Month: October 2016

If I toss a stone into a still pond, the ripples will immediately emanate from the point of entry. It is a simple task to follow the ripples until it dissipates. If I toss multiple stones, multiple ripples will emanate and soon cross, forming yet other ripples. Adding just a few stones, makes it increasingly difficult to trace the path of each ripple and intersecting ripples. Now suppose that each stone represented a person and each ripple represented their actions and effect upon another. Would you be able to follow 1 or 2 stones? Probably. But what about 20, 50 or 7.5 billion-the number of people in your immediate neighborhood, friends, and inhabiting the world? I certainly cannot, but God is able.

 

As I reflect upon this example, I am in awe over how God oversees everything in His Creation. Sometimes it is easy to see the immediate effects of our actions upon another. If we are cruel or kind to someone, the effects upon the recipient are usually obvious. But what about actions that may appear neutral in outcome and behavior? How do these actions impact others? And what if the actions and effects are not manifest for weeks or even years to follow?

 

For I know that the Lord is great,  and that our Lord is above all gods. Whatever the Lord pleases, He does, in heaven and on earth,  in the seas and all deeps.

Psalms 135:5-6 (ESV)

 

Like the stones forming ripples, the actions of everyone in this world are overseen and connected to God. If I cannot immediately see the results of my actions, it does not mean the connections are not there. It means my finite mind cannot begin to comprehend the intricate and complex connections that God is orchestrating.

 

If everyone’s actions create a ripple, it is incomprehensible to follow and trace the interactions for each of these ripples. Understanding God’s complete purpose is no different. It is only because of my arrogance and pride that I think I can understand how God works in everyone’s lives and within His creation. In reality, God does whatever He pleases, in Heaven and earth, for His pleasure, to establish His Kingdom.

 

Instead of questioning how, we should be praising God. For God inhabits the praises of His people.

 

Amen!

 

Love and trust the Lord; seek His will in your life.

Did you receive your invitation to my pity party?

 

You couldn’t miss it! It was adorned with a plethora of complaints explaining why everyone else is wrong and I am right. When you arrive, you will be expected to acknowledge me first and agree that my viewpoint is correct and yours is wrong. You will be expected to sit with me and listen attentively as I recount all the reasons you should feel sorry for me.  And you may only speak to voice your support to me.

 

I always invite God to my pity parties. I am always thanking Him for not making me as selfish and narrow minded as everyone else I know. And God never says anything to me at my parties. Why should He? He knows I am right!

 

For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.

Galatians 6:3 (ESV)

 

What? You are not coming? You are thanking God for your many blessings and praying that I will realize mine as well? How arrogant and inconsiderate you are, wrapping your answer in God’s Word! Too busy for me but not for God?

 

How about you? Will you come to my pity party? Why would you want to miss it?

 

Love and trust the Lord; keep our family strong.

I have several guitars proudly displayed on the walls of my home office and bedroom. All of the guitars are properly strung and tuned, ready to play whenever I desire. But there are also practical reasons why each guitar is always kept in such a ready state. The continual tension of the strings keeps each instrument in tune and maintains the playability of each instrument. If the strings are too tight or loose, the bridge and/or neck may warp, causing intonation problems and a decrease in playability.

 

It is reminder to myself that, like my guitars, I need keep myself in tune with God. When I allow myself to become out of tune, being either lax or legalistic in my relationship with Him, I quickly become resistant to His leading. My ability to be played and used by God is diminished.

 

Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!

2 Corinthians 13:5 (ESV)

 

Am I in tune with God? Am I ready to be used by God any time He calls upon me? I need to continually examine myself and hold my life up the light of God’s Word. Only then will I be tuned to God’s perfect pitch.

 

Amen!

 

Love and trust the Lord; seek His will in your life.

My company relies upon many couriers to deliver my cases to me. Seeing them at least once a day affords me the opportunity to get to know their life stories and dreams. Some work two jobs and many are full or part-time students at the local colleges or universities. One courier is studying to become an aerospace engineer This is admirable and I respect and compliment them on their drive and willingness to sacrifice for their futures. These couriers view their job as a transition and stepping stone to advance their careers.

 

I have been a physician for over 20 years. I am thankful for my career and have been blessed to serve God in this occupation. But like the couriers, my current position may be a transition or stepping stone to another career. What form this potential new career may take is uncertain. Perhaps I will be an administrator for a medical school or be the director of a residency training program. Perhaps I will enter the missions field in this country or another. Nothing is certain. But as a Christian believer, there is a one certainty about my career. It is part of how God wants me to serve Him in His Kingdom. My life on this earth is a stepping stone to a life in eternity and continual fellowship with my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And with that perspective, I do not cling to my career for I know it is only a transition to the greater purpose of serving God.

