Crashed!

On a Monday night, my computer crashed.  It crashed at 5:00 pm.  How do I know the exact time?  I teach an online class at 8:00 pm and I was preparing for the class.  Panic set in.  I had to grab my trusty laptop and was very thankful I had already uploaded the files I was using for the lesson that night to the website.  It worked OK but just wasn't quite the same as my desktop.

It had been acting strange, taking a little longer than usual to boot up, download files, etc.  I did a virus check but I stopped it at 70% of my files with no reported viruses.  The virus checker checked 1.7M files with no viruses.  Even a MAC can only be pushed so far.

Yes, I am hard on computers. Ask the tech guys I worked with over the years. Even in the early days of computers, I pushed a computer to the limits.   I make and edit movies as well as doing photography so I need a computer that has a large hard drive and memory.

Life is like my experience with the computer.  We are comfortable with our life and expect nothing will change.  Comfortable with things around us.  Everything works the way it's suppose to and we are happy.  Then when we least expect it...crash! The old things are gone and the new must come.

Why does the Lord allow those kind of things to happen-the changes to take place? Perhaps, so we will grow and expand into areas He has already prepared but knew we would not do them while we depended on the old comfortable ways.  Perhaps it's so we will appreciate what we have and not become so complacent that we expect it to be the way we want it all the time.  Perhaps, it is to grow our faith in order that we will look to Him and not ourselves for the next step.

Change is never comfortable-never.  But He expects us to meet it with expectation of the new things He has prepared and to remember that we are not alone in the next step.  So whether or not it is an expected change or an unexpected one, He has already prepared the way and we can do all things through Him who gives us strength.

Philippians 4:11-13...I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. ¹² I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. ¹³ I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

The Road Ahead

Walking through life is not always a smooth road.  There will be stones in the path to cause you to stumble, bridges washed out causing us to change direction, strong winds to blow us off the path and of course there are those dreaded deep pits that seem to trap you and keep you from traveling forward. 
We may lose our way for a time but we can trust God to guide us in the right direction. We are assured that God is faithful to guide and protect us regardless of where we are on the journey no matter how far away from Him we are.  Remembering that we are the ones who moved and it is comforting to know that He has always been there waiting for us to notice.

When we became a Christian, He did not promise the road would be smooth without pits or stumbling stones.  He did not promise there would be no hurts, no trials, no torrential rains to wash away our life's plans.  He did promise He would be there to hold us up and give us strength. He promised in Roman 8:28
 "we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose." 

Oswald Chambers in My Utmost for His Highest stated "God's training is for now, not presently.  His purpose is for this minute, not something in the future...It is the process, not the end, which is glorifying to God...God's end is to enable me to see that He can walk on the chaos of my life just now"

We live moment by moment. Trust Him now and each moment.  It's the process of trusting that will take us closer to a maturing faith in Christ Jesus. Give Him the opportunity to walk on the chaos of your life this minute.

Casting Shadows

In the cool crisp early morning light, I saw the sun casting shadows upon the ground of the Bradford pear trees on our road.  I had noticed their beauty before but on this particular morning I stopped to observe each shadow as it fell. The shadow drew a glimpse of each tree as a dark form reflecting the source of light behind it.  Each shadow was slightly different.  While the shadow was not a full image of the tree, you knew what the image was suppose to be.  It was a tree.  Depending upon the direction of the sun, the shadow would be full or slender, long or short.

We are a reflection to others based on the different values and character traits that make us who we are.  We reflect goodness, kindness, love and compassion based on the source of light behind us.  If the light we are reflecting is based only on self, we reflect self.  If, however, we are reflecting the fruits of the Spirit because we have the Spirit of God dwelling within us then Jesus Christ is who we reflect.

So the question is this.  What do you reflect? Are you a reflection of self or do you reflect the Son shine?

Matthew 5:16
In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

Surviving Turbulant Times

 Sometimes life feels so out of control that you don't know when or how you will ever survive.  Often there are warnings about what is to be expected as in the diagnosis of a disease like Alzheimers.  You know what the end of the disease will be but you hope against hope that will not happen to the one you love.

