I shouldn't be this angry going into the second holiest season of the year, Easter, but I am. Upset is more the word actually and profoundly disappointed. You can see in everywhere and everyplace the war that is going on in this country. Now it's not so much a visible war with human casualties on a battlefield, or immense property damage, but an invisible war. One that is surely tearing at the unity and fabric of our nation and it's time that we consider a radical turnaround of our path because we are headed off a cliff and the consequences will be tragic. The war I'm talking about is the war for our souls both individually and collectively. This is the war that does the most damage. Because it changes the hearts and minds of it's people and therefore changes their behavior, values, level of reason and compassion and the ability to govern fairly. It's insatiable appetite for destruction and desolation goes beyond Democrat or Republican, black or white, Christian or not, gay or straight, child or adult. It's absolute in it's reach and deadly in it's accuracy. I call it moral secession.
We have already or are in the process of abandoning our nation's heritage from both a constitutional and moral application of the law that was set up by Godly men with a divine set of precepts to work from. These founding fathers warned us quite vociferously about the dangers of straying away from our pathway of blessing and righteousness. Let me quote a few of them if I may that you may not have heard or know about.
John Adams
"We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."
Benjamin Franklin
"I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth--that God Governs the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid?"
Thomas Paine
"The cause of America is in a great measure the cause of all mankind. Where, some say, is the king of America? I'll tell you, friend, He reigns above."
Daniel Webster
"If religious books are not widely circulated among the masses in this country, I do not know what is going to become of us as a nation. If truth be not diffused, error will be; If God and His Word are not known and received, the devil and his works will gain the ascendancy, If the evangelical volume does not reach every hamlet, the pages of a corrupt and licentious literature will; If the power of the Gospel is not felt throughout the length and breadth of the land, anarchy and misrule, degradation and misery, corruption and darkness will reign without mitigation or end."
Abraham Lincoln
"We have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us."
Wow, and some would say that our country was not founded on Christian principles including our current president. I could go on and on. The warnings were many and just as poignant. What's even more frightening is the accuracy of their statements almost from a prophetic standpoint. What made these men of courage, wisdom and foresight speak this way? They all had a reverent fear of the Lord and a great love for His supreme authority over their lives. They knew as we now are finding out that the abandonment of Him has resulted in the loss of our blessings. Quite simply as the flame of Christ flickers weakly in our hardened hearts we are reaping the consequences of such actions. But it is not too late for us! God is just and quick to forgive and quicker more to restore. We need the unifying love of Jesus Christ to heal our great nation. We don't need self serving politicians who line their pockets for personal gain at the expense of others hard work. We need to quit berating our fellow citizens political views and instead question their moral choices that inevitably destine their philosophical and ideological paths. We need to go back to our traditional God given and equally blessing values to reeducate our hearts and minds. This starts in the homes with families, the schools with educators and administrators with a traditional and historically accurate curriculum and churches with a pastorate that is without apostasy and heresy, that preaches the true gospel message of Christ. We won't get it from MSNBC, FOX, MTV, reality TV or the internet. They are full of their own opinions driven by ratings and money. Truth came from above, forged by the life of Jesus Christ and stands as perfect witness today to the wicked state of our world today as it did 2,000+ years ago. Nothing has changed except out accelerated state of decay. So this political season be in prayer for our country as you cast a vote. Because if you have a righteous heart and you are in the center of God's will then you can't make a wrong decision! But time is running out!
Psalm 33:12
Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Fall Down Seven Times, Get Up Eight!
I've sort of adopted that saying as one of my mantras if you will, for my life. It's profound impact is in it's simplicity and it's piercing meaning. It simply says , never, ever give up. I heard the source was from an old Japanese proverb which means that literally you can bounce back from any form of adversity and giving in is not an option. It was just this past week when I was tested a bit in this self adopted philosophy and reminded that God allows trials to His children for very specific reasons. Although I have to tell you, I thought I had been through enough for awhile. Now this is not a pity party by any means and I sincerely hope you can take away from it some encouragement for your own life like God revealed to me for mine.
