This Christmas has been bitter-sweet. In my last post I wrote about being in a temporary world on our way to an eternal home. At 6 am on Christmas morning Jeri’s (my wife) Grandma Raine went home to heaven.
Obviously, this was a difficult way to begin Christmas day, but something amazing had occurred. For the first time in many years the whole family was gathered in two locations. My father-in-love’s family were all together in Virginia Beach (this included our family). And, his sister’s family were all gathered in Michigan (where they live and were Grandma lived).
This provided us the chance to immediately truly be there for each other. It was hard, but we were all together! I praise God for working out these details.
Finally, these times are a little weird for me. When the person we “lose” is a believer, I have a tough time really getting overly upset. It absolutely hurts, but at the same time I rejoice because they have truly moved from the temporary life (with all its hurt and struggle) on to their eternal life (with no more tears). If anything, I’m a little jealous. I love life, I pray often that God’s mission for me will keep me hear for a long, long time, but when it’s time for me to go home – I’m ready!!
Even writing this is a bit weird because I’m really not in a hurry to get out of here, and you always here stories of people writing or saying something like this and then dying. Yet, it’s the truth, it’s how I feel, when I go home – celebrate for me!! And, I’ll look forward to seeing you there – what a party that will be!
Father, I pray that you will ease the pain we feel in our loss. You are the God of all comfort, and we lean on You in times like this. I thank you that we don’t grieve like those with no hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13-14). In Jesus’ name.
/D
Showing posts with label Peace. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Peace. Show all posts
Monday, December 29, 2008
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Questions Jesus Asked – Worry & Faith (3)
This next set of questions (found in Matthew 6) that Jesus asked are some of the most difficult for me. I know what He’s saying, but “doing” what He’s teaching is pretty tough. See for yourself…
Jesus asks a couple of questions about why do we worry about food and clothes, but the main question is verse 27 - Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?
I don’t know about you, but I understand that worrying is like a rocking chair – it gives me something to do, but it doesn’t get me anywhere. I know that. But that doesn’t mean it’s easy to stop worrying – it just comes to us so naturally… and I’m pretty good at it!
The reality is worry really doesn’t help anything. In fact, most of us would admit worry has a pretty negative affect on our lives. So, how do we stop worrying?
You may not like this answer, but I’ve found it’s the only one that works. The answer can be found in Jesus’ last question of chapter 6 – Why do you have so little faith?
See, even if you are a spiritual person – this question has a little sting to it. I mean if I do believe in God and the Bible and all that…well…I should be able to rely on my faith instead of worrying. But if you’re not a spiritual person – then – I guess you’re kinda stuck with your worry – I don’t have a “next best answer” for you.
But I do have some good news – you can become a spiritual person – and it really does help you move from worry to faith. Not all at once, and sometimes you’ll still get blindsided. But one thing I’m learning about my faith is that it’s still there when I get myself calmed back down - because my faith is not based on my efforts, but on the Person of Jesus (the guy asking all the tough questions here). You see, even when I “lose” faith, He remains faithful. If you want to more info. on how you can begin to find faith you can e-mail me at Dave@RedoingLife.com.
Well, let me wrap this up – how do I lean more on my faith and decrease my worry? I hop over several short books to the right in my Bible to Philippians 4:6-7 which says –
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
I don’t know about you, but when I want to worry about something what I’m really looking for is peace. And there’s no better peace than the peace God is able to give to us. Our worries come from our hearts and our minds, so when we take these worries to God, that is what He promises to guard – our hearts and minds.
I wish I could tell you that I do this perfectly every time. I don’t! But when I do…well…I guess you’ll have to experience it for yourself – because the Bible’s right – I can’t really explain it – you just have to live it.
Peace!
Jesus asks a couple of questions about why do we worry about food and clothes, but the main question is verse 27 - Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?
I don’t know about you, but I understand that worrying is like a rocking chair – it gives me something to do, but it doesn’t get me anywhere. I know that. But that doesn’t mean it’s easy to stop worrying – it just comes to us so naturally… and I’m pretty good at it!
The reality is worry really doesn’t help anything. In fact, most of us would admit worry has a pretty negative affect on our lives. So, how do we stop worrying?
