It has been 10 years since I posted a blog. It occurs to me that I need to post something every day. It doesn't take long and it is cathartic. I just might say something that would improve someones life. At the very least it will give me a way to track my thoughts. So here goes!

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately about my relationship with the Lord. It occurs to me that I have taken the Lord for granted for a long time. My prayer life is waning, my study time is shortened, and my inefffectiveness is on the rise. Why would I allow this situation to happen?

It is called feeling sorry for yourself. It is doing what I don't want to do. Paul says that he is a wretched man. He says this because he knows what he thinks and does that which does not measure up to the life the Lord calls us to live. It is being self absorbed and not recognizing  how wretched we are compared to the perfection of the Lord. We look at other people and conclude that we are better than they. Our situation doesn't seem to be as bad as their situation. We conclude that our sins are not as bad as those around us. As a matter of fact, we often dont think we sin at all. That is a tragic mistake. 

Some preachers stand in the pulpit beleving that once a  person becomes a believer they no longer sin. That is far from the truth. Jesus forgives our sin and defeats the power of sin so that we don't have to sin. Prior to becommg a believer we could do nothing but sin. But upon receiving Christ in our life, we are no longer slaves to sin. To be sure there are cosequences to our sin post salvation. Isaiah writes that our sin causes us to be separated from the Lord and his face is hidden from us. This separation is not a permanent condition for in the moment we repent we are forgiven and the communication is once again restored.  

John writes in Revelation 21:8 a list of sins that will keep one out of heaven. There are murders, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars. These are destined to the Lake of Fire. Rather these are people who have not received the gift of eternal life. Once they receive the gift of salvation, they are no longer viewed in these terms. They have become new creations with Christ living within them.

 God loves us and wants the very best for us. When we sin, fall short of the mark, we are failing to recognize God's goodness, his righteousness, his perfection.  We are wretched sinners and not worthy to be called children of God. Fortunateluy for us God's lovingkindness provides a way for us to overcome our humanness and avoid the Lake of Fire. Praise God for all the blessings He has bestowed on us.            

Missing the Boat

There are opportunities in life

That appear only once.
In the blink of an eye
They have come and gone.
You think you’ve done
What you needed to do
Only to discover you didn’t.
Failure is not an option
Some say!
But reality speaks differently.
There’s no changing the past
And no ability to undo what’s been done.
Only the bleak reality
Of disappointment and despair.
Every mountaintop experience,
Every goal achieved,
Every compliment received
Pales in comparison to opportunity lost.

A Psalm of Thanksgiving and Promise

O Lord, We are a frail and fragile people,

In desperate need of your mercy and grace.
Let your lovingkindness pour over us
As we seek to know how to serve You best.
We are grateful for your protection,
And covet Your wisdom as we pursue Your truth.
Lead us aright, according to Your word,
And by Your Spirit we will follow.

The adversary will oppose us,

Circumstance might bewilder us;
Our motives will question us
And then the time will come
When You will seem so far away
Beyond our ability to call out Your name.
But You are not! For You are everywhere
Patiently waiting for us to make You part of our decision.

Should there be confusion, provide clarity;

If there be dissent, provide agreement.
Let there be no discord among us;
But rather unify us in the bond of peace
That we may serve You in obedience,
Demonstrating by our actions
An eternal perspective shouting from the rooftops
That we belong to You.

Help us strive for purity,

Fixating our hearts on righteousness,
Always looking for the greater good
Of our brothers and sisters in Christ
That we may fulfill Your law in our hearts,
Living our lives
As though we truly believe
That which we proclaim.  

My Afflication Your Consolation

Sometimes we ask ourselves the question "Why me?" when a hardship strikes. The Apostle Paul answers that question for us in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4. He concludes that as we go through various trials  God comforts us so that we can comfort others when they go through similar circumstances. When I first read that passage my thoughts were, "I would rather avoid negative situations altogether." However, as God has dealt with me on this issue, I have come to realize the growth that takes place fulfilling the role of comforter.

Several times in my life people have called me to "talk." What they wanted to discuss was an event in their life which had negative consequences. Some lost jobs, some had family problems, while others had health issues. As the conversations unfolded, the most common response from me was, "I understand how you must feel." No one can fully understand the feelings of someone going through a hardship. But one can get pretty close if they have experienced the same thing.

There have been times when a person will say, "I called you because I knew you would understand." Such a moment came this past week. A friend called to talk about the effect an illness was having on them. The illness is not curable and the treatment regimen has side effects that are unpleasant. I know because I have the same illness and am on similar medication.