For those of you who know us, our family has been through a difficult time in the past few years. In short I lost my long career in real estate due to the economic downturn, our home was foreclosed on, we've used up all of our security in savings, IRA's, stocks and other resources to survive for as long as we could while I spent the last 18 months looking for work. Application after application, interviews, call backs and seemingly incessant job searching yielded me no results. But in that time to add insult to injury, we also suffered the sudden loss of my loving father, our faithful lab Gideon and are struggling to hold onto our beloved ministry center here in our town. The proverbial full plate for sure. I sometimes wonder in my daily devotions if God is hearing my cries and seeing my tears even though I know in my soul HE does and He cares. Anyway, for the past four plus months I've been working a very modest job from home booking cruises for travel agents for a major cruise line. Just yesterday they cut me off completely and did not renew me for another 90 days. The hours were being drastically cut back and for a myriad of other issues which are not worth discussing, I was dropped. Just like that! In a matter of hours after receiving a boiler plate letter from an unknown supervisor my login codes were rescinded, my hours for work were removed from my portal and I was banned from every access to the company I was just working for just 24 hours earlier. Absolute sterility and almost surreal to say the least. Believe me this was only a $10 an hour job, but it was a job. It gave me a measure of self esteem and allowed me to be productive and contribute to my families basic needs even though it wasn't enough. It happened so fast I was almost numb. Then I was mad, then disappointed, and finally I found myself knocked down again. Not physically of course but emotionally. Losing this little job took the starch out my shorts so to speak, temporarily. I went to bed last night after my wife encouraged me and stared at the ceiling in my bedroom and the emotions of the past few years flooded over and the tears came for a bit. When I finally fell asleep I tossed and turned and woke up with this simple phrase in my head, and it wouldn't go away. Sort of like the dumb jingle or song that get's in your mind and tortures you for an entire day looping over and over. I knew right then and there that God was doing one of his not so subtle nudges through the Holy Spirit that often accompanies hard times in my life when I find myself wallowing too long in sorrow. You see God is not a quitter, nor is the Holy Spirit and most importantly not Jesus Christ His son. I was instantly taken to the little cobblestone street in Jerusalem some two thousand years ago when a bloodied, brutally beaten, exhausted and mocked man of peace was forced to carry the cross He would be crucified on to Calvary. Subjected the past week to a sham trial, false and unfounded accusations, beaten and scourged to within hair of death, He was then shamefully paraded along the Via Dolorosa to Golgotha. All the way being whipped, mocked, spit upon and laughed at by a feverish crowd set upon His death. He collapsed many times in exhaustion, drenched in sweat and blood and in great physical pain. But he got up, again and again! Why? Why didn't He just stay down and die in the street? He knew the death that awaited Him. It was the cruelest form of execution known to man in it's day and brutally efficient in it's torture to the human body and spirit. Yet He got up and went on. You know the rest but let me tell you why. He was born to die. He is the lamb of God and the propitiation for all of our sins and He was on a mission here on earth that would not be denied. It was the completion of His death and subsequent resurrection of Jesus Christ that stands as the ultimate unselfish act of love and the most vivid example of sacrifice and obedience ever, period. He set a standard for moral resolution and unselfish giving that can never be matched. But it wasn't meant to be. It was the awesome gift of salvation for us undeserving people from His death that was to be passed on. Our God has a plan for all of us who He loves most assuredly. We cannot give up because it is in the midst of sorrow that we will find the joy. It is in the bitterness that we will find the sweet. It is in the testing that we will find the resolve. No person I have ever known or admired who professes their faith in God is without the scars of tribulation. But the scars are physical only because God forges the tested soul in His fire and their testimony is proof and their gift to others who want to give up! So I got up! I am more than a conqueror through Christ Jesus and so are you. God will use your heartache for the mending of others. It is then and only then that you will come to understand that the end justifies the means. So let it be with you.
