faith

Flashback Friday: Leap of Faith

Frank

I was originally going to repost this entry from October 2009, but only because I wanted to use the YouTube clip. But the video has since been taken down and the overall theme of the post wasn’t what I wanted to share.

Since you can’t see the video, I’ll describe it to you. If you’ve seen Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, you know this scene. It is towards the end when he is trying to get to the Holy Grail. He has to pass three tests, one of which is a “step of faith” over a wide chasm with no bridge or rope. Indy takes a deep breath, closes his eyes, and steps forward into the abyss, only to step onto solid footing. The “bridge” was an optical illusion that blended in with the background so could it could not be seen.

I’ve used that clip several times to describe how sometimes we just need to take a leap of faith. We have to close our eyes and step forward, trusting that God is in control.

Last week I talked about stress and worry being a symptom of a lack of faith in a God bigger than us. I then talked about how the things we stress out about are usually blessings. Yesterday, I gave a personal anecdote to show that God will provide, even if his promise makes us laugh. I hope you notice the theme. That post was supposed to have followed the other two last week, but my week was derailed. This post was intended for last Friday when I was literally taking a leap of faith.

Enough background though. Why is it so hard to make the big decisions in life? Why are we so reluctant to pull the trigger? Lack of faith? Stress and worry? We don’t see the blessings? I think all the above, mixed with some bad theology concerning the will of God. Leading into last week’s leap of faith, I’ve been reading Kevin DeYoung’s Just Do Something. A good book and great reminder, covering ground I had read before in Decision Making and the Will of God by Friesen and Maxson. If you’re familiar with the latter, I recommend the former; it’s much, much shorter!

But the gist is that we convince ourselves that there is a specific plan God has for each of us. A “will of direction” that there is a specific job, a specific spouse-to-be, a specific home, and so on. Yes, God is in control and he wants the best for us. Those are his “will of decree” and “will of desire”. In other words, God’s sovereign and moral will. Who we marry is only aligned with God’s will when it does not violate either his sovereignty (which it by nature cannot) and his morality. The same is true of jobs and other big decisions.

The advice is to pray for wisdom, study the Word of God for moral guidance, and seek Godly advice. If you do all three then you can step forward into the unknown with confidence because in the end, God is still in control.

It sounds easy. Until you have to do it. Last week I interviewed for a new job. This job would take me and my family all the way across the country. It sounded hard and maybe a little over my head, but I was convinced it was an open door God provided. So last Friday, after months of prayer, study and input, I took a leap of faith.

(since this was supposed to have been posted last week before my interview, you’re going to have to wait to hear the ending. Stay tuned…)

They Laughed

Frank

Last week I talked about Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac, commenting on how the things that stress us out are usually blessings. But let’s flip back a couple of chapters before Isaac was born and the blessing was promised.

“Then the LORD said, ‘I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.’

Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. Abraham and Sarah were already old and well advanced in years, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, ‘After I am worn out and my master is old, will I now have this pleasure?’

Then the LORD said to Abraham, ‘Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’ Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son.’

Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, ‘I did not laugh.’

But he said, ‘Yes, you did laugh.’ (Genesis 18:10-15)

We stress out about blessings, but sometimes we don’t even believe blessings can happen. Here, Sarah doubted the promise of God. She thought the blessing was so ridiculous that she laughed. We respond the same in our lives as well. “Are you kidding me? God would never do that for me!” We laugh at God’s promises to forgive and reconcile, to heal and sanctify. Sometimes we even laugh off the promise that God will take care of us when times are hard. “God is giving me what I need? I need a job, that’s what I need!”

But what we really need is faith. It would be easy to laugh at this promise: “I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17:20) That is, until you see it happen.

A few years ago my wife gave up her full time job teaching to raise our firstborn. She was committed to be there through his infancy. We were both making entry-level salaries and had just bought a house. Finances would be tight. We knew that. But we also knew it was necessary. Shortly after making this decision, I got a raise. It wasn’t enough to make up for her lost income, but it helped.

About a year and half later, my wife was ready to return to work. She went in to interview. She had the experience. She had recommendations. She was working towards her credential. She was a shoe-in. But she wouldn’t take just any position. She would not work full time in order that she could continue to be with our son as much as she could. The interviewers literally laughed.