As a Christian, I know that God knows the plans He has for each life.  And when He brings pain or hardship, I know that He is still in control.  He still loves me no matter what and He has purpose for everything He has placed in my life.
   
This summer I lost my Mother to Alzheimers after a long eight year struggle.  Had my Mother been in her right mind she would have been horrified about the way this diseased caused her to act.  In fact, she had told me numerous times before the disease not to "let" her act like that when observing some one that was acting inappropriately.  My Mother was a Southern lady and acted like a lady.  Until--the disease.  She then exhibited behavior unbecoming a lady being violent when someone tried to help her dress or assist her with personal hygiene.

One of the most horrible things about the disease is how it affects your memory.  It robs you of your personality and the memories that make you who you are.  Mother never completely lost all her memory.  She had little bits and pieces of it.  She didn't remember who her children were but knew she was suppose to love us.  She would often say the words and I was never sure whether she knew who I was or not.

Now her battle with the disease is over and she is whole again and dancing across heaven with my Dad.  I can reflect on those turbulent years and know that I only survived with my Saviour's help.  His Hand guided me and held me up when I could not do so for myself.  I can tell you that without my faith, my own strength to face this situation might have been different.  My peace only comes from Him.

You never imagine you will be in the midst of turbulent waters.  Life seems to go smoothly and then all of a sudden that quiet gentle stream develops fast moving currents that become violent turbulence all too fast.

During a recent trip to Colorado, I was reminded how rapidly waters change from headwaters where the stream flows quiet and smooth and then changes into a rushing turbulence of swift whitewater.

I observed rafters at the Royal Gorge trying to navigate through the swift violent water.  Sometimes they made it through successfully and sometimes their kayak would turn over thrusting them into the swift current. Struggling to survive a watery grave, the rafter would grab whatever was there in order to pull himself up.

AR River headwaters on valley floor

Yes, the waters of life seem to flow smoothly at times but all to soon these waters flow more swiftly to the point of becoming turbulent.  Life is like that.  But it is during those times when we must know who is our anchor.  That anchor is Jesus.  We can grab onto Him when turbulence wants to pull us down.  He will pull us up.

Because my Mother was a child of God, the Holy Spirit dwelt within her and although her mind was eaten away with the disease, the Spirit of God still dwelt within her.  He never forsook her and He never left her alone.  And now she dwells with Him forever.  Someday, I will be reunited with her and other loved ones that have gone on before me.

Arkansas River at the Royal Gorge

Rafter Struggles to stay afloat

Coming out of turbulent waters

Feasting On HIs Word

If you are a Mom, aunt, sibling, cousin or just a observant soul, you probably have watched a baby feed on his milk.  He eagerly feeds as if he had never eaten before today.  He smacks his lips and makes all kind of sounds including contentment once he starts to feed.  If he doesn't receive nourishment, he begins to cry loudly from hunger in order to get your attention.  He wants it now and eagerly draws it in as quickly as he can. Without milk he will not survive, his growth will be stunted and he will die if not nourished. When we become a new Christian, God's Word is our milk.  We crave it and desire to dig in with everything we've got. We have an insatiable appetite for the Word.   

1 Peter 2:2-3 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your  salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.

So why is it that we do not "feed" our new Christians by helping them understand God's Word.   Babies are not expected to get their own meals. How then can we expect them to grow as Christians without teaching? So often, our churches rejoice at the salvation of a new soul but then leave them to fend for themselves to grow in the Word.  We don't seem to grasp the importance of mentoring and teaching them. Yes, the Holy Spirit illuminates the Word opening up each passage and making God's Word clear to every child.  But God has also gifted His children to teach and guide His "babies".  Even milk is ingested one swallow at a time.  Babies don't instantly become a mature person or a mature Christian.  We need to provide assistance/mentoring for them.  What a delight to see a new Christian growing in wisdom as he draws closer to the Lord!


Ephesians 4:11-16 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.

Do you provide mentoring to a new Christian by helping them understand God's Word? Help them have a full life. Share God's truths. Life without the Word is hopeless.

