The Treasure Chest

I heard something on the radio yesterday that brought back some memories.  I don't know if all doctors are like mine was when I was a kid, but when I was a kid there was a treasure chest at the end of the hall at Maryville Pediatric.  I went to Dr. Marmon when I was a kid.  He was great and I wasn't afraid of him at all but I still, I didn't want to go to the doctor.  There was one thing that always made life better at the doctor....The treasure chest.  

No matter how sick I was and no matter how many shots I had to have, I knew if I was tough I would be able to pick a toy out of the treasure chest.  How I loved going through the treasure chest.  As a young boy, it seemed like there was a thousand toys in that chest.  And I had my pick of each and every one.  As we drove for what seemed like hours to the doctor all I could think about was what toys may be in the chest.  When I sat in the waiting room and another kid would come out with his awesome treasure, I prayed that it wasn't the last one.  The treasure chest provided me with hope; hope that no matter what happened, everything would be OK once I got my toy.

I rarely went to the doctor when I was a kid; once or twice a year if that.  I had a great childhood filled with football, eating, and playing.  But sometimes something went wrong and I had to go to the doctor.

As christians, we have our own treasure chest in Jesus Christ, in Heaven, in the hope of seeing our Heavenly Father face to face some day.  In this journey of life that we are on, many days are great and we get to bask in the Grace of the Father without grief or worry.  But then there are days when worry and grief clouds our eyes to the point that we can't see our hope.  There are also times of chastisement and reprovement when God has to teach us something in order that we grow.  Do you know what I mean?   It's during those times that we need to remember that Jesus has provided us a treasure chest at the end or our visit.  If you are a Christian then you have the hope and the promise of eternal life.  As a matter of fact, Jesus Himself is preparing a place for us in His Father's house.  In fact, He said in John 14:1-3:

“Let not your heart be troubled: you believe in God, believe also in me.

In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there you may be also."

Since dad died, saying that my heart has been troubled is an understatement.  I'm sad, I miss my dad.  But God is good, so good!  In my time of trouble He reminds me of the great promise that He made to me.  He lets me know that dad is digging in his proverbial treasure chest in heaven now.  Some day, I'll get to visit my treasure chest with Jesus.  But more that that!  He reminds me that there will be moments in life that will try us, but at the end of each trial, if we are brave and do what is right, there will be a treasure chest where He will reward us.  Our treasure on earth, if nothing else is hope.

God wants you to know that you have hope.  Even if you think there is none, there is hope.  So with that, I say hold on.  Hold on and never give up because Jesus loves you so very much.  He died for you.

God loves you and I do too!!
John

Is Divorce really what you want?

If you've been divorced this post may offend you. If it does, I'm so sorry because that certainly isn't my intent. But if you are married and especially married with children, this post is for you. We know what the Bible says about divorce and I think so many have heard it so many times that they may tend to ignore it; mostly because, I think, people know that God will forgive them when they do wrong. Given that, I'm not going to reference God or His will. I just want to focus on marriage.

Book after book has been written on this subject so I'm sure that I may not have any original thoughts. Tonight, Kalli and I went to Olive Garden and a lady with her two young girls was eating beside us and she didn't have a wedding ring on. Does that mean she is divorced? No. But going with the odds, she probably is. They were happy and having a fun time but I thought about how sad it was that these girls daddy wasn't with them.

When you first got married and were in love, did you say things to your newlywed spouse like "if we stay together" or "I hope we make it"? I doubt it. Those newlywed emotions run deep and hot, so hot that they tend to cool off after a while. That's no surprise and certainly not a profound statement. What's left when the newlywed feelings aren't so hot is marriage. Too many couples focus so hard on those newlywed feelings that they lose sight of why they have those feelings. They have them because they are with the one that they love and it's exciting to know that you will have them the rest of your life. That is the phrase that too many couples let go of so quickly; "the rest of your life". If your wedding vows were like mine and Kim's they included a "till death do us part" and "through better and/or worse". That is one heck of a commitment, a life-long commitment.

So when couples with children get divorced, what do they teach their children? First, they teach them that it is OK to quit on what is important. We teach our children to not quit. If they start something they can't quit. The more effort a kid puts into something, like sports, the more we encourage them when things get hard. We tell them something like "you've put so much into this, you've worked so hard, please don't quit now or you will regret it for the rest of your life". A friend of mine had a son who wanted to quit a sport during his senior season. He told him that the decision is his son's but he encouraged him not to quit and explained in great detail the impact it would have on the rest of his life. Even though it was hard and his situation didn't get easier, the boy stuck with it. He was glad he did and had no regrets for it.