You may not like this answer, but I’ve found it’s the only one that works. The answer can be found in Jesus’ last question of chapter 6 – Why do you have so little faith?
See, even if you are a spiritual person – this question has a little sting to it. I mean if I do believe in God and the Bible and all that…well…I should be able to rely on my faith instead of worrying. But if you’re not a spiritual person – then – I guess you’re kinda stuck with your worry – I don’t have a “next best answer” for you.
But I do have some good news – you can become a spiritual person – and it really does help you move from worry to faith. Not all at once, and sometimes you’ll still get blindsided. But one thing I’m learning about my faith is that it’s still there when I get myself calmed back down - because my faith is not based on my efforts, but on the Person of Jesus (the guy asking all the tough questions here). You see, even when I “lose” faith, He remains faithful. If you want to more info. on how you can begin to find faith you can e-mail me at Dave@RedoingLife.com.
Well, let me wrap this up – how do I lean more on my faith and decrease my worry? I hop over several short books to the right in my Bible to Philippians 4:6-7 which says –
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
I don’t know about you, but when I want to worry about something what I’m really looking for is peace. And there’s no better peace than the peace God is able to give to us. Our worries come from our hearts and our minds, so when we take these worries to God, that is what He promises to guard – our hearts and minds.
I wish I could tell you that I do this perfectly every time. I don’t! But when I do…well…I guess you’ll have to experience it for yourself – because the Bible’s right – I can’t really explain it – you just have to live it.
Peace!
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
God's Love
Wow - almost a month since my last post - sorry about that, gang.
There have been some things I wanted to blog on, but just haven't gotten to it - and I still plan to return to the "Questions Jesus Asked" theme.
One thought that has stayed with me was an article I read from Charles Stanley. He was talking about God's love and while the whole article was very good, I'll give you the cliffnote version.
His point was that while many people would consider themselves Christians - they would answer "yes" if asked if Jesus was their Lord and Savior - how many of us are really in love with God? Or more to the point - how many of us have received God's love?
We assume we've received God's love when we became Christians - and in many ways that is true. However, many of us have kept this at a spiritual level.
The way Charles Stanley realized he had not fully embraced God's love on an emotional level was when he was in a real "dry spell" spiritually. He just did not feel like he was close to God. So, he did a very smart thing and gathered some other people whose opinions and wisdom he respected. When they got together one of the men asked Charles to put his head down on the table and close his eyes. Then he told him I want you to allow yourself to "feel" yourself being held by your father.
Charles said he burst into tears - you see his father passed away when he was an infant and so he has no memory of being held by his dad.
The man allowed all of that emotion to flow out and then asked again - "what does it feel like?" Charles said that for the first time he felt the "arms" of God embrace him and hold him tightly.
Have you allowed God to love you this way? Not just the - save me from hell type of relationship, but a true emotional-level falling in love with God?
Some of you may push back from this idea. To you God is too big and too distant to wrap his arms around you - heck, He doesn't even really have arms - right?
But I'd ask you to take some time and think about this a little more deeply this week. After all, most of us have probably been seperated physically from another person, but still know what it feels like to be loved ("held") by them. So, maybe it's time for you to lay your head down on the table, close your eyes, and experience what it feels like to be held by your heavenly Father.
I think you'll discover a love and a peace that will inspire you to live - not simply exist, but live - with less worry and more joy. That's not to say this life will get easier, but your understanding of God will expand, and He will give you everything you need to get through the day.
Jesus himself said - Come to me all of you who are carrying heavy burdens and I will give you rest. Why not find some rest in the arms of the One who knows you best and loves you the most?
\D
There have been some things I wanted to blog on, but just haven't gotten to it - and I still plan to return to the "Questions Jesus Asked" theme.
One thought that has stayed with me was an article I read from Charles Stanley. He was talking about God's love and while the whole article was very good, I'll give you the cliffnote version.
His point was that while many people would consider themselves Christians - they would answer "yes" if asked if Jesus was their Lord and Savior - how many of us are really in love with God? Or more to the point - how many of us have received God's love?
We assume we've received God's love when we became Christians - and in many ways that is true. However, many of us have kept this at a spiritual level.