After she interviewed we were snacking on refreshments in the gym when someone came and asked if she was the one looking for a part-time job. “We are trying this new program…” This time, we laughed as my wife took a part time position she would hold for the next couple of years.

Leading to that day, my wife struggled with even wanting to go interview, knowing the odds were stacked against her. We prayed about it and resolved that God could do anything and that we would be blessed so long as our priorities remain Him and our family over jobs and finances. We knew we would somehow be blessed whether she got a job or not.

They laughed. Sarah laughed. Now we can look back and laugh too. God is not so small that he cannot do the impossible in our lives.

How have you seen God do the impossible?

Blessing or Curse?

Frank

Yesterday I talked about stress and worry. It’s a topic worth talking about more (and you’ll notice there’s a theme to this week).

Stop and think about what stresses you out. The little things and big things. What are you stressed out about right now? What were you stressed out about a week ago? (admit it, you were stressed out about something a week ago I’m sure)

Of all the things we stress about, either major or minor, we stress because we can’t control it. We don’t know the outcomes. At its root, we simply do not trust God.

But what do we stress most about? Our family, our jobs, our car breaking down, our bank account, our leaky roof… What do all of these things have in common? They are blessings! Think about it. The things that stress you out the most are blessings from God. You don’t deserve them, you aren’t owed them, but God has given you a family, a roof over your head, a job (or even at times, no job at all), money in the bank account (even if just pennies until the next check). And yet we want to control what God gives. We want to know how things turn out when only God knows.

This week’s Blog Carnival topic is Sacrifice. It may be cliche to reference Abraham and Isaac when talking about sacrifice. I’m sure you’ve heard a dozen of sermons asking, “what’s your Isaac?” But it’s worth looking at again.

Going back a bit, Abraham and Sarah were stressed about not having children. Then God came along and made Abraham a promise. The promise wasn’t fulfilled right away, so they stressed some more and made a bad decision along the way to allow Abraham to lay with Hagar in order for her to have his child since Sarah was barren. But God eventually came through and Sarah gave birth to Isaac.

Then we get to Genesis 22, where God asks Abraham to sacrifice his son. Abraham doesn’t protest, he doesn’t even say a word. He just goes. When Isaac asks where the sacrifice will come from, Abraham simply replied, “the Lord will provide.” (v 8) Still no stress, but simple trust in God’s promise.

Abraham was willing to sacrifice a blessing because he believed in God’s promise. He didn’t know how God was going to work it out, but he knew God would. So he had no stress, no worry.

Of all the blessings that stress you out, what are you willing to sacrifice believing in God’s promise? No, God probably hasn’t personally spoken to you to promise anything. But there is this, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28) Another cliche, but consider what that “good” is that God promises. Verse 29 continues, “…to be conformed to the likeness of his Son…” That is the good we are promised.

Are we being conformed to the image of Jesus when we stress out? Not likely. But we are when we are willing to give some things up, even if they are blessings, because we believe God’s promises.

What are you willing to give up?

This post is one of many on the topic of sacrifice. Be sure to visit Peter Pollock’s blog to see other posts to be inspired, encouraged, and challenged as others share their thoughts, feelings, and convictions.

Worry Wart

Frank

“Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” (Matthew 6:27)

The second chapter of Crazy Love focuses on our brief time on this earth relative to the infinite nature of God. A favorite verse comes from the fourth chapter of James, “Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’  Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” (Js 4:13-14) The illustration is given in the book that if all of history was a movie, God would be the star, and our brief cameo appearance would last a fraction of a second.

Yet we live our lives as if we are the star. We believe our lives, our choices, our importance is history-making. Yes, there are people who have made significant, lasting marks on history. But of the 8 billion people on Earth right now, what makes us think that will be us?

The truth is, we are only a mist. We don’t even know the given length of our lives. So that important deal, that important decision, may never even come to pass. It is sobering, humbling, to consider. And looking at life given this revelation should change how we approach worry and stress.

There was an interesting email exchange last week. One brother was sharing from his personal Bible study and quoted 1 John 3:1, “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” and talked about how, in all of our trials, we should remember that God calls us his children. I followed up with the above verse from Matthew and the conclusion to that chapter, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.” (Mt 6:34a). I also referenced the command Paul gives in Philippians 4:4 to rejoice always. I paraphrased a definition of stress from Crazy Love, that when we stress out we are saying that our worries are more important than obeying that command. In other words, it is ok to sin because we are that important.