A divorce also teaches kids that things worth having aren't worth working for. We teach our kids "if it's worth having then it's worth working for". How is the biggest commitment that you've ever made not worth working for? We teach our kids that if you want to be smart, you have to study. If you want to make better grades, you have to study harder. We all want a better marriage yet so many aren't willing to put any more effort into it.

In my opinion the problem boils down to two simple things; pride and selfishness.  I know this isn't new information but I can't stress how important these two things are and how they have no place in marriage. So if I'm telling you to work to keep your marriage, what work do you do? From my own experience, Kim and I spent a lot of time "working" at keeping those newlywed feelings. We spent years trying to get back that newlywed passion that we had. But if you want that fire back in your marriage or if you just want to keep your marriage the work shouldn't be spent on kindling passion and emotions. When you work at those things, you are trying to do work on your spouse. If it doesn't work then you may blame your spouse instead of yourself. The real work that needs to take place in marriage is the work that you do on you.

Most people, if not all, don't want to admit they are selfish. But you show me a failing marriage and I'll show you a marriage where one or both spouses are selfish. What is being selfish? Being selfish is simply putting your wants and needs ahead of your spouses. I'm not talking about serving yourself before your spouse. I'm not talking about spending your money on your spouse instead of yourself. What I'm talking about is when your feelings, your happiness is more important than your spouses. If you are struggling in your marriage, I encourage you to look inward at yourself first. Are you putting your happiness ahead of your spouse? Are you not giving your spouse what they want because "God didn't make you like that"? It's all about effort. Your spouse needs to see that you are willing to do ANYTHING for them, even if it's out of your comfort zone. And I'm really talking about meeting emotional needs not physical needs. Physical needs are important but emotional needs are so much more important. Your spouse needs, I mean really needs to know that you love them and they really are important enough to you that you committed the rest of your life to them.

What keeps people from being unselfish? Pride. Plain and simple, pride keeps you from doing the things your spouse needs and wants. When was the last time you said you were sorry when you really weren't? When was the last time that you held your tongue instead of saying what was on your mind? If you tend to say what is on your mind, even if it starts a fight then you have pride issues. If you never apologize just to keep the peace, especially before a fight starts, then you have pride issues. We teach our kids to take pride in what they do and we should. That kind of pride is good. When was the last time you thought about taking pride in your marriage? Or more, when was the last time that you took pride in your spouse? When was the last time that you felt proud to be married to them?

Marriage is hard, I know. Divorce rates are at 50% or higher inside and outside of the church. You can't worry about statistics and you can't use them as an excuse. A long time ago, I learned that if you wanted to succeed at anything you had to avoid "relative comparisons". Relative comparisons are when you compare what you're doing to someone else. It's when you say "I may not be great but I'm better than my neighbor". In marriage, we can't do that. The only thing that is important in marriage (outside of God) is your spouse. IT'S NOT YOU. You married the person that you're living with (or separated from) with the intention to be with them until you die. So you can't settle for a failing marriage and justify it because it hasn't failed yet like your neighbors did.

Love isn't that passion you felt as a newlywed. Love is the commitment you made to your spouse. Love is "till death do us part" and "for better or worse". If you want to teach your kids one of the most valuable lessons they could learn, show them how to love.

I know it is hard to do these things when your spouse isn't. But I can almost guarantee that if you put in the effort to work on yourself, your spouse will notice. If you haven't seen the movie "Firerproof" or haven't seen it in a while, watch it and watch it soon. Like I said, my thoughts aren't original they just can't be said enough.

I know there are times when divorce can't be avoided like spousal abuse. If your spouse is abusing you, I encourage you to get out now. However, there is a difference between being insensitive and being abusive.

I encourage you, I beg you, to strive for a prosperous marriage. I know you think your spouse is the problem and you may be right. However, if you will look to be a better spouse your efforts won't go unnoticed. It may take a while but it will be well worth it in the end. I can't think of a time when I said to myself "I wish I would have started that fight instead of holding my tongue".  If you need prayer about this Kim and I would be happy to pray for you.  You can reach me at johnkn.home@gmail.com.

If you live completely for Jesus today, you won't regret tomorrow what you did yesterday.
I love you and God does too!
John

Happy Birthday Little Brother!!

