"She's dead."

It was Christmas Day.  Our daughters, their husbands, and our brand-new granddaughter (our first!) had enjoyed a tamale dinner cooked by my awesome wife…and now we were sitting in the living room opening presents. 

The phone rings.  Anita answers.  The look on her face is not the sort of look one has when a loved one calls to wish Merry Christmas.  She closes her eyes, leans forward, and says “oh-nooo.” 

I knew it was my dad.  I had been expecting this call, because I had returned just a few days before from my last visit to Wells, Nevada to see my dad and stepmother.  Esther was in the last stages of liver cancer, and my 80 year-old dad was doing his best to be her caregiver.  His brief announcement on the phone Christmas Day is the title of this post.

I have known her since I was 14, when my dad divorced my mom to marry Esther.  To say this second marriage was rocky is an understatement.  But there is one thing that would cause the strife-meter to go off the charts, and that was merely the mention of God in her presence, whether by my dad or anyone else.  Any discussion about God was strictly off-limits, or there would be Hell to pay, for my dad.

But that’s not the end of the story.

There was a moment, while drowning in the sea of depression, after the diagnosis and the doctor’s pronouncement of only months to live that the idea of ending it all now seemed like the best way out to Esther.  The pain-killing drugs offered the vehicle to make that happen.  But it didn’t work.

She was taken to the place where staff watches over those who might do harm to themselves, and upon my dad’s first visit to her in that place, he says the heretofore unthinkable thing, the thing that he had trained himself to avoid.  He said, “Why don’t you just give it up to God?”  Her response:  “Tell me what I need to do.”

Miraculous.

My dad told me that he led Esther in a prayer to receive the Lord Jesus into her life that very moment.  And there was a night and day difference in her countenance and in her words.

He was precise in the prayer too, which is no surprise to me.  He told me that the prayer included asking forgiveness of her sins, her belief in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, and His resurrection from the dead. 

Later, she thanked my dad for praying with her…and thanked him for who he was.  If you knew Esther, you would be overwhelmed at that, as I was.

When I saw her a couple of weeks ago, it was during a very brief awake moment on her deathbed.  I took her hand and greeted her, and there was a softness and sweetness I had never seen in her before.

I am sorry that she died the horrible death she did.  I’m also sorry that she had to see death’s door before she was frightened enough of what was on the other side that she finally fell to her knees before the Author of Life.  But I’m thankful for the peace that my dad has, knowing that she is in Heaven.

What A Great Game!

Hey, did you see the game today between the Denver Broncos and the New England Patriots?  This is the first game I've been able to watch Tebow in action, so I was disappointed they lost, of course.  I was reading a sports columnist online, and they attributed the game win to Tom Brady's power.  As great a quarterback as Brady is, I don't think so.  I think the reason the Broncos lost is they turned the ball over three times.  Hello!  Had it not been for those mistakes, the game may have had a very different outcome.

But it was a great game to watch.  Brady is so cool, and just throws the ball with laser accuracy.  But Tebow, wow, you can see why Bronco fans are so excited!  That dude can pass for sure, but man, he can run!  I loved watching him scramble away from the blitz over and over, and the way he would just run up the field when he saw a lane.  That's exciting football.  Yeah the score is important, but I love to watch exciting and talented players.

I especially love to watch them when I know they have faith in Jesus.  Tebow just happens to be one who does, AND one who can really play the game.  I discovered him on a 700 Club interview, and I believe that he's the real deal.  If you want to watch that interview, I blogged the link a while back.

I found this picture today, and it blessed me.  It's Tim Tebow (15) doing some after-game prayer with teammates and opponents.  Why do they do that?  I think it's to glorify God.  Tell me you don't think that sports figures who glorify God in their lives don't make an impact! 

The Handshake

Where have the sports figures gone who recognize and understand that much of male America, and some female, idolize them and look up to them as role models?  Is that just history? 

