"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)