The brother shared again the next day, quoting Romans 8:35-37, and followed that up talking about how God promises that all the hardships, trials, and challenges he has been facing over the past year cannot separate him from the love of God. What a comforting and encouraging thought! Another brother followed up discussing joy quoting Romans 15:13: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

It was clear from the above email chains, that worry and stress is something we can all relate to. In fact, in yesterday’s sermon our preacher noted that the verse, “do not be anxious about anything…” (Phil 4:6) is probably the most disobeyed command in all the Bible.

Worried. Stressed out. If I took a survey, I bet many would describe themselves this way. But it need not be. We need to be reminded of God’s love and the short time we are given to draw breath. The following video, though only covering a year, and the accompanying songs is a good reminder of what is really important. (Disclaimer: I don’t know this family. Often when looking for videos for songs, you find a lot of picture slideshows. But this video was perfect. I think you’ll agree)

Too High to Fall

Frank

Sorry I’m a little late with the recap of Monday’s Crazy Love group. How did it go? Well, like most things, not at all like I expected. We ran long. Dinner took longer than I thought to serve and eat. All the children were well behaved! Despite not everyone knowing everyone else at the start, most everyone was pleasantly open in sharing. The online video took too long to buffer so we only got half-way through, but it worked out perfectly since we were already running late. And it froze at a perfect stopping point anyway.

I also learned a couple of things too. If I’m inviting people every which way I can, it’s hard to keep track of who’s coming and who’s not. I just checked my Facebook messages and saw a friend said he was coming and needed my address. Monday. Whoops. So we had about a dozen people over and I’m expecting 3-5 more next week.

What did we learn as a group? Well, I think everyone is hungry. Almost everyone shared the same lack of passion and zeal that filled them back when they were baby Christians. Everyone is looking for something to call them higher. Perfect. As my wife and I have been praying, we hope this starts a fire, and it’s ok to burn down some churches in the process.

Not a bad start and I praise God for how well it went. Just goes to show how God blesses when we take a step of faith.

Speaking of stepping out on faith, this is Super Bowl weekend. I was once told the story of Jimmy Johnson coaching the Cowboys in his first Super Bowl. The team won only one game a couple of seasons prior. Most players have never been on such a large stage. But Jimmy won a National Championship at the University of Miami and knew a little about big stages. He also knew about butterflies and fear.

I don’t know if he did this on a bench in the locker room, or if he laid down a line of string, but he talked about how high-wire acts don’t start practicing at the highest of heights. They start low, where when they fall it will be safe. When they master their routine, they raise the wire. The whole time recognizing that it’s the same wire they’ve been on, the only thing different was the height. He stood on the bench (or on top of the string) and told his players that none of them would be afraid of walking across. That was the regular season- low, safe. But know they’re higher than they’ve ever been. But it’s the same bench. The game was on its highest stage, but it was the same game.

We approach life and our walk with Christ the same way. Fearless if the consequence is low. But raise the stakes and we forget just how big our God is as we cower in fear. Francis Chan illustrated the same principle as Jimmy Johnson, but probably got a few more laughs.

Anguish

Frank

It’s that time of year to look back and wonder where all the time went. My family sent out a collage of pictures for our Christmas card this year, and as we went through our pictures we couldn’t believe all that we did this year. No wonder it went so fast. Yet at the same time, I look at my daughter who turned three a couple of months ago and my son, who turns 6 in a week, and I still want to picture them as a newborn and a toddler. Other parents tell me how fast they grow up while they stand beside their teenagers. I guess I was hoping this phase would last longer.

As time has flown on by, it’s also time to look back on the resolutions you didn’t keep. “I could’ve done that one if only…” Where did the time, and our goals, go? My job also just had performance reviews. Another chance to look back at opportunities lost or goals not achieved.

Maybe that’s not you. Maybe you can look back at your year satisfied at all that happened and in accomplishing all you strove out to do. But chances are, there is still some regret. At least one thing that you didn’t do that you wanted to, or did do that you didn’t.

So we look ahead to next year. What should we resolve? What should we strive to achieve? Where should we plan to go? If you look back at this past year thinking failure, there’s added pressure to make up for it next year. If you look back with contentment, you may feel challenged to even come up with any goals for the coming year. For me, it’s like a personal Bible study. Once I finish, I struggle coming up with “what’s next.”