Fortunately, it is not.  There are still men and women who play professional sports who know that their behavior and speech on and off the field is followed by millions of people, and it is their deepest desire to affect those millions positively.  Tim Tebow, the Denver Broncos quarterback is one such man.  If you have just a few minutes, take a look at who this guy is, and the values that guide his life.  http://www.cbn.com/media/player/index.aspx?s=/mp4/SB101v2a_web_WS 

A Healthy Mind

There’s a story in the Bible in Proverbs 7:6-23 about a young man who met a married woman who was on the prowl for a man to spend the night with, since her husband was out of town on business, and she wanted to have some fun.  This young man is described as “lacking judgment.”  Why?  In the story, the woman enticed him with seducing words, telling him of how she had looked for him and had now found him, how she had covered her bed with fine imported linens and had perfumed it, making it just right for a night of hot sex, and best of all “my husband is not at home; he has gone on a long journey.”  In other words, we can do it all night long, and we won’t get caught!  But look at this:  verse 21 says “with persuasive words she led him astray; she seduced him with her smooth talk.” 

This young man lacked judgment in that he hung around to listen to her.  He made a choice to listen to those titillating words that tickled his ego, and as “a deer stepping into a noose,” he made the mistake that so many men make, and he allowed himself to be taken by the amours of a strange woman.

This is a story that is so familiar to many of us, including me.  So many of us have listened to the wrong voice.  We have done it as a choice.  You and I choose what we are going to listen to, as well as what we are going to look at with our eyes.

Paul the Apostle wrote “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”  This means a decision must be made on your part regarding which voice you are going to listen to.  You can continue to listen to that voice that drives you to sin with your body and your mind, taking you deeper and deeper into depression and anxiety, or you can choose today, right now, to listen to the voice of your conscience, which is God-given, and walk away from that voice, and give place to the Voice that gives life.  Choose today who you will serve.

Simply put, in order to walk away from that voice that brings death, you must give yourself to the Word of Life, otherwise known as the Bible.  That means to read it, study it, memorize it, and think about it.  (Romans 12:1-2)

Abortion

I double-dog dare you to watch this video.  How open minded are you?  REALLY?  Watch this and find out.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7y2KsU_dhwI&noredirect=1

Why Go To Church?

This isn't an origional from me....I found it...but it's really good.  Help yourself.

Why go to Church?

If you're spiritually alive, you're going to love this!
If you're spiritually dead, you won't want to read it.
If you're spiritually curious, there is still hope!


Why Go To Church?


A Church goer wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday. "I've gone for 30 years now," he wrote, "and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 sermons. But for the life of me, I can't remember a single one of them. So, I think I'm wasting my time and the pastors are wasting theirs by giving sermons at all."


This started a real controversy in the "Letters to the Editor" column,

much to the delight of the editor. It went on for weeks until someone wrote this clincher:


"I've been married for 30 years now. In that time my wife has cooked some 32,000 meals. But, for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals. But I do know this.. They all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work. If my wife had not given me these meals, I would be physically dead today. Likewise, if I had not gone to church for nourishment, I would be spiritually dead today!" When you are DOWN to nothing...God is UP to something! Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible and receives the impossible! Thank God for our physical AND our spiritual nourishment!

The Behavior of a Christian

Lots of us Christians struggle in our lives, finding it difficult to conform our behavior to what we read a Christian is to be as detailed in the Bible.  I think the struggle is particularly fierce in the teen and young adult years.

But think about this.  The way you live through your personal struggle, whatever it may be, either shows those around you the glory of God, or it shows hypocrisy….therefore reinforcing the non-believer’s arsenal of reasons not to trust Jesus.  Ouch.

I, personally, failed miserably for years in my lifestyle testimony and I shudder to think of how many I may have turned away from the narrow path that leads to eternal life.  I just have to trust that God is much bigger than my personal failures in people’s lives, and that the goodness of God will eventually work and draw them to repentance, for those He is calling, and for those who have tender hearts and minds.

How can we live a life of faith and exhibit behavior that is Christ-like?  I know of only one way.  There are many “Christian” books and teachers out there who give encouraging methods to help you walk the walk, and I think most of them boil down to positive thinking.  But they all fail.  You can stay up nights working to re-program your mind so that you live the way you know you should live.  But if you are attempting to work your way to a holy life, my friend, you are doomed to failure.  I love what Jesus told us, that His burden is easy, it is light.  Man’s methods are cumbersome and heavy, but the Lord’s way is tender and merciful….it is not a struggle.