The way Charles Stanley realized he had not fully embraced God's love on an emotional level was when he was in a real "dry spell" spiritually. He just did not feel like he was close to God. So, he did a very smart thing and gathered some other people whose opinions and wisdom he respected. When they got together one of the men asked Charles to put his head down on the table and close his eyes. Then he told him I want you to allow yourself to "feel" yourself being held by your father.
Charles said he burst into tears - you see his father passed away when he was an infant and so he has no memory of being held by his dad.
The man allowed all of that emotion to flow out and then asked again - "what does it feel like?" Charles said that for the first time he felt the "arms" of God embrace him and hold him tightly.
Have you allowed God to love you this way? Not just the - save me from hell type of relationship, but a true emotional-level falling in love with God?
Some of you may push back from this idea. To you God is too big and too distant to wrap his arms around you - heck, He doesn't even really have arms - right?
But I'd ask you to take some time and think about this a little more deeply this week. After all, most of us have probably been seperated physically from another person, but still know what it feels like to be loved ("held") by them. So, maybe it's time for you to lay your head down on the table, close your eyes, and experience what it feels like to be held by your heavenly Father.
I think you'll discover a love and a peace that will inspire you to live - not simply exist, but live - with less worry and more joy. That's not to say this life will get easier, but your understanding of God will expand, and He will give you everything you need to get through the day.
Jesus himself said - Come to me all of you who are carrying heavy burdens and I will give you rest. Why not find some rest in the arms of the One who knows you best and loves you the most?
\D
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Questions Jesus Asked (3) – Worry & Faith
This next set of questions (found in Matthew 6) that Jesus asked are some of the most difficult for me. I know what He’s saying, but “doing” what He’s teaching is pretty tough. See for yourself…
Jesus asks a couple of questions about why do we worry about food and clothes, but the main question is verse 27 - Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?
I don’t know about you, but I understand that worrying is like a rocking chair – it gives me something to do, but it doesn’t get me anywhere. I know that. But that doesn’t mean it’s easy to stop worrying – it just comes to us so naturally… and I’m pretty good at it!
The reality is worry really doesn’t help anything. In fact, most of us would admit worry has a pretty negative affect on our lives. So, how do we stop worrying?
You may not like this answer, but I’ve found it’s the only one that works. The answer can be found in Jesus’ last question of chapter 6 – Why do you have so little faith?
See, even if you are a spiritual person – this question has a little sting to it – I mean if I do believe in God and the Bible and all that…well…I should have enough faith not to worry. But if you’re not a spiritual person – then – I guess you’re kinda stuck with your worry – I don’t have a “next best answer” for you.
But I do have some good news – you can become a spiritual person – and it really does help you move from worry to faith. Not all at once, and sometimes you’ll still get blindsided. But one thing I’m learning about my faith is that it’s still there when I get myself calmed back down - because my faith is not based on my efforts, but on the Person of Jesus (the guy asking all the tough questions here). You see, even when I “lose” faith, He remains faithful. If you want to more info. on how you can begin to find faith you can e-mail me at Dave@RedoingLife.com.
Well, let me wrap this up – how do I increase my faith and decrease my worry? I hop over several short books to the right in my Bible to Philippians 4:6-7 which says –
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
I don’t know about you, but when I want to worry about something what I’m really looking for is peace. And there’s no better peace than the peace God is able to give to us. Our worries come from our hearts and our minds, so when we take these worries to God that is what He promises to guard – our hearts and minds.
I wish I could tell you that I do this perfectly every time. I don’t! But when I do…well…I guess you’ll have to experience it for yourself – because the Bible’s right – I can’t really explain it – you just have to live it.
Peace!
Jesus asks a couple of questions about why do we worry about food and clothes, but the main question is verse 27 - Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?
I don’t know about you, but I understand that worrying is like a rocking chair – it gives me something to do, but it doesn’t get me anywhere. I know that. But that doesn’t mean it’s easy to stop worrying – it just comes to us so naturally… and I’m pretty good at it!
The reality is worry really doesn’t help anything. In fact, most of us would admit worry has a pretty negative affect on our lives. So, how do we stop worrying?
You may not like this answer, but I’ve found it’s the only one that works. The answer can be found in Jesus’ last question of chapter 6 – Why do you have so little faith?