2 Timothy 4: 6-8
6 For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day--and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
For those of you who know us, our family has been through a difficult time in the past few years. In short I lost my long career in real estate due to the economic downturn, our home was foreclosed on, we've used up all of our security in savings, IRA's, stocks and other resources to survive for as long as we could while I spent the last 18 months looking for work. Application after application, interviews, call backs and seemingly incessant job searching yielded me no results. But in that time to add insult to injury, we also suffered the sudden loss of my loving father, our faithful lab Gideon and are struggling to hold onto our beloved ministry center here in our town. The proverbial full plate for sure. I sometimes wonder in my daily devotions if God is hearing my cries and seeing my tears even though I know in my soul HE does and He cares. Anyway, for the past four plus months I've been working a very modest job from home booking cruises for travel agents for a major cruise line. Just yesterday they cut me off completely and did not renew me for another 90 days. The hours were being drastically cut back and for a myriad of other issues which are not worth discussing, I was dropped. Just like that! In a matter of hours after receiving a boiler plate letter from an unknown supervisor my login codes were rescinded, my hours for work were removed from my portal and I was banned from every access to the company I was just working for just 24 hours earlier. Absolute sterility and almost surreal to say the least. Believe me this was only a $10 an hour job, but it was a job. It gave me a measure of self esteem and allowed me to be productive and contribute to my families basic needs even though it wasn't enough. It happened so fast I was almost numb. Then I was mad, then disappointed, and finally I found myself knocked down again. Not physically of course but emotionally. Losing this little job took the starch out my shorts so to speak, temporarily. I went to bed last night after my wife encouraged me and stared at the ceiling in my bedroom and the emotions of the past few years flooded over and the tears came for a bit. When I finally fell asleep I tossed and turned and woke up with this simple phrase in my head, and it wouldn't go away. Sort of like the dumb jingle or song that get's in your mind and tortures you for an entire day looping over and over. I knew right then and there that God was doing one of his not so subtle nudges through the Holy Spirit that often accompanies hard times in my life when I find myself wallowing too long in sorrow. You see God is not a quitter, nor is the Holy Spirit and most importantly not Jesus Christ His son. I was instantly taken to the little cobblestone street in Jerusalem some two thousand years ago when a bloodied, brutally beaten, exhausted and mocked man of peace was forced to carry the cross He would be crucified on to Calvary. Subjected the past week to a sham trial, false and unfounded accusations, beaten and scourged to within hair of death, He was then shamefully paraded along the Via Dolorosa to Golgotha. All the way being whipped, mocked, spit upon and laughed at by a feverish crowd set upon His death. He collapsed many times in exhaustion, drenched in sweat and blood and in great physical pain. But he got up, again and again! Why? Why didn't He just stay down and die in the street? He knew the death that awaited Him. It was the cruelest form of execution known to man in it's day and brutally efficient in it's torture to the human body and spirit. Yet He got up and went on. You know the rest but let me tell you why. He was born to die. He is the lamb of God and the propitiation for all of our sins and He was on a mission here on earth that would not be denied. It was the completion of His death and subsequent resurrection of Jesus Christ that stands as the ultimate unselfish act of love and the most vivid example of sacrifice and obedience ever, period. He set a standard for moral resolution and unselfish giving that can never be matched. But it wasn't meant to be. It was the awesome gift of salvation for us undeserving people from His death that was to be passed on. Our God has a plan for all of us who He loves most assuredly. We cannot give up because it is in the midst of sorrow that we will find the joy. It is in the bitterness that we will find the sweet. It is in the testing that we will find the resolve. No person I have ever known or admired who professes their faith in God is without the scars of tribulation. But the scars are physical only because God forges the tested soul in His fire and their testimony is proof and their gift to others who want to give up! So I got up! I am more than a conqueror through Christ Jesus and so are you. God will use your heartache for the mending of others. It is then and only then that you will come to understand that the end justifies the means. So let it be with you.
2 Timothy 4: 6-8
6 For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day--and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
God Is Never Late!
Have you ever made a promise to be at a game or recital or school event at a certain time and arrived late? Only to receive the death stare from your wife or face the look of absolute disappointment from your children when you missed their home run or speech? Or your boss calls you into their office and asks you where you've been, that the client is upset and can't stay for your all important presentation? Or you've missed the plane to be at your best friends wedding? Or your kids are standing in the rain waiting for you to pick them up at the park? Or worse yet you are late to pick up your mother-in-law at the airport? Remember how you felt when you were asked the dreaded question of conviction, "Where were you?" If you are like me you usually stare at the ground, shake your head and stammer out an apology so rife with guilt that you practically walk to the hangman and hand him the rope. Now, it doesn't matter if you were late for any legitimate reasons at all, you were late period. That means that someone who was counting on you was let down and that my friends leaves you feeling lower than a snakes belly. Nothing you say or do will relieve the hurt because the unique impact of the moment has passed by. Oh, there may be other games, weddings, meetings or other events but the importance of the emotion to the person for that occasion you were supposed to be there for is gone. We've all been through it, haven't we? So we spend the entire ride home promising endless ice cream cones to our children or taking your wife to a movie and dinner every weekend for a year. Either way the penance served eventually gets you out of the dog house and back into good graces. That is of course until you commit the same ridiculous act of negligence again. Anyway, the good part is the forgiveness your family, friends and coworkers have for you. They know the real you and your heart and even though they make you grovel for awhile always accept you back with open arms.