So follow the way of the Lord, and simply ask the Holy Spirit to give you the strength to live as Jesus lived when He was on the Earth.  This is not a one-time asking.  It is a daily cycle of seeking, repentance, forgiveness, and infilling.  It is the path to a life of purity, power, and passion.  (Romans 8:12-14; 12:9-21)

Favor With God and Man

So we’re moving.  Uhuh.  Don’t worry, we’re staying nearby, but we’re getting a place that’s not so expensive to pay for and keep up. 

But that’s not the point of this post.  Because we’re downsizing, we have given truck loads of stuff away.  Today I filled up a U-Haul truck with bookcases, a king water bed, a twin water bed, a huge entertainment center, and lots of other furniture items.  I took them to a charitable organization (that I won’t name here), because when I called them I was told that they DO accept furniture.

When I backed into their donation area, a guy who works there told me they only take furniture upon “inspection.”  When he saw what I had, he went and got his supervisor.  While he was gone, the thought came to me to pray for favor with these guys.  So that’s what I did.  I just had a moment with Jesus right there at the donation center lot, and asked Him to give me favor with these two dudes.  They came out, and the supervisor asked me what I had to give them.  When I got to the king waterbed, he said they couldn’t take it….it was too big for them.  After a minute or so of conversation on this topic, the supervisor suddenly told me he would take the waterbed.  Why he changed his mind, I have no idea.  Except that I had asked God for favor with him.

And then another worker showed up, and he saw a “Fireproof” sticker I had placed on a cabinet and he commented about what a great movie that was.  So now I was talking with a brother.  And he jumped in the U-Haul and helped me unload, after the other two had disappeared.

God is for us.  Be willing to ask for what you need.  (Psalm 56:9; John 16:23,24)

Erasing Hell

Whether or not you agree with his book  Love Wins, Rob Bell has done us a service by re-starting a most important discussion on a topic that affects everyone….Hell.  Rob has turned a corner in the world of faith towards a belief that a good God would not send someone to Hell for eternal punishment….that we are all going to get a second chance even after we die.

I just finished reading Francis Chan’s response to Rob Bell’s book titled Erasing Hell.  Now, let’s face it.  Hell is a very unpopular subject.  You rarely even hear the word in church on Sunday mornings, and us Christians act like we don’t believe it’s a reality.  Come on.  Don’t we?

I mean, if you really believed that those without Jesus go to Hell, what sort of behavioral change might there be in your life?  Would your conversations change?  Or would things just stay status quo?

Francis Chan’s book is nothing less than a gift to the body of Christ, and should be read by everybody.  There are probably less than five books that I have ever said that about.  His book is well researched, well thought out….and thoroughly Scriptural.  That doesn’t mean that I agree with every statement he makes, but I see the basic premise of the book as essential to be understood by every living and breathing person.

When you have ten minutes, go to www.erasinghell.com and watch Francis talk about this new book.  It may be the most important online video you have ever watched.

Where Were You On September 11, 2001?

I can remember exactly where I was when the Twin Towers in New York went down on 9/11/2001, and I bet you can remember where you were too. 

I was walking down the street in St. Petersburg, Russia at the time it happened.  Unknown to me and my two companions, the news of the Twin Towers and the Pentagon had been broadcast by radio and television as we were sightseeing around the area of our hotel.  As we were returning to our hotel, a car with four men slowed down near us and said something like “God Bless America!” (in English).  I have never figured out how people there knew that we were Americans by just looking at us for just a moment. 

Our lives were changed because of 9/11, in ways that our friends and loved one’s at home were not.  My traveling companions were Kep & Carolyn Stone, Jenni Bales, Don Clendenin, and Jim and Priscilla Kankel.  Initially, it was terrifying to be away from home in a foreign country (especially Russia!) when we heard about the terrorist attack upon our country.  When we all gathered in Kep and Carolyn’s hotel room and watched in disbelief as the Towers crumbled on the TV screen (even though we didn’t  understand the Russian commentator) we cried and prayed for our families at home and for our country, and as we did a peace that passes understanding came. 

The life changing impact for us came as a result of the compassion and sorrow that was displayed by the people we met in Russia, not only for us as Americans who had experienced a horrible attack upon our country (which they had endured for years), but for our country.  A number of times men and women personally spoke to me, with tears in their eyes, about how sorry they were for the loss of life and property in our country.