Either way, we place pressure upon ourselves. We may linger in our regret, or we may be afraid of the future. We may feel pressured to improve our health, our finances, our spirituality. We may have a monkey on our back we want to rid ourselves of, but then comes the follow up question of “how?”. Maybe we look ahead and see open doors of opportunity, but are afraid of what’s on the other side.

Pressure. Regret. Fear. Anguish.

Interestingly, an antonym of anguish is assurance whose synonyms are goals, hope, promise. At this time of year, the future is before us filled with hope and promise. But our reaction is literally the opposite. Why is that? Is it because our faith is weak? Do we lack in prayer? Do we forget our Creator who “satisfies our desires with good things” (Psalm 103:5)? Or maybe it just because we’re too focused on ourselves.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” (Philippians 4:6)

This post is part of a Blog Carnival on the topic of Reflection. Visit Peter Pollock’s blog to read more.

Weekend Reading, 13 November

Frank

Not a lot of time spent online this week, but a common thread ran through most of what I read. I don’t think that’s unintentional. The following posts challenged my faith, my hope, and my joy. It was exactly what I needed this week.

Of course any challenge in life can be related to by someone’s experience in the Bible. There is no shortage of examples to follow and lessons to be learned.

  • Rick Lancaster wonders what we think is too hard for God, then reminds us of Abraham and Sarah.
  • Colleen Foshee gives some driving tips for our faith and encourages us to not slam on the brakes when the road gets rough by reminding us of Joshua.
  • Michael Perkins reminds us of Peter and how he got distracted by the wind and dedicates himself to focusing on what’s important.
  • Jay Cookingham looks towards the example of Bezaleel who used his talents to worship God.
  • Herb Halstead sees Moses being given the promise of seeing his reward after he obeyed God, not before.
  • Kely Braswell thinks of a young David as a small young man in a small backwater town. But God saw something more. Like David, we are not too small or too remote for God to see us.
  • Tullian Tchividjian uses the example of Job to see that our joy is robbed not by suffering but by idolatry.

But we have personal stories and anecdotal parables to draw from.

  • Ryan Tate asks us where we are going. The challenge is do we really have an answer?
  • Chuck Salser thinks when we get stagnate and stale in our faith, we become like a smelly locker room. Yeah, that sounds about right.
  • Trevor Lund introduces a series of lessons on faith by asking how big is your but?
  • Justin Davis wants a new story to tell.

And to add to all this, I received the following email, forwarded from a sister in Christ who just lost her husband.

A man was sleeping one night in his cabin when suddenly his room filled with light, and God appeared. The Lord told the man he had work for him to do, and showed him a large rock in front of his cabin. The Lord explained that the man was to push against the rock with all his might.

So, this the man did, day after day. For many years he toiled from sunup to sundown, his shoulders set squarely against the cold, massive surface of the unmoving rock, pushing with all his might!

Each night the man returned to his cabin sore and worn out, feeling that his whole day had been spent in vain. Since the man was showing discouragement, the Adversary (Satan) decided to enter the picture by placing thoughts into the weary mind: (He will do it every time)!

You have been pushing against that rock for a long time and it hasn’t moved” Thus, he gave the man the impression that the task was impossible and that he was a failure. These thoughts discouraged and disheartened the man.

Satan said, “Why kill yourself over this? Just put in your time, giving just the minimum effort; and that will be good enough.”

That’s what the weary man planned to do, but decided to make it a matter of prayer and to take his troubled thoughts to the Lord.

“Lord,” he said, “I have labored long and hard in Your Service, putting all my strength to do that which you have asked. Yet, after all this time, I have not even budged that rock by half a millimeter. What is wrong? Why am I failing?”

The Lord responded compassionately, “My friend, when I asked you to serve Me and you accepted, I told you that your task was to push against the rock with all of your strength, which you have done.

Never once did I mention to you that I expected you to move it. Your task was to push. And now you come to Me with your strength spent, thinking that you have failed.

But, is that really so? Look at yourself. Your arms are strong and muscled, your back shiny and brown; your hands are callused from constant pressure, your legs have become massive and hard.