Batter'd to Shape and Use

In my younger years, I made homemade yeast bread the old fashion way: starting from scratch (that means no frozen bread, no prepackaged mixture or bread machine was in use).  I began with basic ingredients such as flour, sugar, salt, shortening, yeast, etc. and mixed them together then set them aside to rise.  This rising process takes time as the yeast in the mixture begins to release gases to make the dough rise.

Once the dough doubles in size, it is punched down with your fist during a process called “kneading”.  “Kneading” means simply hitting or punching the dough. Kneading helps remove some of the gas bubbles that have been produced by the yeast and develops a protein called gluten giving the dough elasticity and causing the dough to rise properly. It is stretched to develop tenderness and is then put in a warm place to rise again before baking. Left to itself without the kneading process, the dough would become tough resulting in bread with a heavy texture and unpleasant taste.

The Christian life is much like the kneading process.  When we accept Christ as our Savior, God shapes us to conform us to the image of Jesus. Much like the kneading process where the bread is punched and hit to remove the results of the yeast, God sometimes has to do the same with us in order to remove sin or unChrist-like attitudes in our life and shape us into dough that will rise to His desired heights for our lives as we are shaped into the image of His Son.

Oswald Chambers refers to the kneading process by using the word batter'd.  Battered means to beat with precision, given blows so as to bruise, shatter or demolish. In his book My Utmost for His Highest, Chambers makes this statement: “God takes us out of our own ideas for our lives and we are ‘batter’d to shape and use’…”. God batters/kneads us in order to use us for His kingdom’s purpose.

Are you being bruised by circumstances? Have you been batter'd, kneaded or bruised by someone or something lately?  Is there something in your life that needs to be removed: an attitude, unforgiveness, a sin?  Is God kneading you for a purpose?  Want to find out? Open your heart and seek His answers.

1 Corinthians 5:6-8

^{Your boasting is not good.  Don't you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch--as you really are.  For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.  Therefore, let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.}

In the Belly of the Whale

Jonah 1:1-17  The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai: ² “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”
 ³ But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the LORD. ⁴ Then the LORD sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. ⁵ All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship.  But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. ⁶ The captain went to him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us, and we will not perish.” ⁷ Then the sailors said to each other, “Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity.” They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah. ⁸ So they asked him, “Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?” ⁹ He answered, “I am a Hebrew and I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land.” ¹⁰ This terrified them and they asked, “What have you done?” (They knew he was running away from the LORD, because he had already told them so.) ¹¹ The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, “What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?” ¹² “Pick me up and throw me into the sea,” he replied, “and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.” ¹³ Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before. ¹⁴ Then they cried to the LORD, “O LORD, please do not let us die for taking this man’s life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, O LORD, have done as you pleased.” ¹⁵ Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. ¹⁶ At this the men greatly feared the LORD, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows to him. ¹⁷ But the LORD provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights.

Have you ever been disobedient to the Lord?  Have you ever been rebellious and strong-willed wanting your own way?  If so, you may have experienced the same feelings that Jonah did.  You probably weren't swallowed by a whale physically but maybe you felt isolated, alone, depressed, and exhausted even to the point where things just didn't matter to you anymore.  You could even fall into a deep sleep and forget the world around you ignoring the fact that God told you to do a certain thing.

Jonah had no plan for being swallowed by the whale.  All he wanted to do was take a boat ride in the opposite direction of where and what God wanted for him.  You notice that not only did Jonah know the storm was a result of his disobedience but those around him knew as well.  His influence was great in his disobedience but greater still  in his obedience (after the whale belly incidence).

Funny how disobedience to the Lord always seems to catch up with you no matter how hard you try to forget it.  Disobedience is rebellion against God and rebellion against God is sin.  If the Lord has spoken to you and told you to do something, take a lesson from Jonah just do it.  Plain and simple but hard to do-just do it.  God has a reason and a plan for everything He asked you to do.  Serve Him for His kingdom's glory.

Are you in the "belly of a whale"? Do you know the Lord has asked you to do something for His kingdom by serving Him in a particular way?  Perhaps He asked you to forgive someone who has wronged you or speak to someone about Jesus.  Maybe He wants you to teach a class or serve Him in full time ministry.  The choice is always yours. You can do as He asked or you can turn and run in the opposite direction and risk being swallowed by "a whale".