See, even if you are a spiritual person – this question has a little sting to it – I mean if I do believe in God and the Bible and all that…well…I should have enough faith not to worry. But if you’re not a spiritual person – then – I guess you’re kinda stuck with your worry – I don’t have a “next best answer” for you.
But I do have some good news – you can become a spiritual person – and it really does help you move from worry to faith. Not all at once, and sometimes you’ll still get blindsided. But one thing I’m learning about my faith is that it’s still there when I get myself calmed back down - because my faith is not based on my efforts, but on the Person of Jesus (the guy asking all the tough questions here). You see, even when I “lose” faith, He remains faithful. If you want to more info. on how you can begin to find faith you can e-mail me at Dave@RedoingLife.com.
Well, let me wrap this up – how do I increase my faith and decrease my worry? I hop over several short books to the right in my Bible to Philippians 4:6-7 which says –
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
I don’t know about you, but when I want to worry about something what I’m really looking for is peace. And there’s no better peace than the peace God is able to give to us. Our worries come from our hearts and our minds, so when we take these worries to God that is what He promises to guard – our hearts and minds.
I wish I could tell you that I do this perfectly every time. I don’t! But when I do…well…I guess you’ll have to experience it for yourself – because the Bible’s right – I can’t really explain it – you just have to live it.
Peace!
Thursday, December 21, 2006
Christian Faith - Part 2
So, here’s how I see it – a lot of people I talk with say that life has them feeling…
…tired
…weary
…hurt
…confused
Yet, Jesus said He came to give us life – real life – abundant life. He said His burden was light and that He came to give us rest. He’s called the Prince of Peace.
So, what’s the deal?
Could it be we’ve really lost sight of what matters most? Here’s what I see when I take the time to be honest with myself. I won’t say this is you – I may have never even met you – but I know me pretty well. As for me, I like what I like (profound, you’re thinking, but stick with me). Therefore, I typically do what I like to do. I go where I like to go. I eat what I like to eat. I act the way I like to act.
As you read that did any of you begin to count the “I”s? I focus most of my attention on ME. But that’s kinda ridiculous because I cannot promise myself life, or rest, or peace. If I could I’d have all that – but I can’t – hence I don’t have it – when I’m all about me.
How about you? If you had to account for everything you do, how much of what you do, say, think, etc. is about YOU and what you like?
Here’s the deal – if Jesus is the One who promised life and rest and peace (and many other great things) it only makes sense that if we want that in our lives we need to have Jesus in our lives. To have Jesus in our lives requires that we take the focus off of ourselves and put our focus on Him.
The 64 million dollar question – how do we do that – focus on Jesus?
This is the really unbelievable part – Jesus was happy to teach us how to focus on Him and how to receive these things in our lives – in fact, He wrote it all down for us. That book (actually group of books) we know as the Bible. The Bible isn’t here for us to try and make it all work on our own. The Bible is here for us to discover all that God has already done for us and how we can get credit for all of His work. Seems too good to be true – but why not check it out? What have you really got to lose…your weariness? Your hurt? Your confusion?
One final thought - Jesus’ teachings are the only “religious” teachings that show us that we do NOT have to earn what He has to offer. Every other world religion teaches you have to do something to earn God’s favor – talk about tiring, not to mention impossible. That’s why no other world religion will say you can know for sure that you have received God’s favor – tragic!
Here’s the difficult truth – we must swallow our pride (the thing inside us that says I have to earn it) and surrender to Jesus and then allow Him to transform us – and give us life, and rest, and peace.
…tired
…weary
…hurt
…confused
Yet, Jesus said He came to give us life – real life – abundant life. He said His burden was light and that He came to give us rest. He’s called the Prince of Peace.
So, what’s the deal?
Could it be we’ve really lost sight of what matters most? Here’s what I see when I take the time to be honest with myself. I won’t say this is you – I may have never even met you – but I know me pretty well. As for me, I like what I like (profound, you’re thinking, but stick with me). Therefore, I typically do what I like to do. I go where I like to go. I eat what I like to eat. I act the way I like to act.