Through opposition you have grown much, and your abilities now surpass that which you used to have. True, you haven’t moved the rock. But your calling was to be obedient and to push and to exercise your faith and trust in My wisdom. That you have done. Now I, my friend, will move the rock.”

At times, when we hear a word from God, we tend to use our own intellect to decipher what He wants, when actually what God wants is just simple obedience and faith in Him.

By all means, exercise the faith that moves mountains, but know that it is still God Who moves the mountains.

When everything seems to go wrong……. ……… ……… .Just P.U.S.H.

When the job gets you down…….. ……… ……… ………..Just P.U.S.H.

When people don’t do as you think they should…………. Just P.U.S.H.

W hen your money is “gone” and the bills are due………..Just P.U.S.H.

When people just don’t understand you…………………….Just P.U.S.H.

P = Pray
U = Until
S = Something
H = Happens

And if that isn’t enough, check out Kevin Martineau’s Favourite Links Friday, Jason Stasyszen’s Light Friday Hit List, Glynn Young’s Saturday Good Reads, Ryan Tate’s Five to Check Out, and Tyler Braun’s Fortuitous Bouncing.

Have a blessed weekend.

Savior, Healer, Both?

Frank

“While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, ‘Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?’


On hearing this, Jesus said, ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.’“ (Matthew 9:10-12)

“‘Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.’ So he said to the paralyzed man, ‘Get up, take your mat and go home.’ Then the man got up and went home. When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to man.” (Matthew 9:5-8)

“What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?” (Romans 6:1-2)

“…’My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

When the Chilean miners were rescued last month, the whole world watched. Christians praised God as they heard the news and the credit the miners gave to their Lord. The miners become not only pop-culture celebrities, but also anecdotal heroes of the faith. But this religious fervor raises an important question. What if they weren’t rescued? Would God have been there then? Just how much did God have to do with saving those miners? Besides the Evangelical response, was the ecumenical response, and the skeptic response. Which is right? Is it possible they all are?

Michael Spencer, in the twelfth chapter of Mere Churchianity, questions the “perfection” demonstrated by many Christians under the guise of Jesus being both healer and savior. The premise goes that since they are saved, they are therefore healed. Healed of malady, financial hardships, depression, addiction, their own sinful nature. Paul, in the passages above would counter that claim, praising God for his weaknesses in one breath while reminding us that we are dead to our sin in the next. In the miracle above, Jesus’ acts of healing and forgiveness were not the same. They were two different events.

I’ve found there are two extremes to this theological and philosophical dilemma. On one side are those who praise God for being healed of everything under the sun. On the other are those who mope around acknowledging that they are sinners, always have been and always will be, who are just saved by God’s grace. On the one hand are those who believe so strongly that God heals completely through salvation that any sin or weakness must be the consequence of hidden sin or a lack of faith. Then there’s the temptation to over-rely on God’s grace for forgiveness without accepting our part to die to our sins (Romans 6, above). At the same time many Christians feel defeated by their sin, looking at Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” example from 2 Corinthians and just accept their sinful nature while not doing anything about it.  Each is dangerous because they lead to using their present condition to judge others. Michael seems to fall towards the latter extreme. I admire admitting weakness, but he seems to dismiss any healing or providence from God.
But it begs the question of just how involved is God in our day-to-day struggles? Is he only around in the big things (Chilean miners) or in every little thing? And if He is involved in everything, then why doesn’t everything “work for the good”? Why do we still struggle with sin? Why does he have cancer, why did she lose her job, and why are they so “blessed”?

I don’t have the answers. I wish I did. But I know from experience being and working with addicts, that God can overcome our sinful natures. I also know that when he does so, “blessings” pour out in abundance. And I also recognize that this is completely different than salvation and grace. We joke in my recovery group that if you show up single, you’ll leave married. That’s been the case for four now-married couples. One brother just celebrated one year of sobriety. In that year, he’s returned to church, gotten married, and is now expecting a child. I would not be married to my wife if not for both of our recoveries. I’ve also seen the same number of marriages saved from the brink of divorce through recovery. Yet there are defeats as well. One couple separated as they both went through recovery and have had limited and mixed success in their sobriety. His heart is broken because a judge just ruled that she can move two states away and take their kids. He has since left church while she has stuck around. After the judge’s ruling, she posted on Facebook, “praise God…” He posted, “please pray for me…”

God is still there, still involved, and still active. How things will ultimately work out, I do not know. But I also do not know if God will grant me another day of sobriety, another day with my kids and my wife, another day employed. What happens next I just have to trust in Him.