One man particularly stands out in my memory.  I don’t remember his name, but I remember the Soviet uniform that he wore, his chest adorned with medals awarded in another era, and I remember that he told me (through a translator) that he was in the army that had fought Hitler and held his army back from invading Moscow…and he told me that he was praying for my country, that God would grant us peace, and protection….and I remember the tears in both our eyes as we looked into each other’s souls.

The change that occurred in me because of 9/11 might not be the same that occurred in you, because of where I was, and the people who surrounded me.  I had grown up being taught to fear the Soviets, now called Russians.  But I saw that not only are they people with passions much like ours, but those I met (and I met many) were very kind and very gentle, and very giving to the point of hurt.  We had been there to minister to them on a missions trip, but we were the ones ministered to.

Ground Zero

What About The Muslim?

All day long Saturday I sat in a seminar listening to a Lebanese born man talking about something that many may find quite controversial.  His subject was Christian, but it is something that the tiniest percentages of Christians ever consider engaging….much less actually moving out into…and that is making an effort to bridge a friendship to Muslims so that they might hear the gospel of salvation according to the Bible. 

I loved this seminar.  If you had been there you would have loved it too.  I could have listened to the speaker for days, but the day-long seminar was over much too quickly.  Here’s a few things I learned:

·         Most of us Christians are afraid to engage a Muslim in conversation about God.

·         Most Muslim people are open to a conversation with us about God, and would welcome it.

·         Many Muslim people are searching for God, and desire a personal relationship with Him.

·         Muslim people believe in the Law, the Psalms, the Prophets, and believe Jesus is the Word of God.  (therefore, the opportunity to build a bridge to them)

·         Muslim people are not hard to engage in conversation and welcome friendship with Americans, even Christians.

·         There are approximately 7 million Muslims in the United States.

·         Most Muslims have never read the New Testament or heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

·         Muslims are making decisions to believe in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord in record numbers.

So what does it take for you to be equipped to engage a Muslim in a friendship that would potentially allow you to share Christ with him/her?  The first thing is a genuine heart for the lost.  Do you have that?  If not, ask God, and He will give it to you.   I guarantee it!

Then, you need training.  If you have a heart for the lost, you will want to be trained.   If you are going to a church that doesn’t offer training that equips people to be an effective witness, I might ask, why are you going to that church?

Come on.  Get on God’s program, and let’s be about what’s on His heart:  people who need to be reconciled to the Father God.  (1 Timothy 2:4)

At 10,000 Ft. Elevation

Last weekend my son-in-law, Cody, and I took a back-pack trip in the Twenty Lakes Wilderness area, way over on the other side of the Sierras, just twenty minutes West of Highway 395.  We drove over on Friday, moteled it in Lee Vining, and then drove back up to Saddlebag Lake Saturday morning.  We took the water taxi to the far end of the lake and then began our hike into the Inyo Wilderness Area.  (They should have called it the Mosquito Wilderness Area.) 

We had no destination in mind…we were simply looking for trout.  We had our fly-rods with us, along with plenty of food, some clothing, and our sleeping bags and tents.  What we found up there at 10,000 feet is what I mentioned to Cody as being what the Garden of Eden must have looked like.  I took lots of pictures, and I’ve shown a couple here, but a one-dimensional photo barely gives a glimpse of the awesome beauty of God’s creation in this mountainous lake-filled terrain.

We found lots of fish, and we could tell that they weren’t pressured by lots of fishermen.  (That’s what you get when you are willing to hike for the fish.)  They were actually pretty easy to catch, and the breath-taking color of these brook trout is only found in wild fish…along with their fight.  Hatchery fish are dull in color by comparison, and they lack the fight.  There were times that I was sure I had a twelve-inch brookie on, and I pulled in a 3-incher!  We caught and released over 50 fish on Saturday.

But the highlight of the trip was really the stars.  Have you ever seen the stars on a moonless night, from 10,000 feet elevation?  The word “breathless” is simply too trite to use for the magnificence of the glory of the heavenlies that were shown above.  It seemed that I could simply reach up to touch them; they were so close….and so many!  If only my little camera could have taken a worthwhile picture!

A Healing Miracle Thursday Night

I just got an email from one of the men in our Thursday night men’s group, where we’ve been on a track of studying and experiencing the Holy Spirit for 16 weeks now.  This is a great group of guys who are pressing in to the Lord, and want everything He has for them.  It’s a dangerous group!