All this got me to thinking! I know, scary right? Anyway, what does God think when we are late? Here we are running around this blue orb. Some 6.5 billion of us all created in His image. Each one unique in our own lives, pursuits, hopes and dreams with all sorts of frenetic stress going on. Often times fighting to exist or just getting through our days let alone being on time somewhere. It's a small miracle that many of us keep to a regular schedule most of the time considering all the daily obstacles and distractions that face us. So I believe that God looks at us all as prodigal children. He conceives, creates and raises us so He knows us as only a Father knows and consequently loves, chastises then forgives us. He is the person always waiting patiently for us when we are late. We never beat Him to the bus stop and He never leaves us waiting. More importantly when we need Him no matter how busy He is, He stops listens and never fails to minister to us at the exact time we need it. We may think He's not there or doesn't answer our prayers but that's because we are unruly children who don't invest the same time in Him that He does in us. We can't benefit from His wise counsel or urgings to our spirit because we are either late, distracted or inattentive to His call. So, advice goes unheeded, nonchalance and apathy creep in and matters of importance are prioritized behind our personal needs first. You see chronic tardiness like other fallen attributes we have are mostly just matters of the heart. I find when I am nearest to Him I am much more in sync spiritually, mentally and physically. I can remove the obstacles or at least smooth out the bumps that hinder my daily journeys. I am not as late, not as frantic and save myself a whole bunch of shame too. Oh yeah, and I don't have to drive around trying to find a Dairy Queen open in January either!
All this got me to thinking! I know, scary right? Anyway, what does God think when we are late? Here we are running around this blue orb. Some 6.5 billion of us all created in His image. Each one unique in our own lives, pursuits, hopes and dreams with all sorts of frenetic stress going on. Often times fighting to exist or just getting through our days let alone being on time somewhere. It's a small miracle that many of us keep to a regular schedule most of the time considering all the daily obstacles and distractions that face us. So I believe that God looks at us all as prodigal children. He conceives, creates and raises us so He knows us as only a Father knows and consequently loves, chastises then forgives us. He is the person always waiting patiently for us when we are late. We never beat Him to the bus stop and He never leaves us waiting. More importantly when we need Him no matter how busy He is, He stops listens and never fails to minister to us at the exact time we need it. We may think He's not there or doesn't answer our prayers but that's because we are unruly children who don't invest the same time in Him that He does in us. We can't benefit from His wise counsel or urgings to our spirit because we are either late, distracted or inattentive to His call. So, advice goes unheeded, nonchalance and apathy creep in and matters of importance are prioritized behind our personal needs first. You see chronic tardiness like other fallen attributes we have are mostly just matters of the heart. I find when I am nearest to Him I am much more in sync spiritually, mentally and physically. I can remove the obstacles or at least smooth out the bumps that hinder my daily journeys. I am not as late, not as frantic and save myself a whole bunch of shame too. Oh yeah, and I don't have to drive around trying to find a Dairy Queen open in January either!
Acts 20:28
Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Pick me! Pick Me!
The movie The Sandlot is one of my all time favorites. It's the story of a bunch of boys in the early sixties growing up in southern California suburbia who play baseball together at the local park called the sandlot. It's about building lifelong friendship, love of the game, competition, bonding together and humorous adventure. I highly recommend it to any of you regardless of age. The movie is centered around a character named Scotty Smalls who moves to a new neighborhood with his mom and generally distant and aloof step dad who loves baseball and collects baseball memorabilia but won't take the time to teach his stepson Scotty how to play the game. Scotty is befriended by Benny Rodriguez, the local boy wonder superstar player who takes him under his wing and soon the adventures begin. But I am always taken back to a scene in the film where Scotty, just new to the neighborhood, wanders over to the baseball field and is watching the guys play when they realize they need another person to pick even teams. They see him and call him over and the scene in which the two captains are picking the teams is priceless. Here is the new kid Scotty, dorky hat, cheap glove and a total unknown. Standing there sheepishly as he is passed up by one player after another who the captains know will give them the best chance to win. Then when he is the last one left Benny has no choice but to pick him and see what he's got. The mannerisms and looks on the kids faces as they waited to be picked brought me back instantly to my own childhood. Nobody wants to either pick or be the last one picked. It's like taking your sister to the prom, total shame and embarrassment! What I loved most about the movie is the way Scotty eventually endeared himself to his friends and teammates, who ended up appreciating him for the person he would be, rather than judging him by his appearance or ability. Relevant lessons which have stood the test of time but sadly and often tragically are not either taught or certainly utilized in today's your either in or out world.