As you read that did any of you begin to count the “I”s? I focus most of my attention on ME. But that’s kinda ridiculous because I cannot promise myself life, or rest, or peace. If I could I’d have all that – but I can’t – hence I don’t have it – when I’m all about me.
How about you? If you had to account for everything you do, how much of what you do, say, think, etc. is about YOU and what you like?
Here’s the deal – if Jesus is the One who promised life and rest and peace (and many other great things) it only makes sense that if we want that in our lives we need to have Jesus in our lives. To have Jesus in our lives requires that we take the focus off of ourselves and put our focus on Him.
The 64 million dollar question – how do we do that – focus on Jesus?
This is the really unbelievable part – Jesus was happy to teach us how to focus on Him and how to receive these things in our lives – in fact, He wrote it all down for us. That book (actually group of books) we know as the Bible. The Bible isn’t here for us to try and make it all work on our own. The Bible is here for us to discover all that God has already done for us and how we can get credit for all of His work. Seems too good to be true – but why not check it out? What have you really got to lose…your weariness? Your hurt? Your confusion?
One final thought - Jesus’ teachings are the only “religious” teachings that show us that we do NOT have to earn what He has to offer. Every other world religion teaches you have to do something to earn God’s favor – talk about tiring, not to mention impossible. That’s why no other world religion will say you can know for sure that you have received God’s favor – tragic!
Here’s the difficult truth – we must swallow our pride (the thing inside us that says I have to earn it) and surrender to Jesus and then allow Him to transform us – and give us life, and rest, and peace.
Monday, December 18, 2006
Christmas Cheer / Pain
As many of you know, my family and two other families are in the midst of starting a new church. We also have a whole crew of people who have committed to pray for us as we take this journey.
I send periodic updates and prayer requests. After re-reading an update I sent out last night, I decided this was something some of you may benefit from as well. So, I know this isn't part of the Christian Faith discussion, but in many ways it is. Here's a portion of the e-mail I sent:
This week we made a list of all of the things we are currently working on and need to start working on in the near future. While there’s some overlap, the bottom line is there are about 35 “items” we are doing regarding developing Relevant Community Church. Please be in prayer that God will help us prioritize and be efficient in (but not rush through) each of these areas.
As were in the middle of this incredible time of year – remembering our Savior’s birth, I also pray that all of us...will take the time to SLOW DOWN and truly thank God for the indescribable gift of His Son.
I know this can also be a difficult time for many – my own family shares great grief from past losses during this time of year – but we have made the decision to not let the difficulties of this world overcome the majesty and sovereignty of God. We still feel the pain – that’s normal and natural, but we don’t allow it to overcome us.
If this time of year is typically difficult for you – I pray that the God of all comfort would truly bring you the peace that only He can give and that His peace will allow you to refocus on God’s love and mercy.
If any of you have a specific prayer request you would like for me to be praying for, you can e-mail me at Dave@RedoingLife.com. I'll keep your request confidential unless you ask me to share it with others.
Merry (even if sometimes painful) Christmas!
I send periodic updates and prayer requests. After re-reading an update I sent out last night, I decided this was something some of you may benefit from as well. So, I know this isn't part of the Christian Faith discussion, but in many ways it is. Here's a portion of the e-mail I sent:
This week we made a list of all of the things we are currently working on and need to start working on in the near future. While there’s some overlap, the bottom line is there are about 35 “items” we are doing regarding developing Relevant Community Church. Please be in prayer that God will help us prioritize and be efficient in (but not rush through) each of these areas.
As were in the middle of this incredible time of year – remembering our Savior’s birth, I also pray that all of us...will take the time to SLOW DOWN and truly thank God for the indescribable gift of His Son.
I know this can also be a difficult time for many – my own family shares great grief from past losses during this time of year – but we have made the decision to not let the difficulties of this world overcome the majesty and sovereignty of God. We still feel the pain – that’s normal and natural, but we don’t allow it to overcome us.
If this time of year is typically difficult for you – I pray that the God of all comfort would truly bring you the peace that only He can give and that His peace will allow you to refocus on God’s love and mercy.
If any of you have a specific prayer request you would like for me to be praying for, you can e-mail me at Dave@RedoingLife.com. I'll keep your request confidential unless you ask me to share it with others.
Merry (even if sometimes painful) Christmas!
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