Regret!!!  Life is full of it.  In it's simplest form, regret is just the mindset of wishing you would have done something different, usually because of the outcome of a decision.  I try to teach my children to not have regret in life because it is very hard to fix.

My life is full of regret; I wish I would have tried harder in school, I wish I would have been closer to my grand parents whom are all dead now, I wish I would have insisted on playing Line-Backer full time instead of Defensive End, I wish I would have had short hair, I wish I would have tried contacts sooner, I wish I would have taken my relationship with God seriously, I wish I would have maintained friendships...... I think you get the picture.

Now what does all of this have to do with wishing my brother (Jody Knight) a Happy Birthday?  Well its simple, I have a lot of regret when it comes to the way I handled our relationship as children.  Anyone who knows us knows that we have completely different personalities and we always have since birth.  Basically, his personality was good and mine was bad.  I loved my brother but I was jealous of him because he was "cuter" or "nicer" than I was.  When you couple that jealousy with the fact that I was mean , I was more of a bully than a brother much of the time.  

Now don't get me wrong, we had a lot of fun.  We played football, baseball, and Nerf-hoop in our bedroom all the time and we played in the woods, swung on muscadine vines, played in the creek in the woods, went swimming, and rode our bikes a lot.  But for anyone who has ever been in a bad relationship, the memories that tend to stand out aren't the good ones, its the bad.  It would be too easy for me to tell too much about the negative so I think that I will just leave it at "I was mean to my brother, too mean".

After all these years I love my brother very much and I always have.  I have always been very proud of him.  I have the utmost respect for my brother.  He was a great athlete in school, he was was always smarter than me, and he beat me at every video game we ever played.  Now, he is a strong, reliable, Christian man.  He is a loving husband and loving father.  Like me, he isn't perfect but I think he is a lot closer than I am.  I've done what I know to do to let him know that I love him and I know that he knows that I love him.  The problem is that word "regret".  I just can't help but wonder how things would be today (for both of us and our families) if I would have let the love of Christ overshadow my relationship with my brother.

And you?  Do you have any regret like me?  You can't go back and undo what has been done but you can ask for forgiveness and then move on. Maybe you were on the other end of the stick and you are harboring hard feelings because of the way you were treated.  You must forgive.  

Regret isn't healthy but it is a fact.  All we can do is live our lives from this point on with no regret.  If you live today completely for Jesus, then tomorrow, you won't regret what you did yesterday.

I love you and God does too!

It's never too late

A few weeks ago, pastor Brad used Jeremiah 18:1-4 in a message series that he preached.  Since then, that scripture has been echoing in my mind.  The NLT version reads like this:

The Lord gave another message to Jeremiah. He said, 2 “Go down to the potter’s shop, and I will speak to you there.” 3 So I did as he told me and found the potter working at his wheel.4 But the jar he was making did not turn out as he had hoped, so he crushed it into a lump of clay again and started over.

Verse 4 is what resonates with me.  God specifically was telling Jeremiah that Israel had not turned out as he intended, so like a potter does clay, he was going to crush Israel and start over.  This verse makes me think about my personal life and testimony.  I can see myself on the Potter's wheel and things are spinning and He is molding me as planned.  But then a flaw comes out of the clay that messes up the pot.  As long as I am willing to accept being crushed, the Potter takes me back to a form he can work with and starts again.

Sometimes, the Potter has to completely crush me because the flaw is so big that I just have to go back to the beginning.  Sometimes, he just has to use a tool to dig out an imperfection.  This may leave a scar but that will become part of my testimony.

Obviously, I use this verse when I do prison ministry because everyone knows that a felon needs to start over.  But how about us?  How willing are we to let God crush us into a lump of clay so he can start over with us?  Too often, I'm afraid, we tell God "not yet, let me finish here and then you can have me".  Or just as bad, we see other flawed jars and we tell God that our flaw isn't so bad, especially compared to our neighbor.

Probably the saddest situation is the person that thinks that their flaws are too bad for God to want to fix.  Or maybe they think they aren't important enough for God to fix.  I know this sounds crazy but after talking to the people that I have over the years, you should never be surprised how someone may think or feel.  I have met so many people that just didn't feel worthy to be saved or "fixed".  There are so many hurting people that don't realize that what they have done just doesn't matter to God.  All He cares about is whether you are a willing vessel that is willing to let Him mold you.  Are you?

God loves people, period!  He may hate sin but he loves people.  He loves drunks, drug addicts, child molesters, adulterers, homosexuals, murderers, and liars...to name a few.  He will forgive sins and THEN put you on the Potter's wheel for him to mold.  God is ready to forgive sins and accept you as you are, we just have to be willing vessels.