The conversation didn't last very long but I came away from it uplifted. Rather than grovel in self pity, as is easy to do, the Lord encouraged me. Whether the conversation was helpful to my friend, I may never know. But what I do know is we both prayed for each other before we hung up the phone. You see, my friend and I can't do anything about our medical condition. But we can do something about our spiritual condition, and we did. We placed each other in the hands of a loving Father Who wants the best for us.

Friend, if you are reading this, I hope you are comforted by God as He has comforted me as a result of your call. Hang in there and call me as often as you need.  

 

Confusion

Everyone talking at the same time,
Asking questions that can't be answered.
Listening to themselves ,
Oblivious to any other thought.
How to solve this dilemma?

Listen, to the noise.
Think through the process.
Consider the consequences.
Remember who you are.
Harken to truth.

 

Estranged and Don't Know Why

I am adrift in a boat

Being moved at will by the winds of upheaval.
Everything needed is on the boat with me
But for some reason the use of those assets are not being fully utilized.
Perhaps I have felt sorry for myself and left room in my thought process for a little pity.
Maybe it’s the lingering health issues or family matters that seem insurmountable.
Likely it’s because of an unconscious decision to go it alone,
With little thought for prayer or quiet time,
Instead filling time with meaningless drivel.
Decisions are put off until they must be made in hopes that circumstances change
And negativity is transformed to productivity.

Each day dawns with hope and sets with sorrow.

Any strides forward are offset by the backward momentum of disappointment.
Days turned into weeks, weeks into months,
And now more than a year has gone by.
Time lost to despair;
Time that will never come around again.
I wait!
The sound of a car door closing;
The ring of the telephone;
An email or even a letter.
But no sound, no ring, no print.

News came today.

Unprepared for but not unexpected.
She’s gone and with her two gems.
It could be three but only two I know.
Gone, with no notice, no goodbye, no see you soon.
Just gone!
No forwarding address.
No phone number.
No email address.
Non communicato!
Estranged, left to wonder why.

My eyes pool with water even as I write,
Wanting desperately to wake up from this nightmare.
But the darkness around me won’t allow for morn to dawn.
Surely this is not happening, but is a figment of my imagination.
The game is up I don’t want to play anymore.
Can anyone hear me?
Please tell me this is not actually happening.
But it is and has been going on.
Get used to it.
The end is not in sight.
Life’s lessons are costly and come without notice.

What is Truth?

It seems as though many people define truth as being whatever they want it to be. What one person considers truth someone else will reject. By definition truth is the absence of falsehood. It is real, genuine, and unable to be set aside at someone's whim.

In John 18:38 Pilate asks Jesus "What is truth?" He asked that question because he had witnessed the religious leaders living hypocritically, confusing religious activity with spiritual maturity. What he saw them do and heard them say conflicted with compassion. They were like the cursed fig tree. Their leaves were in full bloom but they bore no fruit. They were pretending to be pious while at the same time displaying anything but piety.

Pilate's question is as important today as it was in the first century. In the high priestly prayer of John 17 Jesus says, "Sanctify them by Your word; Your word is truth." God's word is truth because God is truth. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth. What is truth? God is truth, Jesus is truth, the Holy Spirit is truth, and the Bible is truth. Questioning the veracity of that premise does not make the premise any less true. Truth is not relative. It is concrete and unchangeable. What is true today will be true tomorrow.

Every belief, whether spiritual or temporal, has a base upon which it rests. Those who hold fast to the theory of evolution rest their belief in the hypothesis of the big bang theory whereby the universe was created from a gigantic explosion of subatomic particles which put into motion the process of life, beginning with a single cell ultimately mutating into modern man. In this model of the origin of the universe, a spiritual component is superfluous. According to this theory everything that exists or ever will exist has a natural explanation. It takes great faith in man's ability to reason to hold this position because the theory generates more questions than it answers. No argument from a supernatural perspective will convince those who hold tenaciously to this theory.

Those who hold a belief in a supernatural designer and creator of the universe base such belief on the Bible. It takes great faith to hold this position as well. The Bible does not answer the question, "Is there a God?" It assumes He exists, has existed, and will always exist. No argument from human logic will dissuade the person holding the supernatural view from their belief.

Two divergent world views. If one is correct the other is wrong. They both cannot be correct. One is man-centered, the other is God-centered. One claims relativity as a base, the other claims certainty. One claims to be from man, the other claims to be from God. One promises death, survival of the fittest. One promises life, eternal bliss. Two theories! Two destinies!

What is truth? It would behoove an individual to discover the answer.