You see the biggest difference between us today and the generations that have passed is that we today often look at the outwardness of the person when making choices to use people based upon superficial desires for success and achievement. God however always and I mean always, looks at the heart of an individual when making choices for the achieving of His desires and success for them. He wisely knows that inward attributes forged in honesty, integrity and high moral ethical standards qualify better for lasting success than do physical appearance and raw talent. It is the true heart of a man that ultimately determines his lasting success or failure and nothing, and I mean nothing else. Look at all the train wrecks of lives around us of friends and family as well as those of celebrities, athletes, politicians, prominent business people, pastors and others who had it all. They had either or all of the following, looks, money, success, power and fame. All of them temporal satisfaction at best.. But some where along the journey they decided to stray from God's will and good intent for them and make their own choices in life. They and they alone would decide who to surround themselves with or trust with their careers or livelihood. I don't need God and His counsel or protection, I have me. I will make my own choices thank you. It is this theme of self serving piousness that has caused some of our greatest societal changes in America. And none of them are good! The bible repeatedly talks about man's battle of serving two masters. God concludes righteously that we cannot serve Him and ourselves at the same time. It is because our fallen human nature is in constant conflict with our divine eternal spiritual nature and design. We get so caught up in the shameless pursuits of idols and possessions that we simply step on or over those that get in our way. Many of us don't often realize it either. In doing so we propagate a kill or be killed attitude and that is the real danger. We use and discard almost everything in life today as if we can can just go get another when it suits us or we need it to serve us. This unfortunately includes other human beings and that is where we are at. We have relegated the highest gift of all, our precious lives to a trash heap. Whether it is the tsunami of abortion, ethnic or religious cleansing, euthanasia or the general indifference to the suffering in the human condition it is a death sentence for us all. In a systematic removing of God and His will for our lives we have chosen the fallen sinful nature of our carnality to serve. No longer do we look at the heart of the man next to us. We simply determine their fate by if they are of use to us or will hinder or help our lifestyle or society. Harsh words for sure but sadly true. The boy that nobody wants on their team or in their lives is God nowadays. The bible is full of unlikely outcasts like Gideon, Joseph, Jonah, David, Esther, Ruth, Moses, Paul and many others. Many of whom simply weren't chosen or considered to be worthy by men, but were by God. He found a place of importance for these common people and has much more so planned for you and I too. Don't let the world determine the choices you make on it's value system. It's like passing up the new kid on the block with the dorky hat, goofy shoes and funny name. That kid who you and nobody else found value in but God now owns the park and the team and you're the one left saying "Pick me! Pick me!"
Luke 16:13
No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
You see the biggest difference between us today and the generations that have passed is that we today often look at the outwardness of the person when making choices to use people based upon superficial desires for success and achievement. God however always and I mean always, looks at the heart of an individual when making choices for the achieving of His desires and success for them. He wisely knows that inward attributes forged in honesty, integrity and high moral ethical standards qualify better for lasting success than do physical appearance and raw talent. It is the true heart of a man that ultimately determines his lasting success or failure and nothing, and I mean nothing else. Look at all the train wrecks of lives around us of friends and family as well as those of celebrities, athletes, politicians, prominent business people, pastors and others who had it all. They had either or all of the following, looks, money, success, power and fame. All of them temporal satisfaction at best.. But some where along the journey they decided to stray from God's will and good intent for them and make their own choices in life. They and they alone would decide who to surround themselves with or trust with their careers or livelihood. I don't need God and His counsel or protection, I have me. I will make my own choices thank you. It is this theme of self serving piousness that has caused some of our greatest societal changes in America. And none of them are good! The bible repeatedly talks about man's battle of serving two masters. God concludes righteously that we cannot serve Him and ourselves at the same time. It is because our fallen human nature is in constant conflict with our divine eternal spiritual nature and design. We get so caught up in the shameless pursuits of idols and possessions that we simply step on or over those that get in our way. Many of us don't often realize it either. In doing so we propagate a kill or be killed attitude and that is the real danger. We use and discard almost everything in life today as if we can can just go get another when it suits us or we need it to serve us. This unfortunately includes other human beings and that is where we are at. We have relegated the highest gift of all, our precious lives to a trash heap. Whether it is the tsunami of abortion, ethnic or religious cleansing, euthanasia or the general indifference to the suffering in the human condition it is a death sentence for us all. In a systematic removing of God and His will for our lives we have chosen the fallen sinful nature of our carnality to serve. No longer do we look at the heart of the man next to us. We simply determine their fate by if they are of use to us or will hinder or help our lifestyle or society. Harsh words for sure but sadly true. The boy that nobody wants on their team or in their lives is God nowadays. The bible is full of unlikely outcasts like Gideon, Joseph, Jonah, David, Esther, Ruth, Moses, Paul and many others. Many of whom simply weren't chosen or considered to be worthy by men, but were by God. He found a place of importance for these common people and has much more so planned for you and I too. Don't let the world determine the choices you make on it's value system. It's like passing up the new kid on the block with the dorky hat, goofy shoes and funny name. That kid who you and nobody else found value in but God now owns the park and the team and you're the one left saying "Pick me! Pick me!"
Luke 16:13
No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
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