God loves you and I do too!

Scars

I was looking in the mirror today as I guess most normal people do when they wash their hands when I noticed two scars above my left eye.  Its not that I was surprised or anything, I knew they were there, they've been there for 39 years.  I just thought it was funny how days, weeks, and even months go by without me noticing the scars yet they are always there.

I have all kinds of scars; scars caused by falls, scars caused by my carelessness, scars caused by others.  Some of my scars are my fault, some were caused by others, and some couldn't be avoided at all.  I have scars that I'm proud of (I'm still a little boy inside) and I have some that I'm quite ashamed of.  Many of my scars I remember how I got while many more I just don't remember.  I remember when I was a kid, I once counted 22 scars on my left knee...and I was proud.

As I was looking in the mirror I realized that these two scars on my head symbolized much more than just a couple of falls when I was a kid.  Now I know this probably isn't original thinking and I'm sure someone smarter than me has put this in a much better way but this is me....and these are my scars.  As I looked in the mirror God showed me how there are other scars that we have other than physical.  These emotional scars are much like my scars; some we cause, some others caused, and some were just unavoidable.   The fact is that we all have scars somewhere.

Our emotional scars are much like our physical scars in many ways;
1) We start to forget what caused the scar when the hurt goes away.  With many scars, there is a pain that remains even when it looks like healing is done.  Those are deep scars caused by a deep cut.  All too often, we dwell on what caused the hurt rather than the fact that healing has began.  All we can feel is the hurt and all we can see is the scar so it is hard to see the fact that God is working and is providing a healing.  Sometimes that healing isn't as fast as we would like but inevitably, it comes.

2) Generally speaking, the smaller the scar the smaller the injury and conversely,  the bigger the scar, the worse the injury.  This is obvious but needs to be pointed out.  If you only have a small scar, the injury probably wasn't that bad.  In those cases, we shouldn't make a mountain out of a mole hill.  Those small injuries heal fast so we shouldn't persecute anyone that caused it as though they had severely injured you.

3) When scars are out of site, we forget about them.  Is this so wrong?  Is it wrong to forget about the past?  To forget about the pain that someone else caused you?  I don't think so.  What is in the past is in the past and if you have forgiven someone for causing your scar then you shouldn't dwell on it.  Let it go.

4) If we can see the scar then we all too often dwell on the past.  The fact is that some of our emotional scars are on our face (not literally of course).  Unfortunately, some of our scars, usually the worst ones, are right there in the open so we are always reminded of them.  We think about them and sometimes we even think that we can still feel pain in them.  Certainly when we see them, we remember the pain and we remember how we got it.  Sometimes, seeing these scars can fill our hearts with regret; regret about how we got the scar, regret about how we healed, or regret about how we didn't heal.  

And usually, the older we were when we got injured, the longer it takes for healing to take place.  It's funny how the younger I was when I got one of my scars, the less likely I am to even remember how I got it.  I have some really bad scars that I got when I was young and I can hardly remember getting it.  Then there are others that I got when I was older.  They aren't as big but for some reason, I remember the hurt much more vividly than the bigger scar I got when I was a kid.

Scars, we've all got them.  In some way, some form, or some fashion they are there.  We live with them.  Sometimes we can cover them up and sometimes we can't.  Some aren't noticeable and some make a passerby flinch in pain when they see it.  But you know what?  These are my scars.  They are a part of me.  They don't define me and I rarely think of them but they are mine.  I own them, whether I caused them or not I own them.  If I don't own my scars then I believe I would think about them more.  If I thought about the injury, I would think about the cause and that opens the door for shame and regret.

The fact is that the devil wants us to remember our shame and regret but as the song says "...I remember oh God you're not done with me yet".  And remember, if you have a scar that means it's no longer a scab, God is finishing His work on that injury.  Don't let your scars define you and don't let them cause more pain.  You have them now and there isn't anything you can do about it.  Let them heal and give God the glory.

I love you and God does too!

Today is a new day

I've taken quite a break from my blog and I certainly owe some of you an apology. I use my blog as a way to keep myself accountable but if I'm not careful I can use it as a sounding board. Kim and I discussed it and we believe that it was best to take a couple of weeks off. But now I can say that today is a new day.