The email I received testifies of a healing/deliverance (not sure which. Does it matter?) that one of the guys received from the Lord.  He wrote that he had a “catch in his throat” that made swallowing difficult since the previous Saturday.  He asked for prayer Thursday night, and we all gathered around him and prayed.  That evening his throat opened up, and has remained open.  Thank you Lord!  He is the same yesterday, today, and forever!  (Hebrews 13:8)

He Still Heals

I talked to my dad on the phone today, and he told me an interesting story that came from a friend of many years, George Thompson of Bakersfield, CA.  These two are old cronies from the days when George managed the Dunlaps Department Store in Bakersfield, and my dad leased the shoe department as a concession.  They became close friends, and I think George had a hand in my dad coming back to the Lord.  Now both of these guys are in their 80’s and they stay in touch, though miles apart.  They actually write handwritten letters back and forth.  Imagine that.

George’s 15 year old granddaughter was on vacation with her family in small town Nevada…when she went into a diabetic coma.  She was rushed to the hospital, but was transferred to Children’s Hospital in Las Vegas.  Apparently the medical team was unable to get her to respond to medical treatment, and her vitals worsened over a three day period as she remained in a coma. 

Well, old George got on the phone and called every praying Christian he knew, and got them to praying for his granddaughter.

Do you believe God heals today?  If you’re a Christ-follower, you should.  He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. (Hebrews 13:8)  These signs shall follow those who believe. (Mark 16)  Healing is the children’s bread.

The prayers of the faithful were heard that day, and the granddaughter woke up, asked for a meal, and left the hospital that morning.  For those who were praying, the faithless word “coincidence” is only  found in the dictionary…but not in the Word of Faith.  (Romans 10:8,9) 

A good story

Everybody loves a good story, and I’ve got one for you.  This is a short testimony that was emailed to me by a friend that shows how sometimes it takes a near death experience for some of us to come to grips with our mortality and our inability to control our lives.  It also shows how Truth cuts through a hardened heart and mind, and how the power of God is supreme.  Enjoy!

“As a painfully shy 14 year old, new to town, school and puberty, I drifted towards a band of kindred misfits. Smoking ineffective marijuana was our cement. Before the first bell we met at the creek near school to smoke our seeds & stems. Bloodshot eyes proved we were cool. This was the beginning of my four decade grass habit.

College required a degree of focus my dope smoking wouldn't allow, so I was drafted into the Viet Nam war; 1969's draft number 13 -no joke.

Tropical grass is to the domestic weed as Wild Turkey is to beer. Because of that 'one hit wonder', the memories of my VN tour of duty are fragmented. I was spared an Infantry posting and was trained in Avionics -aviation electronics. I lost a couple of smoking buddies & gained a career. Shame from my shallow regard for their demise occasionally bubbles to the surface to this day.

Released for the Army, I began my manic scramble for satisfaction. But just as no amount of sugar replaces the need for a little salt, my chase for Possessions, Power & Prestige could not sate my hunger for peace of mind. I smoked and drank my pain killers to no avail.

Two auto accidents gradually turned me towards Christ. Back in 1975 I had a minor fender-bender, but it triggered my lifelong battle with epilepsy. Conceit over my mind's reliability vanished. Then in 1997, my one-car accident caused spinal damage. The minor crippling & residual pain made my Narcissism a farce.

Then my toddler daughter wanted to attend 'happy school'; her name for Sunday School. A neighbor suggested 1st Presbyterian, so I grudgingly attended. Great music & nothing like the sweat-outs I recalled from my Mormon upbringing. But it was still off the mark for me.

I even went to a Men's Retreat. A big perm for a bald woman in my case, but the music was even better, the food was very good, and the guys were real. Then came Hal.

I called myself an Orthodox Agnostic in hopes the oxymoronic title would keep the ethnologists at bay. Hal, a soft spoken man with a logical mind, took me to task at the retreat late one morning. Using one truth at a time, he shattered my layers of defense against Christ. By the time he was done with me, I morphed from a smug know-it-all needing no aid to a blubbering mess pleading in prayer.

As if flipping a switch, the salt of Christ filled my scarred & empty heart. Prayer even relieved me of my drug addiction! Every day of biblical study & prayer adds depth to my life. Now I long to give back some of this joy."