(And iteresting dichotomy considering God’s providence: Michael Spencer died from a brain tumor before this book was released. Why him and why then? Yesterday was posted an interview with Matt Chandler, who one year ago was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Why him, why has he been spared? The interview is worth checking out.)

Weekend Reading, 16 October

Frank

I’m going to do things a little differently this weekend. The headline-of-the-week prior to the rescue of the Chilean miners was on suicide and bullying. So this week’s theme continues that subject, with emphasis on how Christians treat the LGBT community and also include some posts on depression.

  • To begin, I want to repost this link from Matthew Paul Turner, simply because I don’t think we can read this enough. At some point, we need to look at how the church addresses those who are different for whatever reason. And a quick Google blog search shows many churches (surprisingly voices from the Mormon and Catholic churches are prominent)
  • Jason Boyett follows up by sharing a couple of posts over at Beliefnet on the LGBT experience. If we want to relate, and we want to have sympathy, we need to hear their story.

But they aren’t the only victim of bullies. Outcasts for any reason, looks, athletic ability or lack thereof, scholastic or musical aptitude, and so on are easy targets for bullies who resort to that means to justify feeling superior. And the end result is often depression.

  • Over at the Internet Monk, Jeff Dunn wonders what a church was thinking putting “Depression is Selfish” on their church sign.
  • But we can choose whether to be better or bitter when faced with adversity. While Michael Perkins intends this for any adversity, it applies just as well to bullying and rejection.
  • And if we wonder where is God in all of this, Jerad Wilson reminds us that we have to believe there are reasons that He allows suffering.
  • If you have a personal experience battling depression or being around those who have, Alise is looking for your story.

So what do we do? Good question.

  • Mike Ellis asks the same, which inspired this great response from Katdish. And ultimately what inspired me to post this today.
  • Tom Pounder gives suggestions on what to do if bullying is present in your ministry.
  • The bottom line though is that God does not reject us, so we cannot reject others. Good thoughts from David Rupert at Red Letter Believers.

Suicide is one route taken from these victims. Just as tragic is when the pain is directed outwards instead of inwards. We need to be reminded of what happened with Matthew Murray and pray we can learn from this and the posts above and not repeat past mistakes. Have a great weekend, practice compassion, and reach out to someone who needs it.

Flashback Friday: Our Money Says “In God We Trust”

Frank

***Originally posted February 3, 2009. I linked to this Tuesday, but wanted to bring it back up to the front page. Ann Spangler’s book, “Praying the Names of God” has been a great encouragement to me, delving into God’s character through the names He was called in the Old Testament. In trying times, it’s worth remembering who God is.***

This story breaks my heart. I can’t imagine what must have been going through his mind while looking at his children and committing these heinous acts. I’m sad that we live in a society that is so driven by wealth and status that not only motivated our present economic crisis, but also has left so many hopeless in its wake. I consider myself blessed. Both my wife and I are gainfully employed with relative job security. Our children are healthy and our mortgage isn’t totally screwed up (only just a little). But I do worry about what would happen to my family if something were to happen to me. To some degree I worry about the loss of income, but I worry more about the emotional pain of loss. If both my wife and I lost our jobs would I feel completely hopeless to the extent that I have no hope, even for the future of my children? That’s the part of this story I just don’t understand.

I’m also sad that we live in a culture that is overly self-focused. I’m guilty of this myself. I don’t know my neighbors like I should. I’m sad though that others feel they can’t turn to family or friends for support even if their neighbors are strangers. At least through my extended family and my spiritual family I believe I could manage through the hard times. Catastrophic loss of income? I don’t really know. I know many families in my church are hurting right now. I’ve had several neighbors move because they can no longer afford their homes. My heart goes out to them, but I also know that a loving God will take care of them, even if not in the ways they hope.

El Roi, Yahweh Yireh, the “God who sees” and “the LORD Provides” encourages me through His word: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.” (James 1:2-3) And “we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.” (Rom 5:3-5) I pray that my circumstances may be a blessing to someone in greater need, be they family, friend, neighbor or stranger.