Have you ever needed one of those, a new day? I know for us, it was feeling like we were living the same day over again. Took us back to Bill Murray and Ground Hog Day, we tried different things but each day seemed like the same old stuff. For the record, everything is fine with Kim and me. We are just as happy together as we ever were. The "stuff" I'm talking about are things outside of our family that have a direct impact on us but are completely out of our control. But our situation did remind me that there are people out there that need a new day.

There are hurting people in this world, maybe even reading this blog, that need to know they can have a new day. I met some men at a prison in KY on Friday that found this out. They knew they needed a new day, they didn't think it was possible. They wake up every day with the same outlook, the same situation, the same people giving them trouble, and the same people telling them what to do. Every day is planned out and the longer they are in their situation, the more bleak it seems and the less help they get from the outside world.

Sound familiar? Had I left out the fact that they were in prison, some of you may have thought that I was talking about you. Some of these men got a new day on Saturday because they accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. They know that things aren't going to be perfect. But they also know that now they have hope. In the end, isn't that what we all need to start a new day, HOPE? Where there is no hope, there is no way out. Where there is no hope, there is defeat. Jesus Christ gives us hope, hope for a new day.

God loves you and I do too!

Time to get dirty

In November, I blogged about being burdened and carrying other's burdens. Galations 6:2 tells us to carry each others burdens. I think the question we all ask is how? How do I carry my brother's burden? How do I help carry your burden?

Until now, I thought I could help carry anyone's burden simply by praying. We all want to help and we all want to be hero's but what if I told you that sometimes there just isn't much you can do to carry a someone's burden? What if I told you that it takes a special type of person that can help you with your burden? I know that will stir some disagreement but that's OK. If we all agreed all the time then we would always be right. But in Numbers 11:16,17 God told Moses to pick certain people to help him. Moses didn't just go get any Joe, they were chosen.

I formed this opinion yesterday. As many of you may or may not know, all three of our kids have stomach viruses. Kim and I went away for my birthday and Kim's mom was keeping the kids at our house when it hit, and boy did it hit. Kim and I cut our trip short and when we got home, the girls were pitiful. After cleaning several messes, Kim said "I think this is what God meant when He said we are to bear one another's burdens". What Kim was saying is that if you REALLY want to carry someone's burdens you have to be willing to get dirty. To carry someone's burdens you have to jump in the mud or the fire with them. After talking to Kim and thinking about it, this made absolutely perfect sense to me.

If you are moving, would you want me to pray that God helps you or would you want me to show up with my truck ready to help you move? If your water line breaks, would you rather me pray that God sends you someone to help or would you rather me show up with a shovel to help you to dig down to the leak? If your going through a divorce, would you rather me pray for you or would you rather Kim and me take you to dinner and listen to you?

I hope you know that I'm not diminishing the need for prayer. We should always pray and we should always pray for each other. However, there comes a time for action for someone. James 2:15,16 addresses this and then of course we know that faith without works is dead. We live in a world of hurting people. Are you willing to roll your sleeves up and get dirty? What are you really willing to do to help carry someone's burden? Unfortunately, it is much easier for people to judge others rather than help them.

Pray, by all means pray. Pray without ceasing. But you should be well aware of those around you because sometimes, hurting people are crying out for help without you knowing it. There may be people around us that are stuck in the mud and they are just waiting for someone to get in with them to help them get out.

God loves you and I do too!

Living with the effects of sin

Romans 8:1 says that there is no condemnation for those that are in Christ because we are set free by God (paraphrased).  I don't know about you but I've done things that even though I knew I had been forgiven, I still felt condemnation sometimes.  There are a couple of things that I want to touch on briefly that I hope will help someone.

First, if you don't want the condemnation, you can't stop at Rom 8:1.  You have to get to Romans 8:5 that says "...but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires."  As you grow in Christ, you have to realize that you no longer have any rights or ownership of property.  When you mature in Christ, you know that everything we have belongs to Him and you no longer have personal rights because you are a slave to Him.  To grow into that realization you must have your mind not only on God (the Spirit in v.5) but you will also have your mind fixed on what He wants.  When we do this, the condemnation must go away because God has forgiven us, so we don't have the right to feel condemned by sin even though He has forgiven us for it.

Second, let's face it, once you have committed a sin it doesn't go away.  I can be forgiven for murder till the cows come home but that won't bring back the person that I killed.  I know that is an extreme example but the same holds true for all sin.  Sin has an effect.  Whether it is lying, stealing, murder, adultery, fornication, homosexuality, or jealousy, there is always a scar left behind by sin.  David said my sin is against you and you alone (Psalm 51:4), so why is it that someone else felt the pain of my sin?  That's what I mean when I say that sin has an effect.  I guess what I'm trying to say is that even though we are forgiven of our sins as soon as we ask for forgiveness and repent (turn away from), we still must live down the effects of my sin.