Here I Am To Worship

It was Tuesday morning, somewhere between 7 and 7:30am, and a few of us were gathered for our weekly prayer time, singing along with Chris Tomlin’s Here I Am To Worship.  If you don’t know the song, you might recognize it by the lyrics.  Take a minute or two to read through these lyrics and let them settle on you…or if you want to hear it performed live by Chris Tomlin, click here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaUTv1pXRyU&feature=related

Light of the world
You stepped down into darkness.
Opened my eyes, let me see.
Beauty that made this heart adore You
Hope of a life spent with You

Here I am to worship,
Here I am to bow down,
Here I am to say that You're my God
You're altogether lovely
All together worthy,
All together wonderful to me

King of all days
oh, so highly exalted
Glorious in heaven above
Humbly You came
To the earth You created
All for love's sake became poor

Here I am to worship,
Here I am to bow down,
Here I am to say that You're my God
You're altogether lovely
All together worthy,
All together wonderful to me

I'll never know how much it cost
To see my sin upon that cross
I'll never know how much it cost
To see my sin upon that cross
I'll never know how much it cost
To see my sin upon that cross
I'll never know how much it cost

Here I am to worship,
Here I am to bow down,
Here I am to say that You're my God
You're altogether lovely
All together worthy,
All together wonderful to me

Here I am to worship,
Here I am to bow down,
Here I am to say that You're my God
You're altogether lovely
All together worthy,
All together wonderful to me

I'll never know how much it cost
to see my sins upon that cross—

As I was sitting there Tuesday morning, soaking in the presence of the Lord as this song washed over me, the Holy Spirit revealed something fresh to me.  The bridge of the song goes “I’ll never know how much it cost, to see my sin upon that cross….”

 As I’ve sung that song in the past, countless times, the image in my head is of my sin costing so much that I’ll never understand how unbelievably costly it was for Him to bear it on the cross.  But for the first time, that Tuesday morning, I saw the image in my head was WRONG.

 NO…the song goes, I’ll never know how much it cost, to see my sins upon that cross…because THERE IS NO RECORD OF THEM.  They are forgotten by the Lord Jesus…and cannot be resurrected!  And with that, all sense of shame and/or condemnation….gone. 

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of Life set me free from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:1)

Thank you Lord!

Spiritual Warfare

Now here’s a topic that is certain to raise some eyebrows.  Bring up the subject in mixed company, and the unbeliever thinks you’re ready to be checked into the nuthouse, and many who claim to know Jesus will think that you’re one of those fanatical fringe characters. 

Let me attempt to begin a conversation that I believe to be balanced and in line with what the Bible teaches.

The other day I was talking with a friend who just happened to mention that the spiritual warfare had been intense in her life lately.  I probed just a little bit, maybe because I’m nosy, and asked her what she meant…in what way was that manifesting in her life?  She described some thoughts of doubt, insecurity, and loneliness that have been issues of the past, but are also places that the Lord has ministered and brought healing to.  But recently there have been some of the same old struggles.

I thought for a minute, and I said, “Yeah, the battle is in the mind, huh.”  And that was it.  End of subject.

But as the evening wore on, I was having this running conversation with myself, and with God, about that battle in the mind…particularly in my own mind.  I realized that I had been mentally lazy lately,  allowing some of those old thoughts that rise out of those places that were wounded, but were healed by the Lord Jesus, to return and settle in my mind…where I could look at them and think about them.  Of course, feeling and emotion accompanies the looking and thinking.

How easy it is to just lie down and let those emotions run over us.  I think that’s why the Apostle Paul told us to take every thought captive.  (2 Corinthians 10:5)  When the voice in our head is telling us that we are all alone, will always be alone, that nobody loves us, that things will never work out…it’s our choice to meditate on that voice, or to meditate on God’s Word. 

The decision to resist the negative voice and go to His Word is spiritual warfare, my friends.  “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.  Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.  Be self-controlled and alert.  Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.  Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.” (1 Peter 5:6-9)

To rely on and trust in God’s Word is to humble ourselves before Him.  When you embrace your anxieties, you are not only meditating upon the picture the devil has put in your mind, but you are saying to God “I’ve got it all under control.”  That is pride.  It’s also giving in to the devil’s plan for your life.

We become what we think about.  The Apostles Peter and Paul were evidently concerned with this.  Peter wrote about wholesome thinking:  “Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you.  I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking.”

