkness.  Merely, ask through prayer with a true and loving heart, and you shall receive.  It's that simple.  

Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. 

(Mark 11:24 NIV) 

You, Lord, Are My Victory in Defeat

     You, Lord, are my armor, my strength, my courage.  You, Lord, give me your sextant and compass when I am lost.  You, Lord, put wind in my sails when I am dead in the water.  You, Lord, calm the seas when I am near to swamped.  You, Lord, are my pilot when I near the rocky shores.  You, Lord, subvert the aim of my enemies’ cannons.  You, Lord, are my loving God.

     Hallelujah!  You, Lord, took this fatherless baby to a home where your name was supreme. With a strong father and a devout and loving mother, you began the construction process of my faith.

     You, Lord, when the time was right, delivered me back to my mother newly wedded to a strong father. You began to teach me new skills. 

 

     You, Lord, covered me with your armor during war’s angry battles.  Yet, I became angry for the inhumanity of man upon man.  Blaming you, I fought a great battle against you.  How could you, a God, let man do this to himself?  I fought you with all that hate could produce.

     You, Lord, did, as you taught us, you turned your cheek time after time.  How angry I was.  How much I tried to hate you.  You kept turning your cheek as I struck you at your very heart.  I picked up the Bible to discredit you as some alien creature, some lie.  I enlisted others who loathed you.  We tore your Bible apart page by page.

     You, Lord,  did not strike me down with lightning, but softened my heart and defeated my hate with your love.  You, Lord, did as you taught us.  You lead by example.  You, Lord, are my God, my savior, my loving example.

 

     You, Lord, took me into your arms, welcoming me home.  So viscously, I fought you.  So lovingly, you won.  Now, I see that never did I not believe in you, but was angry.  I know with certainty that you love us unconditionally, but do not love some of the acts we do.  Man does what man does in war…he is ordered to kill others for some abstract and felonious reason or reasons that serve his leader’s ends. Today, I stand against war until all other means are exhausted.  Then…I’m still not certain we need that horrible thing to solve problems.

 

     You, lord, defeated me that night with these words:

He said:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn,
    for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek,
    for they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
    for they will be filled.

Blessed are the merciful,
    for they will be shown mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart,
    for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers,
    for they will be called children of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

(Matthew 5:3-10 NIV)

     Then it was over.  I had gained a great victory in defeat.  I found that our God is love.  I found that love can and will conquer all hate.  May God pour his blessings upon you who fight him, and may you find victory in defeat as I have. 

Making Ends Meet

    

The heating and air conditioning system needs to be replaced, the outside of the house needs some work, the furniture has seen better days, the floors need to be refurbished, the appliances are very dated, I probably need surgery number eight, my job is by necessity not by love, and…

     I was dreaming about the previously mention items when I woke up swinging my arms.  My angel of a wife quietly brought me to reality.  Then I heard the voice,” So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” from Matthew 6:31-34.

    Whether our income is small or large, the worry over making ends meet can literally suck the life from us.  My father had a good saying, “The more you make, the more you spend.” We must keep in mind that high income does not equal no worry.  Being a worrier, I used to let this happen to me.  This worrier label is strange, because I’m an extreme risk taker.  I create my own pot of worry, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.  The difference between past days and today is my faith.

     For some reason, I seem to be at my best when taking risks.  It makes me feel alive.  My life has always been precarious, at best, when it is traveling along a smooth road.  These past ten years, I have shut down to repair my body from earlier risky missions.  My Lord has always traveled with me and steered me safely in these missions.  Furthermore, I know he has directed me along this smooth road not just to do needed repairs, but also to strengthen my spirit, my faith.  In recent days, I have begun to feel ready to leave the safety of the nest…once again to soar skyward.  Once more, my wings are strong.

  

     We tend to stay where we feel safe, secure.  We feel we must do that to make ends meet when, most often, that security is a myth.   Whether those ends are meeting or not, take a risk, try something new.  Freshen up your life by taking a risk for our Lord.  Occasionally, we need to move from our comfort zones and take risks.  In particular, this applies to our faith.  Take more risks for God, our Father.  If he watches over us in everyday human tasks, how much more will he watch over us if we are attempting to glorify his name.

     Have you a sense of adventure?  Have you faith?  When you find yourself worrying about making ends meet, try taking a risk for our Lord to whom there exists no end. 

Trust in the Lord forever,
    for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal.

(Isaiah 26:4 NIV)

Duplicity

A certain man studied structural engineering in college.  He persevered and received a degree in that science.  He was given a position at an engineering firm where he engineered the designs on multi-story buildings.  He became known for his knowledge of engineering, and became an accepted authority on the subject by his peers.  There is nothing abnormal about that.

     The abnormal part is as follows.  He became full of himself, and made others working around him feel unworthy and ignorant.  In addition, he designed buildings while totally ignoring all accepted standards of engineering.  Would you trust an engineer who practices such nonsense?

     You might find this sad and horrifying.  You would not be alone in that thinking.  Let’s see the basics of this story applied to the area of Christianity.

   

     A certain man reads and studies the teachings of Jesus Christ.  He becomes very knowledgeable in that area becoming an accepted leader in his church due to that knowledge, but, outside of all church activities, he gossips, judges, shows hatred, forgives no one, and gives only when he will receive acclaim.  Can you trust that man as a Christian?  Of course, it is appalling, but happens more than we like to admit.

     As Christians, we must work at making our actions and words outside the church atmosphere match with our good actions and words inside the church.  Yes, we are all recovering sinners, and therefore not perfect, but we must be working at living more and more in Christ’s example.  We must be diligent in our efforts to emulate the actions and words of our Lord, Jesus Christ…not just memorize or preach them.  If we ignore this, we face the prospect of becoming hypocrites.  We must work at becoming good servants and good examples.  Jesus’ encounters with hypocrites were moments that give me a sensation that he was close to anger.  We must learn the true spirit of the law and administer it with love and forgiveness.

 

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.

(Matthew 23:13 NIV)

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.

(Matthew 23:23 NIV)

     Knowledge is one thing, but application is another.  I do not wish to be a man who knows so much, but practices so little.