If I steal from my boss, God will forgive me but I will probably still get fired.  If I shoplift from Wal-Mart God will forgive me but I will still go to jail for shoplifting.  If I lie to my friend God will forgive me but it will be a while before my friend trusts me.  Where the devil tries to steal our joy and victory is when he tries to convince us that this act of living down the effect of our sin is condemnation.  If he can do that then he can then begin deceiving you that either A) the bible was wrong, there is condemnation in Christ or B) you really aren't forgiven.

Now comes the hard part; the people that feel the effects of our sin the most (or the one's we have hurt), tend to remind us about our sin even after they have forgiven us.  Ouch!  It can really be hard when other people are effected by our sin because people are the best tools that the devil has to steal our victory and create strongholds.  For that matter, let an old-fashioned church find out about your sin.  You'll never get away from the looks of contempt, you'll never forget your sin.  People are cruel and they forget that they have been forgiven and, like you, they aren't perfect either.

I know I could talk for days about this topic but I shouldn't so I'm gonna sum it up like this; if you have been forgiven you are not condemned.  Others will remind you of your sin but don't let that steal your victory.  Sometimes you just have to grin and bear it.  Help others get past your sin by proving to them that you are worthy of their forgiveness by being Godly.

Let me know if you have an opinion on this or if you would like me to go deeper.

God loves you and I do too!

Victim? Help is on the way

Have you ever felt like an eternal victim?  I have known people that felt that way.  Some of them seem to be just looking for attention and then some of them just can't seem to get a break.  Every time they make it through one challenge they walk right into another.  Sometimes, it just seems like everyone they trust lets them down or maybe every decision they make is cursed.  With some it is health, with some it is finances, and with others it may be relationships or something else.  They know they have to play the hand life dealt them but sometimes they would like to call misdeal.

To the second group that really just can't seem to get a break, God wants you to know that He is with you.  I know that we've all read the poem "Footprints in the Sand" that says during the times of life when you only saw one set of footprints God was carrying you.  It sure would be nice to be able see the view during these times from God's shoulders while He is carrying us wouldn't it?  The thing is that we could, if we could only focus on God rather than the challenge or trial that we're going through.

I know that is easier said than done but that's life, it's the hand you've been dealt.  God wants you to know that you aren't alone.  There are people in the bible that have felt this way too.  Job for one couldn't catch a break.  In his worst time his wife told him to curse God and die.  Even his best friends told him that his problems must be his fault.  Joseph was abandoned by his family, put unjustly in prison, then forgotten by his friends and left in prison.  When Nehemiah was rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem he was constantly being challenged.  Jesus was constantly challenged by the Pharisees.  Paul said "every time I do good, evil is always present" (Rom 7:21).

God wants you to know that He loves you so much and He cares about your situation.  In the parable about the lost sheep, Jesus basically said that He will leave the 99 sheep that He has with Him that are protected to retrieve the one sheep that needs His help.  The problem that the one sheep has is that while he/she is lost, he/she has no idea that Jesus is looking for him/her.  Please know that sometimes in your trial help is on the way.  You may not know Jesus is coming to help or you may not know that He is already carrying you on His shoulders.  But just because you can't feel it doesn't mean it isn't happening.

The message I have for you is to hold on during the storm.  Matt 7:24-27 talks about the house that is built on the rock standing strong during the storm.  This scripture does NOT promise that the storms of life won't come.  And it also doesn't say that all houses will face the same amount of storms.  It is a very personal message to you that if you will live your life in the house that is built on His rock, you will be able to weather the storm because of His protection. 

God loves you so much (John 3:16) and He cares if you are hurting.  I do too.  If you need prayer, please post a comment to this post and I, as well as the others that read your comment, will pray for you....YOU ARE NOT ALONE!

God loves you and I do too!

The Angels Are Coming

You may not know but Kim and I really enjoy the preaching of TD Jakes.  We watch him on TV and have bought several of his sermons on DVD.  In my opinion, he is one of the best preachers I've ever heard.  My thoughts tonight come from a sermon that I watched tonight.