What sort of thoughts occupy your mind?  Wholesome ones?  Or ones that make you feel like giving up?  As 1 Peter 5 says, let self-control and alertness characterize your life, paying attention to your thoughts.

I urge you to choose life, and to fill your mind with God’s Word.  Go to Psalms, Proverbs, and the glorious words of the New Testament.  When a verse jumps off the page at you, write it down and carry it with you throughout your week, and think about it often.  Memorize it.  And live it. 

This is spiritual warfare…choosing life, instead of death.

Heaven Is For Real

When I read a book, I want it to be something that impacts my life….that it either corrects or changes faulty thinking, or clarifies vision.  Here’s a book that has done both for me…Heaven Is For Real by Todd Burpo.  The subtitle is “A Little Boy’s Astounding Story of His Trip To Heaven and Back.”   It was at the top of the New York Time’s Bestseller’s List a few weeks ago, and caught my interest.

 I read this book in just a few hours…couldn’t put it down…and my emotions ran a full gamut from anger to joy, from shock to elation…but there was not one moment of boredom in this little book. 

As a three-year old, Colton was misdiagnosed….the doctor said he just had the flu, but he really had appendicitis, and it burst inside his little body, and emergency surgery was required.  While on the operating table, Colton left his body and went to Heaven.  His dad has chronicled many things Colton  said about what he saw and heard in Heaven in this book.

If you don’t believe in Heaven, and don’t want to…don’t read this book.

A Tender Heart

In a previous post I had mentioned that I thought I should talk to my dad about forgiving himself.  Well, I did.  In that conversation he told me he would talk to God about it.  He did.  He called me a few days later, and told me he had done business with God, and given that stuff up to the Lord.  He said that he felt like a huge weight was lifted off him, and rejoiced with me about the new freedom he was now experiencing.

My dad is 80 years old.  What openness, what a tenderness he is displaying as one who comes before the Lord with open hands and open heart…and an open mind….to shed every weight and restriction that might keep him from being all that God wants him to be.  (Mark 10:15)

The Church Died In That Town

 Oh yeah, I was the driver yesterday…on the Road to Hana. I capitalize the word Road because it’s not just a road, but an adventure that is known as an attraction on Maui. This is a Road where even the driver can get carsick. But it is beauty unsurpassed. The jungle of the rainy side of Maui holds hundreds of breathtaking scenes of the coastline, and numerous tropical flowers, trees, vines, ferns (think Jurassic Park), and great road-side stands selling homemade banana bread and delicious smoothies made with fresh sugar cane juice. (otherwise known as sugar-water).

At one point we departed from the Road, turning left to descend into a valley that took us right to the water’s edge into the village of Ke’anae. There were some old Hawaiian style houses, tarot fields, a soft ball field, a community center, and a Congregational church built in 1860 out of lava rock. The church was open, as most Hawaiian churches are, and we were able to go in and take a few pictures. We felt the presence of the Lord in there, even though there had been no church services in decades. I prayed for God to once again use the church to His Glory.

Outside, a Hawaiian woman who was around 40 years old, had a table set up under a shady gazebo, and she was selling homemade Macadamia Nut Brittle. (Yes, I bought a little bag, $4). Yummy. I asked her about the church’s congregation. This is how I found out there WAS NO congregation. She said that the people of the church grew old and died off just a couple of decades ago, and the children didn’t follow after God and keep the church going. (She described herself as Catholic.) I was heartbroken that a church that was alive for over a hundred years would die in our lifetime. (Perhaps a microcosm picture of what is going on in our country?)

As I walked away after that conversation, the gravity and the importance of reaching our children, and other’s children with the Good News of Jesus Christ, and how critical this is, weighed upon me. I love how we do everything we can to reach the kids through VBS and other kid programs, including Sunday School. But I believe that’s not enough. Each one of us must find and disciple some kids, inside and outside the church…making it a personal project to reach them and mentor them in the love and power of God.  We start with our kids, and include other people's kids.  Otherwise, our town may have an extinct church in a generation or two, like in Ke’anae.

Take Jesus on Vacation

Church, Maui style

Hey, have you ever taken a vacation, and when you come back home you feel dry spiritually?  I have.  But not these days.  Vacation is a great time to re-charge in every way: with your family, and with yourself, and of course, with God.  