 

For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

1 Corinthians 13:12 (ESV)

 

What the future holds, only God knows. In this life, I am privileged to dimly see God’s plan for my life. I live with the expectation of seeing the complete plan that God has for me. And someday, when I appear before my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, I will know the complete Truth and understand how my career on this earth was used by God in His Kingdom.

 

Amen!

 

Love and trust the Lord; seek His will in your life.

A few weeks ago, I attempted to make a gourmet hamburger. I ground up equal parts of short rib, brisket, and chuck and combined it into a single burger patty. The proper method of preparation was to utilize a meat grinder, which I have and successfully used in the past. However, I was impatient and also wanted to experiment with a blender, thinking it would be faster. Even though I read articles stating that I shouldn’t do it, I ignored the years of experience and advice of other far more talented chefs. Yup! Bad idea! The meat was ground too finely and it tenaciously stuck to the metal blades. Although I was able to scoop out most of it, the remainder was difficult to remove. I soaked it overnight and did several rinses but it took nearly two days of continuous soaking and washing before I was able to restore the original cleanness of the blades.

 

As I reflected upon this mess, I saw a similar pattern of sin in my life. When I am impatient and chose to do things my way, without heeding God’s guidance, disaster results. Sin clings to me and is difficult to remove by my own efforts. It is only by the continual washing of the Holy Spirit that am I able to be cleansed and forgiven.

 

He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit…

Titus 3:5 (ESV)

 

My impatience frequently gets me into many difficult and embarrassing situations. In spite of advice from others more mature and wiser than I am, I still think I know better. Thanks be to God, that by accepting His Son, Jesus Christ, as my Lord and Savior, He has forgiven me of my sins and continues to instruct me through His Bible.

 

My sins will never cling to me when I seek the living water of Jesus Christ!

 

Love and trust the Lord; seek His will in your life.

When my daughter was very young, my wife and I were attempting to teach her the days of the week. We decided to use the television theme song from the memorable 70’s sitcom, Happy Days.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6zl5x8r9Bs

 

And it worked! Our daughter could soon rattle off the days of the week by singing the opening lines of the song. Pleased with her progress, we decided to quiz her on the days of the week but without singing the now familiar song. She began slowly,…”Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday.”

 

My wife and I joyfully praised her and then asked her, “What’s the next day?”

 

My daughter looked at us thoughtfully then smiled and said, “What a day?” (Hint-listen to the theme song again if you don’t get it!) We both laughed as we realized our teaching aid worked well and still led to the wrong answer!

 

This delightful memory reminds me of the many times I have jumped to my own conclusions about how to answer life’s questions simply because this is how I learned it from the world. I think about the actions I have taken about career choices, money management, conflict resolution, even forgiveness. I followed advice that I learned from my parents, teachers, and friends…and just my gut instincts. It was only after God saved me and directed me to learn about Him from the Bible, that I understood the Truth.

 

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD.

Isaiah 55:8 (ESV)

 

Many of my earlier decisions in life were rooted in common sense and a groupthink mentality. Like using the television theme song as a guide, it may lead to a partial truth and ultimately the wrong answer. It has not been easy to rethink years of conditioning by the world, but God, by His mercy and grace, has placed me on a pathway to learn the complete Truth.

 

His thoughts and ways are not mine nor the world’s!

 

Love and trust the Lord; seek His will in your life.

A few weeks ago, I was having an animated discussion with several of our friends who enjoy skiing. We were debating the merits of a car with an all-wheel or four-wheel drive and its traction in deep snow. I pointed out that I used to  have such a car in both Denver and St. Louis, and it was of little avail. I certainly should have used chains when I lived in those snowy environments. However, I was unfamiliar with the use of chains and naively thought it was only for the mountains and steep inclines, thus I never availed of chains until I began skiing with my wife. I proudly exclaimed to my friends, as I pointed to my wife,

 

“I didn’t have chains until I met my wife!”

 

Oops! Did I really say that???

 

Everyone laughed…I think. 🙂

 

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.

Ephesians 5:25-28 (ESV)

 

God saved me in 1982. But it was not until 1996, when God brought my wife into my life, that I truly began to understand the depth of what love means, both for myself and for others. I am still very selfish and prideful. God, through His grace and mercy, has provided a wife who is helping me to mature and love unselfishly, a process that I am still learning. She is my help mate and my heart is chained to hers. And together, we are chained to Jesus Christ.

 

I didn’t have chains until I met my wife. Thanks be to God for my chains!

 

Love and trust the Lord; seek His will in your life.