Are any of you going through tough situations, tough battles that you are doing the best you can to do what is right and hold on to Jesus but you just don't know how you're going to finish?  You may feel emotionally drained, spiritually used up, and physically just plain tired.  I don't know if this applies to you but if you are in this situation now, you should know that Jesus was there too.  Mark 1:9-13 briefly tells how Jesus experiences the pinnacle of his ministry where he went from being Jesus to being Jesus Christ.  He was just baptized and God proclaims Jesus as His son and then the Holy Spirit descended on him as a dove.  So in this moment the three members of the God-head were together.

In an instant, the Holy Spirit that had just came to Jesus like a gentle dove was now driving Him to the wilderness to fast for 40 days.  Matthew 4:2 tells us that when the 40 days were up, Satan came to Jesus and tempted Him.  So Jesus has just put Himself through nothing less than 40 days of torture preparing Himself for temptation and building discipline for when the devil comes to tempt Him.

Where was God during this time?  The bible doesn't speak of God ministering to his Son during these 40 days.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, there are times in our Christian walk when God will remove Himself from us.

Have you ever felt like you were at the greatest moment of your Christian walk just to find yourself smack-dab in the middle of the biggest test of your life?  God does not temp us but he will test us.  How can we grow if we are never tested?  What good is a weeks worth of football practice if there isn't a game on Friday?  Why go to basketball camps and play AAU if there isn't a game to be played?  Most of our time is or should be spent preparing for these tests.  But what happens when the test is over?

When Jesus' test was over He was tired, exhausted, malnourished, and a physical and emotional wreck.  Do you think Jesus went without food for 40 days and wasn't hungry?  Do you think He went 40 days without food and didn't waste away to nothing?  Jesus was a human just like us.  At the end of those 40 days, He was beat down.  But then what happened?  Matthew 4:11 happened; "Then the devil left Him and angels came and attended Him". 

When Jesus was spent, when he went through the test and came out on top and had nothing left to give, God sent angels to attend to Him.  God will do the same for you if you hold on through the test.

Today, I encourage you to hold on and don't give up.  You keep fighting and when you don't have anything left just hold on because the angels are coming!

God loves you and I do too!

Life is NOT a Snapshot

I received a call today from someone with a real and immediate need.  This person had been betrayed and hurt at a level deeper than most of us can comprehend.  I don't want to go into detail but I promise that most people don't know the level and depth of this person's pain.  This person called me and before they could get out the first word, all I heard were tears and sobs.  They started telling me their story and I began to cry with them.  This person is a Christian and couldn't understand how this could happen.  And in the midst of our tears while I was giving them scripture that I hoped would comfort, God reminded me of a line from a Josh Wilson song that says "Life is not a Snapshot".  This song was written out of a hopeless situation where God brought in hope.

God wants you to know that life is not a snapshot.  So often, we experience pain that we can't comprehend and situations that we don't understand and we ask God "why?".  In that moment of hurt, it feels like this situation can never be better than it is now.  You may think "this is what my life will always be like because I can't imagine not hurting".  Like the guy says in the video link above, if we trust God with our eternity why don't we trust Him with our now?

While my friend was crying, I reminded them that God loves a broken and contrite heart and He will be near them (Psalm 34:18, Psalm 51:17) and that Jesus said "...I will be with you always, even to the end of the earth" (Matt 28:20).  I also told them that no matter how dismal this very moment seems, it's only a moment in time and God will provide healing; "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning" (Psalm 30:5).  Jesus said "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Cor 12:9). 

When we got off the phone, my friend was still crying and still hurting.  I couldn't take my friends hurt away just like I can't take your hurt away.  All I can do today is encourage you just like I tried to encourage this person.  Please click the link above and hear and example of how a family put their faith in God even when everyone told them not to.  I believe you will be encouraged just like I was.  Please remember that when you are down, alone, upset, and broken God is always with you and He hears your broken heart crying out to Him if you let it.

God loves you and I do too!  Merry Christmas.

But God, I'm not that strong!

We’ve all heard that God won’t put more on you than you can bear, I’ve even said it. Is it true? Some would tell you that it isn’t true because the scripture has been misquoted. That, indeed, is true. The scripture in question is 1 Cor 10:13 "…He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it". This scripture obviously deals with temptation and not our burdens. Don’t get me wrong, I’m very glad to be able to refer to this scripture. However, it isn’t always what I need.

A very close loved-one of mine has had a horrible year filled with one disappointment after another, none of which she had any control over. I have often said that "God must think you’re awfully strong" but did I have biblical basis? The answer is a resounding YES!