Pastor Steve Santos, Calvary Chapel Westside, Maui. 

I like something Pastor John Bristol has said a couple of times in church…let’s see if I can get this right.  It’s something like this:  we all need to have a time each day where we set aside the time to pause and reflect, and we all need to take a day each week that is set aside for worship and family, and we all need a time once a year where we completely unplug and leave the area for re-charging.  So true.

But so often, we remember to take care of all the other areas except the one that will truly give us re-creation.  I am ashamed that the last time I did that I was already in the ministry.  We were so busy and occupied with having fun and seeing everything that we could see, and in the meantime my spiritual well-being drained out….and when I got home I felt like I needed somebody to pump me up like you would pump up a bicycle tire.

I encourage you to take Jesus on vacation with you this summer.

Do You Need To Forgive God?

In my last post I mentioned that sometimes we need to forgive God.  What??  That just doesn’t make sense!!  Why would I need to forgive God?  I mean, after all, He’s God.  He hasn’t done anything wrong.  He can’t…because He’s God.

That’s true, certainly.  But that doesn’t mean us humans don’t blame Him for perceived wrongs.  As I have mentioned before, I turned my back on God when I was 15, when my dad walked out of my life.  I didn’t want to have anything to do with a God who would allow my family to break up. 

I’ve talked with a number of people who are blaming God for the death of a child, a divorce, loss of a job, and other things.  While that may seem irrational to many of us….it is anything but irrational to the one who is holding the unforgiveness against God.

In my own story, I was listening to the wrong voice….the voice of the one who hates God and His people.  When the prayers of God’s people broke through the fog that had my mind clouded, I was able to see whose voice I was listening to, and I decided to stop listening to that garbage, and listen to the One who loves me.  He loves you too.  (John 10:10)

In The Desert 2

As I have pondered what I wrote yesterday about my dad and how we have forgiven one another, I came to what I think is a new realization—he has not forgiven himself.  Why else would he frequently bring up his mistakes and regrets of years past?  How have I missed this?  I see it so quickly in people I minister to in church…but I’ve missed the tell-tale signs in my own family.  I think I’m going to have to talk to him about this soon.

He told me something that really blessed me when we were sitting there talking this weekend—he said “you are my pastor.”  Talk about bringing tears to your eyes!  I told him “you are my prophet!”  I said that because he speaks something into my life that is prophetic nearly every time we talk on the phone.  If I need a word from the Lord, I just call him up.

Here’s the thing….we must forgive ourselves.  It is actually sin to not forgive yourself, when the One who died on the cross for your sins has forgiven you.  When you continue to carry your regrets and your guilt, you are in effect saying to God that the cross was not enough.  Forgiveness must be given to others, to yourself….and to one other person that most people just plain forget about….to God.  More on that in another post, perhaps.    (Romans 8:1-2)

In The Desert

Anita and I traveled this Memorial Day weekend to see my dad and his wife in Wells, Nevada, about a ten hour ride from our home in San Jose.  It’s always good to see my dad, who is 80 years old.  We have a rich and close relationship now, but it was not always so.  You see, when I was 15, my dad walked out of our house for the last time, leaving behind his wife, a daughter, and a very confused boy.  I was not a part of his new life, and felt very alone and very hurt for a long time….for years.

As we sat together this weekend and talked about lots of things, we reflected upon how our poor choices determine the direction of our lives…directions we regret later on.  This has been pretty much a topic that comes up from my dad each time we visit, which is a couple of times year.  I always try to get there right after the last snow of the Spring, and in the Fall before the first snow.  (I’ve tried the winter-time travel before.  Even with a four-wheel drive…it’s not fun.)

I know parents who have no relationship whatsoever with their adult children, and I know adults who can’t even stand to be in the same house with their parents.  There is so much anger and pain in the relationship, that it’s usually avoidance that surfaces as the preferred tactic.  What allows me and my dad to sit with each other for hours and recount the years, often with tears, and talking about our love for one another, despite the times where there was no relationship at all?

It’s really very simple.  Forgiveness.  We have forgiven one another for the pain we inflicted upon one another.  We haven’t forgotten what happened, but when forgiveness is given, the sting is removed by God.  While I used to be in prison, I am now free…and I am reconciled with my dad.  (Matthew 18:21-35)