A veteran dying from cancer requested a last wish for one last fishing trip. The hospice obliged and arranged to have him transported in his hospital bed onto a bridge overlying a pond. With fishing pole in hand, the veteran cast his line and ended up catching four fish. As one observer remarked, “All of a sudden, the cancer and everything else went away, and what you see is that precious few moments of someone really enjoying life.”  This wish was also coupled with another. He wanted to be baptized so “he would be properly prepared to crossover.” Three days later, the veteran peacefully passed away, content that his two last wishes were fulfilled.

 

Properly prepared to crossover.

 

We hear this sentiment expressed in a variety of ways-putting one’s affairs in order; putting one’s house in order; it is all about bringing a positive closure to one’s life. This veteran understood that the most important preparation at the end of his was life was to commit his life to Jesus Christ so that he could spend eternity with Him. He properly prepared.

 

And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

Luke 12:16-21 (ESV)

 

The foolish rich man, in this parable that Jesus taught, focused upon material and physical comforts, when he should have been making himself rich in faith and devotion to God. How does one do this? Confess and repent of your sins and turn to Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. A last fishing trip for this veteran gave him happiness that the cancer had temporarily stolen from him. Placing his faith in Jesus Christ gave him the happiness that will never be taken away from him.

 

Are you properly prepared?

 

Love and trust the Lord; seek His will in your life.

On this one year anniversary of my father’s passing, I dedicate this to him. Thank you for everything you did for me, Dad. I miss you and love you.

——–

My father was a very practical man and his sage words of wisdom still resonate within me. When I was preparing to leave home for my medical internship, he gave me a peculiar suggestion.

 

“Son, when you are on your own, you need to spend money on these three things-a good pair of shoes, a good bed, and…a vacuum cleaner!”

 

“Seriously, Dad? A vacuum cleaner?” I laughed out loud, expecting that he would laugh at what I presumed was a joke. But he was quite serious.

 

“Why are you laughing?”

 

“You’re serious?” my smile quickly melted into confusion. “I can understand the shoes and bed since you need to be comfortable during the day and when sleeping. Why a vacuum cleaner?”

 

My father looked at me as if I was completely clueless.

 

“How else are you going to clean your place?”

 

Made sense. A few months later, when I was on my own, I took his advice. I made sure I bought a very good pair of shoes, a top quality mattress, and I diligently shopped until I found a top rated vacuum cleaner. And like so much of his earlier advice, he was correct. When my living quarters were clean, I had a better attitude about myself and my life. But it took the actual experience of purchasing the vacuum cleaner for the idea to resonate within me as truth.

 

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Jeremiah 29:11 (ESV)

 

Like my father’s advice, sometimes the advice and directions God gives me seems unrelated or unnecessary to satisfy my needs. I look back over so many times in my life when God placed me in a certain situation that seemed to have no relevance to my career or what I needed to accomplish or learn at that moment in my life. Only with the passage of time did His divine guidance and providence become manifest and certain.  God has my best interests at heart to give me a future and a hope. But there is something more that I must do.

 

Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will hear you. You will seek Me and find Me, when you seek Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord…

Jeremiah 29:12-14 (ESV)

 

As the next verses declare, God asks me to call upon Him in prayer and honestly seek Him and His will in my life. When I do, God’s wisdom and choices for my life will become clearer.

 

Love and trust the Lord; seek His will in your life.

 

When I lived in Denver, Colorado, I attended a wonderful church. Founded a year earlier, I was excited to be involved with such a young and vibrant congregation.The assistant pastor was the same age as myself and we shared a similar passion for music as he was also the worship leader. As I got to know him, I desired to become his friend. I began to pray to God that he would allow a friendship to develop between us. Although we were always cordial and friendly, a deeper friendship never developed. After one year, I left Denver and this pastor and moved to Los Angeles.

 

Nearly 30 years have passed since I attended this church. Both he and the senior pastor are still there and the church has grown to include a school and numerous ministries. God has blessed the church and pastors’  faithfulness to the ministry and obedience to God’s Word. Recently, have reconnected with him through emails and social media. We have shared prayers and updated each other with our lives. But distance still separates us and we have not seen other in person.

 

This was the first time I ever prayed to God to develop a deeper relationship with another brother in Christ. On the surface, there appeared to be no reason why we shouldn’t be fast friends. But God had other plans for us. We are brothers in Jesus Christ and, someday, will be together in eternity. And who knows what the future on this earth will bring for both of us?

 

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”—yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”

James 4:13-15 (ESV)

 

In 1988, I was a young believer in Jesus Christ, needing of spiritual growth and guidance. My perspective was limited and immature, focused upon my immediate gratification that I thought a friendship with this pastor would yield, instead of asking God to develop and transform me into the man and friend He wanted me to be to the pastor and others in the church. I am grateful for the friendship that I maintain with this dear brother in the Lord. Someday, God willing, I will be able to experience sweet fellowship with him in person…in this life or in eternity!

 

Love and trust the Lord; seek His will in your life.