Numbers 11:11-17 has a very specific example of where Moses was under such a burden that he couldn’t bear it. He basically asked God to fix it or kill him. Verses 16-17 are why I believe that God won’t put more on us than "we" can bear.

16 The LORD said to Moses: "Bring me seventy of Israel’s elders who are known to you as leaders and officials among the people. Have them come to the Tent of Meeting that they may stand there with you. 17 I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take of the Spirit that is on you and put the Spirit on them. They will help you carry the burden of the people so that you will not have to carry it alone.

The key element here is WE. Galatians 6:2 tells us to bear one another’s burdens.

But what about my loved-one? The one thing that I’ve learned is that hurting people tend to NOT ask for help. Human nature is to not want to be a victim. Human nature is to want to be strong, even if we aren’t. Admitting that you are hurting seems like admitting a weakness to the one that is hurting. Even if you aren’t hurting, the last thing most people want to do is to ask for help for something.

Ask my wife how often I ask for help when I’m sick. She says I’m the worst sick person in the world because I don’t let her love on me and take care of me. Being sick is a weakness to me and I don’t want to be weak. Does my pride keep me from being less sick? NO! The fact is that now, not only am I sick but I’ve turned away the best possible earthly helping hand that I could have. How stupid of me. I’m sick, I should let my baby take care of me. The same goes for hurting people carrying a burden they don’t think they can. Hurting is a burden. As a matter of fact, I would say that hurting people make up the largest set of people carrying a huge burden in this country. Have you ever been hurt? Has anyone close to you ever let you down? Did you wish that you had someone to help you carry that hurt. Did you wish that you didn’t feel alone?

Now, that briefly addresses the hurting loved-one but what about me? Did I look at this person as though they were weak? Of course not. Did I look at them with judgmental eyes? No. All I want to do is help everywhere that I can. God has shown in Numbers 11 that he is willing to help let our brothers and sisters bear each other’s burdens but he has two requirements; 1) Someone that is asking for help and 2) some person or people that is willing to help.

It is my opinion that every one of us should be a 1 or a 2. Ask yourself today "Am I a person with a heavy burden in need of help or am I a person with a light burden today looking for someone that I can help"? Once you sign up for this Christian life you lost the right to take a day off. You lost the right to have middle ground where things are just OK and I’m just "minding my own business". It all boils down to loving our neighbor as we love ourselves.

As loving, kind, humble, charitable Christians (I could go on forever listing the Christ-like qualities that should be present in our lives) we should we should pray for divine appointments with hurting loved-ones or even strangers for that matter.

Whether you are burdened or carrying someone else’s burden, it is our obligation to love people. This is one of the callings that we all share.

I love you and God does too!

Are you seeking God or merely looking for Him?

If you are looking for God I commend you.  If you have the desire to look for God because you need help, you certainly aren't alone.  That's where many christians are today, we need help from God because of a personal situation; our spouse is sick and needs help, our kids are having a hard time at school, my job is just getting on my nerves....  This is a good starting point for the relationship that God desires from us but once we "find" God and He ministers to our problem, we tend to put Him back where we found Him until we need Him again.

I want to encourage you today to seek God.  Once you have found Him or once you begin looking for Him, your search needs to change to one where you are seeking His face.  The best way I know to put this is to compare it to my marriage.  Before I married Kim, I was looking for her.  I found many unsuitable substitutes so I kept looking.  Once I found her, of course I stopped looking for her.  Was that the end of my attempts to get to know her or strengthen our relationship?  Of course not.  Once I found her I began seeking her.  I began trying to discover her likes and her dislikes.  I began learning what it was that made her happy and then I did those things.  I also learned what didn't make her happy and I stopped doing those things.  After all of these years I'm still learning my beautiful, awesome wife.  I am in awe of her.  Thoughts of Kim bring me to joyful tears because I love her so much.  We have an open line of communication such that we know the worst things about each other and its OK ("Meet Joe Black") we still love each other unconditionally.

THIS IS WHAT GOD WANTS FROM ME AND YOU!  Once we find God and begin building our relationship (when we get saved) He wants us to be in awe of Him.  If we love our spouses and our family the most, how much more should we love God and how much more does He want us to love Him.  God wants us to love Him and seek Him because of His love (1 John 4:19) not because of what He does for us.

Today, I encourage you to spend just 10 minutes seeking God's face.  Spend 10 minutes loving God the way that He desires.  God wants to take care of us and make sure our needs are met but He also wants to know that you love Him and will always love Him even if He doesn't meet our needs.